The Chapter That Is A Christmas Special

Liane had finished changing a while ago. Now she was procrastinating. She knew Claire was sitting by her crackling fireplace, waiting for her. Liane imagined she was probably rocking back and forth on her haunches with the widest grin on her face. Her nose was painted red and white dots speckled above her eyes and cheeks. It perfectly complemented the antlers sticking up from her head and completed the overly baggy reindeer costume.

“Hurry up,” Claire called from the other room.

“This is not how Santa Claus dresses!” Liane called back.

“You agreed to the terms before we started the game. The winner got to pick their costume first, and the loser wears the other one.”

“This is not how the costume was described! And you said you had never played that game before. You clearly hustled me.”

“Just get out here.”

Liane groaned and wined and finally opened the door. She stepped into the firelight, her face redder than Claire’s painted nose. Her red Santa dress, fringed with fluffy white cotton, was far too short for her liking, and the matching gloves, boots, and hat did not help her feel more covered.

The moment Liane was fully visible, Claire—who was indeed sitting on the floor with a wide grin—rolled onto her back, laughing hysterically. Liane fidgeted with both ends of her dress, trying to pull it up and down at the same time. She scowled and turned even redder than her dress.

“I’m changing back,” Liane said.

“No, no,” Claire said, wiping her eyes and sitting up straight again. “Don’t change yet. You look great.”

“Then why are you laughing?” Liane demanded.

“Because it’s obvious how uncomfortable it makes you.” Liane’s scowl deepened. “I mean, just kidding, I wasn’t laughing at you. I was laughing at… something else. You already put it on. Just wear it for a little while, please.”

“… Fine,” Liane surrendered.

She groaned and sank into a chair opposite the fireplace.

Claire turned her face away. She cleared her throat and said, “you don’t wear dresses very often, do you?”

“No, why?”

“Well, usually you want to keep your legs together. You know so…”

Liane blinked, then understanding hit her over the head, and she snapped her legs together. Soon enough, her whole body would be as red as her face if she kept this up. She reminded herself to focus. She needed to stop being so easily embarrassed and concentrate on her mission. Wearing a dress was no big deal if it meant finally getting to repair her relationship with Claire.

But a though gave her pause. How would Claire respond to learning that she was Liam while she was dressed in a mini Santa dress with matching gloves and knee-high boots?

Liane gulped and decided another day might be best for revealing the truth. Of course, she hadn’t gotten Claire to retract her restraining order yet, so no sense dwelling on it now. She could reveal the truth one day in the future after Claire had forgotten about this humiliating moment.

“Smile, Liane,” Claire said.

Claire tapped her thumb and pointer finger together, taking Liane’s picture with her Second Sight.

Liane forced a smile and lamented that this moment would never be forgotten.

Adélie and Gaston appeared from Liane’s blind spot as usual, making her jump.

“Must you two always do that?” Liane asked as she pet them and accepted their licks with only minimal discomfort. She picked up two dog bones from the table next to her. “Here’s a little Christmas present for you two.”

The two dogs snatched the bones from Liane and settled on the floor to gnaw on them.

“Awe! You got Adélie and Gaston presents. You're such good friends now,” Claire said, then proceeded to stare at Liane expectantly while rocking back and forth with a poorly concealed smile.

“Do you want your gift—”

“Yes!” Claire said before Liane had finished her question. “I mean, since you gave Adélie and Gaston their gift, we might as well exchange gifts now too.”

“CP1,” Liane said.

The drone along with Claire’s present became visible.

“Aha! I knew you had a gift hidden somewhere. You sly CP1, I didn’t know you could turn invisible.”

CP1 dropped the gift wrapped box to Liane.

“CP1 is full of surprises,” Liane said. She passed the present to Claire. “Merry Christmas.”

Claire squealed as she accepted the present. “Thank you!” she said. She set the present gingerly in her lap, then produced another present from behind her back. She passed it to Liane. “Merry Christmas to you too!”

Liane fidgeted with the gift as she watched Claire examine her own present.

“So, Christmas must have been unique for you, spending it with your dad instead of ghosts and all. I bet that was fun,” Liane said.

Claire shook her present next to her ear. “It was okay. The thing is, he always got me the same present every year: a plant. I got sick of that real quick, but I always acted like I was happy. I didn’t want to ruin the holiday. I tried dropping some hints of things I would actually like without being too obvious. You know, so he could feel like he was surprising me. That never worked. Anyway, I can’t wait to see what you got me! This is almost like my first real present.”

Liane gulped.

“Oh. Well, don’t expect too much. It’s nothing special.”

Liane mentally berated herself for being such an idiot. She had always thought Claire loved the plants she got for her. How had she never realized that she hated them? This was about to be a disaster.

Claire undid the ribbon wrapped around her present. She lifted the lid and Liane winced in anticipation.

Claire gasped. “Oh my. This is…” Liane couldn’t bear to watch. She covered her face with her hands. “Beautiful,” Claire finished.

Liane’s brow crinkled. It wasn’t the response she had expected. She risked a mini peak between her fingers.

To Liane’s amazement and confusion, Claire was not holding a potted plant, but a thick, worn out looking leather book.

“It’s perfect,” Claire stood and walked to a bookshelf by the wall. With utmost care, she set the book on display then stepped back to admire it. “A beautiful addition to my collection. Thank you, Liane.”

Claire walked over and gave her a hug.

“Um, you’re welcome,” Liane said.

“Aren’t you going to open your present?” Claire asked.

Liane looked down at the present on her lap. She had completely forgotten about it. As she absentmindedly removed the paper, she tried to figure out how her potted plant had turned into a book, and a book that Claire actually liked no less. Then CP1 drifted into her field of vision and the answer became obvious, Aurelia.

The lab coat wearing devil woman hadn’t trusted her to pick out a good gift after all. She and CP1 had colluded to switch it at some point. Although, since the betrayal had worked out overwhelmingly in her favor, she couldn’t be too bothered by it. She might consider thanking Aurelia later.

“Do you like it?” Claire asked.

Liane had finished opening her present without realizing it. She held her gift up for inspection. It was elegant and adorable, vibrant green and polished black. It was a miniature tree in a ceramic pot.

Liane couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s a bonsai.”

“I know I said I didn’t like getting potted plants as presents, but you have similar tastes to my dad, so I thought you might like it. If you don’t—”

“It’s perfect,” Liane said. She set the plant down and hugged Claire. “Thank you. Merry Christmas, Claire.”

“Merry Christmas, Liane.”