Perpetual Smile

Running around on xmas really takes a toll — especially when you’re running on about two hours of sleep.

For xmas eve, Mike came over for dinner. We had all kinds of seafood: scallops, white cod fillet, some other kind of fillet, and of course the requisite pasta. Noni made lasagna for Mike, since he’s allergic to fish. We had tuna sauce, white clam sauce, some other kind of seafood white sauce, and regular sauce for Mike. Dessert was two kinds of cheesecake — the Jell-O kind and homemade baked — and apple pie. I was so full I could only manage a tiny sliver of the homemade cheesecake, and couldn’t even finish that.

Between dinner and dessert we did gifts. I gave Mom and Lauren their embroidery gifts, and Lauren Wall-E and a To Write Love On Her Arms tee shirt. (I had taken Mom to see It’s A Wonderful Life on stage in November as her gift.) Dad really liked the small First Aid kit and thermos set I got him for hunting. Mike liked his gifts, too.

Mom and Dad got me some pajama bottoms (which I live in), leggings, shirts, The Dark Knight, and scarves and gloves. I’m not sure what I was excited about more: the clothes or The Dark Knight. I really needed some long sleeved shirts.

At about 9:30 Mike and I went to his house because dinner was over and everyone was going to bed. I brought stuff to stay over with in case he was too tired to drive me home. He hadn’t gotten much sleep that day (he’d worked third shift the night before), so I figured I’d sleep on the couch if I had to.

We hung out with Tracy, Tony, and Little Tony for a little while. Tracy let Little Tony open my gift for him and he really liked the Trouble game I got him. Tracy, Tony Jr. and Tony got me a cute white long sleeved shirt that says I Got Skills and a set of warm Adidas socks.

“I remembered you saying you needed socks,” Tracy said.

“You’re my favorite right now,” I said. (And right now, I’m really appreciating them. They’re so warm with my boots!)

Mike and I hung out some more, sleeping for a while and then getting back up to watch some TV. I watched him play Call of Duty and the next thing I knew he was shutting off the Xbox 360. It was about 3:30 in the morning. I curled up under his blanket and he shut the light off for me. A few minutes later he came back in.

“Guess who’s standing in the living room holding the gun?” He whispered.

I could just see Little Tony holding the huge Nerf gun Mike got him. “No way,” I said, glancing at the clock.

Mike laid down in Robbie’s bed and I could hear Little Tony waking up Tracy and Tony to come see everything Santa had brought him.

I drifted in and out of sleep. Robbie came in to get Mike out of his bed, but Mike wouldn’t budge. I tried to ignore them and go back to sleep, but it only took a few minutes for the drama to start. One minute all I could hear was caroling on the TV, and the next minute they were fighting. They went from the bedroom into the living room, reminding me of a middle school brawl. I ran out into the living room, yelling for them to stop, and then it was over.

For the next three hours I was in shock. Robbie and Mike had never done anything like that, and on xmas morning it was even more shocking. But later that afternoon, when Robbie woke up and Mike and I (completely sleep-deprived) were playing Clue with Tony, the two of them were back to normal.

Guys are fucking weird.

Later that evening we went to Britt’s for dinner, and it was just as yummy as last year. She made manicotti, a broccoli and cheddar casserole that was out of this world, spiral ham, green beans, potatoes, and crossoints. For dessert she made brownie sundaes and put out the cookies she’d got at a cookie swap and the cookies I’d brought. It was all really, really good; I thought that Mike would have to roll me out of there, I was so full. It’s bad enough Britt helped Mike shop for my ring, but she, Tyson and TJ (Tyson’s son) got me a really soft and comfy Victoria’s Secret hoodie. Between her, Mike, and Tracy, I got spoiled.

After that, Robbie drove me and Mike to my Aunt Rikki’s house. The whole gathering was all but over, which was nice because we got to just kind of hang out for a minute. My grandmother completely ignored Mike and Robbie. Aunt Rikki, Uncle Reno and Katarina got me pajama bottoms and these adorable little booties, and a new journal. It’s hardcover and according to the flyleaf it’s the same pattern used on a seventeenth-century bible. It’s old school.

“That’s the journal you don’t want to bring to the library, ’cause it’ll get lost in all the other books,” Mike said. It’s really pretty.

Neither Mike or I could really stand, though, so I went home with my parents and Robbie drove himself and Mike home. When I got home, Mom and Dad gave us our stockings real quick, and I went to bed soon after.

It was a long, long xmas, but most of it was pretty good. Especially when Mike gave me his gift…

To Be Continued…