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"HEY, THANK YOU," Freya breathed out, her nose a rosy red from the lack of appropriate clothing in the bitter cold. "I know it was pretty. . . out of the blue."
Siddiq shook his head, a method of waving her off whilst his hands were occupied. "My mom was a big fan of spontaneous gestures, especially when it came to the holidays."
Trudging breathlessly through the snow-coated forest, the couple were clutching onto rope, dragging an evergreen wrapped in tarpaulin across the ground. Freya was taking most of the strain, instead of just seizing it with her remaining hand, she'd tied a knot around her prosthesis and allowed her body to bear the burden of hauling the wretched thing along.
Freya hummed softly. "I bet your dad never made her get up at three in the mornin' to scavenge a tree on Christmas Day."
"Well, no, but that's not a fair comparison - we didn't celebrate Christmas."
"Shit. Right, sorry. Sleep-deprived brain. You ever have any crazy Diwalis?"
Siddiq's head lulled to the side in thought. "Actually, yeah. One year my mom was in a car accident the day before, she was okay just pretty banged up. Doctor ordered rest, so, she couldn't join our community's celebration. My dad tried to bring Diwali to her, he hung lights over the house - all over the house."
"Oh, god. . ." Freya pressed her lips together. "The power didn't-?"
"Oh, it did. Not just ours; the whole neighbourhood."
"Fuck, okay. Maybe your dad and I do have a lot in common."
Siddiq released a throaty chuckle. "Do we have decorations? Presents?"
"Decorations; yes." Freya's jaw clenched as her muscles burned, begging her to stop and offer them some release. She turned her face away from Siddiq, not wanting him to see her discomfort. Presents; not exactly. But I found some old paper and Rosita said the baby was keepin' her up, so she's making some origami for the kids - butterflies, flowers, fishes. . . Lori and RJ are gonna love it."
Concern flickered in Siddiq's eyes but he knew better than to utter the dreaded three words that she was almost certainly sick of both hearing and asking. "You know, come February, the baby's going to be here."
"Yeah. . ." Freya tried to muster up a smile but the effort made her jaw ache. God, if she couldn't even manage to smile for something she genuinely was excited about, how the hell was she supposed to fake it for an entire day? "You just let us know when you want Lori's old crib, Daryl can bring it over."
