crowd.
“Gee, maybe she didn’t see us,” Rhonda said with a silly grin. “Oops—my mom’s signaling to me. Got to run.” She waved good-bye and made her way toward the Christmas tree.
“What was that all about?” Brent looked puzzled.
Bemused, Dawn shook her head. “Believe me, Rhonda defies explanation.”
He took a long swig from his cup. “So, she’s your best friend?”
“I’ve known her since the fifth grade, and she’s pretty much always been there for me.” She stopped herself short, realizing whom she was talking to and why he might be asking.
Sandy had been her best friend
. She didn’t want Brent to think her disloyal. “Not like Sandy, though. Look, all this noise is giving me a headache. Why don’t we head for home?” Dawn grabbed her cup and purse and stood up.
Slowly, Brent rose beside her. “Sure,” he said. “This place is bugging me, too.”
He was quiet all during supper. She wasn’t sure how to break through his silence. She wasn’t even sure if anything was wrong. But she felt anxious, as if they were somehow out of sync.
Dawn slept fitfully and awoke very early. She saw a stream of light beneath her door and heard someone moving downstairs. Slipping on her terry robe, she padded down the staircase. In the living room, the Christmas tree lights had been turned on, and Brent was sitting on the sofa, staring moodily at the tall evergreen.
“Is something wrong?” she asked, coming into the room.
“I didn’t mean to wake anyone,” he said guiltily.
She sat beside him on the couch. “What’s wrong, Brent? Please tell me.”
He turned his face toward her, and she saw his sadness instantly. He said, “I can’t stop thinking about my sister.”
Twelve
D AWN longed to make Brent’s hurt go away. “I’m sorry if what Rhonda said at the mall about being my best friend upset you.”
He shook his head. “That’s not it. I mean, I know how you felt about Sandy, and I’d never expect you not to have other friends. And I don’t want you to think that I think about my dead sister all the time, because I don’t.” He shrugged and gazed back at the tree. “Maybe it’s just ’cause it’s Christmas.”
“How do you mean?”
He didn’t explain right away, but when he did, his voice sounded thick and soft. “Our family’s always been big on Christmas. When we were younger, we never had a lot in the way of presents ’cause we never had a lot of money. But we kids never noticed. Mama and Daddy put on a fine celebration. All the kids would sneak into my room on Christmas Eve, and we’d talk half the night about what Santa might be bringing us.
“I had a flashlight, and we’d make a tent under the covers and talk about how rich we’d be when we grew up, and how we’d take turns coming to visit each other different Christmases in our mansions.” Dawn saw a soft smile cross Brent’s face. “Sandy always said she’d have a big white house with a red roof and a big green lawn with a lake in the back. She said she’d have enough bedrooms so that we’d never have to share like we did in our house. And that she’d even build a little house out back for Mama and Daddy to live in when they got really old.”
In her mind’s eye, Dawn could see Sandy’s dream perfectly. It caused a lump to form in her throat, knowing that her friend’s dreams could never come true.
“She used to talk to me about getting married,” Dawn offered. “She said she wanted a big family.”
Brent nodded, making the reflection from the tree lights bounce off his blond hair. “That first Christmas . . . after Sandy was gone . . . well, that was the hardest one. We went through the motions. We tried to do all the things we usually did for the holidays, but without her, it just wasn’t the same.”
Dawn’s heart was breaking for him. She knew exactly how he felt. She had cried off and on for months after Sandy died. It hadn’t mattered where she was or what she was doing. If
“Gee, maybe she didn’t see us,” Rhonda said with a silly grin. “Oops—my mom’s signaling to me. Got to run.” She waved good-bye and made her way toward the Christmas tree.
“What was that all about?” Brent looked puzzled.
Bemused, Dawn shook her head. “Believe me, Rhonda defies explanation.”
He took a long swig from his cup. “So, she’s your best friend?”
“I’ve known her since the fifth grade, and she’s pretty much always been there for me.” She stopped herself short, realizing whom she was talking to and why he might be asking.
Sandy had been her best friend
. She didn’t want Brent to think her disloyal. “Not like Sandy, though. Look, all this noise is giving me a headache. Why don’t we head for home?” Dawn grabbed her cup and purse and stood up.
Slowly, Brent rose beside her. “Sure,” he said. “This place is bugging me, too.”
He was quiet all during supper. She wasn’t sure how to break through his silence. She wasn’t even sure if anything was wrong. But she felt anxious, as if they were somehow out of sync.
Dawn slept fitfully and awoke very early. She saw a stream of light beneath her door and heard someone moving downstairs. Slipping on her terry robe, she padded down the staircase. In the living room, the Christmas tree lights had been turned on, and Brent was sitting on the sofa, staring moodily at the tall evergreen.
“Is something wrong?” she asked, coming into the room.
“I didn’t mean to wake anyone,” he said guiltily.
She sat beside him on the couch. “What’s wrong, Brent? Please tell me.”
He turned his face toward her, and she saw his sadness instantly. He said, “I can’t stop thinking about my sister.”
Twelve
D AWN longed to make Brent’s hurt go away. “I’m sorry if what Rhonda said at the mall about being my best friend upset you.”
He shook his head. “That’s not it. I mean, I know how you felt about Sandy, and I’d never expect you not to have other friends. And I don’t want you to think that I think about my dead sister all the time, because I don’t.” He shrugged and gazed back at the tree. “Maybe it’s just ’cause it’s Christmas.”
“How do you mean?”
He didn’t explain right away, but when he did, his voice sounded thick and soft. “Our family’s always been big on Christmas. When we were younger, we never had a lot in the way of presents ’cause we never had a lot of money. But we kids never noticed. Mama and Daddy put on a fine celebration. All the kids would sneak into my room on Christmas Eve, and we’d talk half the night about what Santa might be bringing us.
“I had a flashlight, and we’d make a tent under the covers and talk about how rich we’d be when we grew up, and how we’d take turns coming to visit each other different Christmases in our mansions.” Dawn saw a soft smile cross Brent’s face. “Sandy always said she’d have a big white house with a red roof and a big green lawn with a lake in the back. She said she’d have enough bedrooms so that we’d never have to share like we did in our house. And that she’d even build a little house out back for Mama and Daddy to live in when they got really old.”
In her mind’s eye, Dawn could see Sandy’s dream perfectly. It caused a lump to form in her throat, knowing that her friend’s dreams could never come true.
“She used to talk to me about getting married,” Dawn offered. “She said she wanted a big family.”
Brent nodded, making the reflection from the tree lights bounce off his blond hair. “That first Christmas . . . after Sandy was gone . . . well, that was the hardest one. We went through the motions. We tried to do all the things we usually did for the holidays, but without her, it just wasn’t the same.”
Dawn’s heart was breaking for him. She knew exactly how he felt. She had cried off and on for months after Sandy died. It hadn’t mattered where she was or what she was doing. If
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