A North Carolina Autumn - Chapter 60: Chapter 60

Even though it's late by the time we get home, Rylie and I decide to open the presents we'd gotten each other. The puppies are exhausted after their time with the boys, and they climb straight into the doggy bed in the corner of the living room.
I spend a couple of minutes pulling the presents out from under our small tree to make it easier for us as Rylie makes two mugs of hot chocolate.
Once we're settled in, we take turns opening presents and I love everything from Rylie so far. I also love seeing her reactions to what I got her.
"More flannel?" Rylie says happily. "You know us so well!"
"Us?"
"Us, because I already know you'll steal these and wear them as much as I do." She explains, grinning.
"Damn, you didn't need to call me out like that." I tease with a giggle.
"I mean it lovingly," Rylie reassures me. "You know that I absolutely love seeing you in my flannel. Or any of my clothes, really." She smiles, gesturing to the sweater of hers that I'd changed into as soon as we'd gotten home.
"Good, because your clothes are way better than mine."
"False. I love your clothes because you always look unfairly adorable. And hot." Rylie adds with a smirk.
"Speaking of hot, I'll go ahead and save this one for you to open last." I grin, moving the wrapped box containing the new lingerie behind my back.
Rylie sighs, her face pulling into a pout. "Well now I really want to open that one."
"Trust me, I really want you to open it too." I laugh "But you need to open everything else first."
Although it's tempting to let you open it now and have you wear the contents while you open everything else... I think to myself, fighting the urge to bite my lip.
"Fine." She grumbles, but her smile returns a moment later as she hands me a box wrapped in white, snowflake dotted wrapping paper. "Your turn!"
"Thanks." I giggle, kissing her cheek before taking the box. "How are you so good at wrapping presents? All of these have had the best wrapping jobs I've ever seen. Each crease and corner is perfectly straight."
"So the opposite of us is what you're saying." Rylie teases, giggling. "Thank you," She continues with a grin, brushing off her shoulders jokingly. "I've had lots of practice. My dad can't wrap presents to save his life, so I was always the one to wrap the triplets presents'."
"That would do it." I laugh as I begin carefully unwrapping the box. "I can't imagine wrapping that many presents each year. Probably for their birthday too, huh?"
"Yeah." Rylie grins, shrugging. "I didn't mind, it was fun for me."
"Rylie," My fingers freeze momentarily as they brush the black fabric filling the box. "Is this..." I trail off, the words getting lost on their way out. As I move my gaze to Rylie, I find her eyes already on mine, an excited, hopeful look covering her face.
"Pull it out." She encourages softly.
I do as I'm told, pulling the heavy coat from the box and holding it out in front of me. A heated coat, to be more specific. "You remembered?" I say quietly, meeting Rylie's eyes once more.
"I remember everything when it comes to you, Aspen."
"Thank you, Ry." I whisper, setting the coat down so I can pull her into my arms. "I feel so spoiled."
"You deserve to be spoiled, my love."
"You're doing a really good job at that." I laugh, gesturing to the new camera lens and gear she'd gotten for me.
"I'm not done yet." Rylie grins.
"Camera lenses and heated coats aren't exactly cheap, Ry... I would've been happy if you wrapped one of your old t-shirts and called it good!"
"I know you would've, but I wanted to make sure I got you everything you deserve for our first Christmas together. Money wasn't an issue, I don't want you to be worried about that." Rylie explains gently.
"I'm not worried about that, I know you make bank at the vet." I giggle. "I just don't want you to think that the presents are all I care about." I take her hand in both of mine, brushing a thumb over her knuckles. "Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love everything you've gotten me. Even though I didn't give you much to go off of, you've managed to get me things I've been wanting for a while. Almost like you read my mind."
"That's exactly what I did." Rylie teases, and I laugh.
"The best part of this Christmas though, is that I get to spend it with you. We were still doing long distance this time last year, and I hated not getting to spend the day with you. Although we made use of the few hours we did have." I add with a smirk, enjoying the blush that rises in Rylie's cheeks. "Our first Christmas together has been perfect, simply because we're together. Everything else is just an added bonus." I finish with a soft smile.
"God, Aspen," Rylie blows out a breath, blinking fast. "You didn't need to make me emotional." She lets out a little laugh. "I love you so much. Being with you for all of the holidays, and all of the normal days, is all I want for the rest of my life."
"It's a really good thing you married me, then." I smile, brushing a tear from her cheek. "Because I'm never leaving. You're stuck with me, love."
Rylie quickly closes the distance between us, pressing her lips firmly to mine. The love she pours into the kiss is nearly overwhelming, but in the best way.
"I love you." I whisper after pulling back slightly to slip a box into her hands. "Open this one next."
"Okay." Rylie giggles, pulling at the ribbon tied around the black square box. She draws her eyebrows together as she pulls out the sheets of small sticky patches.
