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“Merry Christmas everyone!”
The members of 51 who were sitting in the lounge turned around at the sound of the little voice to see Charlie running in dressed up as a Christmas angel – tinsel halo and all - with a gift bag firmly in her grip. They all beamed at her and greeted her excitedly back. It was December 23rd, and despite being so close to Christmas, there was very little Christmas spirit in the room.
They’d had a busy day already and couldn’t quite find the energy to celebrate the holidays, but now Charlie was here, and her spirit could easily brighten up anybody’s day – especially her Christmas Spirit. There was nothing the little girl loved more. The festivities started for her on 1st November and continued well into the new year. Sylvie had to invent another holiday, just to get her to turn her excitement elsewhere.
It was a spur of the moment concoction. Sylvie was exhausted, Charlie was hyper, she needed an out, so she invented Fire Fest. It was when all the firefighters across the world celebrated firefighting. Sylvie hadn’t expected her daughter to get so attached to the idea and before long, Fire Fest became a real celebration. On January 12th, 51 got together for a firefighting themed party. They’d only had it once, but it was an unspoken decision that this would become an annual thing now. It was a nice excuse to get together with their families, and it excited Charlie to no end.
But that was some time away. They had to get through Christmas first. For the Casey’s, it was their last shift before a weeklong holiday, and they were looking forward to spending time with their extended family. On Christmas Eve, they had a party at the Herrmanns followed by some family time in the evening. Early Christmas morning, Sylvie’s parents and brother were set to arrive and stay through to Boxing Day, while Sylvie and Matt hosted them alongside Christie, Violet, Stella, and Severide.
“I brought some Christmas treats for you all!” Charlie exclaimed happily as she plonked her gift bag down on the ground and began lifting out handmade, personalised cards and candy canes. She tottered around the room and handed everyone their cards – explaining exactly why she drew the picture that she did for each person - and a sweet treat. She also explained that her big cousin Violet had helped her with her spellings, just as she and Josie came tottering through the door holding hands.
Charlie reached into the bottom of her bag and looked around her before frowning. “Where’s ViVi?” she asked with a pout, realising that her last gift was about to go undelivered. “And mommy and daddy?!” she asked, also realising that her parents were not in the room.
“ViVi and mom are out in the ambulance, and dad is in his office.” Mouch calmly explained, just as Josie let out a yawn and silently walked off in the direction of the bunk room, with Violet on her tail to make sure she got to her destination. “You can give ViVi her card when she gets back.”
“Oh. Ok!” she said with a little shrug before she skipped over to the couch and sat down beside Mouch. “Do you like your card Mouchie?”
“I love it!” he said happily as Charlie let out a little giggle. “Is that me dressed as Santa, standing behind a pile of books?” he asked as he tried to decipher the four-year-old’s drawing.
Charlie beamed. “Yeah!” She was so happy someone could tell what she drew. “Mommy said you liked to write books, so I drew them for you.”
“… did she now?” Mouch asked with a gulp. Any reminder of Sheets on Fire sent him into a nervous sweat.
“Yep! Are they kiddie books?”
“No!” Mouch said quickly before he awkwardly cleared his throat. “I mean, no, no. They’re for adults.” He said, trying to keep his voice calm.
Charlie’s interest soon moved from books and across to Santa. “And you’ve heard of Santa, right?”
“Oh, the guy who delivers presents? Sure have.” Mouch replied.
Charlie leaned forward, “Did you know that he keeps a naughty and nice list?” she asked quietly, the tone of her voice suggesting that she was almost scared by the prospect.
“I had heard that, yeah. You’re definitely on the nice list.” Mouch assured her.
“I don’t know…” Charlie grumbled as she looked down at her lap. “I pushed Jo Jo over the other day, and I refused to have my bath last night. Daddy ended up chasing me around the house and he was not happy…” she recalled.
Mouch looked at her thoughtfully. The Casey girls were great kids. Always polite, always happy – but they were still just kids. They had their moments of badness, their moments of not knowing how to express themselves so they lashed out, and their fair share of tantrums when they didn’t get their way. Everyone knew that Charlie in particular could be a bit of a firecracker, so the story didn’t surprise Mouch – but he also wasn’t about to let her think that refusing a bath would get her on the naughty list.
“Well – it’s Christmas Eve Eve. You have two days to make up for it.” Mouch reminded her as her face lit up.
“That’s true… I’m gonna think real hard about how I can be nice. Let’s write down some ideas!” she said as she climbed off the couch, lifted a pad and pen that was sitting on the coffee table and flung it into Mouch’s lap.
