Friday - 12/24 - Christmas Eve
JENNIFER’S HOUSE
Jennifer and Hope hugged.
JENNIFER: Happy birthday, cuz. And Merry Christmas.
HOPE: Merry Christmas to you, too. And thank you. It’s too bad Melissa couldn’t come.
JENNIFER: It is. It was nice to see her at Thanksgiving, though.
HOPE: Very true. And we’ve had quite a few surprises over the last day or two.
JENNIFER: That we have.
JEREMY: Uncle Robert.
ROBERT: Jeremy, my boy. Good to see you.
Jeremy and Robert shook hands.
JEREMY: You too. I didn’t know you’d be in town.
ROBERT: Well, your cousin Charles celebrates both Chanukah and Christmas, and wanted to spend the holiday with both of his fathers. Plus, I always like coming back to visit one of my oldest friends, as well as my great-nephew. How are you?
JEREMY: I’m doing good.
ROBERT: Staying out of trouble, I should hope?
JEREMY: Doing my best.
Maggie hugged Elle.
MAGGIE: It is so good to have you back in Salem! I haven’t seen you since you were a little girl. You’ve grown so much!
ELLE: Thanks, Maggie. It’s nice to see you, too. I’m glad Sarah invited me over here tonight. There’s so many people I haven’t seen in years.
MAGGIE: Yes, I’m sure you have a lot to catch up on. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to let me know. You’re Sarah’s sister, which means you’re family.
ELLE: Aw, thanks! I will remember that.
ARI: Grandpa, will we get to see Noah while Uncle Austin and Aunt Carrie are here?
LUCAS: I’m sure you’ll get to see him tomorrow, sweetheart. All three of them will be at the Christmas party tomorrow.
ARI: Oh, good!
MEADOW: So, everyone here is a Horton?
JOHNNY: Almost everyone. Most people were either born from a Horton, or married into the family. Of course, there’s the odd outlier, like us and Sydney.
MEADOW: When you were describing it to me, you said that you have an ornament. But then as we were coming over, you said only Hortons have ornaments.
JOHNNY: Both are true. Apparently when I was born, my Mom thought Lucas was my father. There’s a bit more to it than that, but I’ll explain later.
MEADOW: Got it.
JOHNNY: Anyway, how are you liking it so far?
MEADOW: This is all so beautiful! I love it!
JOHNNY: I’m glad.
Julie walked over to Philip, Melanie and Daniel. She had two small boxes in her hands.
JULIE: It’s so good to see all three of you, particularly this little angel!
MELANIE: Thank you.
PHILIP: Thanks for having us, Julie.
JULIE: Oh, you’re always welcome. Now, I have something for this little one, as well as for you, Philip.
She handed one box each to Melanie and Philip. They opened the boxes to reveal ornaments with Philip and Dani’s names on them.
MELANIE: Julie, these are beautiful!
PHILIP: They are! I get one, too?
JULIE: Of course, darling. You might not be a Horton yet, but you’ll soon be married to one, so when I stopped by Mr. Early’s shop to order an ornament for Danielle, I asked him to make one for you, as well, and he happily obliged.
PHILIP: I’m honored. Thank you so much!
Julie patted him on the shoulder.
JULIE: Welcome to the family.
Speaking of ornaments, Claire and Chase had just finished bringing down the boxes with the rest of the Horton ornaments in them. Tommy cleared his throat, and Bill whistled to get everyone’s attention.
TOMMY: Thank you all for coming! It’s lovely to see so many in this house together. The house where Marie, Bill, Addie, Mickey and I grew up. Our parents would be overjoyed to see how big this family has grown, and that we still get together like this every year. Now, I think this tree could use a bit of decorating. So, what do we say?
Several people chuckled, and as the boxes were opened, the decorating began.
