/ Holiday Treats #2

All I want for Christmas, is June

by

It's Christmas time and when your family bugs you hard enough to visit home for the holidays, you reluctantly agree. Food crimes, sibling rivalry, and dad jokes aside, it couldn't be all bad. But what happens when a mysterious gift gives you a bigger surprise than you were expecting? Better mark you calendar.

— RavenKane

 

Lots of people dream of a white Christmas. But usually, those people didn't have to wake up at four in the morning to shovel eighty pounds of frozen bullshit out of their driveway just to get to work on time. Or they're racist. Either way, I’d rather be back home, making hot cocoa, and playing card games with my friends online. But when you get enough calls and emails from your parents to visit for the holidays, you wind up in a sleepy mountain town, covered in sleepy mountain snow, filled with sleepy mountain people, in a sleepy mountain cab on Christmas eve. It’s not that I didn’t like my parents. They were fine. As fine as parents could be I guess. My sister was okay, but we always had a weird time getting along. I always tried to join in on whatever she was doing, but her being the big sister, usually just brushed me off as the annoying little brother who would mess things up. There were lots of reasons I left my hometown, partly because fitting in with my family was always kind of hard. Though, fitting in anywhere was always kind of hard. 

The cab pulled up outside my parents house. I had tried to get a hotel, but Mom insisted my sister and I stay with them, because they wanted it to be like old times. Not to mention how expensive hotels were during the holidays. I paid the driver, stepped out of the cab and grabbed my bag from the trunk. I walked up to the steps leading to the house and took a deep breath, trying to mentally prepare myself for the weekend. I wondered how much everyone had changed over the few years I'd been away. 

My question was immediately answered as I felt the impact of snow in ball form strike my shoulder, showering me with bits of ice and laughter from my older sister who had popped up from behind a bush.

“Hey little brother!”

“Hi May. I see you’re taking full advantage of the weather as usual.” 

She shot me a smirk and she pulled up another snowball, arm cocked back and ready to fire. She was the pitcher for her softball team in highschool and never let the opportunity to practice her aim on me go to waste.

“Really? I haven’t even gone inside. Besides, aren’t we too old for this?”

She lowered her arm. “Yeah, I guess you're right. Snowmageddon was fun when we were kids. But now we’re adults.” She smiled, “And my throwing arm is even better.” 

She reared back and hurled an icy curveball directly at my chest. Luckily my reflexes and dodging skills hadn’t diminished over the years, as I narrowly sidestepped the snow filled sphere. 

“You know the rules. You have to land a hit on me before you can go inside.” She called out and plucked another snowball from behind the bush. 

With a groan I dropped my bag and dove for cover behind the porch. Contorting my body mid air as she hurled another powdery projectile my way. The sound of impact after impact rang out as she continued to batter my position with a barrage of snow. 

“How many of those did you make?” I yelled out after losing count of how many she had thrown. 

“I’ve been waiting out here for half an hour. So--a lot.” She laughed and continued to pepper the area near me.

I had to think. There was no way I was getting out of her reindeer games unscathed going at her head on. I peeked my head over the railing ever so slightly. I ducked just in time to avoid being smacked in the face by a fastball. It didn't matter though, I saw my opportunity and knew what I had to do. I quickly gathered up some snow and packed it as tightly as I could into a ball. I needed it to go the distance and hit hard. I was never the athletic type but I could pull the occasional hail mary out of my pocket when I needed to. I had gotten good at thinking on my feet. 

“C’mon baby bro. I can do this all day! You might as well face me like a man.” I’d rather not if I was being honest.

It was the moment of truth. I readied myself and leaped out of my hiding spot. I ran a few steps then jumped, turning to my side midair and lobbed my hunk of ice as hard as I could. May saw her opportunity and threw another snowball at me before ducking to avoid mine. It hit me right in the chest. I had the wind knocked out of me but I knew my plan was a success. My ball hit the tree next to her and shook the branch just enough to drop a nice mound of built up snow directly on top of her head. 

She let out a yelp as I stood up, raising my arms victoriously. 

“Oh god it’s everywhere! That was a lucky shot.” She stepped out from behind the bush trying to shake all the snow out of her hair and jacket.

“Doesn’t matter, I got you!” I stuck my tongue out.

