"Ooh, what's this?" Alexis lifted herself onto the bench, leaning over Patrick as he carefully slit open the package that had arrived.
"My mum sent it to me, because I'm not home for Christmas". Patrick shrugged, and Alexis's eyes lit up as she reached into the box.
"Oh my God, Patrick!" she burst out, giggling. "Look at you! What a little button, David!"
She'd sent him a bunch of Christmas ornaments. Old, homemade ornaments, from his preschool days.
"We never did anything like that", Alexis said, digging through the box. "David! Look!"
David grinned at him, holding the ornament up next to Patrick's face.
"Can't believe she did this", Patrick mumbled.
"Look at you!" Alexis cooed, laughing.
"We never did anything like this, not even with Adelina", David said, echoing his sister almost word for word.
"I thought you were Jewish?" she raised an eyebrow at him.
"We're delightful half-half situations". David nodded towards Alexis. "Although Dad did monopolise our Christmas party".
"You were such a dork", Stevie chuckled, pawing through the box.
"This is the first Christmas I haven't been home", Patrick defended himself.
David wrapped an arm around his waist, leaning on his shoulder. "Its… cute they want you to have these. You gonna put them on Ray's Christmas tree?"
"God no". Patrick shuddered, making Stevie snort.
"David, look at this one!"
"Don't you have somewhere to be?" David wanted to know.
"Okay, but this is much more interesting, David!"
"I thought you were getting coffee?" Stevie said, and he frowned at her.
"Don't you have a job to do?" he shot back.
"Doesn't Alexis?"
"Get off my counter, off". David swatted at his sister and she glared at him, setting the ornament back in the box. "I'm getting coffee, Alexis get out of my store".
"Our store".
"Our store!"
The bell jingled as David all but pushed Alexis out the door, the siblings bickering the whole way.
"They never did anything like this", Patrick mused, closing the box.
"What are you thinking?" Stevie eyed him warily. "I've know David a long time, Patrick-"
"I'll give you a case of wine if you help me?"
"Sold".
"What the actual fuck is going on?" David squawked.
"Not my idea", Stevie called, where she was sitting cross legged on the counter.
"Stevie!" Patrick said in disgust.
"Patrick?"
"What's going on?" Alexis wanted to know, following David into the store. "Glitter glue?"
"This is not the vibe we're looking for, Patrick!" David flapped his arms in disgust. "What is this?"
"We're making Christmas decorations", he said brightly. "Even Twyla is coming".
"Twyla is coming?"
"This is not the brand we're going for, Patrick!"
"You and Alexis both said you never did this", Patrick pointed out. "And everyone should have homemade Christmas ornaments".
"You're about three decades too late on that one, but it's a sweet thought". He kissed Patrick's cheek, and Alexis bounced on her heels.
"Its gonna be so much fun, David!" she enthused, her eyes shining. He gave her a small smile, and for just a moment, she looked younger.
"Put a tarp down. There should already be a tarp down, why isn't there a tarp down?"
"Okay, okay, we'll put a tarp down!" he held up his hands. "We're putting a tarp down".
"Alexis!"
"David!" her eyes shone with childhood excitement, setting the glitter glue down. "This is gonna be so much fun!"
"This is so much fun", Alexis said again with a grin, as she glued two popsicle sticks together.
"When we were in elementary school, Mutt dumped a whole tub of glitter on Stevie", Twyla mused, and Stevie shot her a glare.
"Thank you so much Twyla".
Twyla beamed at her.
David was remarkably silent, as he selected his popsicle sticks. Patrick glanced at him, before looking over at Alexis, who was choosing her colours with the excitement of a preschooler.
"Do you think we missed out, David?" Alexis's voice was almost quiet, as she smeared green glitter glue on her popsicle sticks.
"What?"
"With Adelina. This would have been so much fun".
"No, because you'd do the same as Mutt and upend the entire jar of glitter on me, and I wouldn't have been able to come back from that. Glitter is the herpes of the arts and crafts world".
"What is wrong with you?" Stevie asked.
Alexis snickered, and Twyla shot her an amused look.
"I don't think so", David said, after a moment. "We didn't really miss out".
