"Matteo and I will decorate for Christmas together always."
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I'm watching my boyfriend hang lights with my dad with a grin on my face. My dad was pretending to be harsh on him as he barked out orders at Matteo. My boyfriend turns to me and juts out his bottom lip, and I laugh at him. He frowns, turning away from me and toward the tree again.
Once the tree is wrapped in lights, the four girls—me, Elena, and the twins—head to the tree, excited now. Valeria and Gabriella shout for my dad to turn the lights on, but my dad shakes his head. "After the ornaments."
They both frown and turn to their older brother with expectancy in their eyes. I watch the exact moment Matteo defies my father and falls for his sister's puppy eyes. "Please, bubba, we only want to see it." Matteo turns to my dad and then back to my sisters before looking at me. He lets out a short laugh and says, "My sisters are making me look bad in front of my girl's dad."
My dad laughs out loud at that, and Matteo moves toward the switch on the tree light. The twins let out a gasp when the whole tree lit up and Matteo turned to me. I look at him and then at the tree and can't tell which one was brighter. Matteo was lit up in happiness at the fact that we were doing this. He had been so happy to help out, as Matteo loved the lights as much as I did.
"The lights are so pretty, Teo."
"They light you up."
"They do?"
"You look like a true angel standing next to it. We should use you at the top of the tree."
"Aw, Teo. You make me smile."
"I'm glad."
I smiled at the involuntary memory that came back up. The conversation happened when we were around seven years old, and yet I can recall our voices as perfect as right now. I can also recall the way his tongue was red from the slushie that we had eaten earlier. It was a nice memory, one that I wish would stay with me for a long time.
A year ago, I used to frown when the memories came to me, but now I smile at them. These memories were a reminder of how far we have come and how much better our lives are now. The memories were a present from the past.
Matteo moves toward me and says, "So you don't help me with the light, but now you are staring at me."
I place a hand on his arm and ask, "Is that a problem?"
"A problem with you staring at me?" Matteo asks with a smirk on his face, leaning back against the couch. I watch as he shakes his head side to side and his lip moves more wide when he says, "No problem here."
I hit his arm and moved even closer to him with a laugh. "You flirt."
"You start them," he says, and then presses a kiss on my cheek. He places his cheek on mine and says, "Let's go decorate, bebé."
