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It was Christmas Eve, and Jonathan was meant to be putting the house in order. Or at the very least, making it presentable.
Instead, he was staring at the clock, and cursing every move of the second hand. The more minutes that ticked by, the less chance there was that Evy and Company would arrive in time to celebrate Christmas.
The idea of Alex—even Rick—missing the holiday was unpleasant enough, but Jonathan himself, while not the most festive man on the planet, couldn't stand the idea of lounging about all alone, with nothing but a tree for company.
Evy had said—promised—they'd be back from Egypt in time, but apparently some thing or other had popped up at the dig (complete with more complaints from Evy that if Rick had his way, they'd just bust through all the doors without bothering to look for a key, and more complaints from Rick that if they had Evy's way, they'd still be looking for the darn key after a month), and then something else had gone on with transportation, and yet another with one thing or another.
If Jonathan hadn't known his sister so well, he might have assumed that she was trying to avoid him.
Of course, he did know his sister, and he knew that she had been quite determined, the last time they'd spoken a few days ago, that they were all going to get their usual family Christmas.
"We'll try our darndest," Evy had said—'darndest' being a word she'd picked up from Rick, no doubt—"but things are a bit hectic—Alex, come back here—"
"Evy? Is there a time I need to come pick you up?"
"No. I don't know. We'll get a taxi. Rick, can you—? Yes, Alex, he's—Jonathan, I've got to let you go."
"Oh, all right. Hurry back if you can."
"We will. Goodb—"
The connection had broken off then, and silence had descended around Jonathan like a heavy shroud. A clock had ticked somewhere deep in the house. The flames had crackled in the fireplace.
So he'd taken to playing records non-stop to fill the silence, downing swigs of whatever spirit struck his fancy every time he had the strong urge to run off to somewhere noisier. He had to stay here, just in case they did get back in time.
He stared at the tree for far too long. There was nothing wrong with it. He'd arranged the branches and rearranged them and checked that it wouldn't fall over or put sap where it didn't belong. He'd tried to make the place look festive—holly, mistletoe (which he didn't think about too deeply, for reasons), garlands, and candles—but he wasn't much for decorating, and no amount of decorations made the place less desolate with lack of activity.
He'd wrapped up Alex's gifts quite poorly and stacked them around the tree in a slapdash sort of way. He'd tried to trim the tree but stopped before he really got started, because it just wasn't the same without Rick breathing down his neck, telling him the best places to hang all the ornaments.
Finally, he just sank into his armchair by the fire and stretched his slippered feet out toward the cheerfully dancing flames. They did nothing to improve his mood. He stared and he felt miserable, and, at last, he drifted off to sleep.
++
A loud noise like a bang sent Jonathan bolting upright with a crick in his neck.
"So Alex..." Rick's boisterous voice echoed up the foyer. "...Do you think we beat Santa Claus?"
"No," came Alex's annoyed reply.
"Oh darling, you know he thinks Santa Claus is a load of rubbish." Evy's voice drifted in after.
"Eh, I can still try," Rick replied.
Jonathan could hardly believe his ears. He actually considered pinching himself to see if he'd dreamed up the whole miraculous arrival. A glance at his watch told him it was five to midnight.
"Jonathan? Jonathan, we made it!" Evy called out cheerfully, and he could imagine her shrugging out of her coat. "Where are you?"
Jonathan scrambled to his feet, one of his slippers evading him and causing him to nearly stumble. He reached the entrance to the parlor just in time to nearly collide with Evy.
"Oh!" She exclaimed in surprise, smiling. "There you are!"
She threw her arms around him, and he readily returned the embrace, even if it did pull at the crick in his neck.
"You really didn't think we'd leave you to celebrate Christmas all on your own, did you?" She asked as they stepped back.
"Well no," he said, feeling more relieved that he was going to admit, "of course not."
"Uncle John!" Alex came barrelling into Jonathan's knees, blinking up at him with a wide grin that made his rosy cheeks look all the more cherub-like. "Hello!"
"Hello, Alex," Jonathan said, fondly scooping the wee tyke into his arms. "I think you've grown since I saw you last."
"Maybe," Alex replied mysteriously.
They all moved further into the parlor, and, well, Jonathan couldn't help it. As Rick brought up the rear, Jonathan craned to glance behind him—just for a second, but it was long enough for him to realize with an ugly jolt who he was looking for. You're bloody pathetic, he told himself, Ardeth is not here.
He caught Rick watching him and quickly turned his attention to setting Alex back on his own two feet, hoping that he was only imagining the heat climbing up his cheeks.
Alex rushed to see the gifts under the tree, pulling Evy along with him in his excitement. This left Rick and Jonathan hovering near the doorway.
"Have a good time in Egypt?" Jonathan asked, scratching sheepishly behind his ear.
"Yeah," Rick replied, brushing the remnants of snow from his hair. "And we didn't see Ardeth while we were there. Y'know, in case you were wondering."
"Oh." Jonathan wanted to dissolve into the floor. Had he been so obvious? "Well, I wasn't...?" He stammered.
"Uh-huh. Okay." Rick just clapped him on the shoulder and went to join Evy and Alex by the tree.
"We did see Fadia," Evy told him. She almost wanted to pointedly ask why she had to tell Fadia that Jonathan was no longer seeing Polly, and why hadn't he told Ardeth yet and if there was some strange reason why not, but chose a different tactic. "She said that Ardeth was keeping unusually busy."
This statement did not have the intended effect of Jonathan perhaps realizing that Ardeth was avoiding loneliness or what-have-you by throwing himself into his work just as Jonathan was avoiding by doing whatever he was doing. Instead, Jonathan blanched and got all wide-eyed. "World-ending curse busy, or—?"
"Oh! No. Just busy." Evy exchanged a frantic glance with Rick, who shrugged.
"Well. That's interesting." Jonathan cleared his throat and walked toward the tree. "I daresay I did a cracking job on the presents, wouldn't you?"
Evy eyed the poorly wrapped gifts and smiled.
"Not so much the tree," Rick said, gesturing to the barren greenery as if it were the greatest affront to his eyes.
"Well, I was waiting for you lot, wasn't I?" Jonathan retorted defensively.
"Decorate now?" Alex asked eagerly, blinking imploringly up at his mother.
"It's awfully late," Evy started to say, but unfortunately Rick blinked imploringly down at her and she sighed even as she smiled. "Oh, all right. It's Christmas, who cares if we go to bed at a decent hour or not?"
"Hooray!" Alex jumped up and down with excitement. "Uncle John, Uncle John!"
"Yes, Alex, what is it?"
"Tinsel!"
"Oh yes, of course. Come on."
As Jonathan and Alex set mercilessly upon the tree, the clock struck midnight, and Rick slipped his arms around Evy's waist.
"Merry Christmas, honey," he said, smiling as he leaned in to kiss her.