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“Have yourself a merry little Christmas. Let your heart be light. From now on, our troubles will be out of sight,” Dick sang as he opened the door to the apartment. He stepped inside, stomping snow from his shoes and brushing a flurry of snowflakes off his coat.
“Kory?” he called. A glance down the hall showed their bedroom door closed. She and baby Mar’i were probably napping. Quietly, he continued humming as he took off his shoes, coat, and the Santa hat he’d been wearing all day at the Bludhaven Police Department. The special present Dick had ordered for Kory had finally arrived, which had really put him in the Christmas spirit. He hid the package in the back of the coat closet.
It would be dinnertime soon, so Dick set to work in the kitchen, not bothering to change out of his police uniform. He was decent at making basic food, like the spaghetti he had planned for tonight. He had been cooking dinner every night for the past two weeks since Mar’i was born. Kory was recovering well, but he was determined to do everything possible to make things easier for her. Kory had told him that on Tamaran, the time after the birth of a baby was sacred. The mother and baby would stay at home for a full month in a time of bonding called Gorfnog. It was also meant to protect the baby from being exposed to germs from others, and to give the mother time to recuperate.
As he finished setting the table with plates of spaghetti and bowls of salad, the bedroom door opened. Kory came down the hall carrying Mar’i, who was wide awake, looking around with huge green eyes.
“There you are, my two beautiful girls.” Dick grinned. He met Kory with a warm embrace and a quick kiss. Then he kissed Mar’i’s dark curls, too.
“Hi, Mar’i. Hi, pretty baby,” he cooed. She blinked at him.
“Were you napping?” Dick asked Kory.
“No, I was nursing her,” Kory replied with a tired smile. Mar’i had been waking up multiple times during the night, causing both her parents to be exhausted.
“She was ravenous, but she is full and satisfied now.”
“I’ll take her,” Dick said eagerly. “You eat. Dinner is ready. It’s not Giovanni’s, but it will have to do,” he added with a crooked smile as he took Mar’i in his arms.
“It looks delicious,” Kory assured him as she sat down. She picked up the mustard bottle Dick had placed next to her plate and squirted a generous amount over the mound of spaghetti.
Dick gazed at Mar’i’s sweet little face as he rocked her back and forth gently. She let out a little burp, and spit-up dribbled down her chin. Her daddy grabbed a napkin and wiped her face.
“She’s so alert today,” he said, not taking his eyes off her.
“Yes,” Kory agreed after swallowing her bite of pasta. “She is becoming more aware each day.”
When Kory had finished, Dick asked, “Did you get enough?”
“I did. Thank you, my love.”
“Are you sure? I read an article that said breastfeeding moms need an extra 400-500 calories a day.”
“You are very sweet, Dick,” Kory smiled at him fondly. “You are taking excellent care of me.” She rose from the table to give him a long kiss. Mar’i squirmed and let out a little squeaky cry.
“Oh, do you need your diaper changed?” Kory turned her attention to her daughter. “Come here, my little bumgorf.”
Dick handed her over and sat down to eat his own dinner.
After eating and cleaning up, he joined his wife on the couch in the living room. Mar’i was snuggled in her mother’s arms, drifting off to sleep. The lights on the Christmas tree in the corner twinkled. Feeling peaceful and content, Dick wrapped his arm around Kory’s shoulder and gave her a squeeze. She leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed.
“Well, it’s Christmas Eve. What should we do tonight?” Dick finally broke the silence.
“We do not celebrate Christmas on Tamaran, so I have no traditions to follow.”
“Yeah, I know. The closest thing you have is Blorthog, the day of friendship. Although the tinnabula you give as gifts are kinda like jingle bells.” Dick began to sing to the tune of Jingle Bells, “Tinnabula, tinnabula, tinnabula all the way.”
Kory giggled.
“It doesn’t really work, does it?” Dick laughed.
“How did you celebrate Christmas as a child?” Kory asked.
“Christmas was my favorite holiday.” Dick leaned his head back on the couch and smiled at the memories flooding his mind. “The circus always traveled somewhere warm for the winter, so we didn’t have snow. No room in our trailer for a Christmas tree, either. My circus family definitely spoiled me with presents, though. Nothing fancy or expensive, sometimes just hand-made toys, or cookies and other treats. Oh, and my mom would make a Romani dessert called Kolako.”
“What is in Kolako?” Kory asked. “Perhaps we can make it?”
“It’s walnuts, cocoa, and jam rolls,” Dick explained, lifting his head to look at her. “We don’t have the ingredients for it. Maybe next year. She used to make Sarma, too, which is stuffed cabbage.” He paused, then added, softer, “Yeah, making her dishes would be a nice way to remember her.”
Kory shifted the sleeping baby so she could lift her hand to stroke his cheek.
“Then we will,” she promised. “Next year.”
Dick took her hand and kissed her palm. “I’ll have to show you the Romani songs and dances she taught me, too.”
“I look forward to it.” Kory’s eyes sparkled at him. “How do you say Merry Christmas in Romani?”
“Why don't you kiss me and find out, beautiful?” Dick smirked. He lifted his chin, lips parted.
Kory pressed her lips to his and let her mind be filled with the Romani language.
“Bahtalo Krechuno,” she said.
“Bahtalo Krechuno to you,” he replied, his eyes going soft and warm when he heard her speak his native tongue. Kory smiled at him, then was overtaken by an enormous yawn.
“You’re exhausted, honey. We should go to bed,” Dick said, standing to help Kory to her feet. The couple headed to their bedroom for the night.
Around three in the morning, Dick was awakened by Mar’i’s wail. He immediately noticed that the bedroom was very cold. Kory was already up, lifting the swaddled baby from her crib next to their bed.
