Part 15

A chilling wind blows against your face as you step out of the car. You blow against your hands in the hopes of reviving your frozen fingers. The sun had long since set as you made your way home through the dusting of snow covering the road. It had been snowing constantly for days, and while the road was barely covered in white you could see deep banks of the telltale sign of the season piling up in the yards around you. Each home adorned with lights gave a warmth to the serene beauty of the wonderland that the snowfall had brought. You pull yourself back to reality as you begin to untie your purchase from the roof of the car. You wrap your load under your arms and trudge through the snow towards your home. With each step you're pricked in the side by the heavy weight you're carrying in your arms, like tiny needles against your flesh. You reach the door, set down your burden, and begin fumbling with your keys when the door swings open. There, standing in the entrance to your home, is your angel, her eyes lit up like a Christmas tree at the sight of you and the parcel you had lugged from your car.

You make your way through your home, careful not to drop what you had been carrying. You sit it down in the center of the living room. As you glance around the room you notice all the trimmings and trappings of the holiday prepared for your arrival. "I can't believe you brought home such a big tree," she says as she inspects the towering green behemoth. You scratched your head as you looked up at the tree which nearly touched your roof. "I wanted our first Christmas together to be special. My excitement got the better of me." You could see in her eyes how much those words meant to her. The year had passed like a whirlwind since the two of you met; dates, talking for hours, first kisses, romantic nights, fights, all seemed to shine brightly in your memory as if they were just yesterday. Just her presence had made the scant days since the two of you met seem like the most important ones of your life.

"Shall we get started?" you ask, looking to the menagerie of bright baubles, lights, and tinsel laying scattered around the room waiting to add their brilliance to the tree. You watch as she begins decorating the tree with childlike glee, humming a Christmas tune to herself. For the first time in a long time, you feel the warmth and love of a home. With just those small gestures, harkening back memories of childhood, you feel your throat clench and your eyes begin to water, a bitter-sweet feeling of times long forgotten. You wipe your eyes, reminding yourself of the joyous feeling this season is meant to bring, and as your vision clears you see her staring at you with a smile that feels to you to embody the warmth you felt in your home. At the edge of her eyes you catch a glimpse of tears forming. She had felt the same sense of family that had felt so distant.  Not a word is spoken between the two of you as you continued to decorate the tree, but your hearts cry out for one another. She reaches out and grabs the last piece: The star that you had bought specifically for this day.

Holding the star in her hand she looks to you with a smile and asks, "Honey, could you get me a chair or something to stand on to put this up?" Returning her smile in kind you wrap your arms around her waist and with a quick motion you lift your love towards the heavens to return the star to its rightful place high above you. Your actions are met with a shriek and giggling as she raises the symbol of your first Christmas together and places it atop the tree. Her warmth and weight in your arms serving as a reminder of the happiness this year with her had brought you, and born from nothing more than her presence, a hope of many years to come.

With your arms wrapped around her waist still holding her up in the air, you begin to feel your knees buckle and her weight shift, causing you to stumble backwards, still holding her in your arms. The two of you land safely on the couch behind you, illiciting an echoed laugh from the both of you. Now sitting in your lap she wraps her arms around your shoulders and locks her eyes with yours. In the most boisterous voice you can muster you ask with a smile, "And so what would you like for Christmas, little girl?" In reply and with a gaze that strikes at your heart with the same intensity that she had captivated you with, she says, "It's not even Christmas yet, and I've gotten the best gift I could have ever asked for," and with those words you feel her lips press against yours.

As she pulls away her gaze drops towards the earth and her face is covered in a slight blush. No longer able to meet your gaze she pulls your head against her body; you feel the supple flesh of her chest pressed against you and the erratic beating of her heart fills your ears. Her attempts to hide her embarrassment only make the situation that much worse for herself. She stutters out, "T-there's mistletoe above us... I had to do that." You break free of her grasp and as you do you reach into your pocket and pull out a small sprig that you had bought as a joke and hold it above your head, "What will you do if there are two?" Her face turns deep red as you pull yourself up and kiss her. Your emotions boiled over. Your kissing becomes more passionate with each passing second. As you pulled apart, your hearts fluttering and your breathing ragged, her eyes met yours and through the red veil covering her face all you could see is your own reflection; her view as transfixed on you as yours was on her. Love truly is the gift that keeps on giving, and the one thing no Grinch can ever take away from you.