TPS *(original version)*

Chapter Twenty One

"We always have a really big dinner on Christmas Eve," Alex said as he zipped up my dress zipper. "And then we go to midnight Mass at the Church downtown."

"You go to church?" I asked him, fluffing my curls out over my shoulders.

"On Easter and Christmas," Alex said. "My parents aren't very religious," he shrugged. "Anyways, what you're wearing is fine for mass. Except you might want to put on flats instead of heels, because we do a lot of sitting and standing and kneeling, and your feet might get tired."

"Okay," I said, smiling and kissing Alex.

We both walked downstairs to the dining room, where the Laestrom's were waiting for us. We ate a heavy dinner of lamb with a weird purple sauce on top, salad, steak, and potatoes. When we were done eating, we all sat at the table and drank wine and water, trying to let our stomachs settle.

Mr. and Mrs. Laestrom exchanged a small, secretive glance. "Well," Mr. Laestrom said standing up. "We should be going now. The church will fill up soon."

We all stood and grabbed our jackets from the coat stand next to the front door. Even though I had tights on under my long sleeved red dress and coat, I was still freezing as we made our way to the car. Mrs. Laestrom had been right – the winters here in Asodoria were fierce. We all got into Mr. Laestrom's Lamborghini and began driving downtown. Mr. and Mrs. Laestrom didn't like taking the limos to church, because they felt like it was an insult to the rest of the people of Asodoria.

I stared out at the snow as we sped along the dark road. Alex held my hand and Christmas music played softly on the radio. "Here we are," Mr. Laestrom said, pulling into a long driveway. I looked at Alex, confused. We were in front of a large, empty white house, not a church. But he looked just as confused as I did.

Mr. and Mrs. Laestrom got out and we followed them. "Where are we?" Alex asked, wrapping an arm around my shoulders to keep me warm.

"We're at your new house!" Mrs. Laestrom exploded in a high voice. "Happy Christmas!"

"Oh my god!" Alex and I exclaimed, looking from his parents to our house in amazement. It was just as big as Mr. and Mrs. Laestrom's house, if not a little bigger. The house was easily three stories high, with big windows in the front and a huge glass door entryway. There were white pillars holding up a balcony with white, French-style doors facing the expansive driveway. There was a huge wraparound porch that went to both sides of the house, and possibly the back it seemed.

"We'll take you inside tomorrow afternoon," Mr. Laestrom said, just as excited as his bouncing wife.  "After we open presents and have our Christmas brunch."

"Thank you so much!" I cried, flinging myself at Mr. Laestrom in a bear hug. I moved over to hug Mrs. Laestrom too. Alex hugged his parents and kissed them both on the cheeks.

"We know that sometimes it can be a bit much staying at home," Mr. Laestrom said, giving a pointed look at Mrs. Laestrom. I'm sure Alex was remembering when she'd used to come barging into our shared room at the beginning of my time here in Asodoria. "But we're keeping your room set up the same way, and it's going to be our new guest room."

"We're going to buy all new furniture for the house," Mrs. Laestrom added. "But I won't be decorating. It'll be you, Sofie." She said. "I know you'd like that."

I nodded. "Thank you guys so much! It's perfect!" I squealed.

"It really is." Alex confirmed. "It's better than anything I could have picked out myself." He admitted. "I tried looking online for some houses, but none of them really seemed to catch my eye."

"Well, we had them build this for you." Mr. Laestrom said. "They've been building it for a few years now."

"Wow," I said, my eyes wide. All the sudden, a shiver swept through my whole body and I stamped my feet to get warm.