Chapter 30: Christmas Morning

Christmas morning, Hath woke early. Even though they hadn’t gotten home from Midnight Mass until close to two, by seven, she was awake. She stayed in bed, wrapped in David’s arms, and smiled. He was such a good sport about attending Mass with her and her family. He watched the Christmas pageant, stood when the congregation did, and even joined in on a couple of the lesser hymns. He stayed for the coffee and cookies afterwards, and by the time they got home, they were exhausted. They collapsed into bed and fell asleep right away.

Now it was morning. Even though the shades kept the room nice and dark, Hath knew it was morning. She smiled at David, his face relaxed and completely at peace. Sighing, she kissed him gently, and tried to extricate herself from his grasp without waking him. It didn’t work.

“Where are you going?” he asked groggily.

“Just going to start some coffee,” she answered.

“Mmmm. Queenie’s coffee? Is there any of that left?”

Hath laughed and kissed his forehead. “Yes, Queenie’s coffee,” she said.

“Hurry back,” David said, and was asleep again before Hath could get all the way out of bed.

Chuckling, she wrapped herself in her Minnie Mouse robe, and went downstairs and got the coffee started. Listening for the sounds of the bed creaking, she snuck into her office and got David’s present from her desk. Creeping into the living room, she stopped. There were presents under the tree for her family, who would be coming over later, but there were a couple she knew she hadn’t put there. She read the tags and smiled. One was from Jon, a few from David and one from ‘David and Tico’. He must have snuck down in the middle of the night. Hath placed her gift on the stack, and went to get her coffee.

David smelled the heavenly aroma coming from the kitchen, rolled over, and groaned. He could use more sleep, but was anxious to give Hath his gifts. He scratched his chest lazily and rolled off the edge of the bed. After stretching deeply, he ran a hand through his hair and went into the bathroom. Hath had propped a card against the mirror, and David smiled. He finished his business, took the card, and started downstairs.

David stopped halfway down the stairs, captivated by the sight of Hath. She was curled up on the couch, her chin propped on her hand, and she was looking out the window at the snow. Christmas Carols were playing softly in the background, the tree lights were twinkling, and a steaming cup of coffee rested on the table at her side. He knew the moment when she registered his presence, because she smiled and turned to him.

“Morning, sweetheart,” she said.

“I thought you were coming back to bed,” David groused, but his smile belied his words.

“Sorry,” she said, and gestured to the tree. “It looks like Santa was here.”

“Really?” David said, and came down to sit behind Hath. He took a sip of her coffee, then pulled her back against him and wrapped his arms around her. They sat together, lost in thought, staring at the tree for some time. “Do you want your presents?” David asked.

“You first,” Hath said, and pulled a small package from the top of the pile.

David opened it, and smiled. “This is wonderful! Where did you find it?”

“Oh, a Goddess has her ways,” Hath answered. She had found a pendant of The Goddess Hathor. It had a one-carat orange sapphire depicting the sun, and was strung on a leather cord.

David turned it over. On the back, she had it engraved in a delicate script. “To David, I am forever your Goddess, Hathor”

He handed it to Hath, who fastened it around his neck. Kissing him deeply, she said, “Now you can take me with you wherever you go.”

“I just love it. Now it’s your turn. Whose gift do you want first?”

“You decide,” Hath answered.

David got up and retrieved a flat package from under the tree. It was the one from him and Tico. Hath opened it and gasped. Tico had done a pencil drawing from the picture of their first kiss after the concert in Newark, and framed it. He captured the lust in their eyes perfectly, and Hath couldn’t stop staring at it. She saw a flash, and jerked her head up. “What the hell was that for?” she asked.

“Teek wanted to see your face when you opened it,” he said, smiling, and turning off the camera.

“Oh, this is just beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. I love it,” she kissed David. “Thank you so much.” She couldn’t put it down. "Tell him to consider himself bear-hugged."

