Christmas Day
After they finish volunteering, it takes a lot of convincing to get Holtz to go home to their apartment.
“But Erin, the tree! The presents! Can’t we just stay one more night at the firehouse?”
“Holtz, you know I love you, but if I have to spend another night on that couch, I’ll be very grinchy tomorrow.”
“Erin Grinchbert!”
“Not your best.”
“I know. I’m sorry. Okay, let’s go home. Want to cuddle my children anyway.”
Erin just laughs and rolls her eyes.
They both go to sleep fine at the reasonable hour of 9:30 PM.
After what seems like only a few minutes, Holtz gently nudges Erin awake.
“Psst, is it too early to get up?”
Erin groans and rolls over to check the time. It seems awfully dark, so she suspects that, yes, it’s too early. Her fears are confirmed when she sees the clock.
“Holtz! It’s 3AM!”
“I know, I’m sorry, I’m just too excited!”
Erin turns to face Holtz. It’s impossible to be mad at her; especially when her hair is all soft and messy around her face, when her cheeks are still a little pink from sleep, when her eyes are so bright from excitement they’re practically glowing in the dark.
She places both her hands on Holtz’s cheeks and strokes lightly with her thumbs.
“I know, baby, it’s very sweet. But the trains aren’t even running yet.” Erin kisses her softly, and keeps her eyes closed as she presses her forehead against her girlfriend’s. “Try to sleep, okay? I promise we’ll go at 6:30 sharp. Goodnight.”
Holtz voice is soft. “Good night, Erin. Merry Christmas.”
Erin smiles and sighs deeply. She’s almost asleep again. “Merry Christmas, Holtz.”
Erin awakes a few hours later. It’s quarter after six in the morning and Holtz is not in bed. Erin pads into the living room while tying the strings of her house coat. Holtz is curled up in a ball in front of the chinchillas’ change. Erin can’t tell at first glance if she is asleep or awake.
“Holtzmann?”
Holtz jumps up from her spot on the floor. “I’m awake!”
“How are your kids?”
“Lonely, I think. I have a travel carrier for them, you know. Do you think we could take them into the firehouse for the day? I don’t want them to be alone for Christmas.”
Erin smiles broadly. Perfect. “I think that’s a great idea, Holtz! We might have to get a little creative with the transportation, though. I’m not sure how the MTA feels about voluntarily bringing rodents onto their property.”
“Oh! I think I have some wrapping paper left! Let’s disguise the carrier! No one will know.”
“Excellent. But first I need to shower. Care to join me?”
“I can’t think of a better way to start the day.”
That whole event sets them back a little bit, but it doesn’t too long to get dressed. It turns out that Holtz made a trip to the second-hand shop a few weeks prior and picked out some of “the ugliest holiday sweaters” for both of them to wear. Well, that’s how she presents them anyway.
Holtz’s is an obnoxious green and red number with actual jingle bells attached to it around belly button level and dangle over her crotch. Above those, the sweater says Jingle my bells. Erin laughs. She wouldn’t have expected any less.
“You missed the best part!” Holtz pulls the sweater up and Erin is distracted momentarily by bare midriff and needs Holtz to point out exactly what she should be looking at.
It’s a belt buckle with a tacky gold finish (to match the jingle bells) that simply says HO.
Erin just laughs.
“I made it myself!” Holtz announces. “After I made Patty’s, I realized how easy it is to make a custom belt buckle. I thought I should make a Christmas themed one to wear today.”
“So you went with ‘Ho’?”
Holtz just winks in response. “What do you think of your sweater, my sweet little candy cane?”
Erin looks down at hers. She really doesn’t think it’s too bad. It’s a blue turtleneck with darker blue highlights on the cuffs and the collar. It has a giant snowflake on the front with white and light blue sequins on it. It’s actually kind of…nice?
“I actually really like it!”
Holtz smirks knowingly. “Thought you might.”
Erin pairs it with some khakis and some diamond earrings.
Holtz wraps the chinchillas’ travel cage haphazardly with whatever wrapping paper scraps she can find. She takes extra care to poke a few small holes in the sides to makes sure all of her babies make the trip okay.
It’s seven thirty by the time they make it to the subway station.
Before they go underground, Holtz looks up at the dim morning glow as the sun rises, making all of the snowflakes glitter beautifully as they fall.
“Can you believe we’re getting a white Christmas this year?”
