Mistletoe Between Friends by Samantha Chase

daughters, Megan and Lisa, and their husbands, John and Michael, and then to Cam and Lily and Lily’s sister, Beth, and her husband, Kevin, before finally focusing on the senior Cavanaughs with a smile. “We’re breaking tradition this year for the first time. We’ve rented a place up in the mountains to spend Christmas week and New Year’s!” All of the adult children looked at one another and then their parents, and mass confusion ensued as everyone began asking questions at once.
    Jack Cavanaugh stood and tried to quiet everyone down. “Now, we realize some of you here have in-laws you will want to spend part of the holidays with, and we understand. The house is ours for ten days, and you are free to come and go as you please. But we’re hoping you’ll want to spend a lot of that time up there with us. We have the house from the twenty-third to January first, and it would be wonderful if we could enjoy some quality family time after all these parties,” he said with a laugh.
    â€œWell, we know Cam and Lily will be there the whole time because the only in-laws they have are us!” Angela said with obvious delight. “We’ll be able to spend time talking about what your plans are, and—not to put too much pressure on you—we can maybe talk about engagements and weddings and all of that good stuff.” Mary readily agreed and threw in her own two cents on how she saw them spending time with the couple and helping them plan their future.
    Cam felt ill, and Lily wanted to run screaming from the room.
    â€œUm…” Lily interrupted and raised her hand. “I don’t think I’ll have the whole week off, Dad. Especially after taking this week to go to New York.”
    â€œOh, for crying out loud, Lily,” her sister, Beth, said with a hint of irritation. “It’s not like you have a real job. I’m sure the coffee shop will run fine without you. Get a grip.”
    Cam literally felt Lily shrink beside him as she simply nodded and bowed her head. He loved the Cavanaughs; they were a second family to him. But he had listened to them all dismiss Lily for years, and he’d never understood why. Furious with himself for never speaking up before, Cam knew that even as her pretend boyfriend, he needed to do it now.
    He turned directly to Beth. “And why exactly isn’t it a real job?” Before she could answer, Cam cut her off. “I mean, she goes to the coffee shop. She has a schedule. She works her shift, and she gets paid for the work she does. Tell me, Beth, how is that not a real job?”
    â€œWell…um…” Beth stammered, looking around the room for someone to back her up. Usually her parents would, but they were remaining surprisingly quiet.
    â€œLily may not go to an office to work, but that doesn’t mean what she does is any less important. Instead of giving her life to a company, she tries to find the things that give her pleasure so she can actually enjoy her life.” He looked around the room now with condemnation. “We could all learn something from Lily. How many family dinners were missed because of work? How many school events did you skip because of your jobs?” Finally, he turned to Lily.
    â€œYou are an inspiration because you are out and experiencing life while the rest of us experience the four walls of our offices. I, for one, am proud of you.” Leaning in, he kissed her on her forehead and then leaned back and put his arm around her to pull her close. With one last sweeping look around the room, he asked, “Anyone else have a problem with Lily needing to work a couple of shifts that week?”
    Everyone shook their heads in stunned silence. “Good,” Cam said with a nod. “I’ll probably have to work a couple of days myself, but I’ll be sure to line my schedule up with Lily’s so we can enjoy our time together with all of you.”
    Only