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Making Christmas
Making Christmas
Here’s a little-known fact about me: I was born in a small town in Alabama. I know, I know. I have no accent, I don’t use redneck or Southern phrases, and I’ve certainly never brought up my home town. You know how I am about my past. Daddy issues and all that jazz.
So whenever it snowed, I was overjoyed. It was something I never had when I was little. Ella was born in South Carolina, so she didn’t have snow, either, but she didn’t love it as much as I did. She preferred warm weather, whereas I’d live in Antarctica if I could.
One of my favorite memories is my first Christmas with Ella and Greg. Obviously, with my family, Christmas was never a thing. My dad never loved me—why would he spend extra money on me?
Anyway, I had been with the Harkens for about eight months, and I had never been happier. I was sixteen, so, after ages of training, I was finally being allowed to accompany Greg on a hunt. Ella was so jealous. She kept arguing that she had been in the life since she was ten years old and had never been allowed on a hunt, and it wasn’t fair that I hadn’t even been hunting for a year and Greg was already bringing me along. It was the first argument we ever had.
She had a point, of course. But this is me we’re talking about. I never admit I’m wrong.
Okay, none of that is important. Back to the sappy, nostalgic Christmas story.
The hunt was in Wisconsin, so it was absolutely freezing, and I was ecstatic. Greg had gotten Ella and me big, fluffy winter coats for occasions such as this. Right as I dropped the lighter into the grave of the ghost we were hunting, a snowflake fell on my nose.
“I—is it snowing?” I gasped, and as I did, another snowflake brushed my cheek.
“Looks that way, kiddo,” Greg replied, grinning at my excitement. “You act like you’ve never seen snow before.”
“I haven’t!” I exclaimed. “At least, not in person! I’ve only ever seen it on TV!” I stuck my tongue out and patiently waited for a snowflake to land on it. “Oh, my God!” I gushed, bouncing up and down. “I’ve always wanted to do that!”
Greg laughed that deep, booming laugh of his that warmed me up inside. I may not have known him long, but already he was a much better father than my real dad had been. “C’mon, time to go back,” he said finally. “You did good today, kiddo. I’m real proud of ya.”
“Yeah, yeah, thanks,” I said, waving my hand dismissively. “Can we have a snow day?”
“Huh?”
“We can make snowmen and snow angels and snow ice cream,” I rambled excitedly, “and have snowball fights and build igloos and go sledding and—“
“Whoa, whoa, slow down, G,” he chuckled, clapping a hand on my shoulder. “How ‘bout we go get Ella, and then we’ll talk about this snow day of yours, okay?”
I sighed, pushing my bottom lip out in a pout. “Okay…” He laughed again and headed for the car. I ran to it and climbed in the passenger seat before he was even halfway there. “Hurry up, hurry up!” I called impatiently.
“Y’know the snow’s gotta stick before you can play in it, right?” he asked, still taking his own sweet time.
“Well, we’re gonna have three feet of it before you even get to the car!” I shot back. “Plus, it’s an hour drive back to the hotel. It should be deep enough by then!”
“Assuming it’s even snowing back at the hotel,” he teased.
“It is!” I insisted. “I know it is! It has to be!”
The ride back to the hotel passed painfully slowly. I had my face pressed to the window, soaking in the crystalline scenery. Kids were running around everywhere, throwing snowballs and rolling around in the snow. I made an impatient noise in the back of my throat, and I tried my hardest not to leap out of the speeding car.
When we finally got back to the hotel, I unbuckled and leaped out of the car before Greg even had the chance to park. I ran to our room and beat on the door frantically, yelling for Ella to hurry up.
“Whassa matter?” she asked groggily as she opened the door. She rubbed her eyes sleepily, and I knew she had been napping.
“Go get dressed!” I yelped, pushing past her into the room. “It’s snowing!” She blinked at me confusedly, her tired mind having trouble processing my excitement. “C’mon, hurry up!” I urged as I wrapped my scarf even tighter around my neck.
“Okay,” Ella mumbled after a minute, though she sounded way too unenthusiastic for my liking. She shuffled over to the closet and started pulling on her winter clothes over her pajamas. I grinned and shook my head, but decided not to say anything. “Ready,” she sighed.
I looked her up and down, and I couldn’t help but laugh. Her sweatshirt was inside-out and backwards, her Pink Panther pajama bottoms were poking out from the top of her jeans, and her boots were on the wrong feet. Her already wild hair was even crazier, sticking out at odd places under her hat.
“Come here, you loser,” I said with a chuckle. She did as I said and dropped down onto our bed so I could fix her shoes. As I laced them up, I asked, “How long did you sleep?”
“Right after y’all left to when ya woke me up,” she replied. Her tiny hand came up to cover her mouth as she yawned widely. “How’d your first hunt go?”
I could sense the bitterness in her voice, but I chose to ignore it. “It was good! Just a standard salt-and-burn, but I had fun!” I reached to adjust her hat, tucking her hair up underneath it. Then I bit my lip, frowning at the dejection on her face. “I’m sorry you couldn’t go,” I said quietly. “I know how much you wanted to, and it would’ve been even more awesome if you’d been there.”
Ella smiled wearily. “S’okay. Sorry I threw such a hissy fit over it.”
“That’s putting it mildly,” I teased, and she stuck her tongue out at me. “You ready for some snow?” A large grin spread over my face, and I hopped to my feet. I tugged her up from the bed, saying, “Let’s go! I wanna make a snowman!”
I bolted out the door and ran smack into Greg. “Whoa, there, G,” he chuckled. “Where’s the fire?”
“If you’re not at the park across the street in five minutes,” I began threateningly, “I will use my awesome witchy powers to… to…”
“To what?” he prompted, grinning as I came up with nothing.
I huffed in annoyance. “Just hurry!” I ordered, and then I took off running to the park.
I skidded to a halt as I realized I was headed straight into the middle of a snowball fight, but it was too late. A lump of mush hit my shoulder, and one of the kids called out an embarrassed apology. I smiled innocently at the one who had hit me, a boy of about my age, as I leaned down and scooped up a clump of snow. Before he had time to react, I launched it at him, hitting him in his stomach, and he fell back onto his ass.
“Oops, sorry!” I laughed mischievously, and the boy grinned in a good-natured way.
Once he got up, he walked over to me. “Wanna be on our team?” he asked shyly, brushing a curtain of sandy blonde hair out of his chocolate brown eyes. “I’m Michael, by the way.”
“I’d love to!” I beamed at him. “I’m Gari!” My smile faded slightly. “Um… this is kinda my first snowball fight. Are there any rules?”
Michael grinned and shook his head. “Hit as hard as you want, wherever you want—face included. But only aim for the people with blue scarves. That’s the other team. We’ve all got red scarves.” He glanced at my neck. “And you do, too! It’s like the universe wanted us to be on the same team!”
I laughed. I liked Michael almost instantly. He seemed just as enthusiastic about the snow as I was, even though I knew it was nothing new for him.
We made our way to the Red Team, where Michael introduced me to four other kids—three boys and a girl. I forgot their names a long time ago, so I guess they never really made a lasting impression on me. All I knew was that, after they saw my attack on their leader, they happily welcomed me to their team.
“Okay, so, here’s the plan,” Michael said as we huddled together. “Divide and conquer. Now that we have Gari, we have the advantage. Gari and I’ll go for Jeff. He’s the biggest, and he has the best arm. But he always hesitates to throw at girls. He’s been like that since kindergarten.”
“And they say chivalry’s dead,” I said sarcastically. Michael chuckled, but the other four team members looked at me like I was a freaking Skrull or something. Some people just don’t get my humor.
“Remember, guys,” Michael continued, “if a snowball even barely hits you, you’re out. So don’t get hit. This could be the first year we win!” The girl made a weird noise, and she kind of looked like she was going to pass out. Michael noticed this and quickly said, “No pressure or anything! Just do your best! Alright, let’s do this!”
“I think I’m gonna be sick,” the girl muttered as she walked away.
“Some team you’ve got here,” I joked, nudging Michael playfully.
He sighed. “I know. They’re good when we’re just playing around, but, whenever we have our annual Red-versus-Blue fight, they all freak out.”
“Well, if we take out Jeff, I’m sure their faith will be restored,” I assured him. I glanced at the other team. “He seems to be the leader. So, if we take him out, the others shouldn’t be too hard. ‘Cut off the head, and the body will flounder,’ right?”
“Nice thinking,” he said appreciatively. “Hey, listen, after this, d’you—” He stopped abruptly and stared intently at the Blue Team. “One, two, three, four, five, six,” he counted. “Since when do they have six? Who’s that chick?”
