A Wilde Christmas

Wynter groaned at her phone continuously beeping on the nightstand the next morning. She was already awake, she had been up for 30 minutes but hadn't even rolled over to get her phone. Her head was throbbing slightly, courtesy of the cups of Backwoods Punch that she drank. She had been trying to motivate herself to get up and go to the bathroom medicine cabinet for aspirin, but nothing she said to herself worked. The pain in her head wasn't worse than the thought of leaving her bed. Wynter stretched out to grab her phone and scrolled through her notifications as she relaxed. She liked all the birthday wishes she received on social media before checking her texts. When she saw she had a text from Jackson, a smile spread on her lips and she opened his thread immediately.

Jackson: Happy Birthday Wynter. How does 24 feel?

Wynter: Pounding head, aching stomach, and some dizziness. 24 sucks 🥹

Jackson: That's not your age. That's Backwoods punch

Wynter: 😭 Now you tell me

Jackson: Any plans for the day, besides being hungover?

Wynter: Hanging with the fam. Not sure what we have planned after that.

Jackson: Sounds fun. Do you remember our conversation from last night?

Wynter: I remember you owe me an Olaf plushie

Jackson: 🫠⛄ Anything else?

Wynter: lol yeah, something about you letting me make my own sober decisions about what I want.

Jackson: And what do you want?

Wynter: My hangover to go away... and discreet fun with you

Jackson: Gatorade, carbs, ibuprofen, and let me know what time we can hang out tonight

Wynter: Bet

Wynter was replying to the other texts she received when her door burst open.

"One time for the BIRTHDAY BITCH!" Liberty sang as she entered her room, dancing. Valentina and Grace followed behind her, carrying a food tray and a balloon bouquet.

"Happy birthday Wynter!"

They chorused as they set up breakfast in bed for her.

"Thank you." Wynter beamed, her hungover forgotten as she sat up. "Y'all didn't have to do all this."

"It's your birthday! Yes, we did. Now eat up. We gotta be out of here in an hour and a half to make our appointments." Liberty announced.

"Birthday cake pancakes, warm maple syrup, bacon, omelet, fresh fruit, mimosa if you want, coffee if you need." Valentina pointed out all the food on the tray propped in front of her.

"And your birthday sash, I know you wanna coordinate your outfit around it," Grace revealed the pink, white, and glittery sash.

"You know me well. I have a pink jogger set that will match perfectly. Where are we going?" Wynter asked, snagging a piece of bacon.

"We are having a day of luxury and beauty at North Park. Manis, pedis, eyebrows, and lash extensions for the ones that are willing" Liberty began, cutting her eyes at Grace. "And then a shopping spree at the bougie mall. And we can't go to Dallas without hitting up the Cheesecake Factory."

"That sounds perfect," Wynter said, pleased. Her mom always planned an adventure for her birthday. Whether it was a day road trip or going into the city for a movie and dinner, her mom made sure she did something special with her friends and cousins. When she moved to Houston, that stopped as it was hard to make friends being known as the girl whose mom died, thanks to her stepsister. Her stepmom also told her because her birthday was so close to Christmas, it was difficult to plan anything with all the events and parties they had to attend. She shook thoughts of them out of her head and focused on the present.

"Are we doing anything this evening?" Wynter asked.

Liberty, Grace, and Valentina looked at each other before Grace responded. "I'm sorry, I couldn't get out of the carriage rides. It was my idea and Grandpa couldn't get anyone else."

Wynter was going to tell her it was ok when Valentina spoke. "I have vendor meetings early tomorrow morning, so I couldn't stay out late."

"Same, the Farmer's Market starts tomorrow, so I need to be back tonight to ensure all the booths are set up," Liberty said, apologetically. "But, we all are free tomorrow night to go out!" Liberty declared.

"Girls, it's ok." Wynter smiled, sheepishly. "I actually wanted to make sure I'm back this evening to hang with Jackson."

"Jackson?" Valentina exclaimed. Grace only smiled at her and Liberty started singing Birthday Sex.

"He is leaving Lucky in January, so we decided to spend his remaining time in town hanging out, casually," Wynter explained, coolly as she continued to eat her breakfast.

"As long as you're happy," Grace repeated the same sentiments from the prior night.

"And safe," Valentina added, hintingly.

Wynter nodded. "Always."

They looked at Liberty, waiting for her reaction.

