been hard pressed to take it as slowly as he had. As for them being
bound together, that didn’t sound too bad. After all, Mandy had already fallen
in love with him. “I feel connected to you too, Nicolas.”
“No,
you don’t understand,” his tone reflected his frustration as he obviously
struggled to find the right words. “Your life has been changed now. Now that our
souls are bonded you will live for however long I do.”
Mandy
tried to absorb what he was telling her, but could only come up with… “So, you
made me immortal?”
“Not
quite. You’re still human, nothing has changed on that front, but your life
force is tied directly to mine now, and vice versa. As long as you remain
healthy and avoid any fatal accidents, then you could potentially live for
hundreds of years with me. You’ll even retain your youth for much longer than
normal,” he explained, holding her a little tighter. “We could have many, many
children with that kind of time.”
Live
for hundreds of years? Have many children? The very idea was intriguing and
frightening, but Mandy knew she could handle it. She could handle anything as
long as she had Nicolas by her side.
Mandy
turned her head and gave Nicolas a cheeky grin over her shoulder. “Well then, I
hope you don’t get tired of me anytime soon, because it looks like you’re stuck
with me now.”
Nicolas
bent and kissed her soundly. “And I couldn’t be happier about it.”
After
taking a leisurely bath, where Nicolas insisted on feeding her, they then
enjoyed washing each other and basking in the afterglow still lingering.
Christmas Eve was the next day, and Mandy was looking forward to her Christmas
wish more than ever before.
* * * *
Nicolas
and Jonathan each held a clear glass ornament, studying it as a small child
would a bug. “You want us to do what?” Jonathan asked.
“First
you take a small slip of paper and write down your Christmas wish. Once you’re
done, you take the top off of the ornament, roll up your wish loosely and stick
it inside. Put the top back on, and then just decorate it however you want.
Don’t forget to put the year on your ornament,” Mandy instructed. “With the
paper rolled loosely, it should open enough to see your wish inside. After New
Year’s Day, when all of the ornaments are being packed away, you can see if you
got your Christmas wish. If not by then, then perhaps it will come true in the
coming year.” She shrugged, picking up her own ornament. “It’s a tradition I
started for myself when I was younger. I guess it just gave me something to
look forward too. I never asked for anything big, just stuff like good grades,
maybe a raise at work, you know, little stuff.”
Nicolas
leaned over and whispered, “What if I already have part of my wish?”
Mandy
blushed, “Well, then I suggest you ask for the rest of it.”
“Oh,
I intend to.” The devilish smile he gave her left Mandy wondering what the rest
of his wish would entail, and she was looking forward to finding out.
Everyone
began to pass around all of the craft supplies and Mandy noticed that Garrett
was missing. “Where’s Garrett? He needs to come and do his ornament too.”
“I
believe he’s in the kitchen,” Jonathan replied. “I’ll go and get him.”
Garrett
emerged from the kitchen with Jonathan trailing behind. “Did you need
something? Perhaps
some cider to go along with your project?”
“Nope,
we just need you.” At his perplexed look, Mandy explained. “If we’re going to
be a family, and I hope that we are, then you need to be involved in every
aspect of this family. That includes making ornaments with us.”
The
smiles on Jonathan’s and Nicolas’ faces told her she had made a good decision,
and she carefully placed an ornament in front of an empty seat, waiting for
Garrett to come over. His face was easily read as
bound together, that didn’t sound too bad. After all, Mandy had already fallen
in love with him. “I feel connected to you too, Nicolas.”
“No,
you don’t understand,” his tone reflected his frustration as he obviously
struggled to find the right words. “Your life has been changed now. Now that our
souls are bonded you will live for however long I do.”
Mandy
tried to absorb what he was telling her, but could only come up with… “So, you
made me immortal?”
“Not
quite. You’re still human, nothing has changed on that front, but your life
force is tied directly to mine now, and vice versa. As long as you remain
healthy and avoid any fatal accidents, then you could potentially live for
hundreds of years with me. You’ll even retain your youth for much longer than
normal,” he explained, holding her a little tighter. “We could have many, many
children with that kind of time.”
Live
for hundreds of years? Have many children? The very idea was intriguing and
frightening, but Mandy knew she could handle it. She could handle anything as
long as she had Nicolas by her side.
Mandy
turned her head and gave Nicolas a cheeky grin over her shoulder. “Well then, I
hope you don’t get tired of me anytime soon, because it looks like you’re stuck
with me now.”
Nicolas
bent and kissed her soundly. “And I couldn’t be happier about it.”
After
taking a leisurely bath, where Nicolas insisted on feeding her, they then
enjoyed washing each other and basking in the afterglow still lingering.
Christmas Eve was the next day, and Mandy was looking forward to her Christmas
wish more than ever before.
* * * *
Nicolas
and Jonathan each held a clear glass ornament, studying it as a small child
would a bug. “You want us to do what?” Jonathan asked.
“First
you take a small slip of paper and write down your Christmas wish. Once you’re
done, you take the top off of the ornament, roll up your wish loosely and stick
it inside. Put the top back on, and then just decorate it however you want.
Don’t forget to put the year on your ornament,” Mandy instructed. “With the
paper rolled loosely, it should open enough to see your wish inside. After New
Year’s Day, when all of the ornaments are being packed away, you can see if you
got your Christmas wish. If not by then, then perhaps it will come true in the
coming year.” She shrugged, picking up her own ornament. “It’s a tradition I
started for myself when I was younger. I guess it just gave me something to
look forward too. I never asked for anything big, just stuff like good grades,
maybe a raise at work, you know, little stuff.”
Nicolas
leaned over and whispered, “What if I already have part of my wish?”
Mandy
blushed, “Well, then I suggest you ask for the rest of it.”
“Oh,
I intend to.” The devilish smile he gave her left Mandy wondering what the rest
of his wish would entail, and she was looking forward to finding out.
Everyone
began to pass around all of the craft supplies and Mandy noticed that Garrett
was missing. “Where’s Garrett? He needs to come and do his ornament too.”
“I
believe he’s in the kitchen,” Jonathan replied. “I’ll go and get him.”
Garrett
emerged from the kitchen with Jonathan trailing behind. “Did you need
something? Perhaps
some cider to go along with your project?”
“Nope,
we just need you.” At his perplexed look, Mandy explained. “If we’re going to
be a family, and I hope that we are, then you need to be involved in every
aspect of this family. That includes making ornaments with us.”
The
smiles on Jonathan’s and Nicolas’ faces told her she had made a good decision,
and she carefully placed an ornament in front of an empty seat, waiting for
Garrett to come over. His face was easily read as
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