Page 46 of Jalen & Colby

I crease my brow at him. “Presents? You already did all this. You didn’t need to get me presents as well.”

“They’re not much,” Colby says quickly. “Just silly things.”

“Silly but fabulous!” Jalen declares as he tugs on my hand. “Come on, come on!”

I laugh and shake my head, feeling less guilty about my own little surprise now. “Hang on a second. I need to go get something from my suitcase. Why don’t you put the kettle on and maybe some Christmas music?”

Jalen twirls on the spot as Colby heads into the kitchen. “Yessss!” says Jalen. “I made my own playlist with Mariah and Kelly and Ariana and Christina!”

I tilt my head at him. “No Dean Martin?”

He scrunches his nose at me. “Was he in Take That?”

I drop my head back and laugh as I pull him in for a cuddle and kiss the top of his head. “I’ll settle for some Wham! instead, okay?”

“Okay, Daddy,” he says sweetly. “I can add some George Michael, just for you.”

Not wanting to miss a moment with my beautiful boys, I rush upstairs and find what I’m looking for, hidden away in my suitcase where the boys wouldn’t accidentally see. I also fetch a couple of things from my backpack that I took with us to the pier yesterday.

The stockings were already reasonably full, but I add the stuffed animals to the top of each of them, then squeeze in a stick of classic Brighton rock down the sides. That’s basically just rainbow-colored sugar, but it’s the holidays, and my boys deserve all the treats.

“Merry Christmas!” I cry, holding them up as I re-emerge down the stairs. My boys are waiting patiently on the sofa, and my heart leaps as their faces light up at their presents.

“You made us stockings?” Jalen squeals. Colby doesn’t speak, but his eyes shimmer with tears. I wonder if he’ll ever move past feeling he’s not worthy of being spoiled.

I know I’m not going to get tired of spoiling him anytime soon, that’s for sure.

“Those are the teddies you won at the pier yesterday, I know,” I explain sheepishly. “But they looked so cute poking their heads out of the top like that, I wanted to gift them to you again.”

I lay each stocking over the correct boy’s lap, kissing them gently on the head as I do. I went to a special place in Sydney and paid a slightly ridiculous amount of money to get their names printed on them, along with a pattern of snowflakes, candy canes, and reindeer. At the time I wondered if it was too much.

Now, it doesn’t feel like enough.

“Thank you, Daddy,” Colby manages to whisper. Jalen is already pulling things out of his, but I stop him.

“Ah! Wait a second, firecracker. Let Daddy get a cup of tea and the mince pies. Then we can all open them together.”

Jalen pouts, but he also stops what he’s doing. “Fine. Does that mean you also have a stocking?”

I shake my head. “No, but I want to watch you guys.”

“You should have one as well, Daddy,” Colby protests.

He’s so adorable. I kiss the top of his head again as I stand, going to the kitchen. “It’s okay, sweetheart. Maybe next year.”

I realize what I’ve said and pause for just a fraction before continuing to walk into the other room. That’s a long way off, and who knows where we’ll be in a year’s time.

On the other hand, I feel perfectly confident that this is just the beginning of our really beautiful relationship, so why not daydream about next Christmas?

Not that I want to wish awaythisChristmas. It’s only just getting started, after all.

Thanks to Colby the kettle is already boiled, so I make myself tea and the boys another hot chocolate and marshmallow special. There’s a tray by the microwave, so I grab that to place the mugs on along with the pack of six mince pies that I’ve been saving. Cake still isn’t an ideal breakfast, but it’s slightly better than seaside rock.

My heart melts when I turn around back into the living room. Jalen has his arms around Colby’s back in a possessive manner while Colby hugs around Jalen’s waist. They’re kissing sweetly until they sense my presence.

“Oops,” Jalen says with a giggle. “Sorry, Daddy.”

“You never,ever,have to apologize for that,” I say with a light-hearted scoff as I place the tray down amid the confetti and tinsel.

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