Chapter 12

"I'm home," I called out, as I closed the door behind me. 

I heard footsteps and then mom appeared before me. She gave me a huge smile and pulled me into a warm hug. 

A wave of relief washed over me, and my anxious thoughts and throbbing heart relaxed momentarily. I found myself smiling as I hugged her back. 

"You must be tired," she said, pulling away. "Did you have your dinner?" 

I nodded, smiling in the most convincing way I could manage. I did not dare tell her that I had eaten a mini cupcake with great difficulty and washed it down with some black coffee. That had been literally the only thing that I had eaten all day. 

"Are you sure? You look completely washed out." Her forehead creased and she raised a questioning eyebrow at me. 

I chuckled, shaking my head. "Come on, Mom. Now let me go rest, please. It's Saturday tomorrow and you know how the weekends are for me."

She bit her lip. 

Her hesitancy did not sit well with me. I frowned. "Mom? Is there any problem?"

She fidgeted with her fingers. "Why don't you come into the den? Your Dad and I need to discuss something with you." 

I nodded and followed mom into the den.

Dad was seated on the couch, engrossed in his phone. On seeing me, he immediately kept it aside and got up to give me a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. 

"What do you have to discuss with me?" I asked, once we were all comfortably seated. 

Mom and Dad shared a look. Their expressions made my stomach churn with dread.

"Ira, we are really sorry. We know that you're tired and that this is not the right time to talk about this." Dad began. "But we are quite short on time here and ultimately this decision of ours is in your good interest."

I sucked in a sharp breath but remained quiet, hugging the cushion in my lap tightly. 

What was going on? 

"It's December, Ira," said Mom, giving me a sympathetic look. "You know that we have two family dinners with Uncle David's family every December before Christmas." 

My knuckles turned white. I did not know how to respond to that. I had conveniently and foolishly forgotten about those dinners. 

Since decades, it had been our family tradition to gather together for a family dinner every month. This tradition had been maintained well until grandma's death seven years ago. Then differences began to increase between Uncle David's and our family, so the dinners reduced to thrice a year. 

Then after Nana's death, for the sake of his wishes, we continued with the family dinner tradition but reduced it to two dinners a year, both in December and before Christmas. One dinner was hosted by us at our house and the other by Uncle David's family at their house. 

There was no need to mention what a traumatizing event those dinners were for me, especially when Sierra was present. And she was usually always present because she made sure to always come back to Emberhill for the December holidays. 

My face paled. 

Wait. 

December. 

Sierra. 

Jace. 

Like cold water dumped on my head, the realization hit me. 

This was December. This was the time for Sierra to visit Emberhill. And this was why Jace had told me about his relationship with her. Because Sierra was coming. 

Hell. 

Hell. 

Bloody hell. 

"Ira? Ira, are you all right?" I heard Dad asking. 

I blinked. "Huh?" 

My eyes focused on Mom's worried face and Dad's anxious eyes, and I snapped out of my shock. 

"Yes, yes, I'm fine, please continue," I said. 

"Are you sure? You look—" Dad started to say.

I cut him short, flashing a weary smile. "Just tired. That's all."

"Okay, then what we were saying is that Sierra is coming back on Monday," said Mom. 

Monday? This Monday? Like in two days? 

What the hell… 

"And we were thinking that maybe we should finish hosting our dinner this Sunday. Any later and Sierra would be present. Then you would have to deal with her during two dinners," said Dad. 

"Yes. Dealing with one is way better than dealing with two. What do you say?" asked Mom. 

"Why can't we just not deal with it altogether? No dinners at all?" I blurted out, then quickly caught myself on seeing my parents' helpless faces. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

It was not just my parents. I loved Nana and I would never have the heart to discontinue a tradition that he loved so dearly. 

"It's fine," I said. "Let's host the dinner this Sunday. I completely agree with your decision."

Mom and Dad looked relieved. 

"Then I will call up David tomorrow," said Dad. 

"And we can discuss the menu, Ira," said Mom. 

I nodded with a smile, although my heart cried amidst the excruciating pain of a thousand constant pin pricks. 

Sierra was coming on Monday. 

Jace was already here. 

My life is doomed.