Love Like This

1

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Olivia rings the doorbell of the stone house, nearly losing her footing on the icy porch. As she waits, she watches the little snowflakes melt on her black jacket.

The front door whips open, and Mrs. Keen grins widely, flashing her white, perfectly-aligned teeth. "Thank you so much for coming here on such a late notice," she says with a voice filled with pure relief.

The brown-haired, hazel-eyed girl hears a toddler laughing from somewhere inside the suburban home as she smiles in reply. "It's no problem, really." Olivia steps inside the warm home and kicks off her snowy boots as her boss rambles off a specific list of instructions.

"I was hoping that you could take the kids to the mall to see Santa since I really haven't had the time to get that done yet. I left money on the table in case they charge you for a photo, and I also would appreciate it if you could take them out to eat. Anything but fast food, okay?"

Olivia follows her into the immaculate kitchen, craning her neck to hear her as she digs out her winter coat from the closet. Olivia takes off her winter coat and hangs in over one of the wooden chairs in the dining room, which is neatly decorated for Christmas. "Please be aware that Coby has the sniffles, so you might want to bring him a couple of tissues and hand sanitizer for yourself.  Also, Gia is allergic to--"

"Peanuts and pine trees, yes, Mrs. Keen, I know. No need to fret, I've got this all under control."

"Also," the realtor adds with wide eyes, "I left the key to the truck on the table. It's calling for snow, and I don't want you to get stuck anywhere."

"Woah, are you sure?" Olivia asks, feeling burdened with the task of driving someone else's extremely expensive car.

"Yes, honey, I'm positive. Trust me, it's not that big of a deal if you dent it, but please just be careful for the sake of my kids."

"I know, I will," she replies, uneasily looking at the shiny key in her hand. She stuffs it into her pocket for safe keeping. I can do this, it's not that big of a deal.

"Thank you, sweetheart," she says , pushing her dark hair behind her ears and pulling a knitted hat on her head. "Have fun!"

Olivia hears the front door slam shut and looks around the empty room. The metal bar stools are waywardly pushed out from underneath the counter, so she arranges them back into a perfect straight line of chairs. Spotting a couple of green bills on the table, Olivia puts the money in her purse along with a couple of tissues from the box she found in the living room.

"Coby, Gia! Where are you guys?" she yells as she heads up the carpeted stairs. Olivia follows the glow of a lamp to Gia's bedroom. Lying with their tummies on the floor, four-year-old Coby plays with a stuffed pig while six-year-old Gia builds a house with Legos. "Ah-ha! There you both are!"

"Olivia!" Gia yells, leaping over Coby to give her a tight hug around her stomach.

"Oh-wivia!" Coby echos, hugging my leg.

"Aww, you guys are getting so strong and heavy," the teenager replies, trying to pluck the little boy from her leg that is losing circulation. Luckily, Gia has already gone back to playing with her toys. "C'mon, Cobs, let go."

"Never!" he yells, giggling as he tightens his grip.

"If you don't let go, then you won't visit Santa with Gia and me at the mall today," Olivia threatens, winking at Gia, who's giggling quite severely.

"Santa!" he shouts, instantly falling to the ground. He pretends to make snow angels on the carpet as he scream-sings "Santa Claus is Coming to Town."

"Yup, that's right. Get your shoes and coats on so we can go."

Both of the kids run downstairs, nearly wiping out on the wooden floor. Watching them run and jump around makes Olivia's body feel a bit lethargic. If she even had just a fraction of their energy, she'd be able to stay wide awake for three days and nights.

Olivia heads down the stairs as well. She puts her coat back on and helps the kids into their jackets as well. Gia insists that she can zipper coat up all by herself, but a wisp of her blonde hair gets caught it the plastic track. Coby's fine motor skills are not fully developed yet, so Olivia helps him Velcro his shoes and button his jacket.

Once the children are ready, they all head outside. Holding Gia's hand and holding Coby against her hip, the teenager maneuvers around patches of ice and clumps of snow laying in the drive way. She assumes the kids must have had a snowball fight earlier in the day. Unlocking the black truck, she helps the kids into their respective car seats and hops into the driver's seat.

"Olivia, can we listen to the radio?" Gia asks with a blue-eyed, puppy dog face.

"Not now, but maybe if you're good we can on the way back. That means no shouting when I'm driving, okay?" Olivia adjust the seat, moves the mirrors, and pulls out a ice scraper from the center compartment. "And that applies to Coby as well. Now, sit tight, guys. I just have to get the ice off the car and we'll be on our way to Santa's workshop."

"Yay!!" they scream in unison, overjoyed and excited to meet the man who will leave wonderful presents under the Christmas tree in a couple of weeks.

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[A/N] Thank you so much for reading! I want to shout out a few dedicated readers who have been supporting me since the beginning. Thank you to scifiwriter , harleenhollow , and niathewriter