The next morning, I wasn’t sure at first what woke me. Part of me had been braced for yelling and whooping from the girls, shouting about Christmas Day. Instead, I got a warm embrace and a gentle kiss to the back of my neck.
I sighed happily. “G’morning.”
“Good morning.” Dominic kissed me again, right on the knob at the top of my spine. “Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas.” I rolled over so I could see him. He looked…still tired. “How d’you feel?”
“Better.” It was a whole sentence of sentiment in a single word. Not perfect, but better. Getting there. “And you?”
I was more embarrassed that I’d let gossip about my dad get me so upset yesterday than anything else. “Same.”
“Good.” He smiled at me, and I couldn’t resist kissing that smile.
We were a mess, but at least we were together.
At least for one more day.
“Christmas!” Marnie shouted from the landing. “It’s Christmas! Come on, Steph!”
The girls rumbled down the stairs like a thunderstorm, breaking the peaceful quiet of the morning. I whined and pressed my face down against Dominic’s collarbone. “Oh my god. Where do they get the energy?”
Dominic kissed the top of my head. “That was nothing. Just wait a second…”
“DADDY! UNCLE NICKY! MAX!”
Yep, he was right. “Ugh.”
Dominic chuckled and tightened his grip around me. With all that happened yesterday, I was glad he was able to laugh, even if it was at my expense. “Didn’t you ever get excited on Christmas morning?”
“Not really. It’s not like I had anyone else to get excited with, you know?” I was an only child, and my parents had resolutely forbidden me from waking them before eight. “I always knew exactly what my folks had gotten me, too—it was just a waiting game in the end, not really a big surprise.”
“Hmm.” I wasn’t sure what that hmm meant, but Dominic was up and out of bed before I could ask. He opened the door and shouted, “We’re coming!” then shut it again and turned his smiling face on me. “I’ve bought us about…three minutes,” he said. “Long enough to use the bathroom and brush our teeth.”
I groaned. “Not long enough.”
“Hal will have coffee waiting, at least.”
There was that. Plus, we still had to retrieve the puppy from Phee’s, where we’d left her before the play while Hal distracted the girls. So the sooner we got down there, the better.
“Okay.” I heaved myself out of bed. “I’m up.”
Dominic kissed me, morning breath and all, then ran for the bathroom. “Dibs!”
“Ha-ha, what are we, five?” I called after him, but honestly, I liked the chaos of it. Screaming kids, holiday cheer, and best of all, a kiss from Dominic…yeah, part of me really wanted to get used to this.
We were downstairs about ten minutes later, after another rousing round of call and response. Hal, who looked about two drowsy minutes away from completely passed out, nevertheless had hot cups of coffee waiting for us on the counter, as well as toasted bagels and cream cheese ready to spread. “Merry Christmas,” he got out then winced as Dominic went and hugged him hard enough to take his breath away. “Jesus,” he wheezed in his brother’s embrace, “what’s gotten into you?”
When Dominic pulled back, he was beaming. “I’m just happy for the holiday.”
“I…do not want to know why you’re feeling so much better today.” Hal pointed a finger at me. “For the record, I blame Max.”
I grinned. “Don’t be so quick to dismiss the salutatory effects of the Christmas spirit.”
Hal made a raspberry sound, and Dominic laughed.
“Max?” Marnie took my hand, pulling my attention a few feet downward. “Are you ready to open presents now?”
I looked down at her, mystified. “Um…yes?”
“Great!” She pushed a squishy gift into my hands. “This is for you! Come on, we want to watch you open it!” She darted back into the living room.
I stared at the gift then at Hal. “Um.”
He managed a smile behind his coffee mug. “I told the girls that we couldn’t open presents until you were ready. They’re very invested.”
I frowned. “When did you have time to shop?”
“It’s called Amazon, Max. Besides, did you honestly think I wasn’t going to get you anything for Christmas even if you were still in New York?”
Honestly, I hadn’t thought of presents at all. Being here was my gift this year, and it was more than I really had a right to ask. “Thank you.”
“Max!”
“Let’s go put the girls out of their misery,” Hal said, clapping me on the shoulder as he headed for the living room couch.
I’d never quite experienced a Christmas morning like this, the kind with adults sitting around drinking coffee and watching the kids tear through wrapping paper, revealing whatever was inside with squeals of joy. It was all a bit of a blur for me—maybe because I was still tired, or maybe because my eyes were a little wet, I didn’t know—but there was a tea set involved, and several stuffed animals, and at least one Frozen figurine that both the girls were very pleased with. Then Dominic disappeared, and a few minutes later, he came through the front door with the puppy wrapped up in his jacket, and from there on out, it was complete pandemonium.
I opened my own gifts while the girls were distracted. I got a nice pair of boots from Hal, the kind that had enough tread to propel me straight up a mountain in the middle of a snowstorm if I needed them to. The girls gave me homemade ornaments fashioned out of popsicle sticks and pipe cleaners that made me wish I had a tree to hang them on.
I even got a gift from Dominic. It was a pretty big box, and when I finally got it open, I laughed.
“Do you like it?” Dominic had moved over to sit beside me.
“A roadside emergency kit?” There were reflective triangles, a new set of jumper cables, a multitool, a reflective vest, and even a rain poncho. There was more, but I’d have to dig into it later. “It’s a really good idea,” I admitted. “I was kind of unprepared for that last accident.” I nodded to the card he had in his hand. “By comparison, my present for you feels kind of lame.”
He smirked as he held up the gift card I’d grabbed for him at the hardware store. “Any help with supplies for the house is always welcome. You didn’t have to do this, though.”