Christmas 2015
"Mum," Grace said, "I know Christmas is special to you and Daddy. But do we have to go toy shopping every year?"
Saffron sighed, shaking her head at her daughter.
"We do," she said, a grin playing at the corner of her mouth, "because if it weren't for toy shopping, your father and I might never have found our adorable little girl."
Grace blushed.
"Oh, Mum… I'm fifteen. I'm not a little girl anymore."
"You are our little girl. Always." And then, for emphasis, Saff added, "Miss Giraffe."
At this, Grace rolled her eyes, sighing dramatically.
"What-ever…"
Just then, Tony popped into the kitchen, two small boys at his side in matching football gear.
"'Ello, my love," he said, planting a kiss on Saffron's cheek. "'Ello, my other love," he said, going for Grace's cheek. She pushed him away, but not unkindly.
"Daddy, stop it!"
"A man can't get a kiss from 'is baby girl anymore, is 'at it?" Tony asked.
"Why d'you want HER to kiss you?" one of the small boys said.
"Ewwwww! Yeah, that's GROSS, Pop!" the other chimed in, sticking out his tongue.
"Enough!" Saffron told them both, giving the pair a stern look. Immediately, they stopped their joshing.
"Looks like Father Christmas 'as passed this 'ouse by, 'ey?" Tony asked Saff. She rolled her eyes at him.
"If I were him, I would," she said.
"Mum!" Grace cried.
"Well, you three haven't exactly been on his 'Nice' list so far," Saff told her children.
The boys sat down at the kitchen table, frowning.
"Mum, we've been good," the eldest protested. Saffron cut her eyes in his direction.
"Mmm-hmmm…"
"We 'ave!" the smaller boy argued.
"You're both horrible!" Grace told them.
"Are not!" the small boy shot back. "You just 'ate everyone now you've got a boyfriend!"
"Yah!" the older boy echoed, agreeing (for a change) with his younger brother.
"Darling," Saffron said to Tony, "what are we going to do with these children?"
"Leave 'em with your mum?" he suggested.
"Daddy, no!" Grace said, suddenly hugging her father with all her might.
"No, Mum!" the older boy, Todd, cried. "Please!"
Saffron and Tony shared a knowing grin.
"Aren't we going toy shopping?" their smallest, Mark, asked. "I like that!"
"We are, indeed," Saffron told them. "After supper."
When dinner was through and the children set about washing the dishes, Tony and Saff battled for space in front of their antique mirror. Hanging on the wall of their bedroom, the vintage find was near and dear to their hearts. Saffy had found it when they were cleaning up an old, abandoned flat and Tony had spirited it away, paying to have it restored for her Christmas present from him that year. He never forgot how happy Saffron had been when he'd given it to her that first Christmas when they were officially a couple.
"Tony! I thought you tossed it out!"
"Of course not. I 'ad it fixed back up again, just for you. Silly girl."
"Girl, eh? Starting up with that again, then?"
"You're my girl."
Under the Christmas tree, a stuffed tiger sat wearing its red Father Christmas cap. This was the special gift Saffron found in the department store for Tony, just before she'd seen him carrying Grace around on his shoulders. That night remained vivid in her memory. It was the night she'd admitted to herself that she loved Tony - and the night she also took Grace, then barely a tot of five, into her heart.
"And just what are you tryin' to tell me with this 'ere gift, 'ey?"
"That I love you."
"See me as a tough guy, do you, then, Miss Monsoon?"
"Oh, suuuuure… Tough. But soft in all the right places, Mister Draper."
And so Christmas remained the most special of holidays in the Draper household. Grownup as she now was, Grace secretly adored her parents and brothers. After all, her Mum and Dad had chosen to adopt her - a day which never left her memory and never failed to warm her heart. She still slept with Spots, the toy giraffe Mum and Dad gave her before they were married, before they brought her home with them to stay.
Todd and Mark were used to spending one night each year shopping for toys with the youngsters from the same children's home their sister remembered from her young years. Grace's being adopted was a mark of pride with her and in the family. Even Gran Eddy and Auntie Patsy trumpeted their Gracie's being special. The boys adored their big sister and she felt the same way, daily scraps notwithstanding.
"Mum," Grace said, wiping her hands on a dish towel, "are Aunt Bubble and Uncle Squeak coming with us?"
Saffron shot her daughter a withering glance.
"Now what do you think?" she asked.
Grace laughed.
"I think they'll dress like elves this year," she joked.
"We can hope," Saff said.
"Well, then, Miss Giraffe," Tony teased, "I'm givin' you a ride on me shoulders again?"
Grace put down the towel and gave her father a long hug.
"I wish," she told him.
"Same 'ere, girl," Tony said, wrapping his arms around her.
"You'll give me a ride, then?" Saff joked, winking at her husband.
"Saddle up, me bride!" Tony told her, grinning. "And we'll see what 'appens."