December 3rd
I wake up with James’s arm around my waist and his breath warm on my neck. Facing the windows, I immediately notice the snow falling outside. I smile, feeling the festive joy bubble inside me. Carefully, I move his arm off my waist and slip out from under the covers, instantly shivering. Trying not to make a sound, I grab one of his hoodies for warmth and quietly leave the room, shutting the door behind me. I yawn as I head downstairs to the kitchen, silently praying I don’t trip on the stairs—not this morning, at least.
I prepare the pancake batter, and as I start cooking, I set the kettle and the coffee machine going. My plan is to serve breakfast in bed for James, though considering my clumsiness, I decide to take it up in small batches. When everything’s ready, I place a tray on James’s bedside table, followed by the plates of pancakes, and finally, the mugs of hot drinks. Once all is safely in pl
December 4thJamesAs soon as I close the front door behind me, I shove my hands into my pockets to ward off the cold. I left Brianna in bed. We stayed up until dawn finishing the third season of The Walking Dead, so I’m sure she’ll sleep in late.As my breath forms a cloud in front of me, I start walking down the street. I’m meeting Connor and Skyler for breakfast, then I’ll buy Brianna’s gift.The thought alone makes my heartbeat quicken.When I arrive at the café, I see my brother and sister are already there.“So, our dear brother is finally becoming a man,” Connor greets me.I punch him lightly on the arm as I feel my cheeks heat up despite the cold. “Knock it off.”Skyler steps closer and hugs me around the waist. “Oh, come on, James, there’s no need to be embarrassed.”I look up at the
December 5thI adjust my hat as I crouch behind the reindeer, trying to spot my target.James and I organized a snowball fight, and we’re joined by Aisha and Jeremy.My boyfriend declared war on me after I beat him twice in a row, reaching 100 points first. A hit to the face earns 10 points, a hit to the back 15, and any other body part 5 points. To his credit, I dressed completely in white to blend in.The garden is eerily quiet, so I peek out from behind the reindeer to look for James or Aisha, but the coast is clear. I scan the decorations and choose the snowman as my next hiding spot.Ironic, isn’t it?But it’s big enough to tower over me.Not that it takes much, mind you.Still, it was a great purchase. I’ve got a nose for deals.Before I can move, I feel two hits to my back.“That’s 30 points!” My brother’s little voice rings out.I turn
December 6th"Now this requires utmost professionalism and concentration," I say as I pull the silicone mold out of the freezer.Aisha and Jeremy stayed the night with us, and this morning we melted chocolate to make half-spheres using the molds. Now that they’ve solidified, the goal is to fill them with cocoa, sugar, and marshmallows and seal them into hot chocolate bombs to melt in warm milk.“If it takes concentration, why are you doing it?” Jeremy asks, his innocent eyes wide.He’s a tiny, adorable little menace.I’m convinced that somewhere along the way, Dad’s unresolved revenge genes—left over from when I blackmailed him about that tattoo—manifested in my brother.I just know it.“Are you saying I can’t do it?” I arch an eyebrow at him.Jeremy starts backing away slowly. “Maybe?”“Okay, I guess we&rsq
December 7thI step into the house, leaving my jacket and shoes at the entrance. I greet James and head toward the kitchen, hiding my purchase behind my back. "Guess what I bought?"James is leaning against the counter, holding a cup of coffee in his hands. "Tell me it’s not another Christmas decoration," he pleads."Nope, better," I say, sitting at the table. "I bought a house."He chokes on his drink. "You bought what?"I snicker at his expression. "A house. I bought a house, not 'what'.""You... You bought... How... With what money..." He takes a deep breath, sets the cup on the counter, and sits across from me at the table. "Brianna, I think you owe me a few more details." He’s so shocked that he’s gone a little pale.At that point, I place my new purchase in front of us, revealing a gingerbread house kit to assemble and decorate.James looks at me, then at the box, and back to me. He&rsqu
December 8I close the front door after greeting the delivery driver. A couple of weeks ago, I used an app to print some photos, and they’ve finally arrived today. One of the things I miss most about living with my parents is flipping through the family photo albums every now and then. There are so many iconic pictures of me as a child, and I make sure my brother has his too because looking at them as adults is just amazing.I plan to make albums to keep in this house with photos of James and me, but he hasn’t even chosen his yet.I sit on the couch next to my boyfriend and show him the box in my hand. “Guess what I have here!”James glances at the package. “I hope there are embarrassing pictures of you on the potty because it’s not fair that you’ve seen mine and I haven’t seen yours.”“Point number one: It’s not my fault your parents didn’t grant you
