The next day was Christmas Eve. I woke up to an empty bed and Joe's side was cold meaning he had been gone a while. I wrapped myself up even more in the blanket and looked out the window, slowly waking up. I saw a gray sky with small amounts of snow falling from it. I got up and got myself ready for the day. Throwing on a sweater and some leggings. I walked into the bathroom, brushing my hair and teeth, and then going downstairs to greet everyone.
Joe was in the kitchen helping his mother make some food. They were making a Christmas ham, potatoes, pasta, salads, and all sorts of other foods. It all smelled so delicious. I walked further into the kitchen with a big smile on my face.
"Smells lovely," I commented.
"Morning," Joe said with a sigh and a smile. He walked over and kissed me on the cheek. I put my hand on his arm as he did. "Merry Christmas," I whispered.
"Merry Christmas," he answered. He quickly went back to the stove, helping Virginia add some garnish to a dish before it went in the oven.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" I asked. Ready to be the domestic, doting girlfriend whom Joe's family would hopefully fall in love with.
"Yes, actually," Virginia said. "There are some ingredients over there. They're ready to go in that bowl. Just add them in and stir it until they're all mixed," she instructed.
"Can do," I said in a chipper tone. I moved over to the bowl, adding in what looked to be eggs, flour, sugar, milk, and cream into a bowl. Probably getting ready to make some sort of cake or dessert. I poured them in one by one as I heard Virginia instructing Joe about how to place the garnish correctly. I grabbed a plastic spoon and started to mix everything together until it became one slightly yellow color. I put the spoon down after tapping it on the side of the bowl a couple of times. Once the two of them were finished, Joe's mom put the dish in the oven and set a timer, placing it on the counter for everyone to see and hear.
"Now, your brother and sister should be here at about 3," Virginia said to Joe. "And the nephews are coming, so we need as much food as possible," she said. I could tell she wanted to please everyone. Making a big meal for the whole family to eat was such an intimate thing and she seemed to be doing it with practiced ease. She walked over to Joe and placed a hand on his cheek. "But, we can take a little break now. Wait until that dish is done and then put the next one in," She turned toward me and smiled. "Thanks for your help dear," she smiled. She left the kitchen and sat down in the living room.
"Why didn't you wake me?" I asked Joe in a quiet tone.
"I wanted to let you sleep. You looked so tired yesterday," He walked closer to me. "I wanted you to get your beauty sleep. You needed it," he couldn't keep a straight face as he talked. I scoffed at him and hit his arm. He chuckled as he wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me flush against him. "Come on, you know I'm kidding," he placed a small kiss on my lips. "You're always a beauty." He kissed me again.
"Okay, I'll let you off just this once." I squinted at him. He chuckled at my joke.
"Thank you for helping," he said, his tone a bit more serious.
"I like helping," I replied. He let go of me and glanced into the living room. I looked too. His dad sitting in the same chair as before and his mom sitting on the couch. Watching some Christmas movie that I hadn't seen before.
"Want to join them for a while?" he asked. I nodded. Joe grabbed my hand as we walked into the living room. I stopped before sitting down and moved over to Joe's dad. I grabbed his hand, patting it a couple of times and kneeling down in front of him.
"Good morning," I said. "Merry Christmas." I gave him a big smile, which he returned. I walked back over to Joe, plopping down on the couch next to him. We watched the movie for a while. Going back and forth between the kitchen and the living room to put more dishes in the oven to cook. When 3 pm rolled around, Joe's siblings walked through the doors. Their significant others and children with them. Joe's face lit up when he saw his nephews. The little boys ran to him and hugged him Jumping up and climbing all over him.
The house was now filled with happy laughter, small screams, and talking. It made everything feel warmer, just like it should on Christmas. I sat next to Joe on the couch, giving him a bit of space so the kids could be just as rowdy as they wanted to with him. Kicking and punching him for fun. He was joking with them, tickling them, and laughing with them. It made my heart swell. And for the first time, I thought about having kids with Joe.
I thought about how great of a dad he would be. How much fun our kid would have playing with him. Joe would always joke around and try to make our child as happy as possible all the time. Always trying to make them smile and laugh no matter what. But at the same time, he would be so loving and understanding. Listening to our kid when something was bothering them and holding them when they would cry. I imagined Joe cradling our newborn baby who was crying and wouldn't stop. How he would be cooing at it and shushing it with so much love in his eyes. Possibly wanting to cry because that's what the baby was doing. I couldn't stop the thoughts running through my head as he played with the children.
Eventually, my thoughts were broken when the kids started asking questions about who I was. Why they didn't know me. Joe introduced me to them, but as soon as they knew who I was, they lost interest. Going back to play with Joe. I walked from the kitchen to the living room, looking for something to do or help with in the meantime. But, before I could find anything, the food was ready.
