Chapter 4
Ana awoke before the sun rose on Christmas morning. She put on her robe and went in search of several items. She had an idea but needed to act quickly before the Greys began to make their way downstairs. She was sitting in the kitchen, just about done with her mission, when she was startled by the opening of the door from the basement. She was greeted by a sweaty, breathless Christian Grey.
""I'm sorry if I scared you. I didn't realize anyone was awake."
Ana giggled with relief that it was Christian and not a Christmas serial killer. "No worries. I thought I was the only one up."
" Same here. I was trying to get in a workout. It was not an easy feat to do by candlelight."
"That's dedication," his houseguest replied. "I found a French press in the cabinet. Would you like some coffee?"
"That sounds great. I'm going to grab a quick shower. I'll be back in just a few."
Ana set to work filling a kettle. While the water heated, Ana lit candles all over the kitchen. She quickly washed the dishes from the night before. She set out mugs and set up a coffee station on the breakfast bar. Ana found some large rubber boots by the back door. She put these on to venture out to the patio to retrieve cream as well as eggs and the other ingredients for a breakfast casserole. She hoped that the casserole would cook on the stove top just as the apple pie had the night before. She layered the ingredients in Grace's dutch oven and set the burner.
When Christian returned, Ana was fixing her tea. Christian was once again wearing his Christmas pajama pants and a fresh white t-shirt along with a well-worn Harvard sweatshirt. Ana noticed that his pants matched the pajamas that she had borrowed. They made quite the picture of the all-American Christmas. L.L. Bean himself would be proud.
Ana fixed Christian a cup of coffee in the French press. They clinked their mugs together and enjoyed the warmth of their beverages. When the rest of the Greys arose for the day, the found Christian and Ana huddled deep in conversation, oblivious to anyone else.
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"Ana, this breakfast is delicious. You really shouldn't have gone through all of this trouble," Carrick said as he helped himself to a second serving of the cheesy egg and sausage casserole.
"Really, it was nothing," Ana assured. "Plus, I had a great assistant this morning," she giggled. His family did not need to know that Christian helped Ana with more than just breakfast prep. Christian grinned back at their guest. Mia and Grace made eye contact with each other. Neither woman missed the secret glances that Ana and Christian had been sharing all morning. Christian's family had never known him to flirt much less have a girlfriend (or boyfriend, if that was his preference). Grace and Mia were taking note of each Ana giggle and Christian wink. If something was brewing between the two, the mother-daughter duo were sure to get the intel.
Grace refused to allow Ana to help clear the table. Instead, Grace sent Elliott to walk Murphy and enlisted Mia to help in the kitchen. Grace shooed Ana and Christian into the living room with the guise of taking a tray full of warm cider. Christian and Ana tidied up the cushions from the night before and settled onto the sofa. Ana tucked her feet up and her knee touched Christian's leg that was crossed at the ankle over his knee. This time she heard his quick intake of breath when they touched. Ana smiled to herself knowing he was just as affected as she was.
The two sat with their faces close as they talked. Carrick went to work building another fire. Ana warmed her hands to the mug. At a pause in their conversation, Christian reached to tuck a piece of stray hair behind her ear. For just a moment they let themselves get lost in each other's eyes.
Elliott and Murphy returned from an attempt at a walk. Apparently the snow was so high that Murphy decided he would rather hold it than to stay outside long enough to do his business. Elliott promised his faithful companion that he would find the snow shovel and dig out a patch of grass once the presents were opened. Murphy did not seem at all concerned and went to lie beside the fire.
Mia and Grace joined the rest of their family. Elliott and Mia positioned themselves on the floor by the tree. They handed out presents in what seemed to be their usual Christmas morning MO.
Mia opened the first present. Her brow furrowed with confusion when she unwrapped a nautical sonar designed for deep sea fishing.
"Oh dear!" Exclaimed Grace. "I must have put the wrong name on that gift. It's for your father." Grace reached over and handed Carrick the now-unwrapped device. "Merry Christmas, dear," she laughed.
"Thank you, my love." Carrick instructed Mia to find a small, wrapped gift for Grace. Grace smiled at the familiar wrapping from her favorite jeweler. When Grace opened the red velvet box, she looked at her husband in confusion.
"Thank you, darling," Grace said to her husband. "They are, um, quite unique."
She turned the box for everyone to see the 4 inch, hoop earrings adorned with a row of tiny pink gemstones.
"Oh," Carrick said. "The store must have gotten the labels wrong. Those are for Mia. Your present must still be under the tree." Mia squealed with delight as Grace looked very relieved. Dr. Grey was not a hoop-earring kind of lady. They would look fantastic on her daughter.
