Page 44 of The Billionaire's Off Chance

AftergettingtheChristmastree into the house, the men bring in boxes of decorations. Chasmin and I walk over to the white tree, joining Eric. I glance at Chasmin; the light from the window gives her face a soft glow. This is my first Christmas with her and my first time with a woman I care for. She smiles.

She shrugs out of her coat, throwing it on the couch and rolls up her sleeves. “We should start decorating right now. I can’t wait to get started.” She slips out of her heels and bends to open the boxes with the decorations. Eric joins her, working on the smaller ornaments.

I take a large box. Kneeling beside the tree, I begin to comprehend how tall it is. It reaches to the ceiling, its branches bare and waiting for adornment. “I’d love to see how it looks when we’re done. We’re going to need a ladder to reach the top. Hold on.” I rise, heading to the garage where I find a metal ladder.

Chasmin and Eric kneel side by side of the tree, exchanging glittery decorations. Eric is pointing to where he’ll like to hang them on the tree. Chasmin claps her hands; her laughter is like music to the ears as I set the ladder down.

“Beautiful! Now for the ornaments.” She picks several baubles and carefully places them on the tree branches. I grab the tinsel while Eric picks more ornaments. We begin decorating the tree from the bottom up. We work effectively as a team, passing ornaments to each other.

Eric would like to reach higher, so I lift him onto my shoulder. With his tiny fingers, he carefully hangs the smaller items, his tongue peeking out in concentration. Soon, Chasmin and I use the ladder to decorate the top of the tree. Eric won’t be left out, so we hold the ladder as he climbs up to do the same.

Soon, the tree is draped in silver tinsel, and we wrap the tree with strings of lights that glow like tiny stars. The white branches begin to come alive, each decoration adding color and life to the grand tree.

I stand back for a moment, watching Chasmin and Eric continue to decorate the tree. I smile while recalling how my siblings and parents decorated our Christmas tree. Now, I’m doing the same thing. Chasmin glances back at me, smiling brightly. I walk over to her and kiss her cheek.

Chasmin finds little gold stars and trumpet angel ornaments. She looks at the tree and says seriously, “The angels go at the top and the stars at the bottom.” I take action immediately. Eric and I arrange the stars at the bottom of the tree while she uses the ladder to arrange the angels at the top. Soon after, the trumpet angels look like they’re blowing stars down the tree. The tree looks magical.

As the evening wears on, the tree is almost done. We finally get to the last part: the star at the top of the tree. Eric insists he wants to do it. Holding the ladder, I watch him climb to the top. He giggles with delight, his eyes sparkling with the reflection of the fairy lights we just unraveled around the tree. “Okay, my little helper,” I said, “let’s put the huge star on top.” I hand him the golden star. He holds it stable with both hands. He stretches as far as he can, placing it atop the tree with a triumphant smile.

Eric, now tired from the excitement, comes down the ladder. I embrace him. “Good job, Son.” He smiles and nestles into my arms, his eyes heavy but still fixed on the tree. “It’s like a fairytale,” he murmurs, his voice barely above a whisper.

Chasmin wipes sweat off her forehead and places a hand on my arm, nodding. “It is.”

I wrap my arms around them both, my gaze lingering on the tree we had just decorated together. “It’s our fairytale, buddy,” I say softly. “And every year, we will do this.”

The room is filled with the soft glow of Christmas lights, the tree now a beacon of joy in our home. Looking at the wonder we had created together, I’m entranced. Outside, the world is silent, blanketed in snow; but inside, there is warmth.

It’s now dark outside and Eric has fallen asleep in my arms. “I should get him to bed,” I say looking at his content sleepy face.

“I’ll do it. I’ll meet you in his room.” Nodding, I leave, taking Eric to his room.

I get to his room and put him to bed. When I draw up the covers, he opens his eyes sleepily. “Dad?” His voice is soft.

“Hmm…” I lean close to hear him clearly.

“Love you… tree… beautiful…” he says drowsily. Smiling, I brush his hair with my fingers. He’s dead asleep.

“Love you too, Son.” I turn off the bedside lamp and leave the room.

I find Chasmin leaving the bathroom in a robe. She has packed her hair under a bonnet and moves over to me. With her hands on my shoulders and mine on the small of her back, we rock on our feet. “Today was magical. You bring magic into my life, Chasmin.”

“Hmm…here I was thinking you were the one to bring excitement into my life.” She tiptoes to me and kisses my cheek. “I guess it goes both ways. The Christmas tree is a great addition to the house.”

We get to the bed and she slips inside. I take off my clothes and put on pajamas. I join her in bed. Resting my back on the headboard, Chasmin slides lower on the bed, until she rests her head on my chest, with her arm around me.

“Yes. I ought to have told you this earlier.” I look at her, wondering if it’s too early. My siblings would like to meet her at the family dinner coming up this weekend.

“What’s that? Is it serious? You have a serious look on your face.” She tries to sit up, but I keep her pressed against my body. I enjoy her embrace.

“No, not really. I’m meeting with my siblings this weekend in California…in America. They want to meet you and Eric. So, do you want to come along?”

She smiles, then rolls to lie atop me. “I also have a similar question for you. Mom would love to meet you. I mean you’ve met Paul, but you can ignore him. So…”

I pinch her cheeks, feeling giddy. Things are progressing well between us. “You haven’t answered my question. I asked first.”

“Yes. It’ll be an honor to finally meet your other siblings. You’ve said so many great things about them. It would be a bit of a downer if I said no. Now will you…”

I shut her up with a kiss and exhale. “Yes, as soon as we’re back, we’re going to see your mom.”

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