Saoirse: I think I'm okay. I'm not very hungry right now.

Saoirse: Actually, I think I'm out of shampoo. And conditioner. And body wash. Could you get me some please?

Ansel: No worries. I'm still on a weird time schedule right now, so I may be up and around the apartment and making runs to get groceries and things and weird or random hours. But if you need anything, just text me and I'll keep you in mind when I'm making my runs.

Happy birthday to my beautiful wife @saoirse-elgort

Saoirse: I love you. If you want to just lay here with me, you can. But I know I'm a bit of a downer right now.

Saoirse: Cheese and crackers sounds good. Or whatever we have, really. No need to go out.

Saoirse: That's sweet of you to ask. Just a nice herbal tea is fine, thanks.

Ansel: I love you too. I'll be in to lay with you in a bit. We can put a movie on if you'd like? Maybe something that's a feel-good kind of movie if you're up for it?

Ansel: You sure? I don't mind running out if you'd like something else.

Saoirse: Thank you, my love.

Saoirse: I'm not really sure I have the energy to get out of bed right now.

Saoirse: Would it be too much to ask of you to bring it to the room? After you're done with everything you need to do, of course. I haven't been very hungry anyway.

Ansel: No, not at all. I'll bring in a tray of whatever you want and sit it on the nightstand for you.

Ansel: What are you in the mood to eat? A sandwich? Something light like toast? Or maybe even cheese and crackers?

Ansel: Hey babe.

Ansel: I just wanted to let you know that I made a grocery store run and stocked up on some of your favorite tea. I also got those peanut butter cookies you love.

From the minute she woke up, Saoirse was anxiously awaiting for the time that they would be able to open presents. She had been holding on to this secret for what seemed like forever, and she was dying to just scream out the good news to him and celebrate. But she had to be patient. Between each of their large families, there were enough gifts around them and they’d surely be at this for an hour at least, so there was still a lot more anxious waiting until she could finally hand him over the biggest gift. She sat on the floor opposite of him and gave her legs a quick pat until Baby crawled up into them and gracefully sat in between them as she reached for the box Ansel was handing over to her. With a suspicious look on her face, she squinted her eyes in his direction while holding on to the box. “You’re got that look on your face…” she trailed off as a grin grew on her own face at the sight of her husband smiling so widely. If there was anything about Ansel, it was that he was always full of surprises and if it already had him smiling this big, it was definitely something special. “Okay, here I go,” she held the box with her two hands, carefully popping up the creases of the wrapping paper before going in and tearing it all apart until the box was fully unwrapped and in her hands. “A box! You shouldn’t have,” she said with a chuckle, before lifting up the cover of the box and revealing the contents on the inside. “What…” was all she could say as she pulled out a silver key, along with a folded up piece of paper below it. She held onto the key with one hand as she unfolded the paper with the other, he mouth falling open as she read that he had managed to purchase her dream house without her knowing. “Oh my god,” she said as she looked up from the paper and over at her husband, a smile as wide as his own now on her face as she spoke. “I can’t believe you got it. I’ve been looking at this place since we went out and visited it and I was so upset when it sold. I had no idea you went out and bought it!” The blonde exclaimed, before she carefully picked Baby out from in between her legs and threw her arms around her husband in the tightest hug imaginable. “Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she said over and over a gain as she planted multiple kisses all over his face and his lips, her entire body just beaming with excitement. “I can’t believe you did this. I love you so much.” 

Ansel couldn’t contain his excitement as the seconds ticked down to her ripping away the wrapping paper on the box. “What look? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ansel spoke, quickly disguising the emotion on his face. Instead, he quizzically raised his eyebrow as he glanced back down to the small box in her hands. He should have expected his wife to make some sort of sarcastic comment when faced with a plain and unwrapped box in the palm of her hands. “Oh shush and open it already,” he playfully teased with a roll of his eyes. He could feel the sound of his heartbeat ringing through his ears as the seconds pressed on. Her jaw dropped the moment she realized what exactly his gift to her was. “I know,” was all he could say as his lips stretched into the biggest smile they could manage. “It was so hard to console you the day that you found out it was sold. Mainly because I didn’t want to give away this surprise. But I knew it would all be worth it when you found out. Merry Christmas, babe.” Ansel scooted closer to his wife and wrapped his arms around her, returning each and every kiss she placed on him. “I had to find some way to surprise you and keep you on your toes. We can’t have our marriage going all dull and losing the flavor or anything,” the man teased with a wink, placing another kiss on her lips. 

