The most simple can be found in a closet, hiding in dark. A withering fiend afraid and hidden, yet taken out and shone the light will have changed from green to red. The color of passion and the fire of love expanding when given the chance…
The house was beautiful. Rebecca may have been a cold hearted bitch, but she had taste-- in decorating that is. The mansion was decorated beautifully. Rebecca had called in the top New England decorators to make her house the most talked about. Garland adorned all the railings, lights were everywhere, Christmas trees were decorated with gold and red, and for it being the Crane mansion, it felt unusually warm inside.
The Christmas ball wasn't for another day but Rebecca was hard at work during the day telling people what to put where. And at night, she's slip on different Santa suits and had Julian sit on her lap.
As she entered the house with rosy cheeks and bundled up like a blanket, Theresa couldn't get over how nice the house looked. It looked so warm and inviting. She leaned against the open doorway, watching her Little Ethan play in the fresh snow. It made her heart swell.
"Hey, Theresa," a voice called to her. She turned to the voice and saw Ethan approaching her. "Is Little Ethan still outside?" he asked, stopping beside her.
"Yes, he's trying to build something."
"Yeah, I promised him that I'd help him build a snow fort."
"Oh, well I guess he's waiting for you. He said no girls allowed," she said with a frown.
"No way. It's a guy thing."
"Yeah…" Their eyes locked and the warmth of Crane home had disappeared to be filled by a completely new one; it only existed between them.
"Hey, Uncle Ethan!" Little Ethan called, interrupting their thoughts.
"Hey, sport!" Ethan returned, breaking his gaze.
"Sweetheart, are you warm enough? Do you need another sweater?" Theresa asked her son.
"No, I'm fine," he replied mounding a ball of snow together.
"Okay."
"Hey, Uncle Ethan?"
"Yeah, sport?"
"What's that?"
"What's what?"
Little Ethan pointed up. "What's that above your head?"
"Hmm?" Ethan began to look up when Theresa answered.
"Mistletoe…," she whispered.
Ethan stared at Theresa, drawing deep into her soul. They were approaching… closer… closer… Theresa waited with her eyes closed. It was going to happen. Ethan inched closer to her, his lips parted, ready to feel. Their lips were a breath apart, so close…
"Hey, Uncle Ethan!" Little Ethan called, interrupting their thoughts. Ethan forced his eyes open and away from Theresa. "Are you gonna play with me?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming!" Ethan said, giving Theresa one last look as he tore himself away.
Theresa leaned again the doorway and watched the men she loved play in the snow.
Later on, after lunch, Little Ethan was busy playing and Theresa was in the library reading. No matter what she did, what almost happened between her and Ethan earlier refused to leave her mind. Clapping to book shut, Theresa stood and made for the door when a familiar face appeared. "Theresa, there you are. I was looking for you." His features were as soft as ever. That same smile indenting dimples in his cheeks, the same passionate stare that she found herself lost in…
"Ethan…"
"Listen, Theresa, I just wanted to tell you that… what happened earlier was--" Theresa retreated from him as he spoke.
"Don't worry about it," she said as she slid the book back onto the shelf.
"But--"
"No, really," she interrupted. "It's fine." Ethan said nothing. "I just… I'm gonna go see Little Ethan." She went to the door but was stopped. Ethan had grabbed her arm gently, pulling her back to him.
"Wait… Theresa…" She spun to him slowly.
They were close now. Theresa got lost in him and felt Ethan begin to capture her. He dared to close the gap between them; finish what had begun earlier that day.
Theresa could feel his arms encircle her body as they inched closer still. Their breaths mingled and their lips thirsted for a caress. A tap on the door was heard before it opened, revealing Gwen. Ethan quickly pulled away, surprised that he had gotten so taken in.
Theresa opened her eyes, in disappointment, for it had been twice that she had gotten so close to his lips and had yet again been denied to taste them.
"Gwen," he said a little flustered.
"Honey, there you are. Mother's been looking for you. She wanted a man's opinion on something…," she said, suddenly analyzing the events around her. "What were you two doing in here?"
"I--," Theresa tried.
"I came in here for some papers for a case I'm working on. Theresa was reading when I came in," he lied.
"You have a case? Honey, Christmas Eve is tomorrow night."
"I know, I just wanted to get something finished up."
"Well, come on down. Mother needs for you for a sec."
"Okay, I'll be right down." Gwen nodded and hesitated before leaving.
Theresa turned back to Ethan without a word. His eyes locked with hers and he was suddenly overcome with a feeling of guilt.
Why did this happen to him?
