Beyond Her Exterior

Chapter 38: Merry Christmas

                I woke up Christmas morning to all sorts of madness. Denise had Christmas music blasting at high volume down in the living room causing me to groan and get out of bed. Every year for Christmas I pretend as if I'm spending it with family when in reality I just sit in my room all by myself watching movies back to back. This is the first time I've been surrounded by people enjoying the Christmas spirit.

          When I opened my bedroom door I smelled cookies, and a smile formed on my face. This is different, but an absolutely good different. I stood in my doorway for a moment breathing in the scent and listening to Jingle Bells, mumbling along to the lyrics.

          Marshall's bedroom door opened up after that and he stepped out, stretching in his black sweatpants and white shirt. He had a Christmas hat on his head and he glanced over at me, letting out a laugh. I watched him as he went back into his room and came back out with another Christmas hat – matching the one on his head. My eyebrows raised, and I let out a yawn as he strided over to me and planted the hat ontop of my head. "Merry Christmas Alexis." He smiled.

        "Merry Christmas." I replied, patting his back as we went into the bathroom and grabbed our toothbrushes. We brushed our teeth together and Marshall danced along in the bathroom to the music.

          The two of us headed downstairs side by side to see Denise swaying around the kitchen as she cooked in her Christmas Pj's and a Christmas hat on her head. I laughed, walking in and joining her. "You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, I'm telling you why......." I sang at the top of my lungs as I danced with the broomstick.

Marshall ended up coming and joining the two of us, singing along to Mariah Carey. I laughed hard, the smile never disappearing from my face. This is what Christmas is all about. After awhile our singing died down and all three of us were breathing heavily. I took a seat at the island, and stared at the two of them. "Merry Christmas guys. Thank you so much for taking me in."

"No problem sweetie." Denise smiled, coming over and giving me a tight hug. I hugged her back, feeling safe in her embrace. I've talked to her more as the week went by because she was on vacation from work. And when I say we talked, we really got to talking. She gave me advice, and told me about her past and how she became who she was today. Ever since then I've felt like I belonged in this home and I loved every minute of being here surrounded by her and Marshall. "It's so nice having you here."

"I agree with Mom." Marshall smiled sitting across from me.

"This is the first time it's actually felt like Christmas for me since I was a little girl." I explained, tapping my fingers on the countertop. "I'm so used to being alone on this day so thank you, from the bottom of my heart for being so amazing."

"Anything to make you feel at home, I love having you here and I love that you and Marshall get along great." Denise responds, pulling another batch of cookies out of the oven.

"Yeah we've come along way from the first time we met." I said, glancing over at him and smiling. He smiled back and reached across the table squeezing my hand. I squeezed his back and glanced back at his Mom. "When we first met Sophomore year we hated eachother but now I can gladly say, he's a friend that'll last a lifetime."

"Same to you dude."

"I'm glad to hear that. Anyways guys, remember the Christmas party is today, we have a lot of decorating and baking to do. So get to work!" Denise said, as she started mixing cake batter.

Marshall and I saluted her before running off to the living room where the boxes of decorations have been waiting for us since last night. From what I know, it's normal for them to have Christmas parties every year. Marshall says it's mostly just family and friends and everyone gives presents and talks to eachother. Denise goes crazy with the cooking and there's always leftovers that last a lifetime.