I followed his glare and groaned at the sight of familiar strawberry blonde curls. “That’s my sister,” I grumbled.
“Is she a good aim?”
“Almost as good as I am.”
“Well, there goes our hope of winning,” Michael said dejectedly.
“Whoa, what’s with the negativity? Elle may have good aim, but she can’t dodge to save her life. I’ll take her out, then I’ll help you get Jeff. If you can avoid him for a few minutes, it should be no problem.”
“You’re really getting into this, aren’t you?” he asked, regarding me with something like awe.
“I do ROTC at my high school,” I lied quickly. “Strategy is how you win the war!” I shoved the boy gently, a smile on my face. “And you’re one to talk, Mister General! You act like we’re fighting in Vietnam or something with your battle plans!”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Michael said dismissively. “You ready or what?”
“Babe, I was born ready,” I replied with a smirk, and Michael blushed, reminding me that he had been slightly shy at first.
He locked eyes with a big guy wearing a blue scarf who could only have been Jeff. Both boys nodded at each other.
“Get ready!” Jeff commanded in a deep, rumbling voice.
“Prepare yourselves!” Michael called, sounding significantly less intimidating.
“GO!” the boys yelled in unison, and chaos immediately ensued.
Apparently, Ella had been assigned to take me out, for she instantly started hurling snowballs. I ducked and dodged and rolled over the slushy ground, avoiding everything she threw at me.
Finally, I had gathered enough snow to make a very large snowball. After dodging a few more projectiles, I rolled up onto my knees, yelled, “For Aslan!” and hit her square in the face. She stumbled backwards, spluttering and cursing as she fell.
I looked around and noticed that the only people still standing were Jeff, Michael, and me. “You’re outnumbered, Jeff,” Michael said. “Surrender now and we won’t have to hurt you!” Jeff’s shoulders sagged in defeat, and Michael took that as a sign of surrender. He dropped his snowball and turned to help up the girl on our team.
Right as he did so, I noticed the snowball in Jeff’s hand. The large boy’s grip tightened around it, and he flexed his arm, preparing for launch. “Michael, look out!” I yelped. Before I was consciously aware of it, I had thrown the snowball I was holding. It smacked Jeff on the back of the head right as Michael leaped out of the way of Jeff’s snowball.
“Woohoo!” Michael exclaimed, jumping into the air and pumping his fists triumphantly. “We won! We finally won!”
Jeff huffed unhappily. “Gotta be a first time for everything. Good game, I guess,” he said grudgingly.
Michael ran over to me, smiling brightly. “Gari, you were awesome!” he praised, and I couldn’t help but return the smile. “If you’d been here since kindergarten, we’d be undefeated! But, hey, we have next year, right?”
He looked so hopeful, and I dreaded telling him that I was just passing through. I would’ve loved to finish out school with him and his friends. Staying in one place for a few years sounded wonderful. But I knew that couldn’t happen. Whenever Greg decided it was time to go, we would leave and never come back.
Just as I opened my mouth to tell Michael the bad news, a deep voice called out, “Girls! Time to come in now!”
“Will you be back tomorrow?” he asked earnestly.
“I’m not sure,” I answered truthfully. “I hope so.”
“Me, too.”
“Well, uh, bye, Michael,” I said lamely. “Thanks for letting me join your team.”
“Anytime,” he replied. His chocolate brown eyes twinkled deviously, and, before I had time to figure out what that meant, he stepped forward and pecked me on the lips. “Merry Christmas, Gari,” he said when he pulled back, then he turned and walked back toward his friends.
My hand went up and brushed my lips wonderingly. I know it’s embarrassing to admit that I had my first kiss at sixteen, but, hey, when you had a childhood like mine, boyfriends weren’t exactly a primary concern.
“Merry Christmas, Michael,” I breathed. I heaved a deep sigh, knowing I’d never see him again. Then I headed back to the hotel room.
Ella fell into step beside me, and her baby face broke into a large, evil grin. “Gari and Snow Boy, sittin’ in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!” she sang, laughing at the bright red blush making its way onto my cheeks.
“His name is Michael,” I corrected her quietly, and she laughed harder.
“Hey, Daddy!” she chimed as we entered our room. “Gari’s got a boyfriend!”
“Oh, really?” Greg asked, cocking an eyebrow in my direction. “Now, when did this happen?”
“He’s not my boyfriend!” I protested, shooting my very best death glare at Ella. “I just met him today, and I know we’re leaving tomorrow. I’m not delusional or anything. And, besides, I’m too mature to get all flustered over a floppy-haired, puppy-eyed heartthrob.”
“He kissed her!” Ella piped up, her eyebrows wiggling suggestively.
“Well, then,” Greg said, trying to suppress a grin. “Merry Christmas to you, G. After this, I don’t reckon you’ll be needin’ any presents.”
I blushed deeply and hid my face in my hands. “You guys! Shut up!” I whined.
“Wasn’t that your first kiss, Gari?” Ella asked innocently.
“Aw, my little G’s growin’ up!” Greg teased, and Ella cackled maniacally, letting out an occasional snort.
“You guys are the worst!” I flopped down onto mine and Ella’s bed and pulled a pillow over my head.
“C’mon, G, don’t be so—” Greg stopped talking as his phone started ringing.
I sat up and stared at him attentively. “Who is it?”
He answered the phone, sighing as whoever was on the other end started yammering loudly. “Mrs. Ginn, you need to calm down. Now, tell me what happened.” After a few minutes, he hung up and tossed the phone in annoyance.
“Daddy?” Ella questioned. “What’s wrong?”
“Looks like we missed something,” he said tiredly. “I gotta go figure out what’s goin’ on.”
“But it’s gettin’ late!” Ella protested. “And it’s Christmas Eve!”
“Don’t worry,” Greg assured her, “I’ll be back soon.” He walked over to the closet and removed his duffle bag from the top shelf.
“But, Daddy—“
“I don’t wanna go, either, honey,” he interrupted her, coming over and kissing the top of her head. “But it’s my job. Lives depend on it.”
“’Kay…” she sighed plaintively.
“D’you need my help?” I asked, trying to keep the dread out of my voice. Hunting with Greg had been amazing, but I wanted to stay with Ella. She was already so depressed that Greg was leaving again, and I didn’t want to add to that.
“No, I want you to stay here,” he replied, grinning at me knowingly. He slung his bag over his shoulder and made his way toward the door. “Promise I’ll be back before y’all wake up. We’re still gonna spend Christmas together.”
“Just hurry back, okay?” I opened the door for him and grinned. “You better not miss out on our first Christmas. And you better have me an awesome present.”
He laughed. “I do, don’t worry. Take care of each other. Watch Christmas movies and eat cookies and stay up all night if ya want. And, c’mon. It’s only six o’clock. I’ll be back before ya know it.” Ella and I nodded in agreement. “Bye, girls. Love ya.” With that, he walked out and shut the door.
Ella sighed again, and I bit my lip unsurely. “What did we get him for Christmas?” I asked her.
“I got him a scrapbook filled with pictures of us,” she said proudly. “I dunno what you got him.”
“Dammit, can’t we just share?” I begged.
“Nope! Ya didn’t wanna pay part of it, so you’re not gonna take credit!”
“Fine,” I huffed, getting to my feet.
“Where ya goin’?”
“To buy Greg a present.”
“With what money?”
I took a credit card out of my back pocket and glanced down at it to read the name. “Deborah Harry’s money.”
“Frontwoman for Blondie?” Ella asked curiously. I nodded. “Can I come with you?”
“Nope. I’m doing this on my own, and you won’t know what I got until he does!”
“That’s not fair!” she protested. “You know what I’m getting him!”
“Life isn’t fair, babe,” I shot back, and I winked at her.
She stuck her tongue out at me. “Fine. Be that way. Meanie.”
“Oh, I’m hurt,” I teased, placing a hand over my heart and laughing. “I’ll see you in a little bit.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever, ya meanie!” she called, and I chuckled and shut the door.
I looked around for a minute, searching for a good store. I started walking in the direction of town, tucking my hands in my pockets to keep them warm. I had no idea what I wanted to get Greg, but it had to be something special, yet practical.
“Hey, Gari!” a familiar voice called, and I spun around to face Michael.
“Hi, Michael,” I said warmly, hopefully keeping the blush off my cheeks.
“What’re you doing?” he asked, falling into step beside me.
“Heading into town to get a present for my dad.”
“Oh, yeah? Know what you’re getting him?”
“Not really,” I replied, shaking my head. Suddenly, an idea came to me. “Hey, Michael, d’you guys
have a place that sells weapons?”
He blinked in surprise. “Um, what?”
