It's Beginning to Look a Lot...

The chest was gorgeous, and as Raquel opened it the smell of the wood wafted up as she breathed it in.

"Tabitha. Come smell."

She took a deep breath like her mom had then asked, "What smells so yummy?"

Ellen explained that Jared made that for her when he was in high school. He'd taken a woodworking class and made several things with this chest being his mother's favorite.

"It's beautiful, Ellen. Your whole house is beautiful."

As she stood up Raquel felt overwhelmed with gratitude and began tearing up for a third time.

"Oh. It's okay, honey!" Ellen told her as she gave her new friend a hug.

Ellen grabbed a tissue off of a dresser and handed it to Raquel.

"We've just had such a difficult time lately," she blurted out before apologizing.

"What? No. Don't apologize," Ellen told her. "We all go through rough patches. And we're thrilled to be able to do some little thing to maybe make life a bit easy for you."

Raquel pulled the older woman close and thanked her yet again.

"You're most welcome. Now let's get that mascara of yours cleaned up and reapplied, shall we?" Ellen suggested with a warm smile.

All of them sat around and talked until 8pm when Raquel mentioned it was Tabitha's bedtime. She'd been playing a game on Steve's iPad that he downloaded for her, and she'd hardly made a sound all evening.

The little girl didn't object because she couldn't wait to sleep in the big queen-sized bed. The Burns didn't have any dolls, but they did have a Buzz Lightyear and Sheriff Woody doll from Jared's youth.

"He loved that movie!" Ellen said as she handed the Sheriff to Tabitha who preferred it to the main character. "I took him to see it along with his friends on his 5th birthday right after it came out. They all just loved it, and so did I."

For the first time, Raquel felt...funny. She'd been a senior in high school the year the movie came out. She remembered because the guy she was dating took her to see it with his little brother. That meant that Jared had been just slightly older than Tabitha at the time, and the thought of it made her feel queasy.

"Are you okay?" Ellen asked when she noticed Raquel staring at the wall.

"Oh. Yes. I'm fine," she replied with a weak smile. "I was just thinking about something. That's all."

"Okay. Well, I'll let you tuck this little bundle of joy in, and...."

"Hey!" they heard Jared say. "I uh, I found a couple of books. I'd be happy to read a bedtime story or two if that's okay."

"Can he, Mommy? Please???"

As Raquel looked at him she realized she was being ridiculous as the very attractive man, the adult man, she was looking at wasn't a child. He was a lot younger than her, but he was definitely a grown man, and whatever she'd been feeling faded away.

"Maybe we could each read one?" she suggested.

"Sounds perfect," Jared said as he handed her one of the books as Tabitha clapped for joy.

Using a brand new toothbrush Ellen gave her, Raquel got Tabitha's teeth brushed and ready for bed.

The little girl crawled up then said, "Cmon, Jared!" as she patted the right side. "Mommy, you sit here."

Raquel slid in on her daughter's left while Jared hopped in on the right causing the bed to bounce. Tabitha giggled when it made her tummy feel funny.

"Do it again!" she said as the giggles subsided.

"No, honey. Jared doesn't want to...."

He began bouncing the bed and Tabitha was soon laughing so hard she couldn't breathe.

Raquel saw the silly look Jared was giving Tabitha and laughed, too. That only encouraged him, and that's when Raquel grabbed her daughter and started tickling her.

The little girl was shrieking with laughter and barely able to breathe. Her mom picked her up, and when she did, Raquel rolled to her right, Tabitha up in the air above her. Jared laid down, too, then grabbed Tabitha and zoomed her around.

Raquel was laughing harder than she had in years, and as she reached her left arm up to grab her daughter's leg Jared was letting her down. Raquel's arm was briefly resting on his chest, and when she became aware of it, she quickly pulled it away.

"Am I that repulsive?" Jared teased as Tabitha now sat on that strong, well-muscled chest.

"What? No. I...I just didn't want you to...."

"It was actually kinda nice," he said as he turned his head her way.

Their eyes were just inches apart, and Raquel felt her heart pounding in her chest, and she knew it wasn't all due to the laughter and play. When he then smiled at her it was clear there was something going on between them.

"Jared! You read first, okay?" Tabitha said, bringing the adults back to reality.

"Right. Me first," he said as he sat up then set her in between himself and her mom who also sat up but refused to look at Jared.

Just before the second story was done, Tabitha's eyes closed, and Raquel's voice trailed off.

