Imagine If....

It Were the Ho-Ho-Holidays

I know it's not Christmas time, but once I drew this prompt out of my 'idea box', I knew I had to do this one :D Without further ado, sit back and enrich in the Christmas spirit :)

You had always been a fan of Christmas time; ever since you were a little kid. You can remember sitting around the fireplace with your mom, dad, and little brother Greg. You'd all be cozied up in your fleece pajamas, watching the 1964 claymation version of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. In your hometown of Y/HT/N, you'd love watching the snowflakes hit the window, an awestruck look on your bright and bubbly face.

Now that you're in California, things were different. You didn't get to see the snow every December morning or drink hot chocolate on the coldest day. But you were in Sunny California with Mark, and that's all that mattered.

Moving to California gave you the opportunity to have the dream garden that you've always wanted; filled to the brim with various fruits, vegetables, and flowers. It was one of the many loves that you got from your mother; gardens and Christmas time.

Which explains why on a warm December morning, you were down on your knees, in the tomato portion of your garden. As you attacked the dirt with the hoe, Michael Buble's Christmas Album played through the speakers in the background. If only you could only find yourself some warm apple cider then you'd be good to go.

"Is there ever a time where you aren't in this garden of yours?" You heard Mark's deep voice chuckle as footsteps made their way closer towards you.

"Is there ever a time where you aren't in that recording room of yours?"

"Touche Y/N, Touche." Setting the hoe down, you turned to face Mark. With him wearing the infamous red flannel, grey skinny jeans, and his red hair gelled back, he looked better than you'd ever seen him. Now was not the time to get distracted! "I'm heading out for a few hours, I'll see you later ok?"

"Where are you going?" Pushing off the dirt, you got up off the ground, brushing the dirt off the knees of your pants.

"I'm meeting with Tamara today, remember?" As you made your way closer towards Mark, you raised a curious eyebrow, staring into his chocolate brown eyes in the process.

"I'm sorry, but who?"

"You're kidding, right Y/N? Tamara's my ex-girlfriend."

"Which ex-girlfriend?" He laughed, leaning forward to press his lips against your forehead.

"Thanks for making me out to be a man whore sweetheart, I'm really feeling the love here. Tamara's the last girlfriend I had before I left Ohio. She moved to town recently and got in touch with me through Tyler?"

"Ohh yeah, her. Remind me again why you're going to see her?"

"She wanted to 'reminisce about the good ol' days'. Figured it wouldn't hurt if I went and saw her. Besides, I heard she's married now with kids. What's she going to do, steal me away?"

"I mean, with a good-looking man such as yourself, who wouldn't steal you away from a little ol me." Mark chuckled before walking towards the exit of the garden.

"Look's like someone's a comedian. I'll see you later today, I've got to pick up your Christmas present after I meet with Tamara."

"Don't die!" You called out to him, getting back down on the ground. Mark didn't respond as he exited the garden and began making his way towards the car.

As you went back to digging dirt up with your hoe, the smallest feeling of nausea began settling in the pit of your stomach. You weren't kidding earlier when you ask who she was. Unless you were having a complete and utter moment of blondeness, you didn't remember him ever bringing up Tamara before, yet he was acting like he's talked to you about her before! Then again, what person in a relationship tells the other about every single ex they've ever had? Exactly.

(A few hours later)

You forgot how easy it was to get lost in your own little world in your garden, especially on a today like this. With the sun beating down on you and the sweat dripping down your face, you knew that you were going to walk away at the end of the day with a tan. It wouldn't be much of a tan considering it takes you burning in a pit of fucking lava to get the lightest color on your skin, but it would be a tan none to less.

Music softly played through your Bluetooth speaker that currently sat on the wooden patio table by the back door. Currently, it was Come Dance with Me by Michael Buble. What could you say, Canadian jazz/pop singers were kind of your thing.

You got out of the garden to turn your speaker off. You were just about done and didn't want to kill the battery anymore then you already had today.

Reaching the speaker, you managed to turn it off with your dirt covered hands. You never did believe in wearing gloves in the garden. 

Just as you were about to turn around, you heard the sound of someone clearing their throat behind you. Turning around, you saw a woman who was roughly your height. She had her dark, auburn hair tied back in a high ponytail, reminding you of the cheerleaders you used to go to high school with. Her olive green v-neck and blue jeans didn't look out of the ordinary as she stepped closer towards you, a smile on her tanned face. Ok, who the hell was this girl and what was she doing your garden?!?

"Excuse me, could I help you?" You asked, dusting your knees off in the process.

"I'm Tamara, Mark's ex-girlfriend."

"The one he's supposed to be meeting right fucking one?"

"Yeah, that one! Obviously, I'm not there." Way to go Captain Obvious! "I actually wanted to talk to you, that's why I set up the whole thing with him." This couldn't get any more suspicious, could it?? Too bad your hoe was still in the dirt in your garden, otherwise you'd hit her over the fucking head.

"Look, I was hoping we could talk. I know the two of you are in a committed relationship but would you maybe be interested in I don't know, sharing him with me?" It's official, this chick is off her marbles! Did she seriously think you were just going to- share Mark like he was some toy?!

Most of the time, you prided yourself on keeping your mouth shut when the time called for it. Now was not one of those times. "Tamara right? Have you lost your mind?! Do you honestly think I'm just going to share Mark with you, no questions asked?! Besides, aren't you fucking married, with kids might I add!"

"Yeah, but they don't have to know! Besides, Mark was always the one that got away." The more this woman spoke, the more you realized she was clearly not thinking straight.

"Ho-Ho-No, now get the hell out of my garden!" You pointed your arm towards the exit, hoping she would take that as her hint to leave. Tamara shrugged her shoulders, then proceeded to walk towards the exit, muttering 'At least I tried' under her breath as she exited. Your eyes were on her entire time, making sure she wasn't planning on sticking around.

Once Tamara was out of sight, Mark came into sight, a questioning look in his eyes and a smirk on his face. By the laughter that began to shine in his eyes, you were sure that he had heard the whole conversation.

"And to think I missed all the fun"

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Ahhh, we're back in the holiday writing Imagine spirit. Sure, we're a little less than two months away from Christmas, but who's counting??? *Raises hand up in the air and viciously waves it back and forth* :D

~Miranda~