Friday, December 25<\/p>\n
\u201cMerry Christmas! Merry Christmas! Oh look, Santa came! Come on, everyone!\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily\u2019s joyful voice echoed throughout the house, buoyed by Jack\u2019s excited baying and the sounds of running feet. Schrodinger, who had been curled up at Molly\u2019s feet, raised his head, sleep still in his eyes. They had come in fairly late the night before.<\/p>\n
Then, as Molly watched, what Lily was shouting penetrated the sleep fog and Schrodinger said, Christmas! It\u2019s Christmas!<\/em> He jumped up, stepping on Drew and Molly in the process, and leapt from the bed, shouting at the top of his mental lungs, It\u2019s Christmas!<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYes, yes it is,\u201d Drew said resignedly. \u201cI don\u2019t suppose I can go back to sleep yet, can I?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou can take a nap later,\u201d Molly promised him. \u201cYou know as well as I do that they\u2019ll be outside playing after dinner, and it will be quiet.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m holding you to that,\u201d he grumbled, but Molly saw the twinkle in his eyes. \u201cGood lord, where did all this come from?\u201d Molly said, looking around.<\/p>\n \u201cSanta, of course!\u201d Lily told her, rolling her eyes. \u201cWhere else?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, some of it came from us too,\u201d her mother said, laughing. \u201cAnd don\u2019t forget, Grandma and Grampa will be bringing more later.\u201d<\/p>\n Lily, however, had realized there were more people than just her family in the room. \u201cGrandma Ella!\u201d she squealed excitedly, throwing herself in Pavel\u2019s mother\u2019s arms. \u201cYou came to Christmas!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd where else would I be?\u201d Ella asked, hugging her. \u201cChristmas is time for family, after all.\u201d<\/p>\n I smell Pavel too!<\/em> Jack said, wagging his tail enthusiastically and nearly taking out the tree. Schrodinger quickly shouldered his friend aside. And someone else\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYes, this is my mother, Brynna, and her husband Paul,\u201d Ella said, and Lily\u2019s eyes went wide. \u201cPavel\u2019s grandmother. Mother, Paul, this is Molly\u2019s niece Lily and her dog Jack.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPavel has a grandma?\u201d Lily said, astonished.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, he does,\u201d Brynna said, smiling. \u201cIt\u2019s very nice to meet you, Lily, Jack.\u201d<\/p>\n When did you guys get here?<\/em> Jack said, after politely sniffing Brynna and Paul\u2019s hands.<\/p>\n \u201cLate,\u201d Molly told him, settling in on the couch. \u201cYou guys were already in bed.\u201d<\/p>\n Someone knocked on the door, and Drew called, \u201cCome in, it\u2019s open!\u201d<\/p>\n Doug and Tim appeared a few minutes later, with Ryan, and right after them, Mr and Mrs Barrett, then Peter and Donna Allard, with Lily\u2019s best friend Zoey. To Jack\u2019s and Schrodinger\u2019s delight, Zoey had a wriggling puppy in her arms.<\/p>\n \u201cIsn\u2019t she adorable?\u201d Zoey said, proudly showing off the puppy, who had a fuzzy coat and bright blue eyes. \u201cHer name is Aurora.\u201d<\/p>\n Aurora barked squeakily as Zoey set her down, her eyes on Jack, who leaned down to sniff her. Hello, Aurora,<\/em> he said.<\/p>\n Big dog,<\/em> Aurora said, and then sneezed. And cat!<\/em><\/p>\n My name is Schrodinger,<\/em> the CrossCat said, coming over to her. Merry Christmas!<\/em><\/p>\n Christmas!<\/em> Aurora agreed, and sneezed again.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s from the Dorrs\u2019 farm,\u201d Donna told Molly. \u201cThey have a new breed that they\u2019re trying out. It\u2019s a cross between a Husky and a dog from one of the nearby Realms.\u201d<\/p>\n Which Realm?<\/em> Schrodinger asked, his eyes bright.<\/p>\n \u201cI forget,\u201d Donna admitted. \u201cBut apparently, these dogs are trackers, and are very smart. Aurora beelined for Zoey yesterday, and well, that was that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo cool!\u201d Lily said, reaching down to let Aurora sniff her hand. \u201cNow we both have dogs!\u201d She petted Aurora, then said to Zoey, \u201cCome on, we need to sort the packages.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to get more tea,\u201d Molly said, and got up.<\/p>\n Tim followed her into the kitchen to help, and as they assembled a tray, he said, \u201cI got a phone call last night.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh?\u201d Molly said noncommittally. \u201cFrom who?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot my parents,\u201d Tim admitted. \u201cI was hoping, but no go. But my sister called.