“I’m Curious To See What Happens”

Jake on the other hand, had no holiday memories; his only excitement during the season was for winter break from school which meant no homework, he could stay up all late watching all his favourite movies and TV shows, and eating ice cream or anything else he whenever he wanted. The first few years he had tried to remember what his parents would do for the holidays only for nothing to come up in mind, perhaps because his parents were constantly arguing and if there were any happy moments, he had shoved them so far back in his mind with the horrible ones. All he remembered about the holidays was his mom leaving super early and telling him to wake up only for him to never listen to her, and the same amount of money she would always leave for him to order his favourite pizza for dinner. Christmas morning was like any other morning for him; just him all alone at home letting the time pass until he fell asleep on the couch. The one faint memory that made him smile was the brief moment he would wake up in the middle of the night to feel a blanket being put over him and his mom’s whispered good night before she kissed his forehead.

Now they had had their own family and their own Christmas mornings.

The Peralta-Santiago Christmas morning always started off with Jake being the first one up as he let Amy sleep in just long enough for him to brew her the cup of coffee she needed every morning. Jake was never an early riser, but having kids changes how you sleep, in that now he and Amy got to sleep when the kids slept. But Christmas morning was the exception he always made for his wife and kids.

He always heard Amy’s reminiscent stories about how she loved waking up the smells of cinnamon and sugar, that made her want to run to the kitchen, and he knew it wasn’t the smells of Cinnamon Toast Crunch he would eat on Christmas morning that she was talking about. Jake knew he wasn’t a great cook, but he also knew he wished his kids would one day grow up and tell happy stories about Christmas – that when they thought of dad on Christmas, it would bring a smile to their face, not a sadness.

So dutifully, he would plug in the fancy earbuds Amy had bought him as a gift two years ago (even after they promised no big gifts in preparing for their daughter’s arrival) and began making breakfast for his family. Jamming out to Taylor Swift, he rolled up the sleeves of his reindeer pajama tops to make the pancakes his wife and kids loved. Diligently working in the kitchen, he didn’t notice when Amy had walked into the kitchen.

She had woken up to an empty bedside and today was the only time she didn’t mind, knowing there was a steaming hot cup of coffee waiting for her in the kitchen along with her husband (who she would describe just like that coffee). Arms wrapped around herself to keep from the cold as she watched Jake busy at work, using the same focus he used when he was at work to place cinnamon rolls made by his best friend into the oven, which she knew was because she had made a passing comment about loving them. Walking up to him as he turned back to his pancakes, he looked around their kitchen and understanding exactly what he was looking for – which being married for 7 year does – she picked up the cookie cutters off the dish rack. Wrapping her arms around him, stopping him in his search with a smile, she held the two metal objects in front of him.

“Snowman for Bella and gingerbread man for Mac.”

Turning to face after taking the cookie cutters, Jake found himself engulfed in his sleepy wife’s arms and he wished he could have stayed there for the entire day as she leaned in to kiss him.

“Merry Christmas sweetheart.” He mumbled into the top of her while she rested her head on his chest, their fronts meeting so he could put his arms around her.

“Merry Christmas babe.” She placed her lips against his neck, holding him tight knowing this was moment of peace before their kids woke up and there chaotic Christmas cheer in their home.

Finally parting back from him when a yawned escaped her, Amy leaned against the counter, watching Jake chuckling in his own amusement as he poured chocolate chip pancake batter filling the outlines of the cookie cutter on the pan, making breakfast in festive shapes for his kids. He really was one of those dads and it took everything in her power to not pull his cheeks, realizing he was above and beyond what either of their dads every did. Seeing him yawn, she forwarded her mug towards him, which he absentmindedly sipped from too busy with his pan. Amy wasn’t lying when she later told their kids it looked like he would once again being fed the gross jellybean flavours from their BeanBoozled game. Quickly apologizing as she bit her tongue to hold back her laugh, she fixed him his type of coffee as he started making pancakes for her sans chocolate chips.

