Episode 538: Oh Santa

"I have some work I could get done, too," Phillip said. "No sense wasting the day."

"Are you sure about this?" Curran asked, his gut screaming bad idea as they approached Lucy’s door.

"She gave us the best possible gift," Michael said. "Can you imagine what it would be like to spend Christmas without Hope?"

Sebastian looked up, baffled. He generally kept a thorough accounting of every mistletoe sprig Ava pinned up around their home, ensuring he caught her under each at least once a day. There wasn’t any over the bathroom door, yet he’d walked out in nothing but a towel and Ava had backtracked down the hall just to plant a kiss on him.

"Not that I’m complaining," he said, holding her close, "but what was that for?"

"You, ensuring our merry and bright future."

Next Christmas. The future. That was all Lila could think about as she and Bowie worked together trashing the wrappings their boys had eagerly ripped into that morning. Would this be their last Christmas with everything warm and bright? With money in their pockets and food on their table?

Tansy’s parents told her it was finally presents time. She was dying to see what was in the boxes with her name, but not nearly as much as she was dying to give her mom and dad their present. She’d used every penny in her piggy bank, and a little extra from her dad’s mom, who’d taken her shopping. Each necklace had half a heart, and fit together perfect, it would remind her mom and dad that they fit together perfect.

"Don’t do that," Adria said as Ryley fastened the most delicate bracelet to her wrist. She shouldn’t have opened his gift. Shouldn’t have trimmed a tree with him, or spent Christmas morning in bed with him. She shouldn’t still be with him at all.

"It’s your Christmas gift," Ryley said, like that made it okay.

"I didn’t buy you anything," she claimed, thinking that would hurt him, show him they weren’t really together anymore, a message her body had failed to deliver, but her heart wasn’t much of a team player either. She had bought him a little something, and couldn’t let him believe she hadn’t thought of him.

Episode 539: Losing touch