Chapter Twenty Five – Xmas
This morning, I was in an indestructible good mood.
It was a perfect early morning snowfall outside. Slow, big flakes falling gracefully. My distaste for cold weather had been phased out towards appreciation. But there was another reason my mood was reaching absolutely blissful levels—our current location. Winter vacation had given me the opportunity to hole myself in his house, leaving for the occasional but necessary hunting trip. I was beyond content spending all my time in the Cullen house, whether Edward and I were alone or not. I was indisputably happy.
At that, Edward started tapping an impatient melody on my bare arm. "Do you know what day it is?" He whispered, his whisper particularly sweet today. I didn't have to think long before I remembered looking at the calendar. December 25.
The melodic whisper spoke before I could answer. "Merry Christmas, love."
"Merry Christmas." I choked back. Thoughts from downstairs flooded me, like one noisy room.
How much longer are they going to be up there? Alice was the only one concerned about us.
Not enough lights, I don't think. Alice won't be pleased with that. Jasper was much more concerned about Alice's happiness than our location.
Wish Emmett would just get one and come back. Rosalie's annoyance was staggering.
Esme's thoughts were absolutely ecstatic, thinking about how happy all of us were.
"We probably should go downstairs sometime." He said, begrudgingly slipping away from me. But we weren't separated for long. Once we were both dressed, he flipped off the light switch, and we walked down the stairs together.
With three stairs left, Rosalie bombarded us. Her face was creased in severe exasperation.
"Edward, save us. Esme is playing the Perry Como records again."
In his free hand, he clutched several mixes of Christmas music, only much more modern than Esme's record collection. Like a boy scout, Edward always prepared.
Satisfied, Rosalie quickly perched herself on the couch, returning to her job of stringing white fluffs of popcorn in long chains. Along the wall, Alice and Jasper were detangling long strings of multicolored lights.
I was left along the wall, a silent spectator. Edward meandered towards the speaker, gracefully swapping the old vinyl for more contemporary holiday fare. Esme opened her lips to complain, but said nothing once she noticed how happy the Jimmy Eat World song made everybody.
Emmett busted through the door loudly, a boisterous smile on his lips, and a massive evergreen in his hands. "Found it!"
Alice approached him, examining it with her normal analytical glare. Once her analysis was complete, she shrugged. "Not bad."
"Not bad??? I'd like to see you pick a better tree than this one." Emmett shrugged off the snow like a wet dog, despite Esme's shrieks about the carpet, and set the pine tree into its iron holder. Alice quickly sprung into action, twirling the green strings around the tree. Within seconds, it was properly adorned.
I grabbed a handful of popcorn, letting it sift through my fingers like a bowl of dirt. I eyed Rosalie with shrewd speculation—she didn't even budge.
"My favorite tradition as a kid." She sighed, still poking soft puffs through the needle. "This is so much easier once you aren't eating all the popcorn first." She laughed wrly, her eyes sparkling with yearning.
Esme rested a hand on my shoulder, her contentment uncontrollable. "Maybe we are getting a little carried away, but this is the first real Christmas we've had as a whole family since you've joined us." She explained softly.
"The first few Christmases Edward wanted you all to himself." Alice poked Edward in the rib. "Typically selfish."
I was the only one who knew the real reason Edward had insisted on celebrating the holiday alone. He thought the human-like experience would upset me. Make me regret my decision, and miss those human experiences.
It felt obscenely appropriate the first real Christmas we had together was the first year I was pretending to be human.
"We all have a few holiday memories that stick with us." Carlisle added. "And they've all merged to create the Cullen family Christmas."
"With a few add-ons in traditions. Should we open presents before or after we hunt?" Always the mother figure—Esme was trying to keep us on track.
I gritted my teeth. Even with my relentless dislike for receiving presents, I knew in this family it would be unavoidable.
"How about after?" Edward suggested, watching my disinclination. Give you some time to prepare.
Alice grinned at Emmett playfully. "Maybe you'll find reindeer this year, Emmett."
He shakes his head, but something in his eyes tells me there's a fruitless hunt he doesn't want to admit.
Being a Cullen translated into an endless supply of modern and expensive gadgets, and pretty much anything else under the sun. But it had been my goal to make every gift I bought heart-felt. I wanted to find gifts that no one else would think to buy them, and I thought I did very well.
Emmett's gift had been my favorite to buy. It was the cheesiest gift shop sweater I could find, with a cute little cartoon of a grizzly bear. Emmett was trying real hard to enjoy the joke, but I could tell he really wanted that new video game console.
Rosalie, my pretend mother figure, tore open a beautiful antique silver necklace. The purple stones glimmered against her pale skin. I hoped her gratitude was not false, but it actually seemed genuine.
For Esme, I had found a beautiful mahogany jewelry box I had found in an online antique store. Whenever you opened its doors, a sweet little melody played. Esme hummed that tune for the rest of the day.
I had been shopping with Alice earlier in the year when I had found the perfect gift for Carlisle. A pair of sterling silver cuff links, in the shape of stethoscopes. He'd been very upset that his favorite pair had been lost in the last move, and insisted that he had a new favorite to replace them, thanks to my generosity.
Jasper's gift—a rare collection of civil war era literature—had been the hardest to find. But the smile on his face as he fingered those withering pages had been worth the search. The room filled with even more good spirit after that.
Alice was the most difficult to buy for, since she bought nearly every item she wanted or thought she needed. But in lieu of an actual gift, I gave her a promise. She was given an entire day in close proximity where we would do whatever she want. The ambiguity of that promise scared me a little, but it was all I could think of.
And there was a very specific gift that I was saving for Edward. But that gift would only be appropriate when we were alone. As the others opened their presents, I gave him a little mental preview. And judging by the smile on his face and the ferocity of his thoughts, he would enjoy the present too.
After every last carefully-wrapped gift was torn open, everyone began to settle into a sitting position in the living room. The last track on Edward's mix began to play softly, and his eyes lit up with enthusiasm. When the chatter became louder than the music itself, his eyes darkened with fury.
"Shhh! This one's my favorite!" Edward exclaimed with excitement. Everyone else groaned at first, but their hisses of criticism died down quickly.
Alice and Jasper kissed Eskimo style, wordlessly expressing their adoration for each other. Emmett whispered softly affectionate murmurs, eliciting a dazzling smile from Rosalie. Carlisle's arms were draped around Esme, acting as a loving blanket for her as they watched over us all.
And after Edward turned up the music even louder, he returned to our part of the couch happily. We were a twisted knot of limbs, and his lips pressed softly against my ear as he whispered.
"I hope you had a merry Christmas, dear."
I smiled, pressing my cheek against his chest. "I'm sure this only the first of many."
"Very true, love." He kissed me briefly, and then murmured once more. "Very true."
Links for all the Cullens' Christmas presents can be found on my profile, along with the songs "Last Christmas" (the Jimmy Eat World song mentioned) and Edward's favorite as well (which, coincidentally, is my personal favorite as well.) Please review!! :D:D:D