“Y’know, someplace that sells knives and guns and stuff?” I prompted. “Um, Dad likes to hunt, and he needs a new knife,” I lied quickly.
“Oh, yeah, sure!” he said, no longer thinking I was totally out of my mind. “Yeah, I’ll take you there. It’s about a five minute walk.”
“Alright, thanks!”
“So, uh, where are you from?” he asked as we walked together.
I thought for a moment, trying to remember what Greg had said to use as an answer for that question. “Oh, all over,” I said finally. “Dad’s job takes us everywhere.”
“What’s he do?”
“He’s a traveling salesman. We never stay in one place for too long.”
“Oh…” Michael said sadly. “So I guess that means you’ll be leaving soon.”
“Yeah,” I replied. “Tomorrow, actually. Dad’s making one more sale tonight, and we’re leaving after we open presents tomorrow.”
“I wish you could stay longer.”
“Me, too.”
We walked in silence for a little longer until he stopped abruptly, causing me to almost run into
him. “Do you ever go back to places you’ve been before?” he asked, his brown eyes shining
hopefully.
“Um… sometimes,” I lied again. Sure, we visited the same states, but we’d never been back to the same city.
“Maybe you’ll come back to see me?”
“Yeah, definitely.” I nodded once, biting my lip.
“You do that a lot,” Michael noted.
“Do what?”
“Bite your lip. Whenever I start talking about your life, you bite your lip.”
“Oh.” I went to bite my lip again, then stopped myself. I cleared my throat uncomfortably. “So, uh, how far to this store?”
“It’s right around the corner,” he replied.
“Well, thanks for showing me the way,” I said, shifting awkwardly on my feet.
“No matter what you say, I’m gonna keep hoping I’ll see you again,” Michael promised. “Maybe I’ll eventually be right.”
“Maybe so,” I said unsurely. “It was really great to meet you, Michael. Good luck with the snowball fight next year!”
He chuckled. “Thanks. Won’t be the same without you there to kick ass.”
“Aw, shucks,” I said with a roll of my eyes. Then, before I could talk myself out of it, I swiftly moved forward and pressed my lips to his. I quickly moved away and headed around the corner. “Bye, Michael!” I called over my shoulder, and when I looked back, he was standing there with a dumbfounded, giddy expression.
I laughed to myself and pushed through the glass door into the store. Behind the counter, there was a collection of assorted knives and ammunition. “Wow,” I muttered under my breath. “This must be what redneck Heaven looks like.”
“Can I help you?” a man asked from behind the counter.
My eyes scanned the weapons until they alighted on a small dagger near the back. “Can I see that one?” I asked, pointing at the knife. The man removed it from the case and pulled it out of its sheath. “What’s the blade made of?”
“Compound of silver and iron,” the man answered gruffly. “Got cheated out of a deal on it. Supposed to be all silver.”
That was perfect. It was multipurpose. “How much?”
The man stared at me for a minute. “Thirty bucks,” he said finally. “Been trying to get rid of it for five years. Can I see some I.D.?”
I pulled another card out of my pocket, a fake I.D. that said I was nineteen. And, honestly, I looked old enough to be nineteen, so it wasn’t too hard to believe. Thankfully, the I.D. had the same name as my credit card. Right as I was about to hand him my credit card, a necklace caught my eye. It had a small pentagram charm outlined in tiny red crystals hanging on a silver chain, and I instantly thought of how much Ella would like it.
“Um, I’d also like that necklace, if you don’t mind,” I added hurriedly.
“That’ll be an extra fifteen,” the man said.
“That’s cool.” I handed him my card, and he briefly glanced at the name.
“Your parents a Blondie fan?” he asked.
I laughed. “Yeah, my mom loved them,” I lied.
The man gave me back my card, followed by a bag holding the dagger and necklace. “Well, here ya go, Miss Harry. Merry Christmas.”
“You too,” I said as I walked out of the store. I had a slight bounce in my step on the way back to the hotel. I had been kissed twice by an adorable boy, I had found presents for Greg and Ella, and I was about to have my first real Christmas. “The only way this day can get any better is if Greg’s back when I get there,” I mumbled under my breath.
Unbelievably enough, the familiar sky blue ’69 Mustang was parked in the hotel parking lot. A large grin spread over my face, and I dashed back to our room. I got there just as Greg was opening the door to come out again. “Hey, hey, where ya goin’?” he asked, his eyes twinkling mischievously.
“What are you up to?” I asked, narrowing my eyes suspiciously.
“Put the bag down and grab some gloves,” he ordered. “We’re gonna go get a Christmas tree.”
“Oh, my God, really?” I gasped, my hands flying over my mouth in excitement. “Okay, I’ll be right there!” As I entered the room, Ella was zipping up her jacket. I glanced at the bed and noticed her faded yellow Beatles t-shirt and her Pink Panther pajama bottoms were tossed carelessly on the covers. “So you finally fixed your outfit?” I teased her.
“Oh, shush!” she snapped. She tossed my gloves to me and said, “C’mon, I want a tree!” I hurriedly hid my bag under the bed and slipped my gloves on, then ran back outside to the car.
“Shotgun!” I yelped, sprinting past Ella to reach the front seat of the car.
“No fair!”
“I’m older! It’s totally fair!”
“Girls, just get in the car!” Greg snapped tiredly.
“Yes, sir,” we said simultaneously, though I still managed to squeeze past her into the front seat.
She huffed and got into the back of the car.
The ten-minute ride to the tree store—I have no clue what it’s actually called—the nursery or something—passed with no further bickering between Ella and I. When we got there, there were only about six trees left. I guess that was to be expected, seeing as we were Christmas tree shopping at eight o’clock on Christmas Eve.
All of the trees were very big and full except for one. It reminded me of the pathetic little tree from the Charlie Brown Christmas special, and I fell in love with it immediately. “How about this one?” I suggested as I walked over to it. Ella grinned and nodded in agreement.
“That one?” Greg said disbelievingly. “Really?”
“What’s wrong with it?” Ella challenged, standing in front of the little tree protectively.
“It’s so tiny and ugly!” Greg chuckled.
“No, it isn’t!” I protested. “It’s adorable!”
“Yeah, I love it!” Ella piped up. “Let’s get it!”
“Girls, really?” he complained.
“Daddy, pleeease,” Ella pleaded, pouting up at him.
“Yeah, Daddy, please?” I echoed hopefully.
Greg sighed. “Alright, fine. We’ll get it.”
“Yay!” Ella and I cheered together.
“You’re the best, G!” I said gratefully.
“Yeah, I know,” he shrugged nonchalantly.
After we bought the tree, the ride home consisted of Greg insulting the tree and the two of us defending it vehemently. No matter what Greg said, I adored the little tree. Sure, it was tiny and bare, but it was perfect in its own little way.
On the way, we stopped by a convenience store and bought some candy canes and pine tree air fresheners to hang on the tree. It wasn’t much, and it was totally redneck, but it was the best we could do in the time we had.
Once we got back to the hotel, Greg sat the tree down in the corner of the room, cracking jokes the entire time Ella and I were decorating it. “Don’t put too much stuff on it,” he said, “or ya won’t be able to see the tree!”
“Shut up!” I shot back. “You’re just jealous that the tree is prettier than you!”
His face broke into a large grin, causing his eyes to crinkle at the corners and his cheeks to dimple deeply. “Yeah, sure,” he laughed, “that’s the reason I’m makin’ fun of it.”
After we had decorated the tree, I hid behind one of the beds to wrap Greg and Ella’s presents, while Greg hid in the bathroom to do his wrapping and Ella was out in the car. Once I finished, I placed my presents under the tree and relaxed on my bed. I flipped on the old-fashioned television and started channel surfing, stopping as I saw a familiar skeleton-faced monster.
“What’re ya watchin’?” Ella asked as she reentered the room.
I ignored her, instead breaking into song. “'We’re his little henchmen, and we take our job with pride! We do our best to please him and stay on his good side! I wish my cohorts—'“
“I shoulda known,” she interrupted, shaking her head as she plopped down beside me. “Ever since ya saw it on Halloween, you’ve been obsessed. This is almost as bad as your Tolkien obsession!”
“Bite your tongue!” I yelped incredulously. “I’ll never love anything more than I love Tolkien!”
“That’s not true,” Greg said as he came out of the bathroom with our presents.
“Why not?” I asked confusedly.
He set the gifts under the tree and turned to me with a wry grin. “’Cause, one day, you’ll find a boy—or girl, whatever makes you happy—and you’ll be swept off your feet like one of those chicks in Elle’s movies.”
“Ew, no!” I protested. “Those chicks are pathetic! I don’t need a man! I’m as independent and awesome as Eowyn! No man can change that!”
