While a breakfast of freshly cooked bacon and eggs cooled on her plate, Helen thought to check her social media accounts. She quickly scrolled past the last-minute sales from independent brands as her money was already promised to other people. She mildly liked the posts of her acquaintances, chewing the bacon thoughtfully. At last she came upon the post of one of the few friends from college she stayed in contact with, Desta.

Currently, Desta was on vacation with her family in Thailand. Her latest post was a photo of her, braids coiled into a top bun, round oversized glasses switched for a pair of square oversized shades, bright smile framed by brilliant purple lips. A colorful sundress flowed from her dark shoulders, pushing her to the foreground of a tropical landscape. Helen commented with compliments aplenty.

She had considered telling Desta of her plan, if not to seek advice, then to at least tell her about the man that could murder her on the slim chance. But Desta looked like she was having such a good time. Helen didn’t want her to worry. Besides, she was on the other side of the planet. By the time Desta could get help, Helen could have been dead already.

As the morbid scenario played through Helen’s head, her mouth wrinkled not from under-seasoned egg. Her better judgment barked furiously. Helen would tell her a partial truth. Swiping through her phone, she opened a messaging app she knew Desta checked regularly. Helen explained to Desta that she would be inviting one Joaquin Quartermain to spend the holidays with her family, and that they would be driving up to her aunt Lori and uncle Chuck’s house together and back. She ended the message with the line: “Just so you know, in case I go missing or something.” A heart punctuated the end.

Helen immediately closed the app once she confirmed the message was sent. Her stomach fell to the floor when a distinct ping called her attention. Bracing for a berating from Desta, Helen winced as she checked the notification. It was for a new email reply. Her stomach reinstated itself.

Joaquin had read her instructions and responded with a note thanking her punctuated with two thumbs up. Attached to the reply was a version of the contract completed with his signature. She breathed a sigh of relief between chunks of bacon in her teeth.

Now she could unwind a few of her nerves, start packing, and formulate conversation topics for the coming week. She expected her extended family would dump an avalanche of questions on her, but she was unsure if she would have answers to all of them. Helen was certain this would be the first time in forever that she would be in the spotlight.

For most of Helen’s life, they always considered her as seconds, which was fair since she wasn’t Chuck and Lori’s child. But with the passing visits over the years, she and her parents seemed to be increasingly regarded as the guests that came for free food and not guests of honor.

Chuck and Lori had the nice house, the successful kids, the money. Helen’s parents had calluses and middle-class complacency. Over time, Helen did just enjoy the free food. She had let go of the idea of a big happy family as she and her cousins aged and drifted apart. She also noticed in her father’s eyes the love for his brother waning.

Helen shook these bitter thoughts from her head. Hopefully Joaquin would inject some lively distraction into the crumbling condition gilded by the thin joyous facade of a Christmas gathering.

From her closet Helen picked her best clothes, hoping to impress Lori’s fine tastes. She thought of Joaquin and how rough he looked. But the Haliday men weren’t exceptionally well kept either. He would fit right in. The one that was most aligned with Lori’s aesthetic was Jacob McAllister, her new son-in-law. Jacob came from old money and had been sailing since he was five. He was what Lori wanted for her own children. She could only hope that her grandchildren would live like that.

The phone dinged from her desk. Helen casually picked it up before dropping it on her bed. It was the berating from Desta. For the rest of the weekend, Helen did her best to explain to Desta her position and all the precautions she’d taken. It was a long conversation, hours separating messages sometimes because of the time difference. But Desta finally acquiesced on the condition that Helen must respond to check-ins every day she was with Joaquin.