Disclaimer: This is an original work of fiction. All characters, world building and story belong to the author.

Merry's Christmas
By Sandra Barret

 

"I can't believe you're going out on a night like this," said Nell, staring at Merry with a look of disapproval. 

Merry ignored her roommate and pulled on her warmest snow boots. "It's not that bad," she said as she wrapped herself in her bulky winter coat.  

"It's a Nor'easter, Merry." Nell peaked through the shade that covered the front window. "There's got to be a good five inches of snow out there already. And nobody's plowing the streets this late on Christmas Eve." 

Stuffing an off white winter hat on her head, Merry was nearly ready to go. "Church is two blocks away. I think I can walk that far, even in the snow." 

Nell snorted her disapproval. "Catholics," she muttered as if that explained everything.  

Merry rammed her hands into her gloves and wrapped the matching scarf around her neck and face. There was no mirror around, which was probably for the best. She was sure to look like a short, chubby version of the Michelin Man. But given Nell's weather report, Merry would be glad to have full winter gear on. She glanced up at the clock. "Shit," she muttered as she fumbled to unlock the front door. 

"Nice language," said Nell, getting up from the sofa to help Merry get out the door. "And you're going to Midnight Mass with that mouth?" 

"Just a little something to spice up confession," said Merry. Not that she went to confession anymore. She'd made the mistake of confessing her sexuality to a priest at her parent's church when she was younger. Months of intervention from priests and nuns had convinced her of only one thing. They were wrong. Merry knew in her heart that she was both Catholic and lesbian, and that God loved her. Of course, she also learned not to tell priests about her personal life. Confession was between her and God, and never involved apologizing for the way God had made her. 

When Nell finally opened the front door, a burst of cold air and a swirl of snowflakes blew inside. "I'll be back in an hour or so," said Merry as she stepped out of the apartment  and down the snow-covered front steps.  Merry ducked as far into the collar of her coat as she could and stomped through the snow toward her church. Snowflakes clung to her eyelashes, and her nose was surely bright red from the cold by the time she heard the church bells clang, announcing the start of the midnight Mass. Merry stifled another swear as she hurried along. 

The wind drove snow into Merry's eyes as she trudged up the steps to the church, and she didn't see the other woman until they collided at the massive wooden doors. Merry stepped back in shock and then opened her mouth to apologize, but nothing came out. Instead, she found herself lost in a pair of deep brown eyes under deliciously curved eyebrows surrounded by a smooth caramel face. 

The woman's full red lips lifted in a smile. "Only the truly devout come out on a night like this," she said with a hint of sarcasm in her deep voice. 

"Or the truly mad," Merry added, finally finding her voice again.  She reached out to open the door at the same time that the other woman did and mistakenly covered the other woman's gloved hand instead.  "Oh, sorry," Merry mumbled. 

"Don't be. It's the warmest my hand has been since I stepped out in this weather." The woman opened the door and motioned for Merry to go in first.  Merry obliged.  The woman followed her in and stomped the snow off her black leather boots. Merry kicked the snow off her boots as well, feeling frumpy and awkward next to the elegance of the other woman. 

"I'm Salena," said the stranger as she pulled off her glove and held her hand out.   

Merry grasped the hand in her snowy glove, then apologized as she tugged off her glove and shook the hand again. Salena's hand felt warm as her long fingers wrapped around Merry's hand. They stood like that for a moment with Merry gazing again into Salena's eyes. Then Merry realized what the other woman was waiting for. "Oh, sorry. I'm Merry," she said, finally. 

"Merry? Festive name." 

Merry shrugged as she let go of Salena's hand. "I was born at midnight on Christmas Eve. My parents thought it was appropriate." 

Salena chuckled. "Yes, I guess it would be."  

They turned in unison at the sound of the church organ starting the first chords to Holy Night. To their left came a procession of freshly scrubbed young altar boys and girls followed by the two priests dressed in white to celebrate the birth of Jesus.   

Salena nudged Merry and whispered, "The best part of being an adult is not having to tell your mother that you had to follow the priest into Mass, again." 