"What?" Liberty exclaimed, throwing her hands up. "I said my peace to you and him last night. It worked. You should be thanking me."

"Thank you for yelling at him? What did you say?" Wynter interrogated her.

Liberty smirked. "Does it matter? It worked."

Wynter let it go because it didn't matter. She and Jackson came to an understanding she was happy with and that's all that mattered. She sent Jackson a text letting him know she was available anytime this evening. When he thumbed up her message, she put her phone away to focus on breakfast. After finishing eating, Wynter took a quick shower and got dressed. She put on the birthday sash and was ready to go. Downstairs, her great aunts Amira and Sierra, cousin-in-law Mariah, Valentina's mom Sophia, Liberty's mom Christina, Grace's mom Alexis, and Grace's older sister Faith were all waiting for her to head to Dallas.

Wynter's heart warmed to see the women of her family eager and excited to spend the day with her for her birthday. They headed to the lash and brow salon. Wynter knew exactly what she wanted, so she went first while a few watched. Liberty, Valentina, Christina, Faith, and Alexis followed her lead, while Grace only got her eyebrows threaded. Mariah got her brows waxed, and her great-aunts were dismayed by the salon.

"Lasers and tattoos on your face? If you need all that, you should stay at home!" Sierra proclaimed.

"Or wear a paper bag, that would be cheaper than this." Amira cackled. Wynter shot her artist an apologetic look, but the artist smiled them off. When Wynter was done, she showed off the finished results.

"See aunties? Doesn't it look good?" Wynter asked.

"I guess, couldn't mascara and an eye pencil do the same?" Amira countered.

"This is no make-up. We can say we woke up like this." Liberty argued.

"Yeah, 100 dollars later." Sierra cracked.

Wynter shook her head and left it alone.

On their way to the nail bar, she received a call from Chase, her friend from TSU. He wished her a happy birthday and asked her plans for the weekend. They chatted a bit before he had to go and told her to check her banking app. She did and saw he sent her 50 dollars with a memo that read: If your nails cost more than this, you're doing too much

Wynter smiled and sent him a text thanking him. Once they were all set up at the nail bar, Wynter turned to the group of women.

"I wanted to talk to y'all about something." Wynter started. She got a little nervous when everyone turned to her, but she kept her face and voice neutral and explained her conversation with Janet and the notebooks her mom left her.

"Do you know if my mom left letters for me?" Wynter asked when she finished.

They all looked with various degrees of concern, except Amira and Sierra. Amira looked pissed while Sierra spoke up immediately. "Yes, she did. All Destiny did was write in those notebooks. Your daddy didn't give them to you?" Sierra questioned.

Wynter saw red. Of course, her father had something to do with the missing notebooks. It made no sense why he would keep her letters, but it hurt her immensely not to have them. He should have been her first suspect.

"No, I didn't know they existed until I talked to Janet. She said Mama believed my dad changed after moving to Houston, but why would he keep my letters? What could be the reason?" Wynter asked, dejectedly.

Grace took her hand and Valentina shot her a sympathetic look. Liberty opened her mouth to respond, but Amira exploded first.

"Who gives a fuck about his reason! Those letters are yours! I'm calling him right now and if he doesn't send them, we're ridin' to Houston!" Amira cried in a rage.

Wynter watched as Amira pulled out her phone. A minute later, they all listened as she went off on his voicemail.

"Charles Irving! It was just brought to my attention that you have the notebooks my niece wrote to her daughter. What kind of man takes the gift of a dying mother away from her only child? Only a low-down dirty son of a bitch would do some shit like that. You have 5 business days to get those notebooks to my address. That's USPS-certified mail with tracking so I know it's on the way. If your morally corrupt ass can't afford the postage, let me know so I can send it to your trifling ass. If I haven't heard from you or received the notebooks or tracking in 5 days, I will make the trip to Houston my-goddamn-self and give you, your wife, and that whore you raised the ass whoopin' y'all need. You hear me? Send the notebooks Charles!!!"

It took everything in Wynter not to smile, gleefully at the nasty tongue-lashing waiting for her dad when he checked his messages. Liberty didn't hide her pleasure at hearing Amira go off, but Christina, Liberty's mom frowned.

"You ever heard you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar?" Christina chided her.

"That's the difference between me and you- I don't catch flies, I exterminate them." Amira huffed, tossing her phone back in her purse.

