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“Hurry. It’s not too late. Make your wish and it will come true,” I said.
“I wish for you to follow your dreams as well. Go back to school or don’t. But don’t live your life following someone else's dreams.”
“But my parents. They need me,” I said.
“They need you to be happy. And they have a silent partner now in the lodge. So that will help them financially.”
“You didn’t tell your family about their problems, did you?” she asked.
“No. I’m the partner. I want the lodge to be here so we can come back every Christmas that we can and celebrate together as a family.”
“How did you do this?”
“While you slept in late, I had a meeting with your parents. That was before heading into town.”
“You’ve had a very busy day, haven’t you? Doing a whole lot of thinking and so many other stressful things” I said.
“None of them was as stressful as asking you to be mine.”
“Why were you nervous?” I asked.
“Because I could deal with your parents turning down my offer. But if you had said no, I’d have been crushed,” he said.
I raised my hand to his cheek and said, “But I said yes.”
He kissed me. “Yes, you did.”
“I love you, Mark.
“I love you too, Adilyn. Merry Christmas sweetheart.
“Merry Christmas.”
I knew this was the first of many Christmases that we would spend together. But this was one I’d never forget. A promise of a love that will last forever. Where Mark and I could both follow our dreams that would always lead us back to each other.
CHAPTER9
Mark
When I got back to my room last night and found a gift on my bed, I thought it was from Adilyn. It said open now. To my surprise or shock, it was a pair of pajamas. They were red and white striped, like a candy cane with green writing on the chest. CHRISTMAS CREW 2023.
Not my usual attire at all. They fit more like a pair of long johns instead of the loose fleece I had packed. Showing up downstairs in anything but these wasn’t an option.
Oh, what we do for family.
I opened my bedroom door, and their voices carried all the way upstairs. Seems I was a late sleeper. But I had a good reason. Adilyn and I spent most of the night talking. Guess we had forgotten that the younger Hendersons weren’t going to sleep in on Christmas morning.
When I got downstairs, they were not in the lobby as I expected. Instead, everyone was in the living room. Gifts were piled high around the Christmas tree that we had all decorated. I had to assume that was what all the trips into town had been for. Even though we had agreed to no exchanging of gifts, my aunts weren’t going to play by the rules. But they were all still untouched, surprisingly.
Dean and Tessa were by the tree with Michael and Avery smiling while Alex snapped their photo with his phone. Then he turned and asked, “Who is left?”
Lindsay hopped off the floor and said, “We are.”
Mom looked around the room and our eyes finally met. “Merry Christmas, Mark.”
“Merry Christmas, everyone.” I walked over and stood with my family. My mother gave me a quick peck on the cheek, then arranged us all for our photo.
A moment later Alex said, “That’s it. The photos are all done.”
