*This is for the Winter Holidays Story Contest so please take the time to vote. Please enjoy and have a wonderful holiday season!*
Chandler and Lauren Mison were a wonderful young couple who by all appearances were living the American dream. Chandler worked as a software developer. He was creative and used his imagination to create apps. The money was good and he enjoyed what he did. He was in wonderful shape with thick black hair, piercing blue eyes, and chiseled features.
Lauren was a management analyst. She had been great at problem solving and maximizing efficiency for as long as she could remember and the job catered to her natural talents. She was petite and looked even smaller next to Chandler. She had dark brown hair styled in a pixie cut, dimples, a button nose, pouty pink lips, and beautiful hazel eyes.
They had everything that they could possibly want... money, a beautiful home in the best part of town, amazing friends, an incredible sex life, and they enjoyed a healthy and adventurous lifestyle. By all outside appearances they should have been one of the happiest couples you'd ever meet but what no one on the outside saw was the pain the two of them suffered from being unable to conceive a child of their own.
They had been trying for three years to start a family of their own. They had not had much luck. There was nothing more that Lauren wanted than to be a mother and she felt like a failure when she was unable to do the one thing she believed all women were supposed to be able to do. When the doctors broke the news to her that she wouldn't be able to conceive Lauren had spiraled into a deep, dark depression. She didn't want to be touched. She just wanted to disappear.
Maybe it was the fact they had tried so hard to start their own family that Lauren saw babies everywhere. No matter where she went she saw pregnant women and newborns. Maybe it was the fact that Christmas was just around the corner that the family dynamics of the holiday season were making her ache every time she saw parents with their children enjoying their holiday traditions. Whatever it was, each time Lauren saw a family, a pregnant woman, or a newborn she felt a lump form in her throat, her eyes welled up with tears, and she became so chocked up that she had to excuse herself to cry alone in the nearest bathroom and compose herself.
Chandler's sister Karen and her family were coming to visit for Thanksgiving. As always Chandler and Lauren hosted Thanksgiving at their house and Lauren prepared the Thanksgiving feast. Karen and Rich showed up on their door with Allen, their two year old son and when Lauren opened the door she saw Karen's five month baby bump. Lauren tried her best to be happy for Karen and Rich. She plastered on a fake smile while they all exchanged greetings and she held Allen tight to herself, trying to swallow down the painful lump in her throat. As soon as she had a free moment she excused herself to her bathroom and broke down sobbing. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't be happy for her in laws. It was so easy for them to have children. They hadn't even tried to get pregnant with Allen. It was a mistake. They had been dating for a couple of months when Karen's depo shot failed and they found out they were going to be parents and now here they were two years later with a baby girl on the way. Lauren sat with her back to the bathroom door, her hands around her knees, rocking herself as she wept with her grief. As always, she stood up, washed her face, touched up her makeup, plastered on a smile, and made her way to the kitchen to finish preparing dinner.
The weekend was stressful for Lauren. She tried to get away as much as possible to escape her grief. She ran to the grocery store for things she didn't really need, she volunteered at a local soup kitchen, she ran the Thanksgiving morning 5K Turkey Trek, and she would just get in her car and drive around thinking. Chandler didn't say anything to Lauren. He knew she was hurting and he couldn't do anything to help her which tore him up inside. He would do anything in the world for her. When she finished running the Turkey Trek she went home and put together the Thanksgiving dinner. When Karen asked if she needed help Lauren cut her off saying she had it all under control. She just wanted to be alone. Lauren had never been so happy to see family leave and for the holiday to end.