‘If only he knew,’ were the first words that ran through her her head as she listened to Ansel speak. Growing up in Ireland for a big chunk of her life, she was used to rainy, cold, and overcast weather fairly often. There was always a slight wind chill so it never really warmed up, not quite like summer’s in New York, at least. Snow was a rare sighting. Since living in New York these past few years, it had become a regular occurrence and something that was expected every winter. The first snowfall of the year was always the most exciting, but every snowy day thereafter was just as exciting. She thought how Ansel grew up with this, while she grew up with that, and how their future child would grow up with the perfect mix between the two. She got lost in a daydream as she thought of all the possibilities. Christmas at home in New York with the Elgort’s, Christmas at home in Ireland with her family. Their child was going to be able to experience both of their worlds from their own perspective, and that was what she was looking forward to the most from this next chapter. “A very special one indeed, yes,” she said with a nod as she pulled herself out from her daydream and reached for her cup of tea, taking a sip of it before smiling in his direction. “It already is a special one. My husband made me the perfect breakfast and the perfect cup of tea, that’s an excellent start to the morning if you ask me.” 

Ansel couldn’t help the smile that tugged on the corners of his lips and his wife spoke. As they finished their meals, Ansel quickly cleared the table and began to clean up everything. “I’ll clean up here, if you want to head into the living room and get the presents sorted for us to open. Don’t forget there’s a few in the front closet that our families sent,” Ansel reminded her as he lathered up a plate with some soap. He quickly finished everything up and darted into the living room with his fresh cup of coffee he had made. As he entered the living room, he noticed a few neat piles of stacked gifts. As he took his seat next to Saoirse, he reached for the one gift he couldn’t wait for her to open. He knew he should really save it for last as some sort of epic grand finale, but this secret had been killing him for weeks. Ever since he had caught her fawning over this dream house of theirs online. Every day, it seemed as if she was checking the listing to see if it was still available. Ansel had even caught her on the phone a few times leaving voicemails to relators in the area. The day that she found out it had been bought was the hardest. She had been in such a slump that day and Ansel was bursting at the seams, wanting to spill the news that he had been the one that took her dream house off the market. But he couldn’t ruin his big Christmas surprise. So instead, he held her close that day and tried his best to cheer her up. He knew it would all be worth it the moment she ripped open the wrapping paper and found the house key inside of a small box, complete with a folded up paper of the house listing inside. Ansel handed her the small box with the biggest smile on his face. “You need to open this one first,” he instructed.

All of this could not have been any more perfect. They had woken up to a White Christmas and she was bursting at the seams with excitement for him to open up his gift. Of course, that would come a bit later in their morning, and she had to keep her cool until then, but it was so so hard for her to not just skip over all of their morning rituals and skip to the look on his face when he opens her gift to him. “Oooh, this is perfect, thank you,” she said with a wide smile as she quickly returned the kiss to him and took a sip of her tea, nodding her head at the flavor of it. “Yep. You know just the right way to do it. I’ve taught you well, babe. Even if I can’t teach you to appreciate tea in general, you sure do know how to make an excellent cup of it.” She leaned back in her chair as she set her teacup back down on the table and looked out the window to the snow falling down. “It didn’t frequently snow back home in Ireland. Maybe only a couple of times that I can remember, but I always hoped to wake up to a snowy Christmas morning with my loved ones all around me. Just like this one. This is just perfect,” she said, glancing over at him with a grin before taking another sip of her tea. 

There was a small part of Ansel who just wanted to rush through their Christmas breakfast so he could watch her reaction as she opened one particular present from him. But of course, he wanted to enjoy every last moment of this day since it was in fact their first Christmas together as a married couple. “Hey, you have to admit I’ve come a long way on this tea journey. There have been a few flavors that I like. And sure, maybe I put a little too much sugar in my tea. But it’s better than not drinking tea at all,” the man said with a chuckle. Even though he wasn’t a huge tea drinker himself, he had learned to make the perfect cup of tea--well according to Saoirse’s standards, that is. As Saoirse spoke, Ansel made his way to their dining room table and placed her plate in front of her before taking his seat across from her. “See this is normal for me, being a New York kid all of my life. Although there have been some Christmases in the past it decided not to snow. I’m just glad it’s a white Christmas today, since it is a special one for us after all,” he spoke as he began to dig into the plate in front of him.

