Page 88 of The Summer of Christmas

“Oh, I’ve already found it,” Griffin said with a flirtatious smile. They reached for each other and kissed passionately again.

“Bruce! We need the wine bottles. Quit fooling around down there!” Drew screamed from up above. Griffin and Bruce again pulled away from each other.

“Do you think they know?” Griffin wondered.

“No. That’s what Drew always says when he thinks his crew is wasting time. I’ll just tell him that I was looking for a 1989 bottle or something like that. He thinks that anything from 1989 is a great vintage. That’s the year he was born,” Bruce said.

“Actually, I wouldn’t care if everyone knew,” Griffin blurted out, surprising even himself.

“But everyone thinks you’re straight.”

“I am straight. Well, I was until five minutes ago. Do you mind if I kiss you again? I think it would be helpful.” They kissed again.

“And?” Bruce prompted.

“I need to talk to Carol.”

“Who’s Carol?”

“Ivy’s sister. She’s helping me to become my true self. I think I just need one more kiss.”

“Allow me.”

And before they could lean in for another stolen kiss, they heard footsteps and pulled away.

***

Ivy jumped into her car and drove home. Heartbroken. She was tired of lying. She rushed into her family home and into the kitchen, where she told her parents the truth. That she’d been banned from her own movie set. Carol ran down the stairs, eager not to miss out.

“What happened?”

“Amari is being a total bitch and won’t let her on the set,” Linda said. “I don’t know why I allowed her to call me her movie mom.”

“She’s no daughter of mine,” Mitch added.

Carol rolled her eyes. “Guys, she was never your daughter.”

Then Ivy blurted out that she’d broken up with Nick.

“Honey, I didn’t know you were back together,” Linda said.

“We kinda were for about eight hours,” Ivy admitted. “Two minutes of magic. The rest was sleeping through a hangover. But it was magical.”

“And then what happened?” Carol asked.

“And then it ended. Again.”

“How do you feel now?”

“Just numb.”

Carol listened intently. Then she grabbed a piece of paper and wrote something down.

Ivy turned to her sister. “Why are you taking notes?”

“In case I need to use this for a paper. This is too good to forget.”

Linda poured a cup of hot cocoa with mini marshmallows for Ivy.

“Why are you giving me hot chocolate? It’s July. It’s ninety degrees outside,” Ivy said as she sipped the delicious warm drink.

“Because it always used to make you feel better.”

Linda was right. The hot cocoa was already improving Ivy’s mood.

“Is there anything we can do for you?” Mitch asked. He was always trying to be helpful.

“Just be with me. I love you guys so much.”

“Family hug,” Mitch said. He, Linda, and Carol all leaned in to give Ivy a big hug, and for the first time all day, Ivy felt a little bit better.