Merry stifled a laugh as she unzipped her winter coat and pulled off her hat and scarf. She wasn't sure if the church was overheated tonight or if it was the affect of Salena standing so close to her that their arms brushed against each other as they waited. When the procession was far enough up the main aisle, Merry stepped past the entryway and walked to the left. She hurried up the side aisle to the pew where she always sat. To her surprise, Salena followed her, taking a seat on the bench next to her when the priest began his first reading of the Mass. 

The litany wrapped itself around Merry as it always did, but this night it seemed to pull Salena into Merry's world as well. As the Mass progressed, she felt the thrill of having the dark, beautiful woman at her side, sharing the experience with her. After communion, Merry selfishly prayed that she would  see Salena again. Maybe at another Mass. By the time the last hymn was sung and the priest walked slowly back down the center aisle, Merry felt a mingled sense of joy and sadness. At a quarter to one in the morning, it was officially Christmas. Mass was ending, but that meant her time with Salena would come to an end as well.  

Salena seemed in no rush to leave. She sat back down as the rest of the churchgoers slowly filed out. Merry sat as well, fumbling with her gloves and unsure what to say. 

"Have you been coming here long?" asked Salena.  

Merry nodded. "For about a year or so, since I moved to the neighborhood." 

"This was my first time," said Salena. She leaned toward Merry. "I'm glad I came, though." 

"Me, too," said Merry, grinning. "I mean, it was a good Mass." 

Salena chuckled. "Yes, it was." She picked up her gloves from the bench. "I suppose we can't hang out here forever, avoiding the snow again, can we?"

"No, probably not." Merry hoped her disappointment didn't show as she stood up and followed Salena out of the nearly empty church. She pulled on her hat and zipped up her coat, preparing for the blistery weather outside.  

Salena put on her gloves and then buttoned her coat. She paused, fumbling with the top button. Merry guessed that she couldn't see or feel the top button hole through her gloves. "May I?" she asked and then she buttoned Salena's top button for her.  

Salena's hands rested on Merry's elbows for a moment, and it felt as if Salena might close  the gap between them, when a gaggle of altar boys and girls came tumbling out of their dressing room. Salena slowly dropped her hands with a sad smile on her face. "Time to face the storm," she said. 

As they stepped out of the church, Merry was amazed at the change in the weather. Where there had been an icy wind and blowing snow, there was now the twinkle of starlight glistening in the still, dark night.  "I thought the snow was supposed to last until dawn." 

Salena gazed up at the night sky. "It's beautiful." She turned to Merry. "Care to join me in making some holiday snow angels?" 

Merry laughed. "Sure. Where?" 

Salena looked around. "How about under those oak trees?"  She pointed to the right, where a grove of trees stood just past the manger scene set up in front of the church. Merry nodded her agreement, and the two set off, making tracks through the virgin blanket of snow. The snow-covered branches of the oak trees cast thin shadows across the small, sheltered circle formed by the old grove. It seemed almost a pity to disturb the serene white cover. Salena paused, and Merry stood beside her, waiting for the other woman.  

"Side by side?" Salena asked. "In the middle?" 

"Alright," said Merry, leading the way. She stopped at what she thought was the center of the grove and turned around. Salena stood beside her, facing back the way they'd come. Two sets of boot prints traced their path to their current spot. "Ready?" Merry asked. 

Salena didn't wait but let herself fall back into the deep snow. Flurries of white puffed up around her when she landed with a giggle. Merry wanted to just watch the beautiful woman but didn't want to be caught staring. Trying to muster the same faith that Salena showed in the ability of the snow to cushion her fall, Merry closed her eyes and fell backward. Her silent thump into the snow sent a mild jolt along her backside, but otherwise, the fall was painless. She slid her arms and legs back and forth in the snow, at one point dumping a clump of snow over her own face. But when she stood up and helped Salena up from the ground, they turned around to a pair of perfect snow angels, their wings so close that they seemed to be holding hands.  

"Perfect," said Salena. She turned to Merry with a broad smile. "A well matched pair, don't you think?" 

