The twinkling lights strung around the seven foot Christmas tree danced in all its multicoloured glory as it lit up the shadowy living room. The ornaments ranged from traditional glass balls to festive candy canes to dark, red bows and silver tinsel was sprinkled over the large, green branches.
JC sat cross legged in front of the glowing fireplace on the cream carpeted floor, the flames warming his cheeks and toasting the air in the room. He was hunched over holding a bottle of gold glitter glue in one hand and a pencil in the other. Seven red stockings were laid out before him and JC had tried to perfect his lettering on each one before he soon spruced his font with the gold sparkle.
As he leaned back, JC tilted his head to the left to admire his work. The slight cringe he realized that was on his face hinted to him that something was missing.
"She does like green," JC murmured to himself and he screwed the gold bottle closed. As he rose to his feet and set the pencil down on the glass coffee table behind him, JC dragged each one of the stockings across the room until they were all situated in secrecy behind the Douglas Fir.
He stuffed the glue bottle in the back pocket of his denim, dark blue jeans before he turned down the lights completely and made his way out of the room. He followed in the tracks of the humming that echoed out of his kitchen.
Their kitchen.
For a first time live-in couple, it could be called their kitchen.
JC leaned over the island silently, his forearms pressing against the surface. The humming coming from the woman who stood at the counter with her back to him abruptly became mute.
She put her hands on her small hips partly covered by the white holiday apron she wore adorned with printed Christmas trees. "One teaspoon ground cinnamon," she said to herself, one of her hands reaching out to touch the packet of spice next to her. "A half cup of butter, and three quarter cup of granulated sugar."
"And what about the eggs, babe?" JC asked, and she turned around at the sound of his voice. He chuckled as he nodded at the unopened tray of eggs in front of him. "You can't exactly bake without them."
"You can actually," Leah told him with a smile, and JC rolled his eyes. "But I do need one egg white."
"It smells good in here," he said, looking around the room. "Damn."
"The turkey should be out of the oven soon and the rest of food is over there-" she pointed to the wooden kitchen table where over half a dozen closed glass dishes covered. "-And I'm just getting started on the pie. I know you really wanted me to try to make pecan but we forgot to get at the store last week so, apple it is."
"So, I take it you like the new recipe book?"
Leah grinned, turning around to glance at the hardback that was open next to her large, blue bowl. It was only one of her few Christmas presents from him, but undoubtedly the favourite of her inner chef.
"You know I love it," she replied, leaning over her side of the island to be at eye level with her boyfriend. "You saw me look through it every time we went into a book store. I'm using it for the pie."
"What are you gonna use the stuff that Santa brought you in your stocking this morning for?" JC asked her with a slightly teasing smile.
Leah blushed as her brown eyes floated down to the smooth marble. It was an inevitable fact that JC was on the naughty list that year and it showed in his knowing eyes.
"Well," she began slowly. "Those could be used for a lot of stuff."
JC chuckled as her mouth found his for a few time stopping moments before pulling away.
"But none of that involves Christmas dinner," Leah mumbled against his lips. "Unfortunately. And you still taste like Karen's Christmas cookies from your parents' breakfast this morning."
JC drew back a little bit before licking his lips. "You taste like..." He took a moment to identify the lingering taste of his tongue. "Cranberries."
Leah laughed, tightening the ponytail that kept her layered, should length hair out of her face. "Well, I have to taste the sauce before I serve it, you know."
"So, do we eat dinner and then I get to open that big, wrapped up box you've been hiding upstairs or can I do that before?"
"Joshua Scott!" she exclaimed, her jaw falling open. JC laughed lightly, the corners of his eyes becoming smaller in the way that she loved to see. "You went snooping through my side of the closet, didn't you?"
"I did no such thing," JC said solemnly.
"You blue eyed, little sneak. I can't believe you went snooping."
"I didn't!" JC insisted. "I honestly thought gift exchange was over after this morning."
"So how'd you find the box?" Leah questioned.
"I was looking for your art supplies and wrapping paper and I came across this box with my name on it," he grinned. "I didn't open it, don't worry. Where are they, anyway?"
