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“No, Ma, I'm fine” you lie as you hold your phone to your ear, listening to your mother express sympathy in excess. It's sweet of her to care, but it's nauseating at this point.
“Are you sure? It's your first Christmas without-”
“I know, Ma!” You snap. You don't need to be reminded that it's your first Christmas without your husband…your soon to be ex-husband. You and Leon married young, both only twenty one years old. You made it through a few years of marital bliss before you both got so busy and consumed by work that you grew apart, all of the love between you crumbling to ash. Eventually, you moved out and the divorce just sort of started.
It's been a few months now and the divorce is almost complete; the papers are sitting on your dining room table waiting for your final signature, after which it'll be mailed to the county government center to be finalized.
Your mother rants about something in the background while you stare at the paperwork. It invites you and mocks you at the same time, reminding you that you're a few seconds and one postage stamp away from freedom of a loveless relationship and yet chides you for your failed marriage. You down the glass of wine you've been nursing and set it on the dining table next to the papers. You grab the wine bottle nearby, pull the cork out with your teeth, and start pouring yourself another hefty glass of liquid pain reliever.
“Are you even listening to me!?” Your mother yells into the phone.
“Every word, Ma.” You take a nice, big gulp of wine. “Listen, I gotta go, I'm putting up my Christmas decorations.”
“On Christmas Eve?” Your mother asks incredulously.
“Yeah. So, I was a little late this year, no big deal,” you reply defensively. You kept putting it off…it was one of your favorite things to do with your husband.
Garland dangles from the mantle of your fireplace, half hung. The Christmas tree sits next to your couch, bare, with no lights or ornaments; they're still in boxes sitting on your living room floor.
You hear your mother sigh. “Alright, well, I'll see you tomorrow for Christmas dinner. I love you, sweetie.”
“Love you too mom.” You hang up the phone and set it next to the divorce paperwork. You take a deep breath and blow it out, turning to face the pile of Christmas decorations. You start playing some cheesy Christmas music - Leon always hated it - to try and lift your mood as you pry open the box of tree ornaments.
One by one you add the decorative pieces to the tree, each one with a memory attached to it. There's the wooden hot air balloon ornament that you and Leon bought when you came across a festival with real hot air balloons floating across the sky. There's the two glass swans you got when you went to a wine tasting together on your honeymoon. Who could forget the ornament from the knife throwing and juggling troop, signed by the members.
But the one that pushes you over the edge, is the beautiful, clear, crystal orb that has sparkling, fake snow in the bottom and a picture of you and Leon, looking lovingly into each other's eyes at your wedding reception. One massive sob later, and you're melting down, crying hysterically on the ground. What have I done? God, I miss him so much. All of the wonderful memories of your marriage come flooding back.
There's no doubt about it, you still love him beyond all comprehension. You close your eyes and he's all you can see.
Unbeknownst to you, the crystal ornament wasn't hung securely enough and as you sob uncontrollably on the floor, it slips off the tree.
The next thing you hear, between your cries and wails is the shattering of your favorite ornament on the wood floor. Your head shoots up, eyes darting to the source of the noise. Shock ceases your tears momentarily as you realize what happened.
Heart pounding in your chest, you crawl over to the shattered pile of crystal on the floor. You stare at it in complete disbelief. You carefully pick up the photo that was inside as more tears flow.
“...no…” you whimper, trembling. You sit back on your haunches and drop your head into your hands and sob again.
You feel as low as you possibly can, both literally and figuratively. The memories you shared with Leon, all of those wonderful moments you had together, stab your heart and drive you further into despair and regret.
A knock at the door pulls you back to reality. You wipe the tears from your face and stand. Who the hell…
You pull the door open and see none other than Leon standing there. He looks just as handsome as he always does. He holds a box in his hands. “There's a few more decorations that are yours. Found them with some of the other boxes,” he explains. His tone is soft and neutral. A generous amount of snow falls silently behind him; a picturesque Christmas scene, save for the crumbling marriage.
“Thanks,” you reply with a weak smile. You peer once more at the fluffy precipitation falling outside and then back to Leon. “Would you like to come in?”
