Locke's Christmas Story

A little girl of four wearing a long white nightgown that reached her toes was sitting in front of fireplace, its flames dancing in her bright blue eyes, while sipping from a mug filled with hot chocolate and tiny marshmallows. Her blonde curls swayed as she inhaled the odor of the freshly baked chocolate chip cookies she had made for Santa. As she enjoyed the scenery of the family room, the beautifully decorated tree with the golden star at the top and the four bright red stockings that had each of the family’s names embroidered on them hanging from the mantel of the fireplace, her older brother ran into the room and plopped down beside her.

“Santa’s not coming and bringing you presents this year.” He taunted. “Locke, you’ve been a very naughty girl this year.” His voice dropped to a low bass imitating Santa.
She frowned and pouted. Her red little mouth scrunched up. “Na uh. Santa’s bringing me lots of gifts. He’ll give me more than he’ll give you because Christmas is my favorite holiday. Santa is my best friend!” Her voice rose to a higher pitch.
The redhead shrugged and gave her a smirk. “Whatever you say, sis. Now hurry up and finish your hot chocolate so you can go to bed. Santa won’t come unless you’re fast asleep.” He ruffled her hair and left.

Locke sighed and carefully fixed her hair. Her hot chocolate quickly disappeared and she skipped to the kitchen with her empty mug. “Mommy! Daddy! Come tuck me in!” She danced around her parents until they stood up. Both put on a smile for their adorable little daughter. As they made their way upstairs, Locke leaned over the balcony railing, curls falling over her small face and stares at the fireplace. “Santa, come soon!” She whispers softly.

Her dad picks her up. “Santa is coming, munchkin. Come on, let’s get you to bed.” He gently places her on her soft bed and covers her with her pink and blue quilt. “Goodnight, sweet pea.” He kisses her forehead and her mom does the same. They turn off the lights and switch on the Christmas lights. The room was illuminated with multi-colored lights, casting everything in the room a different color. Her eyelids flutter shut and she dreams of sleigh bells and Santa.

The next morning, she wakes up and runs down the stairs to find a lot of presents under the Christmas tree. “WAKE UP EVERYBODY!!! IT’S CHRISTMAS!!!” Locke yells and yells until everyone comes downstairs. “Santa was here!” It only confirmed her beliefs that Christmas was the most magical time of the year.

* * * * * * * * *

“Locke! Locke! Where are you, darling?” Her mother called.
“Coming, mommy!” Locke yelled back from her room. A few seconds later, she trotted down the stairs in a pale, pink dress with plenty of lace and ribbon bows. The eight-year old lightly brushed away her perfectly curled dirty-blonde hair from her pale face. She stopped moving in front of her mom who was carrying a big cardboard box full of decorative items.
“It’s time to decorate the Christmas tree.” Her mom told her.
Locke’s face lit up. “Okay!”

They started untangling the rows and rows of lights and it got quite confusing. Locke even managed to get wrapped up in a few strands by accident and fell over. Tears welled up as a slight pain registered in her mind. “Mommy, I don’t want to do this anymore.” She made a sad puppy face.

“Aww… Locke, we’re almost done with this untangling. Then we can start decorating, okay?”
“If we have to.” Locke resigned.

Eventually, they began draping the lights on the tree. She got bored so she threw the lights above the tree to let them fall wherever. Her mom almost stopped her, but after she saw the happiness in her face, she didn’t. The tree looked so funky with all the lights strewn all over and Locke giggled at the sight.

The front door opened and a whirl of cold air came in along with her dad and brother coming back from their sledding trip. “Hi daddy! Hi Mikey! Look at the tree! I decorated it!” Locke greeted happily.

Michael burst out laughing. “Of course you did. The tree looks so funny!”
Her dad had trouble keeping the laughter in. “Be nice Michael. Sweetie, it looks wonderful.”
Locke crossed her arms and frowned. “Thanks daddy. Mikey, say that you’re sorry. “
Michael stopped laughing. “Okay Locke. I’m sorry. The tree looks good.”
She smiled. “Thank you. You guys came home just in time to help put on the ornaments.”

The three of them began putting the plastic balls and ceramic figurines on the branches of the tree. Her mom went to make snacks and hot chocolate. When she came back with a tray with a bowl of popcorn and four mugs filled to the brim with steaming hot chocolate, the tree was almost complete.