"I shouldn't even tell you at this point," Leah frowned. "You killed my surprise."
"It's not like I saw anything, baby," JC assured her. "C'mon. Why's it such a big deal?"
"Becauseeee," she groaned. "This year's special to me. I wanted to do something special for you too."
"Besides agreeing to live with me and making Christmas dinner for us on your own?"
"I was gonna give it to you after dinner, so, you'll open it after we eat." Leah sighed, shaking her head at herself. "Of course the place I decide to hide your present is in the closet we share. Smart, Leah, real smart."
"Don't make it such a big deal," JC assured her, taking her hands in his and kissing at the surface. "They do say great minds think alike."
"So?"
"So," he emphasized. "You may or may not have one more present to open later."
Leah smiled as JC's twinkling eyes caused the hair on her arms to rise. "Fine," she said, almost mumbling the word. "Why didn't you give it to me this morning?"
"Same reason you didn't give me mine," he said as he lifted off the island to stand straight. "Tonight's special. And I know that this is the present you're gonna love the most."
"I don't know," Leah said in a sing-song voice. "What I've been saving for you is pretty good."
"I highly doubt it's better."
"We'll see," JC chuckled.
Before she could say any more, he remembered the glue in the back of his pocket. "Now, really, where are your art supplies?"
"In the bedroom, under the bed. What'd you need ‘em for, anyway?"
JC shrugged his shoulders. "I wanted to put this back," he lied as he pulled out the half empty bottle of glitter glue. "I found it, um, somewhere in the living room."
"I probably missed it when we packed up after gift wrapping yesterday." Leah frowned a bit. "I didn't think I used that much."
JC rolled the sleeves of his orange sweater further up his muscled arms. "I'll be back down in a little bit," he told her upon leaving the kitchen.
He could hear her humming start up again as he made his way up the staircase.
Entering the master bedroom they had been sharing for the past seven months, JC immediately headed toward the rumpled, king size bed that they covered with a red comforter. As he got down on both his knees, his right hand reached under the bed until his fingers came into contact with a large, plastic container.
Pulling it out, JC rummaged through the coloured pieces of kite paper, tape rolls, pieces of thread, small packets of sequins, paint brushes of various sizes, coloured pencils, and finally the little bottle of green, glittered paste that he sought.
Stuffing the tube he had held on to in its place, he pushed the container back to where he had found it and stood up.
It wouldn't be long before Leah would replace the turkey in the oven with their Christmas dessert of the night. The night was winding down and JC could see the fading blue sky though the window.
They'd spent almost the entire morning with his family and some of the afternoon on the phone with hers. Greetings were traded and in JC's case, blessings had been asked and graciously granted. Most of their presents had already been exchanged and unwrapped, but there was one in particular that JC had saved for the finale.
The stockings needed a few more touches. Some nerves needed to be calmed. Some reassurance needed to be made. And one ring-
"That's odd," JC said under his breath. A few feet into the closet, he dipped into the left pocket of the jacket he had worn just hours ago. Empty.
His brows furrowed, but a relieved expression washed over the frown lines on his forehead when he reached into the right pocket. An open, black, velvet box sat in the palm of his hand. The lid was already lifted, and the cushioned interior became the former home of a 5 carat diamond.
-needed to be found.
A cold sweat, unflattering chills and a nagging pain that numbed his chest almost made JC mistake his anxiety for a bad case of tuberculosis, minus the cough. But no, this wasn't a diagnosis nor was what happening to him the outcome of some kind of sick, Christmas disease.
It was a mistake. It had to be a mistake... or some sort of sick twist of Christmas fate, at the very least.
The Asscher cut engagement ring with the white god band no longer rested safely and comfortably between the cushions of the small box JC stuck back into the pocket of the jacket he had thrown on just a few moments prior.
He had been carrying it around for the past three weeks up until that very morning when he proudly and secretly took it to Christmas breakfast to get the approval and encouragement from his immediate family. Leah hadn't suspected a thing.
She had never been one to pressure him into a possible marriage, and he had never been one to pressure her into wanting one.
He'd chickened out of doing it right after their first month of living together on her birthday, and judging from his own current situation, JC feared the doubt of whether or not he'd even get a chance to ask the question this time for the holiday.
