Spitting Image • TFC 3.0 • l.t. au

Christmas Special

CHRISTMAS

This morning I woke up with no plans in mind. I woke up with no intentions but to celebrate Christmas with my family but the moment I opened my eyes, I was alone in bed again.

I'm not surprised.

I sighed, picking up a sweater from the end of the bed an slipping it on. I pull my hair in a ponytail before heading downstairs where Blaine and Summer are sat together doing something.

"Morning," I greet them as I stood at the table. "Any idea where your dad went?" I ask them.

Blaine looks up and drops his pen. "He went to finalise the team for the leagues. Something like that, I don't know. All he said he won't be back till afternoon." He says, shrugging.

He's working on his birthday? Again? That doesn't surprise me but it saddens me. We rarely spend time together as a family now and I really wish we could today and tonight. "Did he leave early?" I ask Blaine.

"Yeah, around 7." He says. "He never celebrates his birthday anymore... It's sad."

I sighed and had to agree with my son. "That's true. He's always working and when he comes home, he's already tired and he doesn't have the strength to prepare anymore." I tell him.

"Can't we do something about it?" Blaine asks, looking at me curiously. "I mean, we don't do this that often anymore. Maybe we should surprise him? Let him unwind a little from all the work he's been doing." He says.

Blaine has a point. Anyway, I'm free the rest of the day and all the kids are here to help out. It's just sad that the last time we celebrated his birthday was 7 years ago. It's not because we don't want to, but it's because he's always working.

"Yeah, let's surprise him." I tell Blaine. He looks at me with a smile on his face. "We've got all day and let's plan this right now..."

And so we did. Blaine had a lot of things in mind but we stuck to one. Not a very grand celebration but it's one celebration where all 6 of us are together. That's the important thing.

~~~

"When did you plan this?" Emily asks me through the phone.

"Just this morning. I'm heading to the university right now." I tell her. I had to take the bus this time from our destination to the university. "Hey, I'm coming by at home tomorrow. You should as well." I remind her.

Em chuckles and says, "of course. Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow Meg. Merry Christmas." With that, she hangs up.

Just as she hung up, the bus pulls over QIU. Right in the parking lot is Louis' car and I came right on time. I don't hesitate walking into the building and heading straight to the faculty office

When I got there, Louis is seated at his desk with papers scattered in front of him. He doesn't look up or even noticed me entering the room. For someone who's celebrating the day they were born, he doesn't look very happy. He looks frustrated and stressed out. I can tell by the way he's rubbing his temples.

He slams the paper he's holding on the table and leans back on his seat. He looks up and gives me a surprised look when he sees me in front of him. "What are you doing here?" He asks.

"Can't I visit?" I ask him. "What time are you out?"

He shrugs, checking the clock on his desk. "Right now, I guess." He says hesitantly. "Why suddenly so curious?"

I chuckled and stacked his papers up in a pile. He doesn't complain which surprised me cause he normally does when I tidy up his work place. "Meg, I can tell you're hiding something. You were never very good at lying." He says with a laugh.