Author's Note: Belated wishes for a Happy New Year!  I know I'm a bit late given the theme of this drabble, but the idea came to me during the holidays and then it took quite some time to write.  It's a bit longer than my other drabbles, you see, but I admit a partiality to it.  This one may end up being my favorite of all the drabbles.  Hopefully you'll agree, and if you do, please let me know by voting or commenting!  I so appreciate hearing from my readers, as it helps to keep me motivated.  Mostly, I'm beyond thrilled that so many of you have found my drabbles.  Here's my (belated) Christmas gift to you . . . :)

 

Description: Chen Xiao Xi and Jiang Chen celebrate an extra special Christmas.

 

Christmas Love

Lin Jing Xiao, or Jing Jing as she was known to her closest friends, watched her best friend manipulate a string of yarn around long wired needles with her tongue stuck between her teeth. She took a sip of her coffee and wondered, not for the first time in the past fifteen minutes, whether Chen Xiao Xi had called her out just to watch her battle through her annual attempt at knitting.

“Are you sure you don’t need help with that?” she finally asked.

Xiao Xi jerked away from Jing Jing’s outstretched hand. “No, I can do it myself.”

Jing Jing raised her eyebrow at what looked to be more like a knotted mess than the scarf she knew her friend was attempting to make. “Are you sure about that?”

“I’m determined to learn.”

“That’s what you said last year. And the year before last. And the year before that. And, well, pretty much every year since we were in high school.”

“One of these days I’ll figure it out.”

No one could ever accuse Chen Xiao Xi of being anything less than optimistic.

“Maybe you’d do better if you didn’t wait each year until the last two weeks before Christmas to try and figure out how to knit.”

“But it always seems like it shouldn’t be this hard.” Xiao Xi let out a heavy sigh and tried not to let the frustration get to her as she dealt with another dropped stitch.

“Do you think you’ll be able to finish the scarf before you leave for your parents’? When are you going down? Lu Yang and I are leaving this weekend.”

“Jiang Chen and I are also going down this weekend, after he finishes making rounds on Saturday morning, and then we’ll return on Tuesday.”

“That’s not a long visit,” Jing Jing observed.

“Just long enough for Christmas,” Xiao Xi agreed. “Jiang Chen couldn’t wrangle more time off, but he’ll get Chinese New Year’s instead.”

“That’s not a bad exchange, actually, and if our schedules match up then maybe we can even travel down together.” It wouldn’t have been the first time the foursome traveled together. Since they were all from the same hometown, it actually made sense. Not only did they save on travel costs, but the extra company helped to pass the time quickly. “Where are you spending Christmas? Do you and Jiang Chen still do that weird thing where you each stay with your own family?”

Xiao Xi nodded. “Why is it that so weird? Since our families live in the same apartment complex, it makes sense. This way no family has to fight for the right to visit with their own child. What do you and Lu Yang do?”

“Of course we stay with my mother, and then we visit with his parents.”

“Of course,” Xiao Xi smiled knowingly. Everyone knew who wore the pants in that marriage.

“What are you going to do when you have children?”

Xiao Xi paused mid-stitch. It was a good question, and if her female intuitions proved correct, it was something she and Jiang Chen might actually have to sort out before the next Christmas. “We’ll figure it out then.” After a pause, she added. “What do you think of my scarf now?”

Jing Jing stared at the brown . . . she wasn’t quite sure what to say about it beyond its color. To call it a scarf would have been an outright lie. She only knew it was a scarf because it was supposed to be a scarf. To call it a ball would have been overly generous. And to call it a tangled mess would be oversimplifying things. It simply was.

“Have you made a lot of progress?” Jing Jing finally asked, figuring it was the safest thing she could say without hurting her friend’s feelings.

“It doesn’t really look like it, huh?”

“Maybe you should think about getting Jiang Chen a different present.”

Every year Xiao Xi made plans to knit a scarf for her husband. It was something she’d been trying to do since they were high school students. Just as she did then, she still liked the idea of giving him something homemade. Something that had been made from her own efforts. Something that was one of a kind.

But each year, thanks to her unskilled hands with the knitting needles, she continued to fail at producing a scarf. She probably should just give up, but her stubbornness meant she’d likely try again next year.

For this year though, Xiao Xi thought about her friend’s suggestion and finally mustered the courage to ask the real purpose of her visit. “Actually, I think I might already have another present prepared for Jiang Chen. I was hoping you’d be able to help me with it.”

“Aha!” Jing Jing had suspected there was probably some other reason for Xiao Xi’s visit than the excuse her friend had given her earlier about “just wanting to see her.” Xiao Xi wouldn’t have tracked her down to the university where she was pursuing graduate studies in astronomy unless it was for something important. “I knew you must have wanted something from me. Tell me then! What is it? What can your best friend help you with?”

“What I’m about to ask you, you have to promise to not tell Lu Yang.”

“What am I? An idiot? I may be married to Lu Yang, but even I know that telling him a secret is as good as telling the rest of the world. Don’t worry. Say it! Your secret is safe with me.”

Xiao Xi leaned forward and whispered. “Will you go with me to buy a pregnancy test?”

“XIAAAAAAO XIIIIIIIIIII!”

“Shhhh! Not so loud.” Xiao Xi looked hurriedly around the café. “Do you want everyone to hear?”

“What are you so embarrassed about? It’s not like you’re not married already. Having kids is a natural product of such a relationship.” Jing Jing poked at her friend, still obvio