He couldn't have raced down the staircase faster if there were a pair of wheels under his feet and he slipped straight into his living room. Leah hadn't noticed even noticed JC had dashed downstairs until he emerged into the kitchen with a large holiday gift bag in hand.
She watched as he took one of the car keys off the rack on the wall.
"Where're you going, babe?" Leah asked as she sucked a small patch of cinnamon off the tip of her index finger.
"I just found some stuff upstairs that I forgot I bought for Tyler," JC explained as he approached her. "I'm gonna go drop it off. It's just some shirts."
"Do you want me to wrap it for you?"
"I've got it covered," he fibbed as he kissed her on the cheek. He started for the white door to the far end of the kitchen that leaded out to the garage. "I'll be back home by the time you're done with the food."
Leah nodded her head with a smile. "And I'll make sure your present is under the tree by the time you get back."
JC chuckled. "Okay."
The feeling wasn't so mutual anymore.
*****
"Tyler!" JC yelled out, leaving the front door to the two-story home to slam close. "Ty!"
"Media room!" his brother rang out and JC followed the familiar voice. He soon entered the third room from the foyer to find Tyler and his new bride snuggled on the couch in front of the flat screen.
"Am I interrupting something?" JC asked, and the couple looked up at him.
"Nothing more than a Christmas movie marathon," his new sister in law told him. Her head rested on Tyler's shoulder. "Joining us?"
"No time," JC shook his head immediately.
"What're you doing here?" Tyler asked, and his gaze shifted to the bag in JC's hand. "And what's in there?"
"It's not about what is there," JC mumbled, and he took a moment to dig around in his pocket to reveal the empty box. "It's about what's not in here!"
"What'd you mean?" the wavy haired brunette, Carol, asked as her husband muted the movie playing.
"I lost Leah's ring," JC practically groaned out.. He could feel the cold sweats from before make their move back on to him. He tossed the box onto the couch to the left before he plopped down himself and rested his elbows on his knees. "I don't know what the hell is going on. You guys know I had it with me this morning."
Tyler frowned. "What'd you mean you lost it? You showed it to us ten hours ago. That's not even half a day."
"It wasn't in the box when I went to go get it to set everything up," JC said. "It was just gone."
"Okay," Carol said slowly as she sat up. "Then it obviously fell out somewhere. Did you guys go straight home after you left breakfast."
"Yea," her brother in law nodded. "We left mom and dad's, we drove home, I had the ring in my pocket of my jacket, and I took my jacket off on my way up to the closet."
"Are you sure it didn't fall out on the stairs or something?" Tyler asked.
JC shook his head. "Nah, I don't think so. I would have probably seen it."
"Or maybe it fell out in one of the rooms?" Carol suggested. "The bedroom or the kitchen or the dining-"
JC laughed lightly to himself. "So you mean to tell me that my girlfriend is at our house right now possibly tip toeing around ninety freakin' thousand dollars worth of diamond and I don't know where it is?"
"Don't panic too much just yet, Jace, c'mon," his brother advised him and JC leaned back to fall against the cushions.
"Man, I had the best plan and everything for tonight. What am I supposed to do?"
"You're supposed to stay calm about this," Carol said to him. "And if you don't find it by tonight, you're just going to have to fork out another ninety thousand bucks and wait for the New Year."
"You need to look some more, JC. Under your clothes, under the couches, under the tables, in the car, wherever. It has to turn up."
JC let his head fall back and he let out a frustrated grunt. "I already made these too," he grumbled as he poured the contents of the bag. "She loves stuff like this."
Carol's eyes lit up. "This would be so romantic above the fireplace," she grinned.
Contrastingly, JC grimaced. "You don't say."
"Well, man," Tyler sighed. "You better start either praying for a Christmas miracle or start calling jewel shops tomorrow."
"On Christmas, of all days," JC murmured. "Her favourite holiday. Our first time in the house, and I screw it up."
"You didn't screw it up, C," Tyler told him, sympathetically. "And it's your first Christmas at your guys' place. Leah's not expecting a proposal from you."
