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We ate in silence while we stuffed our faces. I filled my plate a second time with more delicious food while Stevie grabbed another egg roll.
I had been around Stevie a good bit of my life, but not for a few years.
Life had happened, and while we both had stayed in our hometown, our paths didn’t cross much unless it was on purpose.
Tony and Jane getting married. Tony’s birthday every year. Holidays.
That was about it.
That was the past, though.
This holiday, and every day after that, things were going to be different between Stevie and me.
It had taken seeing Stevie walk down the aisle away from me to realize what I wanted.
Paul running had broken Stevie’s heart, but it had woken me up.
If I was ever going to have a shot with Stevie, it was now.
Too bad I wasn’t allowed to talk for the rest of the night.
*
Stevie
I stood back and took in my pretty tree, all lit up.
“Looks good, sweets,” Claus called.
Those had been the first words he had said since I let him in the front door the second time. We ate dinner without talking, just like I wanted. It should have been awkward and uncomfortable, but it wasn’t. Things were never uncomfortable with Claus.
After, he helped me put away the extras, and then I camped out on the floor sorting through all of my decorations.
They were all pretty worn and in need of replacing, but they would do for this year at least. My plan had been to buy all new decorations and ornaments after moving in with Paul, but yet again, that plan was not going to happen.
So plans I had made were just not going to happen.
“You think?” I asked.
“You always had a flare for making it look like Santa threw up all over,” he smirked.
“Claus,” I gasped. “It’s called festive.” Every branch had at least one ornament on it, and then there were all the glittery branches I tucked into the tree that shot out all over.
Colorful and festive were great words to describe my tree.
“Right,” he drawled.
I turned toward him and folded my arms over my chest. “I’m sorry, but I do recall you showing up at my door with a Santa hat on. You were festive first which was surprising since you are always a grump around the holidays.”
Claus shrugged and kicked his feet up on the coffee table. “I never really had much to be happy about when everyone is hanging with their families and opening presents.” He held up one finger. “Shit parents,” he added another finger, “no money for presents. Not exactly the recipe for a happy holiday when you’re a kid.”
I propped my hands on my hips. “Well, I can’t argue with you on that, but you did have Tony growing up. And my parents.”
Claus nodded. “I did, sweets. Pretty sure if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t be here right now. You guys were the only thing that gave me hope.”
“But you never came over on Christmas morning. Mom and Dad always had presents for you.” Now that I thought about it, I never saw Claus on Christmas day. He would always come over the next day and act like he hadn’t missed Christmas. “Why did you never come over on Christmas day?” I demanded.
“Christmas is family time, Stevie,” he replied simply. “And I will forever be grateful for the presents your parents bought me every year, but being at your house on Christmas wasn’t right.”
