Page 98 of Breaking Meredith

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Page 98 of Breaking Meredith

“Merry Christmas, everyone,” he says, and my grandmother looks positively starstruck. It’s the cutest dang thing I’ve ever seen.

We all say our good mornings, and my grandma serves up those cinnamon buns. My mom heated up a breakfast casserole, and we sit around my grandparents’ table eating before presents—just like we always have. It’s the magic of Christmas morning as I remember it from my childhood, but now my own child and the man I’m getting a second chance with get to experience it with me.

There’s something pretty incredible about that.

Chapter 30: Austin Graham

I Love These Reindeer Pajama Pants

Christmas Morning

I help Kelly’s dad drag two extra chairs into the family room so we can all gather by the tree, and Kelly’s grandma tells us to take the love seat. We do, with Mia perched between us—for the moment, anyway. Kelly’s grandpa turns on Christmas music, and her dad finds the Netflix fireplace channel, and it’s all so…cozy. Idyllic. Perfect.

Similar to the vibe Kelly built at her own house.

It’s what every parent wants for their kid. What every man wants for the woman he loves. It’s all the things I associated with Christmas before my parents got divorced.

All I ever really wanted was the kind of warmth I feel here today. And maybe that’s what I’ll have in my future going forward—if everything goes as planned today, anyway.

I’m nervous as fuck, but I put on my game face. I have to.

Mia climbs off the couch—before the grandparents have even taken their seats yet—and she beelines right for a huge box wrapped in pink paper that has unicorns wearing Santa hats on it. At least she knows which box is for her. She starts clawing at the paper, and the four other adults aside from Kelly and myself turn their full attention to Mia as they beam at how talented she is at just under one year already opening her own gifts.

I scoot a little closer to Kelly, and I set my hand lightly on her thigh. I give it a little squeeze, and she looks over at me with a smile.

“Have I ever told you how much I love these reindeer pajama pants on you?” I ask, my voice low.

She giggles as she leans in toward me. “Have I ever told you how much I loveyou?”

I shake my head. “Not today.”

She leans in closer still, lowering her voice to be sure only I hear her. “I thought I showed you that pretty well last night.”

I put up my hand for a high-five, and she slaps my palm with hers as we both laugh.

Her mom glances over at us, a little smile playing at her lips, and I know she feels it, too—the warmth in here. The love in here. The absolute perfection of this morning that’s only going to get better.

Mia gets the box open and seems pretty damn excited about the musical instrument playset that someone was gracious enough to put batteries in before wrapping.

We listen to the loud, grating sounds of guitar and drums and organ the way only an almost one-year-old can play them.

Kelly leans over to me again. “Damn. I think it might be too big to fit into any of our suitcases, so I guess we’ll have to leave it here.”

I laugh, and Kelly’s mom passes out presents for each of us to open—including me.

I give her a surprised look. “You didn’t have to do that,” I say.

“I was sending it home with Kelly anyway.” She smiles and shrugs, and the way she can so easily make me feel like I’m a part of this family even though Kelly and I just got back together is really special.

I tear it open and find a custom cutting board withGRAHAM 41engraved on it. I feel oddly emotional over something that’s just a piece of wood, and yet…it means so much more than that.

It means someone thought of me. It means someone considered the things I like, the things that are important to me, and then they placed an order for something special.

A thick lump forms in my throat as I stare down at the board. Nobody has ever given me a gift like this before, and I’m not quite sure how to respond. I’m used to clothes I’ll never wear or video games or generic items I could just buy for myself.

This has meaning behind it.

“Kel said you like to cook,” her mom says. “We hope you like it.”


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