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Paul lounged on the overstuffed sofa, nearly mesmerized by the soft glow of the lights and the warm glow of contentment. His girlfriend sprawled in his lap, her feet propped up on the arm of the sofa and her eyes half closed as she hummed along with the holiday music playing softly. He could hardly believe it was their second Christmas living together, their second year of holiday squabbles and amusement as they forged their own memories and founded their own holiday traditions.
One of which was, apparently, to see how much of the tinsel could be transferred from branch tips to tree admirers, and then carried everywhere else. While he couldn't imagine the tree without the silvery cloak, the clingy stuff did manage to turn up in the oddest places. Stuck to the head of his always-inquisitive beloved was an increasingly common location. He removed the strands of tinsel from Bella's hair and dangled them in front of her nose. "Been browsing under the tree again, baby?"
She was the picture of innocence. "They're multiplying. I just needed to see how far the breeding project had gone and what the count was at."
"In two days you get to open them. You could wait and count your haul then."
"Yeah, but half the fun is looking at all the prettily wrapped packages, wondering what's inside."
He grinned fondly. Watching Bella crawl around the tree, picking up and shaking every gift as she carefully analyzed size, weight, and probable contents, had become one of his most treasured Christmas memories.
He trailed a finger down her arm. "You do realize I learned from all the prodding and shaking you did last year and disguised them this time."
"I'm counting on it," she said perkily, laughter twitching at the corners of her lips and lighting up her eyes.
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