His Shadow

7

I woke up with a bright smile on my face. Ah, this was the day I was dreaming of for years. I didn't just wake up on Christmas day, but I woke up in a decorated house, with a little gift from God in my belly, and a husband who didn't mind celebrating Christmas with me this year.

I knew that I was acting extremely childish, but as soon as I stood up and changed into a casual, vintage Christmas dress with the red, white, and green stripes, as well as some snowflakes and candy canes and holly, I raced down the stairs to sit by the Christmas tree. I gasped and frowned, coming to a stop before I made it to the tree.

"Alexander? You're up?"

He laughed as he came up to me and wrapped an arm around my waist. "You seem surprised."

I nodded. "That's because I am. Why are you up this early?"

He didn't say anything but just slowly pulled me towards him and then pressed a soft kiss to my cheek. Then, he squatted down and pressed a kiss to the belly. "Merry Christmas," he whispered.

I smiled even wider and then ruffled his hair with my fingers. "Merry Christmas," I whispered back.

He stood up and took my hand in his. "Well? Let's go open presents."

I laughed. "What? There's presents?"

He pointed under the tree and sure enough, there were boxes and bags under the tree. An explosion of red, green, white, gold, silver, topped with Santa's, snowflakes, snowmen, bells, bows, candy canes, penguins, and any other typical Christmas icon emerged under the tree.

I laughed and then said, "Wait, you've gotta wait! I forgot to bring my presents down here!"

I quickly whirled around and ran up to my room to where I had carefully hidden a few presents I had managed to get without Alexander ever knowing. You know, a very big pro to this entire mess that I was in, was the fact that he didn't keep a close watch on me anymore, and I could actually go out and buy stuff without him knowing. I rushed back down the stairs and to the living room where Alexander was patiently waiting with a funny little smirk on his face as he watched me nearly trip, carrying the presents down to him.

"This is all for me?" 

I nodded. "Hurry and open them!"

He shook his head. "I think you should be the first to open your presents."

"How about we both open all our presents at the same time?"

Alexander gave a firm nod and we began to carefully rip open the wrapping paper and disassemble the gift bags. The room was soon covered in Christmas paper, but we loved it. 

Each little gift he got me was so marvelous and precious. Of course, being the very rich genteleman he was, he gave me a gorgeous red pendant necklace that most likely cost more than all the gifts I got him combined. He got me a cute Christmas mug with a picture of a penguin and her little penguin in a Christmas box. Amongst other things, he also got me some wonderful heating packs and soothing teas, and anything else he could think of for the horrible third trimester.

However, his best gifts were the ones for our baby. He got a cute little Christmas teddy bear that had a Santa hat and an ornament shirt, with February written on it. He got some cute little winter clothes for our boy, like a heavy coat, scarf, and even some stylish boots. The best gift was the rocking cradle with a complimentary Christmas blanket.

I walked over to him and tightly wrapped my arms around his neck. "Oh, thank you so much, Alexander. Thank you!" I whispered softly, closing my eyes. 

I couldn't believe this is the man that was here with me right now. Never did I imagine that the man I married would one day be so kind and human instead of a cold machine. I tightened my grip on him and whispered 'thank you' once more.