“And this,” Nick’s mom gushed, “is him when he had his first bath.  Doesn’t he have the cutest little red cheeks in the world?”

Faith threw her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing.  Nick’s mom wasn’t talking about the cheeks on the baby’s face.  “They’re cute,” Faith mumbled, and Nick tightened the arm around her shoulders.

Leaning closer to her, he whispered.  “Just cute?”

“Just cute,” she replied with a laugh while pushing him away from her slightly.

Turning back to his mom, she saw the dreamy look on the woman’s face.  Faith knew that look.  The woman was probably planning Nick and Faith’s wedding, picking out baby names, planning holidays, all the things that Faith didn’t want.  Nudging Nick, she motioned towards the kitchen.  “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

He nodded before standing from the couch.  Holding his hand out, he helped her to her feet.  Again, he held her hand and didn’t let go.  Was it wrong of her to like the fact that he didn’t let her go?  She was so used to being pushed away, of being let go.  So, this once, she wanted to enjoy her time, she wanted to feel like she belonged.

“What is it?” he asked as they entered the kitchen. 

She glanced out of the opening to see his family happily chatting to one another.  “I don’t belong here.”

“Don’t be stupid,” he mumbled.  “We’re a large group of people, who are nothing alike, but we all belong, and, for as long as you want too, you’ll belong too.”

“What do you mean, Nick?”

He closed his eyes, blocking his emotions from her.  “I mean, even if you don’t want to be friends with me, you’ll have a place here every holiday.”

“I don’t like Christmas,” she mumbled.

Opening his eyes, he reached out and pulled her into a comfortable hug.  “I didn’t say just Christmas.  I said every holiday.  That includes Thanksgiving, Halloween, and anything else we decide to celebrate.”

“You sure your parent’s won’t mind?” she asked, surprised at herself for even considering his offer.

Nick shook his head, the bottom of his chin messing her hair as he did so.  “I know they won’t care.  Hell, my momma has always wanted a female to spoil.  Her and my aunts have always had boys.”

“Boys are better,” she mumbled.

He pulled back from her slightly.  Looking down at her with a confused, if slightly angry expression, he asked, “Who told you that?”

She pushed her face into his chest before mumbling, “My dad.”

“He was an idiot then.  Is that why you don’t like Christmas?” he asked in a confused voice, “because your dad wanted a boy instead of a girl?”

“No,” she answered, escaping from his warmth completely. 

Walking towards the window, she glanced outside.  Small snowflakes fell to the ground, coating the cement, making the world beautiful.  Wrapping her arms around herself, she didn’t turn in his direction.  “Bad things always happen on Christmas.”

He unwound her arms from her body before replacing them with his.  “Tell me.”

Leaning back into him, she let out a sigh.  “I’ll tell you a little, not all of it.”

“A little is a start,” he mumbled.

“My dad,” she whispered, embarrassed when her voice cracked a little, “he wanted a boy, like you know.  He never would acknowledge me for the things I did.  You don’t know how hard I tried to get his attention, but everything I did, he would ignore.”

His arms tightened around her.  “I’m sorry, but I don’t see how this has anything to do with Christmas.”

“Just wait,” she told him.  Letting out a sigh, she began again.  “His marriage to my mother was one of convenience.  She had the right name, the right amount of money, the right look, everything that a good businessman would need to make it in life, but he wasn’t happy.  Neither of them was.  I knew he wasn’t happy, but what I didn’t know was that he had a whole other family that actually knew about us.”

“He had a boy?” Nick guessed.  “He had a boy with another woman, and put you and your mother on the back burner?”

“Yeah,” she mumbled.  “Every time around Christmas, he would leave, to visit them.  At first, he would leave me little things like socks, but after a while, he didn’t worry about it.  One Christmas, I decided to actually see what he was doing every Christmas.  I was sixteen, had just gotten my licenses, and I followed him.”  She let out a harsh laugh.  “You should have seen how happy he was, Nick.  With his real family, he was so happy.  I just wish he had told me we were his fake family a long time ago.  Then, I wouldn’t have been so disappointed.”

He turned her.  Leaning down slightly, his eyes connected with hers.  “Your father was an idiot, Faith.  Any man who wouldn’t want you in their life is clueless.  You understand that?  Your father was an idiot.”

She nodded at him, listening to his words, but not really believing him.  In the background, Elvis sang about a blue Christmas, and Faith felt his words.  It was going to be a blue Christmas, but maybe a certain family would make it a little better for her, if she just gave them a chance.

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