She wiped her cheeks.
“Renee thinks you donated the money because you were angry.”
“I know.”
“She doesn’t understand.”
“Neither did I, at first.”
We sat quietly for several minutes.
Then Pat took my hand.
“Come to Christmas dinner with me.”
I hesitated.
“Renee specifically asked me not to come.”
“Then she made a mistake,” Pat replied firmly. “And I’ve made mistakes too. We’ve all been hiding things instead of talking.”
I looked at her.
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.”
I thought about Lily’s message.
Then I smiled.
“I’ll need to stop at home first.”
“Why?”
“There’s a pecan pie waiting in my refrigerator.”
Pat laughed through her tears.
“That’s Renee’s favorite.”
I smiled.
“Then perhaps this Christmas isn’t over after all.”
Part 4: The Christmas dinner nobody expected
We stopped at Pat’s apartment to prepare the turkey breast she’d received from Westdale.
