UNEXPECTED

Chapter 42

Once they got back inside, Clay glanced around the house, seeing all sorts of Christmas decorations already put up and making the house look really good, cheery, and festive. Looking behind him, Clay noticed how the front door was framed with some lit garland, and there was a lit wreath hanging on the front door as well. Turning and glancing around more, there was some lit garnand lining the stair railing, and there were also a few reindeer figurines placed throughout the decorated house. Now that Matt and Clay were free to help, and since Lainie had already taken time to move the furniture around a little, the Jensen family of three was all set to bring in their Christmas tree and get it decorated with lights and some colorful ornaments.

After Matt and Clay teamed up and got the tree set up in the den, the two adults and teenager worked together to wind a couple strands of multicolored lights around the tree that was about a foot or so taller than Clay. After the lights were placed around the tree, Clay helped his mother retrieve some ornament boxes, and soon the Jensen family began decorating their Christmas tree together as a family. Clay smiled to himself as the tree was slowly filling up with ornaments and even some candycanes here and there, which Clay would sneak one for himself every so often when it came to decorating the tree with the irresistible holiday sweet. Getting the house ready for the holidays had always been the 18-year-old's favorite part of the cold December season. Maybe it was something about doing it together, but Clay felt like decorating for the holidays somehow brought the family closer together. And even though Anthony was no longer with them, Clay still hung some of his little brother's ornaments on the tree every year, because seeing his younger sibling's ornaments there made it feel like Anthony was still there with him. Sure, it is fairly early to be putting up a Christmas tree, considering it's not even December yet. The Jensen family just wanted to have some time to enjoy having a tree up, as well as enjoy having their house decorated for the holidays, because Liberty High's Winter break begins December 17th, and Clay and his parents will be leaving for South Dakota the very next day, on the 18th.

After Clay helped decorate the tree for a while, he headed up to his room to get changed for his evening shift at the Crestmont theater. After he had changed into his work attire, the boy headed back downstairs, said goodbye to his parents, and headed out the door. The 18-year-old smiled and chuckled to himself as soon as he caught sight of his car. The Jensen boy's car had even been decorated for the holidays as a small wreath was securely attached to the front of his car. After a few seconds, Clay walked over and got into his car and started the engine. The boy then turned on the radio and scanned the stations. When he found what he was looking for, Clay turned the volume up a bit, filling the vehicle with the Christmas music that played on the holiday radio station. After he buckled his seatbelt, the Jensen boy proceeded to drive off and make his way down the familiar route that he always took to work.

Pulling into a parking space, Clay smiled to himself when he took notice of a certain black car, meaning that Hannah was already inside the theater. Turning off the engine, Clay got out of his car and locked it before heading inside, welcoming the warm feeling that the Crestmont Theater provided. The boy smiled when he glanced around, seeing a couple Christmas decorations around the lobby, and the festiveness only made it feel that much more like Christmas to the teenage Jensen boy.

"Hey, Helmet." Hannah greeted, smiling at her boyfriend as he walked over to join her behind the consessions counter. "Hey, Hannah." Clay greeted back, smiling his adorable smile at the girl. "I haven't seen you all day. What have you been up to?" The teen asked curiously. "Oh, I was just helping my parents around the house a bit. They wanted to get a head start with putting some decorations up around the house." The boy explained. Hannah smiled at his response. "I guess it never hurts to get a head start on the holidays, huh?" She commented with a bright smile, resulting in her boyfriend nodding his head in agreement, flashing a smile of his own in return as well.