Jewelry

Nana had given away her jewelry at the gift exchange - pieces no one had ever seen. There was the necklace from the soldier pen pal who'd never come home; the promise ring from the one she'd seen through and released back into the wild; the best of this and last of that when love was alive. She was quiet and spent more time than usual looking out of the window and offering the world a tender smile. "Nana, is there anything you need? You didn't eat much at dinner and I'm nervous about that," Esme eventually said (on behalf of her sisters). Nana asked for bourbon with cherry cordial; Esme left and returned within moments. "My dear," she said with a bright smile. "Dickens wrote the Ghost of Christmas Future to be terrifying, but it is not the future you need to worry about. It is the Ghost of Christmas Past who is utterly irresistible as the years go on. It plays back every moment of beauty you've ever had - every gorgeous fleeting second when love outdid itself and the light in your eyes was undeniable. Every year, I see her blink in and out of houses, dressed to the nines, the most welcome of guests; this year, she turned and waved to me on her way to the Duponts. It was all that I could do not to run from the house and take her hand." "Don't be scared, Nana," was the only thing Esme could think to say. "And don't be ridiculous, my precious girl," came the reply. "I've done some things ... well, my highlight reel would break Instagram." The Ghost laughed at that one. "That's the spirit!" it whispered, moving through walls to keep its next appointment.