Someone New

Chapter Fifteen

I'm living in a state of bliss. Aside from the remnants of a flu that continue to linger, I feel like I'm on an endorphin high. I am at Misha's house, reveling in the happiness life has brought me, and have no plans of allowing my mood to be squashed.

"Can I just get a picture of this?" Misha pleads.

"No. Absolutely not."

"Baby," he whines, "this is too good. I need this."

"Put your damn phone away," I laugh, enjoying the torture Misha is currently enduring. I'm spending the evening at his apartment, helping put up his Christmas tree. Once he successfully wrangled all of the shimmering white lights onto the branches, I found myself lying on the ground, staring up between the branches at the beauty that is glittering lights on pine needles. Unfortunately for Misha, I happen to be very scantily clad in his half-buttoned flannel shirt and my black lace panties. We may have rocked around the Christmas tree a little prematurely.

I sit up, struggling to extract my long hair from the capture of some low-lying branches. "Next, the ornaments!" I announce.

Misha helps me to my feet and wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me close to his bare chest. "Are you sure you don't want some help inspecting those lights down there? I really wouldn't mind."

I push him away, giggling at the way he suggestively wiggles his eyebrows. "Why don't you be useful and go make us some hot chocolate while I unwrap all of the glass ornaments?"

He nods and walks away with a grin, giving me a small pinch below the waist as he goes. I swat at his hand and happily turn to the box of ornaments I brought from my apartment. Misha didn't have anything but plain red and silver ornaments, and I decided to bring over my eclectic porcelain Santa ornament collection to spruce it up. It featured Santa and all of his reindeer, in addition to a sleigh, candy canes, and glittery snowflakes.

I hold up a shiny Prancer and inspect it on all sides to ensure there isn't any damage. This ornament collection has always been a favorite of mine. I'm sure to anybody else, the set just seems generic, like any other boxed ornament assortment; to me, it's the set gifted to my parents when they celebrated their first Christmas together. They came from nothing - poor, crammed into a tiny apartment, expecting a baby, and from that nothing, they made something. They may be sharp business-minded people now, traveling the country and profiting from their economic prowess, but this set brings me back to the beginning. You can always make something out of nothing, hope out of despair, and family out of strangers. It just takes a lot of faith and maybe some twinkling, Christmas lights magic.

As soon as the ornaments are unpacked and lined up on the coffee table, I begin draping ribbon throughout the tree. I've almost finished with the satiny white ribbon when Misha rounds the corner, two mugs filled with hot chocolate and marshmallows in hand. I reach out to take one when a knock sounds at the front door. He sets down the mugs and I duck behind him, tugging his shirt further down my thighs as he opens the door.

"Merry Christmas," comes a sweet voice, and I notice a small woman with long, straight brown hair and wispy bangs standing in the doorway. She's holding a small boy, who couldn't be more than a couple of years old, and their faces are rosy from the cold air.

I glance at Misha, who looks surprised and uncomfortable. "What are you doing here?" he asks, and I furrow my eyebrows.

The woman looks suddenly hesitant, as if unsure of what to say.

I decide to intervene. "Hi, I'm Lexi," I chirp from over Misha's shoulder. "Do you guys want to come in? You must be freezing!"

The expression on her face suddenly turns from hesitation to annoyance. "Misha, do you mind if Michael and I come in?"