“But I took away your ability to say yes or no to my plan. I wasn’t honest with you. I didn’t let you make your own choices about your life or about me. I left you out of it completely. I made the decision, and you didn’t know the truth. I am so sorry.”
He linked his fingers with mine. “You were eighteen. You did what you did out of love for me.”
“I did, but it was not right. And there have been many years between when I was eighteen and now, but I always thought I was doing what was best for you. I missed you so much, Logan.”
“Me, too, honey. I have never stopped missing you.”
“And Logan, I never stopped loving you, either. My feelings have never change.”
“I have loved you since kindergarten.”
We had to stop to put our foreheads together, and pause, and love each other, and then our passion got the best of us and wasn’t it funny that I was soon straddling Logan on The Hill and kissing him, a position we were familiar with up there.
“I sure would like to see you naked soon, Bellini.” He was breathless, like me.
I laughed through my breathlessness. “How soon?”
“Immediately. Always. Forever.”
“Well…that’s a mighty big truck you have.”
“Bigger than the truck I had in high school.”
“I’m still pretty limber.”
“I can still lift you around.”
“I think we can steam up the windows.”
“I think we can be teenagers again.”
We both laughed, and he threw me over his shoulder and carried me back to his truck. We had a wonderful jingle bell time. We put on Christmas music to get us into the spirit of things.
His jingle bells were ringing.
We arrived together to the O’Donnell Christmas Monster Cookie Decorating Contest.
My whole family was delighted to see Logan. My aunts and uncles and cousins were aflutter in their welcome.
“Are you two back together again?”
“Yes,” I told them. “We are.”
“Definitely yes,” Logan said, then kissed me.
My family cheered, my mother loudest of all.
“Glory be and glory balls,” she said, holding up two glasses of wine, one in each hand. “Merry Christmas to one and all. This is the best gift! I knew we’d have a Christmas miracle this year! I just knew it!”
Logan won the O’Donnell Christmas Monster Cookie Decorating Contest. The tables were filled with sugar cookies and icing, candies, and sprinkles and anything else you could think of that could be put on cookies. A Christmas tree decorated with tons of homemade kids’ ornaments towered in the corner, and a giant blow-up Santa leaned against a wall, waving and swaying. He’s been in the family forever.
There are no rules to the O’Donnell Christmas Monster Cookie Decorating Contest. Whoever makes the best monster wins. Everyone gets one vote. Logan built a five-layer green and blue monster with huge teeth made from cookies cut into triangles. He added horns, claws, a long cookie tail, and googly eyes. Between each layer, he built little stilts so the monster was about nine inches tall. One of my cousin’s kids said, “It’s too scary!” But another said, “That’s the most delicious monster I’ve ever seen.”
Everyone clapped. Logan bowed. Now he had bragging rights. The winner got to wear a red Santa hat with a blue fabric cookie on it. Logan looked scrumptious in it.
Next, we ate the cookies, and my mother brought out Deschutes Family Tequila, which made everyone laugh harder, except me, because I don’t drink. We danced in the family room to all the best dancing songs, and Logan kissed me in front of everyone.
“And there’s no mistletoe either!” Aunt Debbie exclaimed. “The monster cookie king and his queen. Merry Christmas, everyone!”
