“Mommy!” Hallie shouts, holding out her arms so Lorna can pick her up and it’s a picture I’ll never get tired of seeing. My two girls together as Romeo sits at my wife’s feet, tail wagging as he looks up at them lovingly.
Since Hallie was born, Romeo has rarely left her side. He appointed himself sole protector, Hallie’s guardian angel, watching over her always. Even when Hallie was inside Lorna’s belly, he would sit beside her on the sofa with his head over her baby bump, listening for any sign of movement inside. If Hallie made even the slightest movement, Romeo’s ears would prick up and he would give an excited little whine.
Lorna and I got married a few months after I came back toHavenand we found out a few weeks later we were expecting our first child. She’s the spitting image of my wife, deep red wine curls and a cheeky smile that can light up a room just like her mother’s.
Aside from being the mother of our daughter, Lorna’s taken a step back from the diner while Hallie’s still small to focus more on her, but she’s still there a few days a week.
Lorna has since opened up a homeless shelter on the outskirts of town that provides accommodation and food to the people who need it the most. Every day I find another thing about her to fall in love with and every day I find myself even more in awe of her. It’s no wonder I fell in love with her as quickly as I did.
I’ve assigned myself the role of full-time dad and it’s far and away the best job I’ve had. A year or so after selling my company I started to miss it, so now I work from home, investing in smaller projects and only heading into the city as a last resort, because I don’t want to spend even a second away from my girls.
“Daddy! Come play with us!” Hallie shouts. I look up to find my daughter bouncing in Lorna’s arms excitedly, and not having an ounce of strength when it comes to my daughter, I head out into the yard.
I still hate the snow, but I’ve come to tolerate it. Sure, we had snow back in New York, but I had the option to avoid it. There’s no avoiding it out here.
I take my daughter into my arms and press a kiss to her temple. “You having fun, sweetheart?”
“Yes, Daddy! I justlovesthe snow! Don’t you, Daddy?” she asks.
“Yeah… it’s great,” I lie, glancing over to Lorna who laughs softly.
“Daddy! Come make a snow angel wiv me! Pweese!” She bounces up and down in my arms, giving me the cutest smile.
“Maybe later, sweetheart. It’s almost dinner time. You hungry?”
“You bet!”
After dinner, we sit and watch Hallie’s favourite Christmas movie,Home Alone.I must have seen it in excess of a hundred times over the years since I was a kid, but I can never get tired of it. I love watching Hallie’s face light up and her infections giggle when the burglars get their comeuppance.
Once the movie’s over, Hallie wanders off to go and play with the mountain of gifts she received.
“I’ll never get tired of watching her,” Lorna says beside me, her head rests on my shoulder as we watch our daughter play. “Can you believe she’s ours. Like… even now, I sit and look at her and wonder if she’s really real.”
“She sure is something special.”
“Mommy! Daddy!” Hallie chants. “Do the thing! Do the thing! It’s time! It’s time!”
Lorna and I exchange a look, then my eyes find the clock. Eight twenty-six. One minute to go.
“So it is.” I take Lorna’s hand and guide her up. I grip her waist and spin her around, pressing her between my body and the wall, the mistletoe dangling above our heads in the same spot as it does every year. “Merry Christmas, my love,” I whisper, my nose brushing hers ever so gently.
“Merry Christmas, Husband. I love you.”
“Love you more.”
“Impossible.”
My mouth descend on hers and her lips part on a gasp as I steal the breath from her lungs with my kiss.
Every year feels the same as the first time I kissed her in this very spot under the mistletoe. My heart still swells with the undying love I have for this woman, and I fall more and more in love with her every year that passes.
“Yay!” Hallie sings behind us and we break apart, breathless.
I spin around and scoop Hallie up into my arms and press a kiss to my daughter and then to my wife. “I’m still the luckiest man alive to have the two of you as my family.”
“Love youallthe way to the moon and back, Daddy!” Hallie beams up at me and my heart expands as I peer down at my beautiful little girl.
“Daddy loves you too, sweetheart. Well, we better get you up to bed, what d’ya say?”
