Page 247 of Securing the Pucking Rebound
Calvin fits in as if he’s been here every Christmas, and seeing him standing with Mom at the counter, chatting away as if they’re old friends, makes my chest ache in the most incredible way.
With laughter and the scent of our Christmas feast filling the house, time seems to speed past, and before we know it, we’re back at the table to eat, and then we’re gathering around the tree to exchange gifts.
When we were kids, ripping into the gifts was the first thing we used to do. Garrett and I would run into Mom and Dad’s room way too early and jump on their bed until they had little choice but to get up. They’d make coffee while we were bouncing off the walls, and then we’d be allowed to unleash ourselves on the gifts in our stockings that Santa left by the fireplace and the ones from them and other family members under the tree.
We didn’t have a lot of money growing up, but Mom and Dad always made sure to make it special for us. We didn’t always get everything on our lists, but it never mattered, because the level of thought that went into everything we did get outweighed any disappointment over not receiving certain things.
Garrett, as the youngest—his rules—is the one who gets to hand out the gifts. And to my amazement, he hands some to Calvin.
He looks equally as surprised as he stares down at them with wide, shocked eyes.
“Y-you didn’t have to.”
“It’s Christmas, Calvin. There have to be gifts for everyone under the tree.”
Calvin stares at my mom for a few seconds before his glassy eyes turn to me.
My stomach knots as I think about how long it’s been since he experienced a family Christmas like this.
I smile at him, and when Garrett distracts him, I look at Mom and mouth, ‘Thank you.’
We haven’t spoken about Calvin’s family all that much, but I’ve explained enough for her to understand just how much this must mean to him. I have no idea when she found the time to do this, but I will be forever grateful. I know Calvin will, too.
We all rip into our gifts, and while I love everything that my parents and Garrett got for me, I’m more focused on Calvin and everything he opens.
All the gifts are pretty standard—socks, underwear, cologne. Mom might be a miracle worker, but there’s only so much she can achieve with barely any notice. But the grin on his face when he opens each one is magical. He’s so grateful to be opening anything, and I find myself falling even more in love with him.
Once we’ve opened everything from our stockings and beneath the tree, Calvin gets up and grabs the gift bag he brought with him.
I watch him with a smile on his lips as he begins handing wrapped gifts to everyone.
“I also had limited time, so I hope you like them,” he says with a bashful smile as he lowers himself back beside me and hands me a wrapped box.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
I watch as Garrett opens a box and pulls out a piece of paper. I frown, desperate to know what it is as he reads. It only takes a few seconds for his eyes to widen.
“For real?” he asks, grinning at Calvin.
“For real, man.”
“What is it?” Dad asks, leaning over to see.
“All-inclusive VIP tickets for Madison Square Garden when the Vipers visit next.” He beams with excitement, just like he did as a teenager when Mom and Dad managed to get him the laptop he was desperate for.
“Thanks, man. This is awesome.”
He gets Dad a bottle of whiskey that I dread to think the cost of, and Mom opens a pretty bracelet that I’m sure contains real diamonds. They’re both beside themselves, and it only gets better when they open the joint gift and discover a prepaid weekend at a five-star Callahan Enterprises resort for a location of their choice.
They gape at it in disbelief.
“Calvin, this is— Wow. Callahan resorts are…way out of our league.”
“You’ll fit right in. All you need to do is decide where you want to go,” Calvin explains.
They look at each other excitedly. I can’t remember the last time they went away together, other than coming to visit us.
“Are you going to open that?” Calvin asks, noticing that I’ve still got my gift in my hands.
