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“Mama it’s time,” Josie called from the backseat.
Laurel looked into the rearview mirror to see her daughter looking right back at her with an infectious smile, her eyes barely visible between the purple hat and matching scarf she had chosen for the occasion. She was clutching her favorite hot chocolate from Scotty’s, the red cup clashing against rainbow-striped gloves. Excitement radiated off her bundled up little body, just liked it did every year.
“Time for what?” Laurel asked, returning her smile as she sipped on peppermint tea. She already knew the answer, but she still liked to ask.
“For you to tell the story!” said Josie, kicking her feet in anticipation.
“Yeah, Mama, tell the story,” Wes echoed from the driver’s seat beside her. Upon the interjection Laurel switched her gaze to Wes, watching as he turned down a particularly well-decorated neighborhood. The colored lights cast a warm glow on his face, causing his eyes to literally twinkle beneath his own hat. And even though every year they said this night was for Josie, Laurel couldn’t help the flutter of excitement in her chest as she realized this was nothing compared to what they’d be seeing in a few minutes.
“Oh right, how could I forget?” said Laurel, bringing her attention back to the car.
Without missing a beat, Josie answered from the backseat.
“It’s probably because of your baby brain.”
Laurel’s jaw dropped; Wes, on the other hand, burst out laughing.
“You’ve been called out,” he said through his laughter, unable to contain himself.
Laurel glared at him, albeit half-heartedly. She was well into her second trimester, and while she knew she could be a little forgetful at times, she hadn’t thought she was that bad.
“Our kid is brutal,” she muttered under her breath so only Wes could hear her.
Wes took her hand into his. “And just think, soon there will be two of them,” he said, his eyes sparkling.
And even though Laurel wanted to be mad, she couldn’t help the small smile that crept back onto her face.
“Yeah,” she said wistfully, unable to maintain her angry facade as she rested her other hand over her bundled up belly. Wes squeezed her hand before letting go and returning his attention to the road. The snow had finally let up earlier in the day but the roads were still slick, the plows having taken their sweet time making their way through the smaller towns outside Philly.
Before Laurel could get too emotional she was once again cut off by a very excited six year old.
“Mama, the story!”
“Okay, okay,” said Laurel, bringing her attention back to the car. She turned around so she was facing Josie in the back. “Do you remember how it starts?”
Josie nodded, her eyes bright.
“How?” asked Laurel, prodding her along.
“A long time ago, before I was even a baby, you and Papa were going to school so you could help people who were in trouble,” replied Josie as she scooted back into her car seat.
“That’s right,” said Laurel, taking another sip of tea before continuing, “And while we were at school we also worked for Auntie Annie. That’s how Papa and I met. We worked together and became best friends.”
“And you loved him since the first day,” continued Josie. Laurel chuckled as she looked up at Wes to see him smiling behind the wheel.
“Yep,” Laurel said, not taking her eyes off her husband, “I’ve loved him since the first day. It just took me a while to figure that out.” And I was an idiot for not realizing it sooner, she thought to herself.
“And it took Papa a long time too,” added Josie.
Wes’ smile widened at that. “Yep, it took me a long time too.”
Laurel felt the corners of her own lips turn up as she turned her attention back to Josie.
“After a year of school we stopped being silly and we finally started dating, and then we found out you were coming. You started growing in my tummy, and we were SO excited.”
“Just like the new baby?” Josie asked.
“Just like the new baby,” said Laurel, nodding in confirmation. “But with all the excitement Papa realized he had never taken me on a date before! I didn’t mind, I was happy just the way things were, but your Papa wouldn’t take no for an answer. He said he wanted to do something special.”
“Wes, I’m serious, we don’t have to do anything. I’m perfectly happy right here,” she said, scooting closer to him under the sheets so their noses were practically touching.
“We’ve been dating for two months and we haven’t actually gone on a date,” Wes said in reply as he wrapped his arm around her.
“So?”
“So, I want to take my girlfriend out for a change.” He planted a kiss on her forehead, causing Laurel to smile into his chest. “And besides, before too long we’re not gonna be able to go out just the two of us.”
