The Gift

December 25th 5:49AM

Henry woke up to something pressed against his side. It was warm. He turned his head to look at what was there. Morgan was curled up, her back against his side. Her breathing was slow and steady. Henry slowly inched away from her and got up out of the bed.

In his bathroom, Henry leaned against the sink, his hands pressed against the cold marble. He let out a shaky breath and shook his head. Reaching into the shower, he turned the water on and let it run before stepping in to take a shower.

When Henry exited the bathroom, Morgan was not in the bed. He looked around the room, trying to see if she was still there, but she was gone. Henry sighed and gathered up fresh clothes, changing into them for the day. The smell of freshly baked bread wafted up the stairs. Henry took a sniff and his mouth watered. Slipping on a sweatshirt over his shirt, he made his way down the stairs.

Morgan was sitting in the kitchen on a chair, a mug in her hand, and she was watching Gram cut up a loaf of bread.

"Sleep okay?" Morgan asked, taking a sip. Henry nodded his head and peered over Gram's shoulder.

"You wait," the elderly woman scolded as she wagged her finger at Henry. He threw up his hands and walked away with a laugh. One by one, the rest of the family showed up, all dressed and ready to start the day.

"Can I open my stocking? Can I open something before we eat?" Maddie asked, firing off questions a mile a minute into her father's ear as he carried her over to the dining table.

"Yes, go get your stocking," Cameron replied, setting the girl down onto the floor. Morgan lifted her mug to take a sip and shared a look with Cameron. Gram was the only one that noticed, her eyes narrowing in question. The youngest member of the family came running back in and jumped up into a chair, tossing her stocking onto the table.

"Look!" She exclaimed, holding up a MP3 player. She squealed and set it down on the table before digging into the rest of the large red sock. Allison leaned over the young girl's shoulder, watching as the child happily unwrapped everything in the stocking.

"Come on, let's eat and then we can go down to the lounge," Cameron exclaimed as Gram brought over the bread she made. Anita turned her nose up in disgust and went to the fridge for a protein shake. Cameron looked across the table to Morgan and nodded who nodded her head back at him. Just then, her phone rang. She quickly excused herself from the table and walked into the other room.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is this Morgan Riley?" The woman on the other end asked.

"Yes, it's me," Morgan replied.

"I'm with American Airlines, I'm calling about your flight," the woman stated.

Henry sat watching Morgan on the phone. He could only guess that it was her flight home, bringing the holiday to a crashing reality. He clenched his fists under the table and tried to take a deep breath.

"Morgan, honey, everything alright?" Gram asked as Morgan approached the table. Morgan nodded her head.

"Yeah, they got me on a flight this afternoon," she replied with a crooked smile.

"What time will you be leaving?" Cameron questioned, watching Morgan intently. Morgan turned to look at the older gentleman.

"Probably around noon," she responded, nodding her head.

"Why don't you just go now?" Henry asked, his voice hard. Morgan looked over at Henry with a tilted head. Her mouth opened as if she was going to say something, but she quickly closed it.

"Henry," Cameron said, turning to face his son. Henry stood up from the table and held his fists at his sides.

"What, it's not like she has a reason to be here anyway," Henry stated, his words coming out in a rough growl. Morgan bowed her head, her face falling into a frown.

"What are you talking about?" Katie asked, her eyebrows furrowed.

"Yeah Henry, you invited your girlfriend here, isn't that a reason?" Allison added. Her eyes flicked between Henry and Morgan.

"She's not my girlfriend."