A Christmas Affair. Adrianne Byrd

you? Is that why you were all up on the television telling the world that you’re getting married but you didn’t even find time to call your family?”

      “I said I was going to call,” she said.

      “Uh-huh.”

      “I was just … waiting for the right time. That’s all.”

      “You had time to call a television crew, but not your own family? Right. You know, you usually only blow smoke up my butt on Christmas and your birthday, too.”

      “I’m sorry. There. I said it. Again. I’m the bad guy. Got it. I’ll call Mom and Dad and just explain the situation.”

      “Just explain? You’re not going to bring your Hollywood hunk down here to meet the whole family? What? Are you ashamed of us or something?”

      “I didn’t say that.”

      “Didn’t have to. Your actions speak louder than words—and I have to admit I’m disappointed in you, sis.”

      “You used to be proud that I escaped from that place,” Chloe reminded her. “You used to say that you were going to come live with me when you got old enough.”

      There was an awkward silence over the line.

      “Tess?”

      “Corona Mae, it’s one thing to leave to go make something of yourself. It’s another thing to act like you’ve forgotten where you came from.”

      “I didn’t—”

      “Look. We’ve gone around and around on this issue. I get it that you didn’t want to be forced into marriage at seventeen. You didn’t want to become a teenage housewife, have a house full of children and work part-time at Momma’s hair salon while Lyfe likely joined Daddy at the church and the restaurant. You made your point. But that was a long time ago. Things have changed.”

      Silence.

      “Corona Mae?”

      “Yeah. I know. It’s not like I don’t ever call.”

      “Rarely,” Tess corrected.

      “It’s just that … “

      “You’re scared of running into him,” Tess said, as if picking up her sister’s thoughts over the line.

      “Running into who?” She had no idea why she asked such a stupid question. Tess’s bark of laughter was so loud that Chloe had to pull the receiver away from her head in order to save her eardrum.

      After a few seconds, she placed the phone back to her ear in time to hear her sister ask, “So are you a talent agent or are you a D-list comedian nowadays?”

      “Ha. Ha.”

      “You damn right, ‘ha, ha.’ I mean, really, Corona Mae. Don’t treat me like I’m stupid. You might have hauled your butt out of the state and got all your little fancy degrees at all those Ivy-league colleges up there, but I know damn well that you haven’t gotten Lyfe Alton out of your system. So play your little Jedi mind trick on someone who doesn’t know you.”

      “I’m sure that Lyfe doesn’t spare me a second thought these days. We were just … kids.”

      “Kids in love. You were each other’s first.”

      “So what? Everybody had a first. It doesn’t mean that you walk around pining after them for the rest of your life.”

      “Please,” Tess drawled. “Everyone is still a little in love with their first—especially women. I don’t care how awful or how much of a jerk the dude turned out to be, there’s still some part of us that’s always going to be in love with our first.”

      “Yeah. Whatever.”

      “That’s the best you got?” Tess laughed. “Pathetic. Why is it so hard for you to admit that you still have feelings for the guy? It’s not going to kill you or anything, you know?”

      “Because it hurts too much,” she finally admitted. “Unless you’re telling me that Lyfe personally walked up to you and announced that he still has feelings for me, then I’m just going to assume that since he has never picked up the phone and called me that none of this means anything. I mean—did he even ask about me?

      Silence.

      The pain in her chest increased tenfold. “There. You see? Now can we drop it?”

      “All right. Fine,” Tess finally agreed. “But what about Mel—”

       “Drop it!”

      “Fine. It’s dropped.”

      “Thank you.”

      “Well, I better go. Congratulations again on your engagement. Maybe one day you’ll tell me about this Rowan James—maybe even introduce him to me.”

      “Tess—”

      “I’ll talk to you later. ‘Bye.” Chloe was left holding the phone while the dial tone buzzed in her ear. “That went well,” she muttered.