I DO NOT OWN ANYONE OR ANYTHING IN THIS STORY BESIDES THE OC'S.
Tara's Point of View-
I slept until I was shook awake, I slowly open my eyes seeing Alex standing over me.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"It's 7:45, you overslept." He said smiling.
"Shit!" I said jumping up looking over seeing Xavier still asleep.
"Don't worry about him, I can take him to the daycare." Alex said.
"Thanks…he should be buying lunch today so he shouldn't need money and he should be able to tell you where all the stuff is for his breakfast…" I said as I got up walking past him to grab my work uniform and walked past him again to go the bathroom changing real quick since I wasn't able to take a shower this morning.
"Okay, you want breakfast?"
"I don't have time, I'm going to be late as it is…thanks Alex…" I said kissing him lightly before I grabbed my purse heading out of the room hearing him waking my son as I grabbed an apple to take with me out of the door trusting Alex to do this for me, I was worried deep down but I guess this is a big trust test for Alex. I drove to work speeding the whole way getting there at 8 AM exactly and sped walk into my work clocking in ten minutes late and went straight to work, I felt my phone vibrate opening it reading a text from Alex saying that he had just dropped Xavier off at school. I wrote back thanking him for doing that favor for me, I worked until about 2 PM when my lunch break came when Alex walked in carrying Taco Bell and two drinks.
"Hungry?" Alex asked holding it up.
"What are you doing here?"
"You left without breakfast and we didn't have much time to hang out…" Alex said as he grabbed one of the spare chairs pulling it up to my desk setting the drinks and food down, I went and clocked out for lunch as I sat across from him at my desk where he pulled out the food separating it between us.
"Thanks for this morning…I usually never oversleep." I said.
"It was a long night…that beer didn't help any…" Alex said.
"What woke you up?" I asked.
"Chris called asking if I was coming home…"
"Is he always up that early?"
"Sometimes…" Alex said shrugging as we spent my whole lunch period together and it was nice spending time with him without my mom or son there. We had set up what time to meet up the next day for the shopping trip, he left taking the trash with him and I clocked back in finishing my shift before I went home grabbing Xavier and sat next to the fire reminiscing about the night prior with Alex. I woke up the next morning in time to shower and get Xavier ready before my mom or Alex showed up at the house to go to the mall together.
"Are we going to see Santa today?" Xavier asked as I was pulling on his shoes strapping the Velcro.
"Yes, today you get to see Santa, what are you going to ask for?" I asked when the doorbell rung and he ran out to the door with me close behind him when he opened the door seeing both my mom and Alex on the other side. "Do you guys plan this?" I asked as Alex picked up my son flipping him upside down, "Be careful, he just ate." I said.
"Good, if he vomits I'll make sure it goes on you." He said smirking as he flipped Xavier back up right pulling him over his shoulders.
"We just happened to pull in at the same time, we ready to go?" My mom asked.
"Let me grab my purse." I said as I went and grabbed my purse heading back out grabbing the keys locking my house behind me as Alex was making Xavier an airplane all the way over to my car where he put Xavier into his car seat and my mom climbed into the passenger seat and Alex ran around climbing into the back seat with my son. I drove us to the mall, Alex played dinosaurs with Xavier in the backseat when I parked where I could and I climbed out helping my son out holding onto his hand as we got to the entrance of the mall.
"I'll take him to see Santa." My mom said grabbing Xavier's hand leading him to the Santa display area.
"Where are we going to begin?" Alex asked wrapping his arms around my waist.
"The toy store…" I said as he followed me to the toy store where I grabbed four toys that Xavier had pointed out to me and was about to head up to the counter.
"That's it?" Alex asked.
"Toy wise, I'm going to grab him one or two more things for his stocking." I said honestly thinking I bought too much.
"Seriously? 4 gifts?" Alex asked.
