Cameron

Two Years Later

The tree lot was full when they arrived, and in the back seat, nine-year-old Jeremy was excited. He was getting to pick the tree again this year like he did the year before, giving his mother the scare of her life when he pointed to a seven-foot Noble Fir tree that she knew wouldn't fit in the beach house they now called home. But then, with a mischievous grin, his hand drifted to the right, toward the six-foot Fraser fir beside it instead.

Almost got you, he'd signed to her and she nodded, laughing as Talon left her side to inspect the tree their son had picked out.

This year, Jeremy knew what he wanted. He knew where it would go, right by the bay window that faced the Boardwalk and beyond it, the ocean. He'd browse the rows of trees, looking for the perfect tree while Cameron and Talon would follow right behind him, never rushing him. Once decked with lights and ornaments, this tree would make it on all the Christmas cards they'd mail out the old-fashioned way to family and friends beyond the boundaries of Ocean City, New Jersey. It was their home now, had been for the last two years.

Ever since that first Christmas when she and Jeremy ran into Talon at the same tree lot, the three of them had become inseparable. Mother and son moved in with Talon a week later, and a month after that, Talon got the paternity test results. Jeremy was 99.999 percent his son. Not that there'd been any doubt about that, for he'd known it the moment he first laid eyes on the boy just as his sister had could tell the moment she saw a newspaper clipping. Jeremy looked exactly like his father with his bright blue eyes and broad grin, waves of dark hair peeking out from under his wool cap.

I like this one, Jeremy signed before pointing to a Noble fir that stood out on its own in the back row. Do you think it will fit?

Why don't we measure it? Talon pulled out a measuring tape from his jacket and handed it to him. With his Aunt Adele joining them for Christmas in a few days, Jeremy wanted a tree to rival all trees. He also couldn't wait to see what presents his aunt would bring him from New York City, where she now lived and worked. Lately, he'd been obsessed about the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, and they'd all arranged to spend the New Year's break in the city and spend time seeing the sights together.

Cameron watched father and son walk toward the tree and measure it as best they could. While Talon held the tape above the boy's head to mark the top of the tree, Jeremy brought the end down to the ground, stepped on the metal tab as Talon looked at the numbers on the tape.

Seventy-two inches and a half, he signed.

Will it fit? Jeremy asked.

Talon nodded, pressing the button on the tape as it rolled back into its holder. It was a game they played as Jeremy learned about geometric shapes and surface areas, fractions, and decimals in school.

While Talon served as a scout sniper during numerous deployments, he returned home wanting nothing to do with guns. Instead, he learned all he could learn about carpentry while renovating his grandmother's beach house, his skills growing with each project he tackled until neighbors, primarily those who lived in Manhattan and came up to Ocean City only during the summer months, asked him to maintain their homes, too. Now it was a year-long venture, one that kept him busy and gave him a good income, allowing Cameron to stay home and be with Jeremy.

She volunteered at his school and got to know the teachers and other parents. No one asked about Edgar, and if they ever talked behind her back, it didn't last long for what was there to talk about? She didn't steal the money; Edgar did. She didn't know, and even if she did, it was none of their business.

It was a life she wouldn't trade for the world, not even for her old life with expensive cars, glamorous parties, and servants at her beck and call. This was the life she wanted to live, with Talon and Jeremy and the small beach community that took her in as their own, even if it took some time.

"Have you found a tree, Miss?" asked the attendant, and as Cameron turned to face him, she recognized him as the same man from two years earlier. Bob was his name. "I saw you guys walk in, but I was with a customer. Always nice to do business with you."

"Merry Christmas, Bob." She shook his hand. "I think they found the perfect tree over there, but someone is helping them already."

"One of my sons, yes. They usually help me out during the day." He paused, his expression turning serious. "I'm glad they finally got him back stateside, Miss..." Bob's voice faded as if he were searching for something.

"Miss Blake," she said, and he nodded. "I'm back to being Miss Blake again." And boy, was she glad. It had taken a lot of legal paperwork to untangle herself from Edwin and take her name back, but she did it. His extradition back to the US six months ago made it a lot easier, for he signed the divorce papers right away. Besides, Edwin had bigger problems than having to fight her request for a divorce.

"Miss Blake, I'm glad they got Edgar Thomas finally and his assistant. It took a while, but they did it."

