“I’m going to make us some hot cocoa and then maybe we can watch a movie?” she asked Deckard.
“Sounds great. I’ll clean up the dinner mess.”
January loved that he always did things like that. He would chip in without being asked, not only with her, but he did the same at his grandparents’ shop too. He had an innate ability to know when someone needed help.
The milk was poured to fill half of the saucepan, then January set it on the stove before placing the milk jug back in the refrigerator. Next, she pulled down the chocolate powder, sugar, and vanilla in preparation for the mixture.
“I’m going to queue up a movie. If I’m not back in a minute, can you stir the milk?” she asked as she turned the knob to the correct heat setting.
“Absolutely.”
In a flash, she moved toward him and placed a peck on his cheek before she made her way toward her living room.
The television screen came to life as January pressed the red button on her remote. She found the option to search for movies and scrolled through the listings hoping that one of the movies she was familiar with would pop up.
She scrolled faster and faster, but none of the classic Christmas movies were available. January began to frantically type film titles into the onscreen keyboard in the hopes that one of them would come up.
But she was coming up empty.
“No. No, no, no!” she cried out in horror.
Deckard came rushing into the living room looking worried.
“What’s wro -” he began to ask, but January hysterically interrupted.
“It’s all gone. All of them.”
“What’s gone, sweetheart?” Deckard placed both his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him.
“All of the movies. I was trying to find one of the classic Christmas movies and it’s like. . .they don’t exist either. Not Miracle on 34th Street. Not It’s a Wonderful Life. Not The Santa Clause. They’re just. . .gone.”
Her heart was racing, her chest heaved with heavy breaths.
“Calm down, baby. You have to realize that if there’s no Christmas then they had no reason to make those movies.”
January didn’t know why she hadn’t considered that, but the thought hadn’t crossed her mind. The movies were revered by so many people that the idea of them not existing was something that January couldn’t wrap her head around.
“But. . .” she started but her words caught on a choked sob. January didn’t know why this recollection was affecting her so much.
Deckard pulled her against him and wrapped her in an embrace that soothed her instantly. His hand stroked up and down her back, and she felt like putty against his body.
“There you go. Now, were there any movies you and your family watched that may not have been a Christmas movie, but would mean something to you?”
A light bulb went off in January’s head. Filled with glee, she pulled out of Deckard’s arms and ran to her entertainment center, opening the door that encased her DVDs. She had no sorting system, so it took her awhile to locate the movie, but when she spotted the particular case January grabbed it and turned to face Deckard. Her smile was so wide that her cheeks hurt.
“Die Hard?”
“Yes, of course. This is one of my brother’s favorites.”
January didn’t explain further. She popped it into her DVD player and started the film. While the movie sat in menu mode, she mixed up their hot cocoas and brought them out to the living room, resting them on the coffee table.
Deckard draped them both under a blanket as she cuddled against him on the couch.
“Ready?”
At his nod, she started the movie. She was excited to share this small thing with him, but as the movie began to progress she realized her mistake.
The movie still existed, but there was no Christmas party. The film had been altered to a simple office party and continued on as if it were meant to be that way from the start.