"That is all I could afford." I said as Alex rolled his eyes, and I became very self conscious about it. Was I spoiling him too much? Was I buying him too little? Alex followed me to another store where I had bought two more gifts for Xavier. I then dragged Alex to another store to find a gift for my mom. I always resort to jewelry with my mom since she has such a big collection of it and she always finds a way to wear every single item of jewelry she has at least one day a year. As I walked in, I found this one bracelet that attracted my attention but it was too much for me to spend plus I'm not shopping for myself. "Look at that bracelet."
"That's pretty…it'll look better around your small wrist." Alex said as he leant against the glass container and wrapped his other arm around my back resting his hand on my hip.
"But I wouldn't be able to wear that anyway…"
"Why not?" Alex asked.
"Universal limits the amount of jewelry your allowed to wear plus in my job criteria it is better you don't so you won't get it caught on the machinery used on the patients." I said.
"You can wear it on your off day."
"When's that? Plus, I wouldn't want to take that off…what am I even doing? I'm not supposed be shopping for me….I'm here for my mom…" I said as we slid down that row of glass containers of jewelry when I found a gold necklace with a heart shaped locket at the end of it, it screamed my mom. "What do you think of this?" I asked pointing the gold locket necklace that had a spot for those that wanted to get it engraved, I was tempted to do so.
"That is cute…you can put a picture of me then a picture of Chris in it…you may need a second one for you and Xavier." Alex said leaning against the counter.
"I'm serious Alex." I said giggling as I stopped associate who pulled it out handing it to me and waited patiently as I was still unsure about it.
"Hold it up to yourself." Alex said as I held it up to my neck to make it look like what it would look like if my mom were to wear it.
"So?"
"Looks good, what do you want to get engraved?" Alex asked as I put it down looking at it more closely.
"I don't know…" I said.
"You should put 'With Love, Tara and Xavier.'" Alex said as I gave him a side look, he was looking at the locket in my hand and I smirked, that was such a cute thing for him to say, at least I thought it was cute for some odd reason.
"That is a good idea." I said smiling as an employee in front of us, "How much is this?" I asked.
"That is $140 with engraving up to 10 words." He said.
"Let me think about it." I said as he left.
"What's wrong with that? It was a good deal." Alex said.
"I don't have that much money….what about that bracelet?" I asked seeing a bracelet in the glass container below that looked good but had a price tag of $30, a big difference.
"That is a big difference." Alex said as I looked at the price tag that was attached to the chain of the locket that read it was the same price.
"Well, this locket is $30, I guess I can just get the locket with no engraving." I said as I went to the cashier paying for the necklace, they put it in a fancy necklace box that a lot of jewelry comes in. Alex hung his head low a little as he hung onto my hand as we walked through the mall.
"Will you do me a favor?" Alex asked as we walked out of the store looking at the three bags I held and that was all the shopping I had to do besides pick something up for Alex but didn't know what to get him much less do I think I have the amount of money to purchase him something.
"What's that?" I asked.
"Help me find gifts for Xavier?" Alex asked.
"Why?"
"Because I want to." Alex said as I didn't like this feeling as we went into another store, "What about this? It's a dinosaur." Alex said pointing out a toy.
"No, that is too big for Xavier…it may be broke within a week or two…" I said.
"What about this? I can put this together and that way he can destroy it and re-destroy it over and over again with that dinosaur I just pointed out." Alex said picking up a town that went along with the dinosaur you had to put together.
"Still seems too much."
"It's not too much, would he like it?" Alex asked.
"Yeah, he'll love it…" I said as Alex grabbed them as we went down another aisle where he was looking at every toy and I gave him my opinion about what Xavier would like and not like. After Alex found the right amount of gifts to get my son, we made a trip out to my car so Xavier won't see them as we went back inside purchasing wrapping items that we would need to wrap the gifts and found my mom and son sitting inside a McDonalds where we sat with them after we had ordered our food eating away before we headed home, Alex spent the day with us at our house playing with Xavier and my mom helped me clean up the mess for the holidays coming up and she started a popcorn garland, Xavier and Alex started helping her thread the popcorn as I started making dinner for us and they wrapped the popcorn garland around the tree. "Would anyone mind if I put a log in?" Alex asked.
