Roses Are Red

Chapter 22

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Winter

December 24th, 1960

Christmas had always been Samantha's favorite Holiday. When she was in Santa Rosa, the bay weather made it so snow never fell. Her Christmases were spent by the fire with her Mom and Dad and Grandmother. They were small and quaint. Her mother made an abundance of pastries and her Grandma told stories upon stories of the night she met her Grandfather on Christmas Eve. She would make chocolate chip cookies with her mom to give to Santa Claus. They also had a tradition of leaving out carrots for the reindeer. Samantha and her mother continued to do this even after Samantha discovered that Santa wasn't real. Then, before she would go to bed, her father would read the Night Before Christmas to the family. The next day was always filled with joy. Samantha rarely remembered some of the presents she received as a child. Her childhood memories of Christmas were tinted in gold and filled with happiness.

When she moved to Liverpool, Christmases changed. Ever since the Christmas of 1957, the McCartney men would come over to spend Christmas Eve with them. In the morning, they went to Mimi's for breakfast and Christmas dinner. It always snowed in Liverpool for Christmas. It was the one time of year Samantha was okay with the snow because it was only natural for the weather to grace them with the pretty white for Christmas. She had always wished for snow on Christmas as a girl, and now she was grateful for it.

It was two o'clock in the afternoon when Jim McCartney knocked on the door. Samantha pulled the door open with a big smile and greeted him. Each of the McCartney's held some sort of dish. Jim held what seemed to be mashed potatoes, Paul held some yams, and Mike held Yorkshire pudding. They filed through the door one by one. Jim pulled Samantha in for a small side hug before setting off for the kitchen, eager to see her mother. Paul, seemingly grumpy about something, kissed her cheek haphazardly as he entered. Mike came in behind him. He had grown taller than her in the time she had known him. He was a full blown teen now, at sixteen years old. He didn't have Paul's baby face, and if he had told anyone he was older than Paul they probably would have believed him. He kissed her cheek as well and Samantha shut the door behind him. Once they set their respective dishes down on the table, the party began.

It was the first Christmas that Samantha and Paul were allowed to drink at. Jim was staunch when it came to them drinking years prior. This year, though, he handed both of them a beer with a grin. "Happy Christmas, kids," he said.

"Da, what about the presents at the house?" Paul asked and took a swig of his beer.

"Oh I'll tell Mike to grab 'em," Jim said nonchalantly and turned to find his younger son.

Samantha stared at her beer for a moment before taking a small sip. Paul and her meandered over to the living room where Paul plopped down on the could with an irritated grunt. "What's wrong with you?" Samantha asked and sat down next to him.

"Me Dad was irritated we have a show tonight. 'It's Christmas Eve, son, time for family.'" He quoted his dad in a gruff voice and took another sip of his beer.

Samantha rolled her eyes at his childlike antics. Even after all that time in Hamburg he still didn't act like an adult. Instead of reminding Paul that he had been away from his family for almost four months, she settled for taking his side to brighten his mood. "Well it is, but the band's your job. I was going to tag along for the show. Are you playin' any Elvis? I'd like to hear White Christmas." She sat next to him on the couch and he smiled at her.