Page 26 of A Candy Cane Christmas
The clock on the stove showed almost midnight, so I quickly wrapped up the last preparations. Standing in the doorway, I took one last look at the room in front of me. The Christmas tree and gifts, the plate of oranges decorated with cloves on the coffee table, the string of lights in the window, and the plate of cookies on the kitchen table. Of course, I’d taken a bite out of a few of them. I’d even artfully placed a few crumbles on the white platter.
The room felt homey and warm. It wasn’t overly decorated; if anything, the room might be a bit understated, but I liked it just the way it was.
And I knew Hazel was going to love it, too.
“Daddy, Daddy, wake up. Santa was here! You need to get up and look at the Christmas tree. He brought so many presents. Daddy, come on. I’ve been good. I’ve been waiting for you for ages!”
I woke with a start as an almost forty-pound ball of excitement cannonballed into my bed, landing on top of me and punching the air out of my lungs. God, she was getting too big to do this.
“Daddy!” she shouted, jumping up and down on top of me, turning my bed into a ship on the ocean, getting tossed around by a vicious storm. “Wake up. It’s Christmas!”
“Merry Christmas,” I mumbled, my voice still a hoarse and scratchy mess. I blinked at the bright light shining from the ceiling, raising my hand to rub the sleep out of my eyes.
I felt like I hadn’t slept much at all. Fr—idge. What time was it?
“Can we go and get Luci now? I want to open my presents.”
“Sure, let me just… wait. What did you say?” I blinked a couple of times, trying to get my mind online.
“Can we go get Luci now?” she repeated like it was the most normal question to ask.
Which, in her mind, might be true. The mind of a child worked in mysterious ways, but… “It’s way too early to wake Luci. He’s going to join us for a late breakfast. That’s what we agreed on.”
Hazel furrowed her brows. “Ididn’t agree on that,” she said, crossing her arms in front of her chest, her bottom lip slowly coming out in a pout. “I don’t want to wait to open my gifts. I’m always allowed to open them first thing in the morning. That’s our tradition!”
I sat up completely and pulled her into my arms. “Oh, sweetheart, you’re allowed to open your gifts now. Let me just put on my Christmas sweater, and then we’ll go to the living room. I can’t wait to see what Santa got you.”
Hazel turned in my arms, her bright blue eyes searching mine. “But what about Luci? I told Santa I’d fixed his mistake. I promised him that Luci would celebrate with us. And now he’s going to miss the best part!”
Oh fridge.
She looked at me like she might actually start crying any second. With her, big emotions could send her spiraling fast.
“I think Luci’s going to be just fine with joining us later.”
“But he’s missing the best part. He’s going to miss the hot chocolate and listening to Mommy’s favorite Christmas songs,and eating cookies before breakfast. Have you even asked him if he wanted to come?”
I shook my head because I hadn’t, in fact, asked my… my… my Luci if he wanted to get up before dawn to watch my daughter tear the wrapping paper to pieces.
“Okay. I’ll go downstairs and ask. I promise I’ll leave him be if he wants to keep sleeping, but I invited him to celebrate with us, and letting him miss the best part is just wrong.” She nodded once as if she needed to confirm her plan with herself, then jumped off the bed and took off at the speed of light. I wanted to call out for her, telling her to wait at the apartment door because I’d join her in a minute, so we could head downstairs together, but before I could even get one word out, I heard the apartment door fall closed with a loud bang.
Sighing, I rubbed a hand over my face and got out of bed. I put on the dark green sweater that turned me into a walking Christmas tree—lights and all—and quickly grabbed a pair of socks before leaving the bedroom.
I had every intention of reeling Hazel back in, but by the time I’d put on my socks and had grabbed my keys, she was already back, pounding on our door.
“Daddy, open up. I forgot to take a key. Daddy? Can you let us in?”
Us?
Hastily, I opened the door, freezing at the sight in front of me. Hazel was giving me a triumphant smile, holding on to Luci’s hand as if she was afraid he might run off if she let go, while Luci looked a little like he might just keel over without anything to hold on to. His usually wild curls were a mess, sticking up in every direction, his eyes half closed, and he was swaying on his feet.
“Merry Christmas,” he mumbled, his voice laced with sleep.
“Merry Christmas,” I said, opening my arms for a hug. Luci sagged against me, and a sigh escaped him. He didn’t move for such a long time, resting his whole body weight against me, that I was starting to think he’d fallen asleep again.
“Daddy, Luci, come on! We need to make hot chocolate and put on Mommy’s songs, and then I can finally open my presents.”
Luci laughed against my shoulder, hiding his face in the scratchy fabric of my sweater.
