Our story begins on the evening of Christmas Eve where Megan is celebrating her first Christmas as a part of our family. As far as I’m concerned, this year had its ups and downs in terms of my cheerfulness particularly due to the absence of mom and the situation surrounding her absence and inability to properly spend the holiday with us. Even though it would seem like her current situation would dampen my usual cheerful spirits for this time of year, I have chosen to look at what I have gained rather than what I have lost. I have a beautiful girlfriend in Megan and a daughter who I thought I would never have due to appearances indicating that Megan and I would not be parents under normal circumstances. I have chosen to make this Christmas special for my daughter as Megan and I are both aware that you only get one chance to make a first impression. We also feel like she deserves the best Christmas possible due to everything she has gone through. Now even though it would appear that mom is gone, certain situations have occurred which may indicate that she is still around somewhat as the new dog’s actions have mirrored the behavior that mom used to exhibit when she was able to be around. I know this is going to take some explaining and then Megan may believe I had too much eggnog even though I don’t drink it. However it is true that I do believe mom may still be present within the new dog. It’s a long shot but I’m certainly holding out hope. This is shown to be even more probable as her presence is felt more and more through the dog’s actions as Christmas Eve night progresses. After we ate our dinner on Christmas Eve, we sat down and discussed this even though the topic of conversation didn’t do anything in terms of putting Megan in the holiday spirit. If anything, it made her not want to celebrate anymore.

“Baby I swear to you. Mom is living through this dog. I mean, every since he got here, I’ve been seeing and experiencing a lot of the things mom used to do. ” I said.

“I don’t know how many times we’ve been over this. Your mom is not present this year. Now I would suggest you stop thinking this way before it starts to upset our little girl. You know how she must feel that her grandma can’t join us this year and I’m sorry she can’t but please stop bringing her up.” Megan said.

“Megan, I know how hard this is to believe but you need to trust me. There is a connection between how the dog acts and how mom used to act.” I reply.

“Ok name one thing the dog has done that your mom used to do.” Megan said

“I can name a few things.” I said.

“Ok let’s hear it.” Megan said

“Well for one thing the dog stopped us from getting intimate in view of our daughter.” I said.

“Which is something we probably shouldn’t have been doing anyway since she’s just a little girl.” Megan replied.

“He got mad at me for not wanting to eat the vegetables you cooked with our turkey before we ate our pizza. Don’t you remember that mom always made sure we ate our vegetables and didn’t always eat junk food?” Megan said

“Ok it’s a smart dog. Even he knows that despite it being a holiday, you still need your vegetables.” Megan said.

“Here’s the best one. I’m sure this will convince you. He got mad at me for being rude to the pizza guy because I felt he overcharged me and still had the nerve to ask for a tip. This was happening between mom and I before we even met, let alone became parents.” I said.

“Ok so he pretty much stopped the guy from denying us service because of your bad attitude by inviting him into our home and growling at you for being so rude. Open your eyes. It’s Christmas Eve and it’s freezing out. I’m sure that man has a family and that the last thing he wants to be doing is working so yes, I think a tip was in order. It’s the least we could have done for him.” Megan said

But you don’t understand. As soon as the dog approached him, a 100 dollar bill showed up that wasn’t there before. I didn’t put it there. I know you didn’t and Megan is too young to manage money Doesn’t that come across as suspicious to you.” I said.

“So when the dog bit you, it forced a 100 dollar bill out of your pocket which the guy took as a tip that he deserved anyway. Is there anything else you want to say that might convince me that your mother is living through this dog? Because I’m at the point now that if you keep this up, we will have to get rid of it whether you or Megan like it or not.” she says

Just as the dog heard that, it came running down the stairs from Megan’s room and growled at Megan.

“He was doing that earlier when you called him a stupid mutt and now you’re saying you want to get rid of him.” I say

“So he doesn’t want to be left out in the freezing cold with no owners at Christmas time. As for the mutt thing, that’s an insult to any dog so I’m not surprised that he growled at me. Now please stop bringing your mom’s name up. It drains me of all my Christmas spirit.” Megan said.

