Deck the Antique Store
Tessa Noel carefully unwrapped antique spun glass ornaments out of tissue paper and watched happily as the love of her life, Duncan Macleod, and their ward Richie Ryan, strung multi-coloredlights onto the six foot pine tree they had brought home with them from the neighborhood tree lot a few hours earlier.
"No Richie, turn it this way." Duncan instructed, untangling the strand of colored lights and twisting them slightly to the right as he wound them through the branches of the tree.
Tessa smiled at the comical look of exaggerated frustration that appeared on the teenage Richie's face, before he broke out in a grin, and followed the Highlander's. instructions.
The room fell silent once again, except for the rustling of the tissue as Tessa unwrapped more ornaments, and the occasional clinking sound of the strands of lights hitting against each other as Duncan and Richie worked on getting them put up on the tree.
Once she was finished unwrapping the last of the ornaments from their assorted boxes, Tessa left the two men in her life to their decorating efforts, and went into the kitchen to fix them something for dinner. She made creamy tomato soup, finger sandwiches with a variety of cold cuts and cheeses, sliced up fruit and veggies. On a third tray she had a bowl of potato chips, Coke in glasses for all three of them, small plates, utensils, and napkins.
When she had everything read to go, she picked up one tray and carried it into the living room. She decided that they could eat their meal in there so they could continue with their decorating. As she entered the room she saw Richie's light up.
"Food. You read my mind Tessa." Richie exclaimed, dropping his end of the garland he had been holding onto while Duncan nailed it in place above the doorway leading from the living quarters into the antique shop, much to Duncan's amusement. They had moved onto hanging the garland, when they were finished stringing the lights onto the tree.
"I've got two more trays to bring out of the kitchen. Will you help me Richie?" Tessa asked as she set the one she carried down onto the coffee table.
"Sure." Richie said, following her into the kitchen.
Duncan stepped off the ladder he had been standing on and moved over to the coffee table. He removed the magazines and other items scattered over its top to make room for them to eat on it. Then he set the bowls of tomato soup onto its surface, two on the side closest to the couch where he and Tessa would sit to eat their meal; the other he placed across from them, knowing Richie would choose to sprawl on the floor closest to the food, than in one of the nearby chairs.
Tessa and Richie returned to the living room with the two other trays, and Duncan helped them set the platters and bowls of food onto the coffee table.
"Tessa it looks wonderful." Duncan said appreciatively, his eyes scanning over the spread of food she had prepared for them.
"Thank you, Duncan." Tessa said, "I wanted to make something that we can easily eat in here, but have it be filling enough to satisfy all of our appetites."
She nodded toward Richie, who had a ham and cheese finger sandwich stuffed into his mouth, and another in his hand.
Duncan followed her gaze and chuckled.
Richie glanced up, startled by Duncan's chuckle, to see both adults looking at him with amused expressions on their faces.
"What?" He asked.
"Nothing." Duncan shook his head and reached for his bowl of tomato soup.
The next several moments passed in relative silence except for the scraping of spoons against the side of a bowl or the faint thud of a glass being set down upon the coffee table. Long past the time Tessa and Duncan finished eating their meal, Richie finally declared himself done.
"I can't move." Richie moaned as he sprawled on his back amid the empty ornament boxes.
"Don't get too comfortable down there." Duncan warned him, leaning over the coffee table to look at him. "We're far from finished decorating in here and we haven't even started in the antique shop."
"I know…I know." Richie said, even as he closed his eyes.
Duncan helped carry their dirty dishes into the kitchen, leaving the few remaining sandwiches and sliced up fruit and vegetables on two platters on the coffee table, along with the glasses of coke. Before the night was over, Tessa was sure, Richie or him and Duncan together would finish off what was left.
The Highlander left Tessa alone in the kitchen and returned to the living room. He paused to take a long drink of his Coke, before rounding the coffee table and nudging Richie's leg with the toe of his shoe. Richie's eyes popped open and he without a word he rose to his feet.
Tessa made quick work of washing the dishes and tidying up the kitchen, and then rejoined Duncan and Richie in the living room. The threesome worked for the next several hours, transforming both their living quarters and the antique shop into festive Christmas scenes. By the time they were finished, Richie was dead tired. He bid Duncan and Tessa good night and went to bed.
Though they were both tired as well, Duncan and Tessa lingered in the living room. Duncan settled himself into one corner of their couch, shoes toed off, and legs stretched out before him. Tessa curled beside him, her head on his shoulder, and Duncan's right arm wrapped around her.
A fire burned merrily in the fireplace, casting the living room with a warm glow. Strands of garland hung from the doorways with mistletoe, Tessa's prized Victorian village was placed along the wooden mantle over the fireplace and extended out onto two small tables Duncan and Richie had placed on either side of the fireplace.
The tree was bedecked with the antique glass ornaments, the twinkling multi-colored lights, and sparkling strands of tinsel. More of the billowy white cotton that served as snow for the Victorian village was spread out around the base of the Christmas tree and a variety of antique stuffed toys and bears were nestled among it and the brightly wrapped presents that Duncan, Tessa, and Richie had all brought out and placed beneath it.
It was truly a winter wonderland
"It looks heavenly," Tessa murmured, as she studied the beautiful scene before them.
"Yes, it does." Duncan agreed.
It had been a lot of hard work on all their parts, but the end results was just stunning.
Tessa yawned and Duncan smiled.
"We should go to bed."
"No, not yet." Tessa protested, snuggling closer to him, and yawned again. "I just want to be here with you in this moment for a little longer."
"Alright."
Duncan tightened his arm around her waist and leaned his head back. He was loathe to end the perfect moment himself. He closed his eyes and slowly drifted to sleep.