Her dad let her climb onto his shoulders to put on the star, the last thing the tree needed. She carefully placed the star on top and allowed her dad to put her down. Michael handed her the light switch as he plugged it into the electrical outlet. She looked at the crazy tree, closed her eyes, and then flicked on the switch. Her eyes slowly opened and she clapped her hands. “Oh the tree is so pretty! I love it!” They enjoyed the snacks and surveyed their work with happiness.

A couple days later, they took their annual Christmas family photo and Locke loved how the tree looked beside them so much that she took a copy of the picture and put it on her dresser. Every time she looked at the picture, her thought was “Oh, Christmas is my most favorite time of the year.”
* * * * * * * * * *
Four years later, on the day before Christmas, Lock was found suiting up in several layers of clothing and a snowsuit and boots with warms gloves and a matching hat. She was preparing for the snowball fight that was important to the rest of the neighborhood. It would be her best friend and her against the meanest family of boys. She looked outside filled with anticipation. “Bye mom! I’ll be back in an hour or so.”

“Alright, Locke. Have fun!” Her mom called back from her room.

She left her house, savoring the sound of the snow being crunched by her boots and went to the huge hilly field where the fight would be held. She spotted her friend Denicee and made her way to her side.

“Hey, hey! Ready to fight?” She asked Denicee eagerly.
Her equally bundled best friend nodded. “Heck yeah. Let’s kick some butt.”

They began stacking snowballs next to their fort, the one they had built the day before. It was an impressive structure. The fort was over four feet high and a foot wide. Their opponents were the cocky neighborhood boys who thought they could rule the world and have whatever they wanted. It was the girls’ chance to prove them wrong.

“Are you silly girls ready to play?” A young boy called out from across the field.
Locke looked over her fort and yelled back. “Bring it on, Cowgirls!” She ducked as one of the boys threw a snowball as a response to the insult. She laughed and so did Denicee.

“Nice one girl. Now let’s kick some butt!” They began hurling snowballs at the three boys. Soon snowballs were flying all over the place. Most missed their marks, but a couple did hit.

It had been agreed upon that if a player got hit seven times, they had to stop throwing and sit out. Whichever team got hit out first lost. So it was important to avoid snowballs. The boys had sloppy aim, figuring that since they had the advantage with one more teammate, they would win. It was their downfall. The girls managed to have a decent aim and a perfect throwing strategy. Soon two of the boys were out and Locke and Denicee were still firing away.

Denicee and Locke sauntered awy and didn't start laughing until they were completely out of sight. "Oh my gosh! That was amazing, Locke! Way to kick his butt!" Denicee clapped Locke on the back who gave her a thumbs up. "That was my goal. So... how bad do I look?" Her friend gave her face a lookover. "Er...it's not too bad. But your cheekbone is a little bruised." Locke felt her left cheek. "Oww!" She hissed. "Only a little? Are you sure about that? Tomorrow, it's going to look like a rainbow. She sighted. They stopped in front of Denicee's house. "Alright, I'll see you. Merry Christmas!" Denicee turned to go up the porch steps. "Yeah, see you. Merry Christmas!" Locke continued on her way home. When she got inside, she quickly took off her botos and coat and hurried up to her room, locking the dorr behind her. She stripped off her layers and then dared to look into the mirror. "Ouch!" She winced. It was already staring to have different colors. She shrugged, dressed more comfortably, and went downstairs to brave the wrath she thought would come. "Locke! What did you do to yourself?" Her mom exclaimed when she saw her. Locke frowned. "The Cowgirls cheated again so Jase and I er... had an argument." To her surprise, her mother laughed. "Who won?" Locke pointed at herself. "Good job. I always told Laurie to keep her boys in line. Hopefully this will make her actually try." Locke smiled. The next day, Christmas morning, Locke woke up to find her cheekbone looking the way it was predicted. She bounded down the stairs to open presents. But her parents stopped her. "Your mother and I have an announcement to make first. Go get Michael." Her dad had said. She went up and shook her dead asleep brother and pulled him out of bed. "Come on. Mom and dad wants to talk to us." Her brother slowly got up. His t-shirt was askew, baring his stomach, his pants were uneven and his hair stuck up all over the place. He stumbled down the stairs and sat besides his sister. Their mom smiled and observed her children. "Michael, Locke, I've got a special gift for you this year. In about four months, you're going to have a new sister." Locke's face broke into a grin and Michael looked quite stunned. They carefully studied their mother and noticed a slight bulge in her stomach under her bulky, loose clothing. Within Lock was jumping with joy. She was excited about all her gifts and just joyful because of the holidays, but she was so much excited about the new sister. "Christmas is amazing! Life is always the best at Christmas." She decided that year. She couldn't wait for the next year with her new sister.

