Page 27

Clark

“Y ou found a muffin ornament?” Gwen beamed as Tenzin handed her a little ornament of a muffin and a coffee. “Where should I put it?”

“How about high?” Tenzin picked her up by the waist and lifted her, so she could put it close to the top of the tree. He was wearing a blinking Santa hat, and I was here for it.

I was also here for the car antlers that we’d gotten at Swoop and put on his truck.

Tens was into Christmas. Who would have thought?

Holiday music played as we decorated the giant, beautiful tree, which we’d already festooned with lights. Snowball, in her new sweater, played with the box the lights had come in.

“This one is yours.” Tenzin handed me a little hay bale, made of actual hay.

“Perfect. Thank you.” I leaned in and kissed him. “Are you going to lift me up, too?”

He blinked. “I can lift you.”

“I’m kidding.” I laughed, as I put it on the tree.

“I’m getting hungry, should I order tacos? We need more than cookies for dinner.” Gwen got out her phone.

“That sounds good. I’ll take my usual.” Tenzin hung up some little boots with a hat.

“Me, too. I can call my mom and ask for a cookie recipe,” I offered, as I got out the ornaments I’d found. Tenzin had gotten a tube of cookie dough with a snowman design in it and a can of spray frosting.

Gwen shook her head as she placed the order. “It has to be those, right?”

Tenzin nodded. “For movie watching? Yes. It’s what Zaya and I always had while watching a movie after we decorated the tree. Though we can always bake another afternoon. Zaya always makes ones that look like candy canes to give to people as gifts.”

“Oh, I like those. My mom has a good gingerbread recipe,” I added. Okay, the weird tube cookies were special. Understood.

“I usually make chocolate almond cookies, but my nonna always made these cookies with nuts in them and covered in powdered sugar. She called them snowballs,” Gwen said. “Here Tens.” She handed him an ornament shaped like a fish.

“Thank you.” He kissed her and put it on the tree.

“This one’s for you.” Gwen gave me one that was a little comic book with actual pages.

“This is so cute.” I gave her a kiss and added it.

She placed one on the tree that was shaped like a ladybug, next to one her host mom had given her. They were all beautiful blown-glass ones, and I was glad she put some aside for Tens’ tree, because it would be sad if they all broke.

“Here you go.” I handed Gwen one shaped like a whale. “We’ll have to make it sparkly.” If I’d had planned better, I could have ordered her one. I’m sure someone made Intrepid Space Explorer ornaments.

“It’s a space whale!” She threw herself into my arms. “Thank you.”

I handed Tenzin one that was a necktie. Tie me up, Tens.

“Cute, Sunshine.” His eyes told me everything his words didn’t.

I added a little tractor to the tree. “I like this tradition.”

“Me, too,” Gwen agreed. She also wore a Santa hat, though it was green and didn’t blink.

Mine was red, not blinking. Snowball’s blinked, but she didn’t like it as much as the sweater.

We finished decorating the tree, filling it in with colorful balls and other ornaments we’d gotten at Swoop.

“Help me with the ribbon?” Gwen handed Tenzin a big spool of gold ribbon, because we were afraid a tinsel garland might hurt Snowball.

“I’ll get the topper.” I went into my room and found the Captain Everything topper I’d come across online when I ordered art for Gwen for her birthday. It was a little small, I’d meant it for my little Defender League tree. But it was beautiful.

Tenzin had lifted Gwen up as they wrapped the ribbon around the tree. Oh my heart. Snowball attacked the paper and hid in boxes as music continued to play. We’d gotten her a stocking and an ornament that looked like her. I’d bring her home with me for Christmas.

“Here’s the topper. It even lights up.” I held out the blue and white shield.

“I love it. Pick me up, so I can place it?” Gwen flashed me a smile that melted my heart.

Picking her up, she placed it on top, and Tenzin plugged it into the lights.

“Oooh, look at that. Almost as pretty as you.” I kissed Gwen’s cheek as I held her for a moment.

Tenzin came up beside me and put his arms around us. “It’s beautiful. Thank you for doing this with us.”

“Of course.” I kissed him. I wanted this, always. Next year we’d have a big living room and a fireplace to hang our stockings on, instead of the bookcase.

Gwen hopped down. “Let’s hang up our stockings before the food comes.”

I loved the dancing penguin one. They were my favorite animals. I picked up the bag with them in it. “Lets.”

“We just slice them and cook them?” I was in the kitchen with Gwen and Tenzin as they opened the tube of cookie dough.

Tenzin nodded as he opened the tube. “Cookies so easy even I can bake them.”

“Okay.” I got out a cookie sheet and lined it with parchment, as Gwen got out everything for hot chocolate.

I watched as Tenzin sliced the log of dough to make round sugar cookies with snowmen inside them. He still wore the blinking hat, though I’d taken mine off when we ate our tacos.

While I’d had cookies with designs in them, my mom always dyed the dough and made them herself.

“Put them on the sheet,” he directed. “We have sprinkles.”

“Oooh, I want to put the sprinkles on.” Gwen came over as I finished putting them on the parchment paper lined sheet.

Tenzin’s arm snaked across her waist as she sprinkled blue sugar on them.

“Don’t you want to help?” She handed me some sprinkles shaped like snowflakes.

“Sure.” I put the sprinkles on them and she put them in the oven.

While they baked, she made hot chocolate, and I checked to see if the person custom-making Tenzin’s present had emailed me back with the shipping info. Oh, she did. Perfect.

I looked up from replying, to see Tenzin’s arm around Gwen as she stirred the hot cocoa. I was so lucky.

They took the cookies out of the oven. Gwen put them on a plate and Tenzin took the can of frosting, then decorated the cookies. I’d never seen spray frosting. My mom always made it.

But then I’d never had cookies from a tube, either.

Hey, it made them happy.

“Movie time?” I asked. “I’ll shut off the lights.”

I turned off all the lights, so there was only the glow of the tree and the other lights we’d hung up. Our stockings hung by the bookcase. Snowball napped on her cat tree. The place smelled of cookies and hot chocolate.

“Here we go.” Tenzin placed a plate of cookies on the table.

Gwen brought us all hot chocolate with whipped cream and candy canes.

The three of us settled into the couch, Gwen in the middle. I threw a blanket over us and handed Tenzin the remote.

“What are we watching?” I was so curious about what his favorite Christmas movie was.

“This one. I can’t wait to watch it with you.” He was positively beaming as he put something on.

I grabbed a warm cookie and took a bite. Okay, not my mom’s but not bad.

An old, animated movie popped up.

“I haven’t seen this since I was little, we always watched it at my nonna’s,” Gwen breathed as she took a sip of hot chocolate.

“Yeah, I don’t think I’ve ever seen this one.” I took a sip of my own hot chocolate. Honestly, I didn’t care–snuggle time with them? Amazing.

Tenzin leaned over and kissed me. “You had whipped cream on your lip.”

“Mmmm, I want some.” Gwen kissed him, then me.

Snowball trotted over and snuggled into my lap as the movie started.

“This was the best idea, Tens.” Gwen picked up a cookie.

While I was a little sad we weren’t playing tonight, this made up for it, because I was with them. I wouldn’t have it any other way.