InsaneJournal

Christmas with the Claus family was, in a word, epic.

On Christmas Eve, Tinsel and Alfie arrived, having worked through their toughest month, organising hundreds of Christmas parties for disadvantaged and differently-abled children, teens and adults. The logistics of getting all the Santas on the road; the thousands and thousands of gifts donated, wrapped, and delivered; the food donations distributed; the sponsors thanked and volunteers rewarded. Both of them where exhausted, but seeing everyone in their festive finery cheered them up immensely.

The other person who arrived, just as night fell and snowflakes started drifting softly, was Nick. He looked the same, but there was a change about him. Perhaps his cheeks were a little rounder and rosier, his eyes a bit more twinkly, and his laugh had a bit more ho ho ho about it again. His beard was a bit softer and more curly, and as he greeted his little great-grandchildren, he seemed to fill the room with merriment. Iestyn looked in wonder at Henry, amazed at the difference.

"My son," Nick said, coming to Henry and cupping his face between his hands. "I love you, very much. Merry Christmas." He pulled Henry into a warm, close embrace, and kissed him on both cheeks, patting his shoulder with a wink before moving on to give Merry a big squeezy hug.

Christmas Day was- Well, Iestyn hadn't had a day like it in his life. The children fell over each other in their eagerness to open their stockings. They all had a ripe, juicy orange in the toe, and enough chocolate to feed a small army. The adults sat around drinking hot coffee and cocoa, watching on with fondness until every bit of paper was torn off and they could sit down to breakfast. There were so many people talking and laughing, laying out dishes and making sure everyone had got what they wanted, and then washing up after so they could sit down and play board games while Maria supervising the cooking of Dinner.

The meal was served at half past one, and the table was fair groaning with food. Turkey and ham and chicken and lamb, potatoes and peas and carrots, broccoli and brussels sprouts and so much gravy. Iestyn ate until his stomach was stuffed, and then there was dessert- Christmas pudding and little meringues with cream, fruit salad and trifle, and ice cream to go with everything. By the time everyone returned to the living room for the gift giving, belts were being undone to allow for the extra room. And presiding over it all was the jolliest, loudest-laughing man of all, seeming to have grown in stature simply from the magic of the day.

The afternoon was a blur. Iestyn was given gifts even though he'd only brought things for Henry, Merry and Tinsel, from himself and Addy. He pulled on his new hand-knitted jumper bedecked with reindeer and holly, and grinned til his cheeks hurt, and the paper was cleaned up, and people started settling down for a nap, or going out for a walk to stretch their legs.

The small ring box had been burning a hole in Iestyn's mind all day. He detoured quickly to the bedroom on his way to meet Henry on the balcony overlooking the town. The sun was setting and the snow had cleared enough that the sky was painted a vibrant red, while below them the lights were starting to wink on one by one.

He walked over to join Henry by the railing, pushing snow off so he could rest his arms on it, and glanced up at him. "I feel like I can finally catch my breath," he said, feeling the air crisp and cold in his lungs helping to blow out the warmth of the day that had been making him sleepy. "Today has been... unbelievable."