A December to Remember: a Holiday Romance Anthology

by Howe, Olivia

  One by one, Brant and Holly placed the brightly colored gifts under the Christmas tree. When the last one was under the tree, Holly yelled out, “Is that it?”

  “No,” Brant said with a laugh. He continued, “Follow me.”

  Brant led Holly out to his truck where he pulled the cover off of his flatbed to reveal even more presents.

  “These kids are spoiled rotten,” remarked Holly bluntly as she laughed at the sheer amount of presents they were to receive this year.

  “There’s some things in there for you, too,” said Brant as he nudged Holly with his elbow playfully.

  *****

  After the presents were under the tree and the candles were doused and the music ceased, Brant and Holly enjoyed the warm serenity that had enveloped them. Although the house was quiet, it was filled with everyone who loved them. Brant and Holly slumped down on the couch, dead tired but still aglow from the amazing day that just passed.

  Holly shook her head in amazement, “I never knew it could be like this.”

  “Well, you know, we could do this every year if you wanted to.”

  “I’d like that...” said Holly honestly.

  Brant kissed Holly on her forehead, as he pulled her closer into him.

  “Hey,” said Holly, suddenly realizing she had no idea where everyone was sleeping. “Where did you tell my Dad to sleep?”

  Brant started laughing hysterically.

  “What?” said Holly with no idea what was so funny.

  “I put him and Gloria in the third floor front bedroom together.”

  Holly’s eyes went wide.

  “I owed the guy a favor. Gloria said he could stay as long as he kept to his side of the bed.”

  “Oh my God!” said Holly as she began to laugh.

  “Now if you have a new brother or sister nine months from now…”

  “Jesus, don’t even joke like that!”

  “Where did you tell Sloane to sleep?”

  “She’s on the futon downstairs…”

  “With the guys?”

  “Yeah, she made them sleep in sleeping bags on the floor. Luke didn’t seem to mind, but Greg was kind of annoyed!”

  “That’s because Luke has the hots for Sloane, and Greg still hasn’t forgiven her for Karaoke night three years ago,” said Brant referring to the incident where Sloane sang “Pretty Fly for a White Guy” to Greg on the stage at Crooner’s Karaoake Bar in Devon.

  “Ah, yes. Now that was funny.”

  The pair continued to talk until they were too tired to go on. They walked down the long hallway towards their bedroom, quietly peeking in on their children who were nestled in their beds before they turned in.

  Brant couldn’t believe how his luck had changed. It certainly wasn’t without some help from his friends, though. Marv and Sloane were instrumental in making sure today went as planned. He couldn’t thank them enough for all they had done. Marv picked up the ring from the jeweler, while Sloane used Brant’s credit cards to secure flights for Holly’s mom, Brant’s parents, and the kids. She was also the one who planned the impromptu holiday party, not to mention the ridiculously lavish gift she had given them as an engagement present. Today was a day full of surprises.

  Holly laid in bed next to Brant, carefully watching his face as he stared off, deep in thought. Holly gently stroked his face, bringing his attention back to her. He smiled, but only slightly.

  “Are you okay?” Holly asked with worry in her voice. Her gentle touch and caring nature was calming to Brant. He kissed her hand and replied as a tear formed in his deep blue eyes, “Never better.”

  Chapter Twelve

  All I Want For Christmas…

  Edgemont Residence

  December 25, 2013

  “Mommy! Daddy! Wake up!” yelled a tiny voice from outside of Holly and Brant’s bedroom. Holly stirred, lifting her head off of Brant’s bare chest.

  “What time is it?” asked Holly groggily.

  “Too early,” Brant said, still half asleep.

  Belle yelled again, only this time an octave louder. “Mommy! Daddy! I think Santa came! You have to wake up!”

  Brant began to groan in bed, due to the rude wake up call. He glanced at the alarm clock that sat on Holly’s night stand.

  5:38 A.M.

  “Go back to sleep, Belle!” Holly pleaded.

