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Despite the heavy emphasis on Christmas in Angel Falls, there were only two churches. Winnie never went to them, her family wasn’t very religious and even if they were they wouldn’t have the time, but she always thought they were pretty to look at. Nice stain glass windows. There always seemed to be organ music coming from inside during the Christmas season.
She and Bernie passed by one of the churches on a walk. Winnie barely glanced at it, but stopped when she felt Bernie let go of her arm. She turned to see what her girlfriend had stopped for.
Bernie was staring at the nativity scene on the churches lawn. Intricately carved and painted representations of baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph, and several farm animals and angels. Much like the windows, it looked pretty to Winnie but that was about it. She approached her girlfriend and gently touched her arm.
”You alright?” she asked as Bernie looked up.
“Yeah,” Bernie replied, nodding and leaning her head against Winnie’s shoulder. “Yeah it’s just…memories, you know?”
Winnie nodded, even if she didn’t really understand. It was clear from the wistful look in Bernie’s eyes that the nativity meant something to her, and if she wanted to she would tell her.
As if on cue, Bernie took a deep breath and started talking.
“I was Gabriel in the Christmas pageant. Or Nativity scene, whatever you want to call it. I had a lot of fun, dressed up in the angel costume and running around, telling the girl playing Mary to be not afraid,” she giggled as she reminisced, and Winnie smiled and put her arms around her.
Then her giggling slowed and stopped, her grip on Winnie’s hand changed, and her face fell.
“All that was before my mom started leaving me at home by myself though. I still did it for a couple more years, a nice lady would pick me up and drive me to church every Sunday, but eventually it became too much of a hassle. I stopped going to church, I never was in the pageant again. I think I even stopped believing in God. I don’t know.”
She was crying, tears flowing from her eyes and onto the shoulder of Winnie’s jacket. Winnie wrapped Bernie in her arms, holding her tightly and letting her bury her tear-streaked face in the crook of her shoulder.
”It’s okay, it’s okay, you’re alright,” she murmured, pressing a kiss to the top of her girlfriend’s head.
”Thank—hic!—thank you, Win,” Bernie said through hiccups and teary gasps. She laughed sadly, turning out to look at the nativity scene. “I guess it’s a bit of a stupid thing to be so torn up about.”
“Hey,” Winnie said, turning Bernie’s face to hers and cupping it gently. “It’s not stupid. No, listen to me, it’s not stupid at all, okay? Your mom is, pardon my language, a total jerk.”
Bernie laughed again, more genuinely this time, at her girlfriend’s refusal to swear. Her hands came up to hold Winnie’s on her own face. Winnie beamed.
“You’re amazing, Bernie, and to me, you’re still an angel.”
”Now you’re just being sappy,” Bernie said, but her eyes were shining and she was smiling.
She put her hands on Winnie’s face and pulled her in for a kiss. Her face was still wet from the tears and cold from the weather, but the kiss still felt warm.
Winnie pulled back with a smile on her face. “I’m the least sappy person I know.”
Bernie laughed again. Winnie loved that. The way her eyes would almost close, but just enough so you could see the shine in her eyes, the way she would duck her head or hide behind her hands like she was scared of being seen. The way her laugh seemed to move through her whole body and echo through the entire town. Winnie wanted to make her laugh like that for the rest of their lives.
Bernie noticed her staring. It was still so strange, being loved and adored so much. She had never thought it could happen to her, not until Winnie had held her hand in the dark movie theater, had asked her if she would be Clarence. And to think it had been Winnie saving her. It was wonderful and unusual and strange, made even more so by the strength of Bernie’s own feelings. She once thought her feelings died a long time ago, numb from years of bullying and being left to her own devices for days on end as a child.
But then Winnie waved at her, said hello, and saved her life. Winnie had loved her, and Bernie had surprised herself by loving her back. Or maybe it hadn’t been so surprising. It would be hard not to love Winnie, who was so passionate and dedicated and infectiously strong. Who had bounded through the snow on Christmas morning to find her and invite her to breakfast with her family. Who talked during movies, not stopping until Bernie threw popcorn in her face, and she would only stop to try to catch the popcorn in her mouth.
By now both girls were standing staring at each other, lost in their own thoughts. A snowflake floated down and landed on Winnie’s eyelash. She blinked, pulled out of her own thoughts, and looked up. Bernie followed her gaze.
It had stopped snowing before they took their walk, but it must have picked up again. Snowflakes fell from the sky all around them.
Bernie grabbed Winnie’s hand excitedly and started pulling her along down the sidewalk.
”C’mon Win, this is the perfect weather for hot coco and a movie marathon!”
Winnie let herself be pulled by her girlfriend, and the two girls ran through the snow, occasionally sliding on the ice, and finally arrived at the theater.