Page 37 of Your Love

“Merry Christmas, Wildflower!” he exclaims as he enters the room. He places the elaborately wrapped gifts under the twinkling tree before turning to me. Without hesitation, I leap into his arms, and he effortlessly catches me. My arms wrap around his neck as my legs encircle his waist, and for a moment, nothing else exists outside our embrace. “Happy to see me, Baby?” he whispers in my ear with a chuckle.

“Merry Christmas!” I reply and press my lips to his in a much-awaited kiss. A hint of peppermint lingers on his lips as we break apart, and I inhale the refreshing scent of a forest after rain on his neck. His eyes, a mix of rich brown and warm shades of yellow, twinkle with happiness as they meet mine. “I’ve missed you,” I say, holding onto him tightly. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

His eyes roam around the room, taking in every detail of the festive decorations and lights, and a genuine smile spreads across his face as he turns to me. “It’s beautiful,” he says with wonder in his voice. “Thank you for doing this.”

“I want everything to be perfect for our first Christmas together,” I say, feeling a flutter in my stomach at the potential behind that statement. “I want it to be a special one.”

“We’re together. It will be,” he says firmly. “Do you want to open your gifts? There’s one from Paisley.”

I lean in closer, my eyes scanning his expression. “How is she doing right now?” I ask.

“She’s making slow progress,” he replies with a small smile. His family has been eagerly hoping for a breakthrough, but so far, her traumatic mutism has persisted. “The doctors are still confident that she’ll speak again when she’s ready. They said it could happen suddenly.”

“I have faith that it will,” I reassure him, feeling it in every fiber of my being. Paisley has always been curious and outgoing, and one day, she will use her voice to express it. “Maybe she can come over again and visit the animals,” I suggest.

He nods, and his eyes light up. “She would love that,” he says with a smile. “Have your grandparents added any new animals to the farm?”

“They have!” I exclaim. “They got an emu!”

“So they’re taking in dinosaurs now?” he jokes. Landry likes to give me a hard time about the animals my grandparents adopt, but deep down, he has so much respect for what they do.

“She’s so sweet,” I tell him. “She’s quite the show-off.”

“What’s her name?” he asks.

I shift and try not to release the giggle that threatens to break free.

“What is it?” he asks again.

“Cher,” I blurt out before bursting into laughter.

Landry can’t help his reaction. He doubles over in laughter. “Just when I think this family can’t get any better, you exceed my expectations.”

“You meant to say ‘weirder,’ not ‘better,’” I snort with laughter.

“I wasn’t the one who said it… but. Wait! Did you just snort?” Landry teases.

It occurs to me how much Landry and I laugh when we’re together. We make everything lighter in the world, and there’s no feeling like it.

“Should we open presents?” he asks to deflect from implying we are weird...

“Sure.” Landry’s about to grab a present when my excitement wins out, and I level him in the stomach with a big box wrapped in Rudolph wrapping paper and a giant red bow. The force of the blow causes him to let out an “oomph.”

“Okay. I guess I’ll go first,” he says. I sit on the couch as he begins carefully unwrapping the present. I bite my thumbnail nervously and shift my feet from side to side. Why is he doing this so slowly? Finally, I’ve had enough. I grab the present and begin tearing it apart like a rabid animal.

“I’ll just help you with this,” I say, as pieces of Rudolph’s mutilated paper body fly in different directions.

Once I’ve removed the bow and eviscerated the paper, I place the box gently back on his lap. “Here you go,” I say.

“I hope I like this gift, or can at least fake it, so you don’t do to me what you did to that wrapping paper,” he jokes.

He opens the box and stares at the gift in his lap. “No way!” He shouts. “Are you kidding me?”

“Do you like it?” I ask, my hands steepled in front of my face in silent prayer.

“I love it!” He exclaims, setting it to the side and pulling me onto his lap in a tight embrace.

I bury my face in his neck and laugh. Pulling back, I meet his gaze with a mischievous smile. “I called your mom and made sure it was something you wanted.”