"You should have asked Wynter how she wanted to handle it." Faith spoke up.

"Did you have a problem with how I handled it?" Amira turned to her.

"No, I preferred that you did. I just want the notebooks." Wynter confirmed. She had no desire to talk to her father and was comforted by the fact that Amira was just as upset as she was. Wynter couldn't help feeling guilty. If she had asked about her mother, she could have had the notebooks a long time ago. She hated that they never talked about her. "Why don't we talk about Mama?" Wynter asked them all, suddenly.

Amira calmed down and turned to Wynter. "Your granny for one. I will never understand the pain of losing a child, so I can't speak on that, but she was never the same after Destiny passed. And two, you never talked about her."

"I didn't?" Wynter asked, disheartened.

"Do you remember the funeral?" Sophia asked her.

Wynter was lost until Valentina continued.

"We told you you needed to say goodbye, and you screamed no and ran to the church," Valentina stated.

"When Granny tried to make you go back, you said that wasn't your mom," Liberty said, softly, watching her closely.

"Anytime anyone talked about her to you, you screamed." Faith recalled.

Tears welled in Wynter's eyes. She remembered being angry at her mom- it was part of the reason she decided to leave to stay with her dad. She didn't remember acting out like that.

"Oh honey, we all knew you were hurting and didn't know how to deal with it. Your dad said you were seeing a therapist and we were told not to push you and let you come to us." Christina added.

"When you came home, you were doing better but never talked about her. We let it be." Grace concluded.

Wynter shook her head, a single tear falling before she brushed it away. "I saw a family therapist, but they were more concerned about me blending into my dad's family than my grief. My dad's wife didn't even let me wear anything mama made. I never talked about her because no one else did." Wynter confessed.

"Well, that stops today. Your mama exists through you so you talk about her whenever you want, you hear me?" Amira told her.

"Yes ma'am." Wynter agreed, blinking back her tears. When they all watched her, Wynter gave them a forced smile. "I'm in desperate need of retail therapy or food. What's next on the agenda?" She changed the subject.

They decided on lunch as everyone could use a drink or food. The mood turned jovial as Amira complained about the huge menu selection at the Cheesecake Factory before hushing when the waiter brought out complimentary bread and butter. When Christina asked if Valentina would offer as many options or complimentary food, Valentina explained the concept of the restaurant being romantic and chic serving Mexican and soul food fusion. She passionately described it as homage to the love and honor her parents showed each other and their children. Valentina's mom Sophia joked she should offer complimentary chips and salsa, and everyone else began voicing their opinions on the menu and name. Valentina cut them all off and told them the menu and website were done, courtesy of Wynter. When Valentina showed them, they all praised Wynter, with no criticism at all. Wynter knew they were overly sensitive to her due to the conversation about her mom, and Wynter hated it.

After lunch, some of her family headed home, stating the lateness of the day and not needing to shop. Wynter, Valentina, Liberty, Grace, Alexis, and Mariah went to the mall. After some debate, they decided to wear all white on their night out. Wynter originally purchased a brown jumpsuit that matched her skin perfectly, but she changed her mind when Liberty showed her a gorgeous Balmain blazer. It was white and embellished with silver beads and crystal on the lapels. It would go perfectly with a snowflake tiara her mom made for her when she turned 10. She also bought a pair of Christian Louboutin metallic stilettos with crystal-embellishment that matched the blazer. Valentina sent her a wary look at the money she was spending, but a shopping spree was Wynter's tradition. She consistently received a cake and her dad's credit card for her birthday. Her dad was not footing the bill this year, but she bought herself something ridiculously expensive to make her feel better about the day.

When they got back to Lucky, Wynter thanked them all and went home to get ready to hang out with Jackson. She was so excited to escape the heavy energy she placed on the day by talking about her mama. All she wanted to do was relax and have fun with Jackson. He texted her to pack an overnight bag, so she assumed they were going to his place in Fort Worth. She packed her bag before hopping in the shower and getting dressed. She wore the brown jumpsuit she purchased with a matching cropped puffer vest to make it more casual for a night in. She finished the outfit with faux fur moon boots, gold hoop earrings, and a simple gold pendant necklace. She went natural with her makeup and picked a long, chocolate brown kinky-curl wig. She was taking photos of her look when Jackson called to let her know he was outside.