They had some serious work to do.
While Charlie spoke with Mouch in the common room, Josie had quietly made her way through the locker room and towards Matt’s quarters. She’d spotted her dad through the glass and her little walk turned into a little jog before she crashed her hands against the glass and smiled against it, causing Matt to jump slightly at the unexpected noise.
Matt looked up at the door and his frustration over the mountains of paperwork he had immediately disappeared when he saw his pigtailed daughter’s face peering sleepily at him through the window. He swiftly opened the door and scooped her up, cuddling her close to his chest. They spoke in broken sentences for a few minutes before Matt’s unconscious, gentle swaying caused her to fall asleep in his arms.
In that moment, Matt said a little prayer that she wouldn’t grow up too fast. He didn’t want to think of a day when she would be too big to hold like this. He also said a little prayer that they didn’t get any calls, because he did not want to put her down.
Like mother like daughter, Matt’s chest had become a place of comfort and safety to his girls. Whether they were sad, scared or just in a loving mood, they came straight to him and the steady beat of his heart. Matt had realised that they’d pick up the trait from Sylvie the day Charlie was born. She had been crying and crying in the hospital, right up until she was placed on Matt’s bare chest. She immediately settled, even burrowed her face a little bit deeper into the spot above his heart. He remembered Sylvie looking over at them with such exhaustion, but also with such love. His girls were in the safest hands with him.
For the next 15 minutes, Matt tried to work quietly around Josie as she slept against him. He wasn’t doing a terrible job of it, but he was definitely not being as productive as he normally would be, all in fear of waking her.
“If you try and move her, she’ll just bury herself further into you.”
Matt looked up and saw Sylvie leaning against his door frame with a soft smile on her face. Her arms were crossed over her chest and resting gently on top of her baby bump. As well as being their last shift before Christmas, it was her last shift before she went on maternity leave. She was still going to do some Paramedicine stuff, but no active duty riding around on 61. She knew she would miss it here greatly, but it was hard to be too sad about it when she knew what she was getting in return – another blonde haired, blue eyed, cuddly little Casey.
“Good thing I’m not going to move her. Ever.” Matt exaggerated as Sylvie giggled lightly. “Where’s Charlie? She hasn’t come storming in here yet.”
“That’s because she and Mouch are brainstorming how she can be nice in order to stay off Santa’s naughty list.” Sylvie told him as he shot her an amused look. “And by that, I mean Mouch is rattling off ideas while Charlie draws a picture that has nothing to do with the list.” It was clear that her attention span was limited and that Mouch would be doing most of the leg work here. “But if she’s serious about staying on the nice list for Santa, we could have a blissful few days ahead.”
Matt chuckled, “I’ll believe that when it happens. She may be nice, but she won’t be any less excited.”
“Probably not.”
“What’s the plan for tomorrow by the way? I know we have Herrmann and Cindy’s party in the afternoon, but do you have a list of what needs to be done before and after?” Matt had no doubt that it would involve some festivities – including matching pyjamas, something that he never thought Sylvie would get him into, yet here he was, loving every minute of it.
Sylvie scoffed, “Do I have a list? Do you even know me?” she teasingly queried as she happily whipped out a piece of Christmas stationary that held her to do list. “The girls and I are going to bake cookies for Herrmann’s party while you quietly put together toys in the garage under the guise of construction work, so they don’t barge in on you.” She explained. They’d been good at covering their Santa tracks over the years – Sylvie always had a story in case they were caught out. “Then we have the party in the afternoon, I got the girls the cutest red velvet dresses and matching bows for their hair.” She said, the glee evident in her voice as Matt smiled at her. He knew how much Sylvie loved getting dressed up with the girls. Josie wasn’t all that fussed, but Charlie adored having Sylvie do her hair. She felt like such a grown up.
“Can’t wait to see them.” Matt replied, enjoying her excitement over the dresses. “What about in the evening?”
“Just the usual. Get the matching pyjamas out, drink some hot cocoa, read some stories, get the girls into bed, set up for the next day – then mommy and daddy time.” She said with a teasing grin as she slipped her list back into her pocket.
Matt raised his brows. “What does mommy and daddy time entail?” he asked in a low voice.
“An early Christmas present. Let’s just say it’s red, lacy, wearable – but only for a limited space of time.” She teased quietly.