As he set up their breakfast table, Amy knew she had to double check she had put all the presents under the tree and all the stockings were completely stuffed. Doing her part in the living room, she picked up the cookies and milk the kids had left out for Santa and moved the coffee table aside knowing they needed the space for the kids to open their presents. Bringing out the Christmas themed throws and placing them on their couch, she looked around the house satisfied as Jake pulled out the cinnamon rolls, letting the fragrance of the spice fill their home. Only able to kiss his cheek as a thank you for bringing a piece of childhood into her Christmas morning, she felt his arm linking into hers as he proudly smiled on.

Walking into their son’s room, they found it empty and look at each other with worried looks before they heard giggles from the room next door belonging to their daughter. Shaking their heads, they walked into Bella’s room finding their two-year-old and five-year-old talking amongst themselves as if hiding a big secret. Clearing his throat, the two kids looked at them like they had been caught hiding cookies Bella’s dresser again but relaxed as Jake brought out his deep Santa voice.

“Merry Christmas children!”

Separating themselves as the kids squeals jumping off the bed, Jake immediately kneeled down and had his arms opened for them to fill. Almost knocking the wind out of him as the two kids jumped to give him hugs, yelling Merry Christmas, Amy kneeled down in laughter as the kids turned to her.

“Merry Christmas Macaroon!” She kissed the top of Mac’s head as he yelled Merry Christmas, clearly this being his favourite day after his birthday.

“Merry Christmas Bella!” She repeated the same with their daughter who had not inherited the same energy levels as Jake, rather was more like her mother and softly kissed Amy’s cheek before she wished her with an equally soft voice.

“Mewry Chwistmas mommy!”

“What about dad?” Jake sat cross legged on the floor with now empty arms and a pout on his face that made Amy remember she had three kids at times.

“You already got hugs!” And sometimes, she joined in the childish behaviour, especially when it came to getting their children’s attention.

Bella rushed back to Jake’s arms, casually sitting on his lap and putting her arms around his neck as he grinned proudly at Amy.

“I’m her favourite!”

“Mom’s my favourite!” Mac spoke up before Amy had the chance to say anything and Jake looked on offended as it was Amy’s turned to proudly smile while squeezing their son in a tight hug.

As the children laughed about their parents being silly again, Amy suddenly remembered how they all ended up in the same room and turned to the kids, knowing very well they were up to something.

“So what were you munchkins doing?”

As if it was a cue that set them off, Mac and Bella ran back to her bed. Getting off the floor slower than their kids, Jake and Amy shared a look wondering what was going on, a knowingly look that they were about experience the joys of being a parent or the not so fun side of parenting.

For the first time, they watched both their children shyly shuffling their feet and keeping their eyes lowered as they forwarded a folded paper to them, Mac nudging his baby sister to say “Merry Christmas” with him. Accepting what they realized was a card, they sat down on the tiny toddler bed, Bella once again climbing onto Jake’s lap. Amy opened the card revealing Mac’s kindergarten writing spelling out happy holidays and stick figure drawings of the four of them. He definitely had Jake’s writing and artistic abilities, but what made the parents smile prouder than they had been earlier was the scribbled “from Mac and Bela”, their daughter’s misspelled name written in a pen Mac had clearly picked up earlier this morning. They both knew this was probably a school craft Mac had made before the holidays, but his thoughtful gesture of helping his sister scribble her name onto it made it all the more special.

“This might be the best present we’ve ever gotten, don’t you think?” Amy looked at Jake while the brother and sister hi-fived at their success.

“Definitely! It’s best present from the best children.” Sandwiching their kids into a hug, Jake looked up at Amy both wanting to tell the other about amazing their kids were. Carefully closing the card, Amy knew it was going to go up on the fridge and in a special box in her closet after the new year.

