Episode 957: A Marshmallow World

Justine, knelt on the carpet beside him while she attached the caboose to the other train cars in front of the little depot. It would be ready to go whenever Hero couldn’t stand to sleep any longer that morning, which would probably be any time now.

“You know,” she said, “I had my doubts about getting up at the crack of dawn to set this up, but it looks so good, I think it’s going to be worth losing sleep.”

Quent nodded. “His eyes are going to light up big time. It’s fun that he’s into such old school stuff, handing him a video game box wouldn’t have quite the same effect.”

“I wish it was so easy to get our girl’s eyes to light up again. We keep telling her we’re here, we love her no mater what, but I just don’t know if it’s getting through. Should we send her to someone other than Lucy? Or would that feel to her like we think something is wrong with her when I absolutely do not believe that. I don’t know, I just want her to have a Merry Christmas, a merry everyday.”

“Did you send your mom a card or call her or anything?” Cal asked his daughter. He knew it was tricky territory, he should probably just be glad Avalon was open to sharing the holiday with him and not push his luck on Sarette’s behalf. But spending time with his daughter meant so much to him, and he knew having some connection to Ava on Christmas Day would mean the world to Sarette, too, regardless of the decision she’d made all those years ago.

“I left flowers on her grave, like always,” Ava replied as she chopped vegetables.

“You know I meant your birth mom.”

“I invited her to the wedding. We even had a conversation.”

“Yes, well, now it’s Christmas. She’d probably like to hear from you.” He placed his fingers over her chopping hand, stilling it. “Maybe text her, if you feel up to it. It’s the season of good will, right?” He pressed a kiss to his daughter’s temple. “I’ll leave you to your cooking since you insist, but Sebastian and I are willing to help if you want. You don’t have to shoulder everything alone.”

A Christmas feast for her dad, husband, and best friends’ family, was a piece of cake to put together compared to the other thing she was shouldering, whether or not to tell Xavier about his son. Particularly on a family day like today, she couldn’t shake the question of what to do. She didn’t have anyone in her life to mull it over with, no one impartial to the matter, not her father, her husband, Bowie, or Lila. None of them were Xavier fans, all had their reasons to want him kept at a distance. None of them would look at the situation from both sides. Ava washed her hands, toweled them off, and reached for her phone.

Episode 958: Your Song