Samuel was completely unharmed. I expected him to be upset, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. He was grinning from ear to ear and giggling.
“Again, Daddy. Do it again,” he insisted as he clapped his hands gleefully.
“No can do, little man,” Ethan said wearily as he wrapped his arms around both of us and held on tight.
I gently extracted myself and took in the room. Silently I walked around and examined what was left of the beautiful Christmas I wanted to give my son and my family.
My utter misery over losing my beautiful Christmas was showing on my face. No one uttered a word. Smart people…
Nothing. Nothing was left—no presents, no tree, no decorations, no food, no blood, no Nut Cracker with a boner, no Baby Jesuses… nothing.
And of course, that’s when everyone else started to arrive.
In they came, each looking dazed and concerned as they took in the disaster.
Venus, Paris Hilton and Ethan’s sister, Raquel looked around in dismay, but stayed quiet. The vibe in the room was evident to all. They hugged me and made their way over to Samuel.
All were bearing gifts meant to be placed under the tree, but there was nothing but an electrocuted twig left of the formerly beautiful Christmas tree. Still, they placed them there.
“Assbuckle, you want to clue me in as to what the fuck happened here?” Pam, my Guardian Angel, demanded. Her hands were on her shapely hips as she entered into the room in a breezy burst of magic. “I spent four days in what used to be this room, putting all that shit up.”
She stood with the King—her mate and Ethan’s father. They both appeared shocked and confused. Who wouldn’t be?
“We had a few little issues yesterday and today,” I mumbled and let my head fall back on my shoulders.
I would not cry. I would not cry.
“Little?” She laughed and gave me a big hug and a sloppy kiss on my cheek. “You give me a list of those issues and I’ll kick the issue’s asses. You hear me?” she asked quietly.
“Yes, Pam. I hear you,” I said as I hugged her back.
“PS… you forgot your pants too,” she added with a cackle.
“It’s the new look,” I told her with a wince.
“Lord help us all,” she muttered as she stomped across the room and placed a mountain of gifts beneath the tree.
My more normal cousins and their father came next. Heathcliff, Cathy and Sir James entered cautiously. Heathcliff’s longing look at Raquel wasn’t lost on me, but there was no time for me to play matchmaker at the moment. I had a party to host… or what was left of one.
“My God,” Heathcliff sputtered and gave a low whistle as he glanced around.
“I see you did some major redecorating since yesterday. I like it,” he announced with a grin and a wink.
I loved my cousin. A little bit of humor right now was a good thing.
They too crossed over to the charred twig and laid their gifts beneath it.
Hayden and Dixie showed up in a cloud of sparkling mist followed by Lucy and Elijah. Of course, Lucy and Elijah arrived separately much to Elijah’s dismay. All four of the newest arrivals were True Immortals like myself, Samuel, Satan and Mother Nature.
Dixie’s eyes were wide as she hurried over to make sure I wasn’t going to lose my shit.
“My beautiful cousin, you have exceeded my expectations with your… preparations for us,” she said with a grin as she grasped my hands. “You okay?”
“Nope, but I’m still standing.”
With a loving hug, Dixie moved away and placed her presents under the pathetic excuse of a tree.
As the room filled with more and more people, my need to cry increased.
Samuel ran from group to group and received kisses and hugs.
This was a fucking tragedy. I was embarrassed and heartbroken.
Then a small man standing in the entryway made me smile through my tears. He was roughly the size of an Oompa Loompa and could make the sun shine of even the dreariest of days.
My Grandpa was dangerously squeezable Sprite and the cutest man alive.
The Sins literally quivered with the need to trap him in an embrace. He had sported many broken bones over the centuries from too much loving. Being a True Immortal and able to heal in an instant, he tolerated our need to clasp him to our bosoms in a vise-like hold.
He raised a warning hand at the Sins and they stayed put with great difficulty.
His wise eyes were on me and moved across the room with lively little steps.
“My darling,” Grandpa said kindly as he put his arms out for a hug.
I fell into him and was careful not to squash one of my favorite people in the world.
“It’s just fucking awful,” I whispered as he lovingly stroked my hair. “It was supposed to be perfect.”
“Perfect is boring. Flaws are what make life interesting,” he insisted as he took my face in his hands and placed a kiss on my nose.
“Um… well then I nailed flawed in a big way,” I told him.
“We shall see.”
On that cryptic note, he floated across the room to his other half, Mother Nature. She squealed with delight as he copped a feel of her outstanding bottom. She showered him with hugs and kisses as the Sins looked on with envy.
“Is everyone here?” I asked as I began to count guests.
“Not quite, Krumecaca,” came a jolly voice from behind me.
I rolled my eyes and giggled.
The Kev had arrived and I was sure he had my BFF Gemma with him. They were Fairies and Gemma was the long lost Fairy Queen. They had a Hell of an adventure in front of them, but for now they were here supporting me.