“What are you two doing?” The front door opened and Mom walked out onto the porch.

“She started it!” I pointed at May who was still shaking out bits of ice. 

“Well I’m finishing it. Both of you get inside before you catch a cold.” The weekend really was going to be like old times I guess.

I picked up my bag, and both May and myself walked up the steps and into the house with our heads hanging low like we were twelve again. I had barely taken off my jacket when Mom stood there glaring at me.

“Aren't you forgetting something?” 

“Hi Mom.” I reached in for a hug. 

Mom hugs were always something that gave me a mixture of emotions. Soft, warm, smelled like home. But it came with an air of caution. The feeling of being safe and loved, while also feeling like I had to hide. One misstep and I’d start an argument, or be judged in some way. I never really fit in all that much anywhere. But her hugs always made it feel like home, as bittersweet as home was. It was hard to describe really. 

“Now April, don’t smother the boy, he just got in.” Dad walked into the room wearing a black apron covered in flour that read “License To Grill”. 

I broke away from the hug just in time to get the classic dad hair ruffle. “Your hair sure is getting long. Do they not have a decent barber in the big city?” 

“Hi Dad, nice to see you too.” And so it begins.

A bell rang from the kitchen. “Oh cookies are done!” Dad ran out of the room as May rolled her eyes. 

He made cookies every year. When I was a kid, he’d get mine and May’s help making a special batch just for Santa. We’d add all sorts of stuff like peppermint, chocolate, sprinkles and just about anything we could find. Every morning we’d run down and see if they had been eaten. That is, until May ruined everything by telling me Santa wasn’t real and Dad was just taking bites out of them. To be fair I was getting older and should have realized magic wasn’t real long before then. But I held out hope as long as I could. Every year I made a wish, just one thing. No toys, no clothes, just a simple change. But that was never going to happen, no amount of wishing would ever make it real. I was too young to know how the real world worked. We don’t always have a wonderful life. 

“Go on and get settled sweetie. I’m sure the flight was tiring. Dinner should be ready soon.” Mom went to help Dad in the kitchen.

“That was a decent shot you made out there, I guess you picked up a thing or two while you were away huh nerd?” May playfully punched me in the shoulder and ran upstairs to change out of her snow filled clothes.

I let out a deep sigh. It was going to be a long weekend. I grabbed my bag and made my way upstairs to my old room. Not much had changed about it. It still felt alien to me; like it was someone else's. The weird reminders of what I felt like I had to display as my interests. Posters for bands I didn’t really like, the one participation trophy from little league, my Bionicle collection. Though Bionicles were actually super cool, the lore went pretty deep and I genuinely enjoyed them. 

I set my bag down and flopped on my bed. Sometimes I wished I could just live in one of the cheesy holiday movies. Be some fancy big shot lawyer or something and come back to my hometown and meet some guy I haven't seen since we were young, and get taught the true meaning of Christmas. I meant girl, meet some girl, I definitely liked girls. Yeah sure, there was only one girl I had ever had a real crush on, but that was because she was really cool. My chest dropped, that's what I got for thinking too much I suppose. I tended to trip over my own inner monologue. Wandering thoughts aside, It was still kind of nice to be home. It was a familiar sensation. I knew how to navigate everything and everyone. 

The aroma of dinner wafted throughout the house. My stomach howled at me like a cat who thought their bowl was empty as soon as they could see the bottom. I smelled ham and cookies, along with the rest of the traditional holiday courses. Usually mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and either mac n cheese or some weird broccoli cheese concoction Dad had seen on a cooking show. But good or bad, I was admittedly starving. Between the flight, drive over, and an impromptu snowball fight with May, I had certainly worked up an appetite. 

I made my way downstairs and into the kitchen to help set the table. Sure enough, I had been spot on with my assumption of dinner. Though, the mystery cheese dish this time was an “aged cheddar jalapeno tuna fraiché, with artisanal French bread crudité.” It looked as unappetizing as it sounded.

“Um Dad? I don’t think any of those words mean what you think they do.” I said, grimacing at the bowl of food crimes I was setting on the table.

“Nonsense! The chef on TV said this recipe was “one hundred percent cash money”. Tell him April.” He looked at Mom.

