Page 38 of She Came Upon A Midnight Clear
“Tomorrow is Christmas Day, baby. We still have that. And then next year, and the year after that.”
“Will we really?” I have to ask, knowing the answer. But I need her to tell me again.
“Yes, really. We’ll have all the Christmases together from now on. I’m here. I’ll just be waiting for you to be ready to call my place your home. But you take all the time you need. It can be a year from now. Or tomorrow.”
“It already feels like home.”
Home.
It’s been an alien concept to me, something to grasp at but never quite within reach. I never knew that it would feel like this, so warm and wonderful and safe. And I know I don’t ever have to feel lost again, because we’ve found each other, finally. I’m already home, no matter where I am with her. Because Druismy home.
EPILOGUE
Evie
We’ve finally finished decorating the adoption center, and we’re waiting for the annual Christmas party to begin. The lights are up, the Christmas trees are decorated, and the DJ and the caterer should be here soon to set up.
I walk over to the arch I was standing under when Dru first kissed me a year ago. Well, for the second time, really. I would never have guessed that night how that kiss was going to change my life.
Dru comes in and walks over to me, smiling. Damn those dimples. They still make me melt.
“The place looks great. Thanks for helping me decorate, baby.”
“It was fun. Is there anything left to do?”
“I just have to kiss you,” she says, pointing at the mistletoe hanging overhead.
“You are so sentimental,” I tease.
“Yeah, I am. Especially when it comes to you.”
She kisses me, and the butterflies start right away. I can feel her smiling against my lips.
“We are gonna do this every year,” she tells me.
“I like that idea. I was just thinking about how much has happened in the last year, since the last time you kissed me under the mistletoe.”
“All the good things,” she says, gazing down at me, her arms around my waist. “We fell in love. We adopted our babies together. You found your new job at Sonoma State. You moved in with me. And we waited a whole two months, which in lesbian terms is pretty much a miracle.”
“Two and a half,” I correct her, making her laugh.
She reaches up to stroke a stray hair from my cheek, and there’s so much love in her eyes. “When you know it’s right, you just know.”
“It’s true.”
She clears her throat as two of her kennel staff wander through carrying big tubs of ice for the bar.
“Are we all done here? What’s next?” I ask her.
“Come on upstairs with me,” she says, taking my hand.
We walk up the wide stairs together, and when we reach the loft, Seven and Sulu go wild, jumping all over us, and it takes several minutes to get them to calm down and quietly chewing on bones in their dog beds next to the sofa.
“Come here,” Dru says, pulling me with her, and we sit on the floor in front of the Christmas tree. It’s even bigger than last years’. The twinkling white lights are up, and all the ornaments, and this year there are a bunch of wrapped presents. I went a little nuts with gifts for her and our puppies. I think I have a lot of lost time to make up for.
“What’s up, babe?” I ask, reaching out to straighten a crooked bow on one of the gifts.
“This,” she say, handing me small box. “Open it.”
