A Sweet Christmas Romance
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The last of the guests left hours ago. The kitchen is finally clean and tidy.
I’m tired, but I can’t sleep yet. There are a few things I need to do before I go to bed. First, check on my daughter before she goes to sleep, then make sure everyone has been put to bed where they belong. If not, it’ll be an early morning tomorrow when everyone realizes they’re too wired for rest.
My husband’s snoring keeps me company as I go through my nightly routine—the one that includes making certain the kids get tucked in with their stuffed animals before turning out the lights and crawling into bed beside him.
When I look down at his sleeping face, something about the way he looks reminds me of another man who was once mine, a man that died two years ago in Afghanistan.
There is only one person in this world whose image comes to mind now, someone I thought would always be there for me, but isn’t.
My thoughts are interrupted by a sound from outside, a car honking its horn, which alerts me to the fact that I have guests again tonight. This time, it’s a group of young men dressed up like Santa Claus handing out bags of candy and wishing children a merry Christmas.
As they walk around the yard greeting people, I realize they’re here because we’ve been so kind over the past couple of nights, opening our home every evening to feed those in need. The boys don’t want any money, just to spread good cheer and give back.
It’s sweet and touching, but it also makes me feel guilty all over again. It’s as if our house has become a church. We open our doors to anyone who needs a hot meal or a place to rest for a while.
The door opens behind me, and the boys come inside without being asked. They all smile, joking with each other, laughing as they take off their coats. One of them sees me standing in the foyer and waves. “Merry Christmas,” he says as he comes toward me.
“Hello, guys.” I smile and step aside to let them pass. They follow my lead as they move deeper into the house.
One of them stops and looks at the Christmas tree in the corner of the living room. Then he turns to me. “We saw you decorating earlier, so we wanted to help.”
I laugh a little and shake my head. “I wish I could say I had the energy to do it myself, but I didn’t get started until today.”
He grins. “That’s okay. We did most of it. We brought the decorations for the outside, too. Do you mind if we hang up a few?” He holds out a bag full of ornaments, including a couple that isn’t even made anymore. I see my mother’s face smiling back at me.
She gave one to me right after I graduated from college—a red-and-white ball with a snowman painted on it. It’s the only ornament I have from her, but it holds a special memory.
“Go ahead,” I reply, taking the bag from him. “Anything to keep you busy during the night is fine with me.”
They move quickly through the house, hanging ornaments on the tree, then moving onto the banister leading to the second floor. One of them notices the angel on top of the fireplace mantel as they reach the stairs. They gather around the angel and start talking about how beautiful it is. “Can we fix it up so it looks better? Maybe add some glitter to her wings.”
When I laugh at the idea, the one named Matt takes hold of my hand and pulls me toward him. “Don’t worry, Mrs. Claus.” His eyes are warm and inviting when he meets mine. “We’ll make sure you don’t lose your shine when we’re done.”
It doesn’t escape my attention that they call me Mrs. Claus.
I nod, wondering why he feels comfortable enough with me to tease me like that. And what exactly are they going to do with that angel? I hope they don’t decide to put her under a bunch of tinsel and turn her into something tacky. If they do, I’ll have to tell them she doesn’t deserve it. That would be cruel and heartless, wouldn’t it? I smile and laugh quietly as I watch them begin to work.
It isn’t long before I hear the sounds of laughter coming from upstairs and know that they’ve been working together for hours to make our house beautiful for the holiday season. It warms my heart to see them having fun as they take on the task at hand.
“We should probably get back outside,” Matt suggests after a moment.
I nod and release his hand. He moves away from me and walks out the front door before turning back to face me. Before he goes any further, though, he places his hand on my shoulder. He gives me a gentle squeeze before saying, “Thank you for letting us help, Mrs. Claus.”
“You’re welcome,” I reply, unsure whether I’m thanking him or telling him no thank you.
His smile grows as he nods once more and turns toward the door. “Have a very Merry Christmas, Mrs. Claus.”
The other two boys join him and walk toward the front door, but not before stopping by the Christmas tree and grabbing an extra ornament. It’s obvious they planned to add it to the angel, but now that they think of it, maybe they can add it to another part of the tree instead.
They stand there for a moment, looking over the Christmas tree one last time before leaving my house. I wonder what they will do this evening. Will they stay here for dinner?
