Chapter 51: Chapter 51

Mark and I have traveled to my father's place to spend the day before Christmas Eve with him. We stayed overnight until the day after Christmas.

The movie we were watching, "Home Alone," was cut short by a knock on the door. "I'll fetch it." I say going up.

I enter the door and I'm welcomed with 'carolers.! "

We want to use this opportunity to extend our warmest holiday greetings and best wishes for a prosperous new year to you and your loved ones." My family from New York sings with their matching caps on as though they rehearsed.

"What's up, guys?" I would recommend grinning at them and giving each of them a hug.

"You were on our minds." Hannah says, embracing my waist. Is she now taller? "Did you grow Han?" I voice my question.

"Yep! A whole three inches in length." She proclaims with pride.

I give Will and my mother a kind grin and then move on. "You look so good honey." She leans forward and gives me a bear hug. "How are you doing right now?" She then places her hand on my forehead while holding me at arm's length.

"I'm fine mum." I grin at her to comfort her that everything will be well. "I'm just a little fatigued." I think you should give her one more embrace.

"So we're only a month away from the major operation?" Will asks, giving me an awkward side hug. Even while I adore him, I can't help but notice how awkward he is.

"Yeah. I'm experiencing some mild anxiety "I admit.

"Don't be afraid. It won't be a problem." Will tells me he's going to give me a real embrace before entering the living room. That wasn't a really uncomfortable situation.

"Has it really only been a month since we last spoke?" Concerned, Sophie poses the question.

"Yes," I pause for a moment to get my breath, and then I draw her in for a hug. "I'll be ok." I'd say giving her a firm squeeze. She follows the same procedure, after which all of us proceed to the living room.

Hannah is sitting on Will's lap while the rest of my New York family is spread out along the couch. My dad is sitting in the chair that is unique to him and that he shares with Maddy. I go over to Mark's chair and sit with him, just like I did when we were at Charlie and Abby's house. Mark is sitting in his own chair. Even though Mark doesn't appear to care in the least, I find that I'm dozing off about an hour and a half into the second Home Alone movie.

Mark, of course, gives me a lift to my old bedroom and tucks me in just like he does every night. I can still clearly recall him planting a kiss on my forehead before walking away. After waiting for an hour, he returns and crawls into bed with me.

When I come to, I yawn and stretch out loud. "You wake me up with your yelling every morning." Mark says, shocking me.

"Why are you awake?" I lash out, still dumbfounded and irritated.

"Good morning to you as well," you said. He gives me a smirk as he glances across from the book he's reading to me.

"Welcome to the morning." I remark icily while rubbing my eyes and rolling them.

"Even when you're in a bad mood, you can make me laugh." He says smirking more.

"Shut up." I said sitting up and putting my glasses on.

"Reduce your stress. It is the night before Christmas." He indicates that he is returning to his boat.

My eyes begin to shine, and I give Mark a peck on the cheek. "Have a blessed Christmas."

"Does the Christmas season cheer you up?" Mark asks, chuckling.

The fact that it is Christmas ought to put a smile on everyone's face. I tell him that I'm going to get up and take a shower while smiling at him.

Once I get out of the shower and wrap my robe over myself, I notice that Mark is no longer there. It's important that I don't forget to bring this with me. After my shower, I step out wearing nothing but a towel. I prefer doing it in this manner. Leggings and a hoodie belonging to Mark are what I wear when I get dressed in the morning. I've come to realize that I do have a preference. It's a maroon sweatshirt with Missouri State's logo on it, and there's a tiny hole at the hem, right next to where the sleeve ends. It is just large enough for the very tip of my thumb to fit inside of it. When I'm feeling anxious, it's helpful for me to do that. On days when I am exposed to radiation, I always wear it. The duration of time spent waiting before is just too difficult to sit still through.

I take off my coat and walk out to the living area, keeping my thumb in the tiny hole that's been cut into the sleeve. "I hope everyone had a good night." I chuckle to myself as I reach for an orange and make my way over to the table. Will and my dad are both reading the paper, and Mark has already started eating his breakfast cereal.

