22. A MERRY CHRISTMAS
CHRISTMAS HAD CEASED to be special for Leesa a long time ago. She had a few faint memories of joyous mornings and big, beautifully decorated trees from when she was very young, but once her father left all of that ended. Bradley tried to keep the day special for her, but he was just a kid himself, and there wasn’t much he could do. He usually managed to find a small, scraggly “Charlie Brown” Christmas tree they could hang a few decorations on and always provided one small present for Leesa, but that was about it. Not the stuff memories were made of, not by a long shot.
This morning was different, though. This was a real family Christmas.
It started late yesterday afternoon, when they all piled into Uncle Roger’s Expedition and headed to a nearby Christmas tree farm. Aunt Janet and Uncle Roger had a tradition of not purchasing their tree until the last moment, insuring it would be as fresh and lovely as possible for the actual holiday. They all wandered around the huge farm, enjoying the pine-scented air and looking for the perfect tree. Finally, they selected a beautiful, seven-foot-tall Blue Spruce. Uncle Roger did the bulk of the sawing, but they all took at least one turn with the saw, so that it would truly be the whole family’s tree.
After dinner, they had spent more than an hour decorating the tree with brightly colored ornaments and tiny white lights. All the while, Christmas carols played joyfully from the stereo. They finished by wrapping strands of silver garland around the tree, and the result was the most beautiful tree Leesa had ever seen. When she had finally gone to bed, she had fallen asleep with “Frosty the Snowman” playing over and over in her head. Something about the magic in the song was especially appealing to her.
And now, this morning was even better than last evening.
They were all gathered in the living room. Leesa was sitting her in favorite place, the rocking chair. Max was beside her, as always, and she absently scratched his furry head. Her mom, Aunt Janet and Bradley were all on the couch. Uncle Roger, looking jolly in a worn Santa Claus hat, was taking his time pulling presents from beneath the tree and passing them out to the proper recipient one by one. The room was fragrant with the scent of the recently cut tree and more Christmas carols played in the background.
Even the Old Man Winter had cooperated, sprinkling a light dusting of snow over the area last night while they slept. The snowfall totaled barely an inch, but it had still managed to turn everything into a white, winter wonderland. For a girl from San Diego, an inch was more than enough. Leesa was a bit disappointed they wouldn’t be able to build a snowman, but it sure looked beautiful outside. She was planning on going out later to make a snow angel or two on the front lawn.
Uncle Roger pranced over to her, chortling “Ho, ho, ho,” for what seemed like the hundredth time that morning and carrying a small package wrapped in candy cane wrapping. A bright red ribbon bow covered most of the front of the package. He handed the present to her.
“This one’s for you, from your Aunt and me.”
Ever the practical one, Leesa carefully pulled the bow from the box and set it aside so it could be used again next year. Sliding her finger under the wrapping paper, she gently peeled it off. Inside was an i-Phone.
“Wow! Thank you, Aunt Janet and Uncle Roger.” Leesa got up and gave her uncle a big hug.
The phone was the perfect gift. She had been thinking it was probably time to get a cell again, and now she had one. Even better, this was from a totally different service from her last one, so if that guy who claimed to be her father was still trying to find her, it would be that much harder for him.
Uncle Roger turned to Leesa’s mom. “Judy, don’t you have something for Leesa that goes along with this?”
Judy crossed to the tree and pulled another small package from beneath it. This one was wrapped in red paper decorated with small Christmas trees. She smiled and handed it to Leesa.
“This is from Bradley and me.”
Leesa smiled back. Her mom and brother didn’t have much money, so any gift was thoughtful. She unwrapped this present with equal care. Inside was a purple rubber bumper for her new phone. She laughed.
“Since you broke your last one, we figured we should get you some extra protection for this one,” Bradley said, grinning.
“Ha! You’re right about that,” Leesa said as she began working her phone into the bumper.
“You’ve been without a phone for awhile now,” Aunt Janet said. “Your uncle and I figured a college girl needed a phone—especially a girl with a boyfriend.”
“Thanks, Aunt Janet, but Rave doesn’t use phones, remember?”