Matt gulped as he ran his eyes over his wife. Pregnant Sylvie was beyond sexy to him – and he made sure to tell her that regularly. Since this was their last baby, he knew this early Christmas present was about letting him enjoy her body like this before it was gone for good.
“This chat might get us on the naughty list but uh - Merry Christmas to me…” he mumbled as Sylvie let out a little laugh, just as Charlie came bounding through the locker room.
“Daddy! Hi!” she greeted happily as she moved past Sylvie whom she’d seen a few minutes ago in the lounge.
“Hey sweets!” Matt agreed just as happily. He looked down at Josie to make sure he hadn’t woken her, but as he already suspected, he hadn’t. They very quickly learned that Josie could sleep through anything. Even the bells wouldn’t wake her. “What you got there?” he asked as Charlie held up a piece of paper in his direction.
“I made you a picture! That’s me and JoJo and you and mommy – with the baby in her belly of course – and Veronicat too!” she said as she pointed to the cat that was drawn in the far corner of the picture. “She’s far away from us because she doesn’t like Christmas and we like Christmas.” She explained with a grimace. They had to keep the cat far away from any Christmas decorations because she was getting into a bad habit of destroying them.
Matt chuckled, “We sure do. I heard you were delivering Christmas cards and candy canes this morning.”
“I made them myself!” she said as she proudly stuck her nose up in the air. “Where are you going to put your picture?” she asked curiously.
“I think this one is going to go in my locker – the space above my desk already has so many of your pictures.” He said as they looked at the previously blue wall. It was now showered in various pictures Charlie and Josie insisted he put up.
“It’ll look great in there.” Charlie said with a nod of approval. “I have to go now, Mouchie and I have nice things to do.” She said vaguely, just as Violet Jordan walked towards them.
“Not so fast missy” Sylvie said as she blocked her daughter from leaving the room. “You and your sister need to go home with Violet, it’s nap time.”
“No way!” Charlie moaned before looking back at her sleeping sister. “Josie’s already asleep and I’m not tired!”
“You will be when you get home Charlie.” Sylvie reasoned, knowing full well her daughter was about to crash. She never gave off signs that she was tired. She was always a bundle of energy until the second she wasn’t.
“If you don’t nap now then we won’t be able to have our pillow fort and move night.” Violet reasoned as Charlie eyed her cousin carefully. She loved building forts. She loved popcorn. She loved movies. Maybe Violet had a point – she needed to be on her best form for it.
“Ok… but I need to tell Mouchie to carry on with our plan without me.” She said with a sigh.
“We can tell him on your way out.” Sylvie assured her as Charlie held onto her hand and pulled her out the door.
Matt chuckled behind her as he carefully stood with Josie in his arms and began following them. “I’m not sure I want to be the one to tell her that other people doing nice things on her behalf won’t put her on the nice list.” He said to his niece who laughed lightly.
“When she sets her mind to something, there’s very little you can do to sway it.” Violet agreed. “Sometimes I wonder where she got her unfaltering confidence from.”
Matt scoffed, “Me too. Hopefully Josie won’t wake when I set her down. She’s normally pretty good at staying asleep if we move her.” He assured her as they walked past the lounge to see Mouch nodding along while Charlie gave him very specific instructions.
“Number 3 on the list is very important, ok? If Santa doesn’t come to Herrmann’s party, then I won’t be able to do something nice for him!” Charlie reasoned. “So you have to call him.”
“I’m on it, Charlie, don’t worry about a thing.” He said as he looked up at Sylvie who looked confused, but he merely shot her a wink, indicating that he had everything under control.
Charlie smiled, “You’re the best Mouchie! Bye everyone, see you tomorrow!” she said as she waved to the room before taking Sylvie’s hand again and letting her mom lead her out to the car.
After making sure the girls were buckled into their seats, Sylvie and Matt stood by Charlie’s window.
“What nice thing are you planning for Santa, baby?” Sylvie asked curiously.
“Can’t say. It’s for Santa only.” Charlie replied, choosing to remain secretive about the whole thing. “Will you call us later so I can show you our fort?” she asked eagerly.
Matt nodded, “Of course sweets. Have a good day.” He replied before leaning through the window and kissing her before rubbing his nose gently against hers, causing the little girl to giggle.
“Bye, I love you!” she called as Violet drove off and they waved after her.
“Never a dull moment when Charlie visits 51, huh?” Sylvie asked as Matt wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple.
“Never.”
Matt’s heart ached in his chest.
His girls were so damn cute.
