Chapter Ten

The next days flew by almost as quickly as they had come, and before we knew it, it was Christmas Eve. David's family was back home in Missouri, and instead of traveling out to be with them, he opted to stay in Tulsa and spend the holiday with us. I tried to feel bad about keeping him from his family, but David refused to let me.

"I don't have much more time to spend with you before you leave" he explained. Knowing that, I felt much better about him coming. Besides, Christmas without David would have seemed like just another day, anyway. With him, it felt more special.

"So, what time are you coming over?" I asked, repositioning and switching my phone to the other ear.

"I'll be over in a couple hours. I have to pick up your gift."

"Okay" I said, a smile making its way onto my face. "Call me when you're on your way!" I added.

"I will" David replied. I could almost hear his lips curl into a smile. "I love you Kallie. See you in a little while."

"I love you too" I responded, waiting for his end of the call to go silent before I hung up. From that moment, I could have sworn that time had stopped altogether. The seconds felt like hours, making the minutes feel like days. After a while, my phone rang. I rolled over and picked it up off my bedside table. When I saw that it was David calling, my heart seemed to fall into my stomach.

"Hello, you" I said flirtatiously.

"Hey! Listen, I forgot to call when I was on my way, so I'm sorry about that. I'm actually standing in your driveway right now" he said with a chuckle.

"You can knock, you know" I teased. "I'll be right down!" I said excitedly, hopping to the floor and rushing down the stairs. I hurried to the door and opened it, smiling when I saw David there. He was carrying a giant package under one arm, and a small gift basket in the other. I stepped out of the way to let him inside, closing the door behind us. He leaned over and kissed me tenderly, his eyes twinkling.

"I missed you" he said quietly.

"I missed you too" I replied, wrapping my arms around his waist. After several minutes, I let go, and we walked into the family room. Our house was decorated for the holidays, but not as extravagantly as others. We had soft colored lights hanging in the windows, sparkling garlands draped over the archways, and various holiday themed figurines set about the house. Our tree stood in the corner, wrapped in lights and spotted with ornaments. It was artificial, nothing fancy. David walked over to the tree and placed the gifts underneath it.

"I hope you didn't spend too much" I said with a sigh.

"Don't worry" David said with a chuckle.

"Every time you say that, it makes me worry more" I giggled.

"Seriously, Kallie, it's okay. The basket is for your mom and Sarah, and the big one is for you. It's nothing too elaborate, I promise."

"Okay," I said, giving in to his persistence. We took a seat on the couch, and I suddenly had a thought.

"Do you remember when you joked about dragging me to karaoke?"

"Yeah, I do now. I forgot all about that!" I groaned, and suddenly regretted saying anything about it at all. "What made you think of it suddenly?"

"We never went" I giggled. "I wonder if Ashley ever showed up looking for you" I said,a somewhat scheming tone to my voice.

"I have to be honest" David said. "I never actually forgot about taking you. I just figured you wouldn't want to take a chance of her showing up there." I smiled softly, and I was glad to know I had someone who was that willing to protect me, and our relationship.

"Well," I began. "I thought about it, and maybe we should go. We can do it before I leave, we just won't tell Ashley" I continued, winking mischievously.

"Sounds like a plan" David agreed. I was beginning to wonder where mom and Sarah were, when they both walked into the room.

"I didn't know you guys were here!" My mom exclaimed as she ran over to hug us. We both stood to embrace her, laughing.

"We haven't been here long. Where were you guys?" I asked.

"We were upstairs finishing some last minute gift wrapping" Sarah chimed in, hugging us tightly.

"Oh, this isn't last minute" David teased. "Last minute would be tomorrow morning." We all laughed, and I shook my head. My boyfriend was such a nerd, but he was my nerd.

"Very true" my mom agreed, nodding her head.

"So," I began, turning towards her. "What are we doing for dinner?" Ever since my dad died, we hadn't really stuck to the traditional Christmas dinner at all. Sometimes we did soup and sandwiches, and other times we came up with something completely random.

"I couldn't think of anything to cook" mom answered apologetically, "So we're just going to order Chinese takeout." she said with a giggle. This was completely new to me, but I liked it!

"There are Chinese restaurants open on Christmas Eve?" David asked me, baffled. I shrugged in response.

