Chapter 39
Traditions
It’s Christmas Eve, and we’ve all been busy with party planning. “I think we have it all covered.” I say to Matilda.
“I think you’re right. Things are falling into place,” she responds.
Nathanial got a ride home from Alexander earlier in the day; he wanted some time with his brother. I love how close his family is, especially since so many families today are too busy for one another. That’s not how it is with the McCords. They always make time for family and friends.
S S S
It is about seven o’clock, time to meet the McCords for a stroll down the streets, I’m so honored that Nathanial and his family want to include me. I make sure I drink before going to avoid any problems. Everyone is ready to go when I arrive, so we start down the street immediately.
The houses are done up nicely. Every house in town decorated, and it is brilliant. Food bank donation boxes line the streets throughout the town, and they are overflowing.
“Thank you so much for inviting me. Is the town like this every year?” I ask, imagining this as a piece of heaven. The perfect man is holding me close, and his perfect family is guiding us through a perfect town during the most perfect season of the year.
“Yes, it is tradition for every household to decorate. The town holds a contest every year for the best-dressed house,” Mrs. McCord explains.
“These are amazing. I’ve never seen a community put so much effort into decorating,” I admit.
“Yes, the holidays are very important around here,” Mrs. McCord replies.
I examine each and every house, and they are all different. Some have thousands of lights, while others have animated reindeer moving to synchronized music. This is so magical, and to experience it with such a wonderful family is a wonder all its own. My every Christmas wish is coming true.
“Sophia, I realize it is short notice, but we would love to have you and your family join us for dinner tomorrow,” Mrs. McCord requests.
“I think that would be wonderful. You do know there are eight of us, right? I don’t want it to be too much trouble.”
“I love to cook. I could probably feed the entire block if I put my mind to it,” she assures me, and everyone nods in agreement with goofy grins on their faces.
I let out a slight giggle and accept the kind holiday invitation on behalf of my family. “We shall be there then. Thank you so much for the invitation.”
We continue around the neighborhood and make our way back to the McCord residence.
“Would you care to join us for some eggnog, Sophia?” Mrs. McCord invites.
“Yes, I would enjoy that. Thank you.”
Inside the house, Mr. McCord starts a fire, as his wife pours the beverages. I assist her in serving.
“Thank you, Sophia. Your parents should be very proud of you. I believe you are a fine young woman,” she compliments.
“I believe they are. Thank you again.”
“Why don’t you tell us a little more about yourself? Luke mentioned that you told him and Nate you were adopted from Italy?”
“Yes. Alex, my twin brother, and I were adopted by the Pierce family years ago. We were a little older, so we still remember our biological family. We couldn’t have asked for a better family to join though.”
Nathanial’s mother smiles, “May I ask what happened that they were able to adopt you?”
“Of course you may. Back in Italy, there was a terrible accident that made us available to the Pierces. We were very lucky they found us.” My explanation holds truth, albeit lacking a little detail.
“I bet they believe they are the lucky ones.” She pats my knee.
“So what about your family? What can you tell me about you?” I ask, trying to draw her attention away from my family.
“There really is nothing exciting about us. Arthur and I fell in love about twenty-five years ago. We had known of one another but never spoke until we had English class together.” She smiles lovingly at her husband.
“She had me at hello,” Mr. McCord says, and they both chuckle.
I wonder what is so funny. I think it is sweet.
“Dad, enough with the movie quotes.” Nathanial shakes his head.
Luke smiles, “Sorry Sophia. Our parents are movie freaks and can turn almost any conversation into some kind of script.”
“Yes, I suppose they’re right about that. In my defense, though, the moment I first heard that line, I knew it described how I felt and still feel about your mother.”
“That is cute!” I smile at the dream of everlasting love.
S S S
Christmas morning, Nathanial shows up just after breakfast as he promised. Luke drove him and left to go help his mother prepare for the evening dinner for twelve. I would have loved to introduce Luke to my family, but they will meet him tonight. I hold Nathanial’s hand and lead him inside.
He seems to feel very comfortable here. “Merry Christmas, everyone,” he announces.
“And to you as well, Nate” Florence returns the gesture.
A smile beams across my face as I watch the man I love walk to each member of my family and hug and kiss them. He really does belong with us and is the perfect fit.