Erin’s staring at Holtz. “Perfect,” she says dreamily.
By the time they reach the firehouse, it’s clouded over. The snow has picked up, as well at the wind. The two sprint the last 100 yards to warmth, because it dropped about 10 degrees, too.
Erin is delighted to find that they left all the Christmas lights on last night. A soft glow welcomes them and Erin is suddenly a ball of nerves. She’s just realized that her first Christmas with someone she’s in love with is about to get underway, and she’s already second guessing all of the presents she’s purchased.
Holtz must sense it, because Erin feels a warm hand on the small of her back.
“You wanna help me unwrap the chinchillas?” Holtz asks brightly.
Erin can’t help but laugh, and nods her head emphatically.
Once the children are free, Erin hears her stomach gurgle for the first time that day.
“Uh, maybe we should make some food?”
“Excellent idea! Let’s see what we can scrounge together!”
They find some eggs, an onion, and half of a red pepper.
“Omelette?” Holtz offers with a sly grin. Erin is instantly reminded of one of their first mornings together and her heart skips about four beats.
“Yes please!” Erin replies, swallowing hard. “I’ll make the coffee!”
Everything is ready before too long. Holtz even finds some Bailey’s stashed away in one of their cupboards to add to their coffee.
Erin forces herself to eat through her nerves. Holtz seems easy though. Erin watches as she feeds the chinchillas eggs through the cage, laughing and licking her fingers when she’s done.
“Are you nervous?” Erin asks quietly.
“Huh?” Holtz replies, clearly caught off guard.
“Are you nervous about this?”
Holtz smiles obviously. “Honey, why would I be nervous?”
Erin squirms a little and abandons her half-finished omelette. “This is just…”
“What?” Holtz asks gently, encouraging Erin to continue.
“It’s a lot. I mean, it means a lot. What if you don’t like your gifts? What if I messed it all up?” Erin’s vision blurs with tears and she swallows hard, willing them away.
“Erin...” Holtz sets down her own plate on top of the chinchillas’ cage and scrambles across the couch to Erin’s side. She wraps an arm around Erin and kisses her cheek, letting her lips linger there for longer than she normally would. Erin smiles a little but feels a single tear slip out regardless.
“Erin, I love everything about you. I love everything about this Christmas. It’s been the best one I’ve ever had, and it’s all because of you.” Holtz kisses Erin’s cheek again for emphasis. “It’s impossible for you to give me anything that I wouldn’t love or appreciate. I promise. ”
Erin can’t help but sniffle a little. She can’t think of anything to say, so she just kisses Holtz. Erin turns her whole body for better leverage and tangles her hands all up in Holtz’s hair. Holtz does the same and moans her approval, prompting Erin to pull her closer, opening her mouth to deepen the kiss.
After several moments, they break apart gasping. With their foreheads still touching, Erin says breathily, “I love you, Holtz.” She kisses her one more time for good measure.
“I love you, too.” Pause. “Can we open presents now?”
Erin laughs, and sniffles the last few of her tears away. “Yes. But first, I got you a stocking. You have to do that first.”
“That’s amazing Er, because I too got you a stocking.”
They both retrieve the stockings from their respective hiding place. Holtz’s hiding spot remains a mystery, but Erin’s is just her locker. While she’s there, she grabs the gift she made for Holtz the other day and sticks it in her pocket discretely. She wants to save it for last. She swallows nervously, and meets up with Holtz on the couch.
Holtz’s stocking is mostly junk food. Nothing too fancy. There are few pairs of socks and a package of bobby pins. There’s also a new bandana at the very bottom with the colours of the pride flag.
Holtz is grinning ear to ear. “These are amazing! What the heck were you so worried about?” Holtz leans over and kisses Erin on the cheek. Erin’s laughter comes out in nervous jitters. “Thank you so much,” Holtz says. “Now you go!”
Erin’s stocking is a little more varied. Custom pens, a card game, some candy, an honest to goodness mix tape, and a few random shirts stuffed in the bottom that Holtz must have found at Goodwill.
It’s all wonderful and Erin says thank you with hugs and kisses also. They move on to the big gifts they got each other. Holtz starts and finds a new pair of work gloves paired with some new combat-style boots. Erin included three pairs of laces: neon pink, neon green, and laces with CAUTION written on them in black and yellow. Erin also stuffed in a few crazy ties she found in the heels of the boots. Holtz is ecstatic and after she pulls the ties out, she puts the boots on right away.
