Read Writing a Wrong for Free Online Page A

sane was the fact that Olivia would be with me during the first leg of the trip, and Mom volunteered to fly to the West Coast for the latter part of the trip to spend some time with me. Her college roommate lived in San Francisco, and she thought it would be a good opportunity to catch up. My agent lived in Northern California, so we would be getting together as well. If I could make it that long.
    I tried to keep my apprehensions to myself as much as possible, not wanting Alec to worry. It was no secret that he was battling his own demons over my trip. He came home one day with four canisters of pepper spray, which I was pretty sure wouldn't make it through airport security, but I kept that tidbit to myself.
    Somehow during the next couple of weeks, we managed to finish all the preparations for the trip and made it to Christmas Eve without any meltdowns. Lily had come over to spend the evening with us, and we laid out cookies and milk for Santa, along with a sprinkle of glitter on the patio for his reindeer.
    "Are you sure he'll know I'm here?" Lily asked as we arranged the last of the cookies she had baked earlier with Mom on the special Santa plate we picked out together at the store.
    "Positive. He's smart that way. One time my family was on vacation in Hawaii during Christmas and he found us, even there. That's what the glitter is for," I answered. Lily had been excited after hearing the news that she would be spending Christmas Eve with us, but the idea that Santa wouldn't know where to leave her gifts was a big worry on her mind. A call to her mom, Candace, helped reassure her, especially after Candace told her she'd leave a note for Santa, just in case.
    Lily nibbled on her lip as she weighed my words. "He really found you?"
    I ruffled her hair. "Yep, and he brought me the doll I wanted so badly."
    "I want an American Girl doll," she reminded me. "I've been a really good girl." As usual, she sounded older than her five years.
    "You have been," I agreed. I knew for a fact that the doll would be waiting under my tree for her in the morning. Alec had special ordered it months ago after studying the catalog for days. We finally settled on one that had blue eyes and long blond ringlets like Lily's. I even ordered matching outfits for the two of them. I joked with Olivia that the doll outfits were almost as expensive as Lily's, but I couldn't resist ordering a few. Candace bought the doll bed and wardrobe. My family even got into the action and bought every accessory she could want from the catalog. Dad ended up having to reel Mom in when she got a little too out of hand. Needless to say, Lily was going to have a very merry Christmas, and I was thankful I was going to be a part of it.
    "Who wants cookies and hot cocoa?" Alec asked, carrying a tray of goodies from the kitchen. His hair was still wet from his shower, and he was wearing the Simpsons Christmas pajama bottoms I'd bought him a couple weeks ago. They were intended to be a joke, but Alec instantly took to them and wore them all the time.
    "Me!" Lily jumped up and down with excitement. She laced her fingers through mine and dragged me toward the coffee table where Alec sat with a plate of cookies. "Me too," I said with equal amounts of excitement. Lily plunked herself on my lap when I sat cross-legged in front of the table. I wrapped my arms around her in a squishy hug. In the few months since I met her, I'd grown quite fond of the three-foot-nothing bundle of activity. She was too adorable.
    Alec switched on the television and found a station that was showing classic Christmas cartoons. Lily and I made our way through our share of cookies and then climbed up on the couch with Alec to snuggle after he turned all the lights off but the Christmas tree. Lily held out as long as she could, continuing to chatter away until she fell into an exhausted slumber.
    "Is it wrong that I'm almost as excited for tomorrow morning as she is?" I whispered over her head since she was