“Now pancakes are getting cold! No one want breakfast today?” Jake picked Bella up as she clapped her hands in excitement, watching Mac run out of the room knowing exactly what was waiting on the breakfast table.

Less than an hour later, the kitchen was full of empty dishes and fireplace held into empty stockings. Amy had taken up cleaning the kitchen while Jake made sure the kids would be bathed and ready for opening their big presents. They must have really worked out their timing in the last two years as Amy had just taken a seat on the couch when she heard her three favourite people running out of the rooms ready for presents.

Before they knew it, there was wrapping paper all over the place, the kids had been laughing as they uncovered all the gifts they had gotten. Mac was jumping in front of Amy, asking her to show him how his remote-controlled robot toy worked while Bella was once again seated Jake’s lap, patiently watching him assemble her new activity table asking questions about every part he was adding on and then removing when he misread the instructions.

Looking eyes from across the room, Jake and Amy shared a serene smile. It was perfect & the day had just begun.

A short while later

As candy canes lay on the coffee table, a display of tiny gingerbread houses along their kitchen island, Jake & Amy heard their children singing along to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The bright lights reflected the ribbons, bows, and wrapping paper all over the living room carpet, which they walked past to stand under the mistletoe placed in the corner by their framed holiday cards to sneak a moment away from the kids busy with their toys. 

Soon changed from their matching PJs to their matching sweaters and Santa hats, they sat down on the couch with their children in their laps. As snow gently further covered the city outside, the family of four was sipping on Jake’s signature hot chocolate watching Christmas movies.

In the middle of watching Elf, when Bella was almost asleep against Jake’s chest and Mac was busy in the movie resting on Amy’s arm, Jake glanced over at Amy. Sharing a soft smile with the woman who had every part of his life better, he looked down at their children momentarily before he finally said the words she had never heard in all the years of being with him.

“I love the holidays.”

Walking by their Christmas tree, her lips curved upwards in tranquility, as she ran her hand over the colorful ornaments. As the years had gone by, she had let go of having their Christmas tree be covered in one colored ornament, enjoying how the three of them would put together a tree full of different colours. She couldn’t decide whether she enjoyed putting up a crossword ornament with their names on the tree or watching Jake and Mac carefully deciding where their favourite 4 turtles should be placed. She sat down on their couch, realizing watching Mac sitting on Jake’s shoulders as he tried to put up the star on the top of the tree was the best part of decorating their place.

However, her smile slowly washed away as she sighed picking up the empty frame and their holiday card that had reached their all family and friends earlier in the day. This year they had chosen to take a picture for the card outside in the snow instead of another picture of them at home in their pajamas like they had been sending out for the last two years. She had sent a generous gift to her photographer friend who had managed to capture the three of them laughing as Jake and Amy had each taken one of Mac’s mitten clad hands, and lifted him into a swing off the ground. However, the more she looked at the photo, the more she kept noticing her own appearance in it. While loving how adorable her baby looked in his puffy winter jacket that seemed bigger than he was and a beanie that made his chubby face cuter than normal with Jake who smile stole the picture, she found herself worried about the whether she had made the right choice to wear that winter coat and whether she shouldn’t have worn a turtleneck under that coat. The clothes reflecting how her appearance was slowly changing had her worried it would let their little secret.  

“Amy, you gotta try these! They’re amazing!”

She looked up from the card and frame to find Jake and Mac bringing a plate full of cookies to her. Setting down his smaller plate by the tree, Mac rushed over to Jake ready for more sugar. Refusing the cookie Jake offered her (before he shrugged and ate it himself), she had a harder time saying no to Mac as he kept holding up the cookie ha decorated just for his mom.

“Chwistmas cookie!” He pouted to her, his big puppy eyes resembling Jake when Mac had said he wanted to watch Elf instead of Die Hard last night. Looking over at Jake for help, she was met with the same look on his face and she had no choice but to open up her palm for his cookie. Planting a kiss on Mac’s cheek, she felt his tiny sticky hands grabbing her face and leaving icing on her cheek as he reciprocated her gesture before running off to his toys powered by the sugar rush.

