AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Maggie groaned, stretched, and cracked her eyes open. “Hi,” she said, her voice slightly croaky. “Is everything okay?”
Katie grinned. “Absolutely. I made breakfast.”
Maggie paused, her brain seeming to take a moment to process and make sense of Katie’s words. “You did what? I’m supposed to be looking after you!”
“Yeah, well, too bad. You spoiled me enough last night. Let me spoil you for once.”
“You spoil me all the time.” She sat up, shaking her head. “I was really going to make breakfast and look after you, you know?”
“I know. But I promise I’m fine. Couple of painkillers and I’m good to go.” She grinned, watching Maggie get up.
Maggie stood at the side of the bed, leaning against it lightly as she looked Katie over. “So, you’re feeling better than last night?”
“Much. Sorry for being so—”
“You’re allowed to be emotional and sleepy and in need of cuddles.”
Katie laughed. They knew each other so well. “Well, then I guess I’m not sorry. And I’m not sorry I made pancakes, either.”
Maggie paused. “You made pancakes?”
“I did indeed.”
“Oh my god.” Her face lit up like a kid on Christmas morning, and Katie loved seeing it.
Maggie wasn’t hard to spoil, honestly. Give her a camera, something to photograph, or some pancakes, and the woman was putty in your hands.
She bounded around the bed, grabbed Katie’s hand, and led them back out to the living room. Katie went willingly, loving the moment when Maggie spotted the ridiculous piles of pancake sweetness.
“You bought Christmas sprinkles?” she asked, looking at Katie with a wide-eyed wonder that solidified for Katie just how much she really would love every morning to be just like this.
She breathed a laugh. “I did. I thought you’d like them.”
“Oh my god, Ilovethem.”
Katie led her to the breakfast bar, set the music playing through the speakers, and settled in for her first truly festive day of the year. She was glad it was with Maggie.
∞∞∞
“What about this one?” Katie asked, pointing to one of the Christmas trees as they walked through snow-dusted rows of them on the sprawling Christmas tree farm about an hour outside the city.
After the best morning she’d had in some time, an hour of driving with an excited Maggie, and Christmas songs playing all the way, Katie couldn’t deny she was well and truly in the Christmas mood.
Maggie stood back, examining it from every angle. She looked adorable bundled up in her winter coat, hat, and mittens, casually carrying their saw like she was born to do it.
She yanked one of her mittens off and pulled the tape measure from her pocket. “Help me out?” she asked, shooting Katie a grin.
“Always.” Katie reached out to take the other end of the tape measure.
Katie was actually the one who had started this tradition, but she’d never imagined the way Maggie would adopt it and take it so seriously. Maggie had grown up with artificial trees, owing to her dad’s hatred of cleaning up shed needles, and she’d never been to a Christmas tree farm until the first time Katie had asked for her company. Maggie had jumped at the chance, and, after seeing how much she enjoyed it, Katie had sworn to do this with her every year. They hadn’t missed one since.
Maggie had been adorably hilarious that first year, losing all sense of reasonable proportions once they were out amongst the trees and heading straight for the biggest ones in the field. Katie had laughed and pointed out that photographers were supposed to have a good sense of proportions. Maggie hadn’t fully understood her point until they’d compromised on a tree Maggie thought was too small and Katie knew was slightly too big. It had fit in her apartment, but her TV had been half-obscured for the entirety of Christmas.
Katie still loved the memory of the look on Maggie’s face when they released the branches and the tree suddenly made her living room shrink by several square meters.
“Oh,” she’d said, her eyes wide. “But it looked so small at the farm.”
Katie had laughed and thrown an arm around her shoulders. “Yeah, in a field, next to a bunch of other trees. It’s a little different when you start bringing them indoors.”
