Page 34 of The Twelve Knots of Christmas
Two normal dates and a mystery box. I waved, watching him leave, and fought with the urge to tell him to come back. I’d see them all tomorrow. A charity event. What could it be? I couldprobably find out by searching online, but my life had so few good surprises. I could wait to find out.
Taking off my boots and coat in the house, I ignored the ache growing between my legs and went right to my suite. Artemis was lying on my bed and jumped down to greet me. “Hello, sweetie. You’re such a good girl for not barking when we all came home. Such a good girl.”
Giving her a bunch of love, I then opened my closet and removed the bags from the market.
In the top of one bag, there was a note scribbled on the back of a scrap of wrapping paper. “Mariska, hope you don’t mind that I did your shopping for you. I kept the receipts and taped them to each box, in case you wanted to return anything. The one in the red box doesn’t have a receipt because it’s for you.”
I raised my brows and shared a look with Artemis who cocked her head to one side. My shopping? Did he mean he did my Christmas shopping for me? I’d still not gotten anything for my family. The plan had been to do it tomorrow before the date, but if Balthazar…
Sitting on my bed with the bags, I unloaded them and laid out the boxes in front of me. Each of them did have their receipts taped to them and with names scrawled in his heavy handwriting at the bottom. “Okay. He really did do my Christmas shopping.”
The first one I picked up was labeled for my sister. I opened the box to find a hand-knitted arctic fox hat and matching gloves. It was super cute and immensely soft. I didn’t know my sister well, but this was a good choice for any teenage girl. “Nice.”
The box marked for my dad was heavy, and turned out to be a wooden charcuterie board with holly engraved on the edges.Our family name was charred into the center. I swallowed hard, unsure of how to feel about it.
Next was the gift for my mother. I carefully took it out of its box. It was a handmade candle arch with the lighthouse from Lake Winnebago, Christmas trees and carolers, and in the background, wind turbines. How? Did Balthazar have the artist make it right there at the market?
My throat was tight and my emotions tumbled around inside of me like a giant clothes dryer. These were beautiful gifts. If I would have shopped for my family myself, I would have picked things with far less thought to them. Far less personal. Artemis nudged me with her nose, and I leaned against her, scratching her head.
My family lived in Madison, not Fond du Lac. Though we did spend a lot of time at Lake Winnebago when I was young… before my grandmother died.
No one in my family cared what I did for a living either. The wind turbines… That was too much.
My vision blurred with threatening tears as I returned the gifts to their boxes and put them back into the bag. Artemis gave a little whimper and I kissed her head. “I’m okay, girl.”
I should return the presents, but Balthazar had put a lot of thought into this. Plus, they were personalized. You couldn’t return something like that or else they’d just get thrown out. It would be a waste.
Why was I letting this affect me? It wasn’t as if my family cared what I got for them. They likely wouldn’t put any thought in their gift for me.
I breathed out my hurt and turned to the remaining boxes. One was clearly a bottle. Balthazar had remembered to pick up the mulled wine his mom and Miss Eloise had been drinking. This was sweet, and my housemother would be thrilled to have a bottle to drink on Christmas Eve.
“This is the good stuff.” I showed Artemis. She sniffed and gave me a look that said I was crazy for thinking something that smelled like that was deserving of the word good.
The square box was light and marked for the Omegas of Primrose House. I opened it, removed the tissue packing, and gasped. It was a hand painted glass tree ornament with a winter rose in the center of a Christmas tree. Printed across the bottom were the words: Primrose House Christmas 2025.
This time my eyes misted over for a different reason. It was my last Christmas at Primrose House. I’d spent the last six years of my life here. Nowhere else had ever felt like a real home, but with Miss Eloise, Lyla, and Emberlee, I had found it.
Gently, I repacked the ornament in its box. “I’ll have Lyla and Miss Eloise open this together on Christmas Eve. Be prepared, we’ll probably have a group cry, but it’s only because we’ll miss one another so much. We’ll eat away our sorrows with all the snacks we’ll have.”
Artemis perked up at hearing about snacks and slowly wagged her tail.
I stared at the final box. The red box.
“Should I open it now or wait until Christmas, Artemis?”
She laid down on the floor and glanced up at me.
“So no opinion. It’s not food then.”
Proper me would wait until Christmas. It’s a gift after all. People open gifts on Christmas morning. Yet Balthazar didn’t say I needed to wait. In fact, he seemed to be nudging me to open everything.
What the hell would he have gotten me? I drummed my fingers on the bed on either side of me. He didn’t know me well. I wasn’t a girly girl who wanted pretty things, nor was I one who wanted Christmas decor. What else would he find at a Christmas market?
“Let’s be daring, Artemis. I’m going to open it!” I rubbed my hands together and picked up the box. It was about the same size as the ornament box, but much heavier. Artemis sighed and closed her eyes as if I was being overly dramatic.
I popped open the top and plucked out the tissue it was packed in. The light reflected off it and shimmered. A snow globe?
Taking it out, my stomach flipped. It was a snow globe with the Old World Christmas Market 2025 written on the base. Inside of the ball, a couple slowly turned as they skated on ice. Snow sparkled as it fell around them. He had a black beard and a plaid jacket and she wore all black and had long light brown hair.
