Seated in the large leather chair by the crackling fire was Oscar. He also wore a Christmas sweater. His was decorated with a stag with candelabras of antlers standing proudly on a mountain. Appropriate, Christina thought, Oscar was the leader of the herd.

Her Inner Christina cheered: Mimi must have been thrilled to sell so many sweaters!

“Sit here, next to me!” Wink invited, patting a sofa cushion.

Christina sat, cradling her book bag in her lap. “I brought presents for everyone.”

“Wait!” Wink cried. “You have to open your present from me first!”

“Don’t be bossy,” Delia told her daughter. Turning to Christina, she said, “But yes, you really should open your present first.”

“I’ll get it!” Wink scrambled to the floor, took a large present from under the tree, and handed it to Christina.

It was a Christmas sweater. Penguins and polar bears wearing Santa hats danced over the crimson acrylic between snowflakes sparkling with sequins.

“Thank you, Wink!”

“Put it on, Christina!”

Christina slid the sweater over her head. It was loose, and the neckline was itchy, but she declared that she loved it and would wear it every Christmas. Wink glowed with pride.

“Hello, everyone.” Janice came into the room, carrying a tray of drinks. “Champagne for the grown-ups, pink 7Up for Miss Wink.”

Andy jumped up. “Let me help you with that.”

“I see you got your Christmas sweater,” Janice said with a grin.

“Yes,” Christina said, modeling it for her. “I see you got yours, too.”

“I wore it this morning when I had Christmas with my mother and daughters,” Janice said. “My girls made the Christmas dinner and it was like old times. Tonight I’m getting my second Christmas.”

Janice’s sweater was a stunning purple embroidered with Christmas packages, each package tied with bows of green, red, and blue. Looking at it, Christina was extremely thankful she wasn’t hungover. Janice winked at Christina and left the room.

“May I give out my presents now?” Christina asked Wink, who seemed to be the master of ceremonies this evening.

Wink was wriggling with excitement. “Sure!”

“Why don’t I hand them to you, Wink, and you can be my elf and deliver them.”

“Yay!”

Delia got an enormous jigsaw puzzle of the island. “Wink, you can help me with this!”

Oscar’s present was a game of Nantucketopoly, with a board like Monopoly, but each bit of real estate a business on Nantucket. Christina’s toy store wasn’t featured, nor were any of the sheds—they were too insignificant.

Wink received the gorgeous book about the mermaid. “Thank you, Christina!” She threw her arms around Christina and hugged her.

“Here, Wink. This is for your father.” Christina held out an extremely small present wrapped with a large bow. It was only a pack of cards backed with a map of Nantucket, but she thought Jeff would understand.