Southern Lights: A Novel

Edward and Alexa were staying at the Hotel Carlyle for the Thanksgiving weekend, and they were planning to see his son and daughter again the next day. Sybil and her three younger children and husband were going to their house in Connecticut for the weekend. They were a busy group. But it turned out to be a wonderful weekend. They went to dinners and movies with his kids, went for walks in Central Park and to the Guggenheim and the Museum of Modern Art. By the time the weekend was over, they were all friends, and she told Savannah all about it. She missed her, but Savannah sounded happy. And Luisa hadn’t ruined Thanksgiving for her, which was something. Daisy was thrilled to have her home. Henry had brought his “roommate” Jeff, and Savannah loved him too.

Muriel was in shock when she got back from her cruise and Alexa told her who was coming to drinks on Christmas, and how many of them.

“Are you kidding? They won’t even fit in my apartment.” Muriel sounded panicked. But she wanted to meet Edward and see him with Alexa. And she was curious about his ex-wife and children too. She read all of Sybil’s books.

“Yes, they will, Mom,” Alexa reassured her. “It’s just for a drink, and they’re very casual people. Actually, to tell you the truth, they’re certifiably crazy, except for the kids, but they’re a lot of fun. I think you’ll like them.”

“You sound happy,” Muriel said in a tender tone.

“I am,” Alexa said softly. “He’s a wonderful man.”

“Do I hear wedding bells?” her mother asked, getting excited. Being the wife of a senator sounded good to her. And a good man for her daughter sounded even better. It was time.

“No, just happy bells,” Alexa said. “I don’t need to get married. I did that.” And got burned too badly to do it again was the rest of Alexa’s sentence, but she didn’t say it. And Edward wasn’t Tom. There was nothing weak or dishonest about him. He was a totally straightforward, decent man.

“That’s how I feel about marriage,” Muriel said. “But I’m a lot older than you are, and I can’t see the point. At your age, you should be more courageous.”

“Why? I’m happy like this.”

“If he’s a good man, you might be happy married to him too. Just don’t rule it out. You never know how you’ll feel about it later.”

“Maybe,” Alexa said, sounding unconvinced. Marriage scared her, and probably always would.

When the Senate recessed for Christmas, Alexa took a week off, and they flew to New York. Savannah was staying with her grandmother and Stan, and Alexa and Edward checked into the Carlyle again, as they had over Thanksgiving. She took a room there for Savannah too, who was going to stay at the hotel with them. And Turner was coming up the day after Christmas. They were going skiing in Vermont over New Year’s with their friends, and Edward and Alexa were staying in the city. Alexa was loving her job too.

On Christmas Eve, Sybil arrived with her small army at Muriel’s apartment. The only ones she didn’t bring were the parrot and the dogs. She had all five children and John’s girlfriend, who had come with him from London again. Brian had brought his niece unexpectedly, and two grown children from a first marriage Alexa hadn’t known about, and they all crowded into Muriel and Stan’s apartment and drank eggnog and champagne. Muriel told Sybil how much she liked her books, Brian and Stan talked about favorite old movies and fly-fishing, John and his girlfriend were talking to Savannah, and Ashley, Edward’s daughter, was fighting with her boyfriend in California on her cell phone and crying. It was total chaos, and Alexa stood back, watching it with Edward, and laughed.

“My family has certainly grown. Last Christmas was just me, Savannah, and my mom. Stanley came by after dinner, he had to visit a sick friend.”

“What do you like better?” Edward asked her honestly. “That or this?”

“This,” she said without hesitation. “It’s so alive and so happy and so loving.” And the next thing she knew, her mother had suggested they order Chinese takeout and camp out in her kitchen and on the living room floor. She had put a small turkey in the oven, which they could eat the next day. Sybil and her troops loved the idea and voted to stay, and scrap their own dinner at home, which Sybil said was a mess anyway.

The young people sat on the floor in Muriel’s living room. The grown-ups sat in the dining room, which only seated eight. And somehow it all worked. It was the best Christmas Alexa had ever had, even better than the good days in Charleston.

They left Savannah at her mother’s for one more night, and Edward and Alexa walked to the Carlyle as it started snowing. They sang “White Christmas” together off-key and he stopped on the street and kissed her. It was the happiest Christmas of her life, and he felt the same way. He had loved being married to Sybil in the beginning. But this was better, it was more grown-up. And sometimes Sybil was a little too wild, even for him, although he loved her dearly.