* * * * * * * * *

But Locke's love of Christmas was slowly fading away. Year after year, it lost its magic and joy within her heart. Her family life was deteriorating. Her school life was falling to pieces. There was never anytyhing to look forward to. She was fifting, a rising sophomore, when everything changed. That summer, her family was forced to move due to her dad's job, shifting them to the next town a couple hours away. It was hard to adjust to the new surroundings, new house, and new people. Tension was high in the house all the time. It was just her and her sister Anabel because Michael moved out for college choosing to go the university in previous town. Because he was gone, Locke couldn't hid from the frustrations of her parents. Her mom ranted at her for hours on end on so many topics she couldn't remember them all. And that wasn't the worst of it. Her father became abusive, physically and verbally. Out of the spite in his heart, he would hurt her in secret. No one knew- her mom, her brother, or her sister (she was too young to understand anyway). They didn't have a clue and she didn't dare to tell anyone in fear of the retaliation of her father and the consequences of anyone trying to help that would fall upon her three and a half year-old sister. That Christmas was one of the most miserable days of her life. It had taken her two whole months to perfect her happy mask for this particular holiday. She had to suffer through the celebration dinners with all kinds of people. Everytime, she forced her smile until her face hurt. She made sure her brother never guessed, never knew about her sufferings. Christmas had just been tainted by the red hot anger and abuses of life. "I'll probably never have another happy Christmas." She thought glumly. She longed for the older days, the days of her childhood where everything was still sweet. But it never got better and life was just dragging her down into darkness, step by step. It looked like there would be no end.

* * * * * * * * * *

College came and went. Christmases did the same. And Locke avoided going home as much as possible. But everything changed before Christmas after she graduated. Her dad had left the family suddenly and secretly in the middle of the night. He had wanted to be free from the cumbersome responsibility of being in charge of a family. The loss shocedk everyone. Her mother was affected the most or at least that's what it seemed like outwardly. She couldn't function and od anything without breaking down in tears. From what Locke gathered, her mom should've been glad to see her husband go, but she seemed too distraught and it confused Locke. Michael was unaffected and uncaring. He had gotten married to his college sweetheart the year before and was more engrossed in his new wife then the problems of his family. He was never close to his father anyway. Locke was relieved and overjoyed (inside, of course). The dark shadow of her abusive father could no longer choke her and watch her when she went home for a visit. This freedom was a happy feeling for her. She finally thought that this Christmas would finally be ok. Anabel was a completely different story. She seemed alright to everyone else, and no one was worried about the effects of her father leaving. But inwardly, she blamed herself for him leaving and the cloud of depression was eating at her soul. She had been a happy chile, full of life, and popular in her seventh grade class. Unbeknownst to everyone, she became anorexis and began cutting to escape from her inward pain. Because her mom was lost in her distress, because there was no one else at home, it went unnoticed. That Christmas, everyone came home. Michael and his wife and Locke were in the house. It wasn't the happiest atmosphere, but there was an underlying sense of relief. Except the poison left by her father was still affecting everyone minus Michael. Letters came in the mail Christmas Eve from the missing man who was in some fraom town in another state. Everything happy disappeared immediately.

Michael tossed his, not bothering to open it. Sensing trouble coming, he took his wife to bed early. His mom broke down when she saw the letter for her. Nothing could stop her from crying. Locke and Anabel opened theirs with some apprehension. Locke’s letter read:
To my daughter, who isn’t really mine because your mother isn’t faithful:
I hate you. You have no right being in my life. You have ruined my life completely. I was so happy to see you go to college. You are a reminder to me that I’m a failure. Goodbye. I’ll never forgive you.

Locke was shocked. She wasn’t related to him? It was a mind-boggling, but relieving revelation. Anabel read hers in silence than threw it into the fire. There aws a silence that fell over the room with their mom still crying to herself.

