Part 1: In this part, Katie and her Dad enjoy a few surprises.
Well, we had just gotten back from my Grandmother's house after a long Christmas eve party. Once we got home, I headed up stairs, and got ready for bed. I was excited for tomorrow, but I was also equally tired. I brushed my teeth, put on my pajamas, and headed for my bed.
“Good night Katie,” Dad told me.
“Good night Dad,” I said back, and with that I drifted off to sleep.
Christmas morning...
The next morning, I woke up fairly early. It was about seven in the morning, and it was still dark outside. I figured Dad was up by now, and there wasn't much chance of me getting any sleep given the nature of the day at hand.
I took a quick shower, dried and combed my hair, and then returned to my room to get dressed. Well, when I say get dressed, I mean slipping on my undergarments, and following them up with one of my newest gifts from last night, (courtesy of my Grandmother.). It was a gray Chaftan robe with long sleeves that zipped up the front.
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With that done, I headed down stairs to see Dad awake, and was snapping a photo of the tree with all of the presents under it. It was a beautiful scene. He must have heard me walking down the steps, because he turned his attention in my direction.
“Good morning Katie,” Dad greeted. “Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas,” I said back, with a smile.
“Katie, could you please stand in front of the tree?” Dad then asked.
“Yeah, sure,” I piped, and then stood to the side of the tree a bit, but also making sure I was in view of his camera. I smiled, and he then snapped his photo.
“So, shall we get started,” Dad then suggested. We usually do our stockings first, and then take a quick breakfast break. Considering I was the youngest of the two of us, I was given the honor of going first. My stocking contained the usual suspects. Pencils, soaps, a couple candies, etc. Dad then picked up his stocking, and it was pretty much the same thing for him. Although he had shaving cream were I did not. (Not that I'm complaining.)
So, with the stockings out of the way, we headed for the kitchen, and we each selected a cinnamon roll. I put mine in the microwave for a couple minutes to heat it up a bit, but Dad didn't seem to mind just eating his as it was.
“When do you think I should call Linda?” I asked him. Just in case I didn't get to see Linda today, I wanted to at least call her, and tell her Merry Christmas.
“Not before ten or so,” Dad suggested. I nodded my understanding, and then went back to eating my roll.
Once that was done, it was time for us, to start up the big stuff. Dad sat down on the couch, and let me dive under the tree to fetch the gifts. I usually tried to keep it back and forth as much as possible, so the first package I pulled out was for him.
“Okay, this is to you from Uncle Robert,” I stated, and handed it to him.
“Oh, thank you,” He said, and then began unwrapping it. The removal of the paper had revealed the new cpu he wanted for his computer. “Yes!” Dad snapped, in a hissing tone, once he saw what it was. Next it was my turn. The package I picked was quite small, but as we all know, big things come in small packages.
“Holy cow!” I bellowed, once I saw what it was. It was a copy of GTA V.
“Katie, I have something I need to tell you regarding that,” Dad stated. I looked at him intently.
“Yeah?” I asked.
“Only play that online until you turn twenty one,” Dad demanded. “Can I trust you to do that?”
“Yes,” I said. I knew why too. This game had a lot of...I'll be nice, and say negative messages in it. The online functions however keep these at a minimum. Plus, I'd like to think that I was mature enough to know better.
So yeah, we went back and forth through the various gifts. I don't remember what all Dad got. Heck, I don't remember what all I got – actually no. I do remember the Mewtwo Amiibo, and a shining pair of bracelets. (They were handcuffs....real handcuffs.)
“Did you steal these from Officer Peterson?” I asked Dad, with a smirk on my face.
“No,” Dad said, trying to sound innocent. “But he did have a hand in their acquisition,” He then answered. I just laughed, and set them with my other stuff, and then turned my attention back to the tree. There were two more gifts left.
“This is to you from Santa,” I told Dad, and then sat down on the couch next him, as he opened his present.
“Ah yes, one can never have too many of these,” He said, as he looked at a shining new gun cleaning kit. That just left more gift for me to fetch. It looked like a clothes box. I looked at the tag, and saw that it was addressed to me from someone identifying themselves as “The Good Captain.”
“Who's it for?” Dad asked.
“It's addressed to me, and it says it's from The Good Captain,” I answered.
“Perhaps Captain Hayward asked Santa to make a delivery for him,” Dad guessed, which made me chuckle. I sat down with the package in my lap. It was the right size for what I had hoped was in it. I was just hoping I was right.
I removed the wrapping paper to reveal what looked like a clothes box. My hunch was starting to look accurate at this point. My anxiety was building. I was just really hoping to see what I was expecting. I carefully removed the tape on the edges of the box with the scissors, and opened it. I then lifted the first piece of tissue paper.
“Ah, there it is,” I said, with a smile. It was the Team Ariat Polo Shirt that I was wanting for the past two months.
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“Captain Hayward asked me to tell you: Merry Christmas,” Dad said. “He hopes you like it.”
“I love it,” I said. “I just hope it fits me,” I then added, and checked the tag. Sure enough it was my size. “Yep, it's the right size,” I confirmed.
“That's certainly good to know,” He said. I then looked at him.
“Well, that's it for the presents, so if you don't mind, I think I should go get dressed now,” I stated. Dad gave me a nod, and with that, I closed the box, and carried it up stairs with me. Good thing I had already taken my shower, and done my hair.
Once I got to my room, I set the box down on my bed, and then opened my closet door. Sweatpants, or anything like that would not do this shirt justice. I wanted to wear something nice with this. After looking over my options I pulled out a pair of black leggings, and a khaki colored uniform skirt.
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I removed my robe, and slipped my leggings on first. With that done, it was now time for me to try on my new shirt. It fit perfectly, and the cotton it was made from was very soft and comfortable.
Next came my skirt. I made sure that my shirt was nicely tucked into my skirt before I fastened it around my waist. With my outfit complete, I decided to tie my hair back into a ponytail with a white scrunchie. Now it was time for me to see how I looked.
I looked into the mirror on my closet, and I was impressed. The skirt's lighter color allowed my shirt's bolder colors to shine much better then if I had used a darker colored skirt. I also thought that the contrasting red on inner placket particularly was a nice touch as well. More importantly though, it brought back so many memories I had with Sam when we went horseback riding.
“I think I might be wearing this at least once a week,” I told myself.
I left my room, and headed down stairs to show my outfit to Dad. I entered the living room to see him putting the wrapping paper into a large garbage bag. I smiled, and casually folded my arms in front of me.
“What do you think?” I asked allowed. Dad turned around to see me. He then scowled.
“Well, put your arms down, so I can see it,” He then requested.
“Oh, sorry,” I responded, and then clasped my hands behind my back, so that my shirt was on full display for him.
“Very nice,” He stated, as he looked me over. “I really like the way the colors meld together,” He then pointed out.
“Yeah, I thought so too,” I added.
“It makes the shirt look less uniform like, and more...sporty,” Dad stated. I just shrugged, and grinned. I then walked up to him, and gave him a hug. A hug that he returned.
“If I don't get the chance, can you tell Captain Hayward I said thanks?” I asked.
“Will do,” Dad answered, as we both let go of each other.