JC shook his head. "But that's just the thing that makes it so special. I wanted to promise her that our first Christmas is only the start of more to come."
"But since she's with you, she probably already assumes that."
"What I didn't assume was that I would lose the first and only engagement ring I'll ever buy, on the same day I was supposed to give it to her," he said tiredly. "I can't believe this happened."
"And at this point," Carol added in. "It doesn't look like it's going to be the first or only ring you ever buy."
JC entered through the kitchen door just shy of an hour later. The dispersed scent of apple and cinnamon warmed the air and his eyes immediately fell to the dessert that Leah had left to cool on top of the stove.
The area was quiet.
He quickly noticed the oven wasn't turned on, and the kitchen counters had gone regained their untouched shine. The only thing left on the island was a moist washcloth and from the disappearance of the dishes, JC assumed the food dishes had been moved into the dining room.
Leah's Christmas dinner was done.
JC set down the keys on the marble before he made his way upstairs. He had decided to leave the bag of stockings in the trunk of the BMW. The purpose of its existence was fading as much as the lights on the shined brighter as the late evening continued.
A few moments later, JC found himself subconsciously eyeing at the ground in case he had indeed missed something before he had left. It wasn't long before he realized his feet led him into the main bedroom.
"I'm back," he said aloud.
Leah sat on the edge of the bed, her body halfway covered by the white towel that was wrapped around her and folded in under her left arm. Her laptop sat next to her.
"Hey," she replied. "Did Tyler like his shirts?"
"Yea, I guess," he shrugged after he pulled off his shirt. "What'd you doing?"
"Returning some Christmas emails."
JC smiled as he stared at her through the full length mirror that faced them both. "Baby, downstairs smells incredible. You could give my mom a run for her money."
"I don't know if my turkey's going to be as tasty as hers was last year but we'll see."Leah got up off the bed and began to tie her hair into a messy bun. "Your present's under the tree now, just so you know," she smiled. "You can't peak until it's time to open it."
"Yea, look, um, babe," JC started as he approached her and rested his hands on her waist. She looked up to him with slight concern. "I need to tell you something."
"What?" she asked. "Oh, gosh, you didn't see it already, did you?"
"No, I didn't, promise," JC assured her. "It's just... I thought I'd be able to give you your last present tonight but it didn't come in on time."
"That's why you look so bummed?" Leah chuckled. "Jace, that's fine."
"I just knew you would love it," he said softly. "This one in particular. And I wanted to see the look on your face when you opened it."
"Well, you'll see the look on my face whenever it comes in," Leah told him. She stood on her tip toes to kiss his lips and lifted her boyfriend's hands off her. "I already got everything I wanted this morning, and then some, so don't worry about it."
JC could have kicked himself right then and here.
*****
Leah bent forward over the vegetable platter on the wooden dining room table to light the two, tall red candles that stood as their centre piece. The food was uncovered and ready to be served. She set down the box of matches on an empty chair away from where she had arranged for her and JC to sit.
Just as she lifted her head to look at the clock, a low whistle came up from a few feet behind her.
"Hey," Leah smiled when she turned her head to identify the source. "You finally came down. I thought you forgot we were gonna have dinner down here."
"Who needs snow when I've got a vision in white right in front of me?" JC grinned. He eyed the white sweater paired with the matching colour of skinny jeans that she wore. "You look great, Lee."
"You got all dressed up," she noticed, walking up to him and running her hands over the chest area of his turtleneck. "Very handsome."
"Dad called," JC told her. "He wants everyone to take a swing by the house later. He and mom are having old friends over and want them to see everyone."
"Sure, okay," Leah nodded.
She took his hand and led him to the seat that was at the head of the table. "Sit."
JC pulled out his chair and sat down as she began to dish out their meal of the night. Slices of turkey and portions of stuffed peppers, a dinner roll, vegetables, and crispy potatoes all took over both their plates.
"You're amazing," JC told her as she took her place in the chair to the left of him.
"I did well?"
"You did incredible," he replied, thanking her with a small kiss on the lips when she leaned closer to him. "Had your present been here, I could repay you."
"Repay me for what?" she scoffed. "Making a romantic dinner for my boyfriend? And it's just a present, Jace. Relax."