Erin’s big gift (wrapped with about 100 tiny bows) is a bundle of hangers all mismatched and marvelous, a memory foam pillow, and a beautiful quilt that is clearly antique but in amazing condition. The colours on it are wild, but Erin loves it anyway. Underneath, Holtz included two pillowcases that somehow match perfectly.
“Holtz this is beautiful!”
Holtz is blushing (a rare sight) and is tugging on her ear a little. “Well, it’s kind of a theme. Things for us when you move in next week.”
Erin reaches over and pulls her into a tight hug. “I love it, Holtz. Thank you so much.”
Holtz returns the hug, kissing Erin’s neck where her face is buried. “I’m so glad you like it. I’m so glad you’re moving in.” Holtz’s breath is hot on Erin’s skin, and her words come out all muffled. Erin is so happy.
They break apart, and Holtz smiles a little. “Oh, there’s one more thing.”
“Holtz you’ve done enough, really—”
Holtz pulls out a long slender box wrapped neatly and perfectly; obviously done professionally.
“I picked this up for you that day we went shopping. I—well, how about I finish telling you after you open it.”
Erin just stares. Her hands shake a little as she carefully unwraps the gift. She can tell this means a lot, so she takes her time with it.
When the paper is gone, she can see that it’s a jewelry box. Erin’s stomach is in knots as she pulls the lid off. Inside is a white gold necklace. At the base, there are two small diamonds dangling on either side of a white gold pendant. It’s a miniature version of the radiation symbol with a heart in the middle. Holtz’s custom symbol that she always includes on their Ghostbusting gear.
Erin feels tears spring to her eyes as she touches the delicate pendant.
“Holtzmann…”
Holtz is tugging at her ear again. “I would’ve made it myself, but uh, I don’t have a lot of experience with stuff like this. I found a jeweler that I could commission work from and well…I just wanted it to be perfect for you.”
Erin is in shock. It must’ve cost a fortune. She feels a few tears roll down her cheeks and smiles in disbelief. She’s totally speechless for the second time that day and simply hugs Holtz again. She manages a feeble “thank you” before pulling away.
“I’m sorry for crying again,” Erin says, laughing at herself while wiping her eyes, “I just…I love it so much.”
Holtz looks a little misty herself. “I’m so glad.”
“Oh!” Erin says suddenly. “I almost forgot! Gosh, it’s so stupid after what you just gave me…” She reaches in her pocket. “Here,” she says, presenting Holtz with a small box.
“Erin! You shouldn’t have!” Holtz starts tearing into the paper almost immediately. When she gets to the box, she flips the top open and stares. Erin’s nerves are buzzing as she watches Holtz reach in with her thumb and forefinger to retrieve the contents. It’s a tiny piece of wool with a tiny little E stitched into the pattern. Holtz picks up the next one, which has a P on it. Erin suspects Holtz might’ve figured it out by now, but she explains anyway.
“They’re sweaters for the children. If we can ever figure out which is which, each of their sweaters have the first letter of their name on it.” Pause. “Do you like it?”
Holtz has been very quiet the whole time, but finally looks up. Her eyes are shining with tears as she launches herself at Erin for a hug. Erin falls back on the couch laughing. “Is that a ‘yes’?”
“Yes! I love it!” Holtz sniffles in response. “Did you make these all yourself? I didn’t know you could knit!”
“It’s just counting,” Erin replies simply. “Are you crying?”
“Only a little,” she says, squeezing Erin a little tighter.
Erin pushes her away so she can kiss Holtz’s tears. Then her lips. Then they’re hugging again.
“Can we put them on them now?”
“Well actually there’s one more thing. Check the box again.”
Holtz releases Erin and looks in the box. She has to move the last two sweaters away and she’s frozen again. Erin swallows hard.
“I made these, too,” she says, pulling the last two items out from the box. “They’re probably not as good as what you could make, but I followed the instructions very carefully.”
They’re matching rings made from copper wire, a nut and a screw.
“This one’s for you. It’s made from the screw I stole from that hardware store. I hope it fits.” Erin pauses, a little unsure. “I think it will. I’ll wear this one. If you want. I mean, if you don’t mind. It’s a bolt I found on your workbench. The screw fits into the bolt pretty well.” Erin demonstrates, and takes a deep breath.
