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“Dad!” Sarah scolds.
I let out a long belly laugh. “It’s okay, Sarah. I like that your father speaks his mind—and don’t worry, Sir, I promise that I’ll take good care of her.”
“Good man,” he says.
“Okay, now that we have that out of the way, let’s sit down to eat before the food gets cold,” her mother says as she returns from the living room.
We all follow her into the dining room where the table is filled with large plates and bowls of food. A giant ham sits in the center of the table, topped with a brown sugar glaze and pineapple slices. It’s surrounded by bowls of mashed potatoes, baked beans, salad, rolls, and so much more. “It smells delicious!” Sarah says excitedly.
“This dinner looks lovely, Mrs. Duncan,” I add.
“Thank you, Jeff.”
We all sit down around the table to enjoy the Christmas feast. Afterwards, once the table has been cleared and the leftovers are put away, we move into the living room to sit in front of a beautifully decorated Christmas tree. Sarah’s father turns on some music, and we listen as familiar holiday tunes flow softly from the speakers. “We wanted to get you both something before you leave,” he says as he pulls two presents out from underneath the Christmas tree. He hands one package to me and the other to Sarah.
“Oh my gosh! I love it!” Sarah exclaims as she rips through the wrapping paper and pulls a fancy floor-length gown from the package. “Thank you!” She throws her arms around each of her parents to give them both a hug.
“We thought that you could use a new dress in case there are any fancy balls at the palace,” her mother says.
I smile at Sarah as I look at the excitement on her face. “We’ll have a special ball just for us if there aren’t any planned.”
“Promise?” she asks.
“Promise.”
“Good—now open yours.”
I turn the package around in my hands to find the end of the wrapping paper. “You didn’t have to get me anything,” I say as I begin to unwrap the present.
“We wanted to,” her father says. “It’s not much, but we wanted you to have a souvenir from the U.P.”
I pull the paper away to reveal a sweatshirt emblazoned with the outline of the Upper Peninsula. I smile as I slip it on over my head. “What do you think?” I ask.
“It looks great on you,” Sarah says.
I turn to her parents. “Thank you. I’ll wear it often.”
“You’re welcome,” they both reply.
After Sarah has handed out the gifts that she brought for everyone, I find the gift that I brought and hand it to her parents. “It’s just a little something that I’d like for you both to have,” I say as her mother opens it.
“It’s beautiful!” she exclaims, carefully taking the handcrafted partridge in a pear tree ornament out of the box. I smile as she and Sarah’s dad examine the intricately carved partridge, with remarkably painted details on it, sitting in an equally intricate pear tree.
“I hope that you like it. It’s a family heirloom—I brought it with me so that I could have a little piece of home on my tree while I’m here, but it’s yours now.”
“Oh, we couldn’t! It’s a family heirloom—a royal family heirloom.”
“Please, I want you to have it.”
“Thank you,” she says as she gives me a hug.
“You’re welcome.”
Once the rest of the gifts are exchanged and opened, we all spend the rest of the night watching Christmas movies together—it’s a family tradition according to Sarah. I smile to myself as I look around the living room at the people surrounding me. There’s no doubt about it, this has been the best holiday that I’ve had in a long time.
6
Sarah