Carrick got down beside the pile of presents and dug through to find a similarly wrapped present from the same jewelry shop. Only this one had Elliott's name on it. Carrick scratched his head. He hadn't bought Elliott any jewelry. He was sure this was the diamond and emerald cocktail ring that he had picked out for Grace. He handed the box to his wife, uncertain as to whether or not this was the one meant for her. Grace unwrapped it with equal trepidation. She cooed with delight when she discovered the beautiful ring inside. This piece was just her style.
The present unwrapping maintained this level of chaos. By the sixth or seventh wrongly labeled gift, the Greys began to laugh. They took turns unwrapping presents and trying to guess who the intended recipient was. By the tenth or eleventh present, Elliott noticed that Christian and Ana were laughing just a little bit harder than everyone else. It was then that Christian confessed that he and Ana had switched all of the gift tags as a Christmas prank.
"I'm sorry," Ana giggled. "It's just that I never had any siblings and Christian said that pranks were his favorite Christmas memory…"
"Don't apologize," laughed Mia. "It was totally worth it to see Elliott unwrap my silk nightgown from Victoria's Secret."
"Did you see Mom's face when she opened my new work boots from Mia? She was trying to pretend that she liked them. She was so polite about it," Elliott said with glee.
Christian's big present to his parents was a whole house generator that ran off of the natural gas line. The irony of such a gift was not lost on the group that had been without power for going on 24 hours. Next Christmas would be filled with light no matter the weather.
All-in-all, the Grey's agreed that Christian and Ana's prank made the present opening one to remember. Ana was surprised when Grace and Carrick gifted her with a set of luxurious toiletries. She had a feeling that these were originally intended for Mia. She found the sentiment endearing. Ana unwrapped a gift from Mia. It was an I.O.U for a mani/pedi. Ana thanked her new friend and made Mia promise that they would make a girl's day out of the trip to the salon. Elliott promised to help Ana get Wanda towed to a mechanic friend of his. Ana blushed and assured him this was not necessary. Christian made Ana promise that she would let the brothers help her get her VW road-worthy again. With a bit of bashfulness, Christian then handed Ana an envelope containing a handwritten card inviting her to dinner at Canlis, a well-known Seattle eatery. She kissed his cheek in thanks - another move noted by Grace and Mia. Ana was touched by the thoughtfulness of each of her hosts.
The Grey's were equally touched when Ana gifted each of them with a small present. Ana explained that since she did not have anything with her, that she had arisen early to search through the family's extensive book collection. She picked out some of her favorite novels. With each book, she matched something about the book with something about the recipient, she explained. For Mia, she picked Pride and Prejudice. Ana compared Mia to Mr. Darcy's lovely and welcoming sister Georgina. For Elliott, she picked The History of My Life by Giacomo Casanova. This made Carrick and Christian bellow with laughter. Elliott was equally delighted. He made no secret of his penchant for the fairer sex. For Carrick and Grace, Ana gifted Little Women. Ana supposed that the Grey parents had gifted their children with a childhood nearly as idyllic as Alcott's March sisters. Christian tried not to look expectantly when Ana was done handing out his family's gifts.
"Awww, don't feel left out," Ana soothed Christian. For you, I picked two books most dear to my heart," she teased. Mia and Grace made knowing eye contact.
Christian opened the first package wrapped with parchment paper to reveal Sense and Sensibility.
"Ooh," Mia cooed, clapping her hands. "It's because Christian rescued you just like Willoughby rescued Kate Winslet when she fell in the rain and twisted his ankle!"
"Urh, no," Ana replied. "Willoughby isn't actually a hero in the story. It's because Christian is like Colonel Brandon. He quietly goes about helping people while no one is watching." Ana blushed and Christian grinned from ear-to-ear.
"What's the second book?" Mia bounced with anticipation. She was positively giddy with the romance blooming before her eyes.
Christian unwrapped a collection of Shakespeare's sonnets. He looked from the book in his lap to Ana with a cocked eyebrow.
"Shakespeare's sonnets are often forgotten for his plays. I loved reading them when I was in school. I discovered something new and unexpected each time I reread them. Just like you," Ana whispered. Ana knew her blush must be brighter than Rudolph's nose. Christian leaned forward to give Ana a quick hug of thanks. He snuck a kiss to her cheek that left her even rosier if possible. Later, Christian would find himself memorizing Sonnet 25 where Ana had purposefully left a bookmark.