"Hey pretty lady…wanna jingle my bells?" Sheldon clicked his tongue against his teeth as he attempted to brush past Barry Kripke who was attempting to lure a young graduate under the sprig of mistletoe he was waving above his head. "Watch it, Cooper." Barry muttered as Sheldon inadvertently knocked the mistletoe sprig out of Kripke's hand as he scanned the crowded cafeteria trying to spot Amy, Leonard and Raj. He finally spotted them huddled around a table on the far side of the room talking animatedly amongst themselves as they listened to the quietly muted strains of Christmas music drifting out of the speakers dotted around the room.
"Good Lord, must we sit through this dreadful racket every day? Can't we go out for lunch instead?" Sheldon groaned as he sat down at the empty seat and set his tray down on the table.
"And go where Sheldon? Face it, wherever you go from now until January 1st you're gonna have to listen to Christmas music."
"Yeah four whole weeks of 'Silver Bells' and 'White Christmas'." Raj murmured, closing his eyes as he swayed gently in his seat.
"Let's not forget 'Little Saint Nick' or 'Run, Run Rudolph'." Chimed in Leonard and Amy wrinkled her nose up at his suggestion, shaking her head in disapproval. Sheldon started to grin, thinking that his sensible girlfriend was about to take his viewpoint on the whole Christmas malarkey – but it seemed he was doomed for more disappointment.
"Little Dummer Boy/Peace On Earth – a perfect blend of the musical genius that was Bing Crosby, with a dash of David Bowie; followed by anything from the Frank Sinatra or Neil Diamond Christmas album."
"Amy! Don't tell me that you also subscribe to the Christmas madness that takes over the whole month of December? I thought you were far too sensible a person to fall for this ritualistic event of Saturnalia."
"Come again?" Amy set her fork down on the side of her plate and wiped her mouth with her napkin.
"Uh oh, here we go again." Leonard murmured to Raj as they sat back in their seats to listen to an occasion as it seemed to be Sheldon's version of a beloved Christmas tale.
"Saturnalia - in the pre-Christian era, as the winter solstice approached and the plants died, pagans brought evergreen boughs into their homes as an act of sympathetic magic, intended to guard the life essences of the plants until spring. This custom was later appropriated by Northern Europeans and eventually it becomes the so-called Christmas tree." Sheldon explained, he hated everything about Christmas; the mess, the fuss and most of all the emptiness surrounding the whole day; ever since his PopPop had passed away when he was a small boy; it all seemed shallow and meaningless – for Sheldon, Christmas had lost the magic the year that he's lost his PopPop.
"I happen to love the whole holiday season, Sheldon, and nothing you can do or say will ever persuade me otherwise." Amy replied, placing her napkin over her plate as she pushed her tray away from her.
"But what about the sleepless nights spent trying to figure out whether you've spent the same amount of money on a gift as the one that you've just received? I've spent many a night trying to perfect a formula but have yet not been able to come up with anything reliable." Sheldon was confused, Amy had never brought up her love of Christmas in the years that they had spent together. He thought that she felt exactly the same way that he did; they hadn't exchanged so much as a Christmas card since they had become an official couple. "You don't exactly go hog wild on the festivities in your apartment." He said slowly as he tried to puzzle out her sudden change of heart.
"I have a small tree in my bedroom and string up lights around my window. I even have an evergreen wreath on my front door, which I take down on the nights that I know that I will be seeing you on."
"Why just in your bedroom?"
"Because I knew that you don't like celebrating Christmas, so I've never made a big deal out of it. I decorate my bedroom as I know that it's the one room that you never go in to."
"You've never mentioned anything…you must think I'm a terrible boyfriend; I've never even bought you an appropriate gift."
"Sheldon, I think you're missing the true meaning of Christmas. You don't give a gift in the expectation of receiving anything back in return…"
"Amy, Amy…that's a very noble sentiment but complete hogwash." Sheldon reached out to pat her hand in a consoling manner, his tone ripe with condescension. "That's what they tell you in all those sappy Christmas movies all the time; but it has always been my experience that if you receive a large box at Christmas then you can be sure that the giver expects an even bigger gift in return."
