After dinner, I help my mom take the dishes into the kitchen. Jenna’s still in the dining room, finishing her peas, and my dad has the television blaring in the living room, but I keep my voice low just in case. “Can you watch the Bean tonight?” I ask my mother. “I need to do a little Santa shopping, if you know what I mean.”
“I’d love to.” My mother gives me a wide grin and winks. “I think Beanie has a few gifts she wants to wrap out of her father’s sight, anyway. We can get those under the tree while you’re gone.”
I place the dirty dishes in the sink and run the water to wash them off. “Great. I have a few things in mind I want to pick up, but was there anything in her letter I should know about?”
From amid the clutter on the counter, my mother plucks a small, folded note written on t
