22
Nick must have dozed off sometime after midnight, because he woke up on the couch covered by a blanket, and all the lights save for the tree had been turned off.
He blinked and focused on the glowing display of the cable box.
3:30
Eight-thirty in London already. He watched his mom’s small tree, lit up in all colors, the garland winking with the lights, and zoned out. It was a miniature of the sort of tree they used to have when he was a kid. It had been years since his mom had bothered with anything bigger than this fake little one she kept in her closet the rest of the year.
New Year’s had always been their big family holiday, but the last few years Zoyka had abandoned them to spend it drinking with friends, in true American spirit, while Nick stayed behind with his mom and Lena a
