Coming Home for Christmas
"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy, when skies are grey..."
Kayla hummed the familiar tune under her breath as she gently swayed back and forth before the open hearth. The heat from the fire warmed her legs even as her hand absently caressed her swollen stomach. An easy smile played on her lips.
Happiness and contentment filled Kayla's every feature as her blue eyes twinkled like the hundreds of fairy lights wrapped around the tree that was glittering prettily in the corner of the room. Kayla's gaze however, was staring into the flames as she continued to hum tunes underneath her breath.
Flames were joyfully flickering in the large stone fireplace, licking at the wood within the grate so that it crackled and snapped in time with the petite woman's soft calming voice.
The place that held her attention so raptly was shrouded in a gaudy display of Christmas decorations. It illuminated the room in a soft warm glow making it feel nice and cosy, despite the raging snow storm. A shiver ran through the woman and halted her for a moment in her singing as Jack Frost raged outside and howled at the windows.
After shooting a nervous glance at the window, the woman moved over to the TV and switched it onto a music channel that was showcasing an array of cheesy Christmas songs. Choosing them over the sounds of the storm, she turned the volume up so that her house filled with the opening bars 'Last Christmas' and so that the storm was barely a whisper in the background. Satisfied, she hugged her arms around her middle and swayed for a few moments with her eyes closed, a smile quickly forming on her lips as she mouthed the words.
"I miss you so much," Kayla whispered to the empty room, her words drowned out by the music.
Drops of water ran down her cheeks in silent tears of love and longing, the sign that one half of her heart was absent. Reaching up a hand, she swiped them away carefully with her finger tips, being careful not to smudge the make-up she had spent a painstaking amount of time applying.
Satisfied, she tucked a strand of her honey coloured hair behind her ear before the young woman waddled towards the mantel. Her hands, desperate to keep busy, reached out and stroked the small piece of card that had pride of place amongst the fake snow and tinsel. Each word was ingrained in her mind and made her restless. The words that came after the declarations of love and how much he missed her were the most painful to her though. She still remembered with vivid intensity when those five words sunk into her brain. 'My tour has been extended.'
Five simple words yet each reminder of those words written on the back of the little postcard filled Kayla with agitation and fear. It was moments like that, when impatience would eat away at her. She would long for nothing more than to see his face once more and kiss his warm soft lips to reassure her that he was safe – that he was still alive. Eventually her swollen feet would once again resume their pacing around the room when no form of relief would come and only exhaustion would offer her a reprieve.
Kayla allowed her hands to trail over the tiny ornaments and the downright tacky decorations that she had bought with relish the Christmas before. She smiled as she eyed a particularly horrible stocking that hung from the right end of the mantel. She had lovingly sewn each letter onto the front of the stocking while the man she loved was in some foreign country fighting some other person's war. This wasn't her first Christmas without him yet it did not offer any solace. Nothing could take away the ache in her heart when the only thing to keep her company was a stuffed toy that did nothing to offer her warmth and comfort during the long dark winter nights.
Shaking her head back and forth, Kayla resumed stroking her protruding stomach that was highlighted more than normal due to the cut of the dress she was wearing. She had decided to make an occasion of the evening, taking the time to cook a good meal and do her hair and make-up. A look of pride appeared on her face as she caught her reflection in the windows that overlooked her snowy yard, her hand smoothing over the bump just as the baby within gave an almighty kick causing the material covering it to jump slightly.
A quick glance at the clock revealed it to be five minutes to eight causing her to gasp and scurrying around the room as quick as she could. Moving over to the computer she wriggled the mouse to wake up the sleepy machine that had chosen to hibernate like most sensible creatures do in winter. Then, while that took its time to load, she waddled to the kitchen and retrieved the steaming plate of pasta and set it gently on the computer desk alongside the non-alcoholic glass of champagne.
Assured that everything was set, she glanced up at the clock one more time and saw that there were only a few seconds until it was eight. Drawing in a deep breath, Kayla signed into Skype and waited. The seconds waiting for something to happen, had her nervously combing her fingers through her hair as her heart skipped a nervous beat. Worries and fears ran through her body as she anticipated seeing his face. Would he still be the same? She wondered idly as she stared at her contact list but saw that his name was still offline.
"Where is he?" Kayla murmured to herself, tapping her fingers against the desk while she ignored the tantalising scent of the tomatoes that drifted towards her.
Just as she made to lift herself from the chair to resume her pacing, a pair of large warm calloused hands caressed her shoulders as the owner of them ducked his head to kiss the frantic woman on the neck with a tenderness that brought tears to her eyes. As the dark haired man withdrew, she craned her head back to look at him allowing her mouth to drop open in shock.
"Simon?" Kayla whispered, before she struggled to push herself up from the chair, desperate to be in the arms of the man she had spent months losing sleep over.
Noting her dilemma, Simon bent down and scooped her up from the chair, hugging her as close to him as her pregnant body would allow. He buried his face in her hair and inhaled deeply before exhaling a breath of contentment.
"I missed you so much," he murmured.
The two of them looked an odd pair, her in a glitzy dress and a bulging stomach while he was still decked out in army attire, though his beret had been knocked to the floor when her hands had desperately found their way into his hair. Both of them refused to blink as they stared rapturously into each other's eyes, her baby blues meeting his warm chocolate orbs that were turning glassy with a sheen of tears.
After a minute or two, her set her back on the ground though his eyes never left hers. The man stretched out a hand and laid it on her belly while giving a smile that sent Kayla's heart racing. A goofy smile appeared on her face, causing dimples to form in her cheeks, that only got deeper and more pronounced when her smile stretched further. Simon's gaze was now fixed on her stomach, eyes wide with awe as he looked at the spot under his hand as if he had truly witnessed a miracle.
"Merry Christmas," she whispered as he knelt down before her and laid his head against their growing child
"Merry Christmas beautiful," Simon murmured in reply before he tilted his head and pressed his lips gently against the spot where he had felt his child kick.