Leesa wondered if the rubber bumper would keep Rave’s magical energy from frying the phone if he touched it, but she doubted it. She stifled a giggle as a totally absurd thought popped into her head. If the rubber bumper did manage to protect the phone from Rave’s heat, maybe she could get a pair of those thick rubber lips people wore for costumes and use them to protect her when she and Rave kissed. She shook her head and chased the foolish thought away.
“Oh, that’s right,” Aunt Janet said. “I forgot. Still, your uncle and I will feel better knowing we can get in touch with you anytime we want, and that you can reach us if you need to. I’m sure that goes double for your mother.”
“It’s great, Aunt Janet,” Leesa said. “I’d been thinking it was time to get a new one. Now I don’t have to.”
“Speaking of Rave,” Judy said, “where has he been? Are we going to see him for the holidays?”
“No, I don’t think so,” Leesa said. “His clan has all gone away for a bit, on some kind of pilgrimage.”
“All of them?” Uncle Roger asked, puzzled. He had grown up not too far from the Maston settlement. “I don’t remember ever hearing about them doing that.”
“Is it a religious thing, for Christmas?” Aunt Janet asked.
Leesa shook her head. “No, it’s not really religious. It has something to do with the solstice. I don’t completely understand it, but it’s not something they do every year. There’s something special about this year.”
“Where did they go?” Judy asked.
“Somewhere up north… in New Hampshire.”
Uncle Roger grinned. “Never heard of anyone making a pilgrimage to New Hampshire,” he said. “Those people are certainly strange. No offense, Leesa.”
Leesa smiled. “None taken.”
She noticed Bradley was watching her, a very thoughtful look on his face.
“What is it?” she asked him.
Bradley hesitated, clearly uncomfortable. “Is Rave a vampire,” he asked, finally.
Leesa was stunned. Where had that come from?
“What?” she managed to stammer. “Not hardly. Why on earth would you ask that?”
Bradley looked chagrined. “Just something I was thinking,” he said. “You told us the other night the solstice makes vampires extra hungry or something. And now you say Rave is gone, also because of the solstice.”
“So?” Leesa asked, not clear yet where her brother was going with this.
“So I was wondering if maybe Rave’s gone away right now so he wouldn’t be tempted, to…you know.”
Leesa suddenly got it. “To drink my blood, you mean?”
“No… I mean, yes. Don’t get me wrong, Rave seems like a really great guy, and I can tell he’s crazy about you. So, when you started talking about the solstice again, I thought, maybe…because he’s crazy about you…maybe that’s why he’s not around right now.”
“Oh, come now, Bradley,” Judy said. “Just because Rave’s people left for a pilgrimage doesn’t make him a vampire.”
“There’s more to it than that,” Bradley said. Now that he had opened up the subject, he was determined to follow through with it. “There’s the whole thing about no phones or cars or anything. And how easily he caught that grafhym when we needed its blood for you, Mom.”
Leesa shook her head. Not much got past her brother. He was so far from the truth it was laughable, but at the same time, he was closer than he knew. Before she could reply, Uncle Roger joined in.
“Didn’t you say he had Special Forces training or something, Leesa?” he asked. “Back when Rave captured the one-fang for you?”
“Not Special Forces, but lots of special training,” Leesa replied. “Trust me, Bradley. Rave is not a vampire. I assure you.”
“If Rave was a vampire, honey,” Judy said to Bradley, “why would Leesa have had to offer herself to that monster Stefan in order to free you?”
Bradley had no answer to that. “I guess you’re right. That wouldn’t make any sense.” He turned to Leesa. “I’m sorry, pumpkin. I was just worried about you.”
Thank you, Mom, Leesa thought. “That’s okay, big brother.” She smiled to let him know it truly was okay. “Old habits are hard to break. You looked after me for a lot of years. No reason you should stop now.”
“Now that we’ve got that settled,” Judy said cheerfully, “there’s still a few more presents under the tree.”
Leesa was relieved to have the focus taken off Rave. Still, she wondered how much longer she would be able to keep his true nature a secret—and what would happen when her family finally learned the truth.