Christmas
The snow was like a thick blanket across the driveway, softening everything in the most delicate way. The smell of coffee wafted up the stairs and the faint playing of Christmas music trailed behind it. I had just woke up, my forehead pressed against the cold glass of the window, a blanket pulled around my shoulders and another draped across my lap as I sat cross legged, hugging a pillow. My screen on my laptop had fallen asleep but when I moved it woke up and revealed the title screen to "A Wonderful Life," which I had fallen asleep watching last night.
My hips ached from sleeping in such an odd position last night, and as I leaned forward to shut the laptop they audibly popped. I groaned as I stretched, mt joints popping and cracking like they were sponsored by rice crispy treats. The smell of the coffee was my only encouragement to leave my room and not just immediately jump in a hot shower before curling up to take a cat nap next to my portable heater.
I heaved a sigh as I slid off the window seat, despite trying desperately to make the perfect Christmas atmosphere by pre-setting my coffee and having my smart speaker play Christmas music at a designated time, it just wasn't the same when dad wasn't home. He and Charlie always swapped off years of who would work, this year Charlie was visiting Arizona. Normally that would mean that I was spending Christmas with Gaia, but her father was in the Netherlands and they were traveling to see him this year. This had left me, unfortunately, stranded. Gaia and I had thankfully been having a conversation last night before she had to go. She gave me a tour of the house her dad had been staying in for the last several months. It was nearly as fabulous as the Icelandic home he had stayed in a few years prior, but that may have just been my preference for the view.
Rubbing the sleep from my eyes as I picked my way down the stairs carefully, I went through the mental checklist of things I hoped to get done today. I hoped to call Gaia soon, she was nine hours ahead of me and that meant it would be about dinner for her now. I figured I would wait a couple more hours and call her before she went to bed.
I froze when I was almost halfway down as I heard the soft shuffle of what sounded like feet. Maybe ten years earlier I would have had the notion that Santa was here, but since Chris Kringle had been laid to rest in my mind, I was afraid. My mind churned with what I could be walking into, my phone sitting firmly in my pocket. I could smell something else mingling with the coffee scent that had only grown as my proximity to the kitchen grew nearer.
Clenching my fists, I descended the rest of the steps, ready for a fight. I knew that at the base of the stairs there was a thick plastic candy cane that I could easily turn into a weapon should the necessity arise. Slowly I began to fish in my pocket for my phone, ready to call for help should the candy cane prove to be an inadequate weapon in the face of true danger.
As I made my way around the corner of the stairs to look into the kitchen where the noise had come from, I located and gripped the three foot candy cane firmly. My heart leapt from my chest and I unleashed a scream as I reflexively threw the sparkly candy cane end over end at the threat. The thing that had elicited such a response from me however, was rather innocuous, as a huge "Merry Christmas" had erupted from the kitchen.
My weaponized candy cane had soared straight into the middle of the room, only to be caught in the agile grasp of Jasper Cullen. The image of Jasper holding a three foot long green and red sparkly candy cane in the middle of my kitchen while wearing a Santa hat was something I never thought I'd see, but was an image I would cherish. Unfortunately for me, this also meant that now Emmett, who was holding his stomach as he laughed hysterically, had the image of me wielding Christmas decor as a not-so-deadly weapon.
Slowly my heart rejoined my chest from where it had run away, and I began to survey the room and the smiling, and laughing, faces.
All along the counter was breakfast foods and drinks, it had been decorated with a Christmas garland and candles. Esme smiled proudly, which told me she was the one responsible for the meal. Esme stood in a red sweater, wearing a gingerbread-man themed apron, her hair tied up in an elegant bun that framed her face in the perfect 50's housewife way. Carlisle stood next to her in a red sweater wearing a matching apron, a crooked smile completing his face.
Emmett clutched his stomach still as he laughed, wearing easily the best ugly Christmas sweater and a pair of reindeer antlers. Rose stood next to him, a green and red Christmas light headband blinking on top of her perfect Farrah Fawcett styled hair. She was dressed in a cute Christmas dress, the red velvet material hugging her curves as the white faux fur bordered the top and bottom of the dress, brown fashion buttons sitting in the middle to represent 's outfit. She finished off the look with heels that, while I'd love to wear, would snap my ankle in this weather.
My eyes continued to dance around the room, catching my attention on Sam and Leah who stood in matching Christmas pajamas that depicted the grinch in various scenes from the books. They both wore grinch slippers on their feet as well, clearly opting for a more comfortable attire. Sam and Leah's choice in outfit made my red "Santa Baby" pajama shirt and green shorts with the grinch's face on the but feel as if it still fit in.
Beside Leah stood Paul who held a laptop that had been turned to face me. Upon further inspection I saw Gaia's face smiling back at me, the evening sky of a Dutch Christmas in Amsterdam visible behind her. Paul wore simple jeans and hoodie, but it appeared someone had forced a Santa hat upon him.
Next my eyes flicked to Jasper and Alice, Jasper of course still holding the candy cane while slightly chuckling. In addition to his Santa hat, he wore a Christmas sweater that read "Bah Humbug" in scrolling print. When my eyes hit Alice I was, of course, mindblown. She wore a sequined Christmas green dress, her hair trapped beneath a Santa hat, and boots that gave her several inches of height while also concealing her legs up to the knee.
Finally, I found the last person in the room. Edward. He stood off to the corner, a soft smile painted on his lips. He wore a cashmere cardigan over top of a shirt that read "this is my Christmas sweater." I knew he had gotten the shirt just to bug Alice, and now wore it with regular jeans as did all the other guys in the room, save Sam, but this felt like a direct reaction to Alice's insistence on dressing the family.
