He was certain his mom didn’t go to this much trouble when she had Christmas. Or maybe she did and he just wasn’t aware of it.

He picked up his phone and dialed. His mom answered on the second ring.

“Hi, Gavin.”

“Hi, Mom. How’s it going?”

“It’s going very well. I’m making a coconut cream pie. And how’s it going over there?”

“Elizabeth is losing her ever-loving mind.”

“Really. What’s going on?”

He filled her in on Liz’s craziness over the past few days, including his current trip to the grocery store to buy some crazy cheese and the repeat trips to buy things he’d already bought.

“Be patient with her, Gavin. This is her first time having the family over and she wants everything to be perfect.”

“I don’t remember you being stressed-out about having the family all these years.”

“Well, not after doing it for thirty-some-odd years. But the first time I had Christmas for your father and his family? I broke out in hives and threw up the night before. Your poor father had to give me whiskey on Christmas Day just to calm me down.”

He couldn’t imagine his never-ruffled mother being afraid of anything. “You did not.”

“I did. I imagine what’s bothering Liz is just nervousness. She wants to satisfy everyone’s tastes, and unfortunately, that’s impossible to do. I’m going to finish up this pie and then drop by and see if there’s anything I can do to help, providing you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind at all, and I think you can do a lot to ease her mind. Thanks, Mom.”

“You’re welcome.”

After he hung up, he went to the store, got the cranberries and the damned cheese he couldn’t pronounce. Then he stopped at the liquor store to buy yet another couple bottles of that wine that they’d undoubtedly have on hand until the end of time.

When he got home, Liz was bent over her laptop at the kitchen counter studying something in an online cookbook. He stored the wine and put the cheese and cranberries away. His first thought was to go hide in the basement again, but instead, he came up and kissed her on the cheek.

She lifted her face and frowned. “What’s that for?”

“For having the family over tomorrow. I know this isn’t easy for you and you’re going to a lot of trouble to do it.”

“Gavin, I love your family. They’ve been my family for even longer than you and I have been together. You know how much I’ve been wanting to do this.”

“I know. But I don’t want you to be stressed about it.”

She laughed. “Not much you can do about that. It’s a big deal to me and I want everything to be perfect.”

He was about to tell her that perfection was overrated, though she likely wouldn’t have listened to him anyway, when the doorbell rang.

Liz looked like she was about to have a panic attack. “Oh, shit. Who could possibly be here?”