A Sjaastad Christmas (various/f and various/F)

[AlexUSA3]

Just reposting is all

A Sjaastad Christmas (various/f and various/F)

“Remember that I paid for these,” Erin Sjaastad reminded her little brother.

Duct tape was a treat; it cost too much money. One great blessing of being a Sjaastad was that no one was a Christmas snoop. Erin and Mike simply told their younger siblings, Bridget and Kristina, to buzz off because they were wrapping presents and received no resistance. Down to the basement they went to “wrap presents.” Wrapping was a pleasure.

There was a need to do something for the two youngest siblings. It was more than just Bridget being home from college after the first semester of her sophomore year. This was the very first Christmas since their mother’s untimely death. “It’s all my fault,” frequently left Bridget’s lips throughout the past week, and Kristina was only 11 and having to face life with only Dad to take care of her. Mike and Erin were determined to make this a memorable Christmas and help all of the four Sjaastad children forget the pain for just a little while.

Erin was tall and beautiful and sometimes knew it too. A Christmas red and white vertically striped skirt was accompanied down below by Christmas green knee socks that had white and red candy canes all over them. Her top was a simple white long-sleeve t-shirt, and her platinum blonde hair was in a braid held by a sequence of Christmas green, white, and Christmas red scrunchies. To balance the color, she wore a similarly red bandana as a kerchief.

The big sister reached into the skirt’s pocket and pulled out her phone and handed it to her little brother to take a photo of her before the fun began. They really did have presents to wrap, but then they would “wrap the present.” The best part about knowing the reward that follows the work is making the other party look forward to it more than you do. Erin broke into a cheesy stereotypical rap rhythm.

“Wrappin’ wrappin’ presents on Christmas Eve on Christmas Eve.
Yes, I’m wrappin’ wrappin’ Christmas presents on Christmas Eve.”

Erin took out the roll of paper and laid the packages in the center of the pieces of paper she had already cut for these particular presents and began folding them up. The wrapper continued her bad rapper routine and waited to see what reaction she would get from her brother. She finished the presents in perfect fashion while continuing her criminal rhyme schemes. Perfect bows on the ribbons finished the packages, and she attached a sticker and on it wrote
To Bridget
From Erin on one and
To Kristina
From Erin on the other.

“Christmas present for Kristin-a,
Christmas present for my Brid-get.
Christmas presents for my si-stas,
Though the older is an id-jit!”

“Stop, stop, stop! What are you doing?!” Mike had let the joke sail right by himself.
“I’m rapping… and wrapping!” Erin wasn’t afraid to slaughter her own dignity despite being 25 years-old.
“Erin, the cold weather has frozen your brain,” he playfully slapped a piece of packaging tape on her lips.
“Hey,” she carefully pulled it off, “Don’t do that to me!”
“I think I should just tie you up right now!”
“Oh,” she looked away from him, “If you must so soon!”

Christmas ribbons were in abundance thanks to Erin. Being long graduated from college and working a job she loved was only part of the story. She loved her job but hated being so far from family. Spending a little money to help her sisters forget the familial suffering for a day wasn’t a sacrifice by any means; it was just the kind of thing more people, in her opinion, should do. She turned on the stereo and let the sounds of the season fill the room.

Fabric ribbon was a brand new idea in Sjaastad games. What better way to be tied up though? At least on Christmas Eve it seemed best to Erin, and multiple sizes were at Michael’s disposal. After an evening of listening to Christmas carols with their sisters and enjoying the smells and sounds of the season, what better way to end the night than by relaxing and preparing surprises for the adorable little sisters?

Erin put her arms together behind her back and looked at the mirrored wall on her right. Gazing into the mirror wasn’t exactly the goal; it was the easiest way to look at her little brother who was now a grown man in his own right. She watched him use the ribbon, which was a soft type and not the silky type, to secure her wrists. Together they plunged into this adventure, and she felt her eyes watering her cheeks.

“Hold still,” his voice was deep and gentle like their late maternal grandfather’s.
“Oh, Michael,” she was used to being told how much she sounded like her mother.
“Is something wrong?” he cut the ribbon so he could knot it off.
“Yes, I miss Mom and Grandpa and Aunt Wendy!” the tears didn’t pour out her eyes like they did when she was younger.
“I miss them too. You’re the oldest and have more memories and the most hurt from it all.”
“I want them all back so badly,” she rested her chin on his shoulder.

