Merry Christmas, Baby by KatherineArlene

Christmas Eve 1965

Jess turned off all but one of the lights in the drug store while Marty was busy in the back room, locking up.  She went to the entrance and turned around the cardboard sign so that it said, 'Closed' and then locked the door.  Marty emerged from the back room with a paper shopping bag in his hand.

"What's that?" she said, going to him.

"I decided I want to get a Christmas tree this year."

"You mean for the apartment upstairs?" she asked with confusion.

"No, for your apartment.  I got ornaments and lights for it already, see?" he said holding the bag out to her.  Inside were the last of the drug store's Christmas decorations that hadn't sold.

"But we're not even spending Christmas day there," Jess said. 

They had a tradition of having their own little celebration on Christmas Eve where they exchanged presents with each other.  On Christmas morning they went to the Blackwell house to celebrate with Doug, Donna, their little girl, Sandra, Uncle Jonathon, and Annie.  After lunch, they went to the apartment above the drug store where Marty lived with Mr. Dwyer and had Christmas dinner with him. 

"Don't you think it's a waste of money to buy a tree just for one night?"

"Come on, Jess!  It'll be cool to have our own tree with lights and decorations."  He put his arm around her waist and pulled her close with knowing smile.  "It'll be romantic," he said with a grow before kissing her. 

She couldn't help laughing.  "You've never needed a Christmas tree to be romantic before."  His smile fell, and she immediately felt bad.  "But if you really want a tree, let's go get one."

His face lit up.  "Good!" he said, taking her hand and leading her to the door.  After he'd locked up the store, the two of them strode down the sidewalk. 

The late afternoon sun was low and the winter air was crisp, but Jess didn't mind the cold.  Walking hand in hand with Marty, there was a warmth that went through her whole body.  All those years she'd been keeping her relationship with him a secret, she'd never imagined they'd be able to walk through town out in the open.

The gas station at the corner only had a few trees left for sale, and Jess and Marty examined them silently.  "They don't look that great, do they?" Marty said sourly.

"I guess when you wait to the last minute to buy a tree, all the good ones are taken," Jess said.  Some had crooked trunks which gave them an odd shape, others hadn't filled out completely.

"Hello, Marty, Jess," Hank Garvey, the station owner said, approaching them while he wiped oil off his hands with a dirty rag.  "You lookin' for a tree tonight?"

"We were," Marty said, still looking at the sad assortment of trees.

"Take anyone you want for a buck.  Tomorrow I'll be selling the rest for firewood."

Marty and Jess looked at each other.  A dollar wasn't that bad.  Marty approached one that had a section of stumpy branches from top to bottom, perhaps because it hadn't gotten enough sunlight.  He turned it around, and said, "How about this one."  The other side was thick with healthy green branches.  "We can put the bad side against the wall.  It'll take up less space that way."

Jess beamed.  "I like it!"

After they'd paid Mr. Garvey, Marty took hold of the bottom of the tree, and Jess held the trunk near the top.  By the time they'd walked the three blocks to her building, the sun had dipped below the horizon and the street lights came on.  It was a struggle getting it up the narrow staircase and through the door to her apartment, but they managed to shove it in.

After it was decorated, Jess got their presents and placed them underneath while Marty turned off the lamp.  The tree sparkled, with tinsel and glass ornaments reflecting the colored lights.  Jess stepped back, taking it in with a smile, and Marty came up behind her.

"You were right," Jess said while he wrapped his arms around her.  "This is romantic."

"It sure is pretty," he said quietly in her ear. 

Jess held his arms that were wrapped around her waist.  The soft glow from the tree had transformed her apartment, making the moment seem even more magical.  "I'm glad you thought to do this," she said.

"The last time I had a Christmas tree was before my mom got sick."  It was rare for Marty to talk about his childhood, and Jess turned around to face him.  He continued to look at the tree, his eyes darkened from the memory and she put her arms around him.

"We couldn't afford electricity so we didn't have lights, and any ornaments we had got smashed by my brothers, or... him."

Jess leaned against him, hugging him tighter.  Imagining Marty as a little boy, she knew he had to have been just as kind and caring back then as he was now.  It hurt to know how hard life at home was for that sweet little boy.

"My mom tried to make it nice for us though.  We'd make paper ornaments, and string popcorn and berries we'd find in the woods.  Those were fun times."

"It sounds like it," Jess said. 

He smiled down at her, the darkness in his eyes gone, and she returned his smile.  "This is fun too.  Our first tree."

"Our first tree," she repeated, and rose on her toes.  "And not the last," she whispered just before she kissed him.

"Wanna do presents now?" he asked, looking at her with shining eyes when she pulled away.

"I'm hungry, aren't you?  I thought we'd open them after dinner."

"I guess the tree made me forget about that," he said, and kissed her on the forehead. 

