Chapter 5: Tinsel and TruthWhen Tess woke up the next morning, it was to an empty bed. She stretched out across the mattress, her hand skimming over an indent in the memory foam where Colette had slept. It was still warm, she must have left right before Tess woke up.
Tess buried her head back in the pillow and sighed in contentment. It’d been months since she got to lie in two days in a row, and the feeling was magnificent. Gone was the near constant lethargy, the grogginess of a pre-coffee morning, and in its place was another slow, happy day. If she was honest with herself, Tess was enjoying this holiday way more than expected, way more than she’d to admit to Elsie, when she eventually spoke to her sister again.
Slowly, Tess opened her eyes. The curtains were open, revealing a white, s
