She had already chewed off all of her fingernails as she chose an outfit and did her hair. She spent a lot of time putting on a shirt, changing the pants, taking it all off and putting on something new. Her mom came upstairs to check on her, she said she was fine, and her mom paused in silence before leaving her room. When the doorbell rang, she jumped; she took a deep breath, opened the door, and slowly walked down the stairs.
He stood in the entryway with a woman. Her eyes darted toward the floor and she said nothing.
“Hello” he said, as he slowly approached her, also examining the tile grout.
He went in for a hug, and she backed away a step. He stretched out his hand and they shook. Behind the girl and her mom, back toward the living room, stood a tall Christmas tree covered in glitter, ornaments, and lights. The hallway was decorated with life size portraits of Santa Clause.
“I’m only in town for today, I’m just here to see your mom for this thing real quick and then I’ve got to get back to the family.”
She too was now staring at the tile. “So you won’t be here for Christmas?”
“No, I won’t be here for Christmas.”
“I just thought,” she paused for a second, looked up at her mom, and gulped air. “Nevermind.”
“Well, its been really nice to see you, kid!” He turned to the woman and put his arm around her. “We better be going and finding our hotel, now. You both have a merry Christmas!”
He shook the girls hand once again, her saying nothing. He went to shake her mom’s hand, too, but she stood arms crossed and silent. The man and the woman turned together, undid the bolt, and walked down the sidewalk towards their car.
The girl’s mom slammed the door behind them, and the bells hanging from the handle jingled.