She heated up leftover chili and they ate on the couch, watching the news on her little black and white TV.  After he helped her wash and put away the dishes, they sat on the floor in front of the tree.  Jess pulled out her large package for Marty and handed it to him. 

"Hmm, I wonder what it is," he said, his eyes twinkling while he squished it. 

"Stop teasing!  You already know what it is." 

He grinned while he tore the paper off.  "Hey this is a nice one!" he said with amazement holding up an Aran sweater so he could get a better look at it.  "You did a good job."

Jess smiled with pride.  "Thanks!" 

After they'd become a couple, she'd begun knitting him sweaters, mostly because she liked how handsome he looked wearing them.  This one had different stitches, cables, and bobbles, and was the most complicated pattern she'd attempted. 

"Now it's your turn," Marty said, and pulled a long, thin package out from under the tree.

Jess took her time unwrapping it, wondering what it could be.  When she opened the box, she laughed.  "A fishing pole?"

"I reckoned we can go fishing on our days off next summer."

"Ok-ay," she said, still laughing.  She decided not to tell him it wasn't exactly high on her list of fun activities.  Maybe she'd learn to like it.

Then he handed her a much larger package.  The shape was box-like, and there was a nubby texture under the paper.  She opened this one with higher hopes, but once the paper was off, she looked at it with confusion.  It looked like a wicker picnic basket, but it had a long leather strap and the flat lid had a rectangular hole in it.

"It's called a creel," Marty said, leaning forward excitedly.  You use it to hold your fish.  You drop them through the hole, see?"

"You know I'm just going to throw them back, right?"

"Well – you can use it to hold our lunches too," Marty said with a grin.  He didn't seem the least bit concerned she wasn't excited with her presents so far.  "Open it up!" 

She lifted the lid and peered inside.  Her heart melted when she pulled out a clear plastic box with four compartments holding hooks, bobbers, and small lead weights.  It was nearly identical to the first Christmas present she'd given him years ago.

"I didn't want you to run out of hooks," he said, but the corners of his mouth were twitching.

It was starting to become clear to her why he'd decided on fishing themed gifts.  "I love it," she said, and he smiled with delight.

"There's one more in there," he said, and she looked inside again. 

In the bottom of the basket was a small rectangular wooden box, and when she opened it, her heart melted even more.  Nestled on a bed of cotton was a painted wooden fish with hooks attached to it.  She knew Marty had carved it, but the realistic paint job was a surprise.  Marty had shaded and speckled the body so well it resembled a real fish.

"Every serious fisherman needs a lure," Marty said as she continued to gaze at it. 

"I don't think anyone would consider me a serious fisherman – but it's beautiful.  Thank you."  She lifted it out of the box and gasped.  Underneath it on the cotton was a gold ring set with a small diamond.  She took the ring out, blinking once, twice, three times, but her eyes were not playing tricks on her.  "Marty?" she said, looking up at him.

He had a serious expression on his face.  "I didn't want to ask you to marry me until you and Doug had settled things between you.  I wanted to wait until you'd given him the property and the company.  I didn't want anyone to think I was marrying you because of all that."

"No one would ever think that about you, Marty."

"Some might," he said grimly.

She was about to argue with him, but he took her hand.  "I've been in love with you since I was fifteen years old."

She had to blink hard because tears had suddenly come to her eyes.  "You never told me that."

"It was a Christmas day, your first Christmas without your folks, and you were feeling pretty low.  I sat with you in front of the fire and held your hand.  I wanted to make you feel better."

"I remember that day," Jess said, wiping her eyes.

"You fell asleep, and I watched you for a real long time.  You were beautiful, with those freckles across your nose." 

Jess laughed and wiped her eyes again. 

"I couldn't believe a girl as pretty and as nice as you would care about me like you did.  And I realized that night, that I cared about you – a lot.  When I was with you, you made me feel like I was a different person, a better person.  I knew, even back then, you were the best thing that ever was going to happen to me." 

Jess had to wipe more tears from her eyes. 

He took the ring from her and looked at it, his golden brown hair falling over his eyes, and her heart clenched.  He wore his hair longer now and had given up using hair cream like many boys and men were doing.  Jess loved the longer look on him, especially because it reminded her of the teen boy she'd met in the woods all those summers ago.

"I thought when we grew up, you'd move away and I'd never see you again," he said with his head still down.  "I never once hoped I'd get to spend the rest of my life with you, and the fact that it's happening – that you're here, and I have this ring..."  He lifted his head and Jess saw tears were in his eyes too.  "I'd be the luckiest fellow in the world if you'd marry me."

"Yes!"  Jess threw her arms around his neck, and he hugged her tight.  "This is the best Christmas ever!"

When they let go, Marty placed the ring on Jess's left hand, and she held it out to admire the sparkle as it caught the lights from the Christmas tree.

"I wish I could have afforded a bigger diamond," he said.