"G'night, sleepyhead," she whispered before kissing her daughter's cheek.

As she and Jared left the bedroom she thanked him for being so sweet to her daughter.

He stopped which caused Raquel to do the same. Jared turned toward her and told her it was his pleasure and thanked her for letting him. She was afraid to look but couldn't help herself, and as her eyes met his her heart began beating fast again.

The look lingered a few more seconds before Raquel felt him taking her hands in his. Never breaking eye contact her pulse went crazy when he whispered, "I've never kissed a mother before."

Raquel's eyes moved back and forth between his so fast she felt dizzy.

"Is that okay?" Jared asked as he reached up touched her cheek with the back of him hand.

"O...okay," Raquel somehow got out as he leaned closer.

When his eyes closed hers did, too. As his lips pressed against hers she kissed him back. Jared slid his hands up the small of her back and pulled her closer as her arms went up and around his neck.

The soft, slow kiss lasted for several seconds, and when it ended, he smiled.

"The way you looked at me. In the bedroom. I could tell," he said just above a whisper.

"I...I felt it, too," Raquel admitted as her heart continued hammering away in her chest.

"I hope that wasn't too much, too soon," he told her as he brushed her hair back.

It would have been, but something told her this was...different. And while she couldn't explain it, she had an even stronger feeling that this--whatever 'this' was--was somehow meant to be. 'Fate' was the word that came to mind, and that made her think of her amazing husband who she told her daughter was now an angel in heaven.

Raquel was exhausted but barely slept that night as her mind wouldn't let go of everything that had happened to her that day from the Christmas tree falling off the car to the most amazing kiss she'd had in years to the kindness this family had shown her and her daughter.

She was off work the next day and didn't have to go back until the day after Christmas. The following morning, although she was very tired, Raquel enjoyed a wonderful family breakfast after two much-needed cups of coffee. She drank the first with Ellen who was always up early and the second with Jared whose first smile of the day turned her into a blob of human putty.

"Did you sleep okay?" he asked as he poured himself a cup.

Rather than lie she just smiled back and said, "It was amazing," leaving 'it' open to interpretation.

Ellen could tell something was going on and excused herself after topping off her mug.

When she was gone Jared reached for Raquel's hand which she let him have.

"I so want to kiss you so bad right now," he said very quietly.

Her heart skipped a beat as she looked around first before leaning his way. This second kiss was every bit as wonderful as the first, and just before it ended, a little voice scared her to death.

"Mommy? Do you love Jared?" she heard her daughter ask as she climbed up into her lap.

"Oh. Oh, my. Um. I...Mommy was just...."

"You were kissing!" Tabitha informed her.

"Yes. Yes, I was, huh?" the happily defeated mom told her daughter. "Is that okay?"

"Uh-huh. I like Jared, too, cuz he's really nice and has a big truck and a big house!"

Jared puffed his chest out and jutted his chin feigning smug satisfaction, and Raquel, who was a little confused but happier than she'd been in a long time, laughed.

"You're silly!" Tabitha said as she pointed at him.

Jared exaggerated the jaw thing even more which made Tabitha giggle and her mom tear up yet again.

As they sat there sipping coffee while Tabitha had a small glass of milk, Jared and Raquel were doing more than just looking at each other. Their brains were doing assessments of every sort as they tried to process everything that had happened in the last 24 hours or so.

"Is this even real?" Raquel asked after they finished their coffee.

Jared put his hand on hers again then told her, "I hope so, because I've never met anyone like you before."

"Lucky you," Raquel teased as her heart went into overdrive again.

"Hey. You're amazing," Jared said so sincerely it almost made her eyes wet again. "And beautiful."

He smiled then glanced at Tabitha. "And you're an amazing mom."

"Having a child does't scare you?" she asked, unaware of how inappropriate that would be to ask someone she really didn't even know.

"It's a plus," he replied. "A very big plus."

She thought about it for a moment and knew she had to say it.

"Your mom told me you saw Toy Story when you were five."

"I did."

She informed him she'd been a senior in high school.

"I've grown up since then," he said so quietly that Tabitha didn't hear.

"Yes. Yes, you have," Raquel replied as she realized just how handsome he really was.

"So if that's not an issue for you...may I see you again?" he asked.

"Anytime you like," she said, a warm, happy smile on her pretty face.

"Do you have plans today?" Jared asked.

