Chapter 13
For Sydney and Michael, Christmas Eve always had extra special meaning to them. Of course they appreciated it as a holiday celebrating families and togetherness with loved ones, but for them, it represented a significant milestone in their romantic relationship.
Many years earlier, Sydney and Michael decided it would be nice for them to spend their first Christmas as a couple together. Since moving back to the same town and dating regularly, things had only become better for them. By Christmas, they were still going strong after over nine months. For their joint celebration, they had a sleep over at Michael’s apartment so they could share Christmas morning together. Then, they would part to spend Christmas with their respective families.
Sydney was particularly excited for that years Christmas, mostly because it would be her first with Michael. Even with that happiness, the holiday bought a certain amount of nerves since she intended on bringing up a rather taboo subject, which she was not very comfortable discussing. Back in the beginning of their relationship, neither of them brought up the topic of sex, mostly because it was impossible for them; they were two states apart. However, once moving to the same town, it was more of an issue. They only discussed it once, on their second real date and, at that time, they both agreed to wait until a later time before crossing that intimate threshold. Ever since then, the subject was not spoken about at all, mostly due to their mutual dread of the topic. But, since they had been together for over nine months, Sydney felt it was appropriate to bring up again.
Sydney vividly recalled just how uncertain she was on Christmas Eve. In fact, she was so preoccupied with their impending conversation, Michael consistently asked her what was wrong through the early evening until she finally confessed to the thoughts she was having. As soon as she stammered out the topic, Michael laughed it off, sounding very relieved. Apparently, he wished to bring it up as well, but was concerned for her reaction. Once they were assured they shared the same views on the subject, they retreated to Michael’s bedroom to have one of the best Christmas Eve’s ever.
Ever since that night fifteen years earlier, Sydney and Michael had always celebrated Christmas Eve in their own special way. Of course, that celebrating became very difficult once they had Henry, who, naturally, was so excited on Christmas Eve he never wanted to go to bed, but they still celebrated in some way, shape, or form.
That year, for some reason neither Sydney nor Michael understood, Henry was obsessed with going ice skating. He had been talking about it for weeks and was desperate to go try and skate since he had never been. Michael, a self-proclaimed klutz when it came to sports, had no interest in making a fool of himself while he tried to skate, knowing that his seven-year-old would most likely get the hang of it long before he did. While Sydney skated as a child, she had not been in many years, and did not want to risk falling on her pregnant belly, which was just beginning to show by that time. To remedy this situation, Sydney’s mother volunteered to take him since she enjoyed skating very much. This was perfectly fine with Henry’s parents; they wanted the time alone anyway.
During that lazy Christmas Eve afternoon, Michael and Sydney lay in bed, tangled up in their messy bed covers. As they lay there in silence, Michael continually stroked Sydney’s lower belly, where a bump was beginning to form since she was almost through her fourth month of pregnancy. “Mm you know, we’re really getting too old for this,” Sydney pointed out rather sadly.
“For what?” Michael questioned, curious as to what she was referring to.
“Spending entire afternoons in bed,” she said with a laugh. “We’re not in our twenties anymore…”
“So?” he insisted. What did it matter how old they were? Spending a relaxing afternoon in the arms of a loved one was a good thing at any age. “I have a feeling we’re going to be doing this very often in the coming months.”
“Oh are we?” she asked with a curious eyebrow raised.
Michael nodded. “Yep, you’re gonna start to get really horny soon-”
“Michael!” Sydney cut him off with a screech.
“What?” he laughed. “It’s true! Remember when you were pregnant with Henry? Around your fifth month you, my dear, were insatiable. Not that I was complaining, of course,” he grinned wickedly.
“Michael,” she groaned that time, elbowing him lightly. “I was not insatiable I was just…,” she paused, trying to find the right term, “a bit more interested than usual.”
“Yeah, okay,” Michael snorted, indicating clearly that she thought she was understating her attitude to an extreme degree.
“Shut up Michael,” she grumbled at him.
“Sorry, it’s just funny,” he laughed. “I’m looking forward to it actually.”
“I’ll bet you are,” she rolled her eyes before sliding out from his embrace. At this, he whined and gave her a pouting face. “Our son will be home soon, do you want him to find us like this?” she said, gesturing towards their equally undressed states.
“Well, no, that could be a little awkward,” he said with a slight laugh. Luckily, they had managed to make it through seven years without Henry catching them in such a state. Not that they hadn’t had a few close calls, of course. Most notably the time Henry walked into the bathroom while Sydney and Michael were both in the shower. He was only four-years-old at the time, and it was very early in the morning. The bathroom he usually used was broken at the time, so he was forced to use the one his parents typically inhabited. Shortly after Michael jumped in on his wife in the shower, they heard the door creak open. Michael poked his head out of he shower and saw his son sleepily rubbing his eyes. At that point, Sydney and Michael froze, hardly breathing at all until, thankfully, their son left the room none the wiser.
“Hey speaking of awkward moments – you got Henry that train set thing, right?” Sydney asked, remembering the momentous holiday that would be arriving in just a few short hours.
Michael turned a shade paler. “What train set thing…?”
“The train set thing that I told you to get months ago. The one that I circled in the Toys-R-Us catalog in yellow highlighter and specifically told you to get. The one that I left you sickie note reminders about inside your wallet,” Sydney said, her tone growing increasingly more annoyed with each sentence.
“Ohhh that - yea I got it,” he smiled proudly.
Sydney grumbled and threw a pair of socks at him. “Don’t scare me like that!”
“Sorry I really forgot what you were talking about it, but no worries. Christmas is not ruined,” he said.
“Thank god,” she nodded.