28 - Gideon
The First Christmas
~
Gideon
I didn’t realize how much I had missed Christmas mornings. Practically, they were just winter mornings, but when laced with excitement and expectation, they were magical.
Lexi woke up at the crack of dawn and had been bouncing around the cabin ever since.
Not for any reason in particular, but because this day, a date she had lived through without any fanfare, was suddenly the second most important day of the year for her.
Second to her birthday and followed by Thanksgiving.
We had Brie to thank for that.
She stood at the stove, flipping wonky Christmas tree-shaped pancakes, humming a Christmas jingle I remembered from when I was a kid.
Tobias fidgeted with the presents already wrapped and stacked under the tree.
He was nervous, making sure things were just so, which was impossible.
We hadn’t planned this, so most of the gifts under the tree were handmade knick-knacks and things we already had around the house.
For years, we had ignored holidays, avoided the feeling of homesickness, and refused to acknowledge that something was missing.
This was going to be Lexi’s first Christmas, the first one she would actually remember.
“Can we open the presents now?” Gunner whined.
“Please!” Lexi chimed in. She had dressed herself in the red and white plaid dress Brie had bought for her, tied her hair in uneven pigtails, and strapped on her favorite pair of boots for the occasion.
“After breakfast,” Brie said, bringing the tower of pancakes to the table.
She couldn’t be more beautiful. Her hair was bundled into a knot at the top of her head, with shorter curls falling around her face.
She wore my ‘kiss the chef’ apron tied tightly around her waist and had a smudge of flour on the corner of her chin.
Her eyes were bright, filled with happiness; looking into them was like watching a firework display.
I wasn’t the sentimental kind, but she brought it out in me. Made me think about my family and what I want beyond doing my job every day, and suddenly I looked forward to actually being happy.
We gathered around the table and crowded our plates with pancakes, fruit, and what Gunner convinced us all was home-smoked bacon, and ate hungrily.
With the last sliver of pancake drenched in golden syrup eaten, Lexi didn’t waste time. She pushed off her seat and shouted, “Present time!”
The announcement came with a little dance, and suddenly we were all like children on Christmas morning. We had wrapped most of the presents together. The only person surprised by what was in the boxes was Lexi, but that didn’t change a thing. For the first time, clean-up could wait.
We gathered around the living room, warmed by the fire and the food in our bellies, and watched as Brie passed around the first round of gifts.
“Keep in mind,” she said. “I had a very limited selection to choose from, so the real gift is the thought.”
We all nodded. I was just excited to be receiving something, anything. I couldn’t remember the last time anyone had bought me a gift.
Brie handed small wrapped boxes to each of us. I held onto mine for a bit and watched as Tobias carefully unwrapped a packet of hair ties.
“They’re my spares,” Brie explained. “I thought since we’re bun twins you’d like them as much as I do.”
Tobias smiled, letting down his hair and replacing the hair tie he was already using with one from Brie’s pack.
Next was Gunner. Like with most things, he rushed to rip the wrapping paper open and started laughing before the gift was fully revealed.
“A book of riddles?” he laughed. “I had one of these when I was a kid. It’s perfect, Brie. Thank you.”
It was my turn, and I almost didn’t want to unwrap the present at all. I looked at the wrapping and felt everyone’s eyes on me, waiting to see what was inside. I carefully unwrapped it and put the paper aside. It was a party hat and giant sunglasses.
“To remind you to smile more,” Brie said with a satisfied laugh.
How could I ever forget to smile with her around?
“Thank you,” I said, putting both the hat and the sunglasses on and grinning as widely as my mouth would let me.
“Well, Tobias, I hope you see the result of your poor financial decisions,” Gunner laughed. “You’re barely paying your nanny a living wage. She can’t even afford to get us Christmas presents!”
“Guess I should have at least kept some of my fortune,” Tobias joined in.
Lexi had been waiting patiently with a big box in her arms, ready to open the first of her presents.
She ripped the paper off the box with wild joy, squealing not because of the gift itself, but because, honestly, I think she enjoyed opening the presents more than anything else.
“A ball!” She shrieked. “I love it! I love it!”
Gunner and Lexi were preoccupied with ripping open the boxes that were left under the tree, all for Lexi, when Tobias handed Brie a small package.
This was the present he had been nervous about. He rubbed his palms over the front of his pants.
“It’s nothing fancy, but maybe… I mean, I should have given it to you before, but …” he stammered, and then stopped before he had finished the sentence.
Brie’s hands shook. “I wasn’t really expecting anything.”
My heart was pounding. I didn’t know what the gift was, what it meant, but the nervous energy that passed between Tobias and Brie was infectious.
Only Gunner and Lexi were spared; they hadn’t watched the exchange.
They were too busy discovering new games to play with the ball, making up a snakes-and-ladders ball game that incorporated riddles in a way I wasn’t even sure they understood.
Brie pulled out a wooden Christmas ornament and held it up. The room fell silent.
Tobias leaned forward in the armchair. “I made it when I made all the others. I wasn’t sure if you wanted one, or if you were staying. I— I wasn’t sure.”
Brie’s eyes filled with tears. She blinked, and it sent a rivulet racing down her cheek.
“Don’t you like it?” Tobias asked anxiously.
Brie shook her head.
“It’s beautiful. I love it.” She held the roughly carved ornament to her chest and tried to take a steadying breath. It didn’t work.
Gunner and Lexi stopped playing their game, and we all watched, waiting, not knowing what to do or if she even needed us to do anything at all.
“Brie, are you—?”
“I’m fine,” she interrupted me, and bolted off the couch, making a beeline right out the front door.
“What the hell just happened?” Gunner asked, looking from Tobias to me and back again.