“Did we forget to turn up the heat?” Dick mumbled. “It’s so cold in here.”
“It is a bit chilly,” Kory agreed. She was naturally warmer than Dick, but she had noticed the room’s temperature, too.
Dick flipped back the covers and crossed the room to touch the baseboard heater. There was no heat coming from it at all.
“I don’t think the heat is working,” he frowned, shivering. He shrugged into his robe, then opened the bedroom door to go check the rest of the apartment.
Kory unwrapped Mar’i to change her diaper, extending her warmth to keep the baby from becoming chilled.
Dick returned and reported, “The power’s out.”
“Oh no!” Kory exclaimed, looking up from swaddling Mar’i. “What should we do?”
He picked up his cell phone and scrolled through the contacts. “I’m calling the apartment’s emergency line.” He held the phone to his ear as it rang and rang. No one picked up. He tried again, and got the same result.
“Ok, I’ll try the power company.” Dick dialed the number and listened to a recorded message that said the company was aware of the blackout and didn’t know when power would be restored.
“Great, just great.” Dick said through a clenched jaw, tossing his phone on the bed. He relayed the message to Kory, who was now sitting on the bed with Mar’i. Dick began pacing the room, running his hand through his hair.
“I wish we had a space heater at least,” he muttered. “Maybe I can go buy one. But the stores are all closed for Christmas.”
“I am a space heater,” Kory said, trying to lighten his mood. She knew how much he loved puns. “Because I am from space, and I produce heat,” she added when he didn’t respond. “Is it a good joke?”
“Yeah, that’s very clever.” Dick gave her a tight smile. “But your powers are always weaker in the winter, so I don’t think you can heat the whole apartment for long. I’d rather you use your energy for healing from the birth and feeding Mar’i.”
He picked up his phone again and started looking for nearby hotels.
“Oh, wait, your Gorfnog. You’re not supposed to leave home with Mar’i for the whole month,” he realized.
“We cannot stay here. We will have to make an exception,” Kory said quietly. At Mar’i’s cry, she lifted her shirt to let the baby nurse.
Dick began making calls to the hotels and motels.
“Ok, thank you very much,” he said politely at the end of the sixth phone call. He slammed the phone down on the side table. “Dammit!”
Kory looked at him a bit startled. He rarely cursed, so he must be really frustrated.
“No room in the inn,” he said, turning to her with a grim smile. “How fitting for Christmas Day.” He took a deep breath, held it, then let it out slowly.
“Ok, there’s one more place I can think of, but it’s not ideal.”
Dick pushed open the squeaky door to his safehouse across town. He hadn’t used it in awhile, and the air smelled stale. He set down the bags and baby stuff they had hastily packed and turned on the heat and lights. Quickly, he wiped down anything that looked dirty. The safehouse was just two rooms: a bathroom and a room with a bed, a table and chair, and a low dresser with a microwave and some dishes sitting on top. He checked the dresser drawers and found non-perishable food items stashed inside.
Once the place began to feel warm, Dick went back out to the car to get Kory and Mar’i.
“Safehouse, sweet safehouse,” he said as he ushered them inside. “This really isn’t what I envisioned for our first Christmas as a family, but we’ll make the best of it.”
“It will do,” Kory nodded, looking around the room. “But both of us will not fit on the bed.”
“I can sleep on the floor,” Dick said nonchalantly. “I’ll get the portable crib set up for Mar’i.”
The family settled in for the rest of the night.
At 7 AM, Dick stirred and turned over to see Kory sitting up on the bed, nursing Mar’i.
“Did you get any sleep?” she whispered.
“A little,” Dick yawned and sat up, stretching the stiffness from his back. He slowly got up and sat next to Kory on the bed.
“Merry Christmas,” he said, pressing a kiss to her cheek.
“Merry Christmas,” she responded. “I love you.”
“Love you, too.”
They sat together quietly, watching Mar’i suckling and swallowing contentedly.
“Are you hungry?” Dick finally asked.
Kory nodded. “And thirsty.”
Dick found a bottle of water in one of the drawers and opened it for her. Most of the cans of food in the drawer were soup, he discovered. He poured chicken noodle soup in two bowls and microwaved them.
“Our Christmas feast,” he said, presenting a bowl to Kory.
“Thank you.” She lay Mar’i in her crib and accepted the bowl. “Perhaps soup for breakfast can be a new Christmas tradition.”
Dick grinned at her and took a bite of the salty soup.
After they had eaten, Dick pulled out the package with Kory’s gift inside.
“I didn’t have time to wrap it, but this is for you.” He handed it to her.
“Oh, I forgot to bring your gift with me!” Kory exclaimed, looking distressed.
“That’s all right. Go ahead, open it,” Dick said with barely restrained excitement.
Inside the package, Kory found a small box. She lifted the lid to reveal a triangular silver pendant set with three gems.
“This one’s aquamarine, my birthstone,” Dick said, pointing to the blue gem. “The purple one is amethyst, for you. I didn’t know how your birthdate translates to Earth months, so I just got the purple one because it’s your favorite color. And this one,” he pointed to the lighter blue gem, “is blue topaz, Mar’i’s birthstone.” He searched Kory’s face. “Do you like it?”
“It is beautiful. I love it,” Kory said softly, her eyes glistening with tears as she touched the stones. She suddenly threw her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly. He pulled her onto his lap and held her close.
“You’re amazing, Kory,” Dick whispered. “You’re such a good mama to our baby girl. I’m so lucky to have you both.”
Mar’i chose that moment to start crying. Kory brought her up onto the bed, and she and Dick snuggled their daughter close. In that moment, they had everything they needed for Christmas: warmth, love, and their little family.