Page 19 of Once Upon a Christmas Carol

Finishing up the decorating took longer than Carol had anticipated.

Probably because she became even more of a perfectionist after Miss Fashionista exited the Grange Hall.

Not that she had any illusions she could please that snooty Victoria with the country chic motif.

But hopefully Maria wouldn’t get too much criticism for the way things looked tomorrow night.

“You were right about bringing our lunch today,” Carol told Maria as she set the empty basket in the back seat. “I had no idea we’d be here all day. I hope it didn’t wear you out.”

“Sitting and listening to Christmas music and watching you transform the room?” Maria laughed from the passenger’s seat. “I hardly think so.”

“I was hoping we’d make it home before dark.”

“Oh, we will,” Maria assured her. “The sky is cloudless, and the snow is very reflective. Even as the sun is setting. Don’t worry.”

Carol closed the back door to the Grange, then paused to look around at the snow-covered town, where the light and shadows were painting everything in shades of pale blue.

It really had been a beautiful day outside.

Too bad she’d been cooped up in the Grange the whole time.

But maybe she could get outside tomorrow.

According to her phone, they had a few days of sunshine ahead.

And she suspected, although it made no difference, that flights were now coming and going from Gerald R.

Ford International Airport. As if to confirm this, she heard the low rumble of a jet overhead.

Probably holiday travelers, off to see families.

Well, she was with family now. As she slid into the driver’s seat, she realized she wouldn’t trade that for anything.

Still, she felt a nagging guilt about her mother’s pleading the other night. But what was she supposed to do about it? Burden her aunt with her sister’s accusations? Cave to her melodramatic mother? Neither option felt right. It was best to just let it be for now.

“I was just admiring how everything looks out here,” she told her aunt as she started the car. “With the sun low in the sky, the light makes everything magical. Such a beautiful shade of pale blue.”

“Kind of like Victoria and her gorgeous cotillion gown?” Maria said. “Pretty but ice cold.”

Carol couldn’t hold in her laugh.

“I can’t help but think that girl was pigeonholing poor Victor today. And I think I know why.”

Carol was all ears. “Pigeonholing?”

“Well, I suspect Victor might have mentioned the dance to her at one time. More likely she brought it up. It’s hard to say, but I know Victor and if he made a commitment, even a slight one, he would keep it.”

“Good for him.” Carol nodded, focusing on the slick road.

“But I also know that girl. She has to get her way. She’s a born competitor, and I’m sure she sees you as her competition.”

“Competition?” Carol gaped at Maria, then instantly put her attention back on the road, gripping the wheel tightly. Focus, focus, focus.

“Sure. She can probably see it in Victor’s eyes.

He likes you and finds you attractive, and Victoria cannot stand it.

Not so much because of Victor—I suspect she’s not as interested in him as she puts on—but because that girl cannot stand to lose.

She was homecoming queen, cheerleading queen, rodeo queen .

.. I probably missed a few titles, but my goodness, that girl collected enough crowns to start her own trophy shop.

You have to give her credit though. She worked hard for them.

” Maria paused to catch her breath, then held up a forefinger.

“And that girl worked hard to hook wealthy men too. And according to her, those divorces weren’t failures. She claims she learned from them.”

“Well, that’s worth something.” Carol wasn’t sure she cared to know this much about Victoria.

“And what was worth more than that was the boatload of money she gained in the separations, which I’m sure made the partings sweet sorrows.

” Maria chuckled, then sobered. “But to be fair, Victoria’s mother claims both marriages ended for very good reasons.

I’m not surprised though. They sounded like bad matches from the start to me. ”

Carol didn’t know what to say. Part of her felt sorry for Victoria and part of her thought she’d probably gotten what she deserved.

“Good grief, listen to me! I sound like a gossiping old hen.” Maria let out a loud sigh. “Please forgive me. Do you think breaking my arm affected my head?”

Carol chuckled. “I don’t think so. And I don’t think of it as gossip as much as information. I appreciate knowing the rest of the story. Victoria has me more than a little bamboozled.”

“And don’t you pay any mind to her comments about the decor.

That woman I mentioned earlier today, the one who liked all the glitz and glitter?

Well, that was Gloria Davenport, and she was Victoria’s aunt.

