He watched her sitting on the back patio as he cooked.

“She will stay out there until we force her to come in for dinner,” Carolina laughed lightly.  “Once she figures out where we’re going tomorrow, she’ll be so excited.  You sure you don’t need help making dinner?”

“I got this.  I’ve watched her make this a few times, not that she’s paid attention to me doing so. I’m taking other things she makes or likes and putting it all together.”

“Well, it smells delicious,” she smiled before walking away.

Justin looked out at Mikayla every chance he had, seeing her just fixated on the falling snow.  Dinner was soon ready, Justin hating to steal her away from her happy place, but also knowing she needed to eat.  He stepped out onto the patio, Mikayla not even blinking to see who was around. He looked up at the ceiling and smiled. 

He walked up to Mikayla, bending over to wrap his arms around her as she sat in the patio chair.  “Hey, dinner is just about ready,” he said quietly, so as not to completely ruin her calm.  “I’ll set the table and we’ll be ready in a few minutes.”  He kissed her cheek before heading back inside. 

Mikayla jumped when she felt Justin’s hand on her shoulder. “Ready for dinner?”

She stood up, turning to go inside when she saw it.  The tables had been moved together, Mikayla looking up as heat lamps glowed above them.

“That way you can still enjoy the snow and have dinner,” Justin smiled.

She sat down, her heart warming at the sight before her. “I know it’s not Christmas food, but I thought you’d enjoy it.”

He’d made pasta carbonara, chicken with a balsamic tomato topping, and roasted veggies.

“We’ll have our traditional Christmas meal, don’t worry,” Carolina assured her.

Mikayla was in disbelief, Justin going to such lengths to give such a memorable first Christmas together.  She knew she shouldn’t be surprised, JC had been the same way.  In all their years together, they’d never been, so the fact that Justin took her early on in their relationship, their marriage, it all felt super special.

They left milk and cookies out for Santa, everyone going to bed little by little until it was just Mikayla and Justin in the family room, sitting by the fire.

“Thank you, babe.  This is the best place I could imagine, Christmas in the snow, I’ve never had that before.  It’s beautiful, romantic, just… so special. It almost made me forget all the bad that’s happened. I mean, I DID forget, for a while. It’s been a nice escape.”

“You deserve this, Kay.  Being with family, your favorite time of year, being in snow.  I pay attention to the little things you say.  You like roses but I now know tulips and lilies are your favorites, or chrysanthemums because they were your grandma’s favorite.  You can’t make up your mind on what your favorite color is, between green for your birthstone and it being your mom’s favorite color, or blue being your grandma’s.”

“What else do you know about me, Justin Timberlake?” she asked coyly. 

He looked into her eyes.  “I know you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met, inside and out, and I’m pretty sure you wanna kiss me as much as I wanna kiss you right now.”

She smiled. “You’re definitely right,” she said, closing the distance between them. The kiss was gentle, romantic, perfect.

She slowly pulled away.  “Shall we go to bed?  I’ve been VERY good…”

“Really? I have a feeling you’re about to be very naughty.  Santa doesn’t visit if you’re naughty,” he teased.

“I’m sure he’s very naughty with Mrs. Clause,” she purred, running her finger down his chest.

“Let’s be good tonight, we’ll have other times to be naughty after Christmas…”

…

Mikayla woke up the next morning, the smell of coffee wafting down the hall.  She got up, wearing black and red flannel pajamas, heading towards the kitchen.

“Oh my god,” Mikayla gasped, seeing presents and stockings full. A fresh layer of snow was spread on the patio as the winds shifted throughout the night.

“Merry Christmas, baby,” Justin said, wrapping his arms around her.

“How did this happen? We were the last ones up, and it didn’t look like this then…”

“Christmas magic,” Justin said simply.

“I’m too old for that,” Mikayla replied.

“You’re never too old for a little magic.”

"I think I know who worked their magic, doing this instead of other things last night..."

"A magician never reveals his secrets."

"Thank you, again.  Are all these presents really for all of us?"

"It's a good mix.  Honestly only a few per person, most of them are for the twins.  Your mom went a little overboard."

"This coming from the man who flew us to Tennessee on his private plane for our wedding and Thanksgiving, flew me to the Bahamas just because...  For the record, THAT is overboard."

"No, it wasn't.  There is no overboard with me, in regards to you and your family.  You deserve everything.  I feel like this isn't enough, and this isn't even the big surprise."

"There's MORE?  Justin, it's too much..."

