Mistletoe

December 5th

Friday December 5th

08.00am

I was woken up by a massive bear hug and the voice of my little sister whispering loudly, "Pst, Val!"

"Hmm?" I rolled over and blinked against the sharp light coming from the lamp in my room. Slowly Penny's face came into view and I yawned before shooting forwards, grabbing her in my hands and hauling her onto the bed with me. 

Penny giggled and curled up next to me, our arms still in an embrace and our faces inches apart. "Mom said I had to wait until eight to wake you."

The clock on my nightstand told me it was now a minute past. "You didn't waste much time did you?" She shook her head in response. "Good. Gosh, I missed you. Come here, you." I pulled her close until there was no air space left between us.

"I missed you too. I'm sorry I missed your birthday."

"It's all good, now that you're back we can celebrate properly."

That seemed to brighten her spirits. "Bake party?" She asked and grinned wide.

I nodded, "You're on. But I have work today so it'll have to be later. Wanna go to the park?"

"Yeah, okay. Just us, yeah?"

"Just us," I promised, "and Sergeant."

Penny nodded and jumped up and onto the floor, running off with my duvet in the process.

"Hey!" I shouted as she reached the stairs, giggling like an idiot.

"Just making sure you don't go back to sleep," she said before dumping my duvet on the floor and running upstairs.

I'd missed the little demon.

Fifteen minutes later I was ready to start the day and walked up to the kitchen to find a plate of belgian waffles waiting for me. 

"Mom!" I exclaimed and ran across the room and flung my arms around her neck like I was seven again. She chuckled and hugged me tight in return.

We all ate together, except for dad who was passed out upstairs; he hated flying and it always exhausted him to no end. And when mom was content we'd gotten some food in our system me and Penny were granted permission to continue with our morning. I kissed her cheek as Penny came running with Sergeant already on his leash.

The air was crisp outside, the temperature having dropped several degrees and I buried my face in my scarf. There was a thin layer of mist in the park and some patches of grass was covered in a light sheet of frost, but as usual there was no snow. 

Only two other people were out this early, also walking their dogs. I took Penny's hand in mine and looked at her in earnest.

"Ready?" I asked.

Her blue eyes were wide with excitement and she nodded.

Together we took off in a run, laughing hysterically while a crazy dog pulled us forward. We jumped the few puddles that the rain had left behind during the night, and as the big pile of orange and brown and red grew closer our pace quickened despite our breaths coming hard and our feet trembling in protest. Anticipation and excitement was all that was fueling us now.

In unison we jumped forward; a pile of dog and two deranged humans. Leaves flew everywhere as we broke the surface and fell into the remnants of autumn. Having learned from past mistakes I closed my mouth until I made it back up. I threw my head back and laughed in earnest, feeling completely and utterly free.