"Sheldon, if that's what you've experienced in the past, then I truly feel sorry for you. Christmas isn't about trying to one up the other person, it's not even about the presents it's a time for joy, laughter and celebrating the birth of the son of God…I may not be overly religious like your Mother, Sheldon but even I can share her thoughts at this special time of year." Amy glanced at her watch and realised that her lunch hour was rapidly coming to an end. She rose up from the table and with tray in hand, turned back to leave Sheldon with a final thought. "When I give someone a gift at Christmas it's because I want to share that joy with them – it's not because I expect anything in return." Sheldon waited until she was out of earshot before he turned to speak to Leonard and Raj.
"Yeah, that's what she says now – I bet come Christmas morning, it's a whole other ballgame."
"I don't know, Sheldon. I think Amy enjoys the whole Christmas experience; you weren't around when we decorated the apartment because you were back in Texas while Missy was giving birth. Amy loves every single thing about the whole season, she starts her preparations as soon as Thanksgiving is over." Leonard leant forward on his elbows, but Sheldon was only half paying attention as he watched Amy trying to dodge out of the way of Kripke's attempt at luring her under the mistletoe.
"Oh man, those gingerbread cookies that she made were to die for!" Raj exclaimed as he rubbed his stomach in remembrance. "Then we all helped her make the dough for that cute little house and decorated the hell out of it."
"Oh yeah, that was kind of fun wasn't it?" Leonard chuckled and Sheldon smirked a little as Amy successfully distracted Kripke long enough to slip past him. Sheldon turned back to Leonard with an accusing look.
"No one said anything to me about decorating any gingerbread houses…I love gingerbread."
"We made hot apple cider, Amy did those little cranberry pies as well; remember those Leonard?" Raj sighed and Leonard beamed happily back at him.
"I wonder if she'll make more this year. Do you still have that scarf she knitted you?"
"Of course." Raj dived into his bag and pulled out a soft black, woollen scarf with a complicated pattern woven into the piece. "I started wearing it as soon as the weather turned a little chilly. Cool isn't it, Sheldon? Look, she put my favourite constellations on it."
"That's Andromeda and Cassiopeia isn't it?" Sheldon ran a finger over the delicate fabric as he picked out what he had originally thought were just random speckles of silvery thread.
"She made me and Penny a set of matching quilted pillowcases – they've got our photo's stitched in and everything." Leonard boasted and Sheldon frowned a little.
"I don't recall seeing them anywhere in your room."
"Penny keeps them over at her place, we didn't want to ruin them so we decided to keep them for special occasions. Penny's got a little trunk full of things that she's been saving up for after the wedding."
"I see." Sheldon said softly, he didn't understand why Amy felt the need to keep her obvious love of Christmas a secret from him; he may not be a fan of the whole season but he would have made more of a concerted effort had he known it meant that much to her.
"Sheldon…" Leonard saw how quiet Sheldon had become and tried to cheer him up. "I thought that you would have been happy that Amy didn't make a fuss over you; I saw how pleased you were when you realised that we had thrown a Christmas party when you were away – you even said that you were grateful that we waited until you had gone!"
"I know I did…but I never realised how much she really loved it; and now I don't know why I'm feeling sad."
"It's probably because Amy spent a lot of time and love in giving us the perfect gift last year and you got zip." Raj remarked bluntly and Leonard shot him a look that clearly told him to drop the subject. Raj decided to ignore Leonard completely and carried on. "Howard and Bernadette got a wall hanging that Amy made out of one of their wedding photos and she even made Stuart a gift basket of food. It wasn't about the money; it was about the love, Sheldon."
"Excuse me please, I need to get back to my work now." Sheldon rose abruptly from the table and stalked out of the cafeteria.