AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"To Scarlett's first Christmas with the LeBlanc-Broussard clan," Isabeau exclaimed.
I smiled from ear to ear as we all clinked glasses of eggnog. "I'm super happy to be here."
"Thank you for inviting us too," Mom said.
She and Dad had arrived yesterday. We were spending Christmas Eve at the LeBlanc-Broussard mansion and were going to have a second celebration tomorrow in a smaller format. My parents still looked shocked at the sheer size of the house even though they’d been here for an hour already. I was wearing the sweater Mom knitted for me all those months ago.
"All right, everyone," Isabeau said. "Once we drink our eggnog, it's time to start bringing out the goodies."
"Hear, hear!" chorused around the room.
Chad put an arm around my waist and took me a few feet away from everyone. "Everything okay? Your parents overwhelmed?"
"Yes, but in the best sense," I assured him. "We're used to quiet Christmases, just the three of us. This is absolutely beautiful."
The house looked like something out of a movie. I'd never seen so many decorations in one place, but it wasn't overwhelming. The fireplace was crackling, and there were a million stockings hanging on the mantelpiece, one for each of us. They were stuffed to the brim. There were also four huge trees. At least, I only counted four. Who knew how many others there were on the upper levels? One was in the hallway, one in the sitting area, one in the dining room, and one closer tothe kitchen. Each had a different color scheme, and they all fit together.
"Do you always celebrate Christmas in grand style like this?" I asked.
"That’s an absolute yes." Chad looked at me with warmth and love, and I truly couldn't get enough of him.
"Hey, Scarlett," Bella said, jogging up to us. "I have an idea." She wrapped her arms around my middle.
I looked down at her, running my hand through her hair. I loved being Bella's week mom, although lately I was being her weekend mom, too, because she was requesting to spend more and more weekends at the house. Sarah wasn't against it. In fact, she seemed to prefer it, as it enabled her to travel more. Bottom line, as long as Bella was fine with it, so were Chad and I.
"Aha," Chad exclaimed, eyes trained on Bella.
"What?" the little one asked a bit too innocently.
"Nothing. You've just got that grin."
I braced myself.
"Have you noticed that the grandparents have four trees?" Bella asked.
"Yes, and I love them."
"They’re different colors too."
"I know, right? Very festive."
She bit her lower lip. "So I was thinking, maybe next year, we can decorate four trees at home too: green with silver on one tree, gold and red on another one, blue and white on the third one..."
"And yellow and black on the last one?" I guessed.
She burst out laughing. "Yes."
"I don't get it," Chad said.
We both looked at him.
"Dad, we watched the first three movies together, and you're still a Muggle. It's the colors of the Hogwarts houses."
"Right," he murmured.
"I love that idea," I exclaimed.
Chad shrugged. "I don't have anything against it."
