As they were all finishing up the meal, she saw Rachel, seated two chairs down from her, pull out her phone. She held her breath, hoping that it might be Jack and that Rachel would immediately turn to her with news.
But instead, Rachel just set her phone down and turned back to her conversation with Corbin, who sat on her other side. Noelle’s shoulders slumped a bit as she exhaled and pulled outher own phone, checking to make sure that there weren’t any messages that she hadn’t felt come in. There weren’t.
She turned to Aiden. “What do you hope Santa brings you for Christmas?”
“Paper,” Aiden said while driving half of a Brussels sprout on the end of his fork around his mashed potatoes like it was a racetrack.
“Paper?”
“Yeah. I used all we had making snowflakes, and I want to make some more.”
She chuckled. “You’re a cool kid, Aiden.”
Corbin stood up and put his napkin on the table. “I just realized that I forgot something we need for dessert. I’m going to go get it.”
Everyone looked at him in confusion.
“It’s Christmas Eve,” her mom said. “You’re not going to find a place that’s open. What did you forget? I’m sure we can come up with something or do without.”
He shook his head as he headed toward the front door. “No, it’s important. We really need it.” And then he rushed into the living room, and a moment later, they heard the front door open and close.
Noelle pushed some of her own food around her plate. She just wasn’t feeling so hungry.
“Is everyone done?” Katie asked. “I’m super proud of this year’s video, and I can’t wait for you all to see it!”
Everyone carried their plates to the kitchen and cleaned them up, then went to the family room side of the room and piled on the couches and floor, leaning against the sofas and legs. As everyone snuggled into each other, Noelle felt the loss of Jack even more, even though she had a nephew on one side of her, a niece on the other, and two nephews on her lap. She would give anything to be able to snuggle into Jack right now.
The video started with a screen sayingAn Allred Christmas, then went to her mom, who was standing in the kitchen, with everyone working on their gingerbread train cars in the background. “One of my favorite things about Christmas is family. You are all a huge part of what makes this holiday so special.”
Then her dad, obviously on the night of the Mystery Santa Hat activity, said, “I love you all. I want you to know that. I also want you to know that I still plan to take home the trophy tonight for Best Meal. That spot on our mantle has gone too long without a trophy, so we plan to give it all we’ve got.”
A few of her siblings, siblings-in-law, nieces, and nephews told a few things about their favorite Christmas things or things they loved about this year, then it cut to Aiden. “And I heard Mom tell Mrs. Sowards that she was glad that Jack asked Noelle for help because Jack has been more smiley since he started hanging out with Noelle. And she thinks that he’s pretty much in love with her. You know, the kind of love where there’s kissing and marriage and sneaking food off each other’s plates.”
Everyone in the room laughed and commented and clapped at Aiden’s clip, and Aiden beamed. Noelle’s face flamed just as red now as it had when she’d heard Aiden say it during the hayride.
Then the video cut to Jack, and she sat up straight. “I didn’t know you interviewed Jack!” It looked like it had been filmed the night of the hayride, too. She wasn’t even sure how it had happened without her noticing. It was when they were at her parents’ house, but she wasn’t sure if it was before they had left or after they’d returned.
“It’s hard for me to express how much I appreciate you all opening up your home and your traditions to Aiden and me and Rachel. This has all been unlike anything I’ve experienced. I grew up with all celebrations at Christmastime being non-existent. I thought I was fine without any of that because it was just the way things had always been. And Iwasfine.
“I didn’t know how much I had needed things like this—family, traditions, acceptance—until you showed it to me and healed a part of my heart that I hadn’t known had been broken.”
Tears were falling down Noelle’s face, and Weston turned from where he sat on her lap and said, “Are you sad?”
Someone passed a tissue down the couch to her, and she took it and dabbed at her eyes.
“I have loved seeing how much joy all of your traditions brought into Aiden’s life as well. And I have loved seeing Rachel’s face when Aiden tells her all about it. I know it has meant the world to her to know her son got to experience so many wonderful Christmas traditions. I will be forever grateful for you all.”
The tears were streaming now, and she heard more than a few sniffles from everyone else. Now Tommy had turned in her lap to watch her with concern on his face, too.
The front door opened, and twenty heads all turned in unison to see who it was. “All right,” Corbin said, “I got what we needed for dessert!”
And then he moved to the side, and Noelle saw Jack standing at the door, stomping the snow off his boots. He carried a couple of packages in one arm and a bouquet of beautiful red, green, and white flowers in the other, and she desperately wanted to be next to him.
As she extricated herself from her niece and nephews and the kids sitting on the floor who were using her legs for a backrest, Jack had made his way to where her mom had stood to welcome him. He handed her the flowers and said, “These are to say thank you for hosting tonight and for inviting us.”
She thanked him and gave him a hug, then Corbin took the two packages from him and set them on a side table.
Then Noelle got free, stepped between what seemed like a dozen legs outstretched on the floor, and breathed, “You came” as she finally reached him.