"I think by the end of the day you'll say it was perfect," he smiled.  “I got water going for your tea, I’ll get you a mug.”

“Hot cocoa seems more appropriate today,” Mikayla smiled. 

“One hot cocoa with all the fixings, coming right up.”

She slipped into slippers before sitting on the patio, looking at the snow from the night before.

She felt Justin’s hand on her shoulder before he held out a mug for her.

“Wow, you weren’t kidding,” she laughed. It had a layer of marshmallows, a pile of whipped cream, and a candy cane sticking out.

“It’s Christmas, my wife deserves the best,” he smiled before kissing her cheek.

They turned their heads as they heard the door open.

“Good morning, Merry Christmas,” Carolina said gently. “I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”

“Merry Christmas, Mom. No, not interrupting anything.”

“I’m going to get started on breakfast.  Our usual?” Carolina asked. Mikayla smiled as she nodded.

“We have everything here?” Mikayla wondered.

“There’s this thing called a phone…” Justin teased.  “I called your mom about what to buy, then called for things to be bought and brought over before we arrived.  Remember how I went inside when I got gas?  I wasn’t just getting snacks, I got the keys to the cabin, too.”

“I thought a magician never reveals his secrets?” she chuckled. 

“Only to his assistant,” he winked.

“You need any help?” Mikayla asked.

“The sauce? You make it better than I do.  The eggs are already on,” Carolina said.

Justin looked confused.  “We have everything to make hollandaise sauce?”

“No. It’s a family recipe from my grandmother.  I’ll tell the story during breakfast.”

“Drink your cocoa, the eggs still need to cook, no rush just yet.  I love you, Kayla.  Merry Christmas, baby girl,” Carolina said gently. 

“I love you too, Mom.”

“Merry Christmas, Justin.”

“Merry Christmas, Mom.”

…

“So this was the first dish my grandmother learned how to cook. I guess Nanny, her mom, didn’t teach her before this. She was in middle school in Kansas, during the Great Depression.  So this was a cheap and easy meal to make. First they learned how to cook the eggs, then the sauce, and put it together.  We make our own simple croutons to go over the top. I just like to eat them plain,” Mikayla smiled, popping a crouton into her mouth.

“I’ve definitely never had this before,” Justin said.

“It’s usually just saved for holidays and birthdays, but it’s easy to make, so I could start making it whenever,” Mikayla offered.

“I can indulge in this every once in a while,” he chuckled. 

They finished breakfast, moving to open presents.  Her nephew, the ever typical toddler, was more interested in the boxes, bags, and wrapping paper than his actual gifts.

Justin opened a box from Mikayla, a leather duffle inside. “I love it, it’s perfect for on tour or short trips.  Thank you, babe.”

Mikayla grabbed a large yet thin box from Justin.  She opened it carefully, her eyes tearing up as she saw it clearly. It was a framed photo collage of pictures they’d taken together over the years.  Birthday parties, just because, along with more recent pictures since becoming a couple.  In the middle was a picture of their first kiss as husband and wife.

“I thought you would like this. We can put it in the hall or in our bedroom,” Justin suggested.

“We’ll find the perfect spot.  Thank you so much. This means more than anything you could have bought me from a store.”

Carolina brought out a large box for Mikayla.  “The last present before we go out for the day.”

Mikayla unwrapped the box, a white storage box you would get from an office supply place for moving or storing folders and whatnot.  Mikayla lifted the lid. The tears that formed in her eyes at Justin’s present flowed freely down her cheeks. 

“This is all my grandma’s stuff.  Oh my goodness…”

“I don’t know where you’d put it, but you’re welcome to have the portrait of Nanny that had been hung at the end of the hall.  We didn’t bring it, though,” Miguel said.

“Safer that way, it’s about 100 years old,” Mikayla sighed. 

“Figure you can tell Justin stories about her, your grandpa, help him get to know them.  These are yours to keep.”

“Thank you, so much.  Really, this is such a great Christmas.  I couldn’t ask for more.”

“I’d hold off on that until later,” Justin smiled.

They all dressed, everyone piling into Mikayla’s car. She was glad it seated 8, having room for all of them to go in one car.

Mikayla waited anxiously to see where they were going.  They drove for about 15 minutes before they stopped behind a line of cars.

“What’s with the traffic?” Mikayla wondered.

“We’re waiting to get in,” Justin said matter of factly.

“In WHERE?  No, it can’t be…”

As the car crept closer, a sign came into view: “WELCOME TO YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK”