In memory of Nicole Lewanski

Listen to me
!” I
screamed, my fists banging at the sides of my head in frustration.
“Audrey, calm down—they can hear you out there.”
“Don’t you 
dare
tell me to calm down!” I was breathing hard now. I knew Zoe
and Duck could probably hear every word I was saying, but I was beyond caring.
“I’m your mother, Audrey. I know what’s best for you even if you can’t see it
yourself.”
A cold rage filled my body. I grabbed the nearest plate from the kitchen
counter and hurled it at the floor. It smashed into pieces.
My mother looked stunned. “Audrey, what are you doing?”
I picked up another plate and threw it at her feet. She jumped, startled. The
door swung open, and Dad came in. “What’s going on?” He looked from me to
my mother to the broken plates on the floor. My breath was ragged. I had the
crook of my forefinger coiled around my rubber band.
“Come on, Audrey.” Dad took my arm and walked me toward the back door.
He turned and glared at my mother, shaking his head.
When we got outside, he peered at me with an expression of concern on his
face. “What happened?”
“It’s Mum,” I said. My breathing was a little less patchy, but I was sobbing. I
gulped, wiping the tears that were now streaming down my face. “I didn’t know

---

she invited Duck and Zoe.”
“You didn’t?” My dad looked genuinely surprised. “Your mother said it was
your idea.”
“Well, she’s a liar,” I spat. I couldn’t contain my bitterness.
A look of realization dawned on his face. He sighed. “Audrey, I’ll speak to her
tonight about this. I don’t agree with what she did, but I think she meant well.”
“How can you say that? Seriously, Dad.”
“I know she has a funny way of showing it, but your mother does love you,
Audrey. You have to believe that.”
I shook my head. “I don’t want anything to do with her anymore. She drives
me insane.”
“I know things have always been rocky between the two of you, but it’s
Christmas Day. Can you at least stay for lunch? Please?” He gave me a pleading
look. “Later you’re free to do anything you want.”
I looked at his tired, lined face and felt a pang of sadness—he had spent far too
many years caught in the crossfire between Mum and me.
I felt fresh new tears well up in my eyes. “Okay, Dad, I’ll stay for lunch.”
R
AD
CAME
BY
to pick me up later that afternoon. I breathed a sigh of relief when
I slipped into the passenger seat of his car. “Everything okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, it’s just my mum being a complete asshole as usual.”
“What happened?”
“Just the regular stuff. Let’s not talk about it, okay?”
He started the engine. “Okay.”
I didn’t want to tell him about the setup Mum had orchestrated. It seemed
unnecessary and would only hurt his feelings. He already sensed that Mum was
less than thrilled about our relationship.
“So where to?” I asked as we pulled away from the curb. I was starting to feel a
lot better.
He smiled at me. “I have a surprise for you.”
“I hate surprises.”
“You always like mine, though.”
R
AD
WOULDN
’
T
TELL
me where we were going, but I figured it out by the time
we were a few streets away from his place. When we got to his apartment, he put
one hand over my eyes. “Don’t peek,” he warned. I heard the key turn in the

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lock, and he guided me in with a hand on my waist. After a few steps, he said,
“Okay, you can open your eyes now.”
“Wow!” We were standing in his apartment with the shades pulled down.
Strung up around the room were multicolored fairy lights and tinsel. There was a
mini Christmas tree draped in candy canes on his writing desk in the far corner of
the room. Above his bed hung a foil banner that read, “BY GOLLY, BE
JOLLY.”
“What do you think?” Rad asked.
“Very festive!” I replied.
My eyes adjusted to the dark, and I caught sight of a small gift-wrapped box
under the Christmas tree. “I thought we weren’t doing gifts.”
“We’re not. It’s for me too.”
“You wrapped up a gift for yourself?” I teased.
“Just open it, Audrey,” he said dryly, handing it to me. I took the box and tore
through the wrapping. Inside were a box of chocolates and two DVDs—