"We've never done that before" I giggled. We all perused the menu, and agreed on: fried rice, sweet and sour chicken, and beef with vegetables. The chicken was my favorite because they packed the sauce separately, and I liked to dip my chicken into it rather than smother it. Mom called to place the order, and was told it would be here in about twenty minutes. While waiting, we agreed that we should watch some classic Christmas movies while we ate. We decided on "Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer" and "Frosty the Snowman". Sarah found them in a storage tote downstairs and brought them up, and our dinner arrived moments later. David and I carried the boxes into the kitchen and set them on the counter.

"Should I get out the paper plates?" Sarah asked.

"No," mom answered. "Since it's a special occasion, we can use the fancy china." she explained with a smile.

"Okay!" Sarah chirped as she pulled four plates from the cabinet in the corner. We almost never used these plates. My parents had gotten them as a wedding gift from my grandma, and they had actually belonged to her before. The edges were scalloped, kind of like a clam shell, and there were bright red roses printed in the center. I loved them so much, and hoped that when I got married one day, they would be passed down to me.

After we had all gotten our food, we headed into the living room to start the first movie. Before it began, my mom stood up and started to walk out of the room.

"is anyone else cold?" she asked, folding her arms across her chest.

"I'm fine" David said with a smile, slipping his arm around my shoulders. "Are you warm, Kallie?" he asked, looking down at me.

"I'm okay too" I murmured, snuggling closer to David.

"Alright, well I'm going to grab a banket for me and Sarah, so I'll be right back." Mom left the room, coming back moments later with not one, but two blankets. She set one of them on the floor next to where David and I were sitting. "I brought you guys one in case you changed your minds."

"Thanks mom" I said sweetly. We started the movie, and I found myself focusing more on David's warmth than the adventures of Rudolph and the other reindeer. I closed my eyes for what I thought was a brief moment, but when I opened them again, the end credits were rolling.

"I missed the movie?" I asked.

"Yeah, you dozed off in the first few minutes" David said with a laugh. I blushed slightly, gazing at the floor.

"Well," I began, returning my gaze toward David. "You would have fallen asleep too if you were snuggled against…yourself." I giggled, realizing how funny that sounded.

"Well, should we open gifts before we start the second movie?" Mom asked. David and I nodded, and Sarah chimed in with an excited "Yes!" Mom laughed, and walked over to the tree. She pulled a box out from underneath it and handed it to David. He took it reluctantly, smiling shyly.

"You didn't have to get me anything."

"We know. Just open it" Mom said with a smile. David did, and inside the box he found a few collectors editions of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics. He grinned, possibly wider than I had ever seen before, and looked over at Sarah and Mom.

"I've been looking everywhere for these! Thank you guys so much" he said with a humbled smile.

"You're very welcome. Kallie mentioned to us that you liked them, so we thought that would be perfect." Mom explained.

"They are" David said, blushing. "Thank you again!" He then pointed to the basket under the tree, letting Mom know that it was for her and Sarah. Inside it, there were various chocolates, a birthstone necklace for Mom, and a charm bracelet for Sarah, that appeared to already have a charm on it. It was a small heart that had the word "sister" engraved into it.

"This is beautiful" Sarah murmured. "Thank you!" she then squealed as she ran over to hug David tightly.

"You're welcome" he said softly, holding her tight. It made me happy to see that they were so close.

"How sweet" I said, kissing David lightly on the cheek. "Open my gift to you next" I ordered playfully.

"Okay" David said as he reached under the tree and retrieved my gift. He opened it, revealing a small photo album filled with pictures of us from our various adventures. I knew taking all those pictures on my phone would pay off someday. A tear glinted in David's eye as he flipped through the album, and he looked over at me.

"This is beautiful" he whispered. "Thank you."

"You're welcome" I whispered back. He hugged me, kissing my cheek lightly. After breaking his hold, he reached over and pulled my gift out, handing it to me. I opened it carefully, and what I found beneath the paper surprised me. David had bought a body pillow, and had a full sized picture of himself transferred onto it.

"This is so I'll always be with you, even when we're far apart." he explained. "There's something inside it too." Puzzled, I reached inside the pillowcase and felt something small and hard. I pulled it out, to find out that David had given me his bottle of cologne. "And," he explained, "This is so everything can smell like me." he teased. This was, by far, the most thoughtful gift anyone had ever given me.

"I love it" I said with a chuckle. "Thank you." We embraced, and I held onto him as if the world might explode, just like I always did, and just like I always would do.