A Cozy Christmas, part 1: Christmas Eve

Meet Elle. Christmas doesn't seem the same to her this year, ever since Chris left her just before their summer wedding. But it'll all be okay - won't it?

Christmas Eve

The wind and snow swirled around Elle as she struggled to walk up the brownstone steps, arms full of bags. She should have taken another trip. But the cold had goaded her to get inside as fast as possible and stay there. “Some Christmas Eve,” she muttered to herself. Finally she reached the top step and shuffled to the door. With her last ounce of strength, she raised her left hand up just enough to fit her key in the lock and turn the doorknob.

Elle collapsed into her foyer, the wind and snow pushing from behind. Setting the bags of groceries and presents aside, she slammed the door shut. A sigh escaped her mouth. After shrugging off her winter coat and untwisting her scarf, she locked the door. The grind of metal on metal added to her headache. The pounding had started this morning when the sweater Chris gave her last Christmas tumbled off a top shelf and landed on the closet floor. Its startling appearance had illuminated the truth Elle had been trying to run away from all season: Christmas would be different this year. She had gone from dancing around the living room and stealing kisses under the mistletoe with her fiancé to trudging through the wind and snow alone with the tap of a button.

In the quiet, she put away the groceries and carried the presents into her living room, the infamous text looming large in her mind.

Chris: Sorry, but I can’t go on like this, Elle. I’m in love with someone else.

Sent to her a week before their summer wedding, no less. Elle shook her head, still mystified by what his secretary had that she didn’t. She poured herself a glass of wine and fixed a meat and cheese plate. There was no time to make dinner since she still needed to wrap her family’s presents before they arrived tomorrow.

For years, they had all gathered at her parents’ house in the suburbs. The Fireplace had changed that. After she graduated college and scored her dream job as an interior designer at a flourishing firm, she scoured the city for the perfect house. This one had called her name from the moment she stepped inside. Many would have fallen in love with the intricate tile in the kitchen or the original dark pine floors that ran the length of the home. But she had been enamored by something else. The Fireplace.

The living room was centered around it. Marble tiles made up the hearth and its aged brick soared all the way to the ceiling. The dark wood mantle her dad had given her that Christmas was the icing on cake. Ever since then, the whole family made the trek to Manhattan each Christmas morning to settle in her living room for hours on end, basking in the fire’s glow.

Elle lit the fire and then slipped into her room. She changed into the Christmas pajamas her mother had bought. Her mother loved the idea that she, Elle, and Elle’s two sisters were all matching on Christmas Eve, even if they were spread across the city. This year, they had red and green plaid bottoms along with a red shirt that said, ‘Let it snow’ in scripted white letters. She gathered the ribbons and bows scattered about her bed and shoved them on top of the overflowing bin of Christmas wrap before dragging it into the living room.

Settled on the floor, her snacks on the coffee table and the presents at hand, she began wrapping as the fire blazed. The heat and light danced around the room. A smile twitched on Elle’s face for the first time all day. It was no wonder her family all came here. The fire was magical. It had thawed out the cold in her fingers and the ache in her head seemed to be easing as well. But deeper than that, it also seemed to be lifting her spirits.

“Maybe this Christmas won’t be so hard,” Elle whispered to the fireplace. When she had finished tying the last bow and curling the final ribbon, she placed the presents under the tree. She deposited the discarded wrapping supplies back on the bed. She hadn’t been sleeping well in it anyway. Instead, she snuggled into her couch and pulled a plaid blanket over her. As the fire cast its shadows and warmth around her, she closed her eyes and fell fast asleep.