He drops his head and blows out a long breath. “Thank you, God.”

I throw myself into his arms and he holds me to him.

How can I top this? “You should know you totally out-gifted me. My present to you is really lame compared to this.”

He laughs and his arms convulse around me. “Impossible, baby.”

I reach over and grab the box that’s wrapped in blue paper with white snowflakes printed on it. “Here. I actually wrapped it myself, so no laughing.” I sit up a little but stay in his lap as he rips through the paper.

Pulling out the present by the single ribbon it’s attached to, he dangles the silver ornament before his eyes, reading the inscription.

“Rex and Gia. First Christmas. Let this be our beginning.” He hugs me and kisses the top of my head. “It’s perfect.” He eyes our crooked tree. “Where should we hang it?”

We stand, walk around our tree to scope out the perfect spot, and decide on front and center.

He throws his arm over my shoulder. “Our beginning. I like that.”

He pulls something out of his pocket and points it at his stereo system. A remote clicks the music on and Nat King Cole’s voice fills the room singing “The Christmas Song.”

He drops the remote on the couch and turns to me, holding out a hand. “May I have this dance?”

A trickle of anxiety warms my stomach. “I um . . . I don’t know how to dance.”

He smiles but pulls me to him. “Me neither.”

I giggle and bury my face into his bare chest. The spicy smell of his skin soothes my nerves.

“I figure we just hold on to each other and sway.”

“Seems like everything always starts with that.” I peer up at him and he dips his chin. “Us, holding on to each other.”

“That’s the way we started; in the dark, you were humming Christmas music while we held on tight.”

“And here’s our new beginning.”

“But this time, we’re never letting go.”

~The End~