“I saw the cookie package in the garbage, these are store bought.” Amy pointed out as she took a bite off the top of the tree shaped cookie before handing the rest to Jake, who looked like a deer caught in headlights. He thought he had been sneaky enough last year and today to replace their homemade cookies with the store bought ones, but he should have known better than to get anything past his wife.

“I never said fresh, I said they’re amazing. And we decorated them.” He quickly and nervously mumbled while shifting on the couch, worried about hurting her feelings while she laughed, having accepted the Peralta-Santiagos should probably never open up a bakery.

“It’s fine, I only like the idea of baking you with two, not eating those cookies. I had a package in the cupboard as well. You just beat me to it.”

Watching him breathe a sigh of relief, she thought she had lost his attention when he picked up the TV remote and looked back down at the holiday card. Amy should have known she would never lose his attention since he had put down his plate of cookies seeing her expression change when she had looked down and inched closer to her to wrap an arm around her. She lifted up the card in front of him and pointed towards herself in it.

“Look at this.” She frowned at him, and he wanted to the lower lip she stuck out in a way he would always find cute. But curious to know what she saw in their family picture, he took it with his free hand and held it up higher and only saw the way Amy looked at Mac making him almost wish he could frame those two in their own photo.

“It’s a masterpiece.” He shrugged and handed it back to her only for point at herself again and he knew she was overthinking how her choice of clothes again.

“But-”

“It’s you, me, and Mac. It’s perfect.” She closed her mouth, letting his sentence dangle as she took another look at their photo.

It was beautiful; a reflection of the perfect day they had. The snow was falling lightly that day. The corner of the park was empty around them. They had been laughing all day in the snow, building snowmen, sipping hot chocolate on their way home, and cuddling under one blanket by the fireplace as they watched a movie. It was perfect day and their photo was a reflection of that. She looked back at Jake and saw him looking at the card, the love he had for her and their son was so evident in that picture & in the way he looked at that picture. Placing her head on his shoulder, she closed her eyes holding back her emotions that were going to come down as tears if she didn’t. She had been worried about various people’s thoughts on their card, but as she sat next to Jake who had his hand gently grazing over her stomach and listening to the sounds of their son playing, it didn’t matter.

“You’re such a sap.” She mumbled against his shoulder and he kissed the top of her head with a chuckle, knowing she wasn’t wrong. He was especially sappier around the holidays, contrary to the Jake she knew years ago, and it wasn’t going to ever change.

“I was just worried, I just know my mom is going to call and make some comment on how different I look...”

She started talking and pointed to her face and stomach while he sat up on the couch realizing she wasn’t worried about not hiding her changing body, but rather what her mother would think of her. Jake clenched his jaw for a moment, trying not get upset at how Camilla managed to affect Amy after all these years and why his mother-in-law felt the need to still make scrutinizing remarks about her brilliant, beautiful, badass daughter.

“Okay, first off it would ridiculous for her to do that. Second, if she does say anything, you hand me the phone immediately. Third…Mac will make my third point.”

Amy opened her mouth to stop him, wanting to tell him that it didn’t matter to her but stopped when he called over to their child, letting him go on and wanting to see what he was about to do. Mac immediately left his toys, running into Jake’s arms and quickly finding his spot on his dad’s lap.

“Mac-a-roni, who is the prettiest person in the whole wide world?” Jake asked tickling the toddler and Mac leapt onto Amy’s lap who put aside the items on her lap, quickly made space for him.

“Momma!” Mac wrapped his arms around Amy’s neck and she hugged him back, so glad she had let Jake talk. Inhaling the smell of cookies and candy canes that came from her son, she closed her eyes when she felt Jake’s hand on her. Her crazy boys thought she was everything, and it meant she needed nothing from anyone else. Parting back from their hug, letting Mac snuggle into her, she ran her hands through his curly hair while looking up in an attempt to stop her tears.

