The Brightest Star
"There. How does it look?"
Donna was speechless for the moment. Somehow she had always pictured this her and Harvey's first Christmas together.
"The star is beautiful," Donna said haltingly. She turned away from Harvey because she was so overwhelmed with emotion that she felt embarrassed in front of Harvey whom she actually thought might think it silly. His sentimentality and emotions were becoming less and less guarded with her, but Donna thought so much sentimentality was a tad silly herself.
Harvey turned away from the tree long enough to spot his very special girl with her back to him. He sneaked to her other side and placed his finger under her chin willing her to look at him. He did not laugh but smiled widely because she had been so touched by their present moment in time and his placing the star on the top of their tree.
"You know if you're going to tear up every time I do something great I may have to reconsider our relationship," Harvey said sparing no sarcasm and took Donna into his arms. He kissed her and then turned her around so they could look at their first Christmas tree which twinkled and sparkled brightly like their love.
A few years later...
"How does that look?"
"Oh, daddy, it's beautiful! It makes the whole tree bright!"
Harvey smiled and looked down at his five-year-old daughter.
"That's what your mother told me about the star when I placed it on our very first Christmas tree together before we had you," Harvey said proudly.
"She did?" Amanda asked opening her big brown eyes looking deep into her father's eyes to seek the truth of her father's statement.
"Yep."
"I love you, daddy."
Harvey smiled as he picked up his daughter and she put her little head on his shoulder. Harvey suddenly looked at his watch. It was 9:30 pm.
"Ok, sweetie, we don't want Santa to be mad at you for crying, right?"
Right on cue, Amanda asked, "Would you tuck me in, Daddy? I am not supposed to be awake either when Santa comes."
"Sure, baby."
Turning away from the tree so Amanda would see it as they walked away, Amanda said, "Wouldn't Santa be mad at you for making me cry?"
Harvey smiled and snorted a laugh.
"You, Ms. Amanda Specter, are going to be a great lawyer someday."
After Harvey had tucked his little girl in bed and checked on his 3 1/2 year old son, Gordon, he went to his own bedroom where his wife smiled at him as he approached the bed on her side and placed a warm kiss on her waiting lips.
"Seems like Mandy was giving you a run for your money."
"Well, she actually got teary-eyed when I asked her how she liked the star on the tree, and I told her she had the same reaction you did when I placed the star on our very first Christmas tree together. Then I told her that Santa would be mad at her for crying..."
"Harvey! She's five! Are you trying to scar her for life?" Donna exclaimed.
"Wait, hear me out," Harvey said patiently putting his hand in the air to stop his wife from giving him a lecture before she heard the end of the story.
"So I picked her up to take her to bed. As we're walking away, she takes her head off my shoulder, looks at me with those huge brown eyes of hers and says, 'Daddy, don't you think Santa will be mad at you for making me cry'?"
Donna smiled and putting her hand to her mouth giggled at their daughter's remark.
Harvey then crawled into bed and took a little nap beside his wife before the real duties of Christmas Eve came into play.
At 6 am sharp, Harvey and Donna were awakened by a thud dropping into their bed.
"D-a-d-d-y! M-o-m-m-y! I wanna see my prethenths!"
Harvey felt their son's continued bouncing and lifted one eyelid watching him bounce and making sure he would not bounce himself into injury between them. He shook first Harvey and then Donna.
"What time is it?" Harvey asked. The clock was on Donna's side of the large king sized bed.
"Six a.m.," Donna murmured.
"What time?" Harvey could not hear over the happy excited cries of little Gordon.
Turning over and grabbing his son in a hug who giggled and giggled asked his son, "So where's your sister?"
"I'm here. Gordy, why did you wake me up?" Mandy Specter all red hair sticking up in knots and Disney Princess nightie said as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and followed her brother into their parents' bedroom insinuating herself next to her mom who pulled Mandy up next to her and cuddled her.
"It's Chrithmas, Mandy! You are thupposed to wake up!" Gordon explained to his sister who lying beside Donna smiled and turned over in her mother's arms.
Donna loved being a mother. She held her daughter next to her and kissed her little forehead and brushed her red hair away from her forehead. It looked like Mandy was still sleepy, so she started softly singing:
"I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus, underneath the mistletoe last night..." Mandy went back to sleep. Donna's men on the other hand were wrestling on the floor next to the bed. Donna leaned over on the other side as best she could and put her finger up to her lips shushing them because Mandy had fallen back to sleep.
"Ok, big guy, we're going to take this into the other room. Now what's the rule about opening presents," Harvey asked his son in a whisper.
"I can only open one," Gordon said holding up a little finger.
Harvey kissed his son's little finger and said, "Until when?"
"Mommy and Mandy are up," whispered Gordon as he noticed Harvey speak in a little lower tone.