“Yeah, besides, Gari’s too mean to have a Prince Charming,” Ella chimed in. “She’d drive him insane on the first date!”
“Shut it, Elle!”
“Make me!”
“Girls!” Greg laughed. “If G wants to be nice, she can have a Prince Charming,” he told Ella. I opened my mouth angrily, but he turned to me and said, “And if ya wanna grow up ‘independent and awesome as Eowyn,’ you can do that, too.” Ella and I both nodded, satisfied with his answer. “Now, what’re we watchin’?”
The rest of the night passed uneventfully. Ella passed out with her head in my lap, and I soon followed suit with my head against the backboard of the bed.
At three in the morning, Greg woke us up. I rubbed the crick in my neck gingerly, reminding myself to never sleep like that again. Ella sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes and yawning. I glanced over at the clock and saw what time it was. For a minute, the unbelievable earliness didn’t sink in, but soon after, I was asking Greg why he woke us up at such an ungodly hour.
“I’m just excited,” he said, though I could tell something was wrong. I chose not to ask, instead playing along. “Now, c’mon, open your presents.”
Ella and I immediately perked up, and we dashed over to our dear little tree. “Open mine first!” Ella insisted, shoving the presents at Greg and me.
Greg ripped his open and stared down in delight at the scrapbook. “Elle, honey, it’s great,” he said.
“It’s got pictures of us in it!” she replied. “There’s one of Mom and you, a bunch of Milla and me, and a few of me and Gari. But we have time to add to those!”
“It’s great,” he repeated, looking distinctly misty-eyed as he pulled his daughter in for a tight, bone-crushing hug. He cleared his throat. “Um, go ahead and open yours, G.”
I tore into the bag and pulled out a VHS tape of 'The Nightmare Before Christmas.' “Oh, my God!” I exclaimed. “Elle, it’s amazing! I can’t believe it!” I slung my arms around her, unable to stop smiling. “This is excellent!”
“I’m glad ya like it,” she giggled.
“Okay, mine next!” I said, handing out my presents.
Ella opened hers first, letting out a small sound of happiness when she pulled it out of the bag. “It’s so pretty!” she gushed, her fingers tracing the little stones around the pentagram.
“Here, lemme put it on you,” I said, and she turned around so I could hook the necklace. “I know how terrified you are to get an anti-possession tattoo, so I figured you could wear this instead.”
“It’s perfect, Gari! Thanks!” She pulled me into a rib-cracking hug strong enough to rival those of her father.
“You’re welcome,” I croaked breathlessly, and she released me with a giggle.
“My turn,” Greg said as he ripped open the wrapping paper. “Oh, whoa,” he breathed as he stared at the knife.
“I, uh, I know you lost your last one because of me,” I said shyly, “so I figured I’d make it up to you. The blade’s made of a compound of silver and iron, so it’s multipurpose. It was supposed to be all silver, so the dude gave it to me for a really reasonable price.”
(Yes, I was responsible for him losing his other knife, the one he’d had since he was ten. I felt really terrible about it, but it’s not like I meant to leave the trunk open. I thought I’d closed it. Turns out I didn’t. We actually lost half of the arsenal that day. Yeah, I know. I’m a bad person.)
“Garideth, it’s perfect,” he said quietly. “I love it.” He gave me a watery smile, and I grinned. It was weird seeing him so emotional. He was always joking and laughing; he was never serious. This was a big change for me.
“Can we open your presents now, Daddy?” Ella asked once Greg had let me go.
“Yeah, honey, go ahead.”
“Yay!” Ella squealed as she attacked her present. “Ah! 'Mulan!'” she shrieked, hugging the VHS to her chest. “I’ve been wantin’ this for forever!”
“I know,” Greg chuckled. “There’s somethin’ else in the bottom of the bag.”
She dug down to the bottom of the bag and pulled out another necklace. This one was a simple gold chain with a tiny little cross. “Wow, it’s beautiful,” she sighed happily.
“It was your mom’s,” he told her, once again getting all emotional. “She’d want you to have it.”
Ella looked up at her father, screwing up her face in an attempt to stop herself from crying. "Daddy, I love it," she sobbed finally, throwing her arms around her father once more. "I love you," she cried, burying her face in his chest.
"I love you too, honey," he replied, a single tear tracing its way down his cheek. They broke apart after a minute. Ella dried her eyes, and Greg cleared his throat again. "Um, G," he said to me, "why don't ya go ahead and open yours?"
I nodded and slowly opened my present, hoping it wasn't something that was going to make me cry. I couldn't deal with any more emotional breakdowns.
The first thing in the bag was a beautiful silver charm bracelet with six charms and bells on the clasp. There was an Eye of Horus, an ankh, a Celtic knot, a Star of David, a Celtic cross, and a pentagram. All of them were tiny and delicate, and I wondered how I could wear this while hunting.
"It's tougher than it looks," Greg assured me. "I tested it already."
"It's gorgeous," I said reverently. I managed to hook it around my left wrist, and I shook my arm a little, smiling slightly as the bells jingled. "Thank you."
"Now open the next one!" Greg ordered, his face breaking into that crinkle-eyed, dimpled-cheek smile.
I wondered what the present could possibly be to make him smile that big. Deciding to just figure it out on my own, I reached into the bag. My hand closed around a thick hardback book, and my breath hitched in my throat. "No way," I breathed. I pulled the book out of the bag, and, sure enough, I was holding a beautiful engraved copy of 'The Lord of the Rings.' "Oh. My. God. G! I can't believe you got me this!" I squealed, hugging the book to my chest. "This is the collector's edition! This is uber expensive!"
"Eh, it's nothing," he replied, waving his hand dismissively and winking at me. "D'ya really like it?"
"Do I like it?" I yelped disbelievingly. "I freaking love it! It's the most amazing thing I've ever gotten ever! Thank you so much!" I flung my arms around him and gave him a hug worthy of the Harken family.
"I'm glad," he laughed, returning the hug with just as much force.
I realized that that was the first hug I had ever given him. I'd hugged Ella a million times because she was just a hugger--it was something I had to get used to with her. But Greg was a different story. He knew I wasn't one for much physical contact. He seemed to realize that, too, for he gave me one last squeeze and released me.
"So, Daddy," Ella began, " why'd you get us up so early?"
"I was just excited," he said again, and again something flashed in his eyes to let me know he was lying. "And I'm ready to get outta this town." He glanced toward the door nervously. "The bags are packed already. Let's get outta here, okay?"
"Daddy, what's wrong?" Elle asked.
"Nothin', honey. I'm just ready to go."
"But I wanted to spend the day here," I protested. I wasn't going to admit it, but I had been hoping to see Michael one more time before we left.
"Garideth, we're leavin'," he said in his no-nonsense tone. He looked at the door again, as if waiting for someone--or something--to burst through at any minute.
"Okay," I agreed reluctantly after noticing how serious he was.
"Thank you," he said gratefully. He slung all of our bags over his shoulder and grabbed the car key from the table. "Get the presents and c'mon." Ella and I shared confused looks, but obeyed anyway. "I'm sorry 'bout this, girls," he said, and I could tell he meant it. "I hope Christmas was still okay."
I got into the front of the car and Ella got into the back, like we always did. As we pulled away from the hotel, Greg turned on the radio. Elvis started singing "Blue Christmas" as the snow started falling again, and I heaved a sigh. I really loved snow, and I knew we'd be going somewhere without it.
However, I really couldn't complain. I couldn't imagine a better Christmas.
~Supernatural~Supernatural~Supernatural~
Years and years have passed now, but that Christmas is still the best Christmas I've ever had. None of the other Christmases was near as awesome as that one. There was nothing like that feeling of being a family together on our first Christmas.
Ella and I stopped celebrating Christmas after Greg died. It just wasn't the same without him. Actually, we didn't even acknowledge the holiday. It was too painful. There was this gaping hole left in Greg's place, and no amount of Christmas spirit could ever fill it.
All of my little anecdotes end terribly, don't they? I'm sorry. This was supposed to be a happy holiday story. It really was the best Christmas ever. I can't remember being happier.
So stop frowning, and be happy, okay? I'm happy--well, happy for me, anyway. If I'm happy, you lucky bastards with your normal lives should certainly be happy! Give me a Joker-worthy smile and get on with your lives!
And if you're not smiling, I'll know. I'm as omnipotent as Santa Claus. Except I have an arsenal and awesome witchy powers, and I'm not afraid to use them!
So Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Happy Kwanzaa! Or whatever else tickles your fancy...