“Come on, Mac wouldn’t lie.” Jake, thinking she was rolling her eyes, nudged her soft before pulling Mac’s chubby cheeks that he never got enough of.

Now Amy genuinely rolled her eyes as she uses the back of her finger to wipe off chocolate from the corner of Mac’s mouth.

“He just lied about eating the chocolate chips.” She pointed out to Jake who looked offended but not as much as their son who got off her lap and stood up on the sofa. Taking her face into his tiny palms, Mac looked dead serious as he tried to defend himself, making it hard for Jake not to laugh watching how precious their baby was.

“No not lie Momma.” With widened eyes, Mac looked on eagerly waiting for Amy to say something only her for to scrunch her nose as she continued to wipe more chocolate off his face.

“Who ate the chocolate chips then?”

“Dadda!” Mac’s finger pointed at Jake whose soft laughter had turned into shock as he realized how mischievous Mac was becoming and put his hands up.

“Woah woah woah, I did no such thing.” Jake stood up, lifting Mac off the couch as they ran off to kitchen to get rid of any evidence of chocolate chip theft from either of them, although she knew they were both guilty of emptying half a package of the tiny, sweet nibs.

As they were getting cleaned up, Amy picked up their holiday card and finally put it into the frame. Knowing exactly where it belonged, she placed it on the shelf by their TV, right next to the last two holiday cards they had sent out. She realized how quickly their son was growing up every time she looked at progression of their holiday pictures, wishing she could slow the time and be with him more, as if she would ever come to a point of having enough time with Jake and Mac. She made sure each frame was perfectly aligned, taking a moment to look at them and remembering the days behind the photos.

The first year they sent out a holiday card was an impromptu decision when they had received the Jeffords’ card. Starting their own card, she remembered how they had spent hours dressed Mac, a few months old back then, in a Santa hat, moving him all over their home and filling up their camera rolls with pictures of him they would share for the entire year. It had taken them even longer to settle on a picture of Mac in a gift box as their holiday message to everyone, secretly reminding themselves, they had the cutest baby ever.

Last year, they had a harder time to get a picture since Mac had just learned about how to walk quickly without fear a few weeks earlier, and was looking for any reason to show off his new skills. They had struggled for the entire day to calm their energetic child, but the only time they could keep him still enough for a picture was when it was dark and time for bed. Amy had quickly set up a camera and Jake had put up some decorative lights in their bedroom as Mac finished up his bottle, putting him in a sleepy state. Managing to have him sit up against them as they took a picture in matching pajamas, they didn’t have to spend time deciding which picture to use, since Mac had fall asleep on their bed after the first two.

As she looked at the recent picture, she felt his arms snaking around her, hands stopping over her stomach and his head resting against her. Admiring their pictures and already excited for the one they would add next year, he whispered into her ear.

“You’re so beautiful Ames.”

She felt her heart warming up more than it already was, and leaning into his touch she smiled looking at all their pictures, also knowing the next one would be incredibly special. Turned her head, she placed her lips against his cheek, letting them linger until she felt Mac’s little hand tapping against her leg. Catching their attention, the toddler looked at the ground shyly before Jake kneeled down and asked him to speak up.

“Open pwesents now?” He looked towards Amy’s directions and she gave in to the soft puppy eyes yet again, to retain her title as the prettiest person in the world.

“Just one.” Jake ruffled Mac’s hair before he ran towards the pile of presents under the tree, trying to find one that his name on it.

“Do you want a present right now too?” Amy looked at Jake with raised brows in an attempt to see him following Mac’s actions only for him to shake his head and his arm around her.

“I am just waiting for this one.” His hand carefully touched her stomach, caressing it gently with his thumb and she didn’t stop herself from leaning in to kiss him before they had to supervise Mac opening up his first Christmas gift.