Calls for Christmas

Chapter Two

One Year Later/Christmas Eve

I watched Charlotte and the twins in amusement as they bounced around the cluster of presents at the base of Alice’s Christmas tree. Like every year, my friend had outdone herself in the decoration department, and it looked as if Charlotte had taken after her mother’s sense of style. Apparently, the seven year old had arranged the indoor Christmas display all on her own, a point she had stressed when she’d led me on a grand tour of the living room, with its various streams of garland and lights.

I was touched that Alice had invited me to celebrate Christmas at her house this year. Despite her insistence that I might as well be her sister, I still felt like an intruder as I watched Alice, Jasper, Alice’s brother Emmett, Rosalie and the kids interact with each other. I was the outcast, curled up alone in a rocking chair in the corner. It didn’t help knowing that Edward could have been here as well, with his being Alice and Emmett’s brother, but according to Alice he hadn’t shown up for Christmas since the divorce.

“Can’t I open just one, Mommy?” Charlotte pleaded with Alice when her mother entered the living room with a tray of hot cocoa. Alice shot me an exasperated look as she handed me a mug of chocolate. I smirked. Charlotte had been making the same request for the last hour.

Alice turned to the girl. “I told you Charlotte, you have to wait for Christmas.” She sighed, ruffling her daughter’s hair as she crossed the room to where Rosalie and Emmett were cuddled up together on the loveseat. She gave them their cocoa and went to sit by her husband, Jasper, on the couch. She pecked him on the lips and snuggled into his chest, ignoring the titters from her daughter and nephews. I sighed and looked down into my hot chocolate. Usually their displays of affection didn’t bother me, but Christmas Eve held particularly painful memories for me and my heart throbbed as I watched the two couples.

“But why?” Giving up on Alice, Charlotte turned to her father, clambering up on his knee and sending him her best ‘lost puppy’ look. It was an exact replica of her mother’s, and she knew Jasper couldn’t resist it. I chuckled quietly as I watched him cast a frantic glance between his wife and daughter, trying to decide who he’d rather please.