her who he was.
“ You’re saying you’re not Marcus?”
“Well, according to my birth certificate my name is Marcus, just not Marcus Silvin.”
“Is the part about being a friend of Joe’s true?”
“100%”
“But Joe only ha d only one friend named Mark?”
“You never knew me as Mark.”
“Oh.”
It couldn’t be. Mark couldn’t be—although she’d come up with that thought herself. She’d even laughed at the idea. No. It was too mortifying. She hoped it wasn’t true. After the insulting things she’d said about—
“Matchstick. Are you Matchstick?”
“Yes.”
“Mark, I mean Matchstick—I mean Mark—I feel terrible.“
“Don’t worry about it. You didn’t say anything about me that wasn’t true.”
Madeleine didn’t know what to say.
“Why don’t we save this conversation for when we’re both a little less tired? How about dinner tomorrow evening?” Mark suggested.
“I can’t. Office Christmas party.”
Madeleine hated her office Christmas party.
“Oh.”
“I really do have to go. Believe me, I’d rather spend the evening with you. I’m sorry.”
There was an obvious question hanging in the air. If she wanted so badly to spend the evening with him, why didn’t she invite him to go as her date? It wasn’t like she already had a date lined up. No, she wasn’t ready for that.
“How about later ? After the party? I can come by your house,” Mark suggested.
Madeleine would come home after Sadie, her regular sitter , had put Emily to bed. That should work. Her no-men-in-the-house-when-Emily-was-home rule was getting shot to pieces, though.
” OK. How about 11:00? I’ll slip out of the party early.”
Three Days Until Christma s
Mark’s day started out badly. It had snowed during the night and he had to shovel a path down the dock before he could take Festus out for his walk. When he returned from his walk, there was a message scrapped into the frost on wind-shield of his car.
CHRISTMAS EVE. DON’T FORGET.
Kristen. It had to be Kristen. He snapped a photo of the message. It didn’t amount to much. On its own , it was hardly threatening.
He had to decide what he was going to do about Christmas Eve. He’d get up early Christmas morning to drive out to the Olympic Peninsula to spend Christmas with his parents and assorted relatives, but his family had no Christmas Eve tradition. He certainly didn’t plan on sitting at home all evening waiting for Kristen to show up.
Festus. Whatever he did, he’d have to make sure Festus was out of harm’s way. He didn’t think Kristen would hurt a dog, but he wasn’t sure enough to wait to find out. Festus hated Kristen and he suspected the feeling was mutual.
Mark wondered what Ami and Madeleine did for Christmas Eve. Their parents were dead. Ten years ago that coming Easter. Car accident. Ami, Joe and Madeleine had all been devastated by the loss, but Mark suspected that Madeleine had had the worst time recovering. Over the years, Ami and Joe had made several comments about how responsible Madeleine felt for her younger siblings. They might all be grown-ups now, but Madeleine still felt it was her role to keep the family close.
They still had grandparents in town. They probably went there. He shouldn’t be thinking about what Madeleine was doing for Christmas. Even as well as things had been going—at least up until yesterday evening—it was too early to think about spending a holiday together.
Maybe he’d go to a hotel and take Festus with him. That’s what he’d do . He hoped he wouldn’t come back to find all his windows broken out, or worse. Frankly, Kristen scared the hell out of him.
He’d figure something out. In the meantime, he needed to talk to a friend. It was already midnight in Hong Kong, but Joe was a night owl and this was an emergency. Joe picked up after the 8 th ring. He sounded happy to hear from Mark, although it was obvious that Mark’s call had woken him up. They chatted
“ You’re saying you’re not Marcus?”
“Well, according to my birth certificate my name is Marcus, just not Marcus Silvin.”
“Is the part about being a friend of Joe’s true?”
“100%”
“But Joe only ha d only one friend named Mark?”
“You never knew me as Mark.”
“Oh.”
It couldn’t be. Mark couldn’t be—although she’d come up with that thought herself. She’d even laughed at the idea. No. It was too mortifying. She hoped it wasn’t true. After the insulting things she’d said about—
“Matchstick. Are you Matchstick?”
“Yes.”
“Mark, I mean Matchstick—I mean Mark—I feel terrible.“
“Don’t worry about it. You didn’t say anything about me that wasn’t true.”
Madeleine didn’t know what to say.
“Why don’t we save this conversation for when we’re both a little less tired? How about dinner tomorrow evening?” Mark suggested.
“I can’t. Office Christmas party.”
Madeleine hated her office Christmas party.
“Oh.”
“I really do have to go. Believe me, I’d rather spend the evening with you. I’m sorry.”
There was an obvious question hanging in the air. If she wanted so badly to spend the evening with him, why didn’t she invite him to go as her date? It wasn’t like she already had a date lined up. No, she wasn’t ready for that.
“How about later ? After the party? I can come by your house,” Mark suggested.
Madeleine would come home after Sadie, her regular sitter , had put Emily to bed. That should work. Her no-men-in-the-house-when-Emily-was-home rule was getting shot to pieces, though.
” OK. How about 11:00? I’ll slip out of the party early.”
Three Days Until Christma s
Mark’s day started out badly. It had snowed during the night and he had to shovel a path down the dock before he could take Festus out for his walk. When he returned from his walk, there was a message scrapped into the frost on wind-shield of his car.
CHRISTMAS EVE. DON’T FORGET.
Kristen. It had to be Kristen. He snapped a photo of the message. It didn’t amount to much. On its own , it was hardly threatening.
He had to decide what he was going to do about Christmas Eve. He’d get up early Christmas morning to drive out to the Olympic Peninsula to spend Christmas with his parents and assorted relatives, but his family had no Christmas Eve tradition. He certainly didn’t plan on sitting at home all evening waiting for Kristen to show up.
Festus. Whatever he did, he’d have to make sure Festus was out of harm’s way. He didn’t think Kristen would hurt a dog, but he wasn’t sure enough to wait to find out. Festus hated Kristen and he suspected the feeling was mutual.
Mark wondered what Ami and Madeleine did for Christmas Eve. Their parents were dead. Ten years ago that coming Easter. Car accident. Ami, Joe and Madeleine had all been devastated by the loss, but Mark suspected that Madeleine had had the worst time recovering. Over the years, Ami and Joe had made several comments about how responsible Madeleine felt for her younger siblings. They might all be grown-ups now, but Madeleine still felt it was her role to keep the family close.
They still had grandparents in town. They probably went there. He shouldn’t be thinking about what Madeleine was doing for Christmas. Even as well as things had been going—at least up until yesterday evening—it was too early to think about spending a holiday together.
Maybe he’d go to a hotel and take Festus with him. That’s what he’d do . He hoped he wouldn’t come back to find all his windows broken out, or worse. Frankly, Kristen scared the hell out of him.
He’d figure something out. In the meantime, he needed to talk to a friend. It was already midnight in Hong Kong, but Joe was a night owl and this was an emergency. Joe picked up after the 8 th ring. He sounded happy to hear from Mark, although it was obvious that Mark’s call had woken him up. They chatted
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