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December 2011
The tradition had started with Rory and Lorelai. Jess really didn’t have any of his own experiences to draw on from childhood when it came to Christmas activities, so most of the traditions that had to do with the tree, leaving food for Santa, and hanging stockings on the bannister rails came from the Gilmore girls. Jess was fine with that, and Jack and Tori were certainly ecstatically happy in every element of the Christmas experience.
At six and four, the kids were finally old enough to actually do things with regards to Christmas, like write letters to Santa, and make cards and decorations, however odd-looking and glitter-coated. One of the things Rory really wanted them to experience, as she had, was decorating cookies. She and her mom had always bought them from Weston’s and just pretended they were home-made. With Jess around, the Mariano clan could actually do the baking themselves.
Jess had stated this proudly, ushering the kids into the kitchen to assist with the cookie dough. It didn’t take long to realise what a big mistake he had made, especially when it came to insisting Rory go out a while so she could be surprised when she got home.
The Mariano kids were pretty well-behaved on any normal day. They didn’t fight with each other very much like some other siblings might, they were pretty sensible and did as they were told much of the time. Apparently, baking brought out their feral side, or maybe it was just over-excitement and extra sugar that had them foaming at the mouths and acting like crazed animals. Jess was at a loss.
There was cookie dough everywhere. On the floor, on the walls, in Tori’s hair, on Jack’s shoes. The counter top was a sea of flour, and it was all Jess could do to keep the kids from touching the hot oven, or attacking each other with cookie cutters. In his attempts to keep order, which somehow were suddenly failing, he burnt the first batch of cookies, and the sight of blackened robins, frazzled trees, and crispy Santas had Tori sobbing inside of ten seconds. When she cried, Jack cried. Quite honestly, Jess wanted to cry too. This was not how he saw this going at all.
Still, by the time Rory came home she was thrilled to find two happy, smiling kids on the couch with their relaxed father, watching ‘A Muppet Christmas Carol’, whilst three trays of perfect Christmas cookies lay on the kitchen table waiting for icing and other decorations.
“Wow,” she said, smiling widely. “You guys did great.”
“We’re the best bakers in the world!” said Jack happily.
“Best bakers,” Tori agreed, nodding madly.
“What can I say? You’ve either got it or you don’t.” Jess shrugged.
Rory didn’t question why she could smell a burnt aroma underneath the sweet cookie goodness, or how it was that ingredients enough for six batches of cookies seemed to be gone from the cupboards, despite only three dozen cookies having been made. She already heard from the neighbours about the screaming and the yelling that had taken place during what should have been a happy Christmas activity, but it wasn’t worth spoiling the day for. Everything had worked out in the end, as it always did.
“Maybe the decorating should wait until tomorrow,” she suggested. “That sound good?”
“Oh, man, yes,” said Jess, giving himself away just a little. “And next year, maybe we’ll buy the cookies at Weston’s.”