  Brant and Holly heard her tiny footsteps scamper off down the hall and they thought they had the all clear to fall back asleep. Holly cozied up to Brant again as a relaxed smile washed across his face. It would not last long though, because a moment later they could hear shouting coming from Jake’s room – the next bedroom over. Belle had clearly woken up Jake and Brant knew that there was no going back to sleep now. Holly and Brant laughed as they awaited the on-slaught.

  “Christmas! Wake up, Chloe! It’s Christmas!” yelled Jake as he and his youngest sister barged into Chloe’s messy room.

  “Christmas!” Chloe replied sleepily but with ample excitement. “Did Santa come?!”

  “Of course, he came!” replied Belle, her voice now a high pitched shrill that caused Brant’s ear drums to hurt.

  “C’mon! Let’s go wake up them up!” shouted Jake leading the calvary to Brant and Holly’s bedroom.

  The peace of the early morning was broken by a ruckus that sounded remarkably like a heard of rhinos stampeding down the hallway. Suddenly, the bedroom door flew open with a bang as the kids stormed through and climbed into bed with their parents. The next thing Holly and Brant knew, they were under a dog pile of children who were very eager to open their gifts before the sun had even risen in the sky. Jake jumped up and down on their bed with excitement, as Belle belly flopped onto Brant’s chest. Meanwhile, Chloe had resorted to tickling Holly to try to wake her up.

  Brant grabbed hold of Belle and tickled her as he held Jake at bay with his strong arm. Holly had escaped Chloe’s grip and ran to her en-suite bathroom and locked herself in.

  “C’mon! We want to see what Santa brought us!” yelled Chloe.

  “But its not even 6 A.M.!” Brant protested.

  Jake yelled, “It will be in thirteen minutes!”

  Brant laughed and replied, “Okay, stay here for thirteen minutes and let us check out the situation downstairs.” Brant spoke as if he had to survey a dangerous threat in the living room.

  “Dad!” complained Chloe.

  Holly, who had come out of her hiding place, agreed with Brant.

  “Your father is right. Besides, I have to get my camera!”

  Holly and Brant walked out into the hallway, leaving their over-excited children in the bedroom with disgruntled looks upon their faces. Holly watched as Brant secured a child safety gate at the top of the steps to keep the kids from coming downstairs before they were ready.

  Holly and Brant quietly tip-toed down the stairs, trying not to wake anybody else up, but it immediately became apparent that their children were not the only early birds in the house. They bypassed the beautifully decorated tree with the stock pile of presents waiting for the family, and they began walking towards the kitchen. They could hear a pair of voices coming from the kitchen. Brant and Holly looked at each other with confused glances and quietly approached the kitchen door. They could hear what sounded like a man and a woman singing “I Got You Babe,” the song made famous by Sonny and Cher, only the rendition coming from the kitchen had no rhythm and was sorely out of key.

  Holly stood behind Brant as she tried to silence her laughter. Then, just as Brant was about to open the door, the female voice said in a playful Bostonian accent, “Marv! You’re so fresh!”

  Brant and Holly quickly turned their heads towards each other, their eyes wide and mouths gaping.

  “Is that who I think it is?!” Holly whispered to Brant in amazement.

  “I think so…” said Brant, still laughing. He held a finger up to his mouth as he quietly opened the door to get a peek.

 
Marv and Gloria were dancing around the kitchen, as they made breakfast. Their song had gone off the radio, and a new one came on: “My Boyfriend’s Back” by the Angels – a song from Marv and Gloria’s hey day. Marv held out a hand for Gloria, and she threw her dish towel onto the counter. Suddenly the pair were dancing all around the kitchen, and Gloria was saucily singing along and Marv laughed. It wasn’t until the song ended that Gloria and Marv realized that they had company. Brant and Holly were staring at them with amused expressions and awkward smiles.

  “Oh, hi there!” gushed Gloria, “We’re in the middle of making breakfast! Pancakes, scrapple and eggs.”

  Marv, with an embarrassed smile, said, “Hi guys… Uh… how long have you been standing there?”

  “Long enough,” Holly admitted.

  “Nice dance moves, old man,” quipped Brant.

  Marv could do nothing but laugh.

