Charming Christmas by Carly Alexander

scarf and took a seat. “As of tomorrow, I’ll be earning a paycheck, at least for a while!”
    Bonnie and Kate applauded, but Lanessa lowered her menu and cocked one eye. “Oh, Liv, I know you’re cutesy-wutesy, but don’t tell me you’re playing a Christmas elf?”
    â€œEven weirder,” I said. “I’m going to be Mrs. Claus at the new Rossman’s.” I filled them in on my new job, the posh new look of Rossman’s, the ZZ Santa, the skating rink. “They’re hoping to put together a show on ice, though it doesn’t sound like they’re very organized. Either way, the pay is good, and I’ve got a job, ladies! I’m coming out of the slump. Once my bank account is solid and my ankle healed, I’ll be on my way again.”
    â€œGoing back to New York already?” Bonnie stuck her lower lip out. “You just got here, honey.”
    â€œI am already so done with Baltimore,” I said, thinking of the mantra that had sustained me: This is temporary. This is temporary. “After Christmas, I’m out of here.”
    â€œMrs. Claus—how cute is that?” Kate said. “And it will keep you too busy to worry about your mother and Bobby and the show.”
    I sipped some chardonnay and nodded. “Bobby who ?”
    We exchanged news in rapid-fire delivery. Lanessa had begun pining for another lawyer she’d been working with lately, someone who worked in the office of a senator from Wisconsin.
    â€œDairy lobby meets state of Wisconsin,” Bonnie mused. “Sounds like a match made in heaven.”
    â€œWe’ll see,” Lanessa said. “Right now I can’t tell if he’s frightened or awed by me. Everything’s still so new.”
    â€œHas he seen you chew up a brief and spit it out?” Kate asked.
    â€œSure. Just not his briefs.”
    We all laughed, but Bonnie couldn’t seem to stop. I turned to her as she put down her wine and dug into her purse for a tissue. She was crying.
    â€œBonnie . . .” I touched her arm. “You okay?”
    She nodded. “Fine. I just . . .” Her words were swallowed by a sob, then a hiccup.
    â€œIt’s Jonah, isn’t it?” Kate said, and as Bonnie nodded quickly I was once again amazed at Kate’s uncanny sensitivity, as if she sensed and could monitor a living pulse that the rest of us weren’t aware of. No wonder Kate was so good with animals.
    â€œI just . . .” Bonnie sobbed again, and Lanessa pulled two clean tissues from her bag and thrust them across the table.
    Kate pressed her fingertips over the back of Bonnie’s hand. “You miss him?”
    Bonnie nodded.
    â€œYou wish it weren’t over?”
    Bonnie shrugged.
    â€œYou know, it doesn’t have to be,” I said. “That’s the beauty of a separation. You’re not divorced yet.”
    Bonnie shook her head. “He served me with the papers today. He wants the divorce now.”
    â€œOh, Bonnie . . .” Kate continued to massage her hand.
    â€œYou don’t have to sign anything right now,” I said, glancing back at Lanessa. “You were a lawyer once. She has time, right?”
    Lanessa’s dark eyes softened. “Plenty of time. Don’t let the man rush you, honey. You take your time, and chances are, everything will fall into place. You just think of how you want it to work out and it’ll happen for you.”
    Bonnie took a deep breath and blew her nose into the tissue. “Thanks, guys. I’m going to be okay. Just going through a bad patch now.”
    â€œTake your time with it,” I said. “Don’t close the door on him if you still care.”
    Lanessa shot me a lethal look, but I had to be true to myself, knowing that if Bobby walked through Bertha’s door right now and showed the slightest interest, I would forgive all his transgressions and welcome him back into my