December 9thIf there’s one thing certain about my family, it’s that normality is definitely not for us. Especially when it comes to exchanging Christmas gifts. Why give serious things like underwear or socks when you can give quirky, out-of-the-ordinary, and morally questionable gifts? The beauty of having a family that is anything but uptight or close-minded is the ability to have fun without worrying about shocking or offending anyone. In fact, I used to be the one who was scandalized. Then I outgrew that phase.Ever since my cousin Jase and I started having our own money, exchanging gifts on Christmas Day has taken on a new meaning. In our family, we don’t compete to see who gives the most expensive gift but rather who gives the funniest one. Jase and I give gifts together, and every year we win the award for the best presents.Today's mission: come up with ideas so we know exactly what to buy.Technically,
December 10thJamesI rub my eyes, feeling the burn. I’ve spent the last few hours working on the computer, and all I want to do now is relax with Brianna. I shut down my laptop, close it, and leave it on the desk in the study. Heading downstairs to the living room, where I last saw my girlfriend, I’m met with silence. I crane my neck and glance toward the kitchen, but it’s empty. Frowning in confusion, I run a hand through my hair, pushing back the strands that fall over my eyes.“Brianna?”I wait a few seconds, but there’s no response. Rounding the couch, I finally understand the rare tranquility in the house.And for once, it doesn’t foreshadow any disaster.Brianna is lying on the couch, fast asleep. Her expression is so serene it worries me. I step closer, placing two fingers on her neck to check if she’s still alive, and let out a sigh of relief wh
December 11I roll onto my left side, curling up and bringing my knees to my chest. I adjust the comforter snugly under my chin and hug my legs. Closing my eyes, I pray the pain subsides quickly. Another cramp pierces through my lower abdomen.I feel a hand touch my shoulder.“How are you feeling?” James’s voice echoes in my mind.I don’t even turn to look at him.“Shh, don’t shout. My head’s splitting.”“I’ll take that as a ‘terrible,’ then,” he whispers.I grimace, even though he can’t see me. Terrible is an understatement.“Would you prefer some tea or hot chocolate?” He continues whispering while his hand sinks into my hair, massaging my scalp.I sigh in relief. “Tea.”I hear him get up from the bed.“Could you bring the hot water bottle too?”He kis
Set years later, Liam (the son) is a child, Aisha and Jeremy are teenagers.James and Brianna's HouseWhile James carries out the boxes with the Christmas decorations for the garden, Jeremy and Aisha are in the middle of a snowball fight with little Liam, with Cometa running and barking happily nearby.Brianna stands aside, watching the scene, sitting on the porch with a mug of hot chocolate in her hands. Even though Liam is already a few years old, it's still hard for her to believe that she's a mother. The past few years have been a whirlwind of emotions. Many times, the couple has felt panicked and like terrible parents, just like anyone raising a child for the first time. Especially during Liam's first year. Then things started to improve, and James and Brianna began to experience parenthood more peacefully. Even when Liam fell down the stairs. Because yes, from the moment the child started walking, falling
December 25Have you ever regretted a decision? Like, thinking it would have been better to listen to the person who said your idea was terrible? Because right now, that’s exactly how I feel, as an ambulance loads Grandpa Carl to take him to the hospital.From the moment Grandpa Carl and Grandpa Sean arrived, people started drinking. It’s normal for things to get out of hand quickly in our family, but it’s never happened this fast.We didn’t even have time to sit down at the table and start eating the appetizers when the tragedy happened. Grandpa Carl and Grandpa Sean, probably already drunk, challenged each other to see who could do the best handstand. Grandpa Carl went first, but since he’s old, his mind refuses to accept he’s getting older, so he tried it anyway. He ended up falling badly and hurting his leg, so we called an ambulance.The paramedics just loaded my grandpa into the ambulance
December 24We called Jase, Skyler, and Connor to help us prepare tomorrow's lunch. We spent the afternoon cooking, and while everything is ready, we also made a lot of disasters.Skyler burned two oven mitts; James mixed up the salt with sugar in the cake batter, which we had to redo; I, to avoid letting the egg roll off the table, dropped the pack of 6 eggs I was holding, and I couldn't even save the one that was rolling away; Jase put the turkey in the oven but forgot to turn it on, realizing after an hour; and Connor decided to taste everything instead of cooking, which is why we discovered James's mistake before it was too late.Before the guys arrived, I took off my ring with James's agreement. We want to tell our families at tomorrow's lunch, when we are all together. As for the baby, we won’t say anything until the first trimester is over. We're willing to pay a criminal to kidnap our moms for three months to avoid the pre