David smiled, and handed her the box from Jon, and waited for her to open it. When she saw the football inside, she jumped from the couch. “Holy shit!” she yelled. “Oh my God, this is frickin fantastic!” She turned the ball over and over in her hands, reading everyone’s signature. “The entire team signed this.”

“I know,” David said wryly. “There’s more.”

Hath’s eyes went wide. “More?” She looked and saw an envelope at the bottom of the box, and opened it, not quite believing what she was seeing. She looked at David. “Do you know what this is?” He just smiled. “I get to go to training camp! An open pass to go to training camp! I just can’t believe it.” There was a note stuck to the pass, from Jon.

“Thanks for the camera, Goddess. Hope you have fun, and tell David ‘ha ha’. Jon.”

Hath showed the note to David, and he laughed. “What does ‘ha ha’ mean?”

David said, “He knew this gift was going to excite you, and he’s just rubbing it in that he was right.” He dropped a kiss on Hath’s nose. “You ready for the rest?”

Hath nodded, and watched David retrieve two packages from under the tree, one large, one small. “Open the small one first,” he said. She did, and frowned at the contents of the little box.

“What are these keys for?” she asked.

“Read the note,” was all David said.

The ‘note’ was a transfer of ownership for the Roadrunner from David to Hath. She looked up at David, shock etched in her face. “You’re giving me your car?”

David took her hand. “I’m giving you your father’s favorite car. It means more to you than it does to me; I wanted you to have it.”

Hath launched herself into David’s arms and held him tightly while the tears flowed. “This is just so wonderful. Thank you so much.” She pulled back to look into David’s face. “I love you,” she said, and he kissed her.

“Can you handle another one?” he asked.

“You are far too good to me,” she said, but nodded. David handed her a heavy box, and she sat on the couch to unwrap it. Inside was an antique gramophone.

“I noticed you didn’t have anything downstairs to play your 78’s on,” he said. Hath just smiled and kissed him again.

He broke the kiss to look at her. “There’s one more to open,” he said, smiling, and handed it to her.

She shook her head and carefully opened the box, pulled back the tissue paper and breathed, “Oh!” Nestled in there was a gorgeous red gown, silver strappy CFM sandals with a matching silver bag, a platinum and diamond choker with matching bracelet and chandelier earrings, and a cashmere wrap.

“What is all this?” she said, lifting the gown from the box. She stood and held it against her; it would fall to the floor with a long, flowing skirt that was slit on one side nearly to the hip. The halter-style top dipped low in the front, and the straps crisscrossed in the back, and settled low enough that she thought her tat would show. At the small of the back, there were layers of filmy chiffon gathered that flowed into an elegant short train. The gown had delicate beading along the bodice and around to the back, and was just amazing.

“This,” David said, kissing Hath’s cheek, “is so that next time I have to go to some gala or ceremony, you can come with me. I meant what I said before; darlin’, I want you with me when I do these things. I want my best girl by my side.” He kissed her again. “Try it on,” he said, “please.”

Hath smiled and took the gown and shoes into the bathroom. She took a really quick shower, dried off, and slid the gown over her head. She zipped the side, and noticed it fit perfectly. A little snug in the bodice, but it pushed her breasts up and together slightly, and made her eyes pop from her head when she saw her reflection in the mirror. She slid the shoes on her feet, adjusted the straps, took a deep breath, and floated from the bathroom.

David was standing, facing away from her when she entered the room. “Ready,” she said, and David turned, and nearly dropped the coffee mug he was drinking from. He shakily placed it on the table, never once taking his eyes from her.

“You are breathtaking,” he said. Hath blushed and turned to show him the back of the dress, and how his tat showed just above the deep vee of the gown. “I cannot wait to show you off,” he said. “I want the world to know you’re mine,” he said, and kissed her neck. He fingers found the zipper at her side, and pulled.

“What are you doing?” Hath asked.

“Practicing getting this thing off you,” he answered. He managed, and led Hath upstairs for a proper end to her Christmas morning.