Anabel broke it with a loud proclamation. “I’m glad that molesting SOB is gone.”
Her mother’s head snapped up. “Don’t say stuff like that.”
Locke frowned as Anabel’s words sank in. “He molested you?! Oh my f… I’m going to kill him.” She hugged her sister. “I thought he loved you and hated me and that’s why he’d hit me all the time.”
Anabel looked at Locke with new eyes. “I wasn’t the only one he abused? Wow, what an ass.”
SMACK! A hand slapped Anabel’s cheek. It was their mother. “Stop speaking lies about your father. Just because didn’t like him doesn’t mean you can make up stories.”
Locke pulled off her sweater. “Remember this scar mom?” She pointed to an ugly scar at the back of her shoulder. “He cut me with his wedding ring when he punched me into a wall. I can’t be lying.”
Anabel went over to Locke and traced the scar with her finger. “Oh Locke… I wish he loved me enough to save you from the pain he gave you. But apparently, he hated me because I wasn’t his.”
Locke’s eyes went wide. “I’m not either!”
They smiled. “I’m so glad!” They said together and looked at their mom who was holding her hands over her open mouth.
She was stunned, speechless, shocked beyond imagination. “He…knew…about that?” They shrugged. “Oh I’m so sorry girls. Now I believe you. I’m so sorry… I had no idea. It’s all my fault. I couldn’t see what an idiot he was.”
Her daughters hugged her tight. “It’s alright mom.”

The rest of the night was a confession and bonding night. Locke shared her story of abuse and they all cried together. Anabel told them about her molestation and the effects of the man who ruined all of their lives, namely about her anorexia, and they sobbed for hours. Finally their mom confessed about their real father and for both girls, it was a huge burden off their shoulders.

It ended up being a semi-happy Christmas after all.

* * * * * * * * * *

The next year, Locke went back to her hometown to hang out with Denicee. It had been planned the night after New Year’s to catch up on each other’s life. While talking on the phone with her, Denicee had promised a surprise and good news. Locke was looking forward to it. She drove up to Denicee’s family’s house in the neighborhood she grew up in. Her friend and her family greeted her happily and Denicee took her to the room she’d be staying in.

They decided to take a walk through the snow. Locke rehashed the story of the last Christmas with her family. “Oh that’s very good! Aren’t you happy about it?!” Denicee asked.
“I suppose so. It’s just so weird.” Locke shrugged. Her friend clapped her on the back as her comforting gesture. “So what’s the good news?” Locke looked at her.
“Oh. Well…” Denicee blushed. “I’m engaged to Chase.”
Locke’s face broke into a huge smile. “Congratulations! Are they coming over for dinner tonight?”
Denicee nodded. “They’re all coming.”
Locke laughs. “Wonderful. Awkward dinner with Jase… hahaha. Just what I wanted for Christmas.”
Denicee poked her; her face was serious. “I think you should give Jase a second chance. He’s changed a lot. He’s totally different now.
Locke thought about it for a minute. “Okay.”
“What? Just okay? What does that mean?” Denicee frowned.
“Okay means I’ll give Jase another chance. Clean slate.” Locke stated.
“Good enough.” Denicee replied as they reached the house.

For some reason, as dinner soon approached, Locke was a little nervous. There were little butterflies in her stomach fluttering around. As she was getting dressed, she wondered about Jase, wondered if he would liker or vice versa. She put the final touches on her make-up and went downstairs to help set the table. Soon, the doorbell rang.

Denicee took Locke’s arms and they greeted the visitors together. Chase was the first person through the door and Denicee broke into a huge smile. He took her into his arms and kissed her. Locke glanced at them with some envy in her heart, shook it away, and greeted the rest of the family. Jase was the last one in and when he looked at her, her heart sped up.

“’Ello, Locke.” Long time no see.” His voice was deep and strong.
“Hi Jase.” She looked up into his blue and saw something, something she could put a name to and it bothered her a little bit. Both families had a joyful meeting and Denicee and Chase looked quite love struck with each other.
“It’s almost disgusting isn’t in?” Jase’s voice was right next to her ear.
She jumped. She hadn’t realized that he was beside her. She turned. “Yeah. Pretty sickening to watch.” He smelled like aged cologne and his big, tall, strong, and warm body was right next to hers. When she looked to his face, she found his face only a couple inches from hers. She immediately looked away and made an excuse and hurried to the bathroom to escape. Her heart was hammering in her ears. “What is wrong with me?” She wondered.