Once the formalities are complete, Constance readies her camera. On the tripod stand she sets the timer to take a picture. “Okay Nate, time for one of our Christmas traditions. Every year, we gather in front of the tree and take a family picture.”
“That sounds great. I’ll take the picture for you.”
“Nate, we want you in the picture. You belong with us.” Florence says, and with an evil look from me, “even if only for a short amount of time,” She adds.
“Well, thanks. I’m so glad you feel that way. I also believe I belong.”
The entire family, along with Nathanial, stands in front of our tree, and we smile for our newest Christmas picture.
“Why doesn’t everyone find a seat around the tree so we can open our gifts?” Florence suggests.
The entire family finds a spot. Matilda and Alexander sit side by side on the floor, as do Nathanial and I. The older members sit on the couch, and Danika is in front of the tree, ready to play Santa.
“Another tradition we have, Nathanial, is that the youngest member gets to play Santa and pass out all the gifts,” Elijah explains.
“You must be relieved to pass on that tradition, Sophia. What? You did it for like a hundred years or something?” Nathanial asks.
“Yeah, something like that. I’m glad to sit back and enjoy things a little more now.”
“As much as I want to go first, you are our guest, Nate, so I guess you can start.” Danika hands him the first gift. “This is from me.”
Nathanial appears surprised that the entire family has gifts for him.
“You shouldn’t be so surprised, Nate. We told you that you are part of this family now, and we exchange gifts in this family,” Alexander explains.
He smiles and rips the paper off the box. A huge grin beams across his face as he pulls out a Patriots jersey and a certificate for name embroidering. “Thanks, Danika. This is so cool. How did you know I like the Pats?”
“Well, they are the closest football team to Salem, and you are a football nut. It was a lucky guess.” She smiles and winks at me.
“Yeah, I kinda am. Thanks so much. I love it,” he says excitedly.
We all take turns opening gifts of clothing, jewelry, and so on. Matilda and Alexander give me the entire Nickelback CD library so I can become more accustomed to Nathanial’s favorite band. I get some really great gifts, but I think my best gift is Nathanial. I really don’t need anything more. He is everything I could ever wish for. I look over my shoulder at the man sitting next to me, and I realize again that he is so perfect.
Nathanial is so elated as he opens his gift from Matilda and Alexander. “I can’t believe you got me a designer pair of jeans, shirt, and this g
reat sweater. It’s way too much,” he says as he puts the sweater on right away. He looks great in it, not that he needs the help, but the sweater suits him perfectly. “You have got to be kidding me,” he screams. “Season tickets for the Patriots, plus the few games left for this season? I just can’t believe it. This is amazing. Thank you, everyone,” he screams as he begins to jump around like an over caffeinated monkey.
We nearly die of laughter.
“I think we did well!” Constance jokes.
“You did great! I can’t wait to wear my new jersey to a live game.”
“I told my family the New England Patriots is your favorite NFL team and that you have never seen a live game. I knew it would be something you would enjoy. They loved the idea, and we feel so bad that your football season ended early because of our kind.”
“This is the best. Thank you again and again. It could not get any better.”
“Well, Nate, you aren’t finished yet. This is from Elijah and Florence.” Danika hands him a small box with a small green bow.
He opens it and looks confused. “It is a key, but for what?”
“The other part of your gift is over here. Follow me.” Elijah leads Nathanial to the garage.
We all follow, and I hold Nathanial’s hand, he has a puzzled look on his face and keeps looking at me with a questioning look. I just smile and say, “You’ll see.”
Once the door to the garage is opened and we are all inside, Florence flips the lights on and there, with a big green ribbon, is a shiny new Honda Insight just for him.
“Oh my gawd! This is way too much. I can’t...you can’t be serious. Your family has been way too generous already.”
“But you can. We spoke with your parents, and they agreed to allow us to give this to you. You can’t always borrow your mom’s car, and you need to get to those Patriots games. We stretched the truth a little and explained that this is my car, but I do not like it and it is just sitting here. Now it’s yours,” Elijah insists and adds, “I suggested it would also be a good idea because of the distance between our houses, and I did not want Sophia out late driving you home all the time.”
We all huff and chuckle at that, knowing that me being out late and alone isn’t an issue.
“I don’t know what to say. Thank you so much. This is unbelievable! I love the color; I don’t think I have ever seen anything like it before.” Nathanial is in complete shock, and we can all see it on his face.
