Meet Me Under the Mistletoe

The snow was swirling into a vicious storm as Felix drove home that night. He hated working Christmas Eve, but this year, there had been no avoiding it. With the current situation, it really was a case of all hands-on deck.

Turning up the heating in the car with a shiver, Felix stared out into the dark vortex, intermittently interrupted by bright headlights shining out into the dark and dazzling him. He didn’t know who else had reason to be out at this time of night of Christmas Eve, but he pitied them that they too were not cosily tucked up in bed.

His windscreen wipers worked twice as hard to keep the snow clear from the windscreen, and Felix drove along at a cautious speed. He knew only too well the perils of black ice covered by a dusting of harmless snow, and he had no intention of risking it himself.

Thankfully, a few moments later, he pulled up outside his house, the outdoor lights flickering on as he parked. The air was cold and harsh as he stepped out of the warm car, wrapping itself around him like an icy blanket. His breath was robbed from his lungs by the chill, and a cloud of warm breath billowed out visibly into the air.

Trudging through the thick snow on the driveway, Felix turned up his collar against the still-falling snow. The snowman that the children had built two days beforehand stood steadfastly on the front lawn, the old hat he wore sitting wonkily on his head. Noticing that his carrot nose had dropped onto the soft carpet of snow, Felix stooped and picked the wet carrot up, firmly shoving it back into place.

Walking through the door and knocking the snow off his boots on the mat, he glanced at the grandfather clock in the hallway with a sigh. Working late shifts always meant he was home late, but half 2 was ridiculous even by those standards.

Silently appearing at his feet, the cat Lucy weaved her way in and around his ankles in welcome. As Felix bent over to unlace his boots, he ran a hand down her silky back, and she purred softly. Lucy had a lovely face, particularly when she closed her eyes in content. Felix often thought it looked like she was smiling.

Lights on in the lounge and a sound of voices on the tv signalled that Aveline was still up, which brought a smile to Felix’s lips, easing away the trials of the day.

He stepped into the lounge and was immediately met with the green tree, sparkling with multicoloured lights, the branches laden with shiny baubles of all shapes and sizes. It hadn’t been practical to get a real tree that year, but Felix wasn’t convinced that the artificial twig he faced was quite up to the usual standard. For one thing, there was hardly any room for presents under the tree, though he could see that Aveline had ingeniously nestled little packages on the bushy branches. Felix knew the boys would love the excitement of sacking the tree for hidden presents the next morning. Or later that morning, he thought, with a yawn.

To the side of the tree, curled up in the reclining chair, a cosy ball of blankets by the open fire, Aveline snuffled peacefully, fast asleep. Her auburn hair was pulled up into a scruffy bun, and her glasses had dropped down the bridge of her nose, and yet, she was still the best sight Felix had seen all day.

Walking over to her quietly, Felix picked up the remote control and switched the tv off.

Instantly, Aveline’s eyelids flickered. “Felix?”

“Yes, it’s me.”

“What time is it?” She yawned.

“Almost three by now I should think.”

“That’s pretty late.” Aveline rubbed her eyes. “Was it a bad shift?”

“Busy.” Felix sighed. “But then again, we’re always busy on Christmas.”

“Did you get time to drop off that bag of clothing and bedding at the homeless centre?” Aveline asked, stretching her arms up above her head with another yawn.

“Yes, I did it this morning. And I swung by the petrol station to get milk on the way back.” He sat down beside her.

Aveline sat up slightly and as Felix raised his arm around her, she collapsed against his chest with a contented smile. “Thank you love.”

“The kids are asleep?” He phrased it as a question but knew the answer well enough.

Aveline nodded. “Hours ago. They wanted to stay up ’til you got back, but when it got past twelve I told them they had to go or Santa wouldn’t come.”

“I tried to get home earlier but I just couldn’t…”

“I know, I know, love don’t worry.” Pushing against his chest, Aveline sat up with a smile. “Shall I put the kettle on?”

“That would be perfect.” Felix smiled.

As Aveline went through to the kitchen with the milk in hand, Felix pulled his other parcel out of the shopping bag slowly, hoping that the sprig would remain for the most part intact. Cutting a little piece of string from the bobbin in the draw, he reached up and gently tied the mistletoe to the hall light so that it dangled down.

It had been a tradition when they were dating that they had taken it in turns each year buying mistletoe and hanging it up into the hall. But the Christmas that Aveline was pregnant with Ben, she had been adamant that they couldn’t risk it the next year; what if the baby picked up one of the poison berries off the floor and ate it?

Convinced that the children were both old enough by now to know what mistletoe was, or even just not to put random things they found on the floor in their mouths, Felix had felt it was time they started up the tradition again.

Padding up the stairs in his bare feet as he heard Aveline busying around in the kitchen, Felix eased the door to the children’s bedroom open silently, so that only a tiny sliver of light fell into the dark room. They were both sleeping soundly in their beds, faint smiles on their faces. Probably dreaming of what Santa was going to bring them, Felix thought to himself with a smile.

At the bottom of Ben’s bed, hooked onto the bed knob, lay an overflowing stocking of presents. When writing this Christmas list that year, Ben had asked for books, and lots of them. Having just discovered the world of Sherlock Holmes, Ben was voraciously seizing upon any mystery stories he could find. The gorier the better they found, much to his mother’s distaste.

Max’s stocking was slightly less full; he had asked for a scooter, which would have been problematic to fit into his small red stocking and so was lovingly tied with a bow next to the Christmas tree downstairs.

Bending over their beds, each one in turn, Felix gently dropped a kiss on their foreheads, a warm feeling spreading through his chest. He knew this Christmas was going to be difficult for everyone, and that it was hard not being able to have his parents over as they usually would, but he knew he was lucky to be with Aveline and the children in spite of everything else.

The sound of the kettle whistling on the hearth pulled him out of his thoughts, and he crept slowly out of the room and down the stairs. Aveline stood in the hallway, looking up the stairs as he descended, a smile on her face.

“I see you got some mistletoe.” She pointed up at the light with a laugh. “It’s been a while.”

Felix walked towards her, standing by the CD player. “I saw it at the petrol station. Thought I might as well.”

“I’m glad you did.”

Impulsively as he watched her standing beneath the mistletoe, as beautiful as the day they met, even in her tracksuit pants and large Christmas jumper, he switched the player on at a low volume.

“Sssh, you’ll wake the kids.” Aveline hissed.

“One dance. It is Christmas after all.”

Wrapping his arms around her waist as she curled her arms around his neck, they swayed softly around the room to the soft tones of Bing Crosby singing “White Christmas”. Aveline closed her eyes, resting her head on his shoulder with a little sigh.

“I love you darling.” Aveline smiled, raising her head.

Felix looked down at her. “I love you too.” His lips brushed against her softly. Perfect, he thought. Right underneath the mistletoe.