When she came to the table, everyone had picked out their seats and only one seat was open between Jase and Denicee. She sighed and took her place. “I hope you aren’t trying to set me up with him.” She muttered to Denicee.
“What?” Her face was innocent, but Locke had a gut feeling that she was. Jase was observing both of them and Locked flashed a nervous smile.

Dinner was loud and lively, but for Locke it was awkward, almost as if they were teens again. She was fully aware of her dinner partner and every move he made. Occasionally their arms would brush and both would blush and turn away. He was always courteous and very polite and it surprised her. She’d sneak glances at him when he wasn’t looking and quickly look somewhere else if he started moving. What she didn’t know was he was doing the same thing too.

After dinner, they retired to the family room to talk and ended up discussing the upcoming wedding. Locke left the room, uninterested at the topic, without being noticed by anyone- except Jase. He followed her out soon after and didn’t see the glint in Denicee’s eyes. He found her on the back porch swinging on the bench staring into the distance.

“May I join you?”

At the sound of his voice, she was startled and looked at him. She nodded, unsure if it was a good decision or not. He settled down next to her, his weight upsetting the balance of the swing causing her to shift oddly. He placed a hand on her arm to steady her. She smiled briefly as a thanks and they sat their in silence.

“So tell me Locke, how has life treated you since you moved?” Jase broke the silence.
She dared to look at him. “It’s been…life with all its ups and downs. How about you?” She didn’t want to talk about herself, he could sense it, so he took the subject change without a fuss.
“It’s been pretty good to me. Right now, I’m just working and saving money. Do you want to hear a funny story?” She nodded. “So once…”

They talked for over and hour, well it was mostly Jase talking, but Locke was at ease and loved his voice. It was soothing sound to her ears. He loved her laughter, it sparked a desire in him to make her smile and laugh all the time. To him, it seemed like life had been pretty difficult on her and he wanted to take her and sweep her off her feet to carry her off into the distance and hide her from the world.

“Looks like they had the same idea as we did.” A female voice spoke from the back door. The two on the bench looked up and saw Denicee and Chase standing in the doorway. Jase gave a sheepish grin and Locke blushed. Denicee laughed and pointed to something above them. Everyone looked up and there, was a mistletoe hanging from the deck rafter. Locke groaned and Jase sighed. He looked at her and she refused to look back.

He placed his hand under her chin and moved her head to face his. He tilted his head and bent over slowly until their lips met lightly. It wasn’t deep nor meaningful, but there was shock of electricity and attraction that they both felt. Their eyes locked and something between them changed. Jase stood up suddenly and Locke almost fell out of the swing due to the loss of his weight and he caught her in his arms. They left the porch without another word and Denicee smirked.

“You’re so mischievous, love. Wonder if they know what you’re up to?” Chase said seriously, though his face had a smile.

Jase and Locke ended up at the front steps of the house. She was cold and shivering a lot. He noticed and put his arms around her. She started to protest, but he put his mouth next to her hair and hushed her. They stood like that for a bit, staring at the stars decorating the night sky. He turned her around and touched his forehead to hers. His eyes searched hers for an answer, any response to him.

He must’ve seen something he was looking for because he kissed her gently. At first, she didn’t respond, but eventually she softened against him and kissed him back. Some primal instinct within Jase threatened to overwhelm him as the sweet taste of her hit his bloodstream. He buried one of his hands in her curls, and the other curved around her waist drawing her closer. He didn’t want to get carried away, so he ended the kiss. Both were breathing heavily.

“Be mine?” He asked huskily and shyly when the world stopped spinning around them. She couldn’t trust her voice so she nodded. It was then she realized that this was Denicee’s surprise- Jase and his feelings for her.

That Christmas, all she got was a gift card, but she figured Jase made up for everything and lots more. For the first time in a long time, she had a glimmer of hope that life would finally be getting better.

* * * * * * * * * *

The next year, Locke woke up Christmas morning to the sun shining brightly through her window reflection of the foot of snow covering the ground. She wrapped herself in her terry green bathrobe to go downstairs and make some coffee. She paused at her small living room where her Christmas tree was residing. It looked different for some reason, but she was still mostly asleep to comprehend it.

