19644d8eebdf42e4b611005d94748ece

“Mommy, can I come, too?” Paisley asked, her tail wagging so fast that it was little more than a black blur.

“She can’t talk to us in front of Mags, genius,” Octo-Cat said, looking bored with the whole thing.

Mags smiled at me, probably wondering why I had suddenly stopped talking when the animals entered. Let’s just say it was incredibly hard to keep my secret from her, especially considering she was family. Still, the fewer people who knew, the better. And I didn’t know if she would even believe me. I didn’t want to send her screaming back to Georgia and ruin our relationship with the rest of the family before we even got the chance to meet them.

Just one more week to go. I could keep my secret for that long…

Um, right?

Chapter Two

Mags looked absolutely adorable wearing my Santa-print dress. She complemented the look with a fuzzy white beret and then asked for my help applying that new cranberry stain to her lips and a bit of blush to her cheeks.

“Selfie time!” she cried, maneuvering her phone to capture a photo of us from several angles.

“Wow, we really do look alike,” I said when she showed me the resulting pictures. Despite her fairer coloring, we both had the same brown eyes, perky nose, and heart-shaped face. She had the perfect poise of a supermodel while I had somehow managed to give myself a triple chin and the viewer a front-row view straight up my nostrils.

This right here was why I didn’t find myself addicted to social media the way so many others in my age bracket tended to be. I’d much rather be behind the camera than in front of it, but if given the choice, I’d go for no cameras at all. I could thank being raised by two newscasters for that.

“You’re way more photogenic than me,” I mumbled as Mags texted our selfie to a few family members back in Georgia. I hadn’t met any of them yet and wasn’t super thrilled with the awful photo being one of their first introductions to me.

“It comes with lots and lots of practice,” Mags revealed with a coy smile. Unlike me, she seemed much more comfortable interacting with people online as opposed to in person. “I’m on screen a lot for my candle-making videos, so I’ve learned my angles.”

“Girls!” Nan called from the bottom of the stairs that led to my bedroom tower. “Ready to paint the town red? And green?” She chuckled at her own joke as she moved down the grand staircase and into the foyer.

Mags looked to me for confirmation as she stuck her phone into her small handbag and pulled at the hem on her borrowed dress.

A huge smile crossed my face as I yelled,“Coming!”

Mags, the animals, and I pounded down the two flights of stairs to the foyer where Nan had relocated to bundle up in an eclectic assortment of bright pink winter wear.

Nan pulled out a tiny brown jacket and knelt to the ground.“Paisley, come here, you sweet dog!”

The Chihuahua ran, her whole back half wiggling with joy.“Yes, Nan. Coming, Nan. I love you, Nan.”

While she called me“Mommy,” her greatest loyalty definitely lay with Nan. I’d asked her about that once, and she said that she couldn’t remember what it felt like to have a mother since she’d lost hers when she was still too young to remember. Since Nan insisted on being calledNan by everyone who knew her—and because she couldn’t communicate with Paisley the way I could—the little dog had taken to referring to me asMommy.

She stood mostly still now as Nan worked her legs and head through the little brown jacket, which upon closer inspection was actually a reindeer costume. The hood had two tall, erect antlers that put Paisley off balance somewhat as she hopped away from Nan and attempted to prance about the house.

“Mags, you look lovely,” Nan said as she straightened back into a standing position. “And you’re well-matched to Paisley in that Santa dress, which is good because I’ll need you to keep an eye on her while we’re out.”

“Oh, are you not coming?”

Nan shrugged into her hot pink coat lined with black faux fur around the collar and cuffs.“Of course I’m coming. But I need both arms for hugging all my old friends who only journey home for the holidays. Paisley will have a much better time with you.”

I stepped forward and grabbed Octo-Cat’s neon green leash and harness from the back of our coat closet. He hated having to wear it, especially since he’d gotten better about being off leash during our outdoor adventures. Unfortunately for him, I’d be with Mags the whole time today, which meant I couldn’t use our ability to converse to keep him in line.

At the end of the day, safety won every time, which meant the harness was non-negotiable. Of course, that didn’t stop my cat from trying.

“I’m not wearing that,” he said, glaring at me as he spoke. “Last time you put it on me, Santa Claus got murdered. And before that, you granted me a favor in exchange for my compliance. That was a long time ago, so as far as I’m concerned, you owe me a whole new favor if you expect me to wear that thing today.”