Close Your Eyes and Hold Out Your Hands--Paily
Christmas had always been Emily’s favorite holiday. It was the only day of the year she was always sure her father would be home. Every year, she and her mother would pick out a tree, decorate the house, bake an extraordinary number of cookies, and fill the house with Christmas cheer. There had been a few years after her dad died that she’d had trouble finding the holiday cheer, but this year she was determined to find it again.
She and Paige had gotten married a little over a year ago, and a couple of months ago they’d decided they were ready to start a family. The second they’d made the decision to start trying, Emily had decided to re-discover her holiday cheer. Christmas had always been a magical time growing up, and she wanted it to be that way for her child as well. Obviously it wouldn’t be the same—she and Paige both worked regular jobs and would be home all of the time—but she wanted to continue the traditions her parents had started. So for the last several weeks, she’d spent all her time decorating, baking, and preparing for Christmas Day.
It would only be her, Paige, and Pam on Christmas Day, but they were hosting a big dinner on Christmas Eve. All of their friends would be there. Hanna and Caleb, Spencer and Toby, Aria and her new boyfriend, Liam. She’d invited Alison too, but the blonde had politely declined, saying she wanted to spend Christmas with Charlotte and Jason. It was almost tragically ironic that they had all ended up back in Rosewood, but it also seemed like maybe it had been fate. She and the girls had come back for Charlotte’s trial, Paige had come back to take care of her ailing mother, and none of them had ever left again.
“What is that wonderful smell?” Paige asked, startling Emily.
“I thought you didn’t get off work until three?” Emily asked, surprised to see her wife home early. She took her job seriously, and even though it was winter break, she expected her swimmers in the pool. Paige raised an eyebrow.
“When’s the last time you checked a clock?” she asked. Emily glanced at the oven and realized it was the timer, not the clock.
“What time is it?” she asked.
“Four. So, what’s that smell?” she repeated.
“Sugar cookies. I can’t believe it’s four already! I wanted to have these done by now, but the time seems to have slipped away from me. Do you want to help me decorate?” she asked, showing Paige the magazine pages she’d ripped out. The pages featured iced sugar cookies decorated into little snowmen, snowflakes, trees, and ornaments. Paige bit her lip. She really didn’t have an artistic bone in her body, but she didn’t want to disappoint Emily.
“You don’t have to! I just wanted to offer. I didn’t want you to feel left out,” she said, laughing at the poorly hidden horror on her wife’s face. Paige let out a sigh of relief. She had been shocked, but happy when Emily had announced she wanted to have a big Christmas. The memory of the Christmas they’d all shared their senior year of high school had always stayed with her. But something in Emily had changed after her dad died, and she’d stopped wanting to celebrate Christmas. Last year, she’d refused to exchange any gifts at all.
“Do you want some hot chocolate?” Emily asked. Paige nodded, and accepted the mug that Emily was already passing her. She took a cautious sip, not wanting to burn her tongue. She had learned the hard way that Emily made her hot beverages hot.
“Mmm, what’s in this?” she asked, trying to identify the added spice. Emily grinned.
“Cinnamon. Do you like it?”
Paige nodded.
“It’s delicious,” she said. Emily’s grin widened. She loved Christmas.
--
Everything had gone perfectly the previous night. Dinner had been excellent, gifts had been exchanged, and the friends had sipped eggnog long into the night. Emily had stuck to virgin eggnog, claiming that she needed to keep a clear head for the next day. Her mother had always been a wonderful hostess, and she wanted to do her first actual Christmas justice, she’d explained.
Of course, that wasn’t the real reason she’d abstained from alcohol. But she had been waiting until this morning to share the news with Paige. And she had the perfect way of telling her.
“Merry Christmas, babe,” Emily said, kissing her wife’s cheek.
“Merry Christmas,” Paige said back.
The two women were in their living room, sitting on the floor with steaming mugs of hot chocolate, in front of their heavily decorated Christmas tree. Paige had been surprised when Emily had handed her the cocoa instead of coffee, but hadn’t questioned it.
“I want to go first,” Emily announced, pulling a gift out from under the tree. Paige raised an eyebrow at her enthusiasm, but didn’t protest.
“Close your eyes and hold out your hands,” Emily ordered. Paige rolled her eyes, but once again didn’t protest. Instead, she did as she was told. A light package was placed in her hands.
“You can open your eyes now,” Emily said with a laugh. Paige opened her eyes and began to carefully tear off the wrapping paper. She gasped.
“Oh my god,” she whispered, holding up her gift. It was a yellow onesie with the words ‘World’s Best Mommy”.
“Are you pregnant?” she asked. Emily nodded, grinning.
“Oh my god! Oh my god, we’re having a baby!” Paige exclaimed happily. She and Emily had started trying a couple of months ago, but she hadn’t wanted to get her hopes up. The doctor said it could take a while for Emily to get pregnant, and Paige saw no use in getting excited before there was a reason.
“My present is going to seem like nothing compared to this,” she joked. Emily laughed and shook her head.
“You’ve already given me the best present in the world. You,” she said. Paige felt tears pooling in her eyes, but she had to disagree. Emily’s love was the best gift anyone could have.