Erin’s TUG toys, which she now left in the closet at home and were never touched, included an odd toy among what otherwise looked the same as her sibling’s TUG bags. A wooden spoon was among those things, and she had only let Bridget know the secret torture she enjoyed. She wasn’t ashamed of it at all, but she was leery of whom she let actually do such things to her. If Mike found it and she continued to be lippy as she had, she had a chance of getting spanked into submission. Nothing more than 3 or 4 whacks was ever necessary; just a quick shot of pain was all she needed… or wanted.

Upstairs… not that upstairs… up-upstairs, on the second floor, in the bedroom that the sisters all shared so lovingly, Bridget and Kristina sat on the edge of their lower bunk with the younger one wrapped in the older one’s arms with both wrapped under a huge pink fleece blanket. The little sister here was also bound, but with rope instead of ribbon. They, too, hadn’t finished before one of them had burst into tears.

Big sister dried little sister’s tears by providing herself as, if you will, a crying towel. Kristina was now the loneliest of all. Two sisters no longer lived at home; her mother was dead; and she was only 11 years old. It was an empty life for the youngest of the four Sjaastad siblings, but she found fulfillment in her friends and family, in a sense. Bridget’s embrace was so much like their mother’s that it was just like being hugged by Mom once again.

Matching pajamas were in order for the siblings. Red and white diagonally striped candy cane pajama pants were paired with solid red tops; it was a perfect mix of fleece and comfort. The socks both wore were a solid Christmas green. Wearing socks was always a danger for Bridget now that her siblings had seen her games with her college friends.

“I love you, Kristina,” the captor softly spoke while they sat together.
“I love you too, but sisters aren’t mothers,” the young girl was apologetic.
“I wanted Mom back and instead caused her death,” Bridget didn’t understand it all either.
“Bridgie, stop saying that. Remember what your friends said?” Kristina was so wise!
“Yes, I do. I begged her to do the right thing, and she died trying to do the right thing.”
“Am I really going to sleep like this?”

Kristina was tied very comfortably with ropes at her ankles, thighs, wrists, and elbows. The need for more bonds wasn’t there when she and Bridget were going to share the little twin bunk. The smaller girl shook and swished her hair about; a red scrunchie right at the top of her skull held her hair in a ponytail. The older sister pulled a roll of red duct tape and a green bandana from her bag. From the bottom of Kristina’s head was this one streak of brown hair about 2 inches wide; it was a streak just like their mother had. Bridget loved this streak and, in catching the hair as it flew back around during the youngster’s struggle, accidentally gave Kristina her first TUG hair pulling.

After a brief yelp from Kristina, Bridget apologized for the pulling but not for loving the visual reminder of their mother. A wry smile came over Kristina’s face, and she threw herself against Bridget so that the stocky rower fell backwards. Away the little girl hopped before a lasso reeled her back to her big sister in a fit of giggles. Big sister enveloped little sister in a tight hug before blindfolding the captive with the green bandana.

“It’s dark, Bridgie. Is Christmas coming soon?” the girl laughed and continued struggling.
“Yes, it is. Shhhhh,” Bridget put the tape over Kristina’s lips, “Be quiet and go to sleep.”
“Mmm mm mmmm!” the victim tried counting the wrappings of tape around her face.
“Why do you always do that?” Bridget laughed a little bit too loudly.
“Ah nnnn uhhhhh!” her count stopped at seven silencing layers of adhesive.
“All right,” Bridget turned off the lamp, “Let’s go to sleep.”

Kristina had no choice in the matter although she tried to squirm as much as she possibly could. Going down without a fight wasn’t fun when she was kidnapped like she had been. After a long struggle, she was under the covers and wrapped in her stronger sister’s loving embrace. Little Kristina, before she fell asleep, had a brief daydream of being one day big enough to overpower her big sisters and effortlessly twist the ropes around their bodies. Just like the stuffed animals she cuddled when she was little, Bridget cuddled her sister as she fell asleep and finally found a semblance of peace and comfort in the first Christmas after her mother’s death.