Why was the woman he called wife not the one he wanted?
Ethan walked to the door, only to be stopped by her touch. "Ethan…," she whispered, almost pleading with him. He didn't know what to say. Instead, he pulled way and walked to the door. As he closed the door, never taking his eyes from her, he thought his heart would break, for he could have sworn that he saw a tear leave her eye…
That night, Theresa tucked her son into bed, enjoying the look of eagerness on his face.
"Tomorrow's Christmas!" Little Ethan exclaimed.
"Tomorrow's Christmas Eve, yes," Theresa corrected.
"That means Santa's coming!"
"Yes, he'll be here soon. But you need to go to bed, young man," she said, coaxing him underneath the covers. "Come on, into bed. The sooner you go to bed, the sooner Santa comes."
It didn't take anything else but that. Little Ethan almost threw his mother out of his room so he could fall asleep as soon as possible.
The warmth of the house was radiating far beyond the lavish highlights on the banister, the doorways, the windows, and the walls. It was Christmas… It really was Christmas.
In all her years, Theresa never thought that she would be excited to celebrate Christmas in the Crane mansion. The usual coldness that came along with the house seemed to be replaced with the magic that was Christmas. Almost unbelievable.
Theresa was making her way back to her room when she passed a window in the hallway. One of her favorite phenomenons was occurring right now. She needed to see it!
She quickly slipped into her coat and raced outside. The floodlights illuminating much of the path leading to the front door made it look like sparkling dust.
Snow.
It was snowing.
Theresa loved the snow. Nothing said Christmas to her more than snow.
As she bent down to ball up a fistful of the diamond dust, she closed her eyes, remembering the first snowball fight she had with Ethan…
When the memory faded, the tears were fast to follow. She clenched the fistful of snow and sprung it up into the air, watching it cascade around her in a natural fashion. When the snow hit the ground again, Theresa realized that for some reason, this Christmas wouldn't be as special as it had been years prior. Last Christmas was the same, if not worse without her son. She almost felt greedy now. Last year she didn't have her son and asked God everyday for him back-- he was the only thing she would ever ask for again. Yet, now, she found herself asking for something else. Someone else.
Ethan…
What she wouldn't give to have him to hold her on Christmas… To have him to share the magic of Christmas with…
Why had he tried to kiss her earlier? Why was it that during times like these did she feel so compelled to be around him?
Theresa stared out at the open snow spreading vastly across the acres of land on the Crane estate. It was then that she felt a jolt on her back. She turned, half expecting to see some kind of animal, instead she saw him… standing there…
He had a hand full of snow and the other was obviously the one that had sent the snowball into her back.
"Ethan…," she whispered, not believing.
"I challenge you to a duel," he said, tossing the snowball in his hand. "Do you accept?"
Theresa smiled for what seemed like the first time in a long time. Before she had a chance to speak, the second snowball flew at her midsection. "Hey!" she yelled. "Not fair!"
"Says who?"
Theresa bent down quickly and balled up some snow and spun it at him. Soon, they were prancing around the grounds, laughing, screaming, and flinging balls of soft snow at each other. Theresa threw a snowball and Ethan moved to miss it. She ran away, trying to get behind a wall, expecting him to stop to form another ball. He didn't. Instead he chased after her, pulling her down to the ground with him. Theresa screamed in excitement, laughing all the way down.
"You know, the point of a snowball fight is to bring them down with SNOWBALLS," Theresa said, laughing.
"Oh yeah, who says?"
"ME!" she said, rolling closer to him, poking him.
"Well, I'm changing the rules. I say--"
"Shhh…," she said, pressing her finger to his lips. Her eyes suddenly stopped laughing and were filled with passion. Ethan looked up at the beautiful woman in his arms. Their lips were so close they were almost touching. His eyes fell immediately to her lips, wanting nothing more than to touch them with his own. She leaned in closer, feeling his breath collide with hers. Theresa, not being able to take it anymore, slowly closed the gap between them, capturing his lips; she would not be denied this three times in one day. They both opened their mouths and their tongues collided. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him tightly. Ethan's hands slid up and down her back, tangling themselves in her hair. Their tongues crashed with a desire that the cold around them couldn't melt. Neither wanted to end this, neither could, but the need of air pulled the apart with heaving chests.
Theresa smiled at him when she pulled back. Ethan felt the cold from the snow beneath him but the warmth of Theresa's body atop of his was enough. His blood was surging and he reached up to kiss her again. Theresa didn't deny his need, pressing her mouth to his. Ethan rolled over, moving to be above her. His lips danced with hers and she moaned into his mouth.
