Merry Ex-Mas by Victoria Christopher Murray

time together. Pushing himself up, he reached for my hand. "Come on," he said. "Let's go greet our guests. Let's embrace our new traditions."
    When I stood, I sighed and hugged him. Then I wrapped my arm around his waist and together, we walked out of our bedroom.

Chapter 6

    "I'll get it!" Tori bellowed before she blew through the upstairs hallway and down the stairs. Brock and I had to jump back to avoid the aftermath of what felt like a hurricane as she ripped by us, right as we stepped from our bedroom.
    I watched my daughter and laughed. Being nineteen and a junior in college didn't stop Tori from acting like she was still thirteen. She was still the first one to answer a ringing telephone or a knock at the door.
    "Christopher!" Tori yelped the moment she opened the door. She jumped into his arms.
    The two shopping bags he held dropped from his hands as he gripped the doorway to balance himself against the force of his sister. "Yo, squirt. Give me a moment to get inside, will ya?"
    "I can't help it," she said. "I've missed my big brother!" Then she planted rapid-fire kisses on his neck and cheek, making all of us laugh. It was a kiss attack. But after too many seconds of making him hold her up, Tori jumped down and turned to Evon. "Hey, girl," she said, giving her future sister-in-law a hug.
    "Welcome home," Evon said, even though she was still laughing. "You got in last night?"
    "Yeah, and I can't believe my brother didn't come over to see me."
    "You got home after eleven!" Christopher protested.
    "So? What did you have to do that was better than seeing your baby sister?"
    I didn't miss the exchange between Christopher and Evon. The way he glanced at her, and with a grin, she lowered her eyes.
    "Uh … I was sleeping," Christopher said to Tori. "You expected me to get out of bed?"
    "Yes I did, but whatever. You'll have plenty of time to make that up to me."
    "I know, I know. You're home for a month, right?"
    "You know what?" Tori said. "I don't want to talk about school, and I don't want to hear about work. She spread her arms wide in the air. "It's Christmas!"
    "She's right." I hugged Christopher, then turned to Evon. "Merry Christmas, sweetheart," I said as I pulled her into my arms. She felt like my daughter-in-law already.
    "Merry Christmas, Mrs. Goodman," she said, and then she gave me that smile that could earn her a fortune in a toothpaste commercial. "Thank you for having me." Holding out a foil-covered cake plate, she added, "I baked a little something. I hope you don't mind?"
    Mind? Was she kidding? This girl had everything, and she baked, too?
    "You didn't have to do that," I said, but I hugged her again before I took the plate from her.
    Before I had a chance to tell Evon how delighted I was to have her and the cake with us, Christopher stepped back and held up the shopping bags that Tori had knocked from his hands just moments before. "We come bearing gifts."
    "Good, big bro," Tori said, grabbing one of the bags from him. "'Cause now that you're making the big bucks over at Disney, you know I'm expecting the biggest and baddest gift ever."
    "Oh, don't worry. You're gonna love what I got you." He tapped his fist softly on her head. "Now, the big question is, what did you get me?"
    "Haven't you heard? I'm a starving college student!" Tori exclaimed. "I have no money, and I won't for about the next two decades. Because after I graduate and then go to law school, I'll have to work the next ten years to pay off student loans."
    "Yeah, right." Christopher laughed and waved his finger in her face. "I'm not falling for that. We have the same parents. Mom and Dad have been saving for your college education since the beginning of time."
    All I could do was smile as I turned away from my children and took Evon's cake into the dining room. I sat the plate right in between the sweet potato pie and lemon pound cake.
    I'd only been gone a couple of minutes, but when I returned to the living room, my children were in full