⇾ 𝐈 𝐍𝐄𝐄𝐃 𝐘𝐎𝐔 | 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧

𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑆𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑛: 𝐶ℎ𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑚𝑎𝑠 𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 (𝐼𝑠 𝐻𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝐴𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛)

❝ 𝐶ℎ𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑚𝑎𝑠 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑖𝑠 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛
𝐶ℎ𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑚𝑎𝑠 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑖𝑠 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛
𝐵𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑎𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛...❞

***

When George made it back to his house Christmas Eve night—or Christmas morning, depending on how you looked at it—he couldn't have been more awake.

He decided to go into the kitchen and get a beer out of the fridge. He got the bottle and then set it down immediately so he could strip his tie off, then his shirt, and finally, his trousers.

No one's going to be around anyway, so what difference does it make? he figured.

He sat down in a chair by the fireplace. It was pretty cold in the house, but he didn't really care. He liked the cold. It always gave him the chance to get the biggest blanket he could find to cover himself up and keep him warm. He didn't do that tonight, though. Instead, he decided to light the fireplace that he'd only ever used once before.

He remembered that the last time was with Pattie. She'd been complaining all evening that she was cold, so she begged him to light it. He remembered that she was pleased when the room began to heat up.

And now she was going out with Eric Clapton.

George took a long swig of his drink before he stood up to fix the fireplace.

He didn't need Pattie anyway. Not really. He didn't need Eric Clapton either. He had his Elouise. Elouise seemed to make him happier than Pattie ever had.

When the fire finally lit up and he reached his hands out to feel the warmth of it creep up his arms, he reached over to get his drink again. He tipped the bottle back again, downing another gulp of the substance and wincing at the pleasurable burn it left as it traveled down his throat.

Korky came up beside him and plopped down on the floor at his side. George looked down and saw the cat looking into the fire with curiosity as if he wasn't sure what to think of it. Then, he laid down and curled up against George, causing him to smile.

***

George wasn't sure when he'd fallen asleep, but when he woke up, he was leaned back in one of his recliners. The fire was no longer burning and the table next to him was littered with about five empty beer bottles.

There was a slight pressure in the back of his head, so he pulled himself up and went to get some medicine out of the cabinet.

The house, like it had been before the fire had been lit last night, was cold against his bare skin. He shivered and then looked around, rubbing his hands together to make them warm again. Then, he remembered that it was now Christmas and he smiled to himself.

Nonetheless, he was freezing, so he figured a hot shower was a good start to the day.

Across London, Anna and Ava raced across the hardwood floor in the hallway down to their older sister's bedroom.

"Ellie! Wake up! It's Christmas!" they yelled in unison.

Elouise was finally jolted awake when Anna and Ava hurled themselves onto the bed at her feet.

"I'm up," she groaned, still groggy with sleep. "What time is it?"

"I don't know, but there are presents! Lots of them! Get up!"