“Well, well, well… Mikey, I’m impressed,” Erin sassed her brother.

The red ribbon with its white snowflakes bound much more than just her wrists now. It was just like being bound with rope with her elbows, waist, ankles, knees, and thighs tied. A detailed breast harness had even been made, and, instead of a knot, Mike had pulled it all tight along her chest and made a perfect ribbon bow right below her boobs. The thinner ribbon had been used to tie her big toes together and also to secure the fingers of one hand to their counterparts on the other hand. Impressive maybe was how Mike had forced the socks in between Erin’s big toes and the second toe in order to bind her big toes without removing the Christmas socks.

“Oh, shut up and say, ‘Cheese,’ sis,” he took out his cell phone.
“Cheese, sis,” Erin grimaced for the camera.
“Now, want to try one of the gags Bridget brought home from college?”
“Michael Edgar Sjaastad, don’t you dare taunt me!” she stomped the ground and sprang up.
“Oh, someone is getting a bad attitude! You’ve been watching the videos of Bridget’s friends.”
“So what? I’m not here to be easy pickin’s for you; I’m here to have fun and do a favor for our sisters,” she defiantly raised her nose.

Erin tested the bonds and knew she was in trouble. It’d been a long time since she had last been tied up by her brother, since last Christmas in fact. When she was in college, she’d introduced her roommate to TUGs and got her irregular fix in that way. Since graduation, her only games were when she visited home, and while here she had to push her brother and sister to perform the acts she wanted.

“Is this all you’ve got for me? C’mon, buddy, surely you realize a gag won’t get me to shut up so easily. I’ll still be yelling and throwing about!”
“Yeah, like this bag contains a bottle of chloroform,” he dumped it out onto the table.
“Maybe,” Erin smiled and admired herself in the mirror and thereby watched the spoon clatter on the table, “Getting chloroformed might be fun too.”
“That’s the ticket,” he grabbed the spoon, “So you have a dark side.”
“Hey, wait!” she wailed when he flipped her over and whacked her on each cheek, “OWWW!”
“Yes, you liked that!” he repeated it with a quick double whack on different spots.
“YOW! That’s enough! I’ll stop! Just gag me and bring me upstairs,” Erin was giddy from the pain.

Mike used one of the rubber balls and a white handkerchief to gag his older sister, and over that he wrapped her face in red duct tape that had green Christmas wreaths on it. Bound so well, Erin found she couldn’t effectively hop up the stairs even with her brother’s help, and with a shove she found herself being dragged up the stairs. Up to the top they went and into the living room, where they found their father just getting ready to go to bed.

“Ummmm… interesting. Leaving Erin as a surprise present?” Father watched them closely.
“Yep. She’s a sassy girl, too! My goodness does she deserve it!”

Erin was left on the sofa to spend the night, and she quickly fell asleep despite being tied up so nicely. She hadn’t slept while tied up in years, and that made the moment more special than it probably would have been otherwise. Before leaving, Mike left a note where he was certain that Bridget and Kristina would see it.

In the morning, Kristina woke up shortly after 5… because Bridget had accidentally pushed her out of bed. This was an especially impressive accomplishment because they had fallen asleep with Kristina between Bridget and the wall! Now she was on the floor, and she unsurprisingly decided to wail. After all, she was only 11 years old!

“How did you end up down there?” Bridget woke up from the grunting and moaning.
“MMMMMM!” Kristina struggled to explain.
“Merry Christmas. Let’s untie you baby,” she cut and unpeeled the tape.
“You klutz! You shoved me out with your constant rolling in bed!” the little girl whined.
“I’m sorry, Kristina! That’s why I normally secure my captive’s ankles to the footboard.”
“Oh, let’s hop down there,” the girl said while still blindfolded.

Despite the commotion, Michael didn’t wake up, and Kristina and Bridget quietly worked their way down the stairs and into the living room. Bridget took it slowly to ensure that her sister didn’t get hurt, and Kristina giggled quietly the entire way down the stairs. Big sister’s captives always got blindfolded so tightly that the bandana could only be removed by being untied. At the base of the stairs, Bridget found the note.

