Seeing him like this, happy and oblivious, makes me realize how much I’ve missed it.
Missedthem.
The laughter.
The easy warmth.
The feeling of belonging somewhere.
Dean crouches a little, his voice soft. “Hey, buddy. Were you waiting for us?”
Eli’s whole face lights up. “Yeah!”
Before any of us can react, he launches himself forward, wrapping his little arms around Dean’s neck with all the strength his small frame can muster.
“Mom said you were too busy to stop by today, but I knew you’d come anyway! You have to on Christmas!”
Dean laughs softly. He shifts to catch Eli properly, his big hands steadying the boy before lifting him easily off the ground.
Behind them, I can see the soft, golden glow of the Christmas tree spilling through the doorway from the living room.
The lights blink lazily: reds, greens, and golds reflecting off ornaments that shimmer faintly in the dim light.
Somewhere deeper inside the house, there’s the low hum of music playing, an old Christmas classic.
“Yeah,” Dean murmurs, pressing a quick kiss to the top of Eli’s head before standing upright with him still in his arms. “We wouldn’t miss a holiday like this for the world.”
Eli’s head falls against his shoulder, grinning proudly. “Iknewyou’d come…”
“Guess I owe you one for believing in us.”
When we step inside, the warmth wraps around us instantly. The air smells sugary-sweet from something baking in the kitchen.
The living room looks like Christmas exploded.
The tree is surrounded by opened presents, torn bits of wrapping paper neatly stuffed into a bag by the corner.
A new set of racetrack pieces snakes across the floor in a big, uneven oval with bright plastic cars scattered along it.
There’s a clear empty circle in the middle of it where Eli must’ve been sitting earlier, building his little kingdom piece by piece.
A few instruction sheets lie on the floor nearby, marked with tiny smudges of chocolate at the corners.
A half-eaten plate of chocolate chip cookies sits next to it.
Callum lets out a slow breath beside me. “Looks like you had a fun morning.”
Eli wiggles out of Dean’s arms, his small feet hitting the floor for only a second before he bolts across the living room.
He hops over a section of the racetrack, narrowly avoiding a plastic curve piece that spins under his heel.
“Mama!” he calls, his voice bright and eager. “Look who came!”
There’s a brief pause from the kitchen following a clatter of dishes and the sound of something metallic hitting the counter.
“What?” comes her voice. A little uncertain, a little wary sounding.
Then she appears.
