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Christmas had been the one day of the year that my mom had pulled it together and stayed sober, and I adored it. Every year that I was with her, I woke on Christmas day to a small tabletop tree with a single present underneath it. The gift was usually something from the dollar store, but I cherished what it represented. For that day, we were a real family. Dinner usually consisted of frozen meals that we microwaved, but I would have happily eaten dirt just to have her smile and talk to me like she had done every Christmas. Knowing in the morning she would revert back to her normal ways, getting drunker as the day wore on, didn't cause resentment in me. I was thankful for what she had been able to give me. After I met the Wrights and saw how they celebrated the holidays with their decorating, cookie-making and the annual viewings of the Christmas classics, it only had me appreciating all that much more the time I had had with my mom. We hadn't celebrated as elaborately as the Wrights, but the same vein of love wove through our simple celebrations. Even after my mom died, the holiday still remained special because of those happy memories.
This year it was going to be bittersweet for me though, because it was Bastian and my first Christmas together…apart.
He was supposed to have come home, but there was a change of plans and the crew was asked to stay on over the holidays. They were being paid triple time, which was great, but I couldn't deny I wanted him home with me.
It was the day of the annual Wrights' Christmas tree extravaganza, an affair I never missed. The entrance hall of the Wrights’ house was huge, three stories high, which meant that every year they purchased the biggest tree known to humankind. It was so big that special tree people had to come in to set it up in a cartoonishly large tree stand. The tree was even wired to the wall, once all the decorations were on, so it didn't fall over. After the tree was decorated, it was tradition to spend the rest of the night drinking hot chocolate, eating cookies and watching Christmas movies.
The day was simple, even a bit childish, but the closeness I felt to others—the welcome and acceptance—really made it special. Bastian grew up as neglected as me, so I knew that the perfect simplicity of the day would have meant to him what it did to me, but it wasn't to be this year.
I was in the living room testing the lights as the only one who had the patience to unknot the strands. Poppy, Sophia and Caden were in the kitchen whipping up the cookies for later and the Wrights were helping the tree guys. Shawn was coming, which I was happy about. Poppy and he hadn't officially broken up, but it was coming. Regardless, he was part of this tradition too. The doorbell rang.
“Can you get that, Lark?” Dr. Wright called to me.
“Sure.”
I untangled myself from the light mess I had created and went into the foyer where the scent of pine filled the hall.It smelled so good.I thought as I reached for the door and pulled it open. It took me a minute to react since I wasn't quite sure I was seeing what I thought I was seeing. Bastian smiled in that way of his and that was all it took for my body to react without needing any help from my head. I threw myself into his arms. “Bastian!”
“Surprise beautiful.”
“I've missed you.”
He buried his face in my hair. “Understatement.”
“You told me you had to work.”
“I lied.”
“I'm so happy to see you that I'll let you live.”
“Well, let the boy in, Lark,” Dr. Wright said from behind me. I reluctantly pulled away from Bastian and turned to her. “You knew?” I was incredulous.
“Of course I knew. Hello, Bastian. You made good time.”
He threw me a grin before moving past me to hug Dr. Wright. “I was in a bit of a hurry,” he said as he looked back at me. My heart rolled over in my chest. This just officially became my very favorite Christmas ever.
“You can help me with the lights,” I volunteered as I reached for Bastian. I looked over at Dr. Wright. “Thank you.”
“It wouldn't be Christmas without him,” she said.
As soon as we were out of sight, Bastian pulled me into his arms and fused his mouth to mine. Pressing myself against him, I gave back as good as I was getting. Poppy's voice jarred us out of our reunion.
“Hi, Bastian.”
He kept his one arm firmly around my waist and turned to Poppy. “Hi.”
Sophia was chewing on a cookie. “Hey Bastian.”
Caden walked in then. “Took you long enough, man.”
“Everyone knew?” I was outraged.
“Of course we all knew, silly girl.” Poppy teased before she started toward the boxes of ornaments. “They're done getting the tree up, so let's have at it.”
***
That night, after everyone went to bed, Bastian and I sat on the floor in the foyer and looked up at the twinkling lights.
“I can't tell you how happy I am that you're here. You are the best Christmas present ever.”
