Christmas Dinner - Cheryl J. McCullough

“Christmas Dinner” is the finale of the “Hattiesville Trilogy.” It picks up immediately where the second episode ends. The first installment, “The Wedding Party” introduces the characters and the fictional town of Hattiesville, North Carolina, a suburb of Charlotte. It ends with an unanswered question and disturbing news.

“Absent…One From Another” picks up three years later, answers the question, and introduces a few new characters; whose lives are entangled in the lives of the characters we already know. 

“Christmas Dinner” wraps it up, and ties it neatly with a bow. The package is full of heart break, revelation, contemplation, regrets, lies, and even love. The theme throughout the story is relationships and how fragile they can be, the importance of nurturing them, and of making good decisions. The characters we have come to love, become friends and a part of our lives. In the midst of past loves, past hurts, kidnapping, terminal illness and sibling rivalry they show us their resolve.  But this is not necessarily “happily ever after”… the story and the trilogy end with a surprise.