"That's right, buddy. Daddy's going to make pancakes this morning, ok?"
Harvey who was sitting on the floor with Gordon could see Donna sit up in bed and smile. She leaned over on the side of the bed.
"Is that a promise? You're not just teasing me, right?" Donna asked excitedly. She loved when Harvey cooked. He was so talented at it; whereas, cooking was the only skill that Donna Paulsen Specter did not possess.
"Consider it one of your Christmas presents," Harvey said looking back at Donna with a wide smile.
"Daddy?"
"Yes, Gordo, what's up? Don't like my pancakes?" Harvey asked not knowing what could possibly come out of his son's mouth. His children he found since they started forming sentences were capable of saying anything.
"Mommy was kissing Santa," Gordon said very frankly.
Harvey wondered what Gordon meant.
"No she wasn't. She was asleep and so was I and so was your sister when Santa brought the presents in," Harvey said in a voice that brooked no denial.
"Yes she was. I saw it." Gordon protested looking across at his father while they ate their pancakes at the kitchen bar.
"Well, that's ok. She was probably thanking him for the special presents for you and Mandy," Harvey responded wondering if when Gordon heard Donna sing that he mixed reality with fantasy.
"Besides, how would you see it? You were supposed to be in your bed fast asleep big man."
"I saw it, too, daddy," Amanda piped in followed by Donna who shared a questioning look with her husband.
"Nawwwww," Harvey drawled out.
Quickly changing the subject, Donna led the children over to the tree where their unwrapping of presents could continue in full force.
As Donna and Harvey watched their two children unwrap their gifts and throw the wrapping paper all around, they sat on the couch together and whispered to each other.
"What else do you think they saw last night?" Donna asked trepidly.
"I hope all they saw was the kissing," Harvey remarked out of the side of his mouth quietly so only his wife could hear. Although the living room was filled with shrieks of pleasure from each child, one might have thought it hard to hear to anything else in the room. However, Donna and Harvey sat so close they could feel each other's body heat and eventually held hands briefly squeezing and smiling at one another in that inimitable way that only lovers can share.
"Talk about scarring for life," Harvey said.
"Well, having passionate sex in front of the Christmas tree with only our Santa hats on was your idea," Donna responded.
"I couldn't help myself. I wanted to relive our first Christmas together in front of the tree," Harvey reasoned.
"We didn't have two children back then who never quite sleep on Christmas Eve and who still believe in Santa Claus," Donna laughed and hit her husband on his thigh sitting so steamedly next to hers.
"So much for sentimentality," Harvey laughed loudly and Donna followed. While their children were wrapped up in their multitude of presents and lost in the wrapping paper, Harvey took his wife in his arms and kissed her deeply remembering how special their Christmas Eves had been since they became a couple, gotten married, and had their children.
Later that day after they had arrived home from Uncle Mike and Aunt Rachel's house, they each carried a weary pajama clad child to bed.
Meeting back at their bedroom, Donna found her husband sans pajama top smiling and sitting up in their bed with a tiny flat box in his hand. Donna leaned against the doorjamb and said, "I already got my present from you last night."
"I know I'm a gift but making love to you is a mutual present. I get something out of it, too. Come here and open this," Harvey said pushing the thin sheet aside which uncovered the fact he was wearing nothing at all.
Donna approached the bed after shutting and locking the door to the bedroom shedding her silk robe in the process showing that she was nude as well. She slid in beside her husband and kissed him enticing him to go deeper.
"Uh-uh, present first," Harvey said finally releasing Donna from the kiss but still gladly fondling her body with his hands and lips.
"Harvey, you're distracting me," she said giving him another kiss on the mouth.
"Ok," Harvey said and sat up in bed folding his errant hands in front of him on his thighs as if he were reprimanded by his teacher.
Donna opened the flat box and she found a picture of a tree. It was actually the top of the tree. The topper on the tree was a star. Donna knew which tree it was. It was an enlarged photograph of their first tree when they first became a couple. She would have remembered that star anywhere. It differed from the star that was placed now at the top of the tree. This first one was silver light metal and reflected all the blinking lights strung on the tree. Their star tree topper now was still silver but contained many twinkling lights of its own. Again Donna had to wipe a tear from her eye showing Harvey her appreciation of his own sentimentality stemming from the happiness at not only the present Christmas but that first Christmas together seemingly only six years back.
"Can I kiss you now, teary?" Harvey teased turning her face to face him. He held her face tenderly in his hand and kissed her deeply.
"Merry Christmas, Donna." Harvey's deep voice resonated in Donna's ears.
"Merry Christmas, Harvey. I love you."
Placing the framed photograph on the bedside table, Harvey slid himself on top of his wife and together they celebrated Christmas as lovers shining as brightly as they had that first Christmas together.