Chapter 3 — A Different Kind of Christmas
The next morning, sunlight poured through the windows.
Mia woke first.
She walked quietly into the kitchen still carrying the folded drawing Sharon had refused.
Thomas knelt beside her.
"Can I see it?"
She nodded.
The picture showed four people holding hands beneath a giant Christmas tree.
Across the top, written in careful six-year-old handwriting, were the words:
Our Family.
Thomas swallowed hard.
"It's beautiful."
Mia looked down.
"Grandma didn't think so."
Thomas gently shook his head.
"No."
"Grandma forgot what beautiful looks like."
He reached into a drawer and took out a wooden frame.
Together, they placed the drawing inside.
Then Thomas carried it into the living room and hung it above the fireplace.
Right in the center.
"This," he said, smiling at Mia, "is the most important Christmas decoration in our house."
Noah grinned.
"I like it better than the tree."
Mia smiled for the first time since yesterday.
A real smile.
One that reached her eyes.
That afternoon, the four of them baked cookies, watched old Christmas movies, and built a blanket fort in the living room.
Nobody mentioned Sharon.
May you like
Nobody needed to.
The house already felt lighter.