She simply walked out of the dining room and back into the kitchen pretending she didn’t hear him. May and I shot each other a glance. One we had shared many times before as kids whenever we were on the same page about Dad's weird cooking ventures.

We got everything ready and sat down for the first full family dinner in a few years. When I was at college I always came up with excuses not to come back for the holidays. But I no longer had stressful exams to get out of it. 

Dinner, for the most part, went okay. We had our usual chit chat about what everyone was up to. Mom was complaining about her new boss at the office, May was going on about how she had been flirting with her friend from her old softball team for three months and the girl was not picking up on the hints, and Dad just made sure everyone tried at least one bite of the toe curling tuna surprise. I can say with absolute certainty, it did not taste like “one hundred percent cash money”, or anything that should ever cross the thresholds of the human body. 

 “Oh! I was thinking, it’s been a while since we were all together. Could we maybe open a present tonight? Like we did when we were kids? Not gonna lie, I’ve been eyeing the one that looks suspiciously like a new tire for my bike.” May smirked at our parents. 

“And how do you know it’s a tire for a bike?” Dad crossed his arms smugly.

“Oh c’mon, even the spokes are wrapped. At least try to hide the shape if you’re gonna play the subversion card.” she started laughing. 

“I don’t think there’s any harm in opening one gift tonight. Oh, which reminds me.” Mom looked at me. “Your friend Ash dropped off a gift for you dear.”

Oh gosh, I hadn't talked to Ash in years. We were best friends for the longest time. We used to play a game where one of us would pretend to slay a dragon and rescue the princess. I may have been the princess on more than a few occasions, and she may have been the knight. We tried swapping it up to our expected roles, but it never felt the same. Though, we never told anyone that. Until we stopped. Then, over time we kind of drifted apart, no more hanging out at school, no more sleepovers, and no more anything once I moved away. I always felt bad for not keeping in touch. I kind of missed having such a good friend. The kind you could tell anything to. Though, after all this time, I wondered what the present could possibly be. 

After dinner and skillfully dodging questions about my lovelife, we decided to sit and watch the latest Christmas movie. After all the holiday horror movies that had been coming out, it was nice to see some truly awful yuletide writing. Santa and Krampus had to team up to save Christmas from the Easter Bunny, because she was tired of being the lesser holiday. As painful as the movie was, nothing would ever top the ridiculousness of Santa putting on sunglasses and saying, “Don’t go Krampus my style.” to a horribly CGI’d Christmas themed Satyr. We had to wake dad up a few times because he kept falling asleep and snoring. Nothing really drives home the emotional final scene where the two opposite leads admit how much they’ve grown to like each other, like an unconscious fifty something year old trying his best to imitate a rock being tossed into a meat grinder. 

After the movie I was ready to just pass out and scrub my brain of the steaming pile of film we had just watched. But May was adamant on opening a present.

“C’mon dude, grab one already.” She hastily picked up the blatantly obvious bike tire and began unwrapping.

I stared at the assortment of boxes under the tree. Some big, some small, all with our names. Except for one box. It was small, wrapped in pink paper and didn't have any of our names on it. It just read, “From Ash”. I decided to just say fuck it and gave in my earlier curiosity and began to peel open the ironically pink paper. Ash always liked to tease me, but in a good way most of the time. I opened the small box and inside was just a normal looking Christmas ornament. Of all the things to give someone after years of not speaking, I would have thought whatever it was would have some kind of weird significance. But no, it was just a plain silver ball. 

“How the fuck?” May sat on the floor in disbelief. Torn wrapping paper and cardboard next to her as she gripped a pair of socks. “How did you even do this? It was the exact shape of a tire.” 

Dad just sat on the couch, his smugness beaming through the room. “What can I say? I was tired of you guessing your gifts every year.”

Mom and May just glared at his unyielding pride from his horrid jokes.

Turning my attention back to the ornament. I lifted it up and noticed a small note underneath. I carefully unfolded it. 

 

“Heya, I know it’s been a while since we talked. I hope everything is going okay for you. Sorry for the randomness of this gift but I think you would really like it. It’s a special ornament that when you stare into it and make a wish, it comes true. I know we made lots of wishes as kids and they never really panned out. But trust me on this one okay? Maybe I can stop by and say hi while you’re in town. Merry Christmas Princess.

