Christmas Ever After

“Preparing” involved absorbing and memorizing pages of notes on each individual. Likes, dislikes, topics to be avoided at all costs.

Even at Christmas it was all about networking.

A wild idea flitted into her mind. Christmas in a cottage on Puffin Island. Log fire, good wine and the company of her friends. She and Richard together without the pressures of the outside world.

It was a dreamy idea.

It was also heresy and it was never going to happen.

“I’m sorry you couldn’t be here, Mom.”

“You couldn’t have picked a worse time. You’re putting a great deal of pressure on Richard. As your father said when he spoke to him earlier, expecting him to fly to London right now is unreasonable.”

“Richard spoke to Dad?”

“He called this morning.” Her mother paused. “Choosing that man is the one thing in your life you’ve done right. Don’t make a mistake tonight, Skylar.”

Make a mistake about what?

“Wait a minute—what are you talking about?”

“I’ve said enough. The rest is up to you. Make good choices.” Her mother ended the call and Skylar sat for a moment, staring out of the window.

Make good choices.

Her family had never understood that, for her, art and the process of creating something tangible and beautiful, whether a pot or a necklace, wasn’t a choice. It was a need, maybe even an obsession. It came from deep inside. She had images clamoring in her head, ideas crowding her brain. Inspiration was everywhere, there were days where she was dizzy and dazzled by possibilities.

Choice wasn’t part of it.

She could no more have given up what she did than she could have given up breathing, but her family had never understood that. Their approach to life was analytical. Their appreciation of art was limited to its cultural significance or financial value.

Growing up, there had been days when she’d wondered if her parents had brought the wrong baby home from the hospital. They were good people, but she felt as if she was in the wrong house.

The phone rang again. This time it was Brittany and Emily, her friends who were both back on Puffin Island, in Maine.

“Tell us what you’re wearing.” Brittany’s voice came down the phone and Skylar grinned.

No doubt about it, without her friends she’d go insane.

Friends were like solar power, bringing warmth and light to dark corners.

“The silver dress with the white coat. Totally impractical.”

“No burgers, no ketchup and stay away from red wine. I bet you look like a snow queen. We rang to wish you luck because after tonight you’ll be too famous to talk to us. Are you excited?”

Skylar tried to forget the conversation with her mother. “I think so.”

“You think?” This time it was Emily. “Sky, this is huge. You should be so proud. We are.”

“Drink champagne, take photos and we’ll celebrate when you’re home.” Brittany’s voice echoed down the phone. “Wish we could be there with you. You shouldn’t be alone.”

Skylar hesitated, not sure whether to tell them or not. “I won’t be alone. Richard is coming.”

There was a brief silence and then Emily spoke. “That’s great.” Her voice was just a little too bright. “We thought he wasn’t going to make it.”

“Last-minute decision.”

“Why the change of heart?”

Sky wondered why the question should make her uncomfortable when she’d asked herself the same question. “He shifted his schedule. I guess that’s a sign that he cares.”

“Right. Well, we’re glad he came through for you.” Brittany’s tone was warm. “I hope having him there makes tonight even more special.”

They didn’t say anything more. They didn’t have to.

She knew they worried about her relationship with Richard.

Now that he’d won his senate seat, she needed to persuade him to spend more time with her friends. She was sure that if he knew them better, he’d love them as she did.

“I have to go.”

“Call us later! And if you see Lily and Nik, give them my love.”

The call left her smiling and she was still smiling as she stepped out of the cab.

The gallery was nestled between an antiques store and an exclusive boutique. Taking pride of place in the window of the gallery was one of her favorite pieces, a vase modeled on an ancient Greek amphora, the birds twisting sinuously against luminous blue glass.

Tempest Designs.

Maybe it had started as a hobby, but now it was a business. She had a small but exclusive international clientele and this was her first show in London. To be able to support herself doing something she loved had made the dream a reality.

So why were her mother’s words the loudest thing in her head?

You’re the only one without a job.

She paid the driver, reminding herself that Richard believed in her. He’d chosen to fly over for the weekend, which had to be the ultimate in romantic gestures and proof he was taking her choice of career seriously.

It didn’t matter what her parents thought.

This was her big night and nothing was going to spoil it.

ALEC HUNTER LEFT the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, shoulders hunched against the sharp bite of the wind and the falling snow. He’d planned a late-afternoon stroll along the river but the lecture he’d delivered had ended later than planned and afternoon had blended into evening.

In front of him the River Thames wound, ribbonlike, toward the bright lights of the city. He turned up the collar of his coat, pulled his phone out of his pocket and walked upriver.

He had four messages.

One from the BBC following up on the meeting they’d had earlier in the week to discuss his possible involvement with a documentary on Antarctica, one from his mother asking him to buy extra champagne, one from his younger sister telling him he’d better have bought her a great present or he needn’t bother coming home.