"I haven't seen a fire in that fireplace in years." My mom said in exaggeration.
"May we mommy?" Xavier asked excitedly.
"Fine…" I said rolling my eyes as Alex went and grabbed a log lighting it in the fire place and Xavier loved it as we ate our dinner together at the table watching the fire and spent rest of the night around the fireplace sharing stories of our favorite childhood Christmas moments and Xavier loved listening to our stories. Xavier fell asleep in Alex's lap, he stood up carrying Xavier back to his room where he tucked him in and turned on the night light for him and he came out seeing that my mom had already disappeared into her guest room.
"Did mom go to bed?" Alex asked walking into the kitchen where I was doing dishes, I turned around seeing him leaning against the door frame.
"Yeah…you want to help me bring in the things?" I asked as I dried my hands.
"Yeah…come on." Alex said nodding as we headed out grabbing my bags and Alex grabbed some of his carrying them inside before we made another trip grabbing rest of the gifts and the wrapping materials. "I think wrapping is the worst part of this time of year because it's stupid."
"Why is it stupid? To see the faces of your son or younger kids ripping through the wrapping paper racing each other to see what they got is priceless."
"The kids don't like the wrapping paper and we spend our money on it only for it to be thrown away after the kids rip through it." Alex said as he started trying to put the one toy he had bought together but he couldn't figure out how it was to be put together.
"You want me to do it?" I asked putting my mom's box aside to help him.
"No I can do it…forget it, I will put it together on Christmas Eve." Alex said as he got frustrated as he begun putting it aside to do that night.
"Christmas Eve?" I asked.
"I figured I can come over and stay the night Christmas Eve to help put the toys under the tree and be here in the morning when Xavier gets up." Alex said.
"Oh…that sounds good…" I said.
"That okay?"
"That's fine." I said smiling, we sat there Indian style face to face wrapping gift after gift, I couldn't believe how much Alex had bought. "Why did you buy so many gifts?" I asked curiously as I slid two gifts under the tree, one for Xavier and the one for my mom that I put from Xavier and I, the others I had put aside to hide until next week.
"Why not?"
"I feel bad…"
"Don't feel bad, I wanted to do it…" Alex said smiling as I looked at the amount of gifts I had bought with the limited amount of money I had and the amount he had bought made me feel like a bad parent but I can't sit here and tell him that without him getting mad but he signed each gift from Santa besides two that he signed his real name which he put under the tree, he carried some of the gifts to my hiding spot when it was time for Alex to head home. I walked him out to his car and he held me in his embrace enjoying it as much as I could. I hate that I had grown attached to him and feared that any minute he would call this off and realize that I am not as rich as he is or that kids come with prices and sacrifices. "So, we have a Christmas party at my work tomorrow and I can bring a date…."
"And you were wondering if I would go with?" I asked.
"I figured since you are my girlfriend that would be the best person to be my date than saying it's Chris again."
"Do I have to wear a dress?"
"Not unless if you want to…I mean, it's not dress professional, it's TNA not freaking some high class place and it's a Christmas party not a ball or anything like that…" Alex said sarcastically and chuckling.
"I just wanted to make sure…may I bring Xavier along or I am sure I can get my mom to watch him." I said.
"Bring Xavier, Santa will be there if he wants to go see Santa again." Alex said smirking.
"Who is dressing as Santa?" I asked.
"Eric I believe, he drew the lucky stick."
"You guys draw sticks on who is playing Santa?" I asked chuckling.
"Yeah, we need to take turns somehow."
"What time is the party?"
"At 6 PM, I'll pick you guys up at 5."
"Sounds like a date then." I said smiling.
"It will be fun, I'll see you tomorrow." Alex said smirking as he leant forward pressing his lips against mine before I watched him climb into his car pulling away. I went back inside doing my nightly rituals, I then went to bed after I had received a text that Alex had made it to his apartment safely.