61 Christmas Eve

The 24th of December passed by quietly. It was Christmas Eve but Adam was in his office occupied for most of the day, trying to catch up on all his work before the holiday came. By the time he left the office it was already dark out, and a light snow had started to fall. Instead of going straight home Adam made a stop at MK's manufacturing facility. They had been working on a new project and Adam stopped by to examine the final products before finally returning to his condo.

Meanwhile, Elle had spent her entire day decorating her home. Her father was hosting a dinner party for a few people who were close to the family; some of his friends, a few close relatives, and some of his colleagues from work would be there. As usual, he left Elle to take care of the decorating, it was a tedious task but it was one she enjoyed. Elle found there was something soothing and cathartic about hanging decorations. She could be alone in her thoughts with no one there to bother her. Elle even had Christmas music playing lightly in the background.

She had been so busy with her work that December had passed in the blink of an eye. Elle wasn't able to appreciate all the little things that occurred leading up to Christmas; the decorations in people's yards, the cute shop displays, the holiday music playing on the radio. She had missed it all. Today was her last chance to enjoy the festive season before it was over, and she intended too.

By the time Elle was finished, and satisfied with her work, it was almost time for dinner. Her father had said he wanted to have a family dinner that night, with all four of them present. Usually Elle would have found an excuse to get herself out of it, but tonight she didn't bother with excuses. She didn't care if she had dinner with them or not. Elle decided to just go along with her father this time since it was more work to try to come up with an excuse and then to avoid them for the entire night.

She quickly freshened up before sitting down at the table. As she sat there she realized it no longer hurt her to sit in the company of these people. Perhaps the holidays had her in a tolerant mood.

Finally, dinner was served. Elle ignored the conversations happening around her for the most part. As she quietly ate her food she ran through a mental checklist, making sure everything was finished and ready for the next day.

Halfway through the meal Elle's father had an expensive bottle of wine brought out.

"What's this for?" The new wife asked.

"To celebrate." Her father said as he popped the cork. "Elle's marketing project was a great success for the company. The results were better than anyone would have predicted."

Elle could hear that rare sound of pride in his voice again, but the truth was she didn't care. It was kind of her father to try to celebrate, but the accomplishment was long forgotten for Elle. It was true that at a few years ago she would have done anything to hear her father be proud of her, but she had grown up. She was no longer a young girl chasing after her father's praise.

Besides, this time Adam had been the one to celebrate with her. Elle found that she cared more about Adam's praise than her father's.

"To my darling daughter," her father said, raising his glass to toast her.

Elle was disinterested, but she said she would go along with her father tonight, and so she did. She raised her glass and drank apathetically. She was so indifferent to the whole affair that she didn't notice that across the table Jacob was gripping his glass so tightly that his knuckles had turned white. He was feeling spiteful, but he didn't dare act out in front of his father, so he bitterly raised his glass and drank.

While Elle was passively having dinner with her family Adam had finally returned home. He had brought a small box from the manufacturing facility home with him and he carefully put it away in his bedside table before sitting down for dinner for himself.

That night everyone slept peacefully, each excited for Christmas to arrive for their own reasons. They had a long day ahead of them, but each had something to look forward to.