Christmas at the Underwood: A Bonus Story

“You’re telling me an eight-year-old had time to clean tar off the steps, sweep up all the broken ornaments, put away all the ropes and paint cans and whatnot, and leave zero evidence?” I sat cross-legged on the floor in my red pajamas, fiddling with the torn piece of wrapping paper in my lap. “I’m calling bullshit on that.”

“Yes! The same clever eight-year-old who set all those traps would absolutely be able to pull off cleaning it all up in one night,” Lucy said with a huff, but the corners of her mouth lifted in a subtle grin. “What are you even saying? This is Kevin McCallister we’re talking about here. He was my idol as a kid.”

“I thought Eloise at the Plaza was your idol,” I pointed out with a laugh.

Her smile grew as she shook her head up at the tree beside us, zeroing in on the reindeer ornament she and James made together during his last visit. “I owe a lot to both Kevin and Eloise, to be honest.”

I chuckled, wadding up the shiny wrapping paper and putting it in the nearby trashbag with the rest. The little living room of the old groundskeeper’s quarters was cluttered with remnants from that morning’s chaos. Over on the TV, Home Alone played quietly as Marv took an iron to the face.

Between Lucy and me on the maroon rug lay James, who had finally crashed and fallen asleep in the midst of all of his brand new unwrapped toys. It looked like a scene from A Christmas Story–all that was missing was a Red Rider BB gun in the corner. 

But just like Ralphie, James had one more present to unwrap. 

All month long, during every visit, James inspected the fake wrapped presents under the enormous Christmas tree in the lobby, frowning every time we promised him they were just for decoration. “They’re all empty, bud,” we told him.

But that was a lie. 

The biggest one in the back, a green box with a gold bow, contained a brand new sled just for him.

Not a plastic one, either. It was one of those classic wooden sleds with red metal runners, nearly identical to the one I owned as a kid. We ordered it weeks ago when all the local meteorologists began predicting a white Christmas. And much to our relief, they were right. The night before Christmas Eve, a winter storm covered Southwest Michigan with a fresh blanket of snow. According to Lucy, the hill at the back of the hotel grounds was ideal for sledding, and honestly, I couldn’t wait to see it for myself. 

After picking up the last of the torn wrapping paper and ribbons from the rug, I nudged Lucy’s knee. “Think it’s time to wake him up for the big gift?”

“Up to you,” she said, blinking at me before turning toward James’s snoozing body. “He looks so peaceful like that.”

I swallowed, watching her watch him, and then I glanced at the clock on the fireplace mantle. “Vanessa will be here in a few hours. We should probably head out so he’ll have time to come back in and warm up.” 

I hated that James had to leave, but we’d just spent three amazing days together. Christmas at the Underwood was just as magical as Lucy had said. Outside the window, the courtyard looked like something out of a postcard. And inside, they’d covered every inch of the space with garland, red velvet bows, and thousands of twinkling white lights. But the giant tree was my favorite part of the whole place–probably because I was the one who had decorated it to Mrs. Wheeler’s liking. 

We nudged James awake and somehow managed to drag him away from his new Hot Wheels set-up to get dressed. He was momentarily distracted by the snowglobe on the shelf until I told him we had one more surprise for him downstairs.

His entire face lit up. “What is it?”

“You’ll have to go down to the lobby with us and see,” Lucy said, pulling down his sock cap before taking him by the hand. I pressed my lips together tight to suppress a smile as I followed the two of them into the hall. James had really taken a liking to Lucy over the past couple of months, not fully comprehending my relationship with her but understanding she was someone special. And she liked him just as much, always coming up with a special activity for the two of them to do together during his visits. 

“Is it Santa?” he guessed as we passed the garland-draped mirror in the hallway.

“No, Santa’s probably resting at the North Pole by now,” I said, zipping up my coat.

“Is it a gingerbread house?”

“We already made a gingerbread house, silly,” Lucy teased.

James rattled off a few more guesses as we entered the lobby, where the towering tree came into view and a few guests walked past wearing matching Christmas sweaters. He bounced directly toward the tree like he always did, running his hand along the wrapped boxes, all but one of them empty. “These presents are fake,” he confidently informed another boy who walked by. The other kid just raised an eyebrow at him before following his parents down the hall toward the elevators.

