Forever and ever 2. The adventure starts now.

Part 52.

"Mommy! Santa came! Santa actually came and he brought presents!" My eyes slowly fluttered open, even the sun from outside was just coming up but Parker seemed to be wide awake as he jumped up and down in front of me and before I knew it he was sitting on Tom's chest, hitting his shoulders out of excitement.
"Santa came?" I asked, acting surprised.
"Yes!" I already got up and went down the stairs, holding Parkers hand. Tom would join us at any moment too, but as always he took a moment longer to get up. I blamed it on the loss of strength and motivation. But I had come to terms with it, even if I was sorry, there was usually nothing I could do about it.

Once downstairs, Parker of course immediately ran to the Christmas tree under which dozens of presents lay. He also loved to admire the decorations on the tree, especially in the evening when the tree started to glow. But now the colourfully wrapped boxes were the only thing that interested him.
He knelt down in front of them, wanting to open them all at once, but I still told him to wait until Tom was sitting next to me before he was allowed to open the first present.
"A painting book! Yeah!" He cheered as he held up the mandala book with Paw Patrol characters on the cover.

Tom and I leaned back on the couch. I cuddled into his arm while he drew circles on my thigh with his thumb. Still very tired at this early hour.
8:30am.
He was usually asleep around that time, but today was christmas after all.
"A robot!" We laughed, barely understanding a word. It was great to see how happy and grateful Parker was for each gift. We could tell by one of the later presents he unwrapped and immediately jumped into our arms.
"Eyes! Now Snowy Mc.Snowflake can finally see!" Yep. It was exactly what it sounded like. Tom and I had given him black buttons to put on the snowman, which was only half standing anymore since the rainstorm the other day.

When Parker ran into his room to put on his snowsuit, it was my time to give Tom his present, even though we had agreed not to give each other anything.

I crawled out of his arm and took the last present under the Christmas tree. One that he thought was also for Parker, but was actually meant for him.
"Guess this is for you..." I held it out to him, with a huge bow around the small package.
"What?" He asked, raising his eyebrows. "I thought we agreed not to gift each other anything this year."
"It's just a little something..." I explained and he hesitantly accepted it. While he was carefully unwrapping it, I explained how I had come up with it, as it was a somewhat strange gift. Especially for someone Tom's age... "I saw it in the shop window the other day when I was walking with your mother, and I immediately thought of you." He had the paper off, the little bear looking out of the box he was still in. Then he tore it open and took out the teddy, which was only 15 centimetres tall and wore a small T-shirt with the inscription "just keep smiling sunshine". It was hard to read his expression, he didn't even move. I started to think he didn't like it, judging by his look as he slowly gazed up at me with question marks around his head.
"I know it's silly-" I stuttered, nervous under his eyes but then he stood up with a jerk and wrapped his arms around my waist while he nuzzled his face into my neck.
"I love it!" He murmured. "Thank you!" I was hesitant about the hug at first, but let myself relax shortly afterwards. My hands scratching his nape, holding him until I knew he was comfortable.
"Press it's heart!" I said.
"What?" He asked, pulling back from the hug.
"Press on it's heart!" I said again. Then he immediately pressed on the little bear's heart and watched it start to beat. It did so for a good minute until it stopped. Tom pressed it again, and again it beat for a minute.
"I will definitely have to hide it from Parks." He joked and gave me a kiss on the lips. It was a special moment. At least that's how it felt, with the music playing softly in the background and the smell of cookies from the kitchen. Although we had baked these yesterday, the house still smelled of sweet yummy dough.

At around 11am, we set off for Nikki and Dom's house, with presents for the whole family. Strangely enough, the streets were full of cars, a snowstorm making the roads unsafe. So it took Tom a little longer to drive to his parents' house. Only when we drove through the streets of the quiet neighbourhood was there no more traffic. A few children playing in the garden but mostly just older couples walking through the area. We parked down the road from the house, as there was nothing left in front of Nikki's driveway, and walked the last few metres.
"Your poor mother must have had a lot to do in the kitchen this morning." I said on the way, not being able to imagine cooking for 9 people. But Tom just shrugged his shoulders and looked into the distance.
"I think Sam has done most of the cooking and he has no problem with it." he explained. But when we arrived, I helped Nikki set the table anyway. We were the last to arrive and the atmosphere seemed really good but I noticed how tense it got every time Tom entered the room. Paddy wasn't even there yet, he was probably in his room. So it was Dom with Harry and Tom, while Sam Ciara and I all helped Nikki.