Sylvie was right about their Christmas party dresses and matching bows. Charlie’s curls bounced around her as she jumped and twirled in front of him, showing off her outfit with little giggles. Josie’s straight hair was clipped out of her face as she pinched the edges of dress and held them out for her dad to see. She’d never been one to show off in the way that her sister did, but she was every bit as sweet.
“You are the prettiest girls I have ever seen.” He said as he bent down in front of them and held his arms open to them before the dashed forward and hugged him tightly. He heard Sylvie come up behind them and glanced up as she snapped a photograph of them. “You look just like mommy.”
Charlie gasped in glee and pulled back to look like him, “And mommy looks like an angel.” She replied, clearly in awe of the huge compliment her dad just paid her.
Matt looked up at Sylvie with a smile and she beamed back at him. She really was the embodiment of sunshine. How did he get so lucky?
“She sure does.” He said quietly as he kissed Charlie and Josie’s cheeks before standing up and letting them run off to play before they had to go.
Matt stepped towards his wife, “Have I told you how much I love you today?” he asked.
Sylvie giggled, “Only twice this morning.”
“Oh, that’s not nearly enough.” He joked before he slid his hands around her waist and kissed along her cheek before meeting her lips. “I love you” he said quietly against her lips for only her to hear.
“I love you too.” She replied before she closed the small gap between them and kissed him. “And the girls have your smile. I love their little dimples. So, the cuteness isn’t all down to me.” She said in response to his earlier comment.
“Well, I’m honoured to have played a small part in how unbearably sweet they are.” He said with a laugh.
“Mommy, daddy, can we go yet?” Charlie asked as she game dashing into the room. “We have to be there on time for Santa!” she exclaimed, reminding her parents that she had some important business with Santa. They hoped that Mouch was serious with his suggestion that he had everything under control, but they’d been brainstorming excuses as to why Santa didn’t show in case Charlie got upset.
“Yes, sweets, let’s go.” Sylvie said as she and Matt ushered the girls into the hallway and helped them put their coats on.
When they arrived at the party, Charlie happily spun around for people who oo-ed and aww-ed over her dress. Meanwhile Josie was immediately distracted by the piles of sweet treats that adorned the table. She had definitely inherited her mother’s sweet tooth. Throughout the evening, she alternated between each parent when asking for a treat to make it seem like she hadn’t had that much. Sylvie and Matt caught on to her scheme after her third attempt and started keeping a tally with each other, so their daughter didn’t overeat and make herself sick.
About an hour into the afternoon, there was a knock at the front door and Trudy bent down in front of Charlie.
“Hey kid – I think there’s someone at the door for yah.” She said as she nodded her head towards it with a little smile.
Charlie gasped, “Mommy, can I open it?!” she asked Sylvie excitedly.
Sylvie nodded her head, “Yeah, go for it.”
Charlie ran to the door and swiftly opened it, gasping at the white bearded man in a red suit with a brown sack thrown over his shoulder.
“Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!”
“SANTA?! YOU CAME!” Charlie squealed with glee.
“I received a phone call from our friend Mouch, and he told me I had to come right away!” the deep voice, and obviously familiar voice, replied.
Charlie turned and looked at her parents with a bright grin on her face. They nodded encouragingly at her, while trying to stop themselves from laughing.
Trust Mouch to find a Santa suit last minute and to rock up with a sack full of gifts.
“Santa, come in and sit down.” Cindy insisted as Charlie grabbed his hand and pulled him into the living room so he could sit down on the armchair, just as everyone from 51 crowded around the room and in the doorways to watch the show.
“Santa, I have something important to tell you.” Charlie said as she stood in front of him. “But first – here’s a cookie. I made them this morning with my mommy and JoJo.” She instructed him.
“They look very tasty, thank you Charlotte!”
Charlie gasped lightly, “You know my name.” she stated in an awed whisper.
“Of course, I do – I’m Santa! Now what did you want to tell me?” He asked as he set the cookie aside and took her little hand in between his two gloved ones.
“My friend Mouchie suggested that a way to be nice to people is by saying words of ‘ppreciation to them.” She said, mispronouncing the new word Mouch had evidently taught her. “So, Santa – I ‘ppreciate everything you do for boys and girls around the world. You spend all year building us toys and then a whole night delivering them, and it is very kind of you to do that. And I’m sorry if I’ve been naughty this year, I try my hardest to be nice!” she quickly added at the end. She then turned to her parents. “Mommy, daddy – I promise to go for a bath or a nap whenever you tell me to.”