They were, I’m certain, cut from the same cloth—and sequins must’ve been involved in the making. ”

Carol had to laugh. “It was weird because Victoria kinda reminded me of my mom today.”

With those words, silence enveloped the car. The thick kind. Carol wondered if she shouldn’t have mentioned her mom, although Maria had seemed okay about it before. Carol considered mentioning her late-night call but couldn’t think of one good reason why.

“Carol.” Maria paused for a long moment. “While you were loading my car this morning back at the house ... well, I got a phone call.” Her stilted voice had Carol’s full attention.

“Uh-huh?” Carol, not wanting to be distracted from the slick roads, reminded herself about skiing, imagining a groomed slope ... carefully gliding down.

“It was your mother.”

“Oh?” Alarmed, Carol stole a quick glance at her aunt.

“I’m sorry. I don’t want to upset you. Especially when you’re driving.”

“It’s okay. I’m focusing on skiing.” She attempted a laugh. “You can tell me what she said.”

“No, no, I should wait until we get home.”

“Really,” Carol insisted, eyes fixed on the road. “I’ll be dying of curiosity if you don’t share, Aunt Maria. In fact, I’d been thinking about calling Mom back tonight. Did she mention that she called me the other night? Around midnight too.” She shook her head. “I’m still processing that one.”

“She didn’t mention it.”

Now the car got quiet and uncomfortable again. Did Maria have any idea what kind of allegations her sister had made against her?

“Well, Mom said some pretty harsh things,” Carol confessed. Determined to get to the bottom of everything, she decided to be forthcoming. “It was a little disturbing, actually, and I’ve been hoping to clear the air with you.”

“Yes, of course. By all means.”

Now Carol spilled the beans, relaying her mom’s mean accusations.

“Oh, wow.” Maria exhaled loudly. “That’s a lot to dump on you.”

“I just want to know if any of it’s true. I know my mom. She can be a real drama queen, and she’s good at guilting people ... or throwing big pity parties for herself. Believe me, I took her words with a grain of salt.”

“Well, some of what she said is true. I did leave Rosa and Pop to get married. But good grief, I was twenty-seven then. And Rosa was almost seventeen. I thought it was about time she started taking care of herself. I’d done it for most of her life.

And I hate to admit it, but I might’ve spoiled her.

I guess I felt bad about her not having a mother. ”

“You didn’t either.”

“Yes. But she was so much younger. I tried to make up for it. I didn’t even go to college, although I had a small scholarship to a school nearby.” Maria sighed.

“Sounds like you really put your life on hold.”

“I felt family should come first, but the truth is that Rosa started getting pretty rebellious as a teenager. She fought with me over everything. I honestly thought she’d be happier with me gone.

” Maria looked amused. “Well, until she figured out all the housework involved in caring for a home. I’d tried to break her in gradually, but expecting her to help out always started a big fight. I got tired of it.”

“Who could blame you?”

“I blame myself some. If I’d been harder on her earlier on, maybe she would’ve learned to help out at a younger age.

Although our father was always stepping in to protect her, saying she was too young for chores.

He babied her even more than I did. But I always wondered if Rosa’s life would’ve gone more smoothly if I’d done things differently. ”

“You were still a kid too,” Carol argued. “How could you expect to know all that?”

“I suppose. But I always told myself I’d do it differently if I had kids.

And that bit about our father being an alcoholic .

. . well, I never saw him drink more than an occasional beer with a friend.

As far as I was concerned, he was a good parent.

If anyone is responsible for Rosa’s less-than-desirable upbringing, it’s me.

I really didn’t make a very good mother. ”

Carol didn’t know what to say. Maria probably would’ve made a wonderful mother. Much better than the one Carol had endured during her own childhood.

“Anyway, I just thought you should know your mother is not very happy with either of us right now. She made that crystal clear with me.”

“Yeah. Me too.” She shared about Mom’s displeasure with Carol putting the kibosh on the Bahamas.

“But that was my choice and how she reacts to it is her problem.” Still, Carol was surprised that her mom had called Maria.

Hopefully she hadn’t been too hard on her sister.

“And by the way, I love being here with you in Michigan. I wouldn’t trade the Bahamas for this. ”

“Really?” Maria sounded truly surprised.

“Absolutely. And just for the record, I think you’d have been a wonderful mom.”

“And I think you must’ve been an ideal daughter—especially since you’re a perfectly delightful niece.”