-Ash”

 

Of course, I would never live the princess thing down. What was the letter even talking about? Wishes when we were kids? I once wished I had a laser dinosaur, does that mean this thing would give me one? Another classic Ash prank. 

 “Whatcha got there hon?” Mom tore me away from my hyperfocus as I panic shoved the letter into my pocket. 

“Oh, it’s just some ornament. It’s from Ash, it’s supposed to be some kind wish granting thing or whatever. Just a joke.” I turned around and gave my best fake smile. 

“Aww well, it still looks nice. Go ahead and hang it on the tree. Maybe Santa will grant your wish this year.” She smiled in the way Mom’s smile when they think they’re being clever.

May rolled her eyes. “Yeah, and maybe he could undo the psychic damage I took from unwrapping a pun from Dad.” 

“I’m hilarious and you know it.” Dad made a goofy face. “Anyhoo, it’s getting late you two. There’ll be plenty of time to appreciate my genius tomorrow when you open up your other gifts. Get to bed.” 

“Oh God, there’s more?” May exclaimed as she and my parents got up and made their way to their respective rooms. 

I stood in front of the tree, staring into the plastic silver sphere. What would I wish for? Not that anything could actually happen. But still. I gazed into my reflection on the ball, my face distorted. My hair kind of looked long from the way it was shaped. I remembered back to when I was a kid, making wishes that would never happen. The excitement and want, the yearn, and inevitable disappointment. I wished I knew what it would be like for things to be different, even now. If my life would be better, if I was different. If I could be--me. If I could be a gi…

“Hey sweetie. Are you okay?” Mom stood in the doorway to the living room. Snapping me out of my trance.

“Oh, yeah. I’m fine.” 

“Oh honey. What’s wrong?” She walked over to me, looking worried.

I didn’t know what she was talking about. Until I realized I was crying. She wrapped me up in a hug. I wasn’t sure what to do, or what was even happening.

“You miss your friend don’t you?” Her voice was soft and comforting. For all the times she could make me feel like I was a mess, she could also make me feel at home.

“Yeah. I do.” I strained my words as I leaned into the hug. 

We stood there for several moments until I was able to pull myself back together. 

She looked me in the eyes and put her hand on my cheek. “Get some rest sweetie, things will be better tomorrow. I promise.” 

I sniffled and nodded. I took another glance at the ornament and hung it on the tree before heading to bed.

The night was restless. I felt as though I was in an odd state of limbo. My body felt warm, intensely so. But my mind was too occupied dreaming of being a kid, trapped in a tower as my knight in shining armor fought off the ferocious beast guarding the fortress. Or, in reality, Ash wrestling a toy from the dog's mouth and throwing it across the lawn before joining me in the tree. I was lost to my memories and to the heat pulsating throughout my body. It was like being wrapped in a cocoon, everything molding and blending together. Swirling in a heated pool of my mind and consciousness until I slowly regained shape as the heat subsided, and I was allowed to peacefully dream of my heroic rescue once more. 

Morning came like a trip to the dentist. You put it off as long as you can until you’re either forced to go, or can’t deal with the pain any longer. The pain in my abdomen however, made the choice for me as I groaned and rolled out of bed. It was odd, my groan sounded slightly different than normal. But there was no time to think, only time to pee. I stumbled my way as quickly as I could to the bathroom and shut the door. I brushed the hair out of my face and…wait, hair out of my face?

I stopped to look in the mirror and had to stifle a yelp. Someone was looking back at me. Someone that looked a lot like me, with long hair, wearing my old college sweater, covering her mouth with her hands. My hands? My heart was practically leaping out of my chest. Which was quite larger than it was before, primarily due to round objects that had not been there the previous night. I lowered my hands and stared at myself in the mirror. My face was softer, my freckles more pronounced, my hair was past my shoulders and I…I was a girl. It had to be a dream right? I had plenty of those types of dreams growing up. I pinched my side, nope, not a dream. Fuck that’s right, I had to pee. 

You are reading story Santa’s Secret Transfic Anthology Vol. 2 at novel35.com

After a very awkward process of realizing I needed to sit to use the bathroom, I did my business and sat there. I stared at my body, trying to figure out all the changes. How would something like this even happen? Was that why I had such a weird night? Did--did my wish come true? My thoughts and exploration were brought to an abrupt halt as May flung open the door to the bathroom. I scrambled and stood up, luckily I had already covered myself up or else it would have been even more awkward.