"No. Not really. Just a couple of little errands to run, but with the snow...."

"I'll take you," he told her. "If that's okay."

"You can take me anywhere," she said as she leaned his way again.

"Oh, brother!" the 4-year old said when they kissed again.

Jared kept kissing her mom and pulled her over and onto his lap. He then reached out for Tabitha who slide down off her chair and up and onto his lap, too.

Jared put his arms around both of them then sang, "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!"

Raquel joined in and sang, "Everywhere we go..." as she put an arm on Jared's shoulder and one around her daughter who was trying to sing along, too.

******

Five Years Later

"How was dinner you love birds?" Jenny asked when they got home. She'd graduated from college and been teaching at an elementary school for a semester and had agreed to babysit for her mom and 'dad.'

"It was wonderful!" her mother said.

"Your mom is wonderful," Jared said as he wrapped his arms around his wife from behind.

"So four years," Jenny mused as they saw the way they still loved one another.

"Speaking of four years, how was Ethan?"

"Tabitha's reading to him. He is the sweetest little boy EVER!" Jenny gushed. "And I love how he memorizes stories."

Her mom laughed because she knew.

"It's insane, right? You read it to him a couple of times...."

"And he's got it memorized! He even knows when to turn the page," Jenny said, finishing her mom's thought.

"Well, he is my son," Jared said as he let go of his beautiful wife and puffed out his chest.

Raquel didn't need to turn around. She knew what her goofy husband was doing. She looked at her daughter and told her the real reason Ethan was so smart was because of her DNA.

"Uh-huh. You keep telling yourself that, honey," Jared said as he patted his wife's shoulders.

He walked over to the window, and sure enough, the first snowflakes were falling.

"Here it comes," he said, a comment that brought Raquel and Jenny over to where he was.

"Remember how bad it got five years ago?" Raquel asked rhetorically. Both of them knew, but they still loved talking about it.

"Worst snowstorm in a hundred years," Jared said as he now pulled his wife's arms around his waist.

"Best snowstorm ever," she said as she rested her head on his shoulders.

"It was. It got so bad you and Tabitha stayed through Christmas."

"Yes, we did, didn't we?" Raquel said as she held the man she loved even tighter.

"Did I just hear my name?" another female voice asked. Tabitha Burns was now almost ten years old and as pretty as her mother and sister.

"Hi, honey. Where were you?"

"Reading to my little brother," she proudly announced as she, too, walked over to the large picture window.

"It's really snowing hard," she said as she watched it come down.

"It is," her mom agreed.

"What are the odds?" Jared asked, causing the 'girls' to look at one another in a 'what does that mean' kind of way.

"Huh?" Jenny said, hoping he would explain.

"It's two day until Christmas," he said as though they should not only know that but understand the significance.

"Oh, right!" Raquel said with a little laugh. "That was five years ago to the day, huh? The uh, the fallen Christmas tree event."

"Yes it was," her handsome husband said as he turned around and smiled at the woman he so dearly loved.

"You know what that means, huh?" she said, a devious look in her eye.

"No. Do not go there!" Jenny said, assuming they were hinting around about 'bedroom stuff'.

"What? No!" her mother said. "That's not what I meant at all."

She kissed her husband then said, "But I but this guy knows."

"I do," he told her.

He also smiled then said, "It means it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas."

Their next kiss was long and deep and brought responses like, "Eeew!" and "Gross!" followed by, "Let's get out of here, Tabitha."

"Oh, you don't have to tell me twice!" the younger girl said as their parents continued making out like they weren't even there.

"I love you," Raquel said during a short break.

"I love you more," her husband said back.

"Uh-uh. That's not possible."

"Is, too."

"Is not."

"Hey. Just shut up and kiss me again, would you?" his wife said as their lips met again.

This kiss was short and sweet, because Jared grabbed her hand and led her to the bedroom where they 'kissed' even more.

"Best anniversary ever," Raquel said when Jared rolled off of her, barely able to breathe.

"You are so right," Jared agreed.

"I'm always right!" his wife said as she rolled over on top on him, a huge smile on her pretty face.

She felt him stirring in spite of having just...finished his business.

She laughed then said, "I knew there was a reason I married a younger man!"

He then rolled them both over and told her, "You are so gonna get it."

"Promise?" she laughed as she reached for him.

As he entered her again, Raquel purred with happiness.

"It really is beginning to look a lot like Christmas," she moaned as she arched her back and begged for more.