Small Town Christmas

Chapter 3: Elizabeth

"So I was wondering if I could just take 3 days off before my Christmas vacation"
"Ummm here let me check, I don't think we have anything scheduled those days" Sarah flipped through a big calendar on her desk. I had finally gathered up the courage to asked Sarah about the days off. It's not that I thought she was some scary boss or really stern, it's just that Sarah hates when people ask for extra days off when she already has them scheduled.

I watched her flip and flip then check in another notebook and then flip. She looked up at me and smiled. "Yes you can" she said with a small nod of her head. I smiled and sat down in a chair that was next to the desk. "You seeing Brenndan and Julia for Christmas?" I was a little surprised she asked. Another thing about work and Sarah was that since she was my boss I had to keep all our conversations mostly on work, ever since some idiot coworker thought Gabby and I got special treatment for being Sarah's friends. Now we have very few personal conversations, but after work we are the still the best friends we where since middle school.

"Yep and Heather, Peter, Colin, and the rest of the weirdos." She already knew my family and has meet most of them, so she knows who I mean when I talk about the weirdos. She chuckled a little, "Even Austin?" She said as she raised an eyebrow. For like ever she had a crush on my second cousin, they had meet one time at my family's cabin. "Actually yes this time he will be their. Not like the last time when he never showed up and you pouted in the kitchen for 10 minutes" I could barely finish my sentence before I erupted with laughs. She frowned playfully "I didn't pout" she sassily challenged "And it was 2 minutes not 10" she muttered under her breath, I couldn't help but laugh. I got up and left before I had to 'lay down the law'. "I have work to do" I said as I walked out and smiled. Before I left her office she caught me with "Hey did you yell at those delivery guys some more?" I turned around and glared at her "Don't. Get. Me. Started." I smiled again and left. "So that's a no?" She yelled as I walked out.
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1 week to Christmas

'White Christmas' started to play as I finished the dishes and the ding of my coffee machine went off. I poured myself a cup with some french vanilla and grabbed a plate from the cupboard and a few cookies. I sat on the couch and turned on the tv to Hallmark. I loved to watched romantic Christmas movies it was one of my favorite things during the season.

Click click click

Aspen's paws clicked on the hardwood floor of the kitchen. She walked into the living room and sat down on the floor next to me. Her gold coat glistened with the light of my fireplace. My living room was a dark cream color with lighter cream colored carpet. My tv hung above my fireplace, the couch was a good couple feet from the fireplace, and my Christmas tree was standing in the corner by the fireplace near the window. I had a love seat sit on the opposite of the Christmas tree with a end table. I loved the welcoming design of my living room.

My eyes traveled back to Aspen she was a good dog. I had gotten her when I got the house, I had grown up with dogs and couldn't live in a house without one.

After 2 movies it was 9:00pm and I decide to take a shower before going to bed. Before I went the bathroom to turn the warm water on I grabbed sweatpants, sweatshirt, and a dark maroon sleep shirt. Every winter and fall night I warmed my pjs in the dryer before I went to bed. I guess you could say it was a tradition. I threw the clothes in the dryer and turned it on, ran upstairs to take a shower. Aspen followed after me.

I dried off and snuck back downstairs, in a towel, to change into my pjs. They were warm and very cozy. I shut off all my lights but the Christmas tree and tidied up anything that was out of place, which was really not that much. One thing that bugged me was going to sleep knowing that my house was a mess. When I was done I slowly climbed the stairs to fall asleep in my room. Aspen knew what time it was and was waiting for me in bed. I smiled at her and cuddled with her before shutting off the lights. The first few months I had Aspen she sleep in a kennel, but who wants to hear whining till 12:00? So know she snuggled in bed with me, can't complain though she was a great feet warmer.