Chapter 10: Christmas Day Maneuvers
The downstairs part of the house is toasty warm; Poppi must have started a fire when he first got up. In fact, he must have been awake and downstairs while Lenore was still in my bed. I look at Jazz, silently drinking a diet soda at the table; he must have realized the same thing. He and Ashley both look like they’re about to be sick.
Poppi looks happy, in spite of the power outage. Lenore must have explained her absence in the wee hours of the morning in some way that Poppi believed.
He spots me and calls out, “There she is! Merry Christmas, Nik.”
This is the moment of truth. I have to be able to do this. Thankfully, Lenore is currently nowhere in sight.
“Merry Christmas, Poppi. To everyone,” I say, looking around the table. Aunt Janice is wrapped
