Chapter 16: The New Year
Sam had never been a big fan of Christmas, and this year’s celebration only served to reinforce her dislike for the glitter and hype that seemed to be an American tradition. She loved surprising people with gifts, especially Emily and Dax, but the rest of the production just got on her nerves. All four kids wanted to have a tree and some decorations, so Barry took charge of the project, and the large, rambling house ended up festooned in lights, complete with plastic Santa. It all seemed annoyingly fake to Sam, especially with such strange problems on her mind—secret problems she had to try and deal with totally on her own without disturbing the daily life of her family.
And she had, thus far, managed to keep her personal “stuff” from intruding on the kids’ lives
