December 5th
“Isn’t it beautiful?” Cecelia asked.
Her husband tugged her closer into his side as they walked through the park. “Very, Tesoro.”
“I like that they went with red and white this year.”
“It’s quite striking against the backdrop, isn’t it?”
Cecelia agreed.
The park had been decorated with giant red and white boughs of holly between thick ropes of fir garland. A few of the choke cherry trees kept their red bulbs, and while snow covered the branches, the color still peeked through. Multicolored lights lit up the trees as they continued their stroll through the quiet park.
Heavy snowflakes fell from the sky.
Already, they had a few inches of snow on the ground. It wasn’t much, and usually, it would be gone within the hour it fell thanks to New York weather. They typically didn’t get snow that stuck until later in the month, closer to Christmas.
This year was a different story.
Cecelia considered it an early Christmas gift.
“I see you added new dates to the calendar this morning,” Antony noted.
“Christmas concerts.”
“We’ll be running for days.”
She smiled. “Would you have it any other way?”
Antony chuckled, drew her closer into his warm embrace, and kissed the wool hat covering her temple. “Never, amore.”
Their walk was mostly silent, as it usually was when they got the chance to take five minutes out of their busy days to be together. Despite their constant movement, her husband always made time to remind Cecelia how much he loved her, and how much their life meant to him. She appreciated it more than she could explain.
Especially during the holidays.
Their life was not always perfect. Over the years, they had more than their fair share of sad moments and hard times. Struggles that shaped their marriage, and family, into the pillars of faith, strength, and love it now was.
Cecelia wouldn’t dare ask for a single thing to be done differently.
Time had treated them especially well.
“You know,” she said, peering up at her dark-haired, green-eyed love, “this is still my favorite time of the year.”
“I know,” Antony replied.
His arm tightened around her, and his light laughter came with a white puff of air from his lips. It was just cold enough to see their breaths, but not enough to be uncomfortable.
“How do you know?”
“Well, for one, because it gives you a reason to shop.”
“Don’t you say that, Antony!”
“It’s true.”
Cecelia guffawed, and smacked her husband with the back of her hand. An oof sound fell from his smirking mouth before he grabbed her mitten-covered hand and snuck it inside his jacket. The tautness of his stomach pressed against her mitten, and the warmth of his body bled into hers.
“It is not,” she said with a pout.
“Kind of is.”
“Antony.”
“Cecelia, you shop for everyone,” he muttered, “even the girl at the grocery store who bags your groceries. You even buy Giovanni’s ugly dog treats to last him the whole year.”
“Well … he’s a good dog!”
Antony glanced away, but not before Cecelia saw the roll of his eyes. “Barely good.”
“You’re ruining my Christmas spirit.”
“Nothing can ruin your Christmas spirt, Cecelia. You’re the angel on top of the tree. You’re the star that hangs high in the sky, calling all your family home to celebrate. You are the—”
“Okay, I get it,” she whispered with a smile. “Thank you.”
Antony stopped their walk, turning to hold Cecelia in his embrace, and stare down at her. Familiar, yet haunting eyes, watched her in that way of his. He could silence her with a look, love her with a linger, and tease her with a wink. That had never once changed in all their many years of marriage.
Neither had the way he adored and loved her.
Familiarity was their best friend.
“Why is it still your favorite time of year, Tesoro?”
Cecelia cupped his face. Her fingers were toasty warm under the thick mittens. “Because you have given me decades and decades of happy Christmases, Antony. Memories after memories that I can never forget. Sure, some things have changed over the years. Our children are all grown up with babies of their own. We’re a little older than we once were, but it’s still just as wonderful and beautiful.”
Antony grinned. “Old, huh?”
“Was that seriously all you heard in that?”
“You know how I feel when you call me old, Cecelia.”
She huffed out a laugh, and stood on her tiptoes in her leather boots to kiss his mouth. “Don’t worry, Antony. I’m very aware that age has not caught up with you quite yet. You remind me as much as you possibly can.”
Even at their ages, passion was still very much alive.
Cecelia was also quite grateful for that.
Antony’s grin turned sinful. “I do, don’t I?”
“That’s quite enough. I’m not feeding your ego today.”
“No, we’ll save that for later.”
“Dio,” Cecelia mumbled, half in curse, half in prayer. She wasn’t quite sure how she was going to keep up with this man for the rest of her life, but damn her if she wasn’t going to at least try. Didn’t she owe him that, after everything? “Should we get back home and finish decorating?”
Antony made a face. “In a moment. I never asked, but what did you want for Christmas this year?”
Cecelia lifted a single brow high. “Why, haven’t you already gotten it for me?”
“Perhaps I have something.”
“But?”
“But you may want something else, too.”
She did.
She absolutely did want something else.
“I’m not sure you could give me what I’m wishing for,” Cecelia admitted, “and it would not be because you are incapable of being amazing, Antony.”
He frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“I was thinking this might be one of the last years we could have everyone together for Christmas morning. Together, and happy. Considering how old the kids are getting, their interests and activities are picking up … Someday, we’re going to start losing people from the big table.”
“I see what you mean.”
“Also,” Cecelia added, “Lucian is in jail.”
“He’s doing fine. He’ll be out in three months.”
“No, I know. I just meant … my wish is impossible with him being where he is, that’s all.”
Antony nodded. “Well, how about something different?”
“Like what?”
“What if I gave everyone else exactly what they wanted? What if I made them the happiest they could be this year? Would that suit your needs? Next year, I will make sure to get them all together on Christmas morning, no matter what. This year, let me make them happy.”
“Are you going to play Santa?”
Antony flashed his teeth in a smile, and winked. “Ho, ho, ho, Cecelia.”