Chapter 1: Evening

Julia nodded with a smile as she passed the stranger weighed down by holiday gifts. Somehow the magic of Christmas made these burdens so easy to carry. Such simple acts of kindness always added to the cheerfulness of the season.

"Santa," Julia tapped the sidewalk Santa on the shoulder, "I shall give you $5.00 if you stop ringing the bell till I'm out of sight."

"Deal, my fine lady," the Santa was charmed by Julia's smile. "In truth, my hand has gone quite numb with the ringing of it."

Julia patted the Santa on the shoulder and dropped the folded bill into his bucket. When the ringing ceased several of the passersby smiled and were reminded to drop a few coins themselves. Was it for the peace the lack of the bell made? Or was it for the season? No matter.

Julia wrapped her scarf around her throat and enjoyed a minute of people watching. A child walked by so bundled against the cold the poor girl couldn't bend her arms. Her mother held tight her hand and led the way into the crowded store. Two strangers met head-on and each dodged the same direction to pass, thereby blocking their own way again. After several tries, he took up the lady's hand in his and spun her in a parody of a waltz, leaving her on the side she had desired to go. He tipped his hand to her in farewell and both left with a smile. Yes, Julia thought with her own smile, the holidays brought a strange magic to people.

Rob pulled the car to the curb for Julia to get in. She turned and gave a small wave to Santa and they sped off into the night.

"Scoring points with Santa?" Rob teased.

"Oh yes, every brownie point counts this time of year. Can you believe it's Christmas Eve?" Julia nodded to the radio as "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" finished its chorus.

How far the two of them had come in one year. She'd just moved in with Rob two months ago. Neither talked of marriage. Both had been married before and were leery of getting into that again. However one's thoughts did tend to move towards families as the year winds down to Christmas. Julia figured she was content and happy right now, as things were. At 26 she had no intentions of having children. She didn't feel her life needed them to be complete. She had a steady job, wonderful friends, and Rob. What more could a girl ask for? Rob, at 25, was done with children for the moment. He had one girl by his first wife and claims that is where the trouble in his marriage started. He worked construction, managing a crew. Currently they were working on an office building. He'd spent 10 years working his way up to management and now ran his own crew. Rob was hoping someday to become a partner.

They pulled up to his home, THEIR home, and began to unload the packages from the car.

"Hey!" Rob stood completely still, staring at the night sky.

"What?" Julia whispered coming to stand shoulder to shoulder with him, staring into space to see what he saw.

"There, there it is again. A snowflake!" He beamed like he'd just discovered his own island.

"Well, I'll be." Julia marveled in mock astonishment. Rob pulled her in for a kiss.

"Don't jest woman," he only half joked back, "the first snow of the season, and it's a Christmas one at that! Magic is about this night."

"Yeah well, see if your magic can get all these gifts wrapped before we leave for your mother's tomorrow." Julia replied knocking him in the head with a roll of wrapping paper.

"I'm wounded, you doubt me?" Rob licked her cheek and darted for the front door.

Julia laughed and followed. Casting one look up to the sky to see, indeed, several snowflakes were falling.

Once inside Rob began setting a fire in the fireplace.

"I'll go slip into something more comfortable" Julia said in a seductive voice. Rob wiggled both his eyebrows making her laugh as she headed upstairs.

'More comfortable indeed'. She smiled to herself as she changed. Flannel PJ's with footies. Pink no less, with white eyelet ruffles. Comfortable, yes. Sexy, no. She pulled back her hair in a pony tail and trotted down to the kitchen for the scissors to begin a night of gift wrapping.

"Oh." Julia stopped at the living room archway. There, kneeling by the fireplace, was Rob. Shirtless, his broad back tapered down the waistband of his jeans. His long hair hung loose around his shoulders. He'd dimmed the lights just a bit. The tree was lit and the fire had begun in earnest. All in all, a wonderful setting to walk into. He turned towards her. Ah, now there was a face to love. His five o'clock shadow gave him a rough mountaineer look.

His brown eyes took in her appearance and said, comfortable huh?

Julia gave a sheepish grin and plopped down in front of the tree.

"Tape." She demanded with her hand out in a surgeon's form.

"Tape." Rob repeated slapping it into her palm. He settled down next to her and together they wrapped gifts for the better part of an hour.

"Eggnog?" Rob asked when he got up to tend the fire.

"If it's spiked," was the grinning reply he received.

"It comes in any other way?" He teased back and headed off to the kitchen.

Another hour saw them lounging back on floor pillows staring at the fire.

"I can't tell if it's the fire or the eggnog." Julia said while fanning her face.

"Neither." Rob said perfectly serious. "It's the hot guy you have here."