Page 44 of Shy Santa

The arm banded around my belly, tightened, and pulled me closer to Bear. “Morning.” He whispered in my ear.

“Stop snuggling. It’s time to get up!” Alice-Grace stomped her foot and crossed her arms over her chest. “You can be gross downstairs while we open presents.”

A giggle burst from me then turned into a full belly laugh when I took in how serious the girl was. “Okay, okay. We’re getting up.”

When she didn’t move but continued to watch us. I tossed back the covers and promptly regretted it. I’d slept in one of Bear’s tee-shirts and the cool air hit my legs, bringing goosebumps up along with a shiver that popped my back.

“Fuck it’s cold.” Bear grumbled behind me as he climbed out of bed.

Last night, thankfully, we were too tired and wore clothes to bed. Bear scratched his bare chest as he yawned.

Desire pooled low as I stared at him.

“Yuck!” Alice-Grace complained. “Daddy, put a shirt on. And Addy, you need pants.” She sniffed and spun to the chest of drawers, grabbed a shirt and pants, then tossed them at us.

“Ace, why don’t you go on downstairs? We’ll be along in a moment.” Bear wrapped his arms around my waist from behind, tugging me into him.

“Nope. You guys will start being gross and the food will get cold, and Mr. Gerald said we have to wait for you guys before we can eat and open presents.” Alice-Grace crossed her arms again and continued to tap her foot, looking more like an annoyed parent than an eight-year-old little girl.

“Fine.” Bear gave me a quick squeeze as he whispered in my ear. “Sorry, I tried.”

I giggled and got a frown from Alice-Grace as she narrowed her eyes at us. “We’re going.”

I pulled on the light gray sweatpants and rolled them. The fabric pooled around my feet, but with my curves and ass, the pants didn’t fall off me after I cinched the drawstring tight.

We made our way downstairs to the dining room, where Shirley and Gerald waited for us. Shirley picked at her food while the rest of us snarfed down the giant rolls with homemade icing. My uncle knew how to cook.

“Presents now?” Ace asked.

I could feel the energy wafting off her.

Bear leaned back in his seat. “Thank you, Gerald, for making breakfast.”

“Not a problem. Always make cinnamon rolls Christmas morning.” Gerald glanced over at Shirley, then over at Alice-Grace. “Let’s head to the tree and get those presents.”

He stood and pulled Aunt Shirley's chair out and helped her stand. Nothing unusual except that my full of life aunt now moved slower and with each passing day she lost weight.

“Now all you stop this. It’s Christmas. This is why I kept everything quiet." She shook her head. “I’m not dead yet. Stop acting like I’m gonna keel over any second.” Shirley swatted at Gerald's hand. A little of her inner fire flaring. “This is our first Christmas with that little girl. I’m not letting any of you ruin it.” Shirley stood tall and shuffled down the hall to the front room where Alice-Grace waited for us.

“She’s right. This is your first Christmas as a father. Let’s try to focus on the good.” I squeezed Bear’s arm, looking up at him. “Ready for little girl squeals and crazy?”

* * *

“Addy?”Alice-Grace tilted her head and stared.

I wiped my hands on the kitchen towel, then started the dishwasher. “Yeah?”

“It’s okay, you know.”

“What’s okay?” I sat on the stool next to her, confused.

The house was quiet. Shirley and Gerald had left a few hours ago, and Bear was vegged out in the TV room. We’d opted to eat a large lunch and snack all evening.

Alice-Grace was coloring in a book for the last hour while I cleaned the kitchen from all the various messes we’d made today. She picked out a new pencil color and went back to drawing. “Being upset. Missing someone before they’re gone and after they are gone.”

“What do you mean?” I picked up a teal color and filled in the petals of a flower.

“Ms. Shirley won’t be here long. But Mommy will be there to help her. And so will Daddy’s Gran. And Ms. Shirley’s Hope.” Alice-Grace looked up, a small smile on her lips.

---