"I meant you spent almost all day making a romantic dinner for your boyfriend."
"Well, if you really want to, you can pay me back upstairs," she smiled as she kissed him again. "We're supposed to be eating."
"Yea, but I really don't want to take my lips off you," JC mumbled, and Leah pulled away a few moments later with a frown.
"I feel like something's missing," she said.
"What?" JC asked.
It was a few seconds before Leah blurted out, "I forgot to take the wine out of the cabinet."
JC looked at the place setting in front of him. No wine glasses either.
"You want me to get it?" JC offered as he began to get out of his seat.
"I'll help you," she told him.
JC crossed over from the dining room to the far side of the kitchen while Leah reached over the sink into the cupboards. She usually had a hard time reaching the glasses due to her height, even when she stood on her toes.
As JC pulled a bottle of wine out of his cabinet, he made his way over to her to help. His silent chuckling soon stopped when a sharp pain shot up from under his barefoot straight through his shin.
"Ow, Son of a-"
"Baby," Leah turned around, one hand still reaching in the air. "What happened?"
JC cursed himself as he lifted his leg and heard something make a small sound as it fell to the floor.
A diamond.
He lifted his head to meet her concerned expression. "Yea, uh, yea, I'm okay. I just, um, stubbed my toe."
"C'mon," she said, her voice strained as she finally grasped two glasses. "I got it."
JC used the opportunity to smile and nod before he bent down to snatch the rock that had stabbed him. He looked at where it had come from- Just a few millimetres away from the bottom of the large cabinet.
"Yes, for the love of God, thank you!" JC grinned to himself before he heaved a sigh to slow down the adrenaline of relief that had sped up his heart rate.
He fisted the ring and popped his head into the dining room where Leah was just setting down the glasses. "Babe," he said. He put out his arm to hand her the unopened bottle. "I need to go the bathroom real quick, alright?"
"Jace," she sighed. "Now?"
"Yea, seriously, now."
She took the drink from his hand and returned to her seat. "I'm not starting without you," she said.
JC disappeared from her view within the second her sentence had ended. He quickly made his escape to the garage and opened the trunk to his BMW.
"Can I still use these, man?" JC murmured to himself as he peered into the large bag of stockings. "It's still Christmas," he said as he nodded his head.
He kept the ring deep in the front of his pocket, ever so often reaching down to ensure of its presence even in the small time frame. He had been given another chance to have the ending of his Christmas go as he had planned in the first place.
It had taken him a while before he had decided to keep the bag hidden to the side of the fridge and out of her sight at any given time.
As he took a minute to calm himself and absorb the situation, JC let out a breath and casually returned to where his girlfriend had been sitting patiently.
Her brown eyes lit up to resemble the burning candle on the table when she saw him re enter the room.
"Ready?" she asked him.
"Not quite," JC answered slowly. It was his most honest answer of the night. "There's something wrong with the downstairs toilet. I think it was clogged when I went in."
"Clogged?" Leah asked, surprised. "But no one's used that toilet in like, a week."
"Exactly," JC agreed. "So I don't know what's going on. Come help me."
"Jace," she began. "We can worry about that tomorrow or something. Baby, come on, the food's gonna get cold."
"Just help me fix whatever it is, please?"
"No," she protested. "We're supposed to having dinner. If anything we can call a guy in a couple of days."
"Please," JC pouted. He moved behind her chair and ran a finger down her arm. "The food won't get cold," he whispered into her ear. "Much like yourself, I can always hot it up later."
Leah batted his arm away from her sleeves, pushing the chair back before she got up. "You're really killing the mood now, Joshua."
"I'm gonna go get the plunger."
"So much for a romantic Christmas dinner for two," she muttered as shemade her way toward the hall. "Just hurry up."
JC had to hide his grin as she left the room. Phase One was complete.
He moved calmly as he retrieved the bag. One stocking by one stocking, JC carefully hung each onto a chair until they went around the table.
He immediately went over to the light switch and flipped it down, the candles illuminating the room just enough to see the plates of food on the table and more importantly, the significance of the stockings.