When the door closes behind them, I turn to look at my angel. As always, I’m struck by how beautiful she is, but it’s also strange to see her standing on my fireplace mantel without a single light shining from her wings. The way her head is cocked reminds me of the way my mother looked when she’d smile. My chest swells when I realize that she reminds me of her.
But that’s impossible.
No way can an angel remind me of my mom. They don’t exist in real life. There’s no such thing as guardian angels who watch over people and protect them like they’re supposed to do.
That’s silly.
Right?
I sigh heavily before making my way to the kitchen. I need a drink before I can go back to bed and try to fall asleep. The thought makes me chuckle as I open the refrigerator. It’s funny; I feel like my whole day has been a dream that I can’t seem to remember. But then again, maybe it was just a figment of my imagination.
I grab some leftover wine from our wedding anniversary and pop the cork before filling a glass almost half-full. Then I place the bottle down on the counter, turn on the radio, and lean against the island while sipping slowly. I close my eyes when the music begins playing, but I don’t listen to it.
Instead, I stare at the Christmas lights around the windowsill. They dance in time with the beat of the song, reminding me how beautiful things are when you slow them down enough.
I don’t know how long I’m there listening to the music, but soon, I find myself swaying back and forth, humming softly. When it stops, so do I, only to realize that I’ve fallen asleep sitting in front of the sink. I didn’t even notice that I was sleeping.
I must have been tired from everything going on earlier today. I rub the sleep out of my eyes before realizing I haven’t taken a sip of the wine. So, I lift the glass to my lips and finish it off before placing it on the counter beside me.
Then I stand up slowly and turn away from the sink before heading upstairs. I climb into bed and pull the covers over my body, but it takes me several minutes to finally drift off to sleep.
***
“Mommy! Look!”
I groan loudly as I roll over in my bed. I hate being woken up so early on Christmas morning, especially by my own children, but I suppose I should be happy they’re excited about the gifts Santa brought for them last night.
“What is it?” I ask groggily as I sit up and rub my eyes.
“Look, Mommy!” Matt shouts excitedly as he crawls under the tree in search of something hidden beneath the branches.
I shake my head at his behavior and chuckle lightly before sitting up straighter and peering around the tree to get a better look. What I see makes me smile big time. He found a pair of skis and ski poles in their original boxes under the tree. He had placed them right next to the tree after he put out his cookies and milk.
“Oh my gosh,” I gasp softly as I reach for a tissue to wipe my eyes. “How did you know? That’s amazing.”
He looks so proud and excited when I say that. His cheeks grow redder by the second as he runs over to hug me tight around the waist. He smells like snowflakes and vanilla, and when I hug him back, he laughs softly in my ear.
“Thank you, Mommy,” he whispers as he pulls away and looks into my eyes.
I nod my head quickly as tears fill my eyes. “It’s okay. You deserve these. And so do your brother and sister.”
Then I turn away, grab the box, and place it on the table where I can open it easily.
I lift the wrapping paper from its top and peer inside to see that the skis and poles were wrapped up tightly along with some new gloves. Then I pull out the note from Santa Claus and read aloud, “Matt – you can use these this year when we go skiing in Aspen with Daddy’s family.
I wish I could take you this year, but it just didn’t work out that way this time around. Be safe and enjoy every minute of it. Love, Santa Claus.”
When I finish reading, I glance back down at the box before turning my attention back to Matt who’s staring at me wide-eyed and excited. Then I hand him the note and a pen to write his response back.
After a few moments, he hands me the note with two hearts drawn next to the words, “Merry Christmas!” before running out of the room.
“Hey!” I call after him before standing up and following him down the stairs. “Where are you going?”
“To the living room,” he answers without looking back at me. “You want to watch a movie?”
“Sure,” I respond with a shrug of my shoulders before taking the note to add my own message for Santa. I fold it nicely before tucking it under a carrot that’s been hidden on the mantle and place another one there for Maxie and Lily. Then I take them both downstairs to see what they got from Santa too.
Lily has received a baby doll stroller, a high chair, and a diaper bag. It all comes with her favorite princesses’ clothes inside. She’s going to love it all.
Maxie gets a set of drums which she immediately goes over to play with. I smile at how happy she appears when playing the drum set. It’s almost like she’s practicing in the kitchen while she sings her little songs to herself.
“Mommy! Look!” she shrieks suddenly and points at her brother. “Daddy made it look like he went to the moon and came back home again!”
She runs over to show me the rocket ship model he made with a piece of cardboard and some tape. When I see it, I’m surprised at how realistic it is and wonder if I should be jealous because it seems like he took more time making it than he did the present he got me.
“Well done, Mr. Armstrong,” I tease lightly as I step closer to admire his workmanship.
Then I bend down and pick up Lily to carry her over to give Maxie her attention.
“Thank you, Mommy,” Maxie says shyly as she takes the baby from me carefully so as not to drop her. Then she sets her on the ground next to the box of gifts. “Here you go.”
She lifts off the lid and lets it fall back down to reveal a brand-new guitar and amp set along with a music stand. Her face lights up at the sight of all the things that Santa left for her, and then she rushes over and sits down on the floor beside the table so as to start opening the rest of them.
My eyes land back on Matt’s present once more, but I decide to wait until later tonight before I open mine. There’s no sense in ruining his gift by tearing into it now.
“Can I help you open them?” I ask Maxie as she holds the guitar case open with shaking hands while she stares at it with awe.
“No, please don’t,” she says in an eager voice and shakes her head rapidly. “Please let me open them all by myself. I need to do it.”
With a sigh, I sit down next to her and hold out my arm so that she can wrap hers around it for comfort.
“It’s okay,” I whisper against her soft hair. “Go ahead. Open everything slowly and carefully so you’ll get to play with each thing before you put it away or pack it up again.”
She nods quickly and then glances back at Matt who’s watching us closely. So she takes the time to unwrap each item and place it on the table next to us before opening the last box that’s still waiting underneath the pile of presents.
It contains a book, and she smiles up at me and grins happily when she sees that it’s one of the books from A Series of Unfortunate Events. “This is the last one. Thank goodness.”
I chuckle softly before glancing back to Matt. He’s grinning from ear to ear at the sight of her excitement and her happy voice as she reads through the book. Then he looks over at me and mouths, “You’ve gotta read it too. I love it.”
“What’s it about?” I ask curiously.
“Oh, my gosh,” she squeals as she stands up and spins around excitedly. “Do you know it? It’s a mystery adventure with lots of twists and turns and secrets! You won’t be able to stop reading it!”
“Really?” I laugh and shake my head. “That sounds amazing. What else is it about?”
“It’s about three orphans who find themselves in terrible trouble and then have to work together to figure out who killed their parents while they’re trying to avoid being sent to an orphanage.”
“An orphanage,” I repeat dumbfounded because it sounds like a horrible idea.
“It really is,” she assures me and scoots back over to sit with me again. “And it’s so cool. They go on adventures while figuring out why their parents were murdered.”
“I love mysteries like that,” I tell her with a big grin as I lean back and close my eyes. “I think this will be our next bedtime story to read together.”
“Yay!” she exclaims eagerly and beams at me. “It was worth waking up early for.”
“You bet,” I agree with a nod and give her a small smile.
Matt chuckles behind me, and I glance over at him as he gives me another quick wink before returning his gaze back to the kids. Then I look down at my watch to check the time before looking up to catch Matt’s eye again.
“Okay,” I say and stand up slowly. “We better head inside soon or we’ll miss our movie.”
He nods and starts gathering the wrapping paper off the floor and stacking it neatly next to him. We finish collecting the rest of the presents and carry them inside, and Maxie immediately goes to the table to play with all the new musical instruments that Santa gave her.
“Hey, Daddy?” She asks as she holds a drumstick between both her hands. “Will you teach me how to play drums someday?”
“Of course,” he replies happily as he picks her up and carries her toward the living room where there are plenty of open spaces and places to put the gifts. Then he settles her down on the sofa next to her and sets her down next to her little brother.
“But first you’ll have to learn how to use a guitar. Then you’ll have to learn how to sing and play both of your songs. Then you’ll get to learn drums.”
She giggles and looks over at me. “Will you play something for us, too?”
“Sure,” I answer with a bright smile.
Then I turn to Matt and smile as I point over at the table.
“I guess it’s our job to play Christmas music now,” I tease lightly as I step forward and take one of the guitar necks from him. “We better get started or people might leave.”
“You’re right,” he agrees and smiles at me as he takes the other end of the instrument and begins strumming it slowly.
I begin singing, “Jingle bells rock around the Christmas tree…” And Maxie joins me and begins singing along with us. Soon, we’re both playing and singing along with the song, and Matt starts picking up speed and moving his fingers faster across the strings. Soon, he’s playing the tune perfectly, and I can feel everyone in the room listening intently to the sound.