“Ok I’ll try not to bring her up. But she’s my mother and it’s hard to let her go.” I say

“I’m not trying to tell you to let her go. What I’m trying to do is get you to see what’s in front of you. You can be sad about your mom all you want but at least try to enjoy what we have. It’s Christmas and we’re first time parents. I will be the first to admit that I miss your mom too but I’m sure she wouldn’t want us sad about her no longer being here and would want us to have a good stress free holiday and give our daughter as much as we can.” Megan said.

“Agreed.” I say.

“Obviously if the dog is doing everything your mom did, it has as much common sense as she did. This is what I loved about your mom. She only taught you to do what was right in accordance with common sense. This dog has that common sense. Therefore you shouldn’t say this dog was your mom but that this dog was like your mom. I mean, doesn’t that make you feel good that her influence can rub off not only on people but other animals? One thing I will say is that if your mom knew this dog, she would love it.” Megan said as she puts her arms around me. Just then our daughter comes downstairs.

“Why don’t we open one gift tonight and save the rest until tomorrow morning?” Megan suggests.

We all gather around the Christmas tree and I give Megan her stocking to open. Inside, it had a picture of mom and me when I was a little baby.

“That was your grandma when she used to take care of daddy.” I say

“Can we put it up in my room?” Megan asks

“Of course sweetie.” said Megan

“I didn’t want to spend any money. I mean, it’s her first Christmas and I didn’t know what to get her. I had old pictures of mom and I lying around and I thought it would be good for her to know who her grandma is. Don’t you think she has a right to know? Is it a big secret?” I say.

“As long as you don’t bring her up anymore but yes Megan does have a right to know who she is. It was actually a good idea. We have more stuff for her tomorrow. Good night honey. Merry Christmas.” Megan says as we share a kiss before going to bed.

That night as Megan is sleeping with the dog, she is awakened by the sound of the dog getting up to go and get a drink of water. Unable to sleep, the dog turns on the tv. We had been unaware that the volume was turned as high as it could go. The dog turns on the tv and is watching the cartoon version of the Grinch as he says “I must stop this Christmas from coming!” The noise awakens Megan as she believes it is a monster. She begins to scream and cry.

“Mommy, daddy, there’s a monster in the house.” she screams as she begins to cry.

The dog hears this and turns off the tv to come and comfort her. He whimpers and licks her face before leading her into the living room to watch tv with it. He is able to reduce the volume to a reasonable level.

Megan rests her head on the dog and falls asleep. Not wanting to wake her up, he turns off the tv and wakes up Megan and I to bring her back to her bed. He goes into our room and barks loud enough to wake us both up. “Go back to bed.” Megan says to the dog. Please don’t tell me you need to go outside. It’s 3 a.m..” she says.

The barking continues. “Jefferson wake up. In the new year, we need to get this dog house trained. I’m not going to be awakened every single night to bring it outside every single time he needs to use the bathroom.” she says.

“Just let him go on the carpet. You can clean it up in the morning. Now come back to bed.” I reply

“I’m not spending all of Christmas day cleaning up dog business. I’ll be back in a few minutes. I need to bring the dog outside.” she says

Megan follows the dog into the living room where Megan is sound asleep on the couch. “How did Megan get on the couch? I hope she didn’t start sleepwalking.” Megan says.

“Well if this persists, we’ll take her to the doctor.” I say

Megan picks her up causing her to partially wake up. “It’s a monster.” she says in horror.

“No it’s mommy. It’s time to go sleep now.” Megan says.

As this reminds the dog of when we were that young, he sleeps next to me for the rest of the night.

The next morning when we have woken up, we gather around the Christmas tree to open presents.

The dog hid in the closet that morning and no one knew why. After Megan receives what appears to be the last of the presents, I open the closet door.

“There’s one more gift we forgot about.” I say. It’s for you Megan from mom.”

“That’s it I don’t care what fuckin day of the year it is, I have had it with this obsession you have with your mom and your unwillingness to accept the fact that she’s not here. And don’t give me this nonsense about her living within this dog, that’s ridiculous. Now where is this gift? After I open it, I’m done with Christmas because you don’t deserve it anymore.” Megan snaps.