“It is a pretty neat car. It is a hybrid, and the color is sky blue. We asked for green, but they don’t offer that color, so this was the next best choice,” Elijah says.
“It is great. Thank you. I just don’t know what to say.”
“Let’s go back inside. You still have my gift to open.” I tug at him after he does all the man things like looking under the hood and trying out the stereo.
Everyone heads back inside.
I stand in front of the gigantic spruce tree we decorated just a few nights earlier. I hold a small black box in my hands; it is wrapped with a red ribbon. “I found you less than four months ago, but I feel complete with you around. I want to protect you so that I can treasure you for every possible moment we have together.” I smile and continue, “This gift is my way of keeping you safe.” I hand him the box, lean in, and give him a small kiss.
He opens it slowly and looks at the contents carefully. “This is amazing! I love it. But I don’t understand. How will a watch keep me safe?” Once again, he looks a little puzzled.
“Ebony and her sister put a protection spell on it. No supernatural power will be able to penetrate the protective field that surrounds you when you wear this, unless you willingly allow it to pass through,” I explain.
“So Alex can’t read my mind now?”
“Not unless you want him to,” I confirm.
Nathanial puts the watch on his left wrist.
“Okay, Alex. Try it out,” I order.
Alexander tries to see what Nathanial is thinking, and at the same time try’s to show Nate what he is thinking. The rest of us can see his frustration, and we laugh.
“Nothing, I can’t get a thing.” Alexander says with frustration.
“Okay. Now Nate, do you want him to see what you are thinking?” I suggest.
“There we go. I got it. Yeah, it is pretty cool,” Alexander agrees with what Nathanial is thinking.
“Now just a second, I know you told me about witches, but Ebony?” Nathanial seems a little surprised.
“Sorry. Ebony and her sister are two of the most powerful witches in the world, but things shouldn’t surprise you anymore. Anything is possible, and at this rate, I’m not sure how much more you can take,” I reply.
“Yeah, I’m starting to see that now. It is all very surprising though. I guess all that talk about her around school is true then”
“Yes, it’s all true, but some students paint her being a witch as a bad thing. Her family is very amazing, and I promise you will learn more about them soon.”
He moves closer to me and gives me the sweetest, softest kiss ever. “This watch is amazing, just what I wanted. I love you, sweetie.”
“I love you too!” I sneak another kiss.
“I guess it is time for your gift now.” He smiles excitedly as he walks to the tree and pulls out a small box wrapped in shiny red paper.
I rip the paper off in excitement. I examine the small wooden box. It is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Two colors of wood blend together, intertwined like two folded hands, to make the creation. It looks handmade, sculpted from the finest wood. I can even smell the fresh woody scent of the timber. One side has our names engraved in to it: Sophia and Nathanial. The other side two words perfectly inscribed: For Eternity. After admiring the box for a moment, I open the lid. Inside is a small red gem shaped like a heart, a ruby, placed delicately in the center of a white gold setting, just like my necklace and day crystal, but a ring. The gold wraps around into two half circles as if hugging the heart forming the setting of the ring. In the lid of the box is a small note that reads, “I give you my heart to have and protect. All my love, Nate.” I am completely speechless. It is amazing, just like Nathanial.
“Alex helped my vision come to life. May I help you put it on?” Nathanial asks.
I nod, and Nathanial takes the ring and places it on my left ring finger.
“This is my promise to you forever,” he says with a smile.
“Nate, it is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen!”
“Then I guess you have never looked in a mirror.”
“I love it, and I love you! Thank you so much.”
Nathanial brushes the ring on my finger with his thumb and then brushes my cheek, running his fingers through my hair.
“I love you more than life itself.” he whispers and leans in to kiss me.
I pull him closer for another. How could things get better than this? I now understand why people wait their whole lives to find that perfect one. It has taken me many lifetimes to find mine.
I’m so caught up in the moment that the full meaning of the words Nathanial spoke, “This is my promise to you of forever,” didn’t register in my mind at first, but now all I can think of is only a vampire can love you forever. I’m just so full of emotion, so full of happiness that I never experienced before nor ever thought I would. Moving to Wenham has fulfilled every dream I’ve ever had. I have a great best friend, the most incredible man ever, and accepting family members on both sides. Who could ask for more?
Immortal Embrace Page 39
