@smallstabs Pleasant Valley Farm
While Charlie hadn't particularly calmed down in terms of collick, Annie had realized about a month after her daughter's birth that, if she didn't leave the house, she would slip into what Benji gently referred to as "a funk". That precipitated a trickle of activity at first—whatever her body would initially allow—but, over time, had since grown into somewhat of a routine that she and Benji had formulated and that worked well for them. She'd become something of a stay-at-home mom, her workload dropping dramatically, though mostly unintentionally—if Charlie was not physically against someone's body at any given time, nobody was getting anything done, which limited Annie in terms of actually sitting at a desk and drawing. She didn't mind it, for the most part—mornings with Benji and Connor before work and school, lunches with Candace, afternoon walks around the neighborhood with Charlie and Tabitha, and then dinner and evening fun, where Benji eagerly took over Charlie duty while Annie had time to devote solely to Connor. She had assumed a very domestic life, very quickly, which was somewhat surreal to her, but something she was pretty much settled into, and everyone was happy and content, and what more could she want?
"I'm mad at Benji, FYI," Annie muttered drolly, a cup of cider in one hand, the other rubbing soothingly across Charlie's back as she lay strapped over Annie's chest. Annie glanced around to make sure her husband wasn't weaving through the maze of trees at either of her or Tabitha's sides, within earshot. "I keep asking him what he wants for Christmas, and he keeps saying, like, 'I have everything I want,' or whatever, and I know—it's very sweet. And I am glad that he feels that way. But that sort of shit does not help me."
This Christmas felt different, charged with a muted anticipation Annie hadn't had in years past; Colin's passing last year had effectively rendered that Christmas a blur, and the prior year, Katie was particularly vulnerable, which made things a bit awkward for everyone, though they powered through both years for Connor's sake. This Christmas, their first with Charlie, and with Connor in the house full-time, she wanted to be memorable. And she wanted to make it more memorable by giving Benji the perfect gift.
Annie took a sip of her cider. "He is impossible to shop for, and he always gives the best gifts, and I'm tired of it. I'm tired of being second place. I got stuff from Santa for him, but I need, like, a wife gift."
