“Hurry up, Mom!” Noelle rushed, standing there in her sneakers with the laces undone.
Holly finished tying her shoes and put her hands on her hips. Damn, she was adorable. Even with the creases in her face from the pillow, her hair a mess, and in her matching red flannel pajamas, she was effortlessly beautiful.
“Ready?” I asked, nerves starting to make me feel sick. It’d been so long since I’d done something like this, I just hoped they liked it.
With Noelle practically vibrating, and Holly eyeing me cautiously, I led them out of my office and into the main workshop.
“Chris!” Holly exclaimed, stopping beside me.
“Mom!” Noelle squealed, running toward the tree.
I bent my head down and asked, “Is it okay?”
I wasn’t sure what I was going to do if she said it wasn’t. I’d be disappointed for sure, but I’d get over it. At least I hoped I would.
“Chris,” my name fell from her lips with shock. “It’s beautiful. You didn’t have to do this,” Holly assured me.
“I wanted to,” I replied honestly. It surprised me actually how much I wanted to. Last night, after they were sleeping soundly, I went back up to my apartment and looked around. I wanted Noelle to have a Christmas to remember. One she deserved. I’d decided I was going to move the tree downstairs so her gifts could wait for her under it, so that’s what I’d set about doing.
Slowly, carefully, I’d carried the already decorated tree down the icy steps and set it back up in the middle of my workshop. A few decorations didn’t make it when they’d fallen off and broken on the steps, but after a few minutes of repositioning the survivors, it didn’t look half bad. Except it looked out of place. A brightly decorated tree in a dirty workshop. So, I kept going and before I knew it, I’d lost three hours, my workshop looked like Santa’s village, and Christmas had really arrived in Evergreen Lake.
Noelle was kneeling by the tree, her head bobbing each way as she tried to read the tags on the pile of gifts. Not once did her fingers reach out and touch, and I had no doubt that was yet another trait Holly had ingrained in her daughter.
I risked a glance over at Holly. Her eyes were filled with unshed tears and her smile was enough to melt the snowdrifts piling up outside. When she wrapped her arms around my waist and buried her head against my chest I almost toppled over. Not wanting her to let go, I hugged her back. Holly was a strange woman, one I couldn’t quite figure out. I’d spent the night asleep beside her, and now, standing here hugging her I could smell cinnamon and Christmas. Maybe I was imagining it, but this was exactly how I’d pictured Christmas morning as I’d crawled into bed barely a few hours earlier.
“Mom?”
Noelle’s voice broke the bubble as Holly wiped away her tears. “Yeah, sweetie?”
“Look at the presents! This one has your name on it!” Noelle told her, and Holly looked back at me. When I unpacked the bag, I’d found gifts for Noelle, her father, and someone named Nikkie, but nothing for her and that wasn’t okay. Santa always brought gifts for everyone. So, while they were sleeping, I ransacked my apartment trying to find something, anything that could work. It wasn’t like I kept a cupboard stocked with gifts I could wrap in the middle of the night.
“Does it?” Holly asked, her voice hitching as she strode across the cold concrete over to the tree.
When I shivered, I suggested they grab the gifts, and we take them back to the office where it was warmer so we could open them. Leaving them to it, I went back and tidied up a bit. I leaned the mattress against the wall trying to make some space while tossing all the blankets in a nest on the floor. Based on the sound of the wind whipping around out there and the heavy snow still falling, we were going to be in there for a while, so we might as well get comfy.
I snorted with laughter when Noelle almost fell through the door, her arms full of brightly wrapped boxes. “Careful,” I reminded her, closing the distance in long strides to help.
“Achoo!” Holly sneezed as she stepped into the office.
“Gesundheit,” I replied automatically.
“Thanks,” Holly murmured, sniffing.
“Gazhi?” Noelle tried to repeat, tripping over the word. “What does that mean?”
“It’s the same as ‘bless you’,” Holly explained, setting some gifts down on the nest of blankets I’d built.
Noelle turned to look at me, confusion etched on her young face. “Why don’t you just say ‘bless you’ then?”
I grinned. “You know, I’m not really sure. My mom used tosay gesundheit and I guess I just still do.” I smiled sadly at the memory. I missed my mom. I was a grown ass adult with adult money and adult problems, but there were still moments I missed my mom and wished she was here.
“That’s weird.” Noelle shrugged, turning her attention back to the unopened Christmas gifts, forgetting all about the strange word.
Holly’s hand landed on my forearm, and I almost jumped through the roof. “I think it’s lovely,” she offered with a soft smile.
As she moved away and settled on the floor beside Noelle, I shook off the nostalgia and clapped my hands. “Well, ladies. Those presents aren’t going to open themselves. Who’s first?”
eleven
