Page 54 of It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Puck This
First things first, I pull her coffee away from her, earning a devilish—and kind of scary– look from my fierce little mate. With an upwards nod of my head.
“Mistletoe?” her sleepy voice asks, still waking for the day.
“Sure is! What’s a better way to start a Christmas morning?” I ask dramatically before setting our coffee down and sweeping her into my arms and dipping her into a movie-worthy kiss.
When we separate, a little breathless, I hand her back her coffee and smile at the fresh blush on her cheeks.
We all slowly migrate to the sitting room and settle into the seats while Father makes us a warm fire, setting the mood even further. Anya’s eyes gloss as she takes it all in, but I pretend not to notice because then she’ll cry and that will frustrate her. She’s still getting used to all her emotions, and I don’t want to overwhelm them further.
We begin to open presents, working in a pattern to keep it as even as we can. Mam gushes over every single little thingshe opens. Father smiles more than I’m used to. I whoop and holler and give smothering hugs. Anya cries a lot of happy tears, holding each present to her heart like she’s storing a core memory.
While Father and I clean up the wrapping paper, Anya stops us. “Everyone. Kodi. I have one more present for you. It’s a big one.” She gives me a crooked smile, and my hands shake as she brings me back to the couch and hands me a very not-big present.
It’s a small box, expertly wrapped, and light as a feather.
All eyes are on me as I untie the bow gently, not wanting to tear into it like a wild animal.
With the gold bow removed, I pull the tape from the green plaid wrapping paper.
“I also wanted to tell you, I’ve decided what I want to be the rest of my life.” Anya breathes from beside me.
I lift the shoe box style lid from the white box and sit perplexed at the small item inside.
I pull the tiny Rays jersey that looks small enough to fit a house pet out of the box, holding it up in confusion as Mam gasps and I swear Father’s eyes collect tears. My brain still doesn’t understand what’s going on when I meet Anya’s still teary eyes as she places a single hand over her lower abdomen.
“A mommy, Kodi.”
The End … maybe