  *****

  “Alright, guys… You can come down now!” Holly yelled up the steps to her three children who were not-so-patiently waiting at the top of the steps behind the child safety gate.

  “Finally!” yelled Jake as he unlocked the gate and began running down the steps with Chloe and Belle on his heels. Holly snapped a few pictures as they rushed to the Christmas tree.

  As wrapping paper flew in the air, the kids rejoiced at all the treasures they received. While Holly continuously snapped pictures of the kids with a smile, Brant watched her with an intense look on his face.

  She put her camera down for a second and realized that she was being stared at. She glanced over at him with a self-conscious look on her face.

  “What?”

  Brant smiled. “I have something for you.”

  “You’ve already given me too much.”

  Brant shook his head.

  “I haven’t give you enough, but I hope I can change that.”

  Brant reached into the top of Holly’s stocking where he had placed a small wrapped present the night before. He pulled the small package that he had wrapped himself out of the stocking and handed it to Holly.

  “You didn’t have to get me anything…”

  “Are you kidding? Look at my gift pile over there…” said Brant referring to the things that Holly had purchased him at Cabela’s last night, plus one small box on top.

  “That’s nothing.”

  “Open it.”

  Holly smiled as she began to tear the giftwrap off of the Horschman jewelry box. She couldn’t believe how thoughtful everyone was being this year, especially Brant. Slowly, she lifted the lid of the box as the contents within stole her breath away.

  “It’s a journey necklace. The diamond at the top is small, that represents our beginning. Each diamond gets a little bigger as the journey progresses. The fifth diamond, the largest, is meant to represent our future - the biggest and brightest of them all.”

  Holly looked down at the beautiful white gold necklace with five diamonds curved in a row.

  “I thought it was neat because the diamonds don’t go straight in a line, but on a curve, like a road. Our road hasn’t been easy, but that doesn’t mean our love is any less strong or beautiful.”

  Holly looked as if she was on the verge of tears.

  “Oh, Brant… It’s so beautiful!

  She put her camera down, and kissed Brant in front of everyone. This time the kids didn’t notice because they were too busy unwrapping their presents. Slowly, Holly removed her hand from Brant’s cheek.

  “You’re entirely too good to me. I’ll give you your presents after the kids are done,” Holly said with a smile.

  “Sounds good. I have more for you over there,” said Brant pointing to another ridiculously large pile of presents in the corner next to the sofa.

  “Good God, Brant!”

  “I got a good Christmas bonus this year,” Brant said matter-of-factly, as if it was no big deal, and effectively closed the conversation as Brant began to pick crumpled up bits of wrapping paper off of the floor. He spotted a red bow on the floor and plopped it on top of Belle’s head, the sticky back clinging to her blonde hair. Holly snapped her camera just in time to catch Belle looking up at her father with a sweet smile, and Brant smiled back, some his former pride returning to his face.

  *****

  “Hand me that present over there,” said Brant to Marv who was sitting on the couch opening a present of his own. Marv grabbed the small box on top of Brant’s pile and tossed it as Holly eyed it nervously. It was a simple black box, flat and light. Brant shook it by his ear to hear what sound it made.

  “Hmm… I can’t guess this one,” said Brant with a perplexed look on his face. He had correctly guessed the last ten of his presents that he had opened from his parents.

  On top of the present there was a bright red tag that read:

  My Dearest Brant,

  Key to my heart. Key to our house. Welcome home.

  Love Always,

  Holly

  Brant’s heart quickened as he opened the box and found the silver key that unlocked the front door of 56 Wallace Road. He was blown away. It was official. Brant was moving back in. As Brant took the key out of the box and reached for his key chain from his back pocket, he held it up and smiled at Holly. No words could possibly express how happy he was. He was already planning in his head when he could get his stuff from his cramped apartment.

  Suddenly, a crash coming from the direction of the basement door caught everyone’s attention. It sounded like someone was dragging something incredibly heavy up the basement steps. Sloane appeared at the top of the basement steps and she was yelling directions at her lackies, Luke and Greg.

  “Be careful, now! Don’t drop it!” she demanded.