Lucy turned to me and smiled, tucking her hands into the pocket of her wool coat. “Do you want to do the honors?”

I licked my lips and cleared my throat, smacking a hand against the tall, green box near the back. “Hey buddy,” I said, watching him twist one of the snowflake ornaments on the tree that he could never seem to leave alone. “Are you sure they’re all fake?”

James looked up into my eyes, reading my expression. “You said they were.”

“I’m not sure about this one.” I knocked on it. “Seems pretty solid to me. Something’s in there.”

He moved closer, his eyes laser-focused on the big gold bow on top. “Is it a real present?”

“It’s a real present,” I confirmed, pulling the box out from behind the others to give him easier access. “And it’s for you.”

His eyes shot up from my face. “It is? Is it from Santa?”

“This one is from me and Lucy,” I said, nodding at her. She bit her bottom lip, and I could almost feel the excitement radiating off of her. The two of us watched James pull the gold bow off the box, and I twisted it around so he could see where to pull the wrapping paper in the back. 

He tore through the paper with the kind of energy only a five-year-old at Christmas could muster, tossing pieces of it over his shoulder. When the last bit of green paper fell away, his mouth dropped open.

“A sled!” he shouted, dropping to his knees to touch the picture on the front of the box. “A real sled!” 

Lucy and I laughed. “What do you think, buddy?” she asked him. “Do you want to go sledding?”

He tilted his head back to look up at her. “Right now?” 

“Yes, right now,” she laughed out. “There’s a big hill behind the–”

James couldn’t hear the rest of Lucy’s sentence because he shrieked, hugging the box tight and clenching his eyes shut. “I love my sled. Does it go really fast?”

“Only one way to find out,” I said, bending over to pick up some of the wrapping paper. Lucy helped me pick up all the scraps, and together, we worked on pulling the sled out of the box. James bounced impatiently in circles around us, freezing in action once the sled came into view. Its shiny wood and red runners reflected the lights of the Christmas tree next to it, and for a moment, it almost looked too perfect to take outside.  “Alright, Bean,” I said, tightening my hand around the rope. “Let’s go give it a proper test run.” 

***

“I can’t feel my ass.”

Lucy laughed, tucking her hand under my arm as we watched James ready the sled to go down the hill again. I’d accompanied him the first seven or eight times, but now every inch of me below the waist was soaked through, and I’d had enough. Lucy had given it a couple of turns, too, but James had quickly figured out how to steer and launch himself without our help. He had more energy than the two of us combined, trudging back up the hill with a crooked sock cap and a big smile that never faded. 

A couple other families from the neighborhood–also with new sleds–gathered at the hill, too, and the entire scene made something squeeze in my chest. This was the kind of Christmas James deserved, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the Wheelers.

If it weren’t for this job and the opportunity to live and work in this place, I would have only been in Michigan for a few days before heading hundreds of miles away for work. Those few days with James would have been shadowed by the countdown to having to pack up and leave again. Not really having a permanent place to call home.

But instead, there I was, standing atop a snowy hill with Lucy’s gloved hand clutching me tight as we watched James drag his new sled to the top of the slope yet again. From where we stood, I could see the icy lake stretching out on one side and the Underwood on the other, its spires all covered in snow. We were home. 

“Hey,” Lucy said, her quiet voice catching me by surprise. I looked down at her rosy cheeks, inhaling as it hit me all over again just how beautiful she was. “Is this… okay?”

My brows furrowed. “Is what okay?”

She nervously adjusted her scarf, giving James a quick glance before returning her eyes to mine. “That I’m here. That I’ve been part of your entire Christmas morning. Watching him open presents, inserting myself into your father-son time on Christmas Day. I don’t want to overstep.”

 God, she had no clue how wrong she was. “Inserting yourself? If I recall, asking you to join us for Christmas morning was my idea.”

“It didn’t feel weird to you?”

“No,” I said, licking my chapped lips. A twinge of worry twisted in my gut. “It didn’t feel weird to you, did it? Was this too much?”

She shook her head. “No. No, Cam, it didn’t feel weird at all. The opposite, actually. I’m just making sure I’m not pushing you to move too fast with me.”

I had to look away because James had reached us again, and his hat was in his outstretched hand. “I don’t wanna wear this anymore.”

