Zoke Week, Prompt 3: Christmas

Zoey didn't expect to hear music when she walked into the apartment. Mike never listened to the stereo without her, Svetlana preferred quieter orchestral music that didn't demand for the radio to be up this loud, and in Vito's case, he'd turn the bass up so loud that she'd know he was listening to music the second she walked into the hallway that held their apartment. (She'd also receive a clue to Vito's activities when the apartment manager would call her cell with a noise complaint after Vito refused to answer the landline or the doorbell.) Instead, their radio played upbeat pop music, not loud enough to disturb the neighbors but loud enough that it was hard to miss the second she opened the door. After taking a few seconds to listen, Zoey recognized the song as a pop cover of a Christmas carol.

Her ears weren't the only sense to pick up a major difference in the apartment since she left that morning. She gave a few sniffs and picked up the scent of some spiced candles and fresh baked cookies. But more than her ears and nose, her eyes should have picked up the most difference. Several plastic tubs had been dragged out of their storage unit in the basement and sat scattered around the floor, amongst discarded plastic bags and patches of glitter and shiny paper shavings. Christmas decorations covered every wall, ranging from tasteful, traditional objects like wreaths to cheesy, cartoonish illustrations of snowmen and reindeer. Mike stood on a stepladder set up against one wall. He held a half-eaten candy cane between his teeth, wore a Santa hat on his head, and was in the process of taping up a long string of gold tinsel that would likely take up the entire length of the wall.

"Mike?" Zoey called.

"Oh! Hey, Zoey!" Mike replied, his words muffled by the candy cane in his mouth, as he added another strip of tape to hold the tinsel in the space between the wall and ceiling.

"What are you doing?!" she exclaimed, unable to hide the laughter in her voice.

Mike pulled the candy out of his mouth so he could speak more clearly."Decorating for Christmas!" he replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world; which, in retrospect, Zoey realized it really was. Upon realizing that he could no longer reach where he needed to add more tape, Mike climbed down from the stepladder.

"It's November!" Zoey said, still laughing.

"November 27!" Mike clarified as he moved the stepladder into place for his next taping run. "Christmas is in four weeks!"

Zoey almost asked if that was a bit early for all the decorations; the thought wasn't meant as a judgment call, but an honest curiosity. However, the smile on his face as he took a bite out of his candy, placed the remains back between his teeth, and returned to taping up tinsel knocked that thought out of Zoey's mind. If her pointing it out changed anything, it might only make him feel insecure about getting this excited this early.

And Zoey could never think of any good reason to make him not act excited.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" she asked.

Mike popped the rest of his candy cane into his mouth and chewed to get it out of the way. "Nah, it's fine," Mike said. "I want to get this tinsel up, then I'm done for the day. I don't want to put everything up at once. What if I see something really good in a store later and there's nowhere to put it?"

Zoey wasn't sure where else to put decorations, but Mike seemed to have this whole thing planned out already. She didn't want to simply stand there while her boyfriend worked, so she went to pick up the plastic wrap and cardboard inserts from the decoration packages that littered the floor and tables. "How long have you been working?" she asked.

Mike paused to think. "I got home around... noon? So five hours?" he said. "I had a short shift today, and since I didn't have anything else to do, I got some housework done. And after that, I remembered I had some tubs of decorations in the basement, so I dragged those up. I also went out and got some candy canes and cookies. Can't decorate for Christmas without snacks, right? They're on the kitchen counter if you want some."

Zoey went to throw away the trash she'd collected, and while in the kitchen, noticed that Mike had indeed set some treats out. The candy cane box was already half empty, but the tray of sugar cookies hadn't been touched yet. They weren't the kind that Mike would have had to bake from scratch. Instead, they came from a tube of dough where the baker only has to slice the dough, place the slices on a tray, and place them in the oven for a specified amount of time. Zoey reached for one, but decided against it; the radiated heat from the tray indicated that they'd just been removed from the oven not too long ago.

"They didn't have any Christmas-themed cookies in the store yet," Mike said. "Can you believe it? It's less than a month away! But I bought some sprinkles and frosting. Do you wanna decorate them with me when they cool down?"

"Of course!" Zoey said. "I love decorating cookies. I've always done it with my parents."

Mike added the final piece of tape to the tinsel. After stopping to admire his work, he stepped down from the ladder and turned to face Zoey, quietly singing along with the radio as he did.

"Oh, the fire is slowly dying, and my dear is still goodbying..."

Mike reached his hand toward Zoey's and mouthed the next line of the song.

"But as long as you love me so..."

Zoey accepted Mike's hand, and he immediately pulled her into an embrace. The pair began twirling around the room, laughing and occasionally singing a line or two to each other. Back when she first started dating him, Zoey never expected Mike to enjoy dancing because of his clumsiness and insecurity. But while he never wanted to dance in public, Mike loved dancing with just her when the right mood struck him. He probably wasn't the best dancer in the world, but he danced much better than Zoey expected, and like a lot of things they did together, his enthusiasm more than made up for any failings in technical skill.

With one finger, Zoey batted at the pompom that dangled from Mike's hat and bobbed around with their spinning. "You look like such a dork in this thing."

The comment only made Mike grin wider. "But I'm your dork."

Zoey nodded. "My favorite dork in the world."

The two stopped dancing once the music ended, but didn't let go of their hold on one another. A much slower song started, and both of them dissolved into a fit of giggles upon realizing what it was.

"I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus underneath the mistletoe last night..."

"So, what do you think?" Mike asked. "I know we don't have any mistletoe, but can Santa have a kiss anyway?"

Zoey gave Mike a quick poke on his nose. "Santa doesn't even need to ask." She briefly kissed his lips, but Mike returned it with much more strength. He held her body closer to his, with no clear intention of letting her go anytime soon.

Even if it was a bit early to begin the festivities, Zoey was pretty sure she wouldn't mind a whole month of this.