"What was wrong with you that you couldn't wake up like this?" Mark inquires while still chewing his food.

"Hold on, don't give me a response to that." My dad protests. "Does he make you feel uneasy?" He comes to an end.

I am happy to confirm this. My dad is quite knowledgeable about me.

"How did you know?" Mark inquires with his eyes widened.

"Because I am guilty of doing that on occasion. Even if it wasn't necessarily on purpose, I went ahead and did it." He says as he sets his paper on the table. "There was this one time when I needed to sharpen my pencil, and she grabbed the pencil sharpener from my office. I was frustrated because I couldn't use it. I opened her door. No movement. I activated the light switch. No movement. I give my pencil a sharpening. Movement!" He is prone to hyperbole. "I didn't hear from her for the next three days. I had to use ice cream as a bribe to get her cooperation." I have to chuckle at my own jokes. I was the type of person who might harbor resentment.

"Are you really going to disregard my existence for the next three days?" Mark inquires as he turns his attention back to me.

"It depends. Are you going to come back with some ice cream for me?" I inquire while giving a sly grin. After a giggle, he moves on to putting away his dish. "That's a valid question." I yell after him.

My father has a habit of speaking to me in a low voice whenever he is out of earshot. "Did you tell him yet?" He asks.

"What are you telling him?" I inquire, perplexed.

"Tell him how much you care about him." He makes it sound as if I ought to have been aware of it.

I make a 'o' with my mouth in recognition then answer, "No. I am not sure how to achieve it."

"You mentioned that you were going to let him know when he got up in the morning. That shifted to the time around Christmas. Now, what exactly is your defense?" He inquires while emitting an air of mild exasperation.

"I'll do it New Years I promise. At the party that we are going to in a moment." I finish my sentence and get up to toss away my peel. I finally make it back to my dad, who is looking somewhat upset. I enquire with a "What?"

"Stop putting things off." Before rising to his feet and leaving, he makes the statement.

I let out a sigh and then frown while rubbing my face. "What's the matter?" Mark inquires as he approaches from behind me and places an arm around my shoulders.

"Nothing at all," to be exact. I let out a sigh and then hug him. Despite being startled by the unexpected motion on my part, he embraces me in return.

"You sure you're ok?" Mark inquires as we enter the living room whether or not we are going to see another Christmas film.

We celebrate Christmas Eve by attending a service at our church and having a good time there. I can't believe it's been so long since I was last there. Others approached me after the service and inquired about how I am doing, how the wedding went, and whether or not we were planning to start a family soon. Things like those are why I want to get out from here as soon as possible.

After we have all arrived back at my dad's house, the first thing I do is take off my shoes and then dive headfirst into my bed. "I hate heels." As Mark removes his tie, I let out a sigh. "I despise wearing ties." He argues that I'm merely copping his activity behind his back.

I smile and turn to look at him as I let out a chuckle. "Christmas is my favorite holiday though." I let out a long, sighing breath of exhaustion.

"Me too." He says while turning his head to look at me.

"Alternatively, I could just go to sleep right here and right now." I drag myself out of bed and into my Christmas pajamas against my will. Mark is only wearing shorts when I return to the room. Where are you hiding your Christmas pajamas? I inquire with a tinny tone.

"In my bag on the desk that's too far away," she said. "In my bag." He groans.

"If you don't put them on, you're going to have to sleep on the floor." I'm getting his lifeless body off the bed, she says.

"Ow." He reports standing up and reaching for his pajamas. As I tuck myself in and close my eyes, I can't help but smile. "I can't believe you talked me into doing this," the other person said. He talks to himself the majority of the time.

"I was the one who forced you into it." I say that to myself with my eyes closed as I am aware that the bed is shifting beneath me.

"You didn't even look." He claims to be having trouble getting comfortable.

"The exchange of gifts will take place when I see them tomorrow. Now let me sleep." I said turning to punch him.

"Why are you being so disrespectful when you're exhausted?" Mark asks, grumbling. I tell him to be quiet and strike him once more. "Ow! Fine nite."

"Goodnight," I mutter to myself.