Chapter Text
These dates had always been remarkable for Maya —though not always for the best. She remembers the Christmases of the first years of her life with nostalgia. As the most special and full of illusion and innocence. The following ones were still joyful but dominated by her father's control over her. Preventing her from eating the candy and sweets typical of these holidays and forcing her to go running in the cold while the rest of the teenagers were at home enjoying their gifts and drinking hot chocolate with the family.
Then she began to change the tradition that was so sacred to her. For her it was unthinkable to spend Christmas with people other than her family and in a house other than the one she grew up in —but life takes many turns. She always tried to see her family at this time of year, but everything gradually fell apart. So she started spending Christmas with her colleagues at the station after her second year there. And just a few years later those colleagues were already family —the only ones with whom she now shared this special time of year.
Well, not the only ones.
At least not for a few years now.
"Come on, honey," Maya says without taking her eyes off the front as she keeps walking, passing by the sign that signaled the entrance to the place.
The footsteps of the little Bishop over the puddles sound behind Maya until out of the corner of her eye she sees the figure of her little boy appear. "Mommy, can we get a really big tree this year?"
"Maybe it can be a little bigger than last year's," Maya looks down, smiling as she arranges a few strands of Caleb's hair —that blond hair, slightly darker than Maya's, straight and that was a little longer at the top.
"Yay!" She gives a little hop, causing Maya to let out a giggle.
Caleb jogs and jumps through the trees, leaving a permanent smile on his mother's face. Maya sometimes wondered if this was real, if she was really being so lucky to live with this little version of herself for almost five years now. Although she often didn't want to think of him as a little version of her, she didn't want her son to experience some of the things she did. That's why she was always trying to be a better version of herself and give the best she had to raise her child the way they didn't raise her.
"I like this one!" he shouts excitedly, pointing to a tree that was almost twice Maya's height.
"Honey, this one is too big. I don't even think it will fit where we want to put it," Maya responds in mid-laugh.
"Please, mommy, so we can buy lots of ornaments and a really big train that moves around," he says bouncing up and down, making puppy dog eyes at his mother. But as adorable as it was, Maya didn't want to have such a big tree at home.
"Another year we can buy a tree this big, but now let's try to find something smaller, okay?" she smiles sweetly at Caleb as she rests her hand in his hair.
"Okay," the boy replies somewhat discouraged and keeps walking.
They left the area of the larger trees behind and came to the more normal sized trees —the ones that could be decorated without the need to pick up a ladder. They were all pretty much the same, but Caleb seemed to like one in particular and went hopping towards it.
"Be careful when you run, honey, you might trip," Maya says coming up to where her son is standing.
"Can we take this one?" He asks pointing to the tree he had a short distance away. It was a little bigger than Maya originally wanted but it didn't seem so excessive —she could make an effort to please her son.
Maya nods and Caleb walks the short distance to the tree in a few more hurried steps than his mother's. He touches one of the branches and notices how another hand lands on another nearby branch at the same time something taps his leg. The little boy looks down, seeing a dog tapping his leg with the front paws.
"Jeff, vieni qui!" a voice is heard beside them. They both look to the right, looking at the woman next to them —right standing next to the same tree. Without almost realizing it Maya stops to contemplate her features. Wavy brunette hair that went past her shoulders, expressive eyes with a shade of brown that might seem ordinary but which she made look different and special. Her nose bordered on perfection and the beauty mark drawn next to her lower lip gave the final touch to that almost angelic face.
That's what Maya thought.
"Sorry, she loves to play with people, especially children," the woman speaks looking at Maya and showing a faint smile apologetically, which makes her react along with that captivating accent.
"Oh, don't worry, he loves animals," Maya smiles back.
"Can I pet her?" Caleb asks somewhat sheepishly, tilting his head up to look at the brunette.
"Sure!" She nods, smiling wider —which captures Maya's attention for longer than she would have liked. "Although as soon as she sees you're giving her play she's not going to stop and get all over your clothes."
"Oh," Maya lets out a giggle. "His clothes are already stained enough, it won't be a problem," she says looking at the water and dirt stains on the little boy's shoes and clothes. At least he wasn't wearing new clothes, Maya already knew what was going to happen as soon as they got out of the car.
Caleb pets the dog, which causes her to jump up and down to try to get as much contact as possible. The little guy bursts out laughing and decides to crouch down to be closer to his new friend, who circles around him and keeps jumping up and down to play.
"Jeff, stai tranquilla," the brunette says as she crouches down, getting Jeff to sit next to her trying to catch her breath.
"Oh, Jeff! I like the name. I once called a toy I had that name. It was a dinosaur," the little guy explains to the woman, who listens attentively still at his level.
