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“You better,” she sighs back contentedly as I kiss the top of her head, while she softly starts singing along with the movie.
I know things won’t always be smooth sailing. No marriage is ever perfect. I’m going to do stuff that pisses Tess off, and Tess is going to do stuff that pisses me off. I’ll probably accidentally get super stoned right before she wants to have a serious talk and not hear one word of it, and she’ll probably accidentally light another article of clothing of mine on fire while it’s still on my body. We’re gonna fight about stupid little things, and we’re gonna disagree about important big things, because life isn’t perfect, and we’ll have hurdles to jump over. But we’re never going to stop fighting in the right direction for what we want, and we both want the happily ever after we read about in our bedtime stories. Even if Tess says they’re boring and predictable.
Life with Tess Powell will be anything but boring and predictable. It will be fucking terrifying and exciting, and I will always be happy to stay in one place, as long as I’m staying with her.
“You know how we agreed not to go to the other side of the mountain the last few days just to buy some presents for each other so we’d have something to open tomorrow?” I quietly ask Tess as Jack Skellington kidnaps Santa.
“Correct, because we already shopped for each other, and all of our presents are back home, and we agreed to just open everything when we get back to Summersweet,” Tess replies.
It made me love Tess even more that she didn’t care about having anything to open tomorrow. She might think she’s not good with the mushy stuff, but when she said the important thing about Christmas is being with who you love and not about the presents, I cried like a goddamn baby.
And then totally didn’t listen to a word she said, because come on! It’s Christmas, and she has to have something to open.
This is that part of our marriage where I’m going to do something to piss Tess off, just in case you aren’t paying attention.
“What the hell is this?”
Tess bolts up on the couch next to me when I slide an envelope out of the pocket of my shorts and hand it to her.
“Just another Christmas tradition where we get to open one present on Christmas Eve. Did I forget to tell you about that one?” I ask with a cheeky smile as she narrows her eyes at me. “I didn’t go to any stores to buy anything, so technically I didn’t break any rules.”
With a sigh, Tess finally looks away from me and rips into the envelope, pulling the tri-folded piece of paper out. Followed by the most blood-curdling scream I have ever heard come out of a human before.
“What the fuck did you do?” Tess finally whispers once she’s gotten all the screaming out of her system, her eyes scanning the words on the paper.
“Yeah, so, you know how you told me I wasn’t allowed to spend any of that money I earned being a caddie for Palmer, unless it was something important that was worth spending my money on?”
“You son of a bitch. You’re sleeping on the couch forever.”
Tess sniffles and swipes away at a tear that falls down her cheek, and I’m surprised she doesn’t smack my hand away when I rest it against her back and start rubbing soothing circles with my palm.
“This is the deed to my cottage,” Tess mutters, shaking the paper in her hand as she continues glaring at me through her tears.
“Correct. It’s officially yours. I want us to start fresh without you worrying about the mistakes someone else made. You shouldn’t have to pay for your grandmother’s mistakes. It’s time for you to make your own, so our kids have to pay for them.” I wink at her.
It takes her a few minutes of sniffling back tears and pushing back the need to reach down the front of her Let’s get baked pajama top and grab the lighter in her bra, but she finally returns my smile.
“Right on, I guess.” Tess shrugs, refolding the deed, sliding it back into the envelope, and setting it down on the coffee table next to our plates before she snuggles back into my side.
I’ll wait until we’re back home to tell her there are currently two FAO Schwartz trucks on their way to the island. I’d much rather die in the comfort of my own living room than on vacation. I just hope she lets me test out the slide on the pirate ship tree house first.
“Did someone scream? I thought I heard screaming. I’ve got duct tape if you—”
“We’re fine, Sheldon!” Tess and I cut the poor man off when he pops his head in the living room, the reindeer antlers switched out for a festive Santa hat this evening.
