Mistletoe and Roses: A "The Santa Clause" Story (Bernard x Female OC Book 2)

All Tied Up

"Angie, you and Bernard have been together eight years and haven't even talked about marriage..."

I tossed over again on the couch, unable to fall asleep despite all the soft blankets around me.

I don't know why that statement caught me off guard, but it did. Eight years was a long time for many people, but we weren't exactly normal people.

Was marriage something I wanted so soon?

I sighed, sitting up and wrapping the Christmas throw blanket around my shoulders.

I'm being ridiculous, there's Christmas-threatening business happening up at the North Pole, and here I am thinking about getting married!

I shook my head, attempting to clear the idea from my mind, and ran a hand through my hair.

Despite rationally knowing that it wasn't something I should be thinking about, I couldn't draw my mind away from that happy fantasy, or the strange sad feeling I now had in the pit of my stomach.

Eight years ago, when we first began dating, we had talked about the idea of moving at a "human pace" since most of my family were humans. I didn't want my grandparents, Charlie, or even Laura and Neal now, miss out on that moment in my life.

It was so odd having both human and elf perspectives. My Grandma Esme was constantly teasing us about how long we had been together whenever they found the time to visit. She would tell me all about how "Me an' Cormac got married in only four months, we did. Oh, my mother wasn't happy at all when she heard the news that we jumped town to elope, but sometimes yeh have to follow your heart." After last time they came up to visit, she practically called me every day waiting for some sort of update in our lives, but I couldn't figure out why.

Meanwhile, elves like Judy prefer to be in relationships for hundreds of years before tying the knot. A marriage before fifty years, at least, is usually regarded with raised eyebrows and a careful watch to see if any "elf babies" are soon after announced.

But then I looked around the room, at all the pictures of Charlie growing up, a picture of him holding baby Lucy, Lucy passing from the toddler age to a child. Neal's hair was beginning to get a few hints of grey, and Laura was starting to talk about their future "after-retirement plans" already.

How does one even bring this discussion up?

"Hey Bernard, you know how my Dad needs to get married before the whole North Pole explodes, that is, if it hasn't already through the hands of Fake Santas? What if we also got married? Great idea, right?"

I stood up, tired of my thoughts spinning in circles, and crept down the stairs, hoping that a midnight cookie run would make me rest better.

"Can't sleep, kiddo?"

I jumped, clutching the throw blanket tighter around my arms.

Dad sat at the kitchen table, looking so... normal and defeated. He was wearing the same pair of jeans and grey sweater he had on earlier in the day, the only difference was his disheveled hair and tired-looking eyes. He had beat me to the midnight cookies, as right in front of him sat a steaming plate of chocolate chip cookies, which looked and smelled freshly baked, and a pitcher of what I knew to be warmed milk.

Despite wanting to be angry at him, something about his form sitting there made me sympathize with him, even though I didn't know what was wrong. 

"You had the same idea as me, I see." I glanced at the mixing bowl in the sink, then sat down next to him, grabbing one of the cookies from the plate. "What happened?"