Merry Christmas, Lovelies!

Chapter 26: Christmas Magic

Alice

Monday, December 25, 2023

Forks, Washington

There is something about waking up to a white Christmas.

Outside my windows, the world is bright, all the mud and mess temporarily wiped clean. Some might see it as a lie, but I see it more as a reprieve, a gift of peace, fleeting but profound.

The sun isn't quite up yet, but as I lay in bed and watch the sky begin to lighten, I feel myself lightening with it. I've been so lost in the dark, so muddled down, I haven't known which way to look, which way was up.

Beside me, Jasper shifts in bed, and the soft sound of his breaths create a gentle song that draws me closer to him. Without waking him, I slip into his arms, my head resting on one biceps as my arms go around his waist.

His arms curl around me, securing me in his grasp. He's still asleep, but even unconscious, he is looking out for me.

I turn my gaze back out to the sky, watch the dark fade to ever lightening shades of purple and pink.

If the sky can take turns between light and dark, so can I.

I don't know how long I lay and watch the world slowly blink awake, but at some point, I hear Jasper's breathing change, feel him stir underneath me. I look up into his sleepy face, watching as his eyes take in the brand new day.

The first thing he does is look for me, and when his gaze lands on my face, I watch as a breathtaking smile steals across his face.

I almost burst into tears.

"Merry Christmas," he says, a happy note in his voice.

His words chase every last chill from my heart.

"Merry Christmas," I whisper, curling closer to the heat of him.

"What were you doing?" he asks, yawning.

I glance at the window.

"Watching the world turn a new cycle," I answer.

"Oh yeah?" he asks. "Was any part of it bad?"

I frown and look up at him. "No, it was all beautiful."

He smiles. "Yeah," he agrees quietly.

I immediately understand what he's trying to hint at. My postpartum feels like a curse or some shortcoming of myself, but I know from what my doctor and countless others have told me, that this is all natural, normal even. No one deals with changes the same way.

I'm not a bad person for struggling like I have.

"Everything's so quiet," he muses. I focus back on his face and nod.

"It is," I agree. My mind turns downstairs, to the host of things I have to do today, and I want to push it all off a little longer and just enjoy this time in bed with my husband. "You know," I say slowly, unsure quite how to phrase all the riotous thoughts that are bouncing in my head. "Bella and Edward's wedding got me thinking."

Jasper smiles, and I can see in his eyes he's remembering the stunning ceremony they had in front of the town tree. I can't imagine anything better suited for them.

"Yeah? What about?" Jasper asks, pulling me tighter into his arms as he shifts to face me. Our legs tangle together, and one of my pant legs rides up around my knee as I wind my calf around his.

"I was thinking about how lucky it was for Bella and Edward to find each other. I mean, both of them had the whole wide world, Edward even more so, and somehow they were both in the right place at the right time." I pause and shake my head. "It was a Christmas miracle."

Jasper's smile is heart melting. "They both deserved that and so much more," he says gently.

"They do," I agree. "But then it got me thinking." I look up at his face, at his bright eyes and long lashes that I adore. "How in all the people in all the world, you and I could be born in the same place, at the same time, to have had almost all our lives together." I stop because I can feel tears coming on, and I blink hard to try to drive them back. "And how most people don't get to marry their best friend, to have that person be with them and know them so completely like you know me."

I can see Jasper's eyes widening and begin to glisten with his own tears.

"And I just thought about how lucky I am to have you and our families. Of all the people in all the world, I was meant for you Jasper, and you were meant for me, and what an absolute miracle that we've always known that."

There are tears slipping past his eyes now, and I can feel my own running over my cheeks.

"Alice, even if we'd been born a world apart, I believe with my whole soul that we would have found our way to each other." He pauses and shakes his head. "You just can't deny a love like this."

The tears spill out of me faster, and I reach for him, our lips pressing together in a surprisingly hungry kiss.

I can't remember the last time I wanted Jasper like this. I always want him, but it's been so long since I've felt like this.

Like I'll die if I don't get to have him.

Our clothes slip off us, and despite the cold outside our windows, in our room, under our covers, it's hot enough to make my skin turn pink.

It still feels scary for me to show Jasper my body, the way it's changed since Evie was born. I'm no longer the tiny trim woman I always was. I have new scars and stretch marks, my belly is rounder, and my breasts are a completely different shape. I feel like a foreigner in my own skin, and I have hardly let Jasper see me in the light of day, let alone like this.

But as each inch of this new body is revealed, he spends time worshiping every part of me, murmuring his adoration, his admiration, and his unconditional love, until I feel nothing but light, through and through.

When our bodies come together, it's like two perfectly broken pieces of a vase, fitting together exactly, like we were always meant to be one.

Tangled up in our sheets on Christmas morning, I not only find my husband again, but I begin to find myself as well.

…

It isn't until well after sunrise that we finally make it out of bed. By the time we're showered and dressed back into comfy Christmas pajamas, I realize I haven't heard a peep out of Evie in a little too long.

Before I can race to her room though, Jasper smiles and takes me by the hand, leading me downstairs.

Confused and a little worried about our daughter, I follow him.

My breath just about stops when I find our kitchen and living room full of familiar faces. Esme, Carlisle, Rose, Emmett, Noelle, Evie, Bella, Edward, and my parents are all gathered around, laughing and smiling. There is a mound of food on the dining table, and our tree is absolutely stuffed with gifts.

"Merry Christmas!" Everyone shouts when we make it downstairs.

I nearly burst into tears at the sight. Beside me, Jasper chuckles and gently pulls an arm around me. "Is this okay?" he asks quietly.

I look up at him through my tears. "Jasper," I breathe. "It's perfect. Thank you."

He smiles and leans down to press a kiss to my lips. "Merry Christmas, Alice."