(Oh! And the reason Greg wanted to get out of town so quickly was that he had pissed off the police station. I have no clue what he did, but they were mad! But, hey, that’s one of the risks of hunting. People aren’t always grateful.)
So whenever it snowed, I was overjoyed. It was something I never had when I was little. Ella was born in South Carolina, so she didn’t have snow, either, but she didn’t love it as much as I did. She preferred warm weather, whereas I’d live in Antarctica if I could.
One of my favorite memories is my first Christmas with Ella and Greg. Obviously, with my family, Christmas was never a thing. My dad never loved me—why would he spend extra money on me?
Anyway, I had been with the Harkens for about eight months, and I had never been happier. I was sixteen, so, after ages of training, I was finally being allowed to accompany Greg on a hunt. Ella was so jealous. She kept arguing that she had been in the life since she was ten years old and had never been allowed on a hunt, and it wasn’t fair that I hadn’t even been hunting for a year and Greg was already bringing me along. It was the first argument we ever had.
She had a point, of course. But this is me we’re talking about. I never admit I’m wrong.
Okay, none of that is important. Back to the sappy, nostalgic Christmas story.
The hunt was in Wisconsin, so it was absolutely freezing, and I was ecstatic. Greg had gotten Ella and me big, fluffy winter coats for occasions such as this. Right as I dropped the lighter into the grave of the ghost we were hunting, a snowflake fell on my nose.
“I—is it snowing?” I gasped, and as I did, another snowflake brushed my cheek.
“Looks that way, kiddo,” Greg replied, grinning at my excitement. “You act like you’ve never seen snow before.”
“I haven’t!” I exclaimed. “At least, not in person! I’ve only ever seen it on TV!” I stuck my tongue out and patiently waited for a snowflake to land on it. “Oh, my God!” I gushed, bouncing up and down. “I’ve always wanted to do that!”
Greg laughed that deep, booming laugh of his that warmed me up inside. I may not have known him long, but already he was a much better father than my real dad had been. “C’mon, time to go back,” he said finally. “You did good today, kiddo. I’m real proud of ya.”
“Yeah, yeah, thanks,” I said, waving my hand dismissively. “Can we have a snow day?”
“Huh?”
“We can make snowmen and snow angels and snow ice cream,” I rambled excitedly, “and have snowball fights and build igloos and go sledding and—“
“Whoa, whoa, slow down, G,” he chuckled, clapping a hand on my shoulder. “How ‘bout we go get Ella, and then we’ll talk about this snow day of yours, okay?”
I sighed, pushing my bottom lip out in a pout. “Okay…” He laughed again and headed for the car. I ran to it and climbed in the passenger seat before he was even halfway there. “Hurry up, hurry up!” I called impatiently.
“Y’know the snow’s gotta stick before you can play in it, right?” he asked, still taking his own sweet time.
“Well, we’re gonna have three feet of it before you even get to the car!” I shot back. “Plus, it’s an hour drive back to the hotel. It should be deep enough by then!”
“Assuming it’s even snowing back at the hotel,” he teased.
“It is!” I insisted. “I know it is! It has to be!”
The ride back to the hotel passed painfully slowly. I had my face pressed to the window, soaking in the crystalline scenery. Kids were running around everywhere, throwing snowballs and rolling around in the snow. I made an impatient noise in the back of my throat, and I tried my hardest not to leap out of the speeding car.
When we finally got back to the hotel, I unbuckled and leaped out of the car before Greg even had the chance to park. I ran to our room and beat on the door frantically, yelling for Ella to hurry up.
“Whassa matter?” she asked groggily as she opened the door. She rubbed her eyes sleepily, and I knew she had been napping.
“Go get dressed!” I yelped, pushing past her into the room. “It’s snowing!” She blinked at me confusedly, her tired mind having trouble processing my excitement. “C’mon, hurry up!” I urged as I wrapped my scarf even tighter around my neck.
“Okay,” Ella mumbled after a minute, though she sounded way too unenthusiastic for my liking. She shuffled over to the closet and started pulling on her winter clothes over her pajamas. I grinned and shook my head, but decided not to say anything. “Ready,” she sighed.
I looked her up and down, and I couldn’t help but laugh. Her sweatshirt was inside-out and backwards, her Pink Panther pajama bottoms were poking out from the top of her jeans, and her boots were on the wrong feet. Her already wild hair was even crazier, sticking out at odd places under her hat.
“Come here, you loser,” I said with a chuckle. She did as I said and dropped down onto our bed so I could fix her shoes. As I laced them up, I asked, “How long did you sleep?”
“Right after y’all left to when ya woke me up,” she replied. Her tiny hand came up to cover her mouth as she yawned widely. “How’d your first hunt go?”
I could sense the bitterness in her voice, but I chose to ignore it. “It was good! Just a standard salt-and-burn, but I had fun!” I reached to adjust her hat, tucking her hair up underneath it. Then I bit my lip, frowning at the dejection on her face. “I’m sorry you couldn’t go,” I said quietly. “I know how much you wanted to, and it would’ve been even more awesome if you’d been there.”
Ella smiled wearily. “S’okay. Sorry I threw such a hissy fit over it.”
“That’s putting it mildly,” I teased, and she stuck her tongue out at me. “You ready for some snow?” A large grin spread over my face, and I hopped to my feet. I tugged her up from the bed, saying, “Let’s go! I wanna make a snowman!”
I bolted out the door and ran smack into Greg. “Whoa, there, G,” he chuckled. “Where’s the fire?”
“If you’re not at the park across the street in five minutes,” I began threateningly, “I will use my awesome witchy powers to… to…”
“To what?” he prompted, grinning as I came up with nothing.
I huffed in annoyance. “Just hurry!” I ordered, and then I took off running to the park.
I skidded to a halt as I realized I was headed straight into the middle of a snowball fight, but it was too late. A lump of mush hit my shoulder, and one of the kids called out an embarrassed apology. I smiled innocently at the one who had hit me, a boy of about my age, as I leaned down and scooped up a clump of snow. Before he had time to react, I launched it at him, hitting him in his stomach, and he fell back onto his ass.
“Oops, sorry!” I laughed mischievously, and the boy grinned in a good-natured way.
Once he got up, he walked over to me. “Wanna be on our team?” he asked shyly, brushing a curtain of sandy blonde hair out of his chocolate brown eyes. “I’m Michael, by the way.”
“I’d love to!” I beamed at him. “I’m Gari!” My smile faded slightly. “Um… this is kinda my first snowball fight. Are there any rules?”
Michael grinned and shook his head. “Hit as hard as you want, wherever you want—face included. But only aim for the people with blue scarves. That’s the other team. We’ve all got red scarves.” He glanced at my neck. “And you do, too! It’s like the universe wanted us to be on the same team!”
I laughed. I liked Michael almost instantly. He seemed just as enthusiastic about the snow as I was, even though I knew it was nothing new for him.
We made our way to the Red Team, where Michael introduced me to four other kids—three boys and a girl. I forgot their names a long time ago, so I guess they never really made a lasting impression on me. All I knew was that, after they saw my attack on their leader, they happily welcomed me to their team.
“Okay, so, here’s the plan,” Michael said as we huddled together. “Divide and conquer. Now that we have Gari, we have the advantage. Gari and I’ll go for Jeff. He’s the biggest, and he has the best arm. But he always hesitates to throw at girls. He’s been like that since kindergarten.”
“And they say chivalry’s dead,” I said sarcastically. Michael chuckled, but the other four team members looked at me like I was a freaking Skrull or something. Some people just don’t get my humor.
“Remember, guys,” Michael continued, “if a snowball even barely hits you, you’re out. So don’t get hit. This could be the first year we win!” The girl made a weird noise, and she kind of looked like she was going to pass out. Michael noticed this and quickly said, “No pressure or anything! Just do your best! Alright, let’s do this!”
“I think I’m gonna be sick,” the girl muttered as she walked away.
“Some team you’ve got here,” I joked, nudging Michael playfully.
He sighed. “I know. They’re good when we’re just playing around, but, whenever we have our annual Red-versus-Blue fight, they all freak out.”
“Well, if we take out Jeff, I’m sure their faith will be restored,” I assured him. I glanced at the other team. “He seems to be the leader. So, if we take him out, the others shouldn’t be too hard. ‘Cut off the head, and the body will flounder,’ right?”
“Nice thinking,” he said appreciatively. “Hey, listen, after this, d’you—” He stopped abruptly and stared intently at the Blue Team. “One, two, three, four, five, six,” he counted. “Since when do they have six? Who’s that chick?”
I followed his glare and groaned at the sight of familiar strawberry blonde curls. “That’s my sister,” I grumbled.
“Is she a good aim?”
“Almost as good as I am.”
