Chapter 4

Christmas has always been a special time of year for me. There is nothing like the feeling of good will and the thrill of seeing friends and family. The feeling was increased my first Christmas with Claudia. It was during my second year of MA school. We had gotten some well-deserved time off and Claudia's mom had come to spend some time with us.

Let me tell you, Beverly Wilcox was an older and very desirable version of her daughter. I was nervous as heck meeting her for the first time. She hugged me and whispered in my ear, "Thank you for loving my baby and saving her from that jerk of a boyfriend." By the next day, she was treating me like family.

As her visit continued, Beverly and Claudia went on several shopping trips. I tried my best to make it a special Christmas for Claudia. Then Christmas Eve was upon us. We had a nice dinner at home and watched "An American Christmas Carole" with Henry Winkler. It was one of my all-time favorite holiday movies of all time. As Scrooge was making it up to his employees, Beverly yawned and said, she was going to turn in. She gave Claudia and me a kiss and wished us a merry Christmas.

After she had gone into her bedroom, Claudia leaned over and kissed me hard on the mouth. She then pulled out a present from behind the couch. She let out a sultry whisper, "Merry Christmas, baby. Wait 10 minutes then open this. I'll be in our bedroom when you're done."

I stared at the package, mystified as time passed. I slowly opened the present. Inside was a photo album. Opening the first page, I was greeted by a portrait of Claudia in a green Teddy. The contrast of her red hair and the green outfit made me breathless as I stared at the picture. The next picture was of her making a funny face in a picture frame. A laugh came out before, I knew it. As I flipped through the photos, each one becomes more and more provocative. The final photo was her nude, lying back on a bed with her hair fanned out on the pillows. My mind went back to the 1st time, I saw her. She was even more beautiful that she was then.

On the back cover was a printed invitation;

"Ms. Claudia Wilcox requests the pleasure of your company on December 24th, to celebrate the holidays".

With that, I closed the album and went to the bedroom. She was lying back on the bed in the green Teddy and her hair fanned out on the pillows. She smiled and said," Merry Christmas and I love you."