Positive?!

[58]

Jackson:

I looked over to Mark who was happily decorating the cookies with my mother. He was wearing an adorable sweater with snowflakes on it and he even had the typical red Christmas hat on his head.

He looked like an excited child while he was chatting with my mom who obviously enjoyed the other's company. I just sat there on one of the kitchen chairs while I calmly watched them.

I slowly got the feeling that Mark really loved Christmas. He had decorated the whole Christmas tree by himself and now it was shining in several red and golden colors which lit up the living room.

I looked up when he suddenly walked over to me, holding a present shaped cookie in his hands. He had obviously decorated it with red and green frosting and he had taken care to think of all details.

"Here. I hope it tastes good." Mark carefully handed me the cookie which was actually to beautiful to be eaten now but I didn't want to hurt his feelings. I took a bite of the warm biscuit.

It tasted like vanilla and cinnamon and that perfectly matched with the sweetness of the frosting. My mother and Mark had definitely put a lot of effort in those cookies and the decoration.

"It tastes great." I told him with a smile. The elder looked at me with bright sparkling eyes what made him look even more like a excited little boy if I ignored the his round belly of course.

"That's good." He said cheerfully and started to place all the cookies on a big plate. My mom then took it and brought it over to the living room. I got up from the chair and followed her along with Mark.

We always spent Christmas alone. Only me and my parents. We always baked cookies after dinner and ate them while we were giving each other our presents. This year I was more nervous than usual.

The puppy for my little girl was hidden in a rosy paper bag which I had tried to decorate with white ties. It wasn't perfect but I really hoped Mark would like it and the present which I had gotten for him.

Mark walked over to the tree and took three presents. Each of them had a different colored tie. He walked over to the sofa and handed my parents two of the boxes. They both seemed really surprised.

Mark said that he wanted to thank them for letting him live in their house, treating him like their own child and giving our child a safe home and place to grow up. I smiled a bit at his beautiful words.

His emotional speech caused him and my mother to cry and even my dad had to gulp heavily. Mom got up and brushed the tears away from the boy's cheeks before she pressed a kiss on his forehead.

After this moment he walked over to me and handed me the present with the black tie. It was quadrangular and not that big. Actually I was surprised that he had gotten me something. He didn't have to.

"And this one is for you. I also have to thank you." The black-haired boy smiled a bit. "You don't need to thank me. I haven't done that much for you." I said and unluckily this was true. He did much more for me.

"You gave me your jacket when I had chocolate milk on my hoodie, you accepted our child, you went to the ultrasound with me and you protect me from all the bullies in school. Of course, I have to thank you."

He had new tears in his eyes although he was smiling at me. I slowly unwrapped the present. Mark sat down next to me and looked at me full of excitement. It seemed like he really wanted to see my reaction.

I put the paper aside and looked at the black box in my hands. It really made me curious. I opened the box and took a pair of swimming goggles out of it. They were black with silver shining lightnings on it.

I could even see my name engraved on them. This was one of the best present I had ever received and I didn't even know what I did when I placed the box on the table and hugged him carefully.

He was a bit surprised at first but returned my hug just a moment later. I didn't even know what came over me but it felt like I had really needed a warm hug. I whispered a short "Thank you." before I let go of him.

"I wanted her name to be on it too when we have decided for one. The shop assistant said we could also engrave it later." He told me and I smiled even more. I really liked that idea.

I noticed that my parents were brightly smiling at us when I got up from the sofa to give Mark his present and the stuffed puppy for the baby. I hadn't been very sure what to buy for him but luckily I had help.

I gave him his present first which unwrapped carefully. I had gotten him a silver necklace with his initials on it. It was simple but I had found out that he didn't like fancy things so it was perfect.

The elder looked at the necklace and started to smile. "It's beautiful Jackson. Thank you so much." He softly stroked over the cold metal. "It will give you strength to go through the hard times of life." I told him.

He gave me short hug and handed me the necklace so I could help him to put it on. Mark turned around and I carefully put the silver jewellery around his neck. It looked perfect on his skin.

He turned back to me and I grabbed the bag from the floor. "The necklace is not all. I've also bought something for the baby." I was a bit nervous when I gave him the paper bag with the puppy inside.

What if he didn't like it? Or if he thought that it was too much to buy something for the baby now? What if he laughed? For now, he was still smiling. Then he slowly took the stuffed animal out of the bag.

He looked at it for a while, his smile became softer and some tears were shining in his eyes. "It's wonderful." Mark's voice was quiet but I could clearly hear those words which made release a sigh of relief.

The boy pressed the golden puppy against his belly and smiled lovingly. "I'm sure she will love it." He said what made me endlessly happy. Mark placed the puppy on the sofa and the following action shocked me completely.

He moved a bit closer and placed a soft kiss on my cheek. "Thank you so much." I barely heard his words and my body was frozen. He kissed me! Well, it wasn't a real kiss but I didn't see that coming.

The elder was obviously amused by my reaction. He giggled and started to talk to my mother who offered us the cookies. Mark happily took two from the plate while I still watched him. I was still a bit shocked but I was also endlessly happy.

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Merry Christmas in late November!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter!!

Thank you for reading 💙