White Daisies

Chapter 14

December 24, 1940

"Good god, you're gorgeous," Jacob breathes as he presses his lips hungrily against mine. They're incredibly soft and taste sweet. He doesn't have to dip his head as far down because I'm still wearing my black heels from church. His hand goes behind my back to stroke the material of my wine colored dress.  I find myself drowning in him, so I kiss him even more passionately, and my hands grasp the back of this neck. I feel my mouth curl into a grin as the sharp aroma of pine enters my nose from the candles burning in the corridor. The door still hangs open from when I let Jacob in, and cold air streams into the house.

I pull away feeling breathless. "Well, hello to you too," I tease with my tongue between my teeth. My cheeks burn from the intensity of the kiss.

My heart flutters in my chest as I observe how handsome he is. He's wearing a nice pair of slacks and a button-up white shirt underneath his coat and dark-colored scarf. His kaleidoscope eyes twinkle in the candlelight of the corridor, his celestial nose tinged red from the cold weather. A stack of presents rests against his hip, his arm curled around them.

Peeping around the corner of the entryway into the living room, he checks to make sure no one is around. He sets the stack of presents down on the mantle and wraps his arms around my waist.

"Happy Christmas, darling," he smiles. My parents had invited Jacob to spend Christmas Eve with us since I had spent the final night of Hanukkah with his family. We lit the last candle of the menorah together and had a wonderful meal of brisket, latkes, and sufganiyot. We played games and exchanged presents. Well, I gave Jacob and his family their gifts. They decided to give me mine on Christmas since that was the holiday I was technically supposed to celebrate. But I had learned a lot about Jewish traditions, and I felt like I knew more about Jacob and his family.

"Jacob! Jacob! Jacob!" my sister exclaims as she runs down the stairs and then towards him, her white dress flowing behind her. Jacob gently pushes me away so he can catch her in his arms. She giggles while he twirls her around.

"Macy, you look beautiful!" he winks at her when he sets her down. I smile at the red blush that forms on her cheeks. She quickly recovers and straightens out her torso.

"Did you bring it?" She claps her hands together in anticipation. Jacob pulls a box from the stack of gifts and opens it to reveal four braided buns with oozing chocolate and powdered sugar.

"Happy Christmas, Macy," he smiles. She squeals and snatches the box from his hands, running into the parlor where my parents are.

I cross my arms. "I know you did not just give a bunch of sugar to my sister on Christmas Eve of all days. Now she's not going to go to sleep at all."

Jacob's hand goes to his neck, and his nose scrunches when he grins sheepishly. "It's not all sugar; there's some bread in there."

My eyebrow arches. He sighs and draws me back into his embrace. "It's not my fault! You know that I have a hard time saying no to your sister. She reminds me of you." He pinches my cheek.

I'm tempted to smile, but I try to hang on to my serious expression. He leans in closer to my ear. "You know, a part of me thinks that someday our daughter will look like her."

My eyes widen in surprise. Our daughter? We had barely talked about our future, besides the fact that this was my last year of gymnasium and I wasn't sure what I wanted to do yet. He was 21 and almost done with law school though; I suppose that it was time for him to think about what's coming.

My anxious thoughts are interrupted by my parents. "Jacob! So nice to see you again!" My father greets. Jacob shakes his hand and hugs my mother. My mother hangs his coat and hat on the rack in the corner of the corridor.