Law snickered. “Oh really?! Now I’ve got to know.”
“Sadly, I can’t.” Felix made a zipping motion over his lips. Then he smirked. “Not because I want to keep his secret, but because there are minors and elderly people around. We wouldn’t want to cause a commotion.”
I gave him the evil eye. “Screw you.”
“We’ve already established that the age difference is too big,” he replied loftily, but we could see he was trying not to laugh.
“Oh please don’t joke about that,” Uncle Teague whined. “That’s… disturbing.”
“Oak? Can you come here for a bit?” Charlie called from across the room, and I bolted.
Saved by the best friend.
An hour and a half later, we were all full and merry. The kids were playing with the presents they’d gotten from us adults.
When it was my turn to give them the little stuffies, I’d been nervous. I shouldn’t have been; they adored them. I’d naturally made Marlie a dog that was supposed to be a corgi but the dimensions weren’t quite correct, Tristan got a big carrot for his favorite stuffed toy bunny who was called Carrot, and for Harper, I’d made a toadstool with a happy little face, with oneeye a bit lower than the other. Like I’d hoped, the imperfections didn’t matter in the least. They all loved their presents and I had been squeezed to the point of feeling bruised, if only mentally.
While they played, all twelve adults that were present gathered around some of the tables to do our little Secret Santa.
I was nervous, suddenly. “Can I start?” I blurted out, then blushed a little when everyone looked at me.
“Of course, sweetheart,” Grams, who seemed like the mistress of ceremonies, said in a magnanimous tone that was probably partially because of the alcoholic mulled wine she’d been drinking.
“Okay. How are we doing this?” I asked as I picked up the little package from my backpack.
“How about you give your present, and then whomever drew your name will give you theirs, and so on?” Charlie suggested.
I nodded quickly. “Okay.” That sounded better than okay, because it would take the attention off me really quickly. “So, I drew….” I started, and as though we’d planned it, Uncle Teague did a little drumroll on the tabletop with his fingers, making some glasses rattle a little. Grinning, I gave him a thumbs up and handed my present to... “Felix!”
He smiled at me, accepting the small, slender present in a non-denominational wrapping paper I’d used just because. He opened it curiously, and pulled out a long, crocheted bookmark in the gay flag colors.
“Oh, Oak,” he said, the words coming out in an exhale. He lifted his gaze to meet mine and I could see how touched he was. “Thank you.”
“That’s a lovely present,” Loreena said, and everyone echoed her. Then she pulled a big, old looking tin from her gigantic handbag and handed it to me. “Merry Christmas, Oak.”
Taken aback, I let out a startled laugh, then took the tin from her. It had an old-timey nature scene painted on top, with somefaded gold colored filigree framing it. As I opened it, the lid stuck a bit, but as soon as I lifted it, I gasped.
There were countless little balls of yarn inside. They were perfect for practicing my amigurumi when I didn’t want to use any of my good yarn or just wanted to make something silly and colorful. Like those bookmarks.
“Where did you…?” I asked, choking up.
“Well, your grandma helped, but we’re not the only knitters and crocheters in town. I asked around, and you wouldn’t believe how many leftover bits of yarn a handful of ladies will have.” She smiled at me.
“This is wonderful!” I would’ve gone to hug her if there’d been room to get out of my chair and to her, but we were all kind of squished together in one corner.
Instead, I reached over Felix and she squeezed my fingers.
I felt overwhelmed in a good way. At least mostly.
I think Aunt Regan knew it, because they cleared their throat and produced a very book-shaped present from somewhere, then stood so they could hand it to Loreena from where they were sitting.
Smiling, feeling the pressure of the attention lessen, I went through the balls of yarn. I felt so damn loved. Not just by everyone here, but somehow, the whole town. Even if it had been Grams and Loreena’s friends, it still meant a lot.
I snapped back into attention when Felix nudged me. “Can you hand me that box from over there?” he pointed behind me.
I gave it to him, and it turned out it was Aunt Regan’s present. He’d gotten them a vintage dough whisk that made them overjoyed and a bit teary. It was kind of cute, especially with how Nic and Dana couldn’t really hide their “aww” faces.
As I watched everyone get their presents, I really felt a peace come over me. Whether it was the Christmas spirit or just havinghad too much food with a big heaping of love, I didn’t know. Or care.
