“She was in middle school, Uncle JR,” Kayn disputed.
“Still just a kid,” he stated and dismissed Kayn’s statement with a wave.
“She’s nosy,” Kayn grumbled.
“Did my two-thousand text messages finally get through to you?” the older man asked, ignoring Kayn’s complaint, and chuckled at his comment.
Despite Kayn’s gruff manner, I could tell that he was relieved to be home and grateful for how they welcomed him. His aunt and uncle were genuinely excited about having him home. I could tell by the way they kept looking at him and reaching out to touch him.
“So, Kandi, it’s my favorite time of the year. I can tell by those candy cane earrings that you’re wearing you love the season too,” Aunt Frances stated.
“I do. It’s my absolute favorite time of the year. I have to get this one in the mood by decorating . . . uhm, decorating the house and playing music.” I barely caught myself before saying, “Decorating the office and planning the office Christmas party.”
I hoped that they didn’t ask too many personal questions because I didn’t want to say anything that might cause us to tell conflicting stories.
“Emmanuel has never been very fond of Christmas,” Uncle JR declared.
“I’ve loved Christmas since I was old enough to try to say the words. I think that’s because of all the traditions that my parents created for us through the years,” I explained.
“What kind of traditions?” Frances asked.
“Well, we start on December first with the tree chopping. It’s a major event. We invite our friends and cousins over, and we break up into three groups. Everyone scouts the tree farm for the perfect tree. We take pictures and send them to each other, and then we vote on which tree won. Usually, we take two trees, one for the living room and the other for the family room. Then we return home and make hot apple cider and Christmas cookies.
“We decorate the cookies, and then we turn on Christmas music. Over cookies, cider, and music, we decorate the tree. When that’s finished, everyone sits down and wraps gifts that we have collected throughout the year. About two weeks later, we take those gifts to the orphanage and the senior citizen facilities around the city.”
“Oh my goodness. That’s so sweet.” Frances gushed.
“Yeah. And my mom and my sister, Holly, and I have a day of pampering and Christmas shopping. There are so many thingsthat we do throughout the month to prepare for that very special day.”
“Does Emmanuel get involved with any of that?” JR asked.
I reached over and squeezed Kayn’s hand. Warmth flowed through my body at his touch, and a tingle hit me down below. His brown eyes darkened, and his eyelids hung low. If I weren’t mistaken, I could have sworn lust was in his eyes. But I chalked it up to my desire and my imagination. It was hard, but I broke away from the moment that we shared.
“He doesn’t enjoy doing all those things, but he will appease me on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Throughout the month, he is extremely busy preparing for the new year with all the contract negotiations that come up and the corporate relationships he has to foster. He travels a lot during that season. So, it’s hard for him to be there. What about you all? What traditions do you observe?” I asked and released Kayn’s hand, successfully changing the subject.
“Since the kids all moved away, there aren’t as many traditions anymore. We still decorate the house. We usually do it two weeks before Christmas, when the grandkids are out of school. That’s also when we chop down the tree and decorate it together. We attend the town lighting of the tree. We no longer go ice skating, but we do still carol with the church choir the entire week of Christmas.”
“You loved ice skating, Aunt Frances,” Kayn remarked.
“I know, baby. But these old bones don’t love it,” she replied with a chuckle. “Anyway, on Christmas Eve, we go to church, and then on Christmas Day, we open our gifts and have a big feast,” Frances explained.
“That sounds so nice. I wish that carolers would come to our house or that we would carol. Those are the things that I always see on TV but not in real life,” I professed.
“Well, you could start caroling with a group of friends,” Frances stated.
I glanced over when Kayn and his uncle both stood.
“We’ll be back. We’re getting something to drink from the kitchen,” JR announced.
I turned my attention back to Frances, who was smiling at me. “I’m so happy that our Emmanuel found love. We never thought he would open his heart to anyone, let alone love anyone. Sometimes, I swear it seemed that boy didn’t know how to love.”
I wanted to pry, but if I asked too many questions, I might have invited questions that I could not answer.
“Well, we all grow up,” was all I said.
“What do you do for a living, Kandi?” Frances asked.
I sat back further on the sofa and crossed one leg over the other. Clasping my hands together around my knee, I answered. “Oh, I’m just a life coach. Nothing major.”