"I guess". But Alexis was quiet, as she shook glitter over her popsicle stick star.
"It looks great, Alexis", Twyla said sincerely, and she smiled.
"Thanks Twy".
"What do you think, David?" Patrick nudged him gently and he shrugged, fighting back a smile.
"He loves it", Alexis announced, grinning at her brother. "He loves it, Patrick. He's such a button, David".
"He's sitting right here, Alexis". Patrick smirked at David and he rolled his eyes heavenwards, biting back a smile.
"What was your best Christmas?" Twyla wanted to know, offering Alexis the bottle of wine.
The five of them were sitting cross legged on the floor, Patrick's box of craft materials packed away in the back room, their creations drying on the tarps David had insisted on.
"The year I got my baseball glove", Patrick said immediately. "That was the only thing I asked Santa for".
"Maybe third grade?" Stevie said quietly, glancing at Twyla.
"Oh, that was fun! When Nanna Budd and Aunt Maureen helped with the Christmas pageant at school? Ronnie built the set and everything. Bob and Gwen dressed up as Santa and Mrs Claus".
"Yeah". Stevie looked into her wine glass, refusing to look at David. "Remember when Roland freaked out because he wanted to be Santa?"
"Twyla, are there photos of this event?" he said, and she grinned.
"I think so!"
"I'm going to need to see them, immediately if not sooner".
"I'll see what I can do", she said smoothly, and Stevie glared at her.
"Paris", Alexis said suddenly, and Patrick turned to her. "Remember, David?"
"The year we had the Christmas party a day early?" he checked, and she nodded.
"You and Mum did the number and we basically got straight on a plane".
He cut a wedge of brie, refusing to make eye contact. "That was a really good year".
"How old were you?" Twyla said curiously. "I'd love to go to Paris".
Alexis frowned slightly. "Seven?"
"I think so", David said slowly. "I was eleven. It was right after your arc on that TV show-"
"What?" Patrick's eyes widened, at yet another Alexis story he hadn't heard.
"We were child actors for a bit". Alexis shrugged, like it was nothing.
"We met Santa in the dining room", David said. "You were so excited that you tripped and Dad picked you up and made sure you were the first one to talk to him. He had candy and you got us extra pieces".
"But we didn't want to eat what everyone else was eating so Mum and Dad let us order room service and we only got mashed potatoes". She smiled, a gentle smile that Patrick hadn't seen before, lost in the memory. "And even though it was the middle of winter we went swimming in the hotel pool and I pushed you in. You screamed so loud Mum was worried about your vocal cords".
That year, their mother hadn't taken her Christmas pills and passed out before the night was through. Their father had sat with them and watched a Christmas movie, despite the fact that both of them had been jetlagged and cranky and Alexis was anxious about Santa finding them in Paris. They'd slept soundly side by side in twin beds, so similar to their setup in the motel.
Their parents had watched them open presents in the morning and watched as they swam- and fought- in the hotel pool, and Alexis had fallen asleep tucked between their mother and father that night, leaning against Moira's arm.
"That was a really good Christmas". David's eyes met hers and he grinned, a shared memory the rest of the group wasn't privy to.
"That was a really good Christmas", she echoed.
David put his head on Patrick's shoulder, Patrick rubbing his back gently.
"Your Christmases are very different to Christmas in Schitts Creek", Twyla said quietly.
"Do you think it'll ever be as good as Paris again?" she said hopefully, and David sat his wine glass down.
"I think so", Patrick answered for him. "It'll just be different, Alexis".
"Stevie, are you crying?" David said obnoxiously and Alexis threw a cracker at him, making him shriek.
"ALEXIS!"
"David?"
Her voice was quiet, breaking through the silence of their motel room.
"What?"
"I've got a present for you".
"Oh my God Alexis it is too early for this".
The sun was barely up, the motel room still dark. He struggled to sit up, eyes focusing on his sister.
"Merry Christmas David". Sitting cross legged in her little twin bed, she held out a little popsicle stick star, just like the one she'd cooed over at the store earlier in the week.
"Merry Christmas Alexis". He shoved an identical- sans glitter- star at his sister.
It wasn't Paris, but it was something.