Page 64 of The One I Want
The three kids run out of the room as Wes stays behind. As soon as they are out of earshot, he leans in for a kiss.
“Merry Christmas.”
I give him one more, because he deserves that and so much more. “Merry Christmas.”
“Are you ready for your first Taylor Christmas?”
“Am I ready for a few presents and some Christmas cookies for breakfast? Absolutely.”
He shakes his head. “Oh no, beautiful. You’re in for the whole day. I’ll get the coffee ready. You’ll need it.”
* * *
I don’t knowwhat I was expecting when I came into my living room, but it definitely wasn’t this.
My Christmas tree is lit. Carols are playing in the background. Cookies are on the coffee table, surrounded by steaming mugs of what I’m guessing to be coffee and hot chocolate.
And under the tree are apileof presents.
“What’s all this?” I say to no one as Wes comes out of the kitchen.
“Santa came,” he whispers as he hands the last mug to Emerson. I come into the room and sit by the fireplace, and Magnolia immediately comes to my side.
“I thought we weren’t doing our Christmas until tomorrow?”
“We didn’t want you spending Christmas by yourself,” Hank says.
“Plus,” Emerson says as she hands me a present, “we were up at five this morning. And we don’t have to go to Gram’s until this afternoon. We had time to kill.”
“Very pragmatic,” I say, taking the present from her. “Wes? My presents for the kids are in the back room.”
“Already here,” he says, motioning to the other side of the tree. “Now quit stalling. Open.”
I smile as I unwrap the first present, which is from Hank. I want to take my time, but he looks so excited I think if I go any slower the poor kid may blow. I open the box to find an authentic green and white Slytherin scarf.
“I didn’t like picking it out,” he says with a shake of his head. “But you can’t go against the Sorting Hat. Plus, I’d like to think Draco and Harry became friends as adults.”
I hold out my arms, which he comes into for a hug. “I think so, too.”
For years, Christmas for me was never things I wanted. I never got the dolls I wanted, or the games. I got “appropriate” clothing or “sensible” items. I had to pretend to ask for my first iPad under the ruse of school. Little did my mom know that night I was creating my first social media account.
But these presents? They are all from the heart, and with each one I have to fight back the tears. Along with my scarf from Hank, he also got me my own glow in the dark ball. So “I could practice when I wasn’t at the house,” he said. Magnolia picked out a makeup set. She said it was for me, but I’m pretty sure she had some personal motivations behind it. I don’t blame her. It’s a great set.
“And this must be from Emerson,” I say, picking up the heavy gift bag. She looks nervously at me as I open it to find a stack of books. I look at the covers, and my jaw drops.
“Are these what I think they are?”
She nods. “Yeah. They are the special edition covers to the series we read together. They even have bonus scenes so there’s new stuff in them.”
I wipe away the tear that escaped, because yup, that one broke me. “Well, it seems to be we both had books on the brain this Christmas.”
I reach over and grab her present and hand it to her. And yes, I wrapped each one individually and bound them together with a book belt. It’s all about the details.
She opens the first one, her jaw dropping when she sees it. She doesn’t say a word though. She speeds things up, ripping off the wrapping paper for the second and third books.
“What are they?” Magnolia asks me since Emerson is still speechless.
“These are some of the most timeless books in history, and some of my favorites,” I say. “I found all the original covers for them. We haveThe Outsiders, The Secret Garden,and my personal favorite,Pippi Longstocking.”