Dear Bridget and Kristina,
Enjoy this surprise Christmas present. You may tickle her to your heart’s content, kiss her, and do whatever other gross things sisters do. Just remember that she needs a merry Christmas too.
Love,
Michael

“Kristina, look!” Bridget said in a soft voice and pointed to their sister on the sofa.
“Very funny, Bridgie!” the captive squirmed on the step.
“Oops… Ummm… should I untie you?”
“Untie me or gag me,” she rolled onto her stomach and fought the ropes.
“I’ll give you 10 minutes to escape,” Bridget gave her word, “I’ll only be admiring Erin until then.”
“OK.”

Kristina didn't like being left to escape. In her eyes, the nice thing was to release the captive as soon as possible. In such a simple tie, she easily got herself out of the ropes and forced the blindfold down to her neck. As soon as she was able, she ran over to her oldest sister and started tickling her.

The baby sister knew now to cherish the moments; she couldn't guarantee that any of them would be around tomorrow let alone next Christmas. She was going to enjoy it all and take the time to ensure the others enjoyed it as well. A smile filled her face in the glow of the Christmas tree, and Erin’s eyes sparkled when she saw her little sister's faces.

This was the moment she personally cherished. On both faces, despite Bridget’s age, was the childlike wonder of Christmas. There was magic in celebrating the Nativity in this familiar atmosphere of gifts and laughter and food. Being a tickle toy after being left bound and gagged all night was only worth it because her little sisters were the pleasantly surprised ticklers.

“Ha ha ha!” Erin squealed when they dug into her body.

Being so thoroughly tied up, Erin couldn't resist in any shape, size, or form. Worst of all, Bridget was tickling her, and the strong rower sometimes would push people well beyond their limits because such were her own limits. There was a kindly gaze in her sister's brilliant blue eyes and a joy in baby sister's beautiful greens. She had stopped laughing from being tickled so much when Bridget pulled her up and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“Merry Christmas, Erin!” Bridget grinned and then began studying her sister's bonds.
“Merry Christmas, sis! And you, too, Bridgie!”
“This is such a cute way to tie up someone! Let me grab my phone before we untie you!” the rower dashed away.
“Did Mikey do this to you?” asked the little sister.
“Mmm hmm,” Erin stood up and twirled around.
“Here I am!” Bridget returned and skidded across the wood floor to her phone.

The two younger sisters both observed their sister’s secure bonds. Kristina was more interested in the clothes than Bridget was. She was strongly into the old style feminine fashion and paused to redo the knot on her blindfold in order to turn it into a Christmas-y headband. If Erin did it, it had to be cool, and Bridget noticed this motion from baby sister.

“You’ve been watching videos of me and my friends, haven’t you?” Bridget cut the tape.
“Eeeee? Ugh!” Erin rolled her eyes at that question and shook her head.
“What a silly question!” Kristina continued to idolize her sisters with her eyes, “She’s the spirit of Christmas future!”
“Why Christmas future?” Bridget was now unknotting the rubber ball gag’s handkerchief.
“Because I hope someday to be tall and skinny like her and then we can be tied together while wearing matching outfits!”
“And she’s the ghost,” Erin took a deep breath, “Of Christmas past. So adorable and a big ball of energy like little Bridget was too.”
“Merry Christmas, girls,” Mike finally spoke and gazed at his sisters as only a brother could.
“It’s good to have all of my children together on Christmas again,” Father spoke sadly, “Merry Christmas.”

No one really talked to Dad much about his feelings on the events. He loved the Elizabeth Sjaastad who was the woman he had married, but he had been unable to control the woman she had become after alcohol entered the picture. No matter his efforts, his prayers, his pleadings, or his interventions, he watched his wife, the woman he loved and the mother of their children spiral downward into a useless lump. He hoped that divorce would spur her to reform; instead he watched her gladly walk away and die. It seemed wrong to have his children together on what is supposed to be a happy day but not have her back as well.

