A Little Romance
"Patrick! Turn that music down. I don't want to wake Angela, I finally got her to sleep. It's getting harder every year to settle her on Christmas Eve."
"Tim's still awake reading, and he promised to keep an ear out for the little spy. Come here, we have important matters to attend to."
She rolled her eyes at him, but the smile on her face gave her away as he drew her into his arms and slowly twirled her around the room.
Timothy Turner was sitting up in bed, his newest book halfway finished when the floorboards in the hall creaked.
"Hold it right there!"
Blonde curls belonging to his wide awake five year old sister appeared in his doorway.
"I wasn't doing anything..."
"Then you'll have no problem going back to bed."
With as pathetic a pout as she could muster, Angela widened her eyes at her big brother. "But Timmmmmmyyyyy..."
"No dice, Ange. Dad put me in charge of making sure you stayed in bed tonight so as not to spoil any of Santa's surprises. Back to bed, please."
"Fine!" She huffed and made to turn back to her bedroom before continuing to scurry towards the sitting room.
"Angela!"
"You said Daddy put you in charge, but Mummy is the real boss. I hear Daddy say that all the time!" She froze as they reached the doorway of the sitting room.
Patrick and Shelagh, oblivious to their audience, swayed together in front of the Christmas tree, the fairy lights around the room the only source of light.
"Oh, Timmy! Isn't it romantic?!" Angela exclaimed in a hushed whisper.
"What do you know about romance? You're five!"
"Fairy tales." She replied with a sigh.
Timothy, in true teenage boy fashion, shook his head. "You're spending too much time with Nurse Franklin." He smiled to himself as he watched his parents for a moment, then bent down to grab his sister. "Come on, you. Back to bed. You don't want their mushy stuff to ruin Christmas morning."
As he saw his children walk away, Patrick leaned down to kiss his wife and whisper in her ear.
"Happy Anniversary, my love."