“Well, there goes our hope of winning,” Michael said dejectedly.
“Whoa, what’s with the negativity? Elle may have good aim, but she can’t dodge to save her life. I’ll take her out, then I’ll help you get Jeff. If you can avoid him for a few minutes, it should be no problem.”
“You’re really getting into this, aren’t you?” he asked, regarding me with something like awe.
“I do ROTC at my high school,” I lied quickly. “Strategy is how you win the war!” I shoved the boy gently, a smile on my face. “And you’re one to talk, Mister General! You act like we’re fighting in Vietnam or something with your battle plans!”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Michael said dismissively. “You ready or what?”
“Babe, I was born ready,” I replied with a smirk, and Michael blushed, reminding me that he had been slightly shy at first.
He locked eyes with a big guy wearing a blue scarf who could only have been Jeff. Both boys nodded at each other.
“Get ready!” Jeff commanded in a deep, rumbling voice.
“Prepare yourselves!” Michael called, sounding significantly less intimidating.
“GO!” the boys yelled in unison, and chaos immediately ensued.
Apparently, Ella had been assigned to take me out, for she instantly started hurling snowballs. I ducked and dodged and rolled over the slushy ground, avoiding everything she threw at me.
Finally, I had gathered enough snow to make a very large snowball. After dodging a few more projectiles, I rolled up onto my knees, yelled, “For Aslan!” and hit her square in the face. She stumbled backwards, spluttering and cursing as she fell.
I looked around and noticed that the only people still standing were Jeff, Michael, and me. “You’re outnumbered, Jeff,” Michael said. “Surrender now and we won’t have to hurt you!” Jeff’s shoulders sagged in defeat, and Michael took that as a sign of surrender. He dropped his snowball and turned to help up the girl on our team.
Right as he did so, I noticed the snowball in Jeff’s hand. The large boy’s grip tightened around it, and he flexed his arm, preparing for launch. “Michael, look out!” I yelped. Before I was consciously aware of it, I had thrown the snowball I was holding. It smacked Jeff on the back of the head right as Michael leaped out of the way of Jeff’s snowball.
“Woohoo!” Michael exclaimed, jumping into the air and pumping his fists triumphantly. “We won! We finally won!”
Jeff huffed unhappily. “Gotta be a first time for everything. Good game, I guess,” he said grudgingly.
Michael ran over to me, smiling brightly. “Gari, you were awesome!” he praised, and I couldn’t help but return the smile. “If you’d been here since kindergarten, we’d be undefeated! But, hey, we have next year, right?”
He looked so hopeful, and I dreaded telling him that I was just passing through. I would’ve loved to finish out school with him and his friends. Staying in one place for a few years sounded wonderful. But I knew that couldn’t happen. Whenever Greg decided it was time to go, we would leave and never come back.
Just as I opened my mouth to tell Michael the bad news, a deep voice called out, “Girls! Time to come in now!”
“Will you be back tomorrow?” he asked earnestly.
“I’m not sure,” I answered truthfully. “I hope so.”
“Me, too.”
“Well, uh, bye, Michael,” I said lamely. “Thanks for letting me join your team.”
“Anytime,” he replied. His chocolate brown eyes twinkled deviously, and, before I had time to figure out what that meant, he stepped forward and pecked me on the lips. “Merry Christmas, Gari,” he said when he pulled back, then he turned and walked back toward his friends.
My hand went up and brushed my lips wonderingly. I know it’s embarrassing to admit that I had my first kiss at sixteen, but, hey, when you had a childhood like mine, boyfriends weren’t exactly a primary concern.
“Merry Christmas, Michael,” I breathed. I heaved a deep sigh, knowing I’d never see him again. Then I headed back to the hotel room.
Ella fell into step beside me, and her baby face broke into a large, evil grin. “Gari and Snow Boy, sittin’ in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!” she sang, laughing at the bright red blush making its way onto my cheeks.
“His name is Michael,” I corrected her quietly, and she laughed harder.
“Hey, Daddy!” she chimed as we entered our room. “Gari’s got a boyfriend!”
“Oh, really?” Greg asked, cocking an eyebrow in my direction. “Now, when did this happen?”
“He’s not my boyfriend!” I protested, shooting my very best death glare at Ella. “I just met him today, and I know we’re leaving tomorrow. I’m not delusional or anything. And, besides, I’m too mature to get all flustered over a floppy-haired, puppy-eyed heartthrob.”
“He kissed her!” Ella piped up, her eyebrows wiggling suggestively.
“Well, then,” Greg said, trying to suppress a grin. “Merry Christmas to you, G. After this, I don’t reckon you’ll be needin’ any presents.”
I blushed deeply and hid my face in my hands. “You guys! Shut up!” I whined.
“Wasn’t that your first kiss, Gari?” Ella asked innocently.
“Aw, my little G’s growin’ up!” Greg teased, and Ella cackled maniacally, letting out an occasional snort.
“You guys are the worst!” I flopped down onto mine and Ella’s bed and pulled a pillow over my head.
“C’mon, G, don’t be so—” Greg stopped talking as his phone started ringing.
I sat up and stared at him attentively. “Who is it?”
He answered the phone, sighing as whoever was on the other end started yammering loudly. “Mrs. Ginn, you need to calm down. Now, tell me what happened.” After a few minutes, he hung up and tossed the phone in annoyance.
“Daddy?” Ella questioned. “What’s wrong?”
“Looks like we missed something,” he said tiredly. “I gotta go figure out what’s goin’ on.”
“But it’s gettin’ late!” Ella protested. “And it’s Christmas Eve!”
“Don’t worry,” Greg assured her, “I’ll be back soon.” He walked over to the closet and removed his duffle bag from the top shelf.
“But, Daddy—“
“I don’t wanna go, either, honey,” he interrupted her, coming over and kissing the top of her head. “But it’s my job. Lives depend on it.”
“’Kay…” she sighed plaintively.
“D’you need my help?” I asked, trying to keep the dread out of my voice. Hunting with Greg had been amazing, but I wanted to stay with Ella. She was already so depressed that Greg was leaving again, and I didn’t want to add to that.
“No, I want you to stay here,” he replied, grinning at me knowingly. He slung his bag over his shoulder and made his way toward the door. “Promise I’ll be back before y’all wake up. We’re still gonna spend Christmas together.”
“Just hurry back, okay?” I opened the door for him and grinned. “You better not miss out on our first Christmas. And you better have me an awesome present.”
He laughed. “I do, don’t worry. Take care of each other. Watch Christmas movies and eat cookies and stay up all night if ya want. And, c’mon. It’s only six o’clock. I’ll be back before ya know it.” Ella and I nodded in agreement. “Bye, girls. Love ya.” With that, he walked out and shut the door.
Ella sighed again, and I bit my lip unsurely. “What did we get him for Christmas?” I asked her.
“I got him a scrapbook filled with pictures of us,” she said proudly. “I dunno what you got him.”
“Dammit, can’t we just share?” I begged.
“Nope! Ya didn’t wanna pay part of it, so you’re not gonna take credit!”
“Fine,” I huffed, getting to my feet.
“Where ya goin’?”
“To buy Greg a present.”
“With what money?”
I took a credit card out of my back pocket and glanced down at it to read the name. “Deborah Harry’s money.”
“Frontwoman for Blondie?” Ella asked curiously. I nodded. “Can I come with you?”
“Nope. I’m doing this on my own, and you won’t know what I got until he does!”
“That’s not fair!” she protested. “You know what I’m getting him!”
“Life isn’t fair, babe,” I shot back, and I winked at her.
She stuck her tongue out at me. “Fine. Be that way. Meanie.”
“Oh, I’m hurt,” I teased, placing a hand over my heart and laughing. “I’ll see you in a little bit.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever, ya meanie!” she called, and I chuckled and shut the door.
I looked around for a minute, searching for a good store. I started walking in the direction of town, tucking my hands in my pockets to keep them warm. I had no idea what I wanted to get Greg, but it had to be something special, yet practical.
“Hey, Gari!” a familiar voice called, and I spun around to face Michael.
“Hi, Michael,” I said warmly, hopefully keeping the blush off my cheeks.
“What’re you doing?” he asked, falling into step beside me.
“Heading into town to get a present for my dad.”
“Oh, yeah? Know what you’re getting him?”
“Not really,” I replied, shaking my head. Suddenly, an idea came to me. “Hey, Michael, d’you guys
have a place that sells weapons?”
He blinked in surprise. “Um, what?”
“Y’know, someplace that sells knives and guns and stuff?” I prompted. “Um, Dad likes to hunt, and he needs a new knife,” I lied quickly.