She opens the closet door to find that I have activated the speech function on the dog. It is mom’s voice. “Good morning Megan. Merry Christmas. If you’re watching this, it’s a recorded message I left for you when I was still sick prior to my stroke. I’m so happy that this is my granddaughter first Christmas and I’m sorry I can’t be there but please open this one last gift. This is something Jefferson wanted me to give you before I initially got sick and well before Megan was born. I think you’ll really like it.” mom said.

Megan opens the gift to find that it is a white wedding dress. “Do you like it? I picked it out myself and I think there’s something Jefferson wants to ask you and Jefferson, before you do, please don’t cry. This is a happy time.” mom said.

“Megan baby I know there’s been a lot of changes in our life since we met. We had Megan and mom has gotten very sick but I want to add one more. I would never be able to live with myself if I didn’t give this one try. Will you marry me? I know I’m not much to look at and that we’ve had our differences but I love you. You’re the only thing I have now that mom is gone.” I say

“Yes I will of course. I love you too.” Megan replies.

“Haven’t you seen anything that’s happened in the last two minutes or so? Obviously I’m not gone if I’m seen on screen Jefferson and this drama “I know I’m not much to look at blah blah blah.” Just ask her to marry you. She will say yes.” mom said.

There’s one more gift I have and it’s for my granddaughter. Do you like the puppy that was sent to the house?” she asks.

“Yes I do.” Our daughter replies

“Well this is a very special dog. This dog comes with a very special tape. If you pull on this tape, you will get your gift. I’ll let you do it. Go ahead and pull the tape out. You will see what happens.” mom said.

Not wanting to let mom go, I try to stop Megan from pulling the tape out. “As you r father, I’m telling you not to do what grandma says.” I say]

“I’m your mother and you’re going to stop this crying and let her pull the tape out or you will be in trouble.” mom said.

Megan obliges and pulls the tape out causing the dog to revert back to it’s stuffed form. “Where is my gift?” Megan asked.

Just then the doorbell rang and I tearfully answer it. ‘Did I not raise you to at least not be so dramatic when answering the door?” mom asked. Now open your eyes.” she said.

I open my eyes to find mom standing there. “Merry Christmas.” she said as Megan and I cheer with our daughter eventually joining in.

“I’m fully recovered from my stroke and back to being healthy again. I hope you don’t mind me living through a dog for a day. I wanted it to be a surprise.” mom said.

“So that’s really was you all along living through the dog?” Megan asked in shock.

“Yes that was me. Sorry about last night. I was watching tv and Megan fell asleep on the couch. I did not want to wake her so I needed you to bring her to bed.” mom said.

“That’s ok.” Megan said

Just then Megan looked at me. “I’m so sorry I didn’t believe you when you said your mom was living through this dog. All the mean things I said to you and I was even going to cancel Christmas.” Megan said.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s the holidays and everyone is always stressed out. All the decorating and shopping. But I don’t think we have to shop because I have the greatest gift of all right here.” I say as I approach mom and hug her.

“You’re such a momma’s boy.” Megan replies

“Well there’s something we need to plan in the new year. We need to plan your wedding and yes I will be there but this isn’t about you and me anymore, it’s about you Megan and your daughter. I will always be there as long as I can for you guys but it’s time for you to focus on what really matters now. I will be ok on my own. I still love you but the fact is that you have responsibilities that extend past me now and this has to come first.”

“Your mom is right. We need to start planning our wedding.

“I’m a mom. Aren’t we always right?” she asks

I haven’t even told you the best part about you being here now. Sure it’s great that you are here but now that you are here, I can call you 100 times a day again until next Christmas and I can show Megan how to do this as she get older.” I joked.

“Please don’t start that or maybe I should go back to living within the dog.” mom said sarcastically.

“Merry Christmas everyone!” mom says

That night, we all gather around the table for a holiday turkey feast as Megan’s first Christmas was a complete success.

The End