“Oh, wow!” Matt laughs softly next to me. “This is so much fun!”
“Are you ready to go?” I ask him with a bright smile.
He grins at me and shakes his head quickly. “No way. No freaking way. This is so much better than movies and popcorn!”
“So, what do you think?” I ask and turn to look at him as I hold up my guitar neck. “Should we play some more?”
He laughs loudly as he glances over at me. “Hell yes!”
“Well, let’s get started then,” I reply with a wide grin and pick up the rhythm again.
Soon, we’re all laughing and dancing and having the best time in the world. We spend hours doing this, even though I’m pretty sure most of it isn’t anything anyone has ever heard before.
We just keep jamming and playing Christmas carols until we run out of songs. When that happens, the kids are both passed out on the sofa. Matt takes care of putting them into their beds and tucking them in, and I go outside to check on Maxie.
When I come back inside, the adults have already started cleaning up everything except for the food. Matt is still outside with the kids, so I go back outside to help him clean up after the mess we made earlier.
I laugh when he tells me that we didn’t make a mess at all compared to what happened last year and that’s because no one got sick.
By the time we’re finished, everyone is gone and the house feels very lonely. I know that’s going to change once Christmas morning rolls around, but for now it feels really quiet without any kids running through the halls.
The only thing left to do is wrap presents and put them under the tree. So, we all start taking care of those tasks while waiting for Santa to arrive.
Once Matt is finally done helping Maxie unwrap and place the new toys into her toy box, he comes inside and heads over toward the tree where he grabs an ornament and hangs it from the branches. Then he turns around and walks past me toward the kitchen and stops next to the tree where he picks up an ornament and does the same thing again.
I stop what I’m doing and turn to face him as he looks down at his hand holding one of my favorite ornaments.
“Do you remember this?” He asks me quietly and smiles as he glances up at me.
I nod quickly and smile at him. “I remember you giving it to me.”
He grins brightly and reaches his arm around my back.
“I remember that too,” he murmurs softly against my ear before bending down to kiss it. “It was a really big deal at the time since it was the first present you ever gave me.”
My cheeks grow warm as I feel a rush of excitement sweeps through my body. The memory of how I felt that day makes my stomach flutter, and I know I’m not going to be able to hold back my laughter as I watch Matt continue to decorate the tree with my favorite ornament.
“Hey, what are you guys doing?” Alex asks as she steps out of the bathroom. “I thought we were going to wrap presents.”
“We’re almost done,” Maxie answers for both of us. “Matt and I just finished hanging all the new ones.”
Alex turns around and smiles widely at us. “Wow! That looks amazing!”
“Thanks,” I tell her as I glance over at Matt who’s standing beside me and holding two more ornaments in his hand. “You’re welcome for the help with your decorations.”
“I wouldn’t do it if you hadn’t helped me with the decorations last year,” she replies with a small smile. “But thank you for helping me again this year.”
“Of course, I’ll help out anytime you need it,” Matt says with a wink.
She chuckles softly and nods quickly. “You’re such a good guy, Matt!”
He chuckles as he looks away from her and then back toward me. “Well, thank you, Maxie, but you’re a great girl too.”
“Thank you, Matt!” She replies excitedly and then rushes back into the hallway.
When Alex disappears into the hallway, Matt moves closer to me and places the ornaments into my hands. When he starts to bend down to kiss me, I move quickly forward and press my lips against his instead.
After I feel his arms wrap tightly around me and hear his low groan, I break the kiss and look down at him. “You okay with doing this again?”
“Are you kidding me?” He laughs. “It’s not every day we get to hang out alone like this without having to worry about anyone interrupting us.”
I nod quickly as I reach up to rest my hand against the side of his face. “Yeah, I understand that, but you’re really lucky you can do whatever you want with Alex being here, especially during the holidays.”
His eyes soften when he looks over at me, and I see a rush of guilt sweep through him.
“No need to feel guilty,” I murmur and place my other hand on top of his. “I know this isn’t easy for you and I’m sorry for that.”
He frowns deeply, but then he slowly shakes his head as he looks me straight in the eyes. “It’s not easy for me either, but I’m doing it because it would kill me if something ever happened to you.”
The words he utters make my heart skip a beat, so I lean down and press my lips against his once again.
When my tongue slides against his bottom lip, he takes my mouth with his own, and I moan loudly into his mouth when his hands wrap around my back and pull me even closer to him.
