A Very Aiden Christmas: by
Vicki Trask
It was our first Christmas together as a married couple –
together, together; being married and in separate realms does not count –
and part of me wanted to do something monumental and earth shatteringly
incredible and the other part of me wanted to just curl up beside the fire and
sleep through winter with my husband wrapped around me like a blanket. I mean
this was out first Christmas together; the beginning of a lifetime of firsts:
first Christmas together, first birthday together, first fight, first make-up,
first child – maybe it was best not to touch that last one just yet. Christmas
had to be special it was just a matter of how.
So we compromised.
We were spending the holidays in Scotland with his pseudo-family and my parents and they had collectively decided without us that we were having Christmas dinner all together as a family but the rest of it was left to us.
So we compromised.
There was a lot of time spent during the day wandering around the countryside exploring all the things that had changed since Aiden was last here and reveling in all the things that had magically stayed the same, like someone had placed saran wrap over the hills so they would grow and change but the overall breath of life and beauty was still there. Wandering around and soaking up the romance of Scotland naturally led to a lot of handholding and kisses and the only natural progress from that was snowball fighting – and no that's not a euphemism. After we were completely soaked – that could probably be a euphemism – we would come back to our room, dry off and sit on the couch while I introduced my wonderful husband to the world of cheesy Christmas movies.
Actually it was quite wonderful to watch with him; they held a new magic that I'd never seen before. It was like watching it with a small child whose eyes lit up at anything new or exciting. I loved him more for it.
I tried to stick to the classics since those were the ones I knew so it was a lot of 'White Christmas' and 'Miracle on 34th' and 'The Santa Clause' over and over until Christmas eve when appropriately enough, 'It's a beautiful life' came on and I snuggled further into his bare chest while he pulled the blanket up around my shoulders. It didn't even occur to me that talk of angels and death might be a bit of a sore spot until I saw Clarence but Aiden didn't even shift uncomfortably. He just watched and smiled when he should smile and remain silent when it was appropriate. I spent the movie half watching him and half watching poor Georgia convince the world that he wasn't crazy and that he deserved a second chance. Like I said; it was appropriate.
It wasn't until the little girl informed him that 'every time a bell rings an angel gets its wings' that he grew still, eerily still. So I shut off the movie as everyone in blank and white world were celebrating and waited for him to speak.
I didn't have to wait long.
"Do you think that's true?" He whispered "Do you think humans affect who becomes and angel and who…" he trailed off and looked at his faraway eyes. No; today was Christmas Eve and I would not let the past ruin my fun. I ran my hand up his chest and caressed his cheek, hoping my smile was all flash and no worry.
"You could try it out."
It worked – yes! – and his smile was small but at least it was there "aye we could but I dinah see any angels around except you."
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling too wide "are you asking to ring my bell?" I pushed up so he fell flat onto the couch. I would have laughed at the corny joke but he just gave me a blank expression, his face somber. "Never mind; it was a joke."
And just like that, the mood was serious and he was caressing my cheek like I was made of porcelain "Lindsey," the reverence of his voice in my mind, the sheer love and gentleness of his voice made my heart stop "I may not get every joke or reference in this new world but I know you and I know love and our love is as ancient and wonderful as the stars. And every time the angels try and interfere from this day forward, they won't succeed. I love you."
I was butter, I was worse than butter; I was the mist surrounding the melted butter having evaporated from the intensity and random perfection of that paragraph. God this man was wonderful. "You know, you don't give yourself enough credit." I propped my elbows on his chest and rested there, just staring at the naked affection in his eyes. "You know more about this world than you seem to think."
"Oh really?"
"Yup, you know just what to say to get into a girl's pants." I pressed my lips to his but pulled back just as fast. "You're a very smart man Aiden Macrae."
"Is that so?"
I hummed in recognition "and a smart man would take me to bed right now." I laughed out loud as he wrapped his arms around my waist, and stood from the couch with my body still wrapped around his, my feet barely skimming the floor.
"Well let me show you just how intelligent I can be."
