Page 16 of The Twelve Months of Christmas
“We made plans. And guess what?” Arianna said to Sophie. “We are going to celebrate Christmas all year long.”
“Yay!” cried Sophie. “Is Santa going to come?” she asked, wiggling with excitement.
“I don’t know. You’ll have to wait and see,” said Arianna.
“Molly just texted me about that. It sounds cute, but what does it actually involve?” Mia asked.
“Every month around the twenty-fifth we are going to do something fun to keep the Christmas spirit going. Want to join us?”
“As an observer,” Mia said. “All that planning sounds like work.”
“But fun work.”
Her mother smiled at her. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you so happy.”
“There’s always something to be happy about at Christmas,” Arianna said. “Even when it comes in January.”
Travis was watching football when Sunny returned. “Did you have fun, babe?” he asked casually, his gaze glued to the TV.
“I did,” she said. “Arianna and her friend Molly and I have come up with a plan.”
That got his attention. He aimed the remote at the TV and shut off the sound. “Okay, what are you up to?”
She snuggled up against him on the couch. How she loved cuddling up to Travis. He was a big chunk of man, solidly built. He’d played football in high school and, although he was in his forties, his work at the shipyard kept him as fit as any twenty-year-old. She loved how solid he was. In so many ways. Tansy was a fool to have let him go.
“We are going to celebrate Christmas in January,” she announced.
His eyebrows shot up. “Huh?”
“To make up for December.”
“Okaaay. So I guess the tree’s not coming down.”
“Nope, it’s not. In fact, it’s staying up all year.”
“All year,” he repeated, trying to keep up.
“Yes! Because we’re not only going to celebrate Christmas in January. We’re going to celebrate it in February and March and April and every other month clear through next December.”
“What did you have to drink at Horse and Cow?”
“I drank the Christmas spirit Kool-Aid,” she joked. “It’ll be fun and the kids will love it.”
He smiled. “Have I told you recently what an awesome stepmom you are?”
“Yes, but feel free to tell me again.”
Someone needed to tell her. It sure wouldn’t be her resentful thirteen-year-old stepdaughter. The belated Christmas dinner with the kids had been anything but jolly, and, as Sunny’s mother had predicted, her stepdaughter had declared her holiday treasure hunt lame and refused to participate. Until Sunny hinted at the special gift card she’d find. Still, the hunting had been done grudgingly and the thank-you said without an ounce of gratitude.
“You are an awesome stepmom. Not a bad wife, either,” Travis joked, and kissed her.
It was such a good kiss, he came back for seconds and then thirds. And then he grabbed the remote and turned the TV off. “We should start celebrating your twelve months of Christmas right now,” he said.
“Good idea,” she murmured.
Later that night she lay in bed, as excited as a kid on Christmas Eve. She was brimming with good ideas. There were so many ways they could make the coming year special for their families and she could hardly wait to start. It was going to be a great year.
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