Leftover Baggage from Llanview

19

Dorian:

Christmas day. My family is here, including David, who has a weeklong break from filming.

I half-awaken early in my bed with David in the pre-dawn winter darkness.

There's no snow yet, but temperatures have been in the teens and twenties with a few fine blustery, windy nights...there's a chance of snow before New Year's day, which excites the kids.

Upstate New York had snow last week, so Hope had snow fun, but the others are hoping for snow here.

Above the wind outside, I hear the kids waking up and running downstairs, squeeing and laughing in excitement and it brings a sleepy smile to my face.

I know that they've now seen the mound of gifts piled under our tree.

"Should we wake up the grown-ups?" Zane asks.

"Here come Mom and Starr," Adriana's daughter Nova says.

Others are stirring, including Risa and Cassie. Now David is coming awake, his blue eyes slowly opening.

Bing Crosby's edition of The First Noel starts playing softly from downstairs.

"Merry Christmas, elf-doll," he smiles sleepily.

"Merry Christmas, my stocking cap," I murmur.

We lie there for a while dozing on and off, listening to the others come awake.

"Let's not open everything until Gran, David and Great-Aunt Addie wake up and come down...let's just start with a couple of things," Risa says. "We don't want them to miss all the presents."

"I'm surprised you're awake, Starr," Langston says. "How was Cole?"

"He's doing better," Starr tells her.

"Did you see Dad and Tina back in Llanview?" Blair asks. "How are they handling that mess with Viki?"

"Dad's mostly accepted things," Starr says. "The usual quips and all. Natalie and Jessica are blaming Tina, who's going between feeling sorry for herself, feeling sorry for Aunt Viki and complaining about Llanview being against her...she and Roxy got into it over Sunday's dinner blaming each other."

Starr wasn't able to get here until very late last night, close to midnight...she and Blair visited Llanview over the weekend, then Starr visited Cole yesterday before coming here.

I made sure that I had a private plane retrieve her and a driver pick her up from the airport last night.

I'm glad Starr was able to make it here by Christmas day because Hope was really worried and had a nightmare the night she and Blair arrived here.

Cassie, Kelly, Jack, Zane and Indigo came over the weekend while Addie, Blair and Hope were able to make it on two days ago along with Adriana and her husband and kids. A soft knock sounds on the door.

"Dori...?" Addie calls. "Are you awake...?"

"Yes..." I slowly sit up and have to rub my eyes a few seconds. "Merry Christmas, Addie...come on in."

"Merry Christmas, Dori," Addie slowly comes over and I pull on my favorite blue robe and wave Addie to the bed and we hug.

Addie has on a long lavender T-shirt and pants and she looks as happy as the kids sound.

"Merry Christmas, Addie," David adds.

"I have more of the cookies I made...want to go down and eat them while we open our presents?" Addie asks.