Wynter grabbed her bag and hurried out to meet him. It was quiet downstairs and even though it was early, she assumed her aunt was asleep and didn't disturb her to say goodbye. Jackson was waiting standing outside his stepdad's landscaping truck.

"Happy birthday." He greeted her, pulling her in for a hug. "You look amazing."

"Thank you," she breathed, inhaling his clean, masculine scent as she hugged him back. "You look amazing too." Wynter loved the black long-sleeved knit sweater he was wearing. It had alternating colored sleeves in red and beige and he paired it with black jeans and red and beige Jordans.

"I really want to go through your closet. It's my birthday; you should let me." Wynter grinned as he opened the truck door for her.

Jackson smirked. "You think you can do whatever you want because it's your birthday?"

"Duh!"

"By the time we get to Arizona, it won't be your birthday anymore, so that's a no." Jackson taunted her.

"Arizona? I thought your place was in Fort Worth." Wynter said, confused.

"No, that's my dad's place. He was in the Air Force and was stationed everywhere when I was a kid. He always kept the townhome in Fort Worth to visit me and Elijah. He does short-term rentals on the place now, but we can use it as long as it's not booked." Jackson clarified.

"Oh, ok. Why did you move to Arizona?" Wynter asked him.

"My current job. My first job was with a company I interned with in college. My supervisor and I bumped heads all the time. He wanted someone he could micromanage and thought I was overstepping him. I would solve problems before he even knew about them."

Wynter nodded. "So you're more of an ask for forgiveness than permission type huh?"

"Nah, I never asked for forgiveness either." He admitted, making Wynter smile. "I was a lot more arrogant back then and I'm sure he felt some type of way about me not falling in line, so he pushed me out."

"That's awful. He fired you?" Wynter asked, invested.

"He tried. He wrote me up and put me on a performance plan until I resigned. He wouldn't even let me work my notice period. He didn't realize only I handled the changes I implemented. The company had to hire me back as a consultant to train my replacement. I charged double my salary for 2 months."

"Cha-ching!" Wynter cheered and Jackson chuckled.

"Exactly. Thankfully, I wasn't the only person he ran out of the company. One of his ex-colleagues heard what happened and she recruited me. I was considering freelancing, but my boss allowed me to work remotely. We have offices all over the U.S., a few in Europe and Asia too if I ever have to be in office. My boss works in Arizona, so I onboarded with her there. I travel most of the time, but my home is in Arizona." Jackson explained.

"That's incredible. It must be amazing to do what you're obviously good at, but have the freedom to get up and go as you please." Wynter complimented him.

"It's got its pros and cons." He nodded. "What about you? Did you go to school for photography?"

Wynter snorted, then covered her mouth. "Uh, Sorry. Um, no. Why study photography when everyone has a camera on their phone?" Wynter quoted her dad, verbatim.

He looked at her strangely. "Weddings, graduations, birthday parties, anything involving children, all sporting events, most major life events, advertising, films. Do I need to continue?"

Wynter shook her head sadly. "No, but I wish you coulda been there with my dad when I was picking my college and major. He thought photography was more of a hobby than a career. I studied graphic design."

"Do you like graphic design?" He asked.

"Some aspects of it. I recently helped my cousin come up with all the visual designs for her restaurant. I always thought I would work for an agency or in-house marketing, but I've been hearing horror stories from my classmates trying to find a job or being burnt out with all the work they have to do."

"Freelancing is always an option, right? You're already building a portfolio." Jackson suggested.

"Yeah, I'm sure I could get 3 more gigs in Lucky. Maybe 1 that will pay." Wynter joked.

When Jackson didn't respond, Wynter changed the subject.

"So, where are we going?" Wynter asked. They had been driving for a while now and were still on the highway.

"A hotel, if that's ok with you."

"That's perfect. We've passed a few hotels already." Wynter pointed out.

"I don't do motels. Neither should you, especially on your birthday." He winked at her.

"Ok." She smiled, thrilled. "Imma sit back and enjoy the ride."

Wynter kept herself and Jackson entertained by playing DJ with the radio stations. After an hour, they pulled up at the Gaylord Resort in Grapevine, TX. Grapevine was known as the Christmas Capital of Texas and the Gaylord Resort was nicknamed "The North Pole of Texas." She could not believe Jackson brought her there to spend the night. She protested that it was too much as he searched for parking. He told her it was her birthday so there was no such thing as too much.