Merry felt her heart thudding in her chest. "Yes, I do." They stood under the canopy of branches for a moment, gazing into each other's eyes. Merry wanted to say something that would extend their time together, but her thoughts were lost in Salena's dark brown eyes. 

Salena clasped Merry's gloved hand in her own. She took a step closer to Merry, then pointed up. "Did you notice what's up there at the top of the tree?" 

Merry looked up, scanning the branches of the oak tree. She saw intertwined branches lined in white and two discarded bird's nests tucked into the corners of the main limbs. Somewhere near the top, she saw what looked like a small clump of leftover leaves. "What is it?" she asked, unsure what Salena meant.  She looked back down. 

Salena smiled mischievously, reaching out to hold both of Merry's hands. Merry's face flushed as her body reacted to the closeness of the other woman. Salena leaned into her and spoke in a whisper. "It's mistletoe." 

Before Merry had a chance to respond, Salena closed the gap between them. Warm, full lips pressed gently against Merry's, and she closed her eyes, wanting only to feel the sensation of Salena's lips on hers. She pulled Salena closer, and their kiss deepened. Merry flicked her tongue across Salena's lips and heard the other woman's soft moan. Salena wrapped her arms around Merry as she opened her mouth to the pressure of Merry's insistent tongue. Merry trembled, feeling her tongue dance with Salena's until both women had to separate, breathless. 

"Merry Christmas," Salena whispered once she caught her breath. She took a step back but reached down to hold Merry's hand again. 

"You, too," said Merry, barely able to speak.  

"We should probably go." Salena gently guided Merry out of the grove of trees. They held hands as they walked back to the church. When they reached the church steps, Salena paused. "I have to go down to Market Square. How about you?" 

Merry pointed in the opposite direction. "I'm two blocks down that way." The wind picked up, blowing the light snow around them. So much for the picture perfect weather, thought Merry as Selena let go of her hand to pull up the collar of her coat. 

"Will I see you again?" Merry blurted out. She felt embarrassment flood her cheeks, but she couldn't just let Salena walk away from her. 

Salena smiled. "I'd like to. Maybe tomorrow, if you have any free time?" 

Merry's heart leaped. She reached out and cupped Salena's face, then leaned in to kiss her  cheek. "Yes, tomorrow would be great."  Then she thought a moment. "Wait. Do you mean tomorrow as in Christmas, because it's Christmas now, or do you mean the day after?" 

Salena laughed. "I mean the 26^th of December." She looked almost sad as she confessed, "My family expect me to spend all of Christmas day with them. But I'm free the day after that. Maybe we could meet for lunch, if you don't have to work?" 

"I'm on vacation until New Years," said Merry. "And lunch would be great. Um, how do I contact you?" 

"How about we meet back by our snow angels at noon?" 

Merry smiled. "Under the mistletoe, again?" 

"Hmm. Sorry about that," said Salena. "That was a little white lie. There wasn't any mistletoe up in that tree." 

"Really?" asked Merry, feeling somewhat naive for having believed Salena.  

"Please don't feel bad, but it was the only excuse I could think of to kiss you," said Salena.

 

Merry laughed. "Well, you won't need any excuses to kiss me in the future, okay?" 

Salena kissed Merry on the cheek. "Happy Birthday. See you on the 26^th, then?" 

"Definitely," said Merry. She watched for a time as Salena walked away. But when a bitter, snowy wind whipped at Merry's cheeks, she ducked away from the blast to wrap her scarf around her face. When she squinted back into the snow squall, she could no longer see Salena. For an instant, she felt as if the entire event had been a dream, too surreal to have actually happened to her.  

She looked up at the dark steeple of the church behind her, renewing her faith that Salena was real, that their kiss was real.  When her gaze drifted back to the grove of trees, she could just make out the impression of two side by side snow angels holding hands. Merry smiled beneath her scarf as she turned to rush home. 

Christmas was her favorite holiday, but this year, she looked forward to the day after Christmas with even more joyful anticipation. This was the best Christmas present she'd ever received.

 

The End

 

 

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