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Most Wonderful Time of the Year (Chapter 4 - By the Cover)

Chapter 4

By Georgia PressleyPublished 6 years ago 4 min read
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Even rides on the bus took on new meaning, Nathan and I sitting side by side, my head resting comfortably on his shoulder.

The Christmas holiday went by much too fast, with Nathan and I spending nearly every waking moment together. I practically live over at his house.

This Christmas would be very special this year, not just because I would get to spend it with my favourite people in the world, my mum and Nathan, but because this might be last one like it. I don't know whether it's because I've had so many Christmases with them or because we have so many traditions that for anyone else would be considered weird. Whereas for us, they're quite normal. Like how we wear matching pajamas on Christmas eve and ugly Christmas sweaters on Christmas day. My mum even hides a Christmas pickle on the tree. And as I mention, you may find that strange, but I love it.

Christmas is the time to be with family and friends, the people that you love and that love you. That is why it's one of my favourite holidays, because of the time I get to spend with them, and every second is a blessing, every single one. That was something I had learned the hard way.

In the final moments of my great grandmother Sylvia's life, she was seriously ill—the cancer that had started in her breasts and had spread throughout her body. But no matter how much pain she was in or how long she had left, she always greeted me and mum the same way—with a smile and a kiss. I was only seven when she passed and had very few years with her, but I will always remember every single detail about her and all of her outrageous stories.

There were many things she used to say that I will never forget, my favorite being something she told me right before she passed. I was bawling my eyes out and she took my chin in her hand and she said, "You're stronger than you think, Rose. You talk to me, a dying person, because it gives me happy memories, enriches my life hearing you talk. It lets me know that I matter and that someone cares, and will continue to care still even when I am gone."

It's been a very long time since she passed and we planted a cherry tree in our front garden, not long after the funeral, in her honour, and it blossoms each spring in every shade of pink imaginable, a reminder of the life of the strongest, kindest, and most determined person that I have ever known. It was then that I realised how important the people you love truly are.

Nathan and I settle down on the sofa near the open fire. I lean against him feeling comfortable and safe within his embrace, just like I was always meant to be there. Mum's sat across from us on the pouffe. Her eyelids start to flutter shut every so often due the fact that the eggnog was starting to kick in. Mum does eventually drift off. I grab a blanket and place it around her shoulders carefully.

"I better put her to bed...oh, before I do...Merry Christmas." I smile, handing him a small red striped package.

Nathan

I hesitate before opening the small precious box, trying to savor this moment of surprise. Rose looks at me, smiling while helping her mother to bed. Lifting the lid, I see a small leather-bound with a golden tree design stretching across it; the shining limbs seem to guide my hand to open the cover. Inside resides a handwritten note from Rose.

"Dear Nathan

Thanks for being one of the few that's never judged me "by the cover."

Merry Christmas

Love,

Rose x"

A smile creeps across my lips as I flip through the pages, seeing memories flicker by. Rose must have gathered every picture we've ever taken together; many hours must have gone into this one tiny book.

Rose

After putting Mum to bed, I walk into the lounge to find Nathan engrossed in the scrapbook I had made him.

"I love it, " Nathan cheers, pulling me down onto the sofa with him.

We quickly settle down to sleep; gently I grab a blanket and lay it over us.

"Merry Christmas," I whisper, before drifting off to sleep.

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