“Oh, yeah, sure!” he said, no longer thinking I was totally out of my mind. “Yeah, I’ll take you there. It’s about a five minute walk.”
“Alright, thanks!”
“So, uh, where are you from?” he asked as we walked together.
I thought for a moment, trying to remember what Greg had said to use as an answer for that question. “Oh, all over,” I said finally. “Dad’s job takes us everywhere.”
“What’s he do?”
“He’s a traveling salesman. We never stay in one place for too long.”
“Oh…” Michael said sadly. “So I guess that means you’ll be leaving soon.”
“Yeah,” I replied. “Tomorrow, actually. Dad’s making one more sale tonight, and we’re leaving after we open presents tomorrow.”
“I wish you could stay longer.”
“Me, too.”
We walked in silence for a little longer until he stopped abruptly, causing me to almost run into
him. “Do you ever go back to places you’ve been before?” he asked, his brown eyes shining
hopefully.
“Um… sometimes,” I lied again. Sure, we visited the same states, but we’d never been back to the same city.
“Maybe you’ll come back to see me?”
“Yeah, definitely.” I nodded once, biting my lip.
“You do that a lot,” Michael noted.
“Do what?”
“Bite your lip. Whenever I start talking about your life, you bite your lip.”
“Oh.” I went to bite my lip again, then stopped myself. I cleared my throat uncomfortably. “So, uh, how far to this store?”
“It’s right around the corner,” he replied.
“Well, thanks for showing me the way,” I said, shifting awkwardly on my feet.
“No matter what you say, I’m gonna keep hoping I’ll see you again,” Michael promised. “Maybe I’ll eventually be right.”
“Maybe so,” I said unsurely. “It was really great to meet you, Michael. Good luck with the snowball fight next year!”
He chuckled. “Thanks. Won’t be the same without you there to kick ass.”
“Aw, shucks,” I said with a roll of my eyes. Then, before I could talk myself out of it, I swiftly moved forward and pressed my lips to his. I quickly moved away and headed around the corner. “Bye, Michael!” I called over my shoulder, and when I looked back, he was standing there with a dumbfounded, giddy expression.
I laughed to myself and pushed through the glass door into the store. Behind the counter, there was a collection of assorted knives and ammunition. “Wow,” I muttered under my breath. “This must be what redneck Heaven looks like.”
“Can I help you?” a man asked from behind the counter.
My eyes scanned the weapons until they alighted on a small dagger near the back. “Can I see that one?” I asked, pointing at the knife. The man removed it from the case and pulled it out of its sheath. “What’s the blade made of?”
“Compound of silver and iron,” the man answered gruffly. “Got cheated out of a deal on it. Supposed to be all silver.”
That was perfect. It was multipurpose. “How much?”
The man stared at me for a minute. “Thirty bucks,” he said finally. “Been trying to get rid of it for five years. Can I see some I.D.?”
I pulled another card out of my pocket, a fake I.D. that said I was nineteen. And, honestly, I looked old enough to be nineteen, so it wasn’t too hard to believe. Thankfully, the I.D. had the same name as my credit card. Right as I was about to hand him my credit card, a necklace caught my eye. It had a small pentagram charm outlined in tiny red crystals hanging on a silver chain, and I instantly thought of how much Ella would like it.
“Um, I’d also like that necklace, if you don’t mind,” I added hurriedly.
“That’ll be an extra fifteen,” the man said.
“That’s cool.” I handed him my card, and he briefly glanced at the name.
“Your parents a Blondie fan?” he asked.
I laughed. “Yeah, my mom loved them,” I lied.
The man gave me back my card, followed by a bag holding the dagger and necklace. “Well, here ya go, Miss Harry. Merry Christmas.”
“You too,” I said as I walked out of the store. I had a slight bounce in my step on the way back to the hotel. I had been kissed twice by an adorable boy, I had found presents for Greg and Ella, and I was about to have my first real Christmas. “The only way this day can get any better is if Greg’s back when I get there,” I mumbled under my breath.
Unbelievably enough, the familiar sky blue ’69 Mustang was parked in the hotel parking lot. A large grin spread over my face, and I dashed back to our room. I got there just as Greg was opening the door to come out again. “Hey, hey, where ya goin’?” he asked, his eyes twinkling mischievously.
“What are you up to?” I asked, narrowing my eyes suspiciously.
“Put the bag down and grab some gloves,” he ordered. “We’re gonna go get a Christmas tree.”
“Oh, my God, really?” I gasped, my hands flying over my mouth in excitement. “Okay, I’ll be right there!” As I entered the room, Ella was zipping up her jacket. I glanced at the bed and noticed her faded yellow Beatles t-shirt and her Pink Panther pajama bottoms were tossed carelessly on the covers. “So you finally fixed your outfit?” I teased her.
“Oh, shush!” she snapped. She tossed my gloves to me and said, “C’mon, I want a tree!” I hurriedly hid my bag under the bed and slipped my gloves on, then ran back outside to the car.
“Shotgun!” I yelped, sprinting past Ella to reach the front seat of the car.
“No fair!”
“I’m older! It’s totally fair!”
“Girls, just get in the car!” Greg snapped tiredly.
“Yes, sir,” we said simultaneously, though I still managed to squeeze past her into the front seat.
She huffed and got into the back of the car.
The ten-minute ride to the tree store—I have no clue what it’s actually called—the nursery or something—passed with no further bickering between Ella and I. When we got there, there were only about six trees left. I guess that was to be expected, seeing as we were Christmas tree shopping at eight o’clock on Christmas Eve.
All of the trees were very big and full except for one. It reminded me of the pathetic little tree from the Charlie Brown Christmas special, and I fell in love with it immediately. “How about this one?” I suggested as I walked over to it. Ella grinned and nodded in agreement.
“That one?” Greg said disbelievingly. “Really?”
“What’s wrong with it?” Ella challenged, standing in front of the little tree protectively.
“It’s so tiny and ugly!” Greg chuckled.
“No, it isn’t!” I protested. “It’s adorable!”
“Yeah, I love it!” Ella piped up. “Let’s get it!”
“Girls, really?” he complained.
“Daddy, pleeease,” Ella pleaded, pouting up at him.
“Yeah, Daddy, please?” I echoed hopefully.
Greg sighed. “Alright, fine. We’ll get it.”
“Yay!” Ella and I cheered together.
“You’re the best, G!” I said gratefully.
“Yeah, I know,” he shrugged nonchalantly.
After we bought the tree, the ride home consisted of Greg insulting the tree and the two of us defending it vehemently. No matter what Greg said, I adored the little tree. Sure, it was tiny and bare, but it was perfect in its own little way.
On the way, we stopped by a convenience store and bought some candy canes and pine tree air fresheners to hang on the tree. It wasn’t much, and it was totally redneck, but it was the best we could do in the time we had.
Once we got back to the hotel, Greg sat the tree down in the corner of the room, cracking jokes the entire time Ella and I were decorating it. “Don’t put too much stuff on it,” he said, “or ya won’t be able to see the tree!”
“Shut up!” I shot back. “You’re just jealous that the tree is prettier than you!”
His face broke into a large grin, causing his eyes to crinkle at the corners and his cheeks to dimple deeply. “Yeah, sure,” he laughed, “that’s the reason I’m makin’ fun of it.”
After we had decorated the tree, I hid behind one of the beds to wrap Greg and Ella’s presents, while Greg hid in the bathroom to do his wrapping and Ella was out in the car. Once I finished, I placed my presents under the tree and relaxed on my bed. I flipped on the old-fashioned television and started channel surfing, stopping as I saw a familiar skeleton-faced monster.
“What’re ya watchin’?” Ella asked as she reentered the room.
I ignored her, instead breaking into song. “'We’re his little henchmen, and we take our job with pride! We do our best to please him and stay on his good side! I wish my cohorts—'“
“I shoulda known,” she interrupted, shaking her head as she plopped down beside me. “Ever since ya saw it on Halloween, you’ve been obsessed. This is almost as bad as your Tolkien obsession!”
“Bite your tongue!” I yelped incredulously. “I’ll never love anything more than I love Tolkien!”
“That’s not true,” Greg said as he came out of the bathroom with our presents.
“Why not?” I asked confusedly.
He set the gifts under the tree and turned to me with a wry grin. “’Cause, one day, you’ll find a boy—or girl, whatever makes you happy—and you’ll be swept off your feet like one of those chicks in Elle’s movies.”
“Ew, no!” I protested. “Those chicks are pathetic! I don’t need a man! I’m as independent and awesome as Eowyn! No man can change that!”
“Yeah, besides, Gari’s too mean to have a Prince Charming,” Ella chimed in. “She’d drive him insane on the first date!”
