Linda let out a small laugh. “Okay, but after that?”
“Well, we move all your things into this bedroom. The master closet is big, and I have a lot of stuff that can be stored.”
“Is that a proposal?” she asked, with a smile.
“Yes. A rather indecent one, however,” I said, as I leaned in and kissed her.
“I love you, big brother.”
I could see tears forming in her eyes. “I love you, little sister,” I whispered, as I engulfed her in my arms. We just lay like that for some time.
Finally, hunger won, and we got up and made some breakfast. Neither of us could wipe the smiles off our faces, and we kept giggling like teenagers. As we discussed how to ‘marry’ our clothes and things together, suddenly Linda stopped talking, and looked concerned.
“Ken, what about Christmas?”
Of course, Christmas. It was only weeks away, and we always all got together at our parents’ home.
“Oh…I hadn’t thought about that.”
“What do we tell them? Or, do we tell them anything?” Linda said.
“Oh God, I don’t know,” I mumbled. “Let’s just cross that bridge when we get to it.”
Then, as if we had read each other’s mind, we leaned forward and kissed. It was a nice, gentle, long kiss. It was a kiss that sealed us together.
_____
Before one could blink, it was Christmas, and we were in the car on a snowy afternoon, headed home for Christmas with the parents. It had been a cold December, and with a light snow falling, it was hard not to be in the Christmas spirit. It had been fun shopping together, and trying to come up with something to get for Mom and Dad. We had decorated the condo with lights, a beautiful tree, and a lot of mistletoe around the house. We made use of the mistletoe like a couple of teenagers.
Our conversation subsided as we pulled into the driveway. Linda’s smile had turned to a look of dread. I was silent, as well. Neither of us knew exactly how this would play out. We had no real plan. I think we both subconsciously wanted to avoid telling them anything. It was hard to break out into a sweat in freezing weather, with snow falling—but I found a way.
We were traveling light, and I got our overnight bags from the trunk. Linda got the bags filled with the gifts. As we marched up the steps of the porch, it felt like taking the last walk to the gallows. We both were extremely nervous.
Then the front door opened and there was Mom in her Christmas apron and Christmas tree-bulb earrings, looking like she had just stepped out of a Norman Rockwell painting. “I heard you drive up. Come in, come in. It’s getting colder, I think.”
As we put our stuff down, there were hugs all around.
“Was the drive okay?” Mom asked.
I nodded yes.
“Let me take a good look at you kids. Well, I guess I cannot call you kids anymore,” she laughed. Then she stepped back and looked at us. She kept going back and forth from Linda to me, then back again. Then a big smile stretched across her face. “Well, your dad is always right. He said to me, just last month, that you two would be together by Christmas. He is never wrong.”
To say we were stunned was an understatement. We both just froze.