"And was he as big as her?" The brunette asks showing interest and Maya watches the conversation from her spot, enjoying the amusing interaction between her son and a stranger who was giving her very good feelings.
"No," the little boy lets out a chuckle as he shakes his head —causing his hair to shake. "My name is Caleb," he says, as he follows the woman's movement with his eyes as she stands up.
"Oh, that's a beautiful name," the woman smiles.
"And she's my mother," he points to Maya, who smiles at her son's words and looks at him tenderly until another movement catches her attention. Her gaze stops at the outstretched hand of the woman a few steps away and then up to her face.
"I'm Carina," she smiles at Maya, still holding out her hand. The blonde reciprocates the greeting with a smile as well —feeling the brunette's soft skin in contact with hers.
Carina.
A name that seemed to fit perfectly with the face she had discovered a few minutes ago.
Carina.
Pretty. Elegant. Sweet.
Like her.
That's what Maya thought.
"Maya," when their hands part they both notice the absence of the warmth the other had provided for those brief seconds. Maya puts her hands in her coat pockets —trying to get that warmth back— and watches her son play with Jeff. "Well, honey, shall we go get a tree?" She says after a couple of minutes where all that could be heard was Caleb's laughter and some noises Jeff was making as they played.
"But mommy, I want to keep playing with Jeff," the little boy says somewhat sadly, looking at his mother from below.
"I know, but I'm sure Carina has more things to do, we can't take up any more of her time," Maya watches as Carina looks at her and denies with a subtle smile, closing her eyes during the brief movement. "And we have to keep doing our own stuff," she says.
"Okay..." The little boy stands up and looks at the tree next to him. "Is this one ours?"
"Let's let them take it, okay?" Maya's gaze rests for a brief second on Carina and returns to her son. "And we'll take another one."
"Oh, no," Carina interjects, waving her hand in Maya's direction. "Don't worry, I'll take another one of the many."
"No, I insist, we get to pick another one. Right, honey?" Caleb nods and looks down, meeting Jeff's gaze. The little guy rests his hand on his furry friend's head and moves his hand slowly —feeling a subtle tickle in his palm from Jeff's hair.
"Thank you," Maya hears from Carina and they both smile at each other. The brunette looks tenderly at the boy still petting her dog and after a few seconds of hesitation she crouches down again as she had done minutes before. "Caleb, do you like chocolate?" The little boy nods. "Maybe I can buy you some hot chocolate if you want. And if your mamma lets me," she looks at Maya as she finishes the sentence.
"Can we, mommy?"
"You don't have to—"
"Oh, no, I insist," she interrupts. "I think it's a fair trade for ceding me the tree," she says in an amused tone.
Maya thinks about it for a few seconds, turning from Carina's smile to her son's puppy dog eyes. "Okay."
"Yay!" Caleb jumps up and Jeff mimics him at the sight of him and moves briskly around him.
"Can you give me a few minutes? I have to give my data for the purchase."
"Yeah, sure," Carina stands up again, helping herself by resting her hands on her knees. "If you want to meet me on the way out, I have to reserve mine too."
"Ah, yes, perfect," Maya nods and smiles. She motions to one of the nearby employees and watches as Carina advances through the trees while Jeff goes scampering and sniffing as far as the leash allows.
A few minutes later they both wait at the exit until at last Carina —along with Jeff— appears beside them. "Sorry, people started crowding in and there was no way to move quickly," Carina apologizes as she arrives.
"No problem," she smiles, "Shall we go?"
"Yeah, sure," at a leisurely pace they start walking until they reach one of the nearby coffee shops —a sort of wooden shack where they were making hot drinks and selling cookies and some pastries.
Carina and Maya ordered a coffee while Caleb had preferred a hot chocolate and managed to get one of the chocolate chip cookies they were selling —which he ate very slowly because he was more interested in continuing to play with Jeff. The two women smilingly watched the interaction between the two of them and occasionally glanced at each other —remaining in a shy and brief exchange of glances.
When Maya finished she tried to quickly approach the counter of the small café to pay but Carina was quick to interpose herself between her and the girl who was attending and managed to invite them —just as she had said when she proposed them to have a snack. When they finished paying they all left the small enclosure with different cafes and small stores —there were only about five cabins, but the queues were moving fast and there was a nice atmosphere despite all the people there.
"Thanks for the coffee and for letting him spend a few more minutes with Jeff," Maya says with a smile to Carina, though her gaze was focused on her son leaning forward to pet the dog. "I think I know what he's going to add to his Christmas gift list," Maya rolls her eyes, still with a smile on her face —it wouldn't be the first time her son had made it clear to her that he wanted a pet.
A slight chuckle from Carina causes Maya's gaze to shift focus. "You're welcome, it's been a nice time," the brunette smiles revealing her perfect teeth and subtly bulging cheekbones raised by the movement of the muscles in her face —that face.