CLICK HERE to listen to this music for the rest of the chapter. Tommy, Bill and Marie were the first to go up. They hung their ornaments, and Tommy hung the one for his twin sister, Addie. Marie went back a moment later to hang up the ornaments for Jessica, Joshua and Nick. She put these near hers. Next up were Daniel, Nicole and Parker. Following them were David and Carly. Hope and Aiden were next, and after putting theirs up, Hope went back to get another ornament. Chelsea joined her and got one. Together, they put up the ornaments for Bo and Zack. Then, Hope and Chelsea hugged. The next to go up were Claire and Chase.
CLAIRE: In just over a week, it’ll be a whole year that we’ve been married.
CHASE: The best year of my life.
CLAIRE: Mine too.
They kissed. Steven came up next, putting up his ornament, as well as Spencer’s. Will and Sonny followed, and put up theirs. They also helped Ari put up her ornament. Following them were Abby and Chad. They helped Thomas put on his ornament. Lily came up and put on hers. Next were Maggie and Victor. Maggie came back a moment later to put on Mickey and Janice’s ornaments. Sarah followed, putting on her ornament, as well as Melissa and Nathan’s. When she was done, she hugged Maggie and Elle. Doug and Julie put their ornaments up near Steven’s. Then, Doug walked over to Robert and Charles. He handed Charles his ornament, which still said “Dougie”.
CHARLES: You still have it.
DOUG: We certainly do. Would you like to do the honors?
CHARLES: I would love to.
Charles put his ornament on the tree under Doug’s.
CHARLES: I’m glad Dad and I came for Christmas.
DOUG: As am I.
Doug patted Charles on the shoulder. Next was Benny, who put her’s under Spencer’s. Melanie and Philip put their ornaments, as well as Dani’s, up near Daniel and Nicole’s. Scotty and Billie put their ornaments near David and Carly’s. J.J. put up his and Jack’s ornament.
J.J. (quietly): Merry Christmas, Dad.
Paige, who had gone up with him, put her arms around him and kissed his cheek. Jeremy came up next, and put his, Mike and Robin’s ornaments on the tree. Shawn-D and Belle put their ornaments near Claire and Chase’s. Next up were Lucas and Sami. Followed closely by Allie and Johnny. Chelsea and Max put their ornaments near Bo’s, and helped Isaac put up his. Jennifer put her ornament near Jack’s. Tommy’s daughter Addie came up next, putting up the ornaments for herself and her late mother, Helen. Following her was Sandy, who also put up the ornament for her mother, Kitty. Ciara came up next. Mattie was after her, putting her ornament near Benny’s. Finally, Marie brought out a ladder and placed it next to the tree. Bill climbed up it and Tommy handed him two ornaments. Towards the top of the tree, near the star, Bill placed the ornaments for Tom and Alice Horton. After he climbed down, the family looked at the tree. Jennifer turned on the tree lights and dimmed the house lights. Robert began to hum a tune. Doug picked it up.
ROBERT & DOUG (singing): Silent Night, holy night! All is calm, all is bright.
CLAIRE & CHASE (singing): Round yon virgin, mother and child. Holy infant so tender and mild.
ROBERT, DOUG, CLAIRE & CHASE (singing): Sleep in heavenly peace, sleep in heavenly peace.
ST. LUKE’S
Many of the people who weren’t at the Horton’s had gone to St. Luke’s for the midnight mass. Eric had helped Father Louis during the service. Now the lights had turned off, and everyone in the church held lit candles.
CONGREGATION (singing): Silent Night, holy night! Shepherds quake at the sight. Glories stream from Heaven afar. Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia. Jesus Lord, at Thy birth. Jesus Lord, at Thy birth.
JENNIFER’S HOUSE
Soon, everyone had joined in singing around the tree.
ALL (singing): Silent night, holy night! Son of God, love’s pure light. Radiant beams from Thy holy face with the dawn of redeeming grace. Christ the Savior is born! Christ the Savior is born!
Bill walked over to the mantle, picked up the picture of Tom and Alice, and smiled. He set the picture down, and looked up.
BILL: To those we love, however near or far away, have a Merry Christmas now and all the Days of Our Lives.