We all sat around the dining room table, even Joe's dad, and we began filling our plates. I heard the family tell stories to each other. I jumped in whenever I could, but for the most part, I just listened. It was all fascinating. Just getting to see the dynamic of the family that Joe came from. I could tell that they were related to him. They were all a little chaotic, funny, and charming.
The food was delicious. Every plate crafted with love and every bite was fabulous. It was a great moment to spend with everyone. Joe would occasionally put his hand on my leg, reassuring me that I was doing a good job and that he loved me. When the meal finished, everyone helped carry dishes to the kitchen. Helping with some of the cleaning duties. Not long after that, once everyone could move again from all the food they just ate, Joe's siblings left. So once again, it was just Joe, me, and his parents. I helped his mom in the kitchen, cleaning the last plates and dishes.
"Can I ask you something?" Virginia asked out of the blue.
"Yes, of course," I answered.
"What are your intentions with Joe?" she asked. It wasn't mean, but she just wanted to know.
"Excuse me?" I asked, making sure that I had heard her correctly.
"I think you heard me, dear." She replied. I looked around the corner to make sure that Joe couldn't hear me.
"Well," I said with a scoff. "I love him. Very much. More than anyone else in the world, ever." I added. "He showed me that I deserve someone who loves me. And no one has loved me more than him. So, what are my intentions?" I repeated her question. "Hopefully to marry him one day. I can only hope he wants the same thing. Because at this point, I can't imagine what my life would be like without him. He's too important to me." I finished. I looked up at her. She had a smile on her face. A genuine smile.
"Good," she started. "I just wanted to make sure because I haven't seen him this happy in a long time." I couldn't help but giggle at her comment. We finished up in the kitchen. The unconscious tension we had now vanished. We sat on the couch and watched more TV for the rest of the night. Having small conversations here and there and commenting on what was on TV. We were all so tired from all the food we had eaten and didn't want to expel any more energy than need be. At around 10 pm, Joe started nodding off on the couch. I nudged his arm a couple of times to wake him up. When he jolted awake, I gave him a soft chuckle.
"Wanna go to bed?" I asked. He closed his eyes and nodded at me. "Okay." I turned toward Virginia. "I think we're gonna go to bed," I explained. She nodded at me.
"Alright, good night. See you in the morning," she said. I smiled at her.
"Merry Christmas," I said to both of his parents.
"Merry Christmas," Virginia repeated. I placed my hand on Joe's dad's hand.
"Good night," I said. Joe did the same, except he gave his dad a kiss goodnight. We walked up the stairs. We got ready for bed and crawled in together. I cuddled up to him. Putting my face into the crook of his neck, wanting to feel his warmth around me. He wrapped his arms around my waist. He slowly started to kiss the top of my head. I brought my face up and placed soft kisses on his lips. Our laziness bleeding into each other's lips. I dragged my thumb across his jaw. He shifted and hovered over me. Holding himself up by his forearms and kissing me a little harder than before. We let out small giggles at what we were doing. Like we were kids hiding from our parents.
"I love you so much, you know that?" he asked.
"Mm-hmm," I hummed with a smile as we kept kissing. "And I love you just as much," I responded. His hands glided over my body. My waist and hips were his main focus.
"Did my mom grill you about being with me?" he asked. He pulled away to see my face.
"Yeah, she did," I answered.
"What did you say?" He plopped onto the bed next to me.
"I said that I loved you and wanted to be with you for as long as you'll have me." I was paraphrasing, not wanting to tell him that I had talked about marrying him. I thought it might frighten him if he hadn't thought about it himself.
"Good," he tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear. "Because I feel the same way." I leaned in and gave him a harsh kiss on the lips, happy we felt this way about each other. I placed a couple more kisses into him before pulling away. He laughed. "I don't think I can stay up much longer. I might pass out," he joked.
"Okay, good night," I said. We fell asleep, waiting for Christmas to come.
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The next morning, we were woken up by the sound of the front door opening and closing. Voices from downstairs, laughing, and Christmas music blasting through the house. I was fully awake before I saw Joe toss and turn, telling me he was woken up by the same loud noises. Then, before we knew it, our bedroom door flung open and Joe's nephews came running in. Jumping up on the bed and onto Joe. Crushing him beneath them. Joe grunted from the sudden weight. The young boys screaming and yelling for him to wake up. It was Christmas Day and I guess they were told they couldn't open any presents until everyone was awake. We were the only two still in bed.
"Okay, okay," Joe said in a gravely, but cheerful voice. "I'm up," he sighed. The kids ran downstairs and back to their parents. Joe sat on the edge of the bed, chuckling to himself before getting up, throwing on a hoodie. His Christmas themed pajama pants would do just fine for now.