Again, they broke apart for lack of oxygen, seeing their breaths come out quickly in white puffs.
"Theresa… I…," Ethan whispered. Suddenly, the fire that burned in Ethan's eyes seemed to disintegrate into nothingness. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have…" Theresa said nothing and let her head fall back onto the fresh snow. Ethan pulled himself to his feet and looked at her with pleading eyes. "I'm sorry…," he whispered again. He stared at he a moment, almost begging her forgiveness, but she said nothing. Ethan nodded and walked away quietly, and still the snow fell…
It was Christmas Eve, the night of Rebecca's ball. Even now, as Theresa dressed, she knew that aristocrats from all over New England were flooding the doors of the estate. Women in expensive designer dresses and men in Armani suits would be entering the house now, leading the night into a party of dancing, drinking, and sophisticated conversation.
Theresa didn't know why she was even going to participate tonight, there was almost no point to it. Why should she go down and give Rebecca fuel to humiliate her in front of her stuck up friends with facelifts? For some reason though, it seemed as if she had to go. A compelling pull to this night.
She had dressed in one of the dresses she had bought when she was still Mrs. Julian Crane. Nothing extravagant, but enough to do the job. The dress was a deep burgundy color, enough to look ready for the holidays without having to do much.
Theresa climbed down the stairs and heard the immediate chatter coming from the dining room. She could swear she heard a woman say that she was scheduled for a nose job the next day, but wasn't sure. When she reached the floor, Theresa saw it. It was gorgeous.
Ever since she was a little girl, she had always been drawn the beauty of these things. She stood in the middle of the foyer and the living room, staring at the magnificent tree. It was decorated with ribbons, lights, and ornaments. Again, Theresa had to admit, Rebecca was trashy, but she had excellent taste. A tree always made Christmas, Christmas to her.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" A voice asked behind her.
Theresa spun at the sound of his voice. He stood in a black tuxedo. He looked great. "Ethan…"
He walked towards when he spoke. "I insisted Rebecca have a tree. It's just not Christmas without it."
"You did this?" She asked surprised.
"Well, I had help," he said, stopping in front of her.
"It's beautiful." Ethan didn't respond.
"You know, Theresa, I wanted to apologize."
"For what?"
"For last night, outside. I just--"
"Ethan, don't. Please," she begged. She had heard this before, one too many times.
"No, Theresa, you don't understand. I don't want to apologize for what happened… I want to apologize for how I reacted." Theresa didn't understand. "Look above you." Theresa lifted her eyes and saw it dangling there.
"Mistletoe…" Before she could bring her eyes back down, Ethan had taken her lips. He was kissing her. The heat that raced through her body the night before, despite the cold of the snow, was pounding through her veins again.
They pulled apart when they heard the sound of voices coming down the hall from the dining room.
"Ethan, there you are," Rebecca greeted, entering the room with people around her. "Oh, and the chalupa. How great."
"Rebecca," Ethan stated firmly.
"Ethan, do you know where Gwen is? It's almost midnight."
"No, I thought she was in the dining room."
"No, she left. I guess she just disappeared."
"I'm sure she'll come around," he said, not worried. Rebecca walked away, glaring at Theresa all the way.
Theresa looked up at the clock above the fireplace and saw that it was 11:57. Christmas was here! Three more minutes and the magic of Christmas would really commence.
Theresa saw that one of the balcony doors was open and went to it. She walked out into the cold winter air, grateful that there was no wind. The clock in the living room chimed. It was midnight. Theresa quickly closed her eyes, making her wish before the twelve chimes were up.
Dear, God. I've asked for so much and have gotten so much. I only ask for one more thing. I have my son, but my life can't be complete without Ethan. I need him in every way. Please, I beg you, let him find a way back to me. Let us be a family...
Her wishing ended with the final chime and she wished with all her being that God heard her prayer this Christmas. She had wished once before for him and she had received her wish.
"Merry Christmas," someone behind her said. Theresa turned to see him standing there behind her.
"Merry Christmas, Ethan."
"Did you make your Christmas Wish," he asked.
She nodded a yes and he walked to her. "Did you?"
"Yeah. It's Christmas, you have to make a wish. What did you wish for?"
"Can't tell you. It won't come true if I do."
"Well then, who knows? It may just come true," he said with a smile.
"Maybe," she returned, and he walked closer to her.
Ethan stared deep in her eyes and pulled her closer, trying to keep her warm. Theresa couldn't break the gaze and noticed him smiling at her. "Look above you," he said.
Theresa smiled when she did.
The End