He took careful steps all the way over to the bed, still holding me to him with a single arm, and dropped me on the bed, following suit right after. "Merry Christmas." I whispered as he leaned down, our eyes a breath away.
"Nollaig chridheil."
So we compromised.
We were spending the holidays in Scotland with his pseudo-family and my parents and they had collectively decided without us that we were having Christmas dinner all together as a family but the rest of it was left to us.
So we compromised.
There was a lot of time spent during the day wandering around the countryside exploring all the things that had changed since Aiden was last here and reveling in all the things that had magically stayed the same, like someone had placed saran wrap over the hills so they would grow and change but the overall breath of life and beauty was still there. Wandering around and soaking up the romance of Scotland naturally led to a lot of handholding and kisses and the only natural progress from that was snowball fighting – and no that's not a euphemism. After we were completely soaked – that could probably be a euphemism – we would come back to our room, dry off and sit on the couch while I introduced my wonderful husband to the world of cheesy Christmas movies.
Actually it was quite wonderful to watch with him; they held a new magic that I'd never seen before. It was like watching it with a small child whose eyes lit up at anything new or exciting. I loved him more for it.
I tried to stick to the classics since those were the ones I knew so it was a lot of 'White Christmas' and 'Miracle on 34th' and 'The Santa Clause' over and over until Christmas eve when appropriately enough, 'It's a beautiful life' came on and I snuggled further into his bare chest while he pulled the blanket up around my shoulders. It didn't even occur to me that talk of angels and death might be a bit of a sore spot until I saw Clarence but Aiden didn't even shift uncomfortably. He just watched and smiled when he should smile and remain silent when it was appropriate. I spent the movie half watching him and half watching poor Georgia convince the world that he wasn't crazy and that he deserved a second chance. Like I said; it was appropriate.
It wasn't until the little girl informed him that 'every time a bell rings an angel gets its wings' that he grew still, eerily still. So I shut off the movie as everyone in blank and white world were celebrating and waited for him to speak.
I didn't have to wait long.
"Do you think that's true?" He whispered "Do you think humans affect who becomes and angel and who…" he trailed off and looked at his faraway eyes. No; today was Christmas Eve and I would not let the past ruin my fun. I ran my hand up his chest and caressed his cheek, hoping my smile was all flash and no worry.
"You could try it out."
It worked – yes! – and his smile was small but at least it was there "aye we could but I dinah see any angels around except you."
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling too wide "are you asking to ring my bell?" I pushed up so he fell flat onto the couch. I would have laughed at the corny joke but he just gave me a blank expression, his face somber. "Never mind; it was a joke."
And just like that, the mood was serious and he was caressing my cheek like I was made of porcelain "Lindsey," the reverence of his voice in my mind, the sheer love and gentleness of his voice made my heart stop "I may not get every joke or reference in this new world but I know you and I know love and our love is as ancient and wonderful as the stars. And every time the angels try and interfere from this day forward, they won't succeed. I love you."
I was butter, I was worse than butter; I was the mist surrounding the melted butter having evaporated from the intensity and random perfection of that paragraph. God this man was wonderful. "You know, you don't give yourself enough credit." I propped my elbows on his chest and rested there, just staring at the naked affection in his eyes. "You know more about this world than you seem to think."
"Oh really?"
"Yup, you know just what to say to get into a girl's pants." I pressed my lips to his but pulled back just as fast. "You're a very smart man Aiden Macrae."
"Is that so?"
I hummed in recognition "and a smart man would take me to bed right now." I laughed out loud as he wrapped his arms around my waist, and stood from the couch with my body still wrapped around his, my feet barely skimming the floor.
"Well let me show you just how intelligent I can be."
He took careful steps all the way over to the bed, still holding me to him with a single arm, and dropped me on the bed, following suit right after. "Merry Christmas." I whispered as he leaned down, our eyes a breath away.
"Nollaig chridheil."
(Submit your stories to vicki.trask@gmail.com)
No comments:
Post a Comment