The coffee was boiling and the smell was slowly waking her up. She sipped at the steaming liquid, careful not to burn her tongue. When the caffeine reached the bits of her that refused to wake up, she decided to have a second look at the tree. Her padded footsteps were the only sounds she could head and she reached the living room and realized immediately what was different.

There were lights and ornaments decorating the tree. She hadn’t put them there. She had bought the tree and never found the time nor the heart to decorate it. Now the tree was completely covered but there was no star. And there were gifts under the tree more than the two she had wrapped for her boyfriend the night before.

She set the coffee mug down on the table and just stared at the miracle of the tree. She screamed as on of the gifts moved and a pair of boots peeked out behind it. “Who is behind there come out. Now.” Her tone brooked no argument.
“Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!” A deep familiar voice proclaimed from behind the tree as the bristles rustled and a very tall, but skinny ‘Santa’ stepped out.
Locke laughed. “Merry Christmas, Santa! So what id you bring me for Christmas?”

‘Santa’ picked up one of the gifts and handed it to her. She took the box and unwrapped it carefully. Inside lay a gold star, one that held a lot of memories for her. “Oh my! How’d you manage to get the family Christmas star? The one I use to put on top of the tree?” Her face had a happy glow as she remembered the fond memories of being carried by her dad on his shoulder to put it on top.

The blue eyes behind the white beard twinkled and he shrugged and handed her another gift. Locke peeled it open eagerly. It was a locket, a very expensive one, in the shape of a heart with a sapphire in the center. It clicked open and revealed a cute photo of Locke and Jase and an inscription on the other side read, “You’ll always have a piece of my heart. Jase” Her heart sang with joy and her smile stretched from ear to ear. “Aww… Jase is such a sweetheart. He’s laying on the love really thick.”

There were two small boxes left, one blue and one green and he gave the green. She opened up the box and gasped at the beautiful design of a gold four-leaf clover brooch. Around the edge lay the words, “My life was never so lucky until you walked in.” She was about to look up, but she heard him say, “Close your eyes and don’t open them until I tell you too.” She did and was very curious to see what all the noises he was making all about.

“Now open your eyes.” He told her from behind. She opened her eyes and the picture she saw shocked her dumb. The lights and ornaments were lit up and it spelled out two very important words: Marry Me. For a minute, she couldn’t speak, couldn’t move. Finally, her brain got her to turn around. She found Jase, devoid of the Santa costume, kneeling on the ground with a small blue velvet box.

With his fingers, Jase unveiled the contests of the box. It was a stunning single diamond set on a simple silver band. The gem glistened in the light as he took it out and presented it to her. “Locke, I love you with my whole heart. Being with you this past year was incredible and I really want you to stay with me forever. Please, Locke, will you marry me?”

Tears formed in her eyes and she nodded slightly. He slid the beautiful ring on her finger, got up and stared into her eyes. They both felt the connection trying them irrevocably to each other with that gaze and love filled their entire being. He broke the stare, picked up the necklace on the table, and fastened it around her neck, then clipped the lucky charm on her robe. “You are officially the luckiest, prettiest woman alive right now. Oh, and the blue matches with your eyes.”

She smiled and reached up on tiptoe to kiss him. For her, this kiss was a promise, a promise that life would never be lonely again no matter if it wasn’t happy, a promise that meant a new beginning, a new life. It was a kiss of hope. When it ended, she frowned.

“What?” Jase asked concerned.
“Humph… how do I top a gift like that? None of my gifts are that special.”
He grinned at her. “I’ve got an idea.”
She tilted her head. “What?”
“Come on, let’s go!” He pulled her, opening the front door, and taking her outside. She stumbled after him and winced as the bright sunlight hit her eyes. She didn’t have much time to recover when the first snowball hit.
“Jase! I’m going to get you for that!” She grabbed some snow quickly packing it into a ball and threw it at her fiancé. It hit him soundly because her aim was right on target. He growled and stomped over to her.

She giggled and started running away, but she lost her balance in the high snow wearing only slippers on her feet and he caught her and tackled her to the ground. He was on top of her, straddling her legs, and they were both reminded of the fight that happened so long ago, where the situation was different and they started laughing at the absurdity.

He leaned over and kisses her forehead. “I love you. Merry Christmas.”
She grins, completely happy for the first time, looking at the love of her life, her soon-to-be husband, and the craziness of her out in the snow in her pajamas, and replies, “Merry Christmas to you too.”

The End.