“God, you drive me crazy sometimes,” he mumbles against my mouth as our tongues slide against each other.
I giggle lightly and shake my head. “That’s a good thing, right?”
He pulls away from me after a few seconds and grins wickedly down at me. “Most definitely.”
I chuckle as I lift myself up onto the tips of my toes and kiss his cheek. Then I step back quickly, so I don’t fall back to the floor and take a couple steps back.
“So, let’s start wrapping presents then,” I tell him as I glance back over my shoulder at the tree. “Then we can relax for a while and eat some of the leftovers that Maxie packed us before bed.”
“Sounds like a plan to me.” He smiles brightly down at me, and then he takes my hand and leads me over to the tree.
As we finish unwrapping all the presents, I feel an immense feeling of happiness as I watch everyone open their gifts. When everyone has opened theirs, they sit on the floor together, laughing, talking, and eating the food that Maxie packed for them.
“What did you guys think of everything?” I ask them happily as I glance between them. “Were there any surprises you liked?”
Both Maxie and Josh laugh, and Josh winks at me. “Surprises? No, not really.”
“There was one though,” he continues as he glances down toward the end of the room.
“Oh?” I turn and follow his gaze, and then my jaw drops when I see who’s standing there. My parents and brothers stand by the door looking around the living room before turning back to me with wide smiles on their faces.
My mother and father both walk over to me and hug me tightly, and I squeeze back. They look happy and relieved, and I can see that they’re smiling so much that their cheeks hurt.
“We didn’t want to surprise you and your family this year,” my mom murmurs softly in my ear.
I nod quickly. “I understand. You should have come sooner if you wanted to see us.”
She smiles warmly down at me as she kisses my forehead. “We knew it would be better to wait until now because you’re here, and then we can all celebrate Christmas together.”
“It means a lot that you waited to tell us,” I continue quietly.
My dad places his arm around my shoulders and gives me another tight hug. “I know how important family is to you, Maxie, and we were never going to miss out on seeing you for this reason. And we can’t wait to spend time with everyone.”
I look over toward Matt and Alex who are watching my family with wide smiles on their faces, and they both look so happy to see them.
“Well, let’s go sit down,” I suggest to my family, so we can talk more about the rest of the week.
Once everyone starts sitting down on the floor, I glance over at Matt and Alex, and I can see that they’re smiling widely as well.
“Okay, now for the main event,” Josh announces as he stands up first. “Let’s all join together in prayer for a safe trip home.”
Everyone gets quiet as soon as he says the last word, and when we all hold hands together, I’m filled with love for my new extended family as I watch each person pray.
“Amen,” Josh finally utters once he stops praying. “Now let’s eat.”
My stomach growls loudly, so loud that I know every single person in the room hears it. Even though I just ate a huge plate of food, my appetite is bigger than ever thanks to all the excitement, and I’m sure everyone else is starting to get hungry again too.
Josh laughs and claps his hands together excitedly as he glances around the room. “I guess there’s nothing left to do but dig in again!”
Everyone laughs excitedly, and we all begin to eat our leftovers for lunch. After a few minutes, I glance across the room and smile happily when I notice Maxie walking back toward us. Her eyes light up immediately when she sees me, and her expression grows bright with joy as she sits next to me on the floor.
“So, what did you think?” I ask Maxie excitedly as soon as Josh sits down with his plate of food.
Maxie chuckles happily. “You had a pretty good turnout for your first party.”
I shake my head. “No, really,” I insist. “This was amazing.”
She grins back at me. “Thank you.”
“I still can’t believe I have an older sister now,” Josh comments as he takes a drink of his water. “And not only that, she’s beautiful too.”
“Well, we’re related,” I say with a grin as I glance between him and Alex.
He laughs and shakes his head. “You guys look like twins.”
I chuckle and shrug. “I guess we do kind of look alike.”
Alex reaches over and wraps his arm around my shoulder and pulls me closer to him as he nuzzles his nose against my cheek.
“I love my new sister,” Alex whispers softly into my ear. “So much.”
I smile happily and hug Alex tighter to me as I lean back toward Matt. “Me too,” I murmur to him with a big smile. “I already love both of my brothers, so much.”
After I finish eating, I start to clean up the plates, but my family helps me with the small task quickly since they’ve finished eating by then. Soon enough, we’re all cleaning up and chatting again as we put away everything that needs putting away.
The End