A Sensitive Arrangement

Chapter 10

It was Christmas. The winter sun was beaming through my window, as I looked out at the garden. It was snowing. And not just a flurry, the snow was actually sticking to the ground! I couldn't remember the last time we had a proper white Christmas. I know, it's New York. It snows a lot, but the weather rarely takes holiday engagements into account when it decides what it's going to do that day. There are plenty of near misses, but proper snow like this on Christmas is actually more rare than you might think.

I quickly donned the pair of pajamas I had received from Max and Ella the night before. This was another Christmas tradition that I'm fairly certain had only started once I joined the family. But it was one for which I was eternally grateful. Every year they would buy matching pajamas for Julian, Olivia, and I, and photograph us coming down the stairs on Christmas morning. Those photographs served as physical proof that I was part of the family, that I belonged. Admittedly, it did look a bit silly now that we were sixteen and twenty years old, but Julian and Olivia never complained. They may not have understood their parents' deeper intentions when we were children, but I think they had caught on by now.

Julian was already waiting in the hallway when I stepped out of my bedroom, wearing his dark green silk pajamas, which looked just like mine. Luckily, the style of the pajamas had aged with us. I couldn't imagine him in the fleece snowman get up we would have worn as children. The idea made me laugh. He caught my eye and smiled, "Well, this is embarrassing, should one of us go change?"

"Don't you dare." I replied in false indignation instead of laughing at his joke.

"I suppose traditions are an important part of being a family." He said, absentmindedly stroking a lock of my hair behind my ear. I should have scolded him for bending the rules again, but I couldn't. Not when he was making it so clear that he understood me, that he was able to comprehend not only my love of such a silly tradition, but my genuine need for it. "Still, I much prefer our Christmas tradition."

"Ours comes with Chunky Monkey." I teased.

"It's not the Chunky Monkey I like so much." He smiled. He really had to stop doing that. Or never stop. I had no idea what I wanted. Well, that's not entirely true. I guess I knew exactly what I wanted, I just couldn't have it.

"Where's Olivia?" I asked, trying to distract myself from the look he was giving me.

"She's still asleep. I was kind of waiting for the expert." He admitted. I was the only one who had the guts to actually enter the den of the sleeping beast. She could be a nightmare to wake up, but I had learned a few tactics over the years.

"Olivia Callaway, I'm going to open all of your presents and lick them." I yelled, on the way to her bedroom. I could hear Julian laughing behind me.

"Go away. It's too fucking early." She tried to yell, but it came out as more of a groan, as she rolled over in bed.

"It's nine o'clock. Guests will start arriving at noon. You take longer than that to tie your shoes." In truth, she rarely wore shoes with laces. But if she did, I'm sure she'd spend hours making sure the bow was tied perfectly.

"Fine, if I must." She sighed. This was the false promise, the first of normally about three or four before she actually got out of bed. I was planted to the floor until I actually saw her vertical. After another ten minutes of coaxing, she was finally up. Grumpy, but up. I left to let her change into her pajamas.

That seemed to be another part of the tradition, none of us actually wore the pajamas to bed. We just changed into them in the morning. Like many things in the Callaway family, they were for show, although I appreciated the pomp and circumstance that went along with this particular display.