He gives you a placid smile and nods. He steps over the threshold and your heart starts racing as you stand in close proximity to each other. Something about being together tonight just feels right. You swallow hard and gaze into his eyes. “Um…glass of wine?”
His expression softens, smile growing more warm. “Sure,” he answers, barely a whisper. He follows me toward the kitchen and asks, “how have you been?”
The question hits you hard, piercing your heart. An honest answer would be messy, so you dress it up a bit. “I've been okay…you?”
“Okay,” he repeats as though he’s felt the same turmoil and parroted your response, likely for the same reason. You're both feeling the same pain; the same heart ache.
You pour him a glass of wine and hand it to him. You stare into each other's eyes for a brief moment before the broken ornament, still lying in pieces on the floor, catches your attention again. Your gentle smile fades. Leon follows your gaze to the pile of shattered crystal on the floor.
“It fell off the tree…” you explain, answering his silent question. He turns back to you, noticing the sadness in your eyes. He grabs your hand and kisses your knuckles. A wave of heat surges through you, the warmth of the small, affectionate gesture soothing your aching soul.
“C’mon,” he instructs warmly as he holds your hand and grabs the broom and dustpan. He holds them both up, as he always did when you two had to clean up a mess together. You grab the broom and he smirks as you both clean the broken shards. “You know…you could replace it. I'm sure we can find something.” He looks at you so sweetly, as if nothing happened between you, as if you were still happily married.
Your smile returns. After you've cleaned up the mess, you both return to your living room, enjoy the wine, and just talk, something you haven't done in a long time. A very long time. You talk about what's been going on since you separated; you reminisce about your shared memories; and finally, the regrets start to come out.
“I really miss spending time with you like this,” you admit.
Leon turns his head to face you as he fills your glasses of wine again. “Me too,” he replies, handing you back your glass. He laces the fingers of your free hands together. Your eyes lock with each other again and this time it's much harder to break away. “How are you really doing?” He whispers gently, leaning in slightly.
You take a deep breath and sigh, tears pooling in your eyes. “Terrible…I miss you so much! I-”
Leon cuts you off as his lips tenderly press against yours. Your eyes slip closed, pushing the tears down onto your face. The kiss sends shockwaves of affection through you. Every reason you two separated seems to fade as your lips dance together. You sit your glasses on the table and Leon pulls you into his lap, wrapping his arms possessively around you.
You slide your fingers into his hair and deepen your kiss. Your heart races; so much is happening so quickly, but it feels so right. Before long, you're laying on top of him on the couch, lips and tongues tangled together.
“Leon…” You whimper.
“Shh,” he whispers softly and presses his lips back to yours. You both drown in the passion that's flooded your hearts. You sit yourself up briefly, pulling your top off and ridding yourself of your bra.
Leon’s eyes fall to your breasts. “I never get tired of seeing these,” he purrs. It's nice to know that after all these years together, Leon still loves staring at your tits. You start to unbutton his shirt, but he pulls you back on top of him to take one of your nipples into his mouth. You chuckle as he moans while sucking on you. Your fingers lace into his hair, caressing his soft, brunette locks.
His tongue swirls around your stuff buds and his teeth periodically nip softly, sending sharp sparks of pleasure through you. You can feel his erection pressing against your thigh through his pants. You tease him by grinding your hips against him.
He growls and pulls his mouth off your breast with a pop. He sits up and lifts you off the couch with him, carrying you to your bedroom. He gently lays you on the bed, removing the rest of your clothes and making sure to kiss and caress every inch that's exposed.
He removes his own clothes and crawls on top of you. He kisses you tenderly and leans to whisper in your ear, “I'm never letting you go again.” He kisses your neck affectionately. “My beautiful wife.” He moves his lips to the other side of your neck, repeating his tender kisses. “You're mine.” He kisses his way down your neck, sucks each breast for a time, and travels lower.
His lips plant loving kisses all over your mound, teasing you, inching you closer to the edge of ultimate pleasure. “I missed your delicious taste, sweetheart.” He licks and sucks on your inner thighs before finally dragging his tongue along your folds. You cry out in ecstacy, the feeling of the love of your life pleasuring you with his mouth after all this time almost too much for you. Your back arches sharply, lifting you off the bed, and your eyes roll.