"Those are important," I laugh. "Open the rest."
Rylie pulls out the tissue paper covering the rest of what's in the box, her eyes widening as she pulls out the thick stack of pictures. "Aspen..." She breathes, glancing at me for only a moment before returning her gaze to the photos. "Are these all yours?"
"Most of them," I answer softly. "Some were taken by other people, but they're all pictures of us. Or just you." I add with a smile. I'd spent an entire day going through my phones camera roll and SD cards from my camera, searching for the perfect pictures. I smile as I watch Rylie thumb through the pictures, pausing every few seconds to study each one.
There are pictures that we'd taken together the summer we met, both before and after we'd confessed our feelings for each other. It's funny now how obvious it is in those first pictures that we cared for each other as more than just friends.
"I remember I made it a point to be touching you in some way in every single picture." Rylie laughs, reading my mind.
"You weren't the only one." I giggle, scooting closer to her side as she continues flipping through the photos. The next one is from the fair that summer, the two of us standing on the pier, our arms around each others waists. My favorite part is the Ferris wheel in the background and I smile, reaching down to brush the Ferris wheel tattoo on Rylie's finger.
She kisses my cheek before moving to the next picture, one of the two of us at Sam and Emma's wedding, our love evident on our faces. "We were both planning on proposing that next day, weren't we?" Rylie giggles.
"Yep," I grin, toying with my ring. "But then you had to go take a nap that was much, much too long." I tease.
"Let me guess..." Rylie pauses, flipping to the next picture. "Aha! I knew it would be here somewhere. I'm surprised I remember getting this one taken." She laughs softly, staring at the picture of us sitting side by side in her hospital bed, only a few hours after she'd woken up. "I was a mess." She finishes, shaking her head.
"You were not!" I argue instantly. "You were just as beautiful as always which isn't fair considering the fact that you'd just gotten out of a two week long coma."
I hope she can tell how much I mean it. She really had been so beautiful, her freshly washed hair falling in soft waves, brushing the tops of her shoulders. Her full, perfect lips had returned to their normal pink shade, her cheeks colored with a slight red blush. The freckles dusting her nose and cheeks had been even more noticeable thanks to the tan she'd gained over the summer. The tan also drew attention the her startling blue eyes, eyes that I had missed so much while she'd been in the coma.
"You look absolutely stunning in the picture too, Aspen." Rylie comments, nudging my shoulder.
I smile and roll my eyes, studying the photo for a moment longer. "My eyes were so red." I giggle.
"True, but you can't argue that you're such a pretty crier." Rylie laughs.
"Maybe. I just know I was so happy that you were awake and warm and colorful again."
"Colorful?" Rylie questions, cocking her head slightly.
"Physically and emotionally colorful. That's how I describe it in my head, I guess." I explain with a little laugh. "During the ambulance ride to the hospital, all I could focus on was the lack of warmth and color in your skin. You were still you, but at the same time... you weren't." I pause, taking a shaky breath. "Sorry, it's still a little bit hard when I think about it."
"It's okay, love. I can't even imagine what it would be like to be in that position, with you on the brink of death. Take it as slow as you need, I'll listen no matter what." Rylie encourages gently, taking my hand.
"Right now, you're colorful. Your lips are pink, your cheeks slightly red," I smile, softly cupping her face. "Your skin is still tan despite it being winter, making your freckles more noticeable. Even your hair has more color than just blonde," I add, gently taking a strand between my fingers. "I've noticed that you get these caramel highlights after spending even just an hour in the sun.
"When the accident happened, you lost your color, leaving you pale and cold. It was terrifying to see, because all of those colors that I love were just gone, replaced by a sort of greyish white. Even your hair seemed to lose color while you were in the coma. I had a lot of time during those two weeks to pray that you would be colorful again soon."
I pause to glance down at the picture once more, feeling a tear slip down my cheek. "Everything was so grey while you were gone, and it reminded me of how my life was before I met you. I'd never had someone add so much color to my life, but you did it with ease. You're the color in my life, Ry. I never want to take that for granted."
"Aspen..." Rylie whispers, her voice tight. "You never fail to make me feel so many good emotions all at once." She pauses, brushing a tear from my cheek. "I want to keep being your color. You deserve so much color in your life, and I'll make sure you never see another second of grey."
This brings on a fresh wave of tears that I don't even attempt to stop, and Rylie doesn't hesitate with pulling me into her arms. "I love you more than you will ever know, Rylie Hart."
"I love you." Rylie replies, kissing me gently. "And I absolutely love when you call me that. I'm still sure that I will never get over it." She smiles.
"Good, because I love saying it. It's one of my favorite reminders that you're mine." I whisper, brushing my nose against hers.
"I'm all yours, Aspen. For the rest of forever."