“Holtz, I already know I want to spend the rest of my life with you. You’re the best thing that has ever happened to me. This is the only thing I can think of that shows it better than a promise…if you’ll have me.”
Tears are rolling freely down Holtz face now. “Erin, of course I’ll have you. Forever and ever and always as long as you’ll have me .”
They forgo the hugging all together and fall together in a deep kiss.
After a while they fall apart, both laughing and crying at once. They decide to wear their matching rings on their right hands until “you propose to me for real,” Holtz says.
They dress the chinchillas shortly after and recline on the couch. It’s a little after ten now and Holtz is yawning already.
“Did you sleep at all last night, Holtz?”
“A little,” she says around a yawn.
Erin considers it for a moment before saying, “Let’s have a nap then!”
“Really?”
“Sure! Patty is upstate. Abby’s Netflixing. Kevin is God-knows-where. We’ve got the whole place to ourselves. Let’s nap.”
“On this couch that you hate?”
Erin is smiling. “I’m willing to make the sacrifice.”
“Can I be the big spoon?” Holtz asks sleepily.
“Naturally.”
And they curl up together and start to drift off.
Several hours pass, and something stirs Erin. She can’t be sure what; she was sleeping a lot deeper than she thought.
She opens her eyes and gazes up with someone very tall looming over.
“Wake up bitches!” the figure shouts without warning.
Holtz leaps awake with a yelp, sending Erin spiraling to the ground. She lands with a thud and blinks a few times trying to figure out what’s going on.
Abby’s laughter draws her back. “I can’t believe she did it!” Abby wheezes through laughter. “Your faces!” And that’s about all she can manage before she’s lost to hysterics.
Patty’s beaming over them with a gigantic grin, entirely too amused. “Merry Christmas, my babies.”
Holtz is confused for maybe half a second before she jumps up to hug Patty. “What are you doing here?” she asks delightedly. “I thought you were upstate until New Years?”
“Uh well,” Patty wipes her nose with her thumb. “I may have overestimated how long I could tolerate my relatives. You might not believe this, but I’m the boring one in the family. I peaced out today after Christmas brunch. I brought y’all wine though!”
“Abby?” Holtz asks, just as thrilled.
“I got bored. Also, the power went out for an hour or two, so I decided to come here.” She’s still giggling a little from before.
Erin just rubs her butt, still a little sore from the impact.
“Well I for one am delighted that you two showed up!” Holtz announces. “You guys are the only thing that could’ve possibly made this Christmas better.”
“Sorry I’m late guys,” Kevin drawls from the doorway.
Everyone stares in disbelief.
“Kevin?” Abby manages.
He waves brightly, apparently oblivious to everyone’s shock.
“I was wrong,” Holtz says, beaming.
“I brought the turkey, just like we said! Mom made these rolls and a potato casserole, too. It’s really good. Wait’ll you try it!”
“Kev,” Patty says. “Doesn’t your mom live in Australia?”
“Yup!” He answers brightly. “Wanna eat while it’s still hot?”
Everyone is really too dumbfounded to argue, so they start getting the table together for dinner.
Everything is delicious even if it’s a mystery how it got there.
When they’re finished, Kevin offers to do the dishes and the girls recline in the living area sipping wine and catching up on the events of the last few days.
Patty is way more amused about the tree story than Holtz’s might’ve preferred. Erin can tell by the way she pouts quietly in the corner.
Abby’s been watching documentaries. She tells everyone that she watched a few too many depressing flicks in a row, so she’s really enjoying the break.
It’s not too long before Kevin finishes the dishes, and he plops himself at Abby’s feet expectantly.
“Did you guys get anything for me?” He asks brightly.
Turns out everyone has a little something for everyone else, and they take their turn opening while the others watch. The highlights include Kevin excitedly hugging his dinosaur themed agenda and Patty screaming when she sees her belt buckle. When everyone is finished, they all pour another round of wine, and Kevin is already asleep against the arm chair he’s leaning on.
“So,” Abby says after a long stretch of comfortable silence, “was this Christmas everything you hoped it would be?” She looks at Holtz and Erin.
The two exchange a look from where they’re nestled together on the couch. They nod knowingly and Holtz is the first to speak. “I feel like anything we say will just come out really cheesy.” She’s still staring at Erin.
“So, I’ll just say ‘yes’,” Erin says, beaming in response. “It was absolutely perfect.”