Forevermore

17

An hour later and the kitchen is all clean and spotless like it was before. The Christmas cookies are still cooling while I pull out the frosting, sprinkles and other cookie decorating stuff. Arms snake around my waist and I look over my shoulder and smile at Hayden.

"Hey, how was your cat nap?" I ask and he nods.

"Would've been better with you."

"I had to clean." I say and he laughs, "I know, but still." He says and I smirk slipping out of his arms and grabbing the cookies and moving them over to the decorating counter. I touch them to be sure they're not still hot then nod in approval.

"Well, you will have me all night." I say walking over to where he sits on the counter and moving in between his legs.

"All to myself?"

"All to yourself." I say then lean forward and press my lips to his then spin away.

"Cookie decorating time!" I shout and a few moments later Justin and my dad walk in.

"Can I skip the decorating and just eat them?" Justin asks and I smack his hand away as he reaches for one.

"No." I say and he smirks sitting down at the table and starting to decorate. I look over at Hayden and he smirks jumping off the counter and walking over as we all sit down and decorate the cookies. It's always been a family tradition of ours to decorate Christmas cookies the night before Christmas Eve then take them to the children's shelter just up the rode. Mom started the tradition, and I've always held onto it, even when I was back home. It was the one night where I chose to be selfless and I realized with that act, I was making a ton of kids' lives that much better. 

My mom was always huge on community service and helping out. It was a huge part of her life. She was the kindest most selfless person I'd ever met, all the way to her very last breath. My mom has a failing heart, she'd been on the waitlist for a long time, in and out of the hospital, never finding a perfect match. She was getting sicker by the day and we were losing her more and more, she never lost face though and always always was smiling. It was December 19th, seven years ago, when we got a call from the hospital saying that they had finally, finally found a match. We drove my mother to the hospital, and we waited for the transplant to take place. However, while my mom was waiting she came upon a little girl, only about twelve years old, who was not doing very well. She, just like my mother, had been waiting on a heart transplant, but was lower on the waiting list. The nurses said she only had a few weeks left, but there was just nothing they could do. My mother knew what they could do though...

She backed out of the transplant, and gave it to the little girl. 

My mother died three days later, but she died a hero to a child and her family. She died strong and happy, nothing but pure heart and selflessness. She gave her life, to save another's, and now that little girl is a freshman in college, studying to be a nurse. Her family always kept in contact with me.

Hayden nudges my knee and I look over at him.

'You good?' He lips and I nod wiping away a tear. I look at my brother and dad but their too involved with the cookie decorating to have noticed. Hayden slides his hand onto my knee and I gently place my hand over his and he squeezes.

I clear my throat then turn my attention back to my cookies, letting go of his hand and decorating again.

~~

We pull up to the Children's Center and slowly get out.

"Wow, I haven't been here in so long." I whisper as Hayden wraps his arm around my shoulder.

"Neither have we." My dad says looking over at Hayden and I.

"What?" I ask and he nods sadly, "it was too hard." He says and I walk over and give him a hug. He hugs me back and all the anger, sadness, guilt, and pain I held onto fades from my mind and it's just my dad and I.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you." He whispers and I hug him tighter.

"It's okay." I whisper pulling back and he smiles. 

"Now, let's go do this." I say reaching back and grabbing the basket of cookies.

"There's some kiddos in there who I feel will be very happy to see you again." I say and my dad smiles as Hayden walks over to us. 

"Thank you for bringing my daughter home for Christmas." He says and I smile wrapping my arm around Hayden's waist as he nods.

~~

I smile as the children continue to eat their cookies and play, with smiles covering their faces. I look over as Hayden plays sword fight with one of the kiddos and I smile to myself.

"He's a good guy." I look over with a nod as my dad walks up.

"He is, great with all kinds of people too." I say with another smile as he falls to the ground.

"I'm happy you two found each other."

"Yeah, so am I." I whisper squatting as a little girl runs up to me.

"You're very pretty." She says swaying back and forth with a huge smile.

"Well thank you, so are you." I say and she giggles then runs away. I stand back up and smile as Alivia, the head of the Child's Center walks over to me and my dad walks over to a group of kids with Justin.

"Thank you so much for this. The kids always loved it when you guys would come. They missed you, we all did, but it's understandable." She says with a sad look and I nod.

"It was hard, but we pushed through." I say and she smiles.

"A very strong family indeed." She says and I smile turning my attention back to Hayden.

"He's handsome." She says nodding toward him and I smile.

"He is." I say and she smirks giving me a side hug then walking away. I walk over to Hayden and the little boys and he smiles looking up at me.

"Well, if you guys don't mind. I'm gonna take a break. I'm getting old." He says and the kids laugh then run away as he stands up.

"Of course you'd be amazing with all children." I say as we head outside and sit down on the porch swing.

"I'd like to think so." He says and I smile putting my head on his shoulder.

"I'm glad we did this again, it's been so long since we did it as a family." I say

"As soon as you walked through those doors, you glowed." He says back and I smile.

"My mother's famous glow, seems she passed it on to me." I say with a slight laugh.

"She did." He says and I smile snuggling against him as we stare out at the moon and stars.

~~~~~~~~~