Episode 483: Merry Christmas Baby

Every time he glanced at his wife, a chill raced through him.

After much tinkering on his dad and his cousin’s part, the majestic pine finally stood firm in the plastic tree stand, affording Quent the opportunity to release the trunk and go to Justine.

While everyone else, including their gorgeously happy little girl dug into fresh baked cookies and boxes of ornaments, his wife hovered on the sidelines, leaning against a door jamb, just watching.

"Hey," he said, slipping an arm snug around her waist.

"Hey," she said, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Tans is loving this. Sugar and sparkly things, two of her favorites. And of course her Gram and Gramps doting all over her."

"I’m sorry, baby, it didn’t hit me until we got here how this would be for you," he apologized. "The last thing I’d ever mean to do is rub in your face that you don’t have this with your own parents. We could leave early if you want." His mom and his sister wouldn’t be thrilled but then they’d never been all that thrilled with Justine’s lack of natural domesticity anyway, so it wouldn’t make much difference. At least though they weren’t hell-bent enough against his choice to banish him or his wife from their lives.

"It’s hard for me," Justine admitted, snuggling into him. "But like I said, Tans is loving this. Knowing I’d taken that way from her would be even harder."

"It seems impossible to me, but somewhere in the middle of those beautiful selfless words, I just fell even more in love with you," Quent marveled, and turned her suddenly beaming face to him for a good and proper, more than mistletoe worthy kiss, a your parents are the biggest morons in the history of the world to ever push you out of their lives, kiss.

Episode 484: Joy To The World