Merry Christmas (5)

When Vivian showed Sarah and Aiden to the dining room, they saw an older, burly man sitting at the table. That is Vivian's father, Brent. Vivian's mother passed away many years ago. Vivian does not have any memories of her. Brent never remarried. As a single father, he devoted his life to his kids and horses.

"Welcome to our home! Merry Christmas!" Brent stood up and greeted Sarah and Aiden. "It's such a treat to have more people around the table during Christmas!"

They introduced each other and sat at the table.

"I'm sorry I didn't welcome you when you arrived, I was checking on the horses." Brent apologized and continued talking. "Working with living creatures means that there are no days off. I can't tell them to wait until holidays are over before I tend to them again."

"It's not a problem." Sarah responded politely.

Brent looked at the table full of delicious dishes and sighed. "The only one missing is Fred. I wish that he is home now."

Fred is Vivian's older brother. He is currently in Europe, travelling to multiple destinations with a goal to learn more about horse breeding. Fred wants to enhance and eventually inherit family business. Vivian is not interested in family business, but she supports her brother.

When they finished dinner, Brent headed to his study. "I still have work to handle. You youngsters enjoy without me."

Vivian looked at Sarah and Aiden before speaking. "So, you two are an official couple now. And you spent some time at your house? What does your family say about this?" Vivian looked at Sarah curiously.

"My sisters are supportive. My mom is OK. My dad..." Sarah was choosing her words. "…is difficult."

"Oh? I'm sorry to hear that." Vivian was curious, but she didn't ask for details.

Sarah shook her head. "Don't worry about it. I can come up with excuses that he loves me too much and that he only wants to protect me. But that's all what it is. Excuses. The truth is that he is stubborn, not easy to accept changes, and he can't handle that I don't want to obey."

Aiden took Sarah's hand in his and squeezed gently. He can see she is upset and wants to comfort her. Sarah looked at him feeling grateful for his support.

Vivian thought about it, before speaking. "I didn't know your dad is difficult. When I met him he seemed to be easy going."

Sarah forced a smile. "Yes, as long as you are within his borders of what is acceptable, he is easy going. I crossed that line and now he is very difficult."

"So, what is your status with him now?" Vivian was curious.

"He said many hurtful things in anger." Sarah closed her eyes and shook her head, like she wants to shake off unpleasant thoughts. "I ended up saying that until he changes his mind I'm not going back home."

Aiden frowned. He didn't know this. 'It must have been quite an argument if she ended up saying something like that.' His squeeze on her hand increased. She put her other hand over his, patting it to show him that she is OK.

Sarah looked at Vivian's shocked expression. "It's OK. Really." Sarah didn't want to talk more. Part of her was ashamed that her dad acted in such a way. She took a deep breath. "Let's change the topic. How are you doing?"

"I'm doing fine, I guess. I'm excited and nervous about tomorrow. When will we leave?" Vivian was excited about the idea of seeing Gabriel.

"After breakfast? It takes about an hour drive from here to the hospital."

Vivian nodded. "I heard that GHC has a tight security. How confident are you that we will get inside his room?"

Sarah waved her hand, indicating that it's not a problem. "Don't worry about security. I can handle it."

"You know that I'm going to be there, right? I can also help." Aiden wanted Sarah to know that he is available to help her whenever she needs.

Sarah nodded in acknowledgement, before continuing, "But if his family is there, I don't know how to deal with them."

"Let me handle family members." Vivian sounded confident.

"Will you just waltz in and introduce yourself as a girlfriend?" Sarah teased.

"Why not? But I hope that he is awake, then he can explain my presence." Vivian explained.

"I will be right there to support you no matter what. The worst case is that they kick us out." Sarah laughed.

"Let's not get kicked out." Vivian didn't want to think of that as an option. "Do you have anything to do now? If not, then we can watch a movie. I got my hands on a new Christmas themed movie, it has good reviews. Do you want to watch?"

"Sure, I'm fine with that." Sarah responded then looked at Aiden.

"Sounds good." His eyes didn't leave Sarah.

Vivian scoffed, "You two are making me feel sour down my throat. Aiden only has eyes for you, he didn't look toward me even once during whole evening."

"Hey, why do you want him to look at you?" Sarah teased.

"That's not what I meant! Uh!" Vivian protested. She wished that Gabriel is there.

"I'm going to make some popcorn. You two wait here." Vivian headed towards the kitchen.

"And get us some soda!" Sarah exclaimed.

Vivian stopped in her tracks. "That is not healthy, is it?"

"Healthy or not, how can you say you watched a movie without popcorn and soda?" Sarah said matter-of-factly.

"Fine. I will get soda also." Vivian relented.

...

Three of them watched a movie projected on the large white screen in the media room. Sarah snuggled next to Aiden on a sofa. She found that movie is a cheesy one with a very predictable story. 'How can a movie like this get good reviews?' But that is what she needs right now, a cheesy movie and relaxing next to Aiden.

Maybe because she had a stressful day, Sarah slowly felt her energy running low and about halfway through the movie, she slept off. Aiden held her in his arms and kissed top of her head every few minutes.

When movie ended, Aiden lifted Sarah up and carried her to guest bedroom. She slightly shifted to get more comfortable in his arms without waking up.

Aiden placed her on the bed and covered her up. He looked at her sleeping face for a while before pulling out his laptop and starting to work. Shortly after, Sarah got restless. It looked like she has bad dreams. Aiden closed his laptop and went to bed to lay down next to her. He pulled her in his embrace.

In her sleep, Sarah felt his calming warmth and a familiar scent that she loves. She relaxed and drifted back to deep sleep.

Aiden hated that he is not able to help her. He wanted to fix her problems, or at least comfort her. But he realized that he can't do much, other than to hold her and show his support.

They were both in bed sleeping in their day clothes, none of them put their sleepwear on. Shortly after midnight, Aiden's phone vibrated. It was in his pocket, and he woke up. He pulled the phone to see that it's a text from his brother. Sarah was sleeping on Aiden's arm, facing away from him. He didn't want to wake her up, so he ended up unlocking his phone and held it with his arms with Sarah's head in between.

[Jeff]: "You are late."

[Aiden]: "I have something going on."

[Jeff]: "Hill girl? Did you talk with her?"

[Aiden]: "Time is not right."

[Jeff]: "We are short on time."

[Jeff]: "And we have a lot at stake here."

[Aiden]: "I know."

[Jeff]: "Good that you know."

Aiden locked his phone and kept it away. He looked at the ceiling and took a deep breath.

"Talk with me about what?" Sarah's voice broke the silence in the room.

Aiden got startled. He slowly turned to look at Sarah and met her eyes. He realized that she saw his exchange with Jeffrey. Aiden felt anxiety in him building up.