Page 106 of Emma

“Hello?”

Emma’s eyes widened. “H-hi, Carmen.”

“Lovely to hear from you, Emma. How are you?”

“Yeah, I’m good. Looking forward to the Christmas break and some time off so I can eat my way through each and every day.”

“Ah. That sounds like bliss.”

Emma smiled. “Yeah. Do you have Christmas off from the hospital?”

“I’m working Christmas Eve, but thankfully, I’ll be home by eight. Christmas Day and Boxing Day are mine this year, too. I’ve worked the last three, so someone kindly swapped shifts with me so I could be with Ben and Freya for a couple of days, uninterrupted.”

“Oh, that’ll be nice.” Emma cleared her throat. “I had something to ask you.”

“Go on.”

Emma swallowed as she caught Vanessa’s eyes across the kitchen. Her wife gave her a small nod of encouragement. “Vanessa and I wondered if you, Ben, and Freya would like to come here for Christmas dinner. W-with us.”

No shit, Sherlock. Who else would it be with?

The silence that followed stretched long enough to make Emma’s pulse hammer in her ears. She gripped her phone tighter as her mouth went dry. “I understand if it’s too soon, or if you already have plans…”

“Emma,” Carmen cut in, likely sensing she was about to spiral. “You don’t need to explain. I’m just…surprised, that’s all. We’ve never been invited to something like this before. Ben is an only child, and his parents are both in a care home, and I…well, let’s just say I grew up in a similar position to you and Freya,only I was passed around from place to place for my entire teenage life.”

Emma’s throat tightened as she slowly lowered herself into a seat at the dining table. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“It’s okay. The three of us are stronger than we likely thought growing up, right?”

Emma smiled as she nodded. “Absolutely right.”

“Thank you for the invitation.”

“That’s okay. I just thought that Freya has been spending time with us, and she seems to enjoy it, so I’d really like to spend Christmas with her. With all of you.”

“I’ll run it by Ben and Freya, but I don’t see it being a problem. We don’t have any plans other than to be here at home.”

Emma closed her eyes, relief crashing through her so strongly that she had to steady herself by gripping the edge of the table. “I’d really appreciate it if you’d run it by them.”

“Freya deserves a great Christmas. I suspect that will be a done deal if she’s with you. God knows she doesn’t stop talking about you morning, noon, and night.”

Emma laughed. “Yeah, apparently I’mcoolor something.”

“Mm. Who knew taking a kid to the arcade could give you the title of ‘best person that ever lived.’”

Vanessa came to stand beside Emma, a gentle, supportive hand pressed to her shoulder as she smiled.

“Thanks, Carmen. For being great and for considering Christmas dinner with us.”

“Oh, don’t thank me yet. You’ll be cooking for another three people.”

“I’m not worried.” Emma lifted a shoulder. “It’ll be worth it.”

“Right, well, I’ll have Freya call you once she’s made the decision. I don’t expect her to turn the invitation down, though.”

“Great. I’ll look forward to hearing from her.”

They ended the call, and Emma slumped back in her seat. She didn’t know why these calls kept taking it out of her, but she felt exhausted by the few short minutes she’d spent talking to Carmen. She looked up at Vanessa and sighed. “Carmen has just told me that she grew up in care, too. They’ve never been invited to Christmas dinner with anyone before.”