17. Christmas and its Wonderful Changes

Zoe's POV

I woke up Christmas morning to a very happy and excited nine year old girl bouncing on my bed. Beside her was a very excited and hyper...Golden Retriever Puppy!?

I didn't give that to them! Then I noticed Dan standing in the doorway grinning at my surprise.

I looked at him to Hannah, to the puppy, as it climbed atop me and licked me, then back to Dan.

I wasn't sure about it, but I knew that I would end up saying yes to the animal. He was cute.

Ten minutes later, I was downstairs making breakfast. There was this stuff called "wifesaver" that Sue had always made for Christmas morning. It was eggs, ham, cheese, green peppers, and cornflakes on top. It was just part of tradition, now. The kids were opening their stockings. The glow on their faces was beautiful. Then Taylor got up and gave Dan the stocking that we had prepared for him together. He looked surprised. As soon as I put the food in the oven, I went over and sat down on the couch beside Dan.

Hannah came over with my stocking and sat down in between Dan and I. He put his arm around her and kissed her on the forehead. Then he grinned over at me.

As soon as I finished my stocking, everyone started in on the gifts. I had bought a special gift for each of the kids and one for Dan that I would give last.

For Taylor, there was a locket with a picture of the family before Sue died, the Christmas before her accident, and the other side was a picture taken on our walk. It was of Dan, Cliff, Taylor, Hannah, and me.

For Cliff, there was a photo album filled with pictures of the family and him from his birth, to today. I also found a few home videos that had been filmed throughout his very young years. I found all of the ones that were of him and went to a place where they take certain clippings that you want from the videos and make it into one movie. I had that done for him too.

And for my little Hannah, a blanket with a family picture of a few years back printed on the top of it. It was pricy, but she was worth it. I love my kids.

Then there was the watch for Dan. I had to get it. It was just him. The first time I saw it. It called me and just spelled DAN. It cost more than any of the kids' gifts, but I loved him, too.

Dan broke my thoughts with a tap on the shoulder. Hannah was opening the first gift. The joy on their faces was so wonderful that I couldn't help but let a few tears of happiness escape my eyes.

Dan looked over as the puppy jumped on top of me. Dan's boyish grin made the day all the more complete.

As soon as Christmas day and all of its events and surprises began, it ended. That was the worst part of the day. The ending. It could have been worse, if it weren't for Dan.

As the kids had headed to bed an hour and a half ago, I gave them the special presents. The expressions on Cliff and Taylor's faces was a mix of happy tears of reminiscing of happy times with their mother, and sad tears because they were remembering how she would never return to spend another Christmas with them.

Hannah's reaction was different, however. When I gave her the blanket, she was just so excited to have something of her own that would remind her of Mommy.

Dan and I kissed the kids goodnight, and went and sat in the darkened room with just the Christmas tree lights glowing.

Taylor's POV

As I climbed into bed, I put the locket around my neck. I vowed never to let it leave that place.

"Taylor," Cliff's voice came from my doorway.

"Yeah?"

"I thought Dan was going to propose."

I sat down on my bed and motioned to Cliff to sit down beside me.

"I wish I knew what he was planning. He said that he would do it today, but he didn't."

"Well, maybe that's what he's doing right now."

We looked at each other. We could communicate by talking with our minds. It was just our thing.

With that, we silently crawled from my bedroom door to the top of the stairs to eavesdrop.

When we were about three feet from our destination, the creaky board in the hall that we'd forgotten about made a loud noise.

"What was that?" we heard Aunt Zoe say.

"I didn't hear anything." Was Dan's answer.

I could tell she was unsure, but reluctantly agreed with him.

We finally got to the edge and decided to just sit and watch. Then, the moment came, or so we thought.

Dan reached into his pocket for what we thought was the ring, but instead, he pulled out a piece of paper!

He handed it to Aunt Zoe, and told her to read it out loud. Then he glanced up at us and winked. He knew we were there!

"Dear Diary,

Today Dan came to me to ask if he could propose to Aunt Zoe."

I just about fell over. That was MY journal entry! How in God's green earth did he get a hold of that?!

"At first I was scared out of my wits. If Aunt Zoe were to get married, would she be as devoted to us? Would she still want us? What if she thought we were just a burden and got in the way of her love life? If that happened, where would we go? What would happen to Cliff and Hannah?"

I could see tears fill her eyes.

"Then I thought about how great they are to us. I thought about how well Dan fit in with us. Aunt Zoe wouldn't desert us. She loves us. If she didn't, she wouldn't have given up her whole life to come take care of us. She wouldn't have put up with us constantly being jerks. She loves us so much more than we'll ever know. So I said I would think about it and give him the answer on Christmas Eve."

Aunt Zoe was nearly sobbing when Dan gave her another sheet of paper.

"Tomorrow's Christmas! I can't wait! The only thing that worries me is Dan's proposal. Today, I told him that it was okay with me. Ever since he asked me, I have had a total of about three hours sleep. I can't stop worrying. I know that I shouldn't, because Aunt Zoe loves us, and Dan does, too. I guess it's just human nature to worry about something this BIG. I just am waiting to see how it goes."

Zoe's POV

As I finished reading Taylor's diary, Dan handed me a box. I now knew what it was. I couldn't help but cry. I was sobbing. I loved Dan. I loved the kids more. This would end up turning out perfectly. I nodded to Dan through my tears. Then I heard the thumping of footsteps as Cliff and Taylor practically pounced on me, hugging me. When we were finally done, the kids went to bed, and so did Dan and I. This must've been the happiest day in my life to this day.