Today I’m going to share a snippet from my upcoming holiday novel, “A Covid Christmas Story” I can’t wait to share the novel with the world. But for now, enjoy and let me know what you think!
“I can’t believe this!” I exclaimed as everyone was heading to their rooms.
“What?” Sally asked me, annoyed.
“Well, everyone tested positive. Nobody can leave this house for two weeks.”
“You can’t be serious?” My daughter cried. “I am not missing my date this weekend. It’s my first date! And I’m supposed to go shopping with Karen’s family Sunday. You can’t keep me here locked up for that long. I’ll go crazy!”
“Sucks to be you!” Zach taunted his older sister and then laughed. “I’ll be in my room.” As he walked away, he was still laughing at her.
“Moo-oom! You’re just going to let him be mean to me like that?” Sally whined.
“Sweetie,” I said, exasperated. “That’s the least of our problems right now.”
“Oh, leave him alone.” Josh said to me, “He’s just being a kid.”
“Oh, suddenly you have an opinion?” I snapped at him.
“You know what, I’ll be in my room too. I’ve gotta call Karen anyway.” Sally disappeared down the hall, always quick to dodge an argument between Josh and me.
“Don’t take your anger out on him. It’s not his fault.” Josh said to me, ignoring Sally entirely.
“Like you even care?” I crossed my arms over my chest and stared at him, my frustration bubbling into anger.
“Of course, I care. They are my kids too.” Josh stepped toward me as though challenging me to disagree.
“Oh yes, like I could ever forget. Nobody would know since you’re never involved in anything but work.” I held my ground and stared at him.
“Well, someone has to pay the bills, Amanda.”
“You’re right, and my savings accounts haven’t helped. It’s been all you, all along.”
“Might as well. You don’t spend that money on anything we need.” That was a lie, and he knew it, but he didn’t back down. This man hadn’t bought groceries, school supplies, or clothing in a decade.
“We don’t NEED a 60-inch flatscreen, Josh. We don’t NEED a thousand TV channels that nobody watches. We don’t NEED brand new cars every other year.” We’d had this conversation before and gotten nowhere then as well.
“Well, that didn’t stop you from picking out your new Navigator just six months ago.”
“The day after you picked out a shiny new Escalade EXT. Yes, if you’re getting a new truck, so am I.”
“Exactly my point. And now, we have to spend Christmas stuck in this house together because you couldn’t handle home-schooling the kids anymore. God knows we all got it from that school.” His words burned in my head, and I couldn’t hold my temper any longer, despite my best efforts.
“Are you sure we didn’t get it from your girlfriend?” Josh stopped and stared at me for a minute as emotions flashed across his face.
Alright guys! That’s all for today. I look forward to sharing with you again in the future.
Until next time,
Cathy Marie Bown
Cathy Marie Bown 