JC went to the opposite end of the room where the last stocking was hung. "Breathe, JC," he told himself. "It's abrupt, but you got this. You totally got this. Don't mess this up."
He had a few seconds to recollect his unprocessed thoughts before he heard her footsteps become louder.
"JC, where are you?" she called out. He saw her almost pass the dining room but she quickly came to a halt when she noticed the semi dark room. JC's face could be seen in the faint light.
"Jace?" she said uncertainly, moving closer into the room. "What're you doing in here?" she asked. "And there's absolutely nothing wrong in the bathroom!"
The wide smile on his face that had spread with her every word made her perception of the room change. She finally took note of the scene just less than two feet in front of her.
"What's that?" she asked, eyeing the stockings, a confused smile creeping over her mouth. "How come you decorated?"
"C'mere," was all he said.
Leah took a step forward and read the first stocking.
Leah
With every word that boasted off the material, her pace became slower and slower and slower until she hadn't even noticed that JC was in front of her until he dropped down to one knee.
"Baby," he said to her softly.
She immediately looked back to the words she had read before coming back to the one final stocking that JC was kneeling down next to.
Leah
Merry
Christmas
Will
You
Marry
Me
Cue JC's abnormally steady heartbeat.
He looked up at her wide eyes and small ‘O' that had formed between her lips.
"Are you okay?" he asked with an uncertain smile.
It had taken a moment to answer him but she was swift to nod her head. "I... I think so. What..." she shook her head and a slight laugh escaped from her throat. "What are you doing?" she asked softly.
"I'm asking-" JC started, and he pulled the ring out of his pocket. Her jaw dropped when he presented the diamond to her. "-on this Christmas night that the two of us are spending in this house together, to give me the chance to make this only the first Christmas night that the two of us are spending in this house together."
JC had to pause when he realized she swallowed hard.
"I-I'm asking," he stuttered, as he so infrequently did around her. "Will agree to spend the rest of your Christmases with me?"
She looked down at his face, waiting to hear the final words that he would speak.
"Leah, will you marry me?"
His gaze soon refocused to eye level when she joined him on both her knees on the wooden floor.
"Jace," she smiled, cupping his face with both her hands. "For the rest of my life, I want to spend every Christmas, Christmas Eve and New Year with you."
JC grinned as he took her left hand and positioned the ring at the top of her finger. He looked at her.
"Yes," she said, her voice cracking. "Yes."
The white gold band slid down her finger, Leah not even taking a second to admire the diamond before JC took both her hands and lifted them off the ground. She threw her arms around his neck, JC's wrap around her waist tightening.
"I love you," he told her quietly, and she pulled back to face him.
"Not as much as I love you," she smiled, a single tear drop breaking away from the corner of her eye before JC kissed it away. He then moved to her forehead and over her lips.
"That whole thing about the bathroom and not having my present was just to throw me off, wasn't it?" she accused, finally stabilizing herself in front of him.
JC laughed, nodding in an attempt to play along. "Yea, you got me."
"You definitely got me," she said, pausing to admire the new jewel on her finger. "Oh, Jace, it's beautiful."
"I'm glad you like it."
"I love it," she breathed. "I love the ring, I love you, I just... I can't believe this."
"Believe it, baby," he smiled. "Because now you're stuck with me for next Christmas too."
"And I can't wait."
"I'm sorry we didn't eat first," JC chuckled.
Leah turned to the food on the table before bursting out in laughter when she turned back to JC. "I completely forgot about that."
"So, does this mean I can open my present now?" he asked slyly.
"I don't think the new sound module and synthesizer I bought you for the home studio is going to compare to this, baby," she joked but the excitement on JC's face was undeniable.
"Are you for real?" he asked.
"Yea. Merry Christmas."
"Definitely a merry Christmas," he said, placing one hand on the side of her face. "Thank you."
"We can eat now, if you want," Leah told him. "I sort of lost my appetite to the amazing excitement though."
"We can take a minute to digest this first," JC said to her with a smile. "I want to go check out my presents."
He took her hand to lead them out of the room.
"Hey, Jace," she said, stopping them.
"What?" he asked.
"The stockings were a nice touch."