“Vroom, vroom” Kyle supplied the sound effects for his little blue Hot Wheelz car as he rolled it along the granite countertop. He made an explosion sound as he rammed it into the side of the fridge.
“Kyle, what did I tell you about playing with your racecars on my counters?” his mom demanded as she walked into the kitchen.
“Sorry,” he apologized on instinct, moving his car down to the shiny wooden floor.
She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Where’s dad?” she asked.
“He went to the store,” Kyle replied, slowing his racecar to a stop. “Why does dad always have to go grocery shopping?” he wondered aloud. His mom remained silent as she stared blankly at the counter. The dark bags under her eyes made her look about ten years older than she actually was. “Mom,” Kyle stated, rolling his car towards her. It hit her slipper-clad foot, taking her out of her daze. She blinked once and bent down to pick the car up.
“What have I told you about playing with your racecars in the kitchen?” she shouted down at him, clutching the little blue car in her hand.
“Sorry,” he uttered back, rising to his feet.
“Go play in your room,” She handed the toy car back to him and he went upstairs with it.
“Vroom, vroom” he said as he rolled the car up the railing. He reached the top of the stairs and began heading towards his room, but stopped in front of his parents’ shut door instead. He nervously turned the car over in his tiny hand, running his thumb across the wheels of it. Glancing down the stairs, he saw that the coast was clear. So he walked into his parents’ room, listening as the door clicked shut behind him.
Once inside, he walked over to the huge king-size bed and kneeled down beside it. When he peeked his head underneath it, his entire face lit up.
There it was! They’d actually gotten it for him. Mom must have just been trying to trick him when she’d said they didn’t have as much money to spend on Christmas gifts as they did last year. He smiled at the rectangular box. His very own Nintendo DS. They’d even gotten him the blue one! It was the best Christmas present ever, he decided.
Still smiling, he stood up and left the room before his mom went back upstairs. When he reached his own room, he still wasn’t able to wipe that excited grin off his face. This Christmas was going to be the best one yet.

“Mom! Dad! Get up!” Kyle shouted into his parents’ faces, jostling them awake frantically. They rolled over in bed, yawning and opening their eyes only about halfway.
“What time is it?” his mom asked, her voice thick with exhaustion.
“It’s time to open presents!” he cried. “Come on!”
His dad sat up and stretched his arms up over his head. “Merry Christmas,” he said, turning to look at his wife. He gave her a drowsy smile and kissed her cheek. She didn’t react. “Alright, let’s go,” he said to his son. He climbed out of bed and went downstairs with Kyle. His wife followed a few paces behind them.
By the time she got to the living room, Kyle was already tearing his first gift open. He took one glance at the Nerf gun and placed it aside, immediately ripping into the next one. “Whoa, slow down there,” his dad said, laughing.
Disregarding his dad’s request, Kyle continued opening up the rest of his presents. He got baseball cards, some new Hot Wheelz cars, a remote control monster truck…but none of that mattered to him. Torn up wrapping paper was scattered all around. There was no Nintendo DS among it though.
Hot tears began to well up in his eyes as he looked around at the mess of red and green wrapping paper. “Where is it?” he cried.
“Where is what?” his mom asked him, her tired eyes now full of concern.
“My DS! Where is my new DS?” he shouted, tears rolling down his reddened cheeks.
“What DS?” His mom got up from her place on the couch and kneeled down beside him, putting a hand on his trembling shoulder.
“The DS you guys got me for Christmas!” He sniffled and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. “I saw it under your bed. It was the blue one just like I wanted!”
The corners of his mom’s mouth curled down and her lips parted slightly. It was as if she were about to say something, but couldn’t find the words. Slowly, she turned her head to look at her husband, who sat frozen on the couch with wide eyes.
“Why don’t I go make us some pancakes?” he suggested to his still quivering son. He stood up and wandered off into the kitchen.
“Mom…” Kyle sobbed, turning to face her. She pressed her lips together and enveloped him into a hug.
“It’s ok,” she murmured, stroking his messy caramel-colored hair.
“Looks like we’re all out of milk,” Dad said, peeking his head into the living room. “I’ll run to the store real quick to pick some up.” Without waiting for a response, he turned on his heel and went upstairs to get dressed.
Kyle pulled his face away from his mom’s shoulder. “I thought all the stores were closed on Christmas,” he said hoarsely to her.
Her lower lip trembled a bit and her eyes were glassy with unshed tears. “Shhh,” she hushed her son. “It’s ok,” she continued repeating to him, wrapping him back up in her arms. Kyle knew she wasn’t really talking to him though. She was repeating this to try and make herself believe it. They both knew it wasn’t true though. It hadn’t been ok since Dad’s first of many trips to the grocery store six months ago. But they’d gotten good at pretending.