In a Holidaze

As Mae’s lifelong friend, Andrew is warm, playful, and charismatic. Mae repeatedly emphasizes that his kind personality is matched by his good looks. When she considers abandoning her romantic hopes, Mae thinks balefully, “How does one move on from a man so kind of heart and fine of ass?” (9). Andrew works in technical audio at Denver’s Red Rocks concert venue, and Mae says that “[m]usic is entwined with his DNA” (100). Andrew is also playful and loves to joke. When Mae becomes disoriented by the repeating holiday, Andrew entertains her by describing their families and histories together. Throughout the vagaries of the time loop, Mae gradually comes to realize that Andrew is frustrated with the stagnant holiday traditions of their childhood and sees them as a metaphorical return to perpetual adolescence. With his support, Mae takes on a more adult role in the celebrations, helping with chores and tasks rather than relying on their parents. In these scenes, Andrew plays a key role in developing the novel’s thematic focus on The Tension Between Childhood Nostalgia and Adult Responsibility.

Andrew clearly respects and appreciates Mae but is taken aback when she admits to having romantic feelings for him. Andrew has long believed that Mae had feelings for his brother, Theo, who is closer to her in age. As Andrew eventually confesses, “I never knew you were an option” (150). He immediately insists that however passionate he and Mae feel, they must also be honest about what they want. He is infuriated by the revelation that Mae has been repeating the holiday and that this alone spurred her decision to pursue him. He believes that he cannot trust the authenticity of her new self-assertion, especially since she originally kissed Theo without ever admitting how she felt about Andrew himself. Andrew therefore forces Mae to consider the nature of her own agency. When Mae finally tells him that he has always been the future she wants, Andrew forgives her, and the two reconcile and pursue a successful relationship together.

Andrew’s younger brother, Theo, is athletic and far less cerebral than Andrew, though he and Mae have always been close friends due to their similar ages. Theo is not typically interested in serious relationships, and his family teases him for his devotion to casual dating and his avoidance of commitment. Mae is furious with Theo when he ignores her after they kiss, and she realizes that his new coldness is “the Theo most girls see” (12). Mae eventually reflects that on her original holiday vacations, she spent more time with Theo than with anyone else, and she realizes that this dynamic may explain why the others believe she has feelings for him. She comes to resent Theo’s childish and overly sex-oriented humor.

Theo is resentful and angry when he discovers that Mae and Andrew are seeing each other, and he runs away from her rather than talking about the conflict. This behavior underlines his relative emotional immaturity and validates Mae’s instinct that he has never been the right person for her. Later, Theo apologizes, explaining that he was merely surprised by how serious Andrew’s feelings seemed to be; his admission suggests that he is not quite as shallow as Mae assumed him to be. Mae’s choice to reconcile with Theo underlines her commitment to her own maturation and to the broader well-being of her chosen family.

Benny is close friends with both Mae’s and Andrew’s parents, along with their other college friends, Aaron and Kyle. Their generation has been celebrating Christmas together at the Hollis family cabin for decades. Benny therefore occupies a key emotional role in Mae’s life, serving as a confidant and supporting her in ways that her own parents could not. He encourages Mae to consider the purpose of the time loop and is supportive when he sees that she is embracing her own desires and preferences the more often it repeats.

Benny comforts Mae as much as her own parents do when she thinks that her relationship with Andrew has ended. When she confides that she might want to save the cabin with her own funds, he reminds her that he is newly wealthy himself. Benny explains that Mae’s honesty with him about her time travel has led him to ponder what he truly wants in life. Benny therefore adds more depth to the novel’s focus on The Interplay of Fate and Personal Choice, and he admits to Mae that without her foreknowledge, he might have hesitated to take the bold step of buying the cabin. In the Epilogue, Benny is content in his new surroundings, and it is clear that Mae’s journey has benefited the entire found family.