Leon pushes your legs even wider apart as his tongue invades your cunt, thrusting in and out of your hole and lapping up the erotic juices that flow from you. “Cum for me, baby.”
He doesn't have to tell you twice. Your orgasm hits you like a freight train, barreling through your body without resistance. He pins your hips to the bed with his arms as you ride out your orgasm, Leon cleaning up all the evidence with his tongue. He makes out with your cunt for a while before kissing his way back up to your lips. You taste your own essence as he kisses you passionately, his tongue sweeping through your mouth just as he did to your pussy. Your arms wrap around his neck, holding him tightly.
“I'm going to make love to you now,” Leon declares and whispers your name affectionately. When he finally slides inside you, it's like he's finally home. A sense of completeness fills you both, your hearts entwined once again and finally healing. It was nothing short of a miracle; a Christmas miracle. It had to be.
He moves slowly and deliberately inside you, savoring every sensation of your perfect body around his length. You kiss with a fiery passion that could melt every flake of snow outside in an instant. He supports himself on one elbow while running his other hand along your curves before slotting his fingers with yours above your head.
Each passionate stroke of his cock inside you makes you more and more sure of your decision to halt your divorce before it's finalized. Perhaps it was the time apart, or maybe there really is something to be said about the ‘Christmas Spirit’. Either way, there's something wonderfully magical about tonight and it will be etched in both your memories forever.
Leon picks up his speed, chasing his release. He reaches down and strokes your clit to bring you with him. Your body twitches and your hips buck against his as you both approach your climax. You hold onto him tighter as though he'll disappear if you don't.
At last, he sheathes himself deep inside you, filling you with the fruit of his passions. He remains inside you for some time as you crash from your high, kissing your neck and cheeks affectionately. “I love you,” he declares, words you had heard from him many times during your marriage and yet it sounded like the first time, with just as much raw emotion and sincerity.
You cup his cheek, looking deep in his eyes and seeing nothing but passionate love for you. You kiss him softly and reply, “I love you, too, Leon.” Tears slide down your face as you realize your love has truly been not only rekindled, but reinforced by something greater than the two of you can fully grasp.
Eventually, Leon collapses on the bed next to you, wraps you in his arms just as lovingly as he did on your wedding night, and holds you close, whispering his love and devotion to you until you both fall asleep.
Sometime later, still in the middle of the night, a rustling, ostensibly coming from the living room, stirs you awake. Leon, ever the deep sleeper, doesn't even flinch. You gently tap him and call his name. Finally, his eyes flutter open and he looks at you, smiling like a horny teenager. “Hey gorgeous. Did Santa come yet?” He asks sarcastically.
“Leon, I think I heard something coming from the living room,” you explain.
His relaxed smile tightens into a worried frown. He slips out of bed, pulling his boxers on. You follow him, wrapping your bathrobe around yourself. Cautiously, you both tip toe out into the living room to investigate. Nothing seems amiss. Your fireplace still crackles, a healthy flame dancing atop half charred logs.
As you approach, your anxiety is replaced with a sense of peace, as if by magic.
“Doesn't look like anything is out of the ordinary. Might have just been the house creaking,” Leon surmises as he yawns.
“Must be,” you agree. Something on your Christmas tree catches your eye as it reflects the light of the fire. You step toward the glinty object and nearly faint when you realize what it is: the wedding ornament you broke last night, there, in perfect, unshattered condition, hanging on the tree like nothing ever happened to it. The photo of you and Leon at your wedding reception is still safely nestled inside. You both stare in awe, too afraid to say anything for fear that it will disappear, revealing itself to be merely a dream, a hallucination.
A miracle.
Your heart and mind have never felt clearer. You turn your attention to your dining room table where those dreaded divorce papers lie. You grab the whole pile and practically float back to your fireplace, tossing it into the open flame which happily consumes it. You turn back to face Leon who has tears streaming down his face. You follow suit and cry, overwhelmed with love, peace, and hope. You embrace once more in the romantic light of the warm fire.