  Finally, after several moments of stern direction from Sloane, who was still dressed in her candy-striped Christmas pajamas, Greg and Luke appeared in the living room carrying a huge red fabric sack. With Sloane dressed in her festive pajamas, she looked like a little English elf who had stolen Santa’s sack of presents.

  “Oh, children!” Sloane yelled in a high pitched, sing-song voice, “Auntie Sloane brought you some goodies!” Jake and Chloe’s eyes immediately broadened. Sloane was another one responsible for spoiling the Edgemont children during the holidays. Jake and Chloe came running towards their mother’s best friend, with Belle toddling close behind. Sloane had Luke pass Jake a big, heavy package. Chloe received a pink and black leopard print gift bag that was overflowing with Tissue paper. Meanwhile Belle’s package was a bit smaller than Jake’s and not nearly as heavy.

  The children ripped the wrapping paper off of their presents and they all laughed from excitement. Jake had received a huge remote controlled pick-up truck that looked almost exactly like his father’s truck, complete with horn and engine sounds and blinking lights. Chloe quickly tore the tissue paper from her gift bag to reveal a pink and purple leopard-print purse, complete with a set of lip gloss designed for little girls.

  “Mom! Look!”

  Holly’s eyes went wide at the pattern of the purse, and rolled at the sight of the lip gloss.

  “Gee, Sloane. You shouldn’t have,” Holly said sarcastically with a laugh.

  “It’s not for you, it’s for her! My little fashionista!”

  Finally, Belle was able to tear through her wrapping paper and squealed in delight when she saw the baby doll through the plastic of the box and promised to name the baby after Sloane. Sloane was touched.

  *****

  Christmas had gone off without a hitch. The Edgemont and McCresson family and friends had finally finished opening presents around mid-morning and then they enjoyed Gloria’s hearty breakfast of pancakes, eggs and scrapple. Holly then kicked everyone out of the kitchen while she prepared her usual Christmas Day staples: a honeybaked ham, pineapple stuffing, green bean casserole, cranberry mold, a broccoli quiche, and a big bowl of ambrosia. She had trays out to make cookie trays and cheese trays, and of course her refrige
rator was overflowing with drinks and desserts. Thanks to Sloane and Luke, Holly’s wine cart was well-stocked and Greg brought an entire cooler of beer, so Marv, Brant and Greg were very happy men, indeed. Holly rolled the wine cart into the living room, along with two coolers: one for the men that was filled with beer, and one for the kids that was chock full of chocolate milk and juice boxes. Then she slapped a note on the kitchen door that read:

  Holly’s Territory – Stay Out!

  Holly didn’t mind people wanting to help, but she loved doing Christmas dinner by herself. It was hard work, but offering a feast that was lovingly prepared, in her opinion, was the best gift that she could possibly give her family. She also knew how much Brant was looking forward to it. After all, he was the one who had sent Sloane shopping yesterday for all the trimmings. So she dove in and got out all her food, ingredients and supplies. She strapped her apron around her waist and got to work.

  While the men and Sloane watched football on TV, and the kids played with their new toys, Holly did what she did best.

  *****

  “C’mon ref! That was a bullshit call!” Brant yelled at the football game on TV, while Harry and Marv shook their fists in anger. Doris simply rolled her eyes as the football game went on, hoping that it would be over soon.

  “I need another beer,” declared Sloane.

  “Given up on the wine?” asked Luke, giving Sloane a sly wink.

  “I need something stronger. Bloody Eagles.”

  Marv and Brant gave Holly a cross look.

  “Hey now…”

  Sloane jumped back from the nasty glares that she was receiving from the two biggest Philadelphia Eagles fans she had ever met.

  “Sorry… damn…”

  Finally, after five long hours in the kitchen, Holly emerged with two trays of cheese and meats and placed them on the dining room table. The smell coming from the kitchen was glorious and it caused the disgruntled football fans to groan in hunger. Gloria was the professional chef of the family, but Holly wasn’t so bad herself. She called Brant into the kitchen so that he could start to carve down the ham. Jake and Marv took side dishes out to the dining room table. Slowly, everyone meandered to the dining room. No dinner call was required. The smell alone did the hard work for Holly.