The Unexpected Gift

Chapter 6:

The party was not as bad as I thought it was going to be.

I actually had a little bit of fun.

I guess it didn’t help that Steph kept me laughing the entire time. She was being so ridiculously funny that I couldn’t help but forget about all my issues and just enjoy myself for the night.

We ended up staying a little longer than I thought that we would. Well I guess I was able to leave at any time I wanted to, but Steph kept me so distracted that I didn’t even realize how late it was, until our waitress practically shoved our tickets in our faces.

It was close to midnight when I finally got home. Rasco was pissed off when I showed up. He had become a creature of habit and did not appreciate being stuck outside for so long. Once I opened the door, he ran directly to his doggy bed and curled up.

“I am right there with you boy. I can’t wait to curl up in my bed as well.” I told him as I reached down to give his head a pat.

Slowly trudging into my bathroom, I am haphazardly discarding my clothing as I go. I know I am making a mess right now, but I am very tired. I was up early to decorate my classroom for the Christmas party, and now it is past midnight. My body is slowly shutting down on me.

I can clean up tomorrow anyway.

Right now I need sleep!

After stripping down to my panties, I quickly pee and then wash my hands. I brush my teeth and hair as fast as I can. And yes, I know it is weird to brush my teeth more than half naked, but right now I do not care. And there is no one to judge me.

Once my teeth are clean, I quickly wash my face as well.

Now that I am finished in the bathroom, I drag myself into my closet and grab the first t-shirt I can find.

Throwing it over my head, I try to navigate to my bed without falling and smashing my face, because right now my arms are not working very well, and I can’t seem to find the holes for my arms or my face.

I almost fell over when my thighs hit the edge of my mattress.

Now that I am stopped and no longer trying to multitask by walking and dressing, I am able to figure my shirt out and get my arms and head where they belong. Finally getting my shirt on, I fell face-first onto my bed.

It does not take long for me to be completely passed out. Exhaustion is taking completely over me, shutting my body down into sleep mode.

My body jolts up off my mattress with a scream. The nightmare is still fresh in my mind. Tonight was a special kind of torture. I got to witness both my father's and mother's death this time. I get nightmares every now and again, but they are always way worse during the holiday season. I guess it is all fresh in my mind, and I am not able to block the dreams from coming.

It didn’t help that today was a very trying day, with not one but two Christmas parties.

I can still feel the exhaustion in my body. But I know I will not be able to fall back asleep so quickly. So, I get up and head down the hallway and go to the kitchen. Making it into the kitchen, I flick on the light.

I hear Rasco make a sound that sounds a lot like a grumble, and he lifts up his head from his bed and I swear glares at me. I guess someone does not like me disturbing his precious sleep.

I can’t help but giggle at his reaction to me barging in on him and blinding him with the kitchen light. My dog is such a diva.

I pull a cup out of the cabinet and fill it up with some water from the tap. Leaning against the sink, I slowly drank the cool water. That is one thing I really love about living out here on the farm. My house is on its own personal well, so I do not have to deal with processed city water. It tastes so much better coming from a fresh well.

Once I finished all of my water, I turned the cup upside down on my dish strainer.

Turning the kitchen light back off, I made my way back down the hall to my bedroom. I am not sure if I will get back to sleep or not, but I am going to at least try. My body is still completely worn out.

I crawled back up on my bed and under the blanket. I stared up at the ceiling for a while, trying to think of happy thoughts. This way, once I do finally fall back asleep, hopefully I will not have another nightmare.

As I lay there I could not help but to think back to Jason and his family. I hate that he is having to suffer right now, as his mom is struggling to cope with being a single mother now. He is such a sweet kid and deserves so much more.

I think about the gifts that I got them for the Angels Gift program. I have built a great report with Jason, so I am almost positive that he is going to love everything that I was able to get for him. I only hope that his little brother loves their gifts as well.

I know tomorrow is the drop-off day and that someone from the school will be there to represent the program and give Mrs. Rios everything that was purchased for them. I wish I could have been there to see her face. I know she will be so grateful.

And even though, technically, you are not supposed to purchase anything for the adults in the house. I also got Mrs. Rios a significant gift card to use as she needed. I hope it will help to buy any other additional gifts that the boys may need. I even gifted her a spa pass that was given to me. I know it was a little bit cheating by regifting it but, honestly, I never would have used it. So why not gift it to someone that could really use a good day at the spa to relax.