I, on the other hand, was wearing matching Christmas pajamas, ones that buttoned up in the front. They were red with mistletoe all over them. I got up with Joe and we walked downstairs. Figuring that if the family wanted us up this early, they would have to deal with us in our pajamas.
We sat on the floor in front of the couch. We wanted to be on the same level as the kids. Their parents had brought most of their presents over to the house so they could open them with their grandparents watching. The kids were really the only ones to have a lot of presents. Joe's siblings and Joe had brought presents to give to their parents, but we didn't bring any to give to each other. We figured we would be home the day after Christmas so it didn't matter to us if we waited another day.
We just enjoyed the time with Joe's family. Watching them unwrap gifts and throw the wrapping paper about. A couple hours later, after every present was unwrapped, the living room looked like a war zone, and we had all eaten our fill of Christmas themed treats, Joe's brother and sister left with their families. Joe and I went up to our room to finally get ready for the day. Once I was in the bedroom, I made a B-line for my drawer, grabbing a handful of clothes to change into for the day. Joe grabbed my arm and stopped me before I could leave the room again.
"Hold on," he said with a laugh. I stopped and backed up a couple of steps, letting my calves rest against the bedframe. "I brought a present for you."
"I thought we weren't bringing presents with us," I stated. I placed the clothes down on the bed in a heap, not caring if they got wrinkled.
"I wasn't going to, but I wanted to give you this on Christmas. I wanted it to be special," he rummaged through his suitcase and pulled out a thin wrapped present that must have been some kind of clothing. I raised an eyebrow at it. "I also wanted to give this to you when it was just us." He sat on the edge of the bed and patted the spot next to him. I sat down allowing the side of my body to be flush against his. "Merry Christmas, baby," he said, kissing my temple and placing the package in my lap.
It was wrapped in red wrapping paper and almost blended in with my pajamas. It had a purple, taped-on bow. There was a flap of wrapping paper taped to the rest of it, I pulled it open to see a message.
To my love
I smiled down at it, feeling Joe watching my every move. I began to tear the wrapping paper off. With a perfect piece in hand and one sharp pull, I had tore a big piece off the top, revealing what was inside. I gasped when I saw it, immediately knowing what it was. The pink graphic button-up shirt staring me in the face. The small cartoons with blue and green backgrounds donning the shirt.
"Deacy's Live Aid shirt?" I asked. My voice was high-pitched from the utter surprise.
"Yes, well, my shirt exactly." I looked over at him with wide eyes before pulling the shirt from the confines of the wrapping paper. Unfolding it and holding it out in front of me. I let the wrapping paper glide to the floor, not caring about it anymore. I was shocked. Speechless. Dumbfounded.
"How...?" That was all I could get out, garnering a laugh from Joe.
"I had to pull a few strings, but I convinced the costume department to let me keep it. I figured it was made specifically for that scene and no one was going to need it again, probably. So, I asked for it. They agreed. And now I'm giving it to you because I know you'll appreciate it." I kept looking at the shirt, tracing my eyes along every cartoon and stitch. "It's one of a kind," Joe said. I turned to him.
"Just like me?" I joked, knowing that was exactly what he was going to say.
"Hey, that was supposed to be my line," he retorted, shocked that I could read his mind like that.
"Always being the cheesy one," I replied, rocking into him a bit and smiling wide. I looked back at the shirt and my tone became more serious. I rested both the shirt and my hands in my lap. "I can't believe you got me this," I said softly. "Thank you," my tone had turned more into a whisper.
"You're welcome," he said, rubbing my back slowly. I kissed him. Our lips lingering together for a long time. When we finally pulled away, I looked down at the shirt and then back up to him.
"I'm gonna tell you right now that nothing I got you can compare to this." We both laughed. I had tried my best with getting Joe presents, but he was really difficult to buy for.
"I'll be honest too," He leaned in closer before whispering to me. "This is the best gift. I started with a home run. Everything else is going to be a disappointment." We started laughing again, knowing that our love for each other was enough of a present. I kissed him on the cheek, thanking him one last time.
"You are going to be repaid big for this when we get back to London," I smirked at him.
"Am I?" He asked cheekily. I nodded.
"Maybe I'll come to bed wearing nothing but this shirt," I offered. His eyes grew dark at the thought and he growled softly.
"I'd like that a lot," he added. We kissed again, this time a bit hungrier than before.
"But, I think right now, we should get ready. Get out of our pajamas." I suggested. Joe nodded and we got ready for the day. Spending it with Joe's family and going outside to play in the snow a little bit. Our first Christmas together was more than I could have ever asked for and it got me excited at the prospect of spending many more with him.