“...who are you?” May stood in the doorway, half asleep still rubbing her eyes 

“Um, I can explain.” Oh wow, my voice. It was amazing. Was that voice really coming from me?

She continued to sleepily stare at me, waiting for the explanation I totally bluffed about being able to give. 

I stood up. “Okay so like, I went to bed last night and had a bunch of weird dreams and kind of woke up like this. Um, it’s me. Hi sis.” It was the best I could do in my panic. 

“What?”

I could tell she wasn’t understanding me. “So you know the present I opened last night from Ash? Well there was a note saying it would maybe grant a wish and I might have had some random thought about wishing to be different? I wasn’t expecting it to actually work. It’s not like I ever dreamed of this kind of thing happening, and spent countless nights wishing I’d wake up like this or anything. But, here I am.” 

She rubbed her eyes a bit more and glared at me, studying my face and looking at my sweater. Her eyes widened as the confusion set in even further. “It’s too early for this shit, I’m going back to bed.” She began to turn around.  

“May, wait! I don’t know what to do. How am I going to explain this to Mom and Dad?” How would I explain it to myself was the bigger question.

May turned back around and let out a deep sigh. “So I’m just supposed to go along with the fact that you made some kind of Christmas wish last night and I now have what I’m assuming is a little sister?” 

She--called me her s-sister? Why did that make me feel the way it did? Why did it sound right? Why did it feel so right? “Um, yeah?” 

“Okay fine, what do you need me to do?” She crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe. 

I wasn’t sure, I didn't think I’d get this far. “Uh, maybe start with some clothes? I’m not sure anything I have will fit me properly. Also this sweater kind of itches.” 

She rolled her eyes, “Sure. Go wait in my room, I’ll be there in a second. I still need to pee first.” 

I quickly tiptoed my way into her room and sat on the bed. I scratched at my chest learning that certain areas were much more sensitive than they used to be. Everything was still so surreal. Had Ash really stumbled across a magical ornament and known this would happen? Is that why the letter referred to me as princess? I had so many questions, but all of them were overshadowed by catching another glimpse of myself in May’s mirror. I couldn’t help but giggle. I had never been so happy to look in a mirror. My face, my hair, my hands, my everything was so much better than before. Was this what it was like to actually feel comfortable in your own body? 

My euphoria was interrupted by May as she stepped in the room and stared at me for a moment, before rummaging through her closet and suitcase. She was mumbling to herself quietly. I couldn't quite make out what she was saying but I heard something about, “signs” and “of course” as she tossed a few pieces of clothing on her bed. 

“Here, try these on. There might be a slight size difference but this stuff will at least be more comfortable.” She gestured to a t-shirt, sweater, and pair of leggings on the bed, then turned around so I could get changed.

I started to get changed but something was bugging me. “Can I ask a question?”

May kept her eyes focused on the wall, her arms crossed like she always did when she was annoyed. “Yeah, go for it.”

“Why are you not freaked out by all of this? I would have thought you’d be a bit more shocked by me looking…like this.”

May let out another sigh, “I think the bigger question is why aren’t you?” She paused for a moment as the question sunk into my mind. “I mean, it’s pretty obvious you’re transgender. Though, the sudden change overnight is definitely something that surprised me. But your first instinct was how you were going to explain it to Mom and Dad. Not once have you asked about how to turn back.”

“I…” Did she say transgender? I had wished for this every year when I was a kid. I never had the words for how to describe it. I just always felt like being a girl would have been more fun. Being a girl would have felt right. It did feel right. “I guess always wanting to be a girl does mean I’m transgender huh?” I had never put too much thought into it. Then again I tried not thinking about it as hard as I possibly could my entire life. “Are you mad at me?”

“What?! Of course I’m not mad at you!” She dropped her arms to her sides and looked down. “I’m mad at myself for not noticing it sooner. All the times you wanted to join in on whatever I was doing, the silly games you played with Ash. Not to mention the time I caught you trying on my makeup. I was so caught up in my own shit with being gay, I never stopped to consider what you might have been going through.”

