Secrets & Lies

Chapter Seventeen

The weeks seemed to fly by in a blur as the Michaelmas term came to a close.  Alex and Gia were both busy finishing up term papers and studying for finals, but they still spent every night entwined in each other's arms.  They would be apart for over a month as Gia returned to Colorado and Alex to Denmark, and that was going to be very difficult for both of them.  Gia took a ton of pictures of Alex by himself and had her friends take pictures of them together so she could show her family and friends.  Gia had fallen deeply in love with Alex and even though he never said he loved her Gia knew it in her heart. 

    Alex loved Gia with a passion that he had never felt before and even though he knew that Gia loved him he was afraid that if he said the words to her he would be losing what they had and that frightened him more than saying the three little magic words all girls longed to hear.

    Gia was packing a few remaining items to take home while Alex watched.  He had already packed and had his bag in her room.  They would be leaving for the airport in the morning together.

"What do you do for Juli?" He asked curiously.

"What's Juli?" Gia asked confused but interested to learn Danish.

"Christmas." He answered.

"Oh Natale." Gia responded in Italian, "Well...Before Christmas we bake a bunch of delicious cookies and treats and go shopping for presents.  On Vigilia di Natale we..."

"Wait what is that, Vigilia di Natale?" Alex asked trying to pronounce the Italian words the way she had spoken them.

"Christmas Eve." Gia answered.

"In Danish it's called Juleafton."  He told her in exchange.

"Interesting, well on Juleafton, is that correct?" Gia asked and Alex nodded his agreement, "We host an open house where everyone we know drops by and we talk, sing Christmas carols and eat just enjoy the day.  My mother always makes the dish of the seven fishes, which is this traditional dish that is served in Italian homes on Christmas Eve.  I'm not really fond of it, but my mother always makes me eat at least one bite for good luck.  The food is mostly vegetarian because we aren't supposed to eat any meat on Christmas Eve.  My favorite thing that we get only for Christmas Eve is my grandmother's famous homemade lobster ravioli.  It's to die for!  I'm hungry just thinking about it.  As our guests leave we have set up at the door the 'Urn of Fate' which is a large decorative gold bowl with little wrapped presents inside at the end of the night we always go to Midnight Mass which is always so magical.  The church is so beautiful and everyone is excited to be there and it just seems like the best service all year.  On Christmas morning we open presents with just our immediate family and have breakfast.  My brother and I always write a letter to our parents and place them under Daddy's plate and he reads them to the family.  They usually center around how grateful we are to have them as parents and how much we love and respect them.  I think my mother has kept every letter from over the years.  Around one or so all of our extended family arrives and we have a huge Italian dinner, play games and just enjoy Natale.  What about you? What do you do?"

"Well let's see my mother is Swedish and so on December 13 our Natale time begins with St. Lucia Day.  The oldest of my three sisters wears a white robe with a red sash handed down through my mother's family to the oldest girl.  On her head she wears an evergreen crown with lit candles all around it.  In the morning she serves us these little buns and coffee, the little kids they have hot chocolate."

"That sounds really special." Gia responded.

"It is a wonderfully Scandinavian tradition that hasn't really changed throughout the decades, it is my favorite thing we do all season."