"Me, too."

"I'm sorry you had to go through so much on your own, you and your son."

Cameron smiled. "But then, I wouldn't have found my way back here if it didn't happen."

Bob nodded. "Ah, yes. Good point."

"Funny how life works sometimes."

"Yeah," he said. "If anything, it showed the world who they were inside. But that's life, isn't it? Some of us turn out rotten to the core, and others–"

"–learn to be strong for their own sake and come out stronger than they ever thought possible in the end," Cameron said before a customer caught Bob's attention. "I should let you go. Merry Christmas, Bob. And Happy New Year."

"Same to you, too, Miss Blake. Give my regards to your man and your little boy for me."

* * *

Later that evening, with the tree set up by the window and halfway decorated with strings of blinking lights and a popcorn garland, Jeremy excused himself to play with his Legos, leaving Cameron and Talon alone in the living room. Dinner was cooking in the oven, the aroma of roast mingling with the strong scent of fir.

"Everything okay?" Talon wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder. They'd had to wrangle four long strings of tree lights that somehow got all tangled up in the storage box, and if they only stopped laughing for once, they'd probably have had the tree decorated by now. But it was all good. For now, half the tree was aglow with many twinkling white lights, and Cameron loved it.

"More than okay," she replied. "Everything's perfect."

"That makes me one happy and lucky man."

"You make me one happy woman, Talon. You always have." She turned her head to kiss his cheek. "I couldn't ask for more than the life you've given me. Jeremy and this."

He let go of her waist and turned her around to face him. "You took the words right out of my mouth. Do you know this will be our third Christmas together?"

"Yes, I do, but I didn't realize you were counting."

"Oh, you better believe I've been keeping track." He grinned before his expression turned serious. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

Cameron gasped as Talon got down on one knee, holding up a ring between his fingers, one that used to belong to his mother. The only reason she knew this was because Talon's mother had shown it to her so many years ago before they spent that fateful night in the same beach house they now called home.

"Will you marry me, Cam?" Talon asked, his voice almost hoarse. "Will you be my wife?"

There was no hesitation in her answer. Of course, she'd marry him. He was her heart and soul, the part of her that had been missing for so long when he'd gone away to fight in foreign lands. He completed her just as much as he swore she completed him.

"Yes," she whispered, taking his face in her hands. "Yes, I'll marry you, Talon Michaels. It's always been you."

"Merry Christmas, love," he murmured, slipping the ring around her finger. "I love you more than the world."

She giggled, loving how the ring felt around her finger. It simply felt so right, like it had been made just for her. "And I love you right back."

Talon got up and gathered her in his arms, and for the next few minutes, they looked at the tree with its blinking lights. Beyond the window, they could hear the surf crashing into the shore, and somewhere in the neighborhood, Christmas Canon by Trans-Siberian Orchestra was playing.

Cameron felt a tug on her arm, and she turned to see Jeremy looking up at her.

Did he ask you?

Ask me what? Her engagement ring reflected the glittering tree lights as she signed.

Did he ask you to marry him?

She turned to look at Talon quizzically, but Jeremy continued to sign. I hope you said yes.

I did. Look! She laughed, showing him the ring, and Jeremy's face brightened in a wide grin before he wrapped his arms around both of them in a hug.

Cameron lost track of how long they stood embracing in the living room, for it didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was that they were all together now.

They were family.

•·.·''·.·• THE END •·.·''·.·•

Thank you so much for reading!

I hope you enjoyed The Accidental Christmas. I know Christmas is over but I think the story is not really about Christmas but about family. This story came to me after a trip to the Christmas tree lot with my 5-year old whom I promised could pick out the tree this year. After a long time of running through the rows of trees and pretending he was in a forest, he finally found the tree he wanted: a 3-footer.

It was too small for the corner we'd allotted for the tree but a promise was a promise and so he got his very own Charlie Brown tree, and he even decorated it (for as long as 5-year olds can actually focus on doing something, like five minutes). And so the story was born.

I studied sign language in college and wish I could keep on studying it. It's an amazing language and one that can even help you and your partner win in Pictionary (sorry not sorry). I had to relearn it when my son was a late talker and later diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, hence the sign language in the family. So in many ways, this story was born out of my little boy who's growing up so fast.