Chapter 12 - Did It Come With Instructions? (24 December 2022)
"Tali is finally asleep," Tony found Ziva in her office wrapping some gifts. "We read three chapters of her book before she zonked out. I almost fell asleep…"
Ziva looked up from the package she was encasing in brightly colored paper, "You cannot fall asleep yet, neshama, we have to put out the presents."
He nodded, "Let me grab a quick snack for energy; want some cookies or anything?"
"A few cookies would be good," she agreed. "Chocolate chip?"
"I was going to get a mix, but yeah, I can get chocolate chip for you and ugiyott qinamonn for me… now that I think about it, I want some chocolate chips too, or maybe some Linzer tarts, or…" he scooted out the door when she gently pushed him.
"Stop talking about the cookies and go get them!"
He returned with two plates of cookies, his piled high with several varieties, "That should hold me through, I hope."
"Toda," Ziva bit into a chocolate chip cookie as she surveyed the remaining gifts to be wrapped. "After this pile, the only thing left besides placing things under the tree is putting together the big gifts."
Tony grinned at her with a mouthful of snickerdoodle, "As long as they have directions with pictures, we're good. I read the words, you look at the pictures, and we get the things assembled. It's worked every Christmas so far."
"We are a team," Ziva brushed her lips on his as she pointed to the mistletoe above her office doorway. "Now let us get going so we can try to get to sleep at a reasonable hour."
Tony began carrying wrapped gifts to the family room to place under and around the tree while Ziva finished putting the paper on the small pile yet to be wrapped. While she was busy with gift-wrapping, Tony snuck into the master bedroom and retrieved his gift to Ziva from the back of his sock drawer. The diamond earrings and necklace were probably a bit over the top, but he didn't care. Nothing was too good for the mother of his children.
Ziva wrapped her big gift for Tony while he was shuffling presents to the family room. The autographed poster from the lobby of the movie house in New York City where Tony's mother had taken him for matinee showings was too big for most of the rolls of paper. Ziva had found a very large plastic bag to use as a wrapping at the warehouse club. The next trick would be to get it out to the tree without him noticing. She peeked out of her office; Tony passed by the short hallway towards the master bedroom. She grabbed the poster and quietly made her way to the family room. She slipped the large, flat package behind a stack of other boxes. She heard Tony coming from the hallway with another pile of gifts so she arranged some of the ones near the front of the tree.
"Incoming," he quipped as he set the stack on the coffee table with a grin. "I think we have ten times the number of gifts as we had the first year in the house."
"We only had Tali and Anthony back then," Ziva added. "Although I do agree, we seem to have a mountain of gifts this year."
He placed several boxes under the tree and the larger ones around the outside of the tree skirt. "And we still have the five big gifts to put out. I hope they all have instructions with them…"
"The play kitchen and the play workbench are from that toy company we like, so they should be easy to assemble," she replied with a wink. "I know, I should not put a lynx on us."
"Jinx," he smirked at her, "And you did that on purpose. How long have you had that in the wings?"
Ziva grinned at him, "Since the beginning of the month when Tali had that report on wild cats…"
The couple finished carrying the small gifts to the family room; Tony slipped his gift for Ziva into her stocking when she was headed back to her office for the last pile of presents. Once they had the smaller gifts arranged, both headed to the garage for the cartons containing the large gifts. Each one lugged a play set carton; Tony had the kitchen and Ziva the workbench.
Ziva slit the tape on the workbench box and slid the plastic panels from inside. She found the sheet of directions and placed it on the floor by the panels and plastic connectors. Tony skimmed the written instructions and the two had a toddler workbench playset assembled in about thirty minutes.
"That was easy," Tony grinned as he cut the tape on the kitchen set. "This one should be similar." He slid the plastic panels from the cardboard carton and Ziva grabbed the sheet of directions. Tony started connecting pieces.
"It is almost identical to the workbench, except where we snapped the tool rack in place there, the kitchen has a wall phone. Do they even sell those anymore?" Ziva noted.
Tony shrugged, "I really have no idea. If it weren't for Gibbs and his house phone, our kids would have no clue about landlines. And that is all that my parents had when I was our kids' ages. Dad had his private line in his office, and then we had a house line in the kitchen."
