Bruised and Scarred [short story]

Bonus Chapter: Seasons Greetings

"you get over love in two months. big love, you get over in two years. but great love? well, great love changes your life."

[in which she looks back with fond memories]
[a christmas special]

  "Damn it all, when did we ever decide that Christmas pranking was a good idea," I mutter to myself as I rinse chocolate from my hair. "Goodness, this is impossible to get out!"

  "Well, it is cheap chocolate after all," Thomas comments wryly as he walks in. I flip him the bird, before scrubbing the remnants of the chocolate from my hair aggressively. That's when I notice that Thomas has paint splattered across his face.

  "I got a paint balloon thrown at me the moment I stepped through the door," he explains when he sees me looking. "Oh well, at least it's better than last year. Remember how I had to go to work with blue streaks in my skin and you had to go out with hot pink hair?" Both of us chuckle at the memory.

  "Dad! Mom! Stop talking boring adult talk already and come out! We're about to unwrap the presents!" Cadence pops her head in as she pulls a face. "Hurry up, or else we're eating the log cake without you!" With that, she disappears from the door frame and I can hear footsteps  thumping down the stairs.   Thomas and I look at each other, laughing.

  "Well, good luck with getting those stains out! I'll be downstairs with the kids," I kiss him lightly on his cheek, before heading out of the door.

  "Finally!" Cadence exclaims when I reach the ground floor, grabbing my arm and dragging me over to the christmas tree. It's not very tall, but lavishly decorated, with a glittering golden star adorning the very top. There're baubles, strings of lights, candy canes, mini Santas, bells- you name it, we had it. Cadence had insisted on going out and buying an absurd amount of decorations.

  "Cady, aren't you afraid that you'll yank Mom's arm off?" Callum teases. He stands up from his spot on the armchair, walking over and hugging me. "Merry Christmas, Mom."

  "Shut up Cal, what do you know?" Cadence sticks her tongue out at Callum. I laugh at this display, watching fondly as the two of them bicker. Callum is already unusually mature for his age, and he is four years younger than the playful Cadence. It's nice to see him let loose and be the child he is, instead of always regarding things with the perpetually serious attitude he has.

  "Well, this is nice!" Thomas comments as he walks down the stairs. His face is clean, and he has the brilliant grin that made me first fall in love with him, all those years back when I was still working at that posh bank. "For once, the presents aren't all unwrapped when I come down late."

  "Dad!" Cadence and Callum fling themselves into his arms, and he laughs, ruffling their hair.

  "Merry Christmas, little ones," he pries himself free of their grasps, before flopping down onto the armchair where Callum had been sitting. "So, are we going to begin opening our presents, or should I just throw them into the fire?" He snatches a random present from the pile under the tree- a flat, rectangular shaped box that appears to be addressed to Callum- and waves it over his head.

  "Nooo!" Callum all but shrieks, making a lunge for his father. "That's potentially my GTA game, give it back!"

  And as I watch Callum wrestle with his father, and Cadence sneaking bites from the gingerbread house we made yesterday, I feel a wave of warmth wash over me. This is what family feels like. This is what love feels like. It's the laughs that ripple through the air. It's the aroma of Christmas dinner as you exchange banter with your family. This is happiness.

  Despite what happened all those years back in school, my life has turned out okay. I thought that those minor setbacks would ruin my future, make me a failure. But here I am with a loving husband, two wonderful kids, and a home. We may not be rich. We may not always be sunshine and rainbows. But that's life, isn't it? This is enough for me. And I'm okay with enough.