My heart swelled with joy as I looked from face to loving face. I wanted to run forward and hug them all but I didn't know who to start with. The decision made itself for me when Esme, who was unable to contain herself any longer, rushed up and swept me into a motherly embrace.
"Gaia told us you would be alone this year." Esme gave a sweet smile that would almost definitely have been accompanied with rosy cheeks if she had flowing blood.
"We figured we could change that." Carlisle said with a grin from over her shoulder.
"And of course you're part of the pack." Sam said as he side eyed the food that had his and Paul's mouth watering. The smell of the food truly hit me for the first time, my stomach heaved a deep groan as my hunger grew. With a laugh we began gathering plates, at least those of us who ate, and made our breakfasts.
Because of the large number of individuals shoehorned into my kitchen, we made use of my formal dining room that sat opposite of the kitchen through the foyer. We gathered in, the laptop being sat directly across from me so that I could see and hear Gaia better. The general chatter around the table as we all ate made me feel warm inside, made even better by the beautiful white Christmas that sprinkled down around the house as the snow started up again. My coffee was warm despite the chill that sitting near the window brought, and as I looked around the table I watched two groups who hated each other a year ago metaphorically break bread and share in joy. My brain couldn't help but compare it to the stories of Christmas day 1914, when the Christmas truce had stopped a war, even just for twenty four hours.
My own personal Christmas truce had come about, because suddenly it was easier to push away the cycling negative thoughts, even if only for a moment. Once the meal was done, Gaia had to sign off, as now it was time for her to continue the family bonding that had carried her halfway across the world. Sometimes I envied her passport, the extensive trips she had been on to visit her father, then other times I didn't, like when he missed her 16th birthday because of a storm, or when he missed her first day of highschool because he was stuck in Brazil for another week.
Next thing I knew we were gathered in my living room, the fireplace lit, and Harry Potter movies were playing on the television. I was curled up on the chair and a half, a blanket wrapped around me about three times over. I was the only person who seemed bothered by the cold air that leaked in from the windows and the sliding glass door. Even Leah remained unbothered as she laid her head on Sam's shoulder, they sat together on the loveseat, caught in a mumbled conversation that caused small chuckles and playful swats from time to time. Esme had insisted on cleaning and not allowing me to lift a finger, and once she was done she settled herself in a rocking chair that hadn't been sat in for a very long time, seeing as it was particularly uncomfortable without a back pillow.
Gifts had been exchanged, just little ones, joke gifts if anything. Edward had gotten Emmett a stuffed bear, which was promptly thrown at him in the midst of the laughter. Jasper had bought Edward a copy of Dracula and included a personalized note on the inside with a list of chapters that "made me think of you." That of course earned Jasper a one finger salute as Edward chuckled, sitting cross legged on the floor with his back against the entertainment center. Someone had gotten Rose a vintage wedding veil, I didn't catch who had done it, but on a note that sat on top it had read, "Try not to stain this one. Xoxo." She scoffed in mock annoyance as she fought down a laugh. There was clearly an inside joke that my time around them hadn't made me aware of.
There were more gifts being passed about between both the Cullens and the pack, a few of them even gave me a gift. I had been given new headphones, Emmett stated that he couldn't listen to me struggle to get the angle correct on the wire one more time. Esme gave me a beautiful journal, and Carlisle had provided a set of fountain pens to go with it. Edward smiled at me as he handed over a present that made me purse my lips and smile. He had given me a new copy of Speak Now by Taylor Swift, because when he had taken my CD from the player after the dance, he had accidentally cracked it in his rush.
I got up and gave the gifts I had gotten for everyone from under the tree, leaving only Gaia's gift and her mother's stashed below the tree among the gifts from both me and my father for our family gift exchange. I had given most of the people in the room jewelry, but Edward I gave a box set of Jane Austen novels, and Sam and Leah received a wallet with various gift cards to restaurants both in Forks and Port Angeles, as well as the movie theater. Paul smiled brightly as he looked at the photo album that had come from both Gaia and I. We had assembled it ourselves one night earlier in the month, laughing as we littered my bedroom floor. It was chock full of photos of some of the craziest nights and crazier days that had come about since Gaia and Paul became a thing, I was included because far too many of the photos had me in the background doing something reckless or goofy that had been the reason those were the craziest nights.
When the final presents had been opened and gone through, and the movie switched over to the next Harry Potter, I thought for sure the celebration was over. That was when suddenly Emmett jumped up, followed swiftly by Edward, and they ran outside. I stared bewildered after them and looked over at Jasper, surely if it had been an emergency he would have followed, but he still sat with his arm carefully draped around Alice, a cool smile pressed to his lips.
"What is going on?" I asked nervously as I looked around the room.
"Nothing." Alice said with a simple shrug.
"Somethings telling me I shouldn't believe you." I squint thoughtfully before turning my eyes back to the screen, the fourth Harry Potter playing on the screen. I watched as my favorite tragic character made his way into frame, Cedric Digory. Something about the way Sam Claflin played him just worked, though it did feel a little off.
Almost ten minutes later I heard the rumble of cars, and they came in with armfuls of presents and stacked them all under the tree amidst the gifts that my father and I would be exchanging back and forth. My eyes bulged from my head as I took in the sight of the carefully wrapped packages. That was when Sam fished a key out of his pocket and threw it up towards Emmett, who caught it mid air and flashed out the door. When he came back in he dropped the keys onto Sam's lap and placed those presents under the tree as well. After three minutes of shocked silence, my father's car pulled into the driveway, and I realized they had gotten me the best present I could ask for.
Christmas with my father.