I shrugged my shoulders. I wasn’t about to explain the Nick situation. “’Fraid not.”

“Well, I’m not going to pretend my heart hasn’t broken a little.” She leaned back in the armchair. “I love love. Always have, always will. But love at Christmas, well, it’s just something…magical, isn’t it?” I made a noncommittal noise of agreement—that’s exactly what I thought. “And far be it from me to put ideas in anyone’s head, but…” She paused. “I haven’t seen my grandson this happy since… No. I just haven’t seen it. Plain and simple.”

Sorry, what? Her grandson?

I shook my head. What little was left of my brain wasn’t following. “I think there are some crossed wires here, Dottie.”

“So you haven’t seen Nick with a spring in his step? A big smile on his face?”

“All I’ve seen is him being very patient with me—hoping for me and my Christmas-obsessed ways to be gone. I think Elle made him my surrogate babysitter as I dragged him around everywhere.”

“You really think so?” She took one more sip of tea. “From what I heard from their father, it’s been Nick making all the plans. In fact, wasn’t Nick the one who made all those calls to pull those strings to get you into that fancy schmancy party in Brooklyn?” He did what?! I thought that was a fluke?

“But I thought he hated all that stuff?” She must have got mixed up.

“Is that so?” Dottie pushed herself slowly up and out of the chair. I reached over to help, but she brushed me away. “The day I can’t get out of this chair is the day I want to be left in it. Now…” She lowered her voice. “Can you keep a secret?”

“I’m not sure I can handle any more.” I said it as a joke, but Dottie chose not to listen. Turns out she wanted to sneak me to see something in her room. I already knew what to expect, as I’d seen in some other open doors along the corridors. My main takeaway was, “Who knew brown could come in so many shades?” For a fellow Christmas enthusiast, I had a feeling it might make me a bit sad.

But when Dottie opened the door to her room, it wasn’t what I’d expected at all.

It didn’t come close.

It. Was. Incredible.

“Dottie?! You live in a…grotto!” She beckoned me to follow as she shuffled in. There was a small tree on her table, lights strung up all around her bed. Her sheets were cute polar bear ones, and there was an actual sack of presents by her drawers.

“Only Charl, and some of the nurses and cleaners, know. Isn’t it glorious?”