I sat back on the bed. “I’m dressed now. You can turn around.”

May turned to me and looked me in the eyes. “I wasn’t the best big sister to you. In fact I was a bit of a bitch at times. But, meeting others in the LGBTQ community, learning and trying to be better. I wanna be the big sister I wasn’t when we were kids. Though I reserve the right to call you a nerd and mess with you. It just comes with the territory.”

I practically ran to her and gave her the biggest hug I had ever given anyone. We had never seen eye to eye on things. But knowing that she would accept me for who I was, who I am, made all the difference in the world. 

After a few moments, and the first real sibling bonding we had ever had. May asked me something I wasn’t expecting. “So, what should I call you now? Your old name doesn't really fit you anymore.”

That was the question of the decade wasn’t it. Truth is, I had thought a lot about it back when I was a kid. I had only ever told Ash. But I just learned to ignore it over time and tried my best to fit in. Not that I ever succeeded in fitting in. 

“I want to be called June.”

She stared at me. The kind of stare that said, “I’m not angry, just baffled by your life choices.” 

“Of fucking course you’d pick June. You nerd.”

We both just laughed, letting the tension break and finding an odd air of comfortability with each other for the first time in forever. 

“You know, it’s funny how we both ended up LGBT. But I’m curious, do you fall on the L as well? I just need to know how to properly tease you going forward. Cause if you think I’m gonna stop messing with you then you’re as dense as the rest of the lesbians I know.” May smirked and playfully nudged my arm.

 I thought about it for a moment. “Um, actually. I think I might be part of the B, or even just the T. Thinking about myself with someone else always felt wrong. But I think it’s because thinking about myself in general always felt wrong.”

She sat down on the bed next to me and put her arm around my shoulder. “It’s okay sis. Sometimes it takes a while to figure things out. You don’t have to know right now. I’ll just keep teasing you about other things until you do.”

We sat in May’s room for a bit longer talking about how we’d break the news to Mom and Dad and decided that ripping the bandaid off was the best solution. I hugged her and we walked downstairs and into the kitchen where Dad was making coffee and Mom was reading the news on her tablet. 

“Mom, Dad? Don’t freak out, but there's someone I’d like you to meet.” May stepped aside revealing me. 

I just kind of stood there awkwardly and gave a small wave. “Hi.” Gosh my voice was fantastic. Even though I was shy and scared to death I still sounded cute.

Dad looked at me, then at May, then back to me. “May, I thought we were past the point of you sneaking girls into the house.”

“Oh God, no! I'm not interested in recreating a Folgers holiday commercial, thanks.” May shook her head in disgust.

“What are you talking about?” Dad turned to face the both of us, his mug that read “Highly Punderrated” in hand.

I stepped forward. My heart was beating in such a way I wasn’t sure if it needed to be restarted or slowed down.

“Mom, Dad. I’m your daughter, June.” I said in my best attempt at a confident voice.

There was a painstakingly long pause. 

“I am completely lost here. What’s going on?” Dad set his mug down and glared at both May and I.

“Well, um, you see.” I really hoped I would be able to form a coherent explanation. “Last night when I opened the gift, I kind of made a wish to be who I always wanted to be. Turns out, I wanted to be a girl. Or well, I guess I always have been, I just didn’t really know how to explain it. I spent a lot of time alone and closing myself from you all because I didn’t know how to be me, much less who I was supposed to be. I’m transgender and I really hope you’ll accept me like this. My name is June and I want to be part of the family again, as myself.” 

I looked up at my Dad, and over to my Mom who had been eerily quiet so far. I was waiting for someone to say something. May walked back over to me and grabbed my hand. It was nice knowing that no matter what happened, I had her on my side. 

Dad stared into his coffee for a moment. Time seemed to stand still. Waiting for judgement was the worst. I had never put myself so far out in the open before. I just wanted to be me. I just wanted to be part of the family. To finally be a person instead of a soulless husk just getting through the day.

Dad finally looked up at us. “Well, I guess instead of Christmas cards we’ll have to send out Spring letters considering we got the whole dang season now.” He had a smile on his face.

Of course he would make a joke out of it. 