"Are you kidding?  It's beautiful!"  She put her arms around his neck again.  "It's perfect, just like you," she said, and kissed him.

Later that evening, they were nestled together on the couch.  The Christmas lights bathed the room in a soft multicolored glow while Jess's phonograph had Nat King Cole's Christmas album playing.  While Marty ran his fingers through her hair, she kept admiring her engagement ring. 

It was the most romantic, the most wonderful Christmas present ever.  Marty wasn't just her steady boyfriend, now he was her fiancé, and next summer, he'd be her husband.  Mrs. Jess Cappellini, she thought with a sigh, and snuggled against him more while he tightened his arms around her. 

When the record finished, Jess reluctantly pulled away.  "It's getting late.  You should probably go," she said, even though she didn't want to.  She wished more than anything that night would never end and she and Marty could hold each other on the couch forever.

He must have been feeling the same way because he reached out and pulled her back so she was leaning against him again.  "I don't want to go."

"You know you have to," she said, but she didn't move.

"I want to stay all night."

"My landlady will be scandalized."

Marty chuckled.  "Tell her we're getting married.  You have the ring to prove it."

"Somehow I don't think that will change her mind."

"I wish we were married already.  In fact, I don't want to wait till this summer.  I want to get married now – before we go back to school."

She straightened so she could look at him.  "Don't you think it's a bit – soon?"

"I can't think of any reason why we shouldn't do it now.  It'll be easy.  We can go to the Justice of the Peace when the office opens – unless – you don't want to do it now," he said hesitantly, his expression becoming more unsure.  "I don't want to rush you."

"You're not rushing me, I just thought – we always talked about getting married this summer.  If we got married now, there's things we have to consider, like where we'll live when we go back to State."

"You could move out of your dorm and into my apartment."

Jess barked out a laugh.  "With your roommates?  Two boys and newlywed couple in a cramped two bedroom apartment won't be very much fun for any of us."

"Oh," Marty said, slumping.  "I didn't think about that."

"And then there's the family – our families.  I don't need a big wedding, but I want my family to be there, and Mr. Dwyer too.  He's been like a father to you."

Marty considered her for a long moment.  "Your family and Mr. Dwyer in the same room?  That'll be interesting," he said humorlessly.

"I know," Jess said, feeling even sadder.  Even though Doug had established a relationship with his grandfather, taking little Sandra to visit with him occasionally, he hadn't pushed to include him in Blackwell family events.  "Maybe we should wait.  There's so many things we need to deal with."

"Hey," Marty said, wrapping his arms around her.  "Don't worry about this now.  We'll figure it all out, and maybe we can still manage it sooner than this summer."

"Okay," Jess said, closing her eyes.  Marty was right.  After everything they'd been through already, the tiny obstacles they faced on the path to getting married were nothing in comparison.

After another half hour, Marty stirred, waking Jess up.  "I don't want to get you in trouble with your landlady," he said, and Jess let go of him so he could stand.  He held his hand out to help her up.  "Just think.  In a few months, we won't have to do this."

"That sure will be nice," she said with a smile.

"I reckon it will," he said, giving her a hug.

She watched while he put on his pea coat and wool cap, and then he pulled her close for one last good-night kiss. 

"Merry Christmas, fiancé," he said with a grin when he released her, and she laughed. 

"Merry Christmas, future husband."

He gave her one last peck on the lips.  "I'll be here first thing in the morning."

"Okay."

He let himself out, pulling the door closed quietly behind him, and she went to the window overlooking the sidewalk and waited.  A light snow was falling, and when Marty appeared, Jess saw snowflakes on his shoulders and dark cap.  He looked up and waved, and she waved back, her heart swelling with love for him.  Then he put his hands in his pockets and headed in the direction of the drug store.

That was her wonderful, sweet Marty, she thought with a smile, watching him walk away.  The boy she'd been lucky to find had grown into a fine young man, and she was going to get to marry him and have him for the rest of her life.  When he finally disappeared from view, she moved away from the window, still smiling.

****

Marty and Jess are engaged!  Are you excited?  Thank you so much for reading my excerpt for the Wattpad Block Party – Winter Edition II!  I really hope you enjoyed it! 

If you're disappointed I didn't include the marriage ceremony, don't fear.  I will be writing Marty and Jess's wedding, but not until after I've completed The Man Inside the Iron Fence.  What kind of wedding should Marty and Jess have?  Do you see them getting married in a Justice of the Peace's office, or having a bigger wedding?  What do you think will happen when Mr. Dwyer and Uncle Jonathon are finally forced to face each other?  Or will one of them refuse to attend?  Let me know in the comments below!

Be sure to enter my raffle where I will be giving away an ebook!  Many thanks to Kelly Anne Blount for all the work she puts into this extraordinary Wattpad event.

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Don't forget to enter the #WattpadBlockParty - Winter Edition II giveaways!

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