“Shut it, Elle!”
“Make me!”
“Girls!” Greg laughed. “If G wants to be nice, she can have a Prince Charming,” he told Ella. I opened my mouth angrily, but he turned to me and said, “And if ya wanna grow up ‘independent and awesome as Eowyn,’ you can do that, too.” Ella and I both nodded, satisfied with his answer. “Now, what’re we watchin’?”
The rest of the night passed uneventfully. Ella passed out with her head in my lap, and I soon followed suit with my head against the backboard of the bed.
At three in the morning, Greg woke us up. I rubbed the crick in my neck gingerly, reminding myself to never sleep like that again. Ella sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes and yawning. I glanced over at the clock and saw what time it was. For a minute, the unbelievable earliness didn’t sink in, but soon after, I was asking Greg why he woke us up at such an ungodly hour.
“I’m just excited,” he said, though I could tell something was wrong. I chose not to ask, instead playing along. “Now, c’mon, open your presents.”
Ella and I immediately perked up, and we dashed over to our dear little tree. “Open mine first!” Ella insisted, shoving the presents at Greg and me.
Greg ripped his open and stared down in delight at the scrapbook. “Elle, honey, it’s great,” he said.
“It’s got pictures of us in it!” she replied. “There’s one of Mom and you, a bunch of Milla and me, and a few of me and Gari. But we have time to add to those!”
“It’s great,” he repeated, looking distinctly misty-eyed as he pulled his daughter in for a tight, bone-crushing hug. He cleared his throat. “Um, go ahead and open yours, G.”
I tore into the bag and pulled out a VHS tape of 'The Nightmare Before Christmas.' “Oh, my God!” I exclaimed. “Elle, it’s amazing! I can’t believe it!” I slung my arms around her, unable to stop smiling. “This is excellent!”
“I’m glad ya like it,” she giggled.
“Okay, mine next!” I said, handing out my presents.
Ella opened hers first, letting out a small sound of happiness when she pulled it out of the bag. “It’s so pretty!” she gushed, her fingers tracing the little stones around the pentagram.
“Here, lemme put it on you,” I said, and she turned around so I could hook the necklace. “I know how terrified you are to get an anti-possession tattoo, so I figured you could wear this instead.”
“It’s perfect, Gari! Thanks!” She pulled me into a rib-cracking hug strong enough to rival those of her father.
“You’re welcome,” I croaked breathlessly, and she released me with a giggle.
“My turn,” Greg said as he ripped open the wrapping paper. “Oh, whoa,” he breathed as he stared at the knife.
“I, uh, I know you lost your last one because of me,” I said shyly, “so I figured I’d make it up to you. The blade’s made of a compound of silver and iron, so it’s multipurpose. It was supposed to be all silver, so the dude gave it to me for a really reasonable price.”
(Yes, I was responsible for him losing his other knife, the one he’d had since he was ten. I felt really terrible about it, but it’s not like I meant to leave the trunk open. I thought I’d closed it. Turns out I didn’t. We actually lost half of the arsenal that day. Yeah, I know. I’m a bad person.)
“Garideth, it’s perfect,” he said quietly. “I love it.” He gave me a watery smile, and I grinned. It was weird seeing him so emotional. He was always joking and laughing; he was never serious. This was a big change for me.
“Can we open your presents now, Daddy?” Ella asked once Greg had let me go.
“Yeah, honey, go ahead.”
“Yay!” Ella squealed as she attacked her present. “Ah! 'Mulan!'” she shrieked, hugging the VHS to her chest. “I’ve been wantin’ this for forever!”
“I know,” Greg chuckled. “There’s somethin’ else in the bottom of the bag.”
She dug down to the bottom of the bag and pulled out another necklace. This one was a simple gold chain with a tiny little cross. “Wow, it’s beautiful,” she sighed happily.
“It was your mom’s,” he told her, once again getting all emotional. “She’d want you to have it.”
Ella looked up at her father, screwing up her face in an attempt to stop herself from crying. "Daddy, I love it," she sobbed finally, throwing her arms around her father once more. "I love you," she cried, burying her face in his chest.
"I love you too, honey," he replied, a single tear tracing its way down his cheek. They broke apart after a minute. Ella dried her eyes, and Greg cleared his throat again. "Um, G," he said to me, "why don't ya go ahead and open yours?"
I nodded and slowly opened my present, hoping it wasn't something that was going to make me cry. I couldn't deal with any more emotional breakdowns.
The first thing in the bag was a beautiful silver charm bracelet with six charms and bells on the clasp. There was an Eye of Horus, an ankh, a Celtic knot, a Star of David, a Celtic cross, and a pentagram. All of them were tiny and delicate, and I wondered how I could wear this while hunting.
"It's tougher than it looks," Greg assured me. "I tested it already."
"It's gorgeous," I said reverently. I managed to hook it around my left wrist, and I shook my arm a little, smiling slightly as the bells jingled. "Thank you."
"Now open the next one!" Greg ordered, his face breaking into that crinkle-eyed, dimpled-cheek smile.
I wondered what the present could possibly be to make him smile that big. Deciding to just figure it out on my own, I reached into the bag. My hand closed around a thick hardback book, and my breath hitched in my throat. "No way," I breathed. I pulled the book out of the bag, and, sure enough, I was holding a beautiful engraved copy of 'The Lord of the Rings.' "Oh. My. God. G! I can't believe you got me this!" I squealed, hugging the book to my chest. "This is the collector's edition! This is uber expensive!"
"Eh, it's nothing," he replied, waving his hand dismissively and winking at me. "D'ya really like it?"
"Do I like it?" I yelped disbelievingly. "I freaking love it! It's the most amazing thing I've ever gotten ever! Thank you so much!" I flung my arms around him and gave him a hug worthy of the Harken family.
"I'm glad," he laughed, returning the hug with just as much force.
I realized that that was the first hug I had ever given him. I'd hugged Ella a million times because she was just a hugger--it was something I had to get used to with her. But Greg was a different story. He knew I wasn't one for much physical contact. He seemed to realize that, too, for he gave me one last squeeze and released me.
"So, Daddy," Ella began, " why'd you get us up so early?"
"I was just excited," he said again, and again something flashed in his eyes to let me know he was lying. "And I'm ready to get outta this town." He glanced toward the door nervously. "The bags are packed already. Let's get outta here, okay?"
"Daddy, what's wrong?" Elle asked.
"Nothin', honey. I'm just ready to go."
"But I wanted to spend the day here," I protested. I wasn't going to admit it, but I had been hoping to see Michael one more time before we left.
"Garideth, we're leavin'," he said in his no-nonsense tone. He looked at the door again, as if waiting for someone--or something--to burst through at any minute.
"Okay," I agreed reluctantly after noticing how serious he was.
"Thank you," he said gratefully. He slung all of our bags over his shoulder and grabbed the car key from the table. "Get the presents and c'mon." Ella and I shared confused looks, but obeyed anyway. "I'm sorry 'bout this, girls," he said, and I could tell he meant it. "I hope Christmas was still okay."
I got into the front of the car and Ella got into the back, like we always did. As we pulled away from the hotel, Greg turned on the radio. Elvis started singing "Blue Christmas" as the snow started falling again, and I heaved a sigh. I really loved snow, and I knew we'd be going somewhere without it.
However, I really couldn't complain. I couldn't imagine a better Christmas.
~Supernatural~Supernatural~Supernatural~
Years and years have passed now, but that Christmas is still the best Christmas I've ever had. None of the other Christmases was near as awesome as that one. There was nothing like that feeling of being a family together on our first Christmas.
Ella and I stopped celebrating Christmas after Greg died. It just wasn't the same without him. Actually, we didn't even acknowledge the holiday. It was too painful. There was this gaping hole left in Greg's place, and no amount of Christmas spirit could ever fill it.
All of my little anecdotes end terribly, don't they? I'm sorry. This was supposed to be a happy holiday story. It really was the best Christmas ever. I can't remember being happier.
So stop frowning, and be happy, okay? I'm happy--well, happy for me, anyway. If I'm happy, you lucky bastards with your normal lives should certainly be happy! Give me a Joker-worthy smile and get on with your lives!
And if you're not smiling, I'll know. I'm as omnipotent as Santa Claus. Except I have an arsenal and awesome witchy powers, and I'm not afraid to use them!
So Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Happy Kwanzaa! Or whatever else tickles your fancy...
(Oh! And the reason Greg wanted to get out of town so quickly was that he had pissed off the police station. I have no clue what he did, but they were mad! But, hey, that’s one of the risks of hunting. People aren’t always grateful.)
♠ ♠ ♠
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