Everyone around them chuckled as Matt and Sylvie nodded their heads softly at her.
“Ho, ho, ho, you are a very nice little girl, Charlotte.” Santa replied. “Is there anything else you appreciate?”
“Well, I ‘ppreciate my mommy and my daddy and my little sister and the baby in my mommy’s belly.” She said before leaning in slightly. “Do you know whether it’s a boy or a girl?”
“I’m afraid not.”
“Oh well… I’m pretty sure it’s a girl, anyway. And I also ‘ppreciate Veronicat and Sevie and Stella and Mouchie and ViVi and Witter and Tuesday and Blakey and Herrmann and Cruz and all of 51. They’re all firefighters and medics and they keep me safe. They’re the best and we get a whole day to celebrate them. It’s called Fire Fest!” she said as she happily looked around at the people in the room who were smiling right back at her. They’d amassed a group of little smoke eaters over the years – Lee Henry, Luke, Max, Annabelle, Kenny, Terrance, Otis, Charlie, Isabel, Josie – and they couldn’t love them more.
“Sounds like a great day! I’m sure they’re very grateful to hear how much you appreciate them, Charlotte.” Santa replied with a gulp of his own, trying to contain his emotions. It was little moments like this that made them realise how special and worthwhile their jobs were. “How about some presents?”
“Presents?! Already?!”
Soon enough, Santa had passed out a small gift to each of the kids. Josie was last up and when she approached Santa, she narrowed her eyes and tilted her head to the side.
“… Mouchie?” she asked curiously.
‘Santa’s’ eyes widened. “Uh… Mouchie is our friend, yes! Ho, ho, ho, Merry Christmas everyone!” he exclaimed before he grabbed his sack and dashed out the door before his cover was completely blown. Josie was far too perceptive.
“That… was… amazing!” Charlie said slowly before she spun in a circle. “Marnie and Grace are never going to believe that I met the real Santa!” she said, talking about her two best friends from nursery.
A short while later, Mouch came through the door and Charlie ran over to him and told him everything about their visit. She gave him a tight hug and thanked him for calling Santa before she dashed off to play with the other kids.
“I knew you had the situation under control Mouch, but I really didn’t expect you to rock up as Santa.” Sylvie said with a laugh once Charlie was out of ear shot.
Mouch shrugged lightly, “Anything to put a smile on Charlie’s face.”
“Thanks, Mouch.” Matt added, feeling grateful that his daughters had someone like Mouch in their lives to make them smile.
After the party, Sylvie and Matt returned home to continue with their Christmas Eve plans. They bathed the girls before they all donned their matching Christmas pyjamas – and Sylvie was sure to snap a tonne of pictures of them. They drank some hot cocoa, which Josie tried for the first time and loved, went outside to see if they could hear Santa’s reindeer, before snuggling down on the sofa in front of the fire with some Christmas stories. There was a brief argument between the girls over what to read, but they were quickly appeased when their parents assured them they could read both of their chosen stories.
All the traditions they started together – decorating, Christmas Eve parties, pyjamas, hot cocoa, presents in the morning and family over for dinner - was the kind of cheesy Christmas goodness that Sylvie adored, and it quickly became something Matt loved too. This kind of Christmas joy was something he never had growing up, so it was so special to him now, especially considering his wife and daughters loved it so much. He loved Charlie and Josie’s childlike wonder over listening for the reindeer, leaving treats for Santa on the fireplace, and seeing their presents in the morning.
While Josie fell asleep on Sylvie’s lap fairly quickly, they’d expected to be battling with Charlie all night to get her to go to sleep. To their surprise, however, she conked out on the couch halfway through the second story. All the excitement of the day had finally got to her. She briefly stirred as Matt was carrying her up the stairs and started grumbling about whether Santa was here or not, but Matt quickly lulled her back to sleep with promises that he would have left her gifts by the time she woke up.
“Why do they always make these toys so damn difficult to put together?” Matt grumbled later that night as he and Sylvie started laying out their presents and putting a few final things together – including a balance bike for Josie that was kicking Matt’s butt right now. “I’m supposed to be good at this stuff, promise.” He joked as Sylvie chuckled behind him, feasting on the cookie they’d left on the fireplace.
“Let’s take a break.” Sylvie said as she moved to the speaker in the corner of the room and put on some slow, quiet music before turning and holding out her hand to her husband. “Dance with me.”
Matt grinned at her, “We haven’t done this in a while.”
