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Chapter 5: O Day of Peace
The next morning she woke up cuddled under all the blankets on his cot next to the couch. His spot next to her was empty but she wasn't alarmed. She smiled listening to him fumble around in the kitchen. Hearing him pour coffee and set plates on the table was a welcome sound. The house was colder because they'd let the fire burn out this morning. But, he was right, it wouldn't be safe to keep it burning during the day so he'd used the oil stove to brew the coffee and whatever else he had cooked-most likely left over stew.
She stood from the floor and pulled her sweater and boots on. "Morning." she smiled at him.
He blushed and smiled in response. She looked at the table and gasped. He'd set up several simple dishes on the table. A can of cranberry sauce emptied into a bowl, a small roasted pheasant sitting on a plate and and something that looked liked mashed potatoes in another bowl. A few candles and some holly berries sat as the center piece.
"Merry Christmas." he pulled out the chair for her to sit.
"Daryl- how did you find all of this?"
"Went out early while ya was dreaming of sugar plums." he joked.
Her eyes were shedding tears of joy. "That house three miles west?" she asked.
His eyes twinkled. "Weren't nothing." he sat across from her and grabbed her hand. "Wanted you to have somethin' special. I ain't had no real Christmas before and hell, finding ya's about the best Christmas gift ol' Saint Nick's ever gave me."
"Should we really be using all of these supplies?" she asked.
He shrugged. "That house? Full of anything we need. Got most of it in the back of the truck, probably just need one more run and we'll be set for awhile." He grabbed the mashed potatoes and heaped a spoonful on her plate. "Even had these mashed potatoes. Wasn't sure'd they'd still be good but they smell okay. Tasted 'em and they weren't half bad."
It was the most she'd ever heard him talk at once. His spoils and this Christmas feast had him beaming like a kid on Christmas day. She picked up her fork and heaped it full of the instant potatoes and began to eat while he started to cut the bird.