Even after Ansel had finished speaking, Saoirse nuzzled her head into his body for a few silent moments. The feeling and the scent of Ansel holding her and wrapping his arms around her was such a comforting feeling, she could get lost in it forever. Their Christmas prior to this had been very different, but equally special. It proved to her that their love was real and solid and they’d do anything for each other, which is how he managed to pull off surprising her and their family just in time for Christmas dinner. She had to give him just one more quick kiss before nodding her head, “deal. But if I have to go out there in the freezing New York City weather, I better come back in to a cup of tea made just the way I like it, as well,” she warned in a playful tone, before turning to grab their pup’s leash and calling out for her. As she stepped out of their apartment and onto the snow covered pavement, she crossed her arms over her chest while she watched the snow fall in tiny little delicate flakes all over the place. Aside from the tiny bulldog doing its business in the background of this picturesque moment, every bit of this morning felt like it was out of a storybook and was the most perfect Christmas morning. 

Ansel couldn’t help but smile as he felt his wife’s petite body squeeze him tight and nuzzle against him. It was quite the transition from Christmas Day a year ago. This time last year, he had gotten to spend the day at home with Saoirse and their families, leaving the rehab center that he had checked himself into months prior. A full year later, they were now married and spending their first Christmas together as husband and wife. A complete 180 from the previous year. “Deal,” Ansel said with a shake of his head as he flashed a sweet smile at the blonde. As Saoirse and the pup made their way out the front door, Ansel grabbed the kettle and started the water for Saoirse’s tea. He was multi-tasking between finishing up the meal he was cooking and waiting for the water to come to a boil. He grabbed a couple plates from the cupboard above the sink, scooping a little bit of everything onto each of the plates and placing them on the table. The moment the front door swung back open, the tea kettle began to whistle. “Perfect timing,” Ansel spoke with a smile as he poured the hot water over the teabag and into her favorite mug. “A perfect cup of tea for my perfect wife.” Ansel handed her the mug while placing a sweet kiss on her cheek.

Saoirse was barely able to sleep through the night knowing that the excitement of Christmas morning was just a few hours away from going to bed. This year she knew that they had a lot to celebrate, with it being their first Christmas together as a married couple as well as the surprises that were in store for each of them. She had gotten him a few smaller yet special gifts to fit the space underneath the tree, but the real gift was hidden within the tree in a small box where neither her husband or Baby could get to it to take an early sneak peak. Upon smelling the familiar scent of bacon airing through their small apartment, Saoirse immediately sat up in bed and went over to grab her sweater and slippers as she took a look at the snow covered city just outside their window. It was a perfect white Christmas morning, and nothing could compare to how truly picturesque everything looked. Once she was finally dressed up and comfortable, she walked out to the kitchen and wrapped her arms around her husband - giving him a big squeeze and a kiss on the cheek. “Good morning, husband,” she said into his ear with a smile on her face before continuing, “Merry Christmas.” 

As the bacon was sizzling in the frying pan in front of him, Ansel glanced up and took in the image of their lit up tree with presents scattered all around the bottom. Some were presents their families had mailed over to them that they had promised not to rip into until Christmas morning, others were gifts for Baby, and of course there were many gifts of various sizes that were hand picked out by one another and for one another. But there was one small box in particular that Ansel was anxious for Saoirse to open. His attention was turned away from the tree the moment he felt a tiny pair of arms wrap around his torso. He leaned in to return the kiss, planting an extra one on her lips before pulling away. “Good morning my beautiful wife. And Merry Christmas. If you let our fir child out to go potty, I’ll make sure to have a full plate of breakfast for you waiting on the table by the time you get back.” 

Christmas morning

Ansel’s eyes fluttered opened as he tilted his head to look at the alarm clock on his bedside table. His groggy eyes blinked a few times, allowing his sight to focus on the bright red numbers that read 8:07am. His head tilted in the other direction towards his still sleeping wife and dog. The man slowly and quietly slid out of bed. The sleepy bulldog looked up at the man with a look that could kill, clearly unhappy she had been woken up. “Go back to bed, Baby,” Ansel whispered to the dog as he tiptoed out into the kitchen. He quietly shuffled through the cabinets to grab a few pans, where he started frying up some bacon and making a few batches of scrambled eggs. While he wanted to surprise Saoirse in bed with a huge breakfast tray, he was sure that any moment she could burst into the kitchen because she was woken up by the smell of food. Even if Saoirse wasn’t the first one in the kitchen, he was sure Baby would at least be making her entrance any moment with the smell of bacon wafting in the air.