"You are showing your age, neshama," Ziva teased. "Did you walk uphill in the snow to school and back as well?"
"Ha! Remember that I went to boarding school for grades six through twelve. I walked to the private school in New York with my Mom…" he trailed off remembering long ago times.
"Did you have a big Christmas tree?" Ziva wondered. "Who decorated it?"
Tony sat on the loveseat, "We had a live tree; it always had an angel on top when Mom was alive. She loved to decorate the tree each year; I would watch her in fascination. She would let me hang a few ornaments, helping me get them just right. Dad always seemed to be softer around the holidays until Mom got sick. Then the trees were at Uncle Angelo and Aunt Isabella's house…" He shook his head to clear it, "Enough sad memories; let's get these things put together and get some sleep before the kids wake us up at the crack of dawn."
They quickly finished the play kitchen and placed it on one side of the tree. Tony brought in the table for the plastic bricks building and storage.
"We should probably put this together in the playroom, where it is going to be set permanently, rather than have to carry it there later on," he suggested. We can cover it with a sheet or something and a bow?"
Ziva nodded, "Good idea. It will be easier than trying to find a place by the tree as well." She helped him carry the carton to the playroom where they cut it open and inventoried the parts provided.
"This is going to take a while," Tony noted. "And four hands… I think I need some more cookies to get me through." He looked at his wife with puppy eyes.
Ziva laughed, "I know where all five get that look from; you are the master of the sad eyes, my love. Yes, you may have more cookies. I could do with one or two myself." At his pleading look, she headed to the kitchen to refill the empty plates from earlier.
She returned to find that he had spread the parts about the playroom, sorting them by frame and top. He was starting on assembly of the frame and trying to get two pieces joined with a large bolt. She put the plates on the side table by the window and offered a hand.
"Thanks," he grumbled as the bolt finally slid where it belonged. He quickly tightened it enough to hold together but not too tight as to restrict the rest of the assembly. "Why do we do this to ourselves?" he groused as the second bolt needed a bit of wriggling to get it in place.
Ziva shrugged, "Because it makes the children happy?" She held the next piece in place while Tony tightened the bolt. "Or it makes us happy to see them happy?"
"I think you are on to something there, Sweetcheeks. I wouldn't stay up until the wee hours of the morning in Christmas Day for just anyone. Our kids, heck yeah… You, all night if need be…" he smirked at her as she shoved a piece of cookie in his mouth. "Mmm… goo…"
They needed almost an hour to get the table assembled; after getting it in place in the middle of the floor area, Ziva placed a sheet from the linen closet over the table and Tony put a shiny red bow on the sheet.
"One more to go," he noted as the couple headed to the garage for the carton with the large red wagon. "I had one of these when I was really little, like the twins' age. It was at Uncle Vinnie's house most of the time. I remember my cousins pulling me around the neighborhood in it."
Ziva pulled the metal and wood pieces from the carton. "My sister Tali had one also. We used it to cart groceries from the local market in summer. Tali loved when Ari pushed from behind and pretended she was driving a car." She got quiet as she remembered better times with her siblings. "A neighbor borrowed the wagon one day to take her vegetables to the market to sell. She ran over an IED…"
"I'm sorry, Zi," Tony wrapped his arms around his wife. "I cannot imagine growing up with that fear always present."
"It is what it is; I am here now and our children will never have to worry about things like that," she nestled into his embrace. "For that I am very thankful."
Tony placed a kiss on Ziva's head; he glanced at his watch as they both reflected. "It's almost 0230," he whispered. "Let's get the wagon together and get some sleep."
Ziva nodded and pulled away from him. She glanced at the pictures in the directions and began searching for the bolts needed to attach the wheels to the body. They worked in silence until the last nut was tightened.
"We have a wagon!" Tony announced as he pulled it in front of the stack of gifts by the fireplace. "LJ is gonna love riding in this when we walk the dogs." He pulled Ziva to him under some mistletoe, "Merry Christmas, Mrs. DiNozzo!"
"Merry Christmas, Tony." She fused her lips to his as the tree twinkled with its star and snow flake shaped lights.