December 25, 2025
Christmas was always Taylor's favourite time of year.
She always said that given she grew up on a Christmas Tree Farm, it would have been easy to go the other way - to run from all things festive, to become the resident grinch, resenting the scent of pine and the sight of fairy lights.
But she simply couldn't resist the magic of the holiday season: picking out the tree, decorating it, celebrating her birthday and then the holiday with family - she looked forward to it every year.
Her birthday this year had been more than a little special, with Travis asking her to be his wife - a question she gladly and immediately said yes to. She had dreamed of this life for so long, had written about it so many times, that she still had to blink away emotion when she looked around and saw that she was living it, with a gorgeous fiancé and a beautiful baby girl.
Sure, they had their moments, as every couple does. Him leaving dirty dishes in the sink, her waking him up in the middle of the night, bashing the piano, unaware of the noise she's making. When Mia was really little, and the sleep deprivation played on their minds, tiny annoyances were held onto for days before they were resolved, Taylor eventually recognising that Travis not saying Good Morning as soon as he woke up was not the slight she had thought it was.
But communication was always their thing, and the arguments never lasted long before Taylor was in his arms, one of them whispering apologies for having started the quarrel, the other expressing why it had annoyed them in the first place.
It was refreshing for Taylor, the first relationship where she felt like open communication was just as important to her significant other as it was to her. She truly believed it's what made her and Travis click so well, right from the very beginning of their relationship, nearly two and a half years ago.
Waking up this Christmas morning, she was even more excited than she usually is - it was her baby's first Christmas, and she and Travis got to play Santa and start holiday traditions of their own, as a family. The thought made her smile even before she'd opened her eyes.
But she was waking up in an empty bed, Travis' side stone cold. He had a game today, and was at the team hotel downtown. She had had to almost push him out the door the previous evening, his reluctance to leave her and Mia on Christmas Eve making her smile, even as she urged him to go. She knew it killed him not being there as Mia woke up on her first Christmas morning.
Taylor had reassured him, knowing in her heart of hearts that Mia wouldn't remember a thing, and since she didn't know what was happening anyway, they would open presents as soon as he got back that morning, his game not kicking off until 4pm.
As if she knows she's thinking about her, Taylor hears Mia over the baby monitor, her cries breaking the silence of the house. They had moved her into the nursery and her crib when they returned from Philly a couple of weeks ago, much to Travis' disappointment. Mia was a daddy's girl, through and through, and he had needed convincing that separation would be good for all of them.
It had worked as Taylor hoped, Mia now sleeping (mostly) through the night, the extra rest welcomed for everybody. Slipping Travis' robe over her, Taylor goes to her now, changing her diaper and feeding her in the rocking chair, the morning light breaking through the curtains.
That's where Travis finds them some time later, Taylor singing lullabies for Mia as she drifted in and out of an early morning nap, gently rocking together.
'Merry Christmas, my girls', he says as he walks towards them, arms enveloping them both sitting in the chair.
Mia's eyes light up at the sight of her daddy, her little chubby hands outstretched towards him, smiling so wide her pacifier falls out and rolls onto the floor.