“That’s true,” she mumbled, her voice vibrating against his skin as she softly kissed his collarbone.
“So is that a yes?” asked Wes, looking down at her.
Laurel smiled coyly.
“What kind of thing did you have in mind?”
“But Papa wouldn’t tell you where you we’re going,” piped up Josie.
“Nope, he said he wanted it to be a surprise,” said Laurel. She quickly turned around to face the front to see that they were pretty close. They’d timed everything perfectly. “So that night after we, uh, worked on homework for a bit —“
“Homework?” Wes asked under his breath with a smirk.
“Yes, homework,” she repeated, her eyebrows shooting up at him in warning. “Anyway, after that Papa told me I could stay in my pajamas but to bundle up because we were going to be outside for a while.”
“And Mama got mad because she didn’t want to go outside in the cold,” teased Wes.
“I did not get mad!” Laurel insisted.
“What can you even do outside in this weather?” she asked as she wrapped her scarf around her neck.
“Lots of things,” replied Wes with a smug smile.
“Ugh,” she groaned. “Have I mentioned I hate surprises?”
“Have I mentioned you’re cute when you’re mad?”
“I’m not mad!”
“We’re almost there,” announced Wes as he turned down a brightly lit road. Metal reindeer stood on either side of the street, ushering them towards their destination.
“Mama, hurry!” Josie exclaimed.
“Don’t worry, I’m almost to the best part,” said Laurel. “So once we got out the door Wes — Papa — drove us out of Philadelphia and down this very road. The whole time I was so confused. Why did we have to leave Philly? But I trusted your papa so I just went along with it.”
Josie interrupted with a gasp, causing Laurel to quickly turn to face the front.
Right in front of them was the giant welcome sign (Welcome to Winter Wonderland!) made of red and green lights. Beyond the sign was a canopy of blue and white, and beyond that, Laurel knew, was the garden, Santa’s village, and, Laurel’s personal favorite, the waterfall, all made of thousands and thousands of Christmas lights. They’d been coming here for seven years but the sight never failed to take her breath away.
“Here we are,” said Wes as they slowly drove down the lit driveway. He looked over to see Laurel completely in awe.
“What is this?” Laurel asked, looking all around as they pulled to a stop behind a long line of cars.
“It’s a drive through lights display,” he replied, grinning.
“It’s incredible,” she said as she craned her neck to get a better view.
“I know,” he agreed. He felt just as enamored as Laurel looked. They sat in silence, both taking in their surroundings as they inched towards the entrance.
“How’d you find this?” Laurel asked, finally breaking the silence after they paid and made their way to the first display, a brilliantly lit garden.
“I’ve always wanted to go to one of these,” said Wes. Laurel couldn’t help but notice his voice getting quieter. “When I was little there was this incredible light display right outside Cleveland, but my mom always worked nights so we could never go. I figured there had to be one around Philly.”
Laurel turned to look at him, a mix of sadness and understanding on her face.
“All my friends had different traditions they had with their families, but my mom was too sick and my dad was too busy,” she said. She paused before continuing, “Our Christmas was always just some formal dinner with a couple of perfectly wrapped presents thrown in for good measure. I hated it.”
“Same,” nodded Wes. “Christmas was never very fun at our place. My mom always said our only tradition was that we had no tradition,” He took her hand and pulled it into his lap and squeezed. “I guess I thought we could make this our tradition,” he said as he fiddled with her fingers. “I want our kid to have things to look forward to.”
“And in that moment I knew,” said Laurel, her eyes now only on Wes.
“You knew what?” Josie asked, looking from Laurel to Wes with knowing curiosity.
“I love you.”
The minute she said it everything else clicked into place. It was so simple, really. She loved him in a way she’d never loved anyone else, in a way that excited her and terrified her all at once. Wes was the person she was supposed to be with. The one she chose. “I know I said it before, but I mean it. I love you, Wes.”
Laurel was pretty sure you could see her heart beating through her coat it was beating that hard. Wes’ expression was unreadable, causing Laurel to immediately regret ever saying anything. Of course she’d jumped the fucking gun. Again. But just as she began to open her mouth and attempt to fix the mess she thought she made, Wes broke into the widest smile she’d seen in a long time.
