Hot Chocolate and Caroling...and other Christmas things!
Nicole thought this was going to be the best Christmas yet! This is her daughter's very first Christmas after all, and the year they get to build all of their traditions.
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The snow was coming down hard, engulfing the car in a beautiful winter storm. No one was on the roads, and soon we would be at my mother's house, all cozy for Christmas. We nicely placed our presents in the back seat with Hazel, in our designated wrapping paper for the year. Each year, the families would pick what paper they were using, and we must adorn all the presents with that design. That way, we knew what was from who. We'd be spending the night here, and this storm was looking like it was going to make for a perfect white Christmas morning.
James turns the music down as if that was going to help him focus on the road. His knuckles grip the steering wheel so hard they were turning white.
"Is everything okay over there?" I question, looking at the tension forming in his jaw. Something was bothering him because this storm didn't look that bad.
"Yeah, just having a hard time seeing where I'm going. I don't want to hit a patch of ice. Doing everything I can to make sure we get there safely." He says, never turning his eyes away from the road. I watch carefully, trying to see if I can make out anything that could look like ice, but the road seems fine.
"Are you sure that's what's bothering you?" The snow was coming down quickly, sure, but nowhere near fast enough to affect his vision. It was nothing more than soft little clouds of white floating slowly towards the ground.
"Yes," James sighs, "Okay no, I'm still a little thrown off about dinner with my parents the other night and frustrated that they can't just be normal. We always have so much fun when we go to your parents' house and they've welcomed me as if I was their own child, and yet my parents still blame you for every single decision we made together."
"Did we really make them together, though? Or are they somewhat right? I feel like knowing I haven't been around, and knowing that you've taken care of everything doesn't seem like something we sat down and talked about. It seems like something I just kind of forced you into and made you go along with it so I could follow my dreams."
"No, I don't look at it that way."
"You may not look at it that way, but that doesn't mean it's not true. I think even though I hate how they treat me, we should cut them some slack and realize that I need to grow up a little bit and allow you to have some say in this relationship as well. I'm sorry I haven't allowed you to do that all the time." James's face softens, his grip slipping from the wheel just enough to allow the color back into his fingers.
"Who told you to say all of that?" James questions.
"No one, it's how I really feel. I love you and you've been a wonderful husband. It's time I treat you like such." I place my hand on his thigh, squeezing gently. A small smile forms on his face. He slowly makes the last turn toward my parent's house.
"I love you too." He whispers, and if I hadn't been waiting for a response, I probably never would have heard it.
When James pulls into the driveway, he can take a deep breath. I couldn't help but take one with him, allowing the tension that had washed off of him onto me to drift away. We were finally here, and able to spend the next few days together with no interruptions.