December 23I touch the ring on my left ring finger, happy. Last night was one of the best moments of my life. I can't believe that James loves me so much that he wants to spend his entire life with me and my bad luck.We're starting our family, and today I plan to tell him I'm pregnant. This morning I went to buy a sombrero, just in case he wants to run away to Mexico. I've been feeling nauseous ever since I thought my period was coming, but I haven’t started running to the bathroom every morning yet. I just had to hide the nausea and dizziness and pretend everything was fine so I wouldn’t worry James or make him suspicious.I’ve hidden the test in the bathroom, among the pads. There’s no reason for him to open that drawer.Now, in my hands, I have a little box with the proof that I’m pregnant. I walk out of the bathroom and go to find James, who’s in our room. He’s lying on the bed, loo
22 DecemberJamesWhile Skyler is responsible for keeping Brianna away from home until evening without making her suspect anything, I prepare the surprise for my girl: a romantic dinner to give her my Christmas gift in advance.I’ve set up the small table in the living room and scattered candles and rose petals all over the room. I’ve already lit the candles, tempting fate. I hope the house doesn’t catch fire while I’m not looking.Comet has already eaten, so she’ll be in a food coma all evening and won’t try to steal our dinner.I go upstairs to grab the gift, but before reaching my nightstand, I stop in front of the mirror. I examine my figure carefully, making sure everything is in order. I want this night to be perfect. Once I’m satisfied that everything is good, I open the third drawer of my nightstand and retrieve the little box hidden under my underwear, sli
December 21"I saw a video where this guy was hiding gifts inside household items, wrapping them up and making it look like the gift was something else. Do you think we could do that too?" I glance away from my phone to look at James, who’s lying next to me on the couch."And what exactly would you want to do?""I don’t know, like, we could put the wine-tasting tickets on a ladder and wrap the ladder up."James looks at me, confused. "But we don’t even have a ladder.""Well, this is the perfect chance to buy one.""You should think of something else." He adjusts himself on the couch, folding his arms behind his head. His shirt lifts slightly, revealing a part of his stomach. I get distracted from my idea and stare at him, hoping his shirt will lift more."Brianna?""Yes?" I look up and meet his eyes."When I told you to think of something else, I meant the gifts." He smirks.
December 20I’m three weeks pregnant. This is the result of the blood tests I picked up this morning. There are no longer any doubts that a life is forming inside me.Since I found out, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about my future as a mother. I already see myself tumbling down the stairs with the baby in my arms. Or forgetting to pick him up from school, like a couple of times happened with my brother. Or forgetting that I’m a mother and freaking out when I find a child in my house.The last one, though, happened to my mom.One thing is certain: James will want to dress him up as a consequence.Even though his last name will be Reid, he still has the blood of the Lester family. This means that from the moment he steps into the outside world, his life will be a series of bad luck, crazy events, falling paintings, people seeing ghosts, restaurants banning him, alcoholic relatives or ones with onlin
December 19thWhen the alarm goes off, I feel nausea sweeping over me. And it’s not morning sickness, but anxiety from the blood test.Damn needles.“What time is it?” James mumbles from under the covers.“Seven twenty in the morning.”He slowly turns toward me. “Why are you waking up so early?”Oh nothing, just going to check if you got me pregnant.“Because I have a tyrannical mother who decided to go shopping early and will pick me up in twenty minutes.” I rub my face with my hands, trying to wake up. The only thing I want to do right now is go back to sleep.“And since when does your mom want to leave the house this early?”I look at James with one eyebrow raised. Why the hell does he need to ask so many questions so early in the morning? I’ll run out of answers soon. “The real question is: has she ever acted norma
December 18Once, as teenagers, Carly and I had a delay, so we took pregnancy tests. Actually, the delay was one day for her and two for me, and at the time, our cycles weren’t regular. But once you start having an active sex life, anxiety is always lurking around the corner. Those minutes of waiting were endless, and seeing the negative result was a relief. We were teenagers, too young for a pregnancy, and not independent.But now I’m an adult—although my parents would have something to say about that—I live with my partner, and I have a job. Yet, as I sit on the bathroom floor with a positive pregnancy test in my hands, I feel like a teenager: terribly scared. Why did I take the test this time? Because the delay was a week, and ironically, many of the symptoms of a period are the same as those of pregnancy.James is out with his brother and my cousin, and the only sound in the house is Cometa barking, looking f