Page 92 of The Family Guest

Tanya gave Paige a dirty look, then stared at the gift card, a scowl on her face.

“You’ll be surprised by how much you’ll be able to buy with it as everything will be on sale tomorrow,” I said to her cheerfully.

“Whatever,” she huffed as she began to half-heartedly leaf through the LA fashion book I’d bought her. Looking bored, she glanced up at me. “Oh, and by the way, Natalie, I’m sorry I didn’t get you or Matt anything. I didn’t have the time, plus Paige wouldn’t take me shopping.”

She shot Paige another look. Paige smirked, their animosity in full swing. I bristled. The last thing I wanted was a fight on Christmas Day.

“No worries. We have so much.” I felt a pinprick of hurt. She could have made something, even a card.

“Mom, Dad…your turn,” cued Paige.

Matt and I, who were putting on a good show for the kids, started opening our presents. A pair of Lalique flutes along with a magnum of Veuve Clicquot from Matt’s parents, gorgeous Burberry scarves from Trevor purchased in London, and a measly twenty-dollar Visa gift card for me from his sister, who had not one thoughtful molecule in her entire body. Mailed to me a week before Matt had called her, she probably wouldn’t have sent me a thing had she known we were divorcing.

Lastly, I opened Will and Paige’s present: The same as always…a beautiful leather-bound photo album to remember our annual family Christmas vacation by. I felt a stab of sadness. This would likely be the last such album.

All the presents open, I stuffed the torn paper into a trash bag.

“Mom, Dad, what did you get for each other?” asked Paige as I gathered up the last scrap of paper.

“Um…uh, we had custom things made.” My voice faltered. “They didn’t get here in time.”

“Like what?” Paige’s brows arched with curiosity, her eyes darting between me and Matt.

I noticed how gaunt my husband looked. His complexion was sallow and there were dark circles under his eyes. The divorce was taking a toll on him, which was fine by me. Paige’s gaze stayed on him as a muscle in his jaw twitched.

“If we told you, that would ruin the surprise. Trust me, it’s like nothing we’ve ever given each other.”

That was true. He’d gotten the divorce papers. And I’d gotten…bupkis. I’d resigned myself to knowing I’d never receive a sparkling bauble from him again. It was a small price to pay to be rid of him.

My perceptive daughter looked at me suspiciously and then exchanged a look with her brother. She, for sure, knew something was up.

“Matthew, children, why don’t you all go into the family room while I finish tidying up and make breakfast. There are some wonderful holiday movies on TV.”

“Mom, do you want me to help you?” asked Paige, staying behind while the others wandered off. There was no doubt in my mind that she wanted to grill me. Find out what was going on between me and her dad. To my relief, Tanya obviously hadn’t told her.

“Honey, I’m perfectly fine and would prefer if you’d join the others.”

She reluctantly did as I asked. A shudder ripped through me as she retreated. I dreaded telling her and Will that their dad and I were divorcing. The family room would soon be the broken family room.

In the kitchen, I whipped up scrambled eggs and sausage along with a tofu and mushroom scramble for Paige. I’d learned a thousand ways to prepare tofu since she’d gone vegan. From stir-fry to lasagna, and they were all amazingly delicious.

As I transferred the eggs onto a platter, my phone rang. I retrieved it from the new cashmere robe I was wearing, my gift to myself, and gazed at the caller ID. Unknown number. Despite the warmth of my robe, I shivered. Were the obscene Whisperer calls starting up again? I hadn’t had one in over two weeks. Maybe it was my in-laws calling from Europe where they were holidaying to wish us a merry Christmas. Hesitantly, I swiped answer and put the phone to my ear.

Silence.

Then…

“Ho. Ho. Ho.” The Whisperer! “Ho!”

“Whoever you are… leave me alone!” I breathed, keeping my voice down.

Click.

The phone rang again. Should I answer it? I did.

“Natalie…” The Whisperer again! “You weren’t a very good girl for Santa this year.”

This time I challenged the raspy voice. “What do you want?” Everyone was after something.