Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 78631 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78631 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
I grab Griffin’s hand and drag her down the short hallway and out to our living room, where our Christmas tree stands.
And under it…so many presents!
Mommy wrapped them all, and I don’t know what’s inside mine.
But I’m most excited for Griffin to see the pajamas I got her. I want to see the smile on her cute little round cheeks.
“Should we get Mommy and Daddy?” she asks.
“I hear them coming.”
Sure enough, Mom and Dad come rattling out of their room on the other side of our little house.
Mommy lets out a big yawn. “I’ll get some coffee started, Felix. The kids can go ahead and open their presents.”
Dad shakes his head. “Don’t be silly, Stevie. We’ll wait for you.”
“Daddy,” Griffin whines. “Do we have to wait?”
“You waited all night.” Dad’s voice is stern, but his eyes are smiling. “You can wait for your mother to make some coffee.”
Those few minutes for Mom to get the coffee start to seem like hours to Griffin and me.
Finally she comes into the room. “Coffee will be ready in a few minutes. In the meantime, here are some doughnuts.” She sets down a silver tray. “The Osbornes dropped them off last night.”
“That was nice of them,” Dad says.
Mommy shrugs. “I think they were just leftovers. They have a big Christmas Eve dinner with their extended family. But Mack said that he knows how much Griffin likes the powdered sugar ones. He said to make sure to save one for her.”
“Those are my favorite, too.” I step toward the box. “Are there enough for both me and Griffin to have one?”
Mommy peeks inside. “I think you’ll be more than happy.”
Griffin and I each grab one, and soon we both have a powdered sugar mustache all over our top lips.
“Okay, whose turn is it to go first this year?” Daddy asks.
“Griffin can go first,” I say. “She’s younger than I am.”
Still, I can’t wait. Last year I got Hot Wheels that go upside down. I still love playing with those.
Daddy hands a present to Griffin, and she rips off the red wrapping. Her eyes light up. “It’s a jewelry box!”
“Open it,” Mom says.
Griffin opens the lid, and a little ballerina turns around while music plays. Not much to excite me, but Griffin loves it.
Dad hands me a gift then. “Your turn, Dragon.”
I open the gift, and I gasp with happiness. “Drumsticks!”
“Yes, your fingers are getting big enough for a new size.” Dad grins. “Now you’ll really be able to play your drum even better.”
I love my drum. It’s called a snare drum. Daddy got it for me when Griffin was just a baby. I’ve been playing it for a while, though Mom and Dad don’t have enough money for me to have lessons. Dad bought me a book, and I read it and taught myself. He says one day I can have a whole drum set. Maybe next Christmas.
“All right,” Mommy says. “Griffin, it’s your turn again.”
I grab the box wrapped in pink wrapping paper with bells and Christmas trees scattered over it. “Open this one, Griffin. It’s from me.”
“Okay, Dragon.” She smiles at me and rips the paper off to expose a white shirt box.
“Well,” Mommy says, “open the box, Griffin.”
“What could be in here?” Griffin lifts the lid from the box and gasps, a huge smile on her face. “New jammies!” She pulls them out and hugs them to herself. “Can I put them on now?”
“Don’t you want to say thank you to Dragon first?” Daddy asks.
“Yes!” Griffin squeals. “Thank you, Dragon!” She launches herself at me and knocks us both down. “I’m going to put them on right now.”
“Don’t you want to finish opening your presents first?” Mom asks.
“No. I want to put on these new jammies.” Griffin prances around the room. “And then we’ll open the rest of the presents, okay?”
“All right, Griffin.” Mom scoops up Griffin and takes her back to her room.
Five minutes later, they return. The pajamas are a little big on Griffin, but Mom said we should get the larger size so she could wear them longer.
Griffin hugs herself. “I love them! Now, I want my next present!”
Present day…
It’s not a package so much as a metal box with my name on it. The box itself doesn’t alarm me.
What’s affixed to the outside of it does.
It’s a piece of fabric cut in the shape of a heart.
My own heart nearly stops.
Although it’s faded from what I remember, the design is unmistakable. It’s pink flannel with rainbows scattered across it.
Our last Christmas…
Griffin’s pajamas that I picked out…
I stoop down, lift the metal box, and open it. Inside is a simple piece of paper with a phone number on it.
That’s it.
The piece of flannel is attached to the lid of the box with some simple scotch tape. I pull it off and examine it closely.