"Actually, yes," Maya nods.
"Bye, Jeff," Caleb says saddened giving small touches to Jeff's head.
Maya watches Carina as she crouches down and stands squatting next to her son. "She's loved playing with you," Carina smiles tenderly. "It's been nice meeting you," the brunette reaches out and shakes the little boy's hand gently as he reciprocates —adapting the shape of her hand to mold nicely to the little boy's. "To both of you," Carina smiles looking at Maya —realizing that the blonde was already looking at her— at the same time she stands back up. "Merry Christmas!" She says alternating her gaze between the two of them, gripping Jeff's leash tighter.
"Likewise," Maya replies.
"I hope Santa brings you lots of presents," Caleb chimes in with a cheerful, sweet tone. "And Jeff too!"
"Jeff's been up to some mischief, I don't know if she's going to get a lot of presents," she jokes, eliciting a slight laugh from the little Bishop. "But I'm sure you've been good and you're going to get what you asked for," she winks at him as she starts walking slowly. The boy smiles and nods shyly and Jeff moves as she notices Carina walking away. Maya waves goodbye as she sees that she is still looking their way. Carina waves goodbye back and gives them one last smile before looking ahead and continuing on her way.
[ . . . ] [ . . . ] [ . . . ]
With the tree already at home, the only thing left was to get the ornaments ready. Maya already had some from other years but she liked to get some new ones each year. Besides, Caleb was very excited thinking about which ones he was going to choose to decorate the tree and some parts of the house, and Maya wasn't about to take away her son's excitement. So the day after the tree was up she decided to take advantage of her afternoon off and go for a walk with Caleb and go into some stores that were filled with all kinds of Christmas decorations. Something that didn't help her much considering Caleb wanted to take everything and she sometimes couldn't decide what she preferred to take home.
After a couple of hours they entered what Maya had decided would be the last store of the day. Caleb was stopping in front of every shelf he saw to look at the stuffed animals and decorative figurines. They also stopped at the Christmas ball and tree ornament section and left with a full basket to continue touring the store. They had finished their tour until they reached the section with the moving figures and small constructions —where they could see everything from a carousel to a skating rink, a Ferris wheel or a cotton candy stand. And trains, of course.
"Look, Mommy, this train is huge!" Caleb comments in awe watching the train move around and amidst the rest of the decorations.
"Yeah, it's really cool," Maya smiles and tries to match her son's excitement —even though she knew no one was ever going to be happier than him at the sight of a train.
Caleb's full attention was focused on the train and for a few seconds there was silence. But Maya knew what her son was going to say next.
3, 2, 1...
"Can we buy it for our house?" Exactly. That question was the one Maya had been waiting for.
"We already have lots of decorations, honey. And they're so cool, you'll see how nicely the house is decorated," she replies sweetly trying not to make her little boy sad. Little Bishop just nods, rests both forearms on the surface placing the palm of his right hand on top of his left hand and places his chin on his right hand. He stays like that for a few minutes. Maya watches his eyes dart back and forth following the movement of the train and feels a small knot in her heart at the image. "Maybe we can buy a smaller one and—"
"Mommy, look!" Caleb interrupts her by quickly lifting his head and pointing to another side of the store. "It's Jeff's mom!" he shouts excitedly. Maya looks where he's looking and sees a woman looking at ornaments on one of the shelves with features similar to Carina's —minus the face, which she couldn't see because the hair covered her entire profile.
"It'll be someone who looks like her, honey."
"No, it's her, look," he moves the finger he's pointing with and, although Maya didn't like him pointing at people, this time she decided not to correct him and look at the woman again. Indeed. Her son was right. "It's Carina. Can I go with her? I want to ask her about Jeff."
"Some other time, okay? She'll have things to do too," she replies softly as they start walking towards the exit to pay.
Caleb keeps looking in the same direction and for a moment Maya sees him smile and wave. Maya averts her gaze and sees Carina hesitate for a second and then acknowledges him and returns the wave with a shy smile. Maya smiles back as she notices Carina's gaze on her and turns around to keep walking.
"Mommy," Caleb turns and looks at Maya as they wait in line to pay.
"Tell me, honey."
"How am I going to be able to ask her about Jeff another day? Maybe we won't see her anymore."
"Sure you will. I'm sure we'll see her again someday," Maya flashes a reassuring smile as she takes the things Caleb is passing her as he takes them out of the basket to put on the counter. As she waits for the sales clerk to put everything into the bags she looks back —to where they had seen Carina— inwardly wishing she was still there looking at ornaments. But no, she was gone. And Maya suddenly asked herself the same question her son had asked a few minutes earlier and wanted to be right-she wanted to be sure they were going to see her again at some point.