He walked over and gave me a hug. “I can’t say I understand how all of this happened, or what all we even need to do from here. But I love you June. And there’s nothing I’d love more than to have you as part of this family again. You’ll always be welcome here, no matter what.”

I was going to cry. Okay, it was too late. I was already crying. I never expected to feel so many things at once. My emotions were like a mixture of Coke and Mentos, overflowing and hard to put a lid back on. 

Once my tears let up and we released from our first hug in years, all eyes fell on Mom. She hadn't said anything or even moved from the table since we walked in. 

“Mom?” My voice cracked.

She stood up, said nothing, then walked past the three of us into another room. 

“April…” Dad said in a bit of a shock.

I knew our relationship was complicated. But I thought she would have at least said something. Anything. It meant the absolute world to me that Dad and May were supportive and loved me. But I was hoping to maybe have some kind of relationship with Mom. I didn’t know what to think. I didn’t know what to do. Until I felt a hand on my shoulder. 

I turned around, and looked up at my Mom who was holding a present. She smiled and handed it to me. The name on the box was written in freshly applied marker and said “To: June”.

“I know we drifted apart for a long time. I think I always knew you were different but I didn’t know how or in what way. I wanted to reach out, to try and bridge that gap between us but I always messed it up. These past few years, not having you around. It really sank in. I hate the fact that you felt so othered and disconnected that you felt the need to make excuses to not be around us. I wasn’t always there for you in the way you needed. But I want to be now. I’ll do my best to be the mom you deserve. When your friend Ash stopped by, I learned a few things. We talked for some time and I got to hear about a whole different side of you. I want to know that side. I want to know you, my daughter.” Mom was crying. I was fighting back more tears. 

She gestured for me to open the present and I obliged. I tore open the box, fighting through the water in my eyes, and pulled out a pastel lavender sweater. It was so soft, softer than the one May had lent me. I looked up at Mom, and practically attacked her with a hug. 

Mom hugs were always something that gave me a mixture of emotions. But damn if I didn’t give that hug my all. I wanted her to know that I was there too, wanting to get to know her, and give my everything to figuring it all out. 

 

After some more hugs and long talks we had a pretty fun Christmas. We ate breakfast, opened presents, ate cookies, and had a good day as a family. It was nice, feeling like I belonged, being able to fit in. I was still going to have to learn a lot of things, but I was off to a pretty good start. We were sitting in the living room, debating on what movie to watch when the doorbell rang. 

“June can you get that?” Mom called out from the kitchen where she was making hot chocolate for everyone. 

I got up and answered the door. I wasn’t sure who I was expecting to be there, but I certainly wasn't expecting a dark haired boy a few inches taller than me, with eyes that could kill, and an award winning smile. I mean…a boy that looked kind of familiar. 

“Hi.” I said while trying to hide the redness in my cheeks.

“Hey.” He looked down, like he was nervous. But why would he be nervous? “I see you got my gift.”

His gift? Oh…Oooohhhhh. “Ash?” 

He nodded, “Hiya Princess.” and shot me a smirk.

My chest felt weightless for a moment. “I…” Damn him. “It’s June for your information.” I crossed my arms, trying to calm myself down and play it cool. 

“Sorry, I couldn’t help it. Old habits and all.” 

I rolled my eyes, “I guess I’ll let it slide since you’re cute.” Oh fuck, did I just say that out loud? “I mean--you look good Ash.” I realized then that I should have just wished for invisibility so I could disappear whenever I was awkward.

He chuckled, “Yeah, that little ball of magic sure does wonders huh?” He looked down at me. “It’s nice to see you June. You look good too.”

We both kind of just stood there for a moment, his cheeks were red, It must have been colder out than I thought. 

“Why don’t you come inside and join us? We’re about to watch a movie and Mom’s making hot chocolate.” Please say yes. 

“I’d love to. I’ve always wanted to spend Christmas with a pretty girl.” He smirked at me again.

Damn it, I was not prepared for this level of flattery. But as he stepped inside and we went to join my family for “Santa vs Krampus 2: No Elfing Way”, I couldn’t help but smile. I felt warm and happy in my lavender sweater surrounded by people who loved me. All I wanted for Christmas, was to be June.

 

Hi, thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed it. Please feel free to check out my , and for more stories. Thank you!

— RavenKane

 

/ Holiday Treats #2

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