𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐬 𝐈𝐧 𝐀 𝐁𝐨𝐱 𝐕𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐞 𝐈𝐈𝐈.

12 - 𝐀𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐬 𝐅𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐃𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫.

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𝑇𝒉𝑒 𝑟𝑜𝑜𝑚𝑠 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑤𝒉𝑖𝑙𝑒 𝑡𝒉𝑒 𝑝𝑎𝑔𝑒𝑠 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑜𝑓𝑡𝑙𝑦 𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝒉𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟 (𝐻𝑎𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑎𝑛) 𝑠𝑢𝑛𝑠𝒉𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑡𝑜𝑢𝑐𝒉 𝑡𝒉𝑒 𝑏𝑟𝑖𝑔𝒉𝑡 𝒉𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑤𝑖𝑡𝒉 𝑎 𝐶𝒉𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑚𝑎𝑠 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔. - 𝑳𝒐𝒖𝒊𝒔𝒂 𝑴𝒂𝒚 𝑨𝒍𝒄𝒐𝒕𝒕, 𝑳𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝑾𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏.

__~°~__

That smile never failed to warm Evan's heart. The one with the slightly upturned red lips, eyes brimming with pure Christmas spirit. Hands locked one into another, he and Lucy sojourned into another Christmas family dinner.

Elizabeth had opened the door that evening, a warm smile on her face, quite opposite intentions in her heart, her merry chatter ushering them into the warm living area they called home.

Edward got up, his bulging belly the first thing Evan noticed. He walked towards them in a bouncy gait, a smile plastered on his face and a few pick-up lines battle ready.

"Hello there, pretty. I'm Edward, people call me Eddy for short, and aren't you one fine piece of cake, fresh from the oven."

There was a familiarity to his deep, voluble voice, Evan just couldn't pinpoint what it was. He shrugged indifferently and smiled sternly at the old man, his venerability the only thing stopping a punch from coming his way.

Tyres rumbled across the wooden flooring, Benny slowly loosing balance and direction all at once. He rolled swiftly by the group and yelled,

"He forgot the Pa in Eddy!!"

Crashing into that roundy leafy thing, he still couldn't identify, he drove the scooter back to the fireplace for safe keeping. Another well deserved Christmas present.

The table was set, the family all seated, awaiting the arrival of the main guests. Evan smiled at the table, fighting strongly to believe that this would go as well as he planned it.

The first sign that it was not, was her. Anne. The woman with the tiny little crumbs left of his heart, when he picked the big pieces and put them all together. Her aura was imperious, almost domineering, with her 'perfect' parents and her 'perfect' smile. Oh, she made him sick. Who invited her here anyway? And why was she wearing that prim dress with her perfectly trimmed hair?

Calm as he could will himself to be, he shot her staid smile and led Lucy to the table. The aroma of warm food blended perfectly with the resplendent lighting and the yuletide decorations, setting a perfect environment for a calm Christmas.

With the last bowls of food set on the table, Evan proceeded to introduce the love of his life. With a happy smile on his face, and the flourish of a certain young man he'd watched, he put out his hand and Lucy took it, both of them standing up seamlessly, like they had rehearsed.

"Family, you all have been a party to my previous relationships, and I know they have not ended well, the last one running to Italy to chase her dreams, that were in the pants of another man."