“Then I pulled the car to a complete stop, like this,” said Wes, stopping the car in the middle of the road. “I gave Mama a kiss,” which he demonstrated by cupping Laurel’s chin, pulling her towards him and gently kissing her. Laurel let out a surprised laugh under his lips before he quickly pulled away, leaning against her forehead before continuing, “And I told her I loved her too.”
“Love you too,” Laurel mouthed back, pressing her brow against his. Wes smiled before giving her a little kiss on her forehead and sitting back up in his seat. Slowly he eased off the brake so that the car once again began to make its way to the next scene.
One thing they loved about this display was that there were both driving and walking portions of the park, so after a few minutes Wes pulled the car into a tiny parking lot and the three of them made their way down the illuminated path. They walked together for a bit, but as soon as she saw the sign for the village Josie ran ahead, her boots lighting up pink and blue with every step she took. As Laurel watched her daughter run around the various displays, the lights reflecting their different colors off her excited eyes, she felt a familiar arm slide around her waist.
“Hi,” she said, relaxing into Wes’ side.
“Hi,” he replied brightly, smiling down at her.
They walked in silent tandem; Laurel keeping an eye on a Josie while also thinking back through all the memories they had created in this park. There was the time during their first visit Wes made Laurel laugh so hard tea came out of her nose; the first time they brought Josie and she slept right through sitting on Santa’s lap, and the next year when she was wide awake and pulled his beard off. Every December they had come out to see the lights in their pajamas and drank peppermint tea and cocoa and told the story of how they’d gone from best friends to partners to parents, even when the odds were stacked against them and every time Laurel was reminded of how far they’d come in the last —
“Seven years,” said Wes, as if reading her thoughts, “Can you believe we’ve been coming here for seven years?”
Laurel shook her head. “I was just thinking the same thing. It feels like yesterday.”
“I know. It always feels like that, but especially this year for some reason,” he said.
“I think I know why,” she replied, grinning as she brought a hand to her stomach. It wasn’t as prominent under her coat, but there was still a gentle curve that definitely hadn’t been there last year. “I keep having flashbacks to when I was pregnant the first time.”
“Oh yeah, that’s definitely a possibility,” said Wes with a laugh. “But at least this time we aren’t constantly on the lookout for a bathroom.”
Laurel groaned at the memory. One thing they always left out of the Josie version was the fact that Laurel had gotten hit with a nasty bout of “morning” sickness the night of the first date (hence the peppermint tea, it was the only thing that helped that night, and well, tradition is tradition). “Don’t jinx it. I haven’t thrown up in weeks and I’d like to keep it that way.”
“Noted,” he said, gently hugging her side. The two of them continued to walk together, watching and listening to Josie explore the exhibit.
“Hey,” said Laurel, coming to a stop as she playfully nudged him with her elbow.
“Yeah?” He looked down, his eyebrows furrowed with a familiar mix of concern and tenderness.
In that one look Laurel was transported back to that first date, when everything was new yet old, familiar yet unknown and she’s hit with the very same wave of shyness and affection she felt all those years ago. It will never cease to amaze her how much he loves her, and how much she loves him.
“Thanks for taking me on that date seven years ago,” she said quietly, “And every year after that.”
The concern on his face was immediately replaced by understanding.
“For the first time ever I actually enjoy the holidays,” he replied with a shrug, “I should be thanking you. But you’re welcome.” He leaned over and kissed her temple, Laurel closing her eyes at his touch. For a brief moment the rest of the world had completely melted away, just like it had all those years ago.
“Mama, Papa! ¡Vamanos!”
Laurel opened her eyes to see Josie looking back at them, her arms crossed with growing impatience.
“Patient as her dad,” Laurel murmured.
Wes snorted. “I think she got that from both of us.”
As they made their way to the larger than life roses where their daughter waited, Laurel gently unwrapped herself from Wes’ grip and slid his hand into hers.
For most of their lives Christmas had meant nothing disappointment and anger. There were no traditions to look forward to or memories to be made. But times had changed since their first year at Middleton.
And for once, this change was for the better.