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"Ariella? Are you home?" Jimin peeks into the house from the front door, looking side to side before stepping in.
"Yeah. I'm in the laundry room." Her voice calls back. He smiles as he takes his shoes off.
"I thought we did the laundry yesterday." He replies, walking down the hallway. He holds his hand inside of his jacket, keeping it from view.
"We started it but I have more clothes than I know what to do with, thanks to you." She says as she folds a pair of her jeans. Her back turns to the doorway as she grabs another pair from the basket of warm clothes.
She had just taken them out of the dryer and put them into the clean bin. She wanted them out of the way so that she could get the next load of damp clothes back into the dryer.
Jimin uses the opportunity to sneak by the room, quickly getting out of her sight and the hallway before she can turn around to catch him. When he gets into the safety of the living room, he puts his hands behind his back, carefully.
"I have no trouble spoiling you, you know that. Can you come here for a minute, please?" He asks as he rocks side to side on his feet, trying to keep himself and her surprise calm.
"Give me just a second. I'm folding the last two pairs of jeans now."
He waits patiently until Ariella comes into view. Her hair is in a puff on her head, held in place by a patterned scarf. She walks over and kisses him. "How was lunch with Taehyung?"
"Good. He complained about our neighbors for most of the time but that was expected."
"I would complain too. Their son keeps raking their trees' little seed things into our yard. And just the other day, their dog was barking nonstop at the house like he'd seen a ghost. I would be just as upset as he is. That's very annoying."
Jimin laughs as she complains. "I see why you two get along so well. You're old in the mind."
She smacks his arm and he chuckles. "I am not old. I'm younger than both of you."
"That you are, my beautiful woman." He kisses her lips again. "I have a surprise for you."
Ariella's eyes light up in excitement at those words. He always has something for her. Whether it be as simple as matching pajamas or as grand as the diamonds adorning her left ring finger, there is always something for her.
"Really? What is it?"
A small gasp leaves her mouth as Jimin pulls the puppy from behind his back. It's a brown colored teacup poodle. It's sleeping in his hands as he shows her.
"She peed in my hands when I first picked her up, so I felt obligated to bring her home."
His wife laughs as she takes the small dog. "Oh, that's so cute." She giggles and holds the puppy to her.
"I figured you would think that." He smiles as she pets their new addition. It's the least that he could do. Not being able to give Ariella children pains him deeply. But she has told him time and time again that she is fine with it. They have each other and that's enough for her.
He loves and appreciates that she is accepting and unjudging of his sterile status but still wishes that he could provide the proper family for her. He knows that it is past the point of being a long shot, so he did the next best thing.
"What's her name?"
"Sofia. She's only seven months. She's the youngest that they had." He says as he walks to the Christmas tree. The holiday isn't few minutes but he couldn't wait to gift Sofia to his love. She deserves everything that he can get his hands on for her.
From behind the tree, he pulls out a small red puppy bed.
"She's so tiny." Ariella loves her already. She looks at the object in Jimin's hands and her mouth falls open. "Is that why you didn't want me to clean behind the tree? You sly dog."
"I had nowhere else to hide it where you wouldn't have found it somehow." He places the bed in front of the electrical fireplace. There used to be a real one there, but they had it renovated a few months ago. Ariella thought that it was messy, and the maintenance was too much for their busy schedules.
"Let me see her." He takes Sofia from her and places her in the small bed. He turns the fireplace on and turns it up a bit. When it starts to warm, he squats by the puppy and feels the temperature. It feels good enough to keep her body temperature up.
Jimin then takes his coat off and puts it in the closet. He rubs his hands together as he watches Ariella slide her finger along their collection of vinyl records. She pulls out the Paul Anka one and smiles at him. He grins as she takes it from its sleeve and places it on the turntable.
She carefully places the needle on the record and starts the spinning.
The 1950's classic 'Put Your Head on My Shoulder' begins to play and Jimin swoops her into his arms as he sings along to it. They laugh and sway around the living room, dancing together as Sofia rests, undisturbed by her new parents' antics.
Jimin drops his vocals dramatically deep when Paul does and Ariella throws her head back with laughter. He laughs with her trying to keep up his singing in the process. This furthers her laughter.
As the clock strikes midnight, Jimin kisses her neck lightly. He hugs her body to his as he looks her in the eyes. "Merry Christmas, my love."
"Merry Christmas, baby."
Through the front window of their three-story home, carolers watch the Parks dance with smiles on their faces as they sing holiday songs.
"She's sure going to be here for a while." A voice echoes down a hall.
"The chic's as crazy as they come." Another responds.
From the small window of the padded room, the two guards watch as Ariella holds her arms up, smiling. She throws her head back as she laughs.
Continuing to dance by herself, she sways in the isolation room. Spinning to a rhythm playing only in her head, the woman is content with her holiday night.
Spending it with the only love that she ever truly had.