\u201d He smiled at Molly. \u201cShe loved the gingerbread house, and the pictures I sent of Ryan and Doug. We talked for a long time, and she\u2019s thinking of coming out in the spring.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, Tim, that\u2019s wonderful!\u201d Molly said, throwing her arms around him. \u201cI\u2019m so happy for you!\u201d<\/p>\n He hugged her back. \u201cThanks to you. Without your support, I wouldn\u2019t have even tried. Thank you, Molly, for accepting us.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMolly, if you don\u2019t come back, we can\u2019t open presents!\u201d Lily called out, and Molly and Tim laughed.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re coming, we\u2019re coming!\u201d Molly called back.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know, if we add any more people to this holiday next year, we\u2019re going to need a bigger living room,\u201d Drew said quietly, as Molly rejoined him on the couch.<\/p>\n \u201cWe could knock out the wall between here and the dining room,\u201d she said, putting her head on his shoulder. \u201cWe don\u2019t really need a dining room, do we?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEither that, or join the library to this room.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, I like that idea,\u201d Molly mused, watching Lily and Zoey hand out presents to people. Even Brynna and Paul had gifts in front of them. \u201cMore room for books that way.\u201d<\/p>\n Aurora had fun playing with the bits of paper flying everywhere, chasing them through the air with baby growls. Jack and Schrodinger joined her, and Molly\u2019s sides soon hurt from laughing. Finally, they got through all the presents and the kids were dispatched outside to play in the softly-falling snow while Molly got breakfast out.<\/p>\n As the adults were sitting down around the table, enjoying the cinnamon rolls and fresh cups of tea (and the quiet), Mrs. Barrett said teasingly, \u201cSo, Molly, when do we get another grandchild to add to the mayhem?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDo you need another one?\u201d Molly teased back, grinning. \u201cDon\u2019t we have enough?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s never enough grandchildren,\u201d Ella said, nodding at Mrs. Barrett. \u201cBecause you can spoil them.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAs soon as we do, we\u2019ll let you know,\u201d Drew said. Then he looked at Molly. \u201cRight?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRight,\u201d she said. \u201cSorry, Mom, but nothing yet. We\u2019re still enjoying just being married.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou know I\u2019m just teasing,\u201d Mrs. Barrett said. \u201cYou\u2019ll do it when you\u2019re ready.\u201d<\/p>\n Molly was about to reply when there was another knock on the door. She looked at the clock, and frowned. Aunt Margie and Uncle Art had decided to go to her cousin Alicia\u2019s for Christmas, so they weren\u2019t expecting anyone else. \u201cWho could that be?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll go,\u201d Drew said, and went out to the front door. Everyone in the kitchen looked at each other, waiting to hear what he said.<\/p>\n \u201cOh my! Merry Christmas!\u201d he said. \u201cCome in, come in!\u201d<\/p>\n When he came back to the kitchen, to Molly\u2019s surprise, Aunt Janice and Uncle Larry were with him. \u201cYou didn\u2019t tell us you were actually coming! I thought you couldn’t make it?\u201d she said, hopping up to hug the man and woman who had raised Drew after his parents died.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a spur of the moment decision,\u201d Aunt Janice admitted, hugging her, and then pulling her son Doug into an embrace. \u201cI missed my family.\u201d She hugged Tim tightly too. \u201cAll my boys were here, so I told Larry we needed to be here too. I\u2019m glad he agreed with me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMe too,\u201d Doug said. \u201cMe too.\u201d<\/p>\n THE END<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n Merry Christmas, folks! I hope you enjoyed the Advent story this year!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Friday, December 25 \u201cMerry Christmas! Merry Christmas! Oh look, Santa came! Come on, everyone!\u201d Lily\u2019s joyful voice echoed throughout the house, buoyed by Jack\u2019s excited baying and the sounds of running feet. Schrodinger, who had been curled up at Molly\u2019s feet, raised his head, sleep still in his eyes. They had come in fairly late …<\/p>\n
\nShe laughed and got up, putting on her slippers before she padded down the stairs to start a pot of tea, and put the cinnamon rolls she\u2019d set up from the freezer the night before into the oven. By the time the water was hot, everyone was up and in the living room, where the floor was all but gone under the massive mountain of presents.<\/p>\n