We spent it at Dad’s house, the way we always did. Jenna and Mike came, along with Mike’s parents. Jenna’s wedding was set for June. She’d asked Lily to be the flower girl. Lily had practiced throwing petals in Dad’s hallway every Friday night since October.
Before dinner, we did the ugly sweater exchange.
It’s a family thing now, not just Ethan and me. Everybody has to bring one. Jenna got Dad a sweater with a turkey wearing sunglasses. Dad got Mike one with a flamingo in a Santa hat.
I’d gotten Lily one with a horse on it. A purple horse wearing reindeer antlers, with real jingle bells sewn onto the antlers. She shrieked when she opened it and put it on immediately over her dress.
Then it was Ethan’s turn to give me mine.
He handed me a box wrapped in newspaper. He always wraps things in newspaper. He says it’s environmental. I know it’s because he can never find the tape.
I tore it open.
Inside was the ugliest sweater I’d ever seen. It was bright green and enormous, with a lumpy snowman knitted on the front. The snowman was cross-eyed. He had a carrot nose that was sewn on crooked and a little black top hat.
“Oh my God,” I said. “Ethan. This is horrible.”
“Thank you,” he said proudly.
“Where did you even find this?”
“Lily helped me pick it,” he said. “We went to six stores.”
“Seven,” Lily said from the floor, jingling. “Daddy forgot the one by the dentist.”
I held the sweater up. Everyone laughed. Dad took a picture.
“Put it on!” Lily said. “You have to put it on! It’s the rules!”
So I pulled it over my head.
That’s when I felt something in the pocket.