“Even more reason to do it now.”
Matt got to his feet and smoothly slipped his hand in Sylvie’s before pulling her against him and resting her other hand around her waist. He brought their enclosed hands between their chests; the steady beat of his heart was somehow perfectly in time with the music.
“You know, I think I took enough pictures tonight to fill a whole album.” Sylvie said with a little laugh. Rather than keep her photographs digitally, Sylvie loved printing them out and putting them into albums. Her mother had done the same when she was little – in an age before iCloud – and Sylvie loved flipping through them. She loved having the memories at hand and she hoped her children would love them just as much.
“The girls are lucky to have all of these memories catalogued.” He replied – and he really did mean catalogued. They were very carefully put together and an album was never out of place on the shelf. “I was going to say I wished I had that as a child, but I’m not sure I have many memories I want to remember.”
Sylvie lifted her hand further up his neck so she could run her thumb down his cheek. “I’m sorry Christmas wasn’t always a happy time for you.”
“There was one Christmas that was happy. I was around 10 years old, and I had really started to get into hockey. I’d always liked skating when I was little, but it was becoming an obsession by that stage.” He began as Sylvie listened intently. She loved any chance she got to hear more about the man she loved and his life before her. “All year I had begged my parents for a new hockey stick because I was getting embarrassed about having to borrow them from the club when all my friends had their own. They kept saying no, they couldn’t afford it, and as a kid that just didn’t make sense to me. But then that Christmas, I came downstairs and there was a brand-new hockey stick waiting for me. I couldn’t believe it.” He said with a little laugh, the memory sparking a surprising amount of joy in him. He rarely felt that as a child. “Dad told me that he had been watching me practice for a few weeks now and said that I’d earned the stick by how hard I was working. It was probably one of the only nice things he said about me. It’s probably also the only memory I have of him truly smiling at me.” He said, his joy now feeling mixed with sadness. Sadness for a father he wished he’d had.
“That’s a nice memory.” Sylvie assured him. Yes, it was twinged with sadness – but she was right. He’d been incredibly happy that day, and that was what mattered. That shouldn’t change because of what soon happened to his family. His father may not have been the father he wanted, but he could be that father now. He could be everything his children wanted and needed.
“I’m just grateful that our kids are going to have so many good memories from Christmas. I’m grateful that we can make it a special time for them.” Matt added. “The happiness I felt that day pales in comparison to the happiness I feel when they come down in the morning and their faces light up at the presents that have been left for them.” He said with a little laugh.
Sylvie laughed with him, “They definitely add a little bit of magic to Christmas. And Fire Fest of course.” She added. As soon as Christmas was over, the planning for their made-up holiday would begin.
Matt grimaced, “I don’t know what would be worse – telling Charlie that Santa isn’t real or that Fire Fest is a made-up holiday.”
“Made-up or not – it’s still pretty special.” Sylvie reasoned.
“That’s true.” He replied, holding her hand a little bit tighter in his as the gently swayed in silence for a few more minutes. “Have I told you how beautiful you are today?”
Sylvie smiled up at him, “Only three times.”
“Three times? That’s not nearly enough.” He joked, repeating his words from earlier. He leaned forward, resting his lips against her ear before whispering, “You’re beautiful.”
Sylvie turned her head and smiled against his cheek before pressing a lingering kiss on it. “You know – you make Christmas pretty magical too. I’m very grateful for you Matt Casey.” She delicately craned her neck and kissed him, like she’d done a thousand times, yet it never got old. The spark never disappeared.
They both continued to make Christmas as magical as possible the next day. They helped their daughters open their presents and shared in their joy over everything they got. Matt then spent the morning running up and down the hall with Josie on her balance bike and allowing Charlie to try out her new bows and hair grips in his hair. Sylvie also lay down on the couch while Charlie examined her with her new medic’s kit, putting her little stethoscope against her stomach to see if she could hear the baby. She insisted she could and that she could also tell with her magical medical powers that it was a girl.
She was in for a shock when Oliver appeared a few months later and was not, in fact, a girl.
They then welcomed their family that afternoon and shared more presents and a delicious meal together. They made a lot of memories over the past few days. Memories that they would always laugh about and smile over – in particular, Charlie’s quest to always go for her bath and her nap.
She lasted all of two weeks before she refused a nap so she could play in the snow.
There had been an abundance of tears, and even in those hard moments, they felt grateful. Grateful for this family, for quiet days, for whirlwind days, for all of it. It was everything they had both wished for and more.