Together

Christmas Bells

Well, I barely got this chapter up, but I did haha. Enjoy a little bit of Christmas fluff, because who doesn't love Christmas?! I've been really loving the writing that I'm working on right now for this book, so get excited for that too. Until then, enjoy this, comment and vote!
-ab

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December 25, 2025

Harper

It's weird to think that it's Christmas day. This year has been full of so many amazing things... and Christmas coming really makes me realize that it's almost over.

Today is going to be a nice day. The morning is just set to be Patrick and I, spending some alone time together, and in the late afternoon into the evening, we are hosting our families for dinner. It was just supposed to be Patrick's parents, Taylor, and Joe, but since my parents are in town, I invited them over, too.

When Patrick and I wake up in the morning, we decide to open our presents. We promised each other that we would just get simple gifts. Nothing too elaborate or expensive, as we just gave each other the greatest gift which we could possibly give- a promise of our eternal love for each other. I hope that he holds up to that promise, because I did, and I don't want to be put in an awkward position.

"Do you want to open yours first, or should I?" Patrick asks.

"Ummm... you open mine," I tell him, handing him the box from under our tree. It's quite large, as the gift has a few components to it.

Ripping away the paper, he finds a new pair of slippers on the top of the pile.

Under that, I placed a travel pillow, and in the opening for your neck, is a smaller box, containing a new pair of Apple earbuds, as I knew that his were starting to go bad.

"I thought that it might all come in handy... you know, once we are able to get some travel plans going."

"I love it," he tells me, grabbing my hand and giving it a squeeze. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome, love."

"Now you," he says, pulling a box out from under the tree and placing it in my lap.

I tear the paper away, and open the lid to the box, revealing some red, knitted material.

Pulling it out, I find a lovely red jumper, which is long enough that it's obviously supposed to be a dress.

"Oh!" I exclaim. "That's really pretty, Patrick. I love it."

"There should be something else in there," he tells me, so I pull away the tissue paper underneath the dress, to reveal a book titled The Singer's Musical Theatre Anthology, Volume 1, Soprano.

"I hope that it's alright," he says. "I don't really know a lot about sheet music, but this one looked cool, and it seemed to have a lot of songs in it, and I know that you've mentioned liking some of the shows before, and-"

"Patrick," I cut him off, placing my hand tenderly on his cheek, "I love it. It's amazing. Thank you."

"Oh, thank god," he laughs. "I was so worried that I was buying the wrong thing."

"I'm pretty impressed on the soprano part," I laugh, giving him a wink. Of course, I know that he knows that I sing soprano.

Patrick laughs with me.

There are a few other boxes under the tree, mostly presents from friends, as our family is going to be exchanging gifts when they come over tonight.

I'm not quite sure how exactly Patrick and I ended up being the hosts of Christmas dinner, but I think that Joe volunteered us, stating that the 'newlyweds' should get to spend their Christmas together in their own flat. When Elizabeth asked us if we would be willing to host, we knew that we couldn't exactly say 'no.'

"How do you cook a turkey?" I ask, once the presents from our friends have been opened.

"God, I wish I knew," Patrick laughs, "because we have a seven kilogram turkey in the fridge, which people are expecting to eat tonight."

"Do you just... like... put it in a pan, then put it in the oven and wait for the thingy to pop?"

"That would be the thermometer, love," he laughs. "I'm really not quite sure. Let me search it online."

It takes a few minutes, but we are eventually able to figure out how to take care of the turkey, so we head into the kitchen and do that.

"It needs to cook for like, four hours," he groans. "It'll barely be ready for dinner time, so hopefully it isn't finicky."

"Well, if it is, then that's your mom's fault for making us host," I wink.

"I mean, you're not wrong," Patrick replies.

For the next few hours before our company arrives, we finish cleaning up the apartment while Christmas songs play in the background. Patrick and I sing along to them, making the cleaning all the more fun.

When we are done, we think that we have some time to just sit around and cuddle still, but we hear a knock on the door only ten minutes into our little cuddle session.

"Well, I should probably get that," I say, throwing the blanket off of me and walking over to the door.

"Mom... Dad..." I state. "We weren't expecting you quite yet."

"I know. I'm sorry about that," Mom says, "but we just wanted to come spend some more time with you two, if that's alright."

"Yeah, it's fine," I shrug.

"It smells amazing in here," Dad comments, as he kicks off his shoes.

"Hopefully the turkey tastes as good as it smells," Patrick remarks.

"For the record, he was the one who did the googling that told me what to do, so if it sucks, then we are blaming Patrick."

"Ouch," he tells me, sticking his tongue out playfully, which causes me to burst into giggles.

That night is a really nice dinner. But something is bugging me, in the pit of my stomach.

All night, no matter how hard I try, I can't get it to go away.

What if this is my dad's last Christmas?

I still have so many unanswered questions about his diagnosis, that I'm just too scared to ask. Everyone tiptoes around the topic tonight. I don't want to be the one who brings down the mood.

I also don't know if Patrick's parents, Taylor, or Joe know. I don't know if my parents want them to know.

I'm only able to pick at my food, as I'm quite lost in thoughts for most of the dinner. I think that it worries Patrick.

"Eat something, please," he whispers to me.

"I can't," I reply. "I'm worried."

"What do you mean?"

"About Dad."

"Oh."

I really do try to put on my happy face and have a good Christmas, but I just can't shake all of the questions that are building up inside of me.