“You have to wear that hat, or we’re going inside. That’s part of the deal, James Bean.”

“It’s itchy.”

“Ever had frostbitten ears?” I put my hands in my pockets, doing my best to sound serious. “Trust me, that’s worse. Your ears could fall right off, dude. Put the hat back on.”

He rolled his eyes, which was something new he’d been testing out lately. I didn’t like it. But thankfully, he listened, tugging his hat back over his ears before reaching down to nudge his sled toward the edge of the slope. 

I waited until he was out of earshot before turning back to Lucy.

“Lucy,” I said, waiting for her to catch my gaze. “I think we’re going at exactly the right pace. Everything about this feels right to me. Feels like…”

I stopped, swallowing hard. All of a sudden, I was the one second-guessing myself. Could I be about to come on too strong?

“Feels like what?” she asked gently, pulling some strands of hair away from her face. And when I looked down into those deep brown eyes,  I didn’t doubt my feelings for a second.

“Feels like we’re building a future together. Something that’ll last.” 

Lucy’s breath caught. Her eyes flickered over my face like she was searching for proof I’d meant what I said, and her lips curved into a smile. “Okay. We’re on the same page, then.”

I pulled her close to me, kissing the center of her forehead before dropping my mouth to hers. I’d never kissed her in front of James before, but something about the way she looked in the snow and the gravity of this moment made her too hard to resist. “I love you,” I said, three words that never lost an ounce of their meaning when I said them to her.

“I love y–” she started, but we were interrupted by James pushing his sled between our feet. Lucy and I tugged apart, watching him use his gloved hand to wipe snot from his nose as he squinted up at us, the bright sun overhead making him wince. 

“Are you going to get married?” he blurted.

Lucy let out a surprised laugh, pressing a hand to her mouth, and I just tried not to grin. If anyone here was trying to rush things, it was this kid. I squatted in front of him, noticing how red his cheeks were. His teeth were chattering, too, and his clothes were soaked.

“Married?” I reached up to untuck the collar of James’s coat, allowing it to cover his chin. “What if I just call her my girlfriend for now? Would that be okay?”

James shot Lucy a quick glance, sniffling his nose. “Yeah. That’s okay. But how come I got two families?”

I blinked, searching for the right words to say. “You’re just really lucky, huh? You’ve got Mommy, Skyler, Daddy, and now Lucy. You get two Christamases.”

That seemed to satisfy him. “And three Christmas trees.”

“Exactly,” I said, knowing the big one in the lobby was his favorite. “And Mommy’s going to be here soon, so let’s get inside and change your clothes so you’re all ready to go.”

He accepted that, and when he remembered there were more presents waiting for him at his mom’s house, there was a little pep in his step as he dragged his sled back toward the hotel. I glanced Lucy’s direction as we trailed behind him, taking her by the hand. 

She turned toward me as we trudged through the snow past the haunted village, which didn’t look as spooky with icicles hanging from the crooked rooftops. “How did you know what to say?” 

“I didn’t,” I admitted. “Half of parenting is just winging it when kids ask awkward questions.”

Lucy laughed softly. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

That squeezing feeling in my chest returned as the three of us traipsed inside together, wiping our boots on the rug just inside the revolving door. As Lucy helped James out of his bulky coat, I yanked my gloves off and shoved them into my pockets, taking a moment to just watch the two of them.

It dawned on me then how little any of this made sense–falling for a woman I’d only met a couple of months ago, living under the same roof, and spending my days answering to her mother’s every whim. It was a little insane, even. But as wild as it all was, there was a part of me that could already picture the three of us spending more holidays together under this roof. 

Maybe one day, there’d be more of us.

“What?” Lucy asked, snapping me out of my thoughts. 

I blinked, realizing I’d been staring quietly a bit too long. “Nothing. Just thinking you really undersold the whole Underwood Christmas experience. It’s way better than you described.”

Lucy leaned close, bringing her mouth toward my ear. “Just wait until tonight,” she said in a purr-like whisper. “I’ve got something special for you to unwrap that wouldn’t fit under the tree.” With a wicked grin, she patted me on the cheek before following James across the lobby like she hadn’t just said the most diabolical thing imaginable.

For a minute, I just stood there grinning like an idiot, never more certain that this was exactly where I was meant to be.