The next day, after eating a home-cooked breakfast and
taking home enough leftovers to feed an army, Edward, Bella and the twins went
shopping to get Christmas decorations for their home. It was going to be an
expensive endeavor. Edward had some ornaments from the twins and from his own
childhood, but no tree or holiday décor. In craft store, they decided to split
up. Liam and Edward were going to focus on the outdoor decorations, while Bella
and Lucy would find a tree and interior decorations.
Edward and Liam figured on staying classic with getting
white lights, tasteful illuminated sculptures and garland to hang around the
front door. Bella and Lucy decided to have a tree in the living room, using a
tropical, beachy theme for their Christmas décor. It would have traditional elements,
but fit the light, airy feel to the house. Lucy also suggested that each one of
them would get a small tree for their room. Lucy chose a tree with purple
decorations and white lights, while Bella chose a smaller traditional tree for
her and Edward’s room. When they met up with Edward and Liam, they told them
about the individual trees. Liam asked if he could have a ceramic tree, like
the one that Nana had in the front table at their house. Unable to find one,
Edward called his mother and she graciously said that she’d gladly relinquish
her tree to give to her grandson for his bedroom.
Loading up their purchases into both SUVs, they drove back
to their house. Edward stopped with Liam to pick up the ceramic tree and they
began unpacking their decorations from the bags and boxes that were in the
basement. Once Edward helped set up the tree inside, Lucy and Bella set about
to put on the lights while Liam helped his father outside, bedecking every solid,
unmoving surface with twinkling LED lights in front of the house. While they
ate lunch together, Edward called his eye doctor, making an appointment for
Bella. She smiled gratefully, kissing his cheek.
After lunch, Edward sent Liam inside to work with his mother
and sister. He needed to get up on the ladder and didn’t want his son to see
him freak out. Edward hated heights.
With. A. Passion.
Shudder.
Inside, Bella had on a holiday mix from satellite radio and
she was singing along with the kids. They were hanging ornaments on the tree
that had been purchased at the craft store, along with the heirlooms that
Edward had in the basement. The tree was taking shape and it was looking
amazing, special and Christmasy. An hour later, a disgruntled Edward came back
inside. “Everything okay, baby?” Bella asked.
“Heights … yeah, no,” he snorted. “I’ll get our landscapers
to get them down in the spring. No way in fucking hell I’m going back up there again.”
“Are they up now, Dad?” Liam asked.
“They’re up. Almost broke my damn neck, but they’re up,
Lee,” Edward said, ruffling his son’s hair and trying to had his trembling
hands. Heights … no, thank you. “I have them set on a timer. They’ll turn on
automatically at six. We’ve got a few hours before we can see the outside.
Let’s focus on the inside.”
“Daddy, can you help with the garland around the fireplace?”
Lucy asked.
“Let me get my coat off and then I’ll be happy to help,”
Edward said, shrugging out of his fleece. He swiped a soda, sipping it and
helped his family decorate their home. He worked with Lucy, putting the garland
on the mantle along with the shell Christmas trees and starfish accents.
“What about the angel for the top of the tree?” Liam asked
as he was working on some candle thing on the sofa table in the living room.
“We couldn’t find it.”
“Nana made me keep it in a safe place,” Edward chuckled
softly. He darted upstairs and found the lace angel with rhinestone halo
surrounding her head. He went downstairs and looked at the tree. Even without
knowing it, the tree matched the angel and it would be the perfect topper for
their Christmas decorations. “Lucy, come here, sweet girl.” Lucy skipped over
to him. “Hold this.”
“What if I break it, Daddy?” she whispered.
“You won’t,” he said, lifting her onto his shoulders and
walking her to the tree. Bella was snapping pictures, clumsily, with Edward’s
phone. Lucy smiled as Edward held her in place, putting the angel on top of the
tree. Bella took a picture of Edward and the twins in front of the tree. Edward
did the same for Bella and he awkwardly held out the phone so they could do a
family selfie.
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