“Don’t cry Dad,” Kristina went over to her father, ‘or we’ll all cry. Remember, she left us for booze, and she died after she knew she wanted her family back.”
“Kristie,” he stooped and kissed her on the forehead, “You’re such a clever little girl.”
“Bridgie, Mikey, and Erin teach me things. Some of them are to make sure I grow up to be a good girl like Erin is, but,” she turned to her sisters, “some are just to make sure I have fun and don’t get hurt!”
“Maybe I taught them a few bad things, but they sure turned them into something good.”
“Merry Christmas, Daddy!” she squeezed him in a tight hug, “May we open presents now?”
“Once Erin is untied, yes we may. Go untie your best Christmas present.”
“No, Kristie is the best Christmas present,” Erin wouldn’t accept such a compliment, “She came when it was still Christmastide, January 2, 2004, at 12:04 PM. One two colon zero four on one slash two slash zero four.”

Kristina gave her sister a kiss on the cheek that Bridget hadn’t kissed and began untying her. As she pulled off the ribbons, Mike labeled each of them with what part he had bound with it. He had cut them special and didn’t want to forget which was which, and he had cut a couple extra pieces special for a sinister purpose after the presents were unwrapped.

Christmas Erin stood up, took a couple of steps away from the sofa, turned to face her sisters, and curtsied in perfect fashion. She rubbed her soft wrists a little bit after being bound so well for the past 7 hours and having to sleep while bound and gagged. After this, she crouched down and fixed her sock before standing up again, turning around, and opening her arms to hug both her father and her brother.

Once father and Erin had a couple of hot coffee by their sides, it was time to unwrap presents. In an orderly fashion, each person unwrapped one gift while the others watched with great interest to see how the recipient reacted to it. Dozens or hundreds of photos were taken over the course of the next hour, and each person showered the other four with words of love. Kristina always was ready to squeal with excitement and had no shortage of energy, even when the present was clothes, usually a disappointment to most girls before their teens.

There always was the “gag gift” that they got, always revealed at the end of the unwrapping so as not to distract from the real gifts. This was always something TUG related, and sometimes it was literally a gag. This time, Erin received a pair of pantyhose, Bridget a couple of the rubber balls such as her friends used, Mike a roll of duct tape, and Kristina got her first ever pieces of hardware store rope!

“Shall I make breakfast?” Erin stood up and looked all around her.
“Traditions must be kept, and we have one to keep first,” Mike pointed to Bridget.
“Christmas kidnapping of a Sjaastad kid?” Kristina bounced up.
“That’s the one, and it’s been four years since it was Bridget!”
“I love traditions!” Erin mockingly clasped her hands together like a swooning Victorian lady.
“You’ve been watching way too many videos of me and my friends,” Bridget stood up and struck a defensive posture with a grin on her face.
“Here we go!” baby sister slew-footed big sister from behind.

The slippery socks made Bridget easily fall backwards, and little sister used herself to break the big fall. Erin grabbed Bridget’s legs, and Mike grabbed the ribbons to tie up his younger sister. The red material with its snowflakes bound her wrists, ankles, knees, and thighs just like her big sister from before. Her waist and breasts were bound as well, but her mass resulted in a different kind of perkiness. What was different was that her elbows couldn’t touch, so instead a longer piece of ribbon was wrapped around her upper arms to close her arms to a closer and still comfortable distance before it was all cinched tightly. The ribbon that had bound Erin’s elbows instead bound Bridget’s upper thighs.

“Time to have some fun,” Erin pulled Bridget’s socks off her feet, and Mike then took her legs.
“You’ve watched so many of those videos you’ve become sneaky and naughty like my friends!”
“Perhaps I have!” Erin stuffed the socks into her sister’s mouth, “Kristie, give me your socks too!”
“UGGGH!!”
“OK!” the youngster quickly pulled them off and handed them to her sister.
“Enjoy, Bridgie!” oldest sister giggled and stuffed those into the 20 year-old’s mouth as well.
“EWWWW!”

While Mike busily bound Bridget’s fingers and big toes like before, Erin took the duct tape and wrapped her sister's head in the Christmas patterned adhesive. She wrapped it tighter with time, jamming the socks deeper into Bridget’s mouth and completely silencing her. Then, with artistic flourish, she took a Christmas present bow from the scrap pile and put it over Bridget’s lips. The girl stomped her feet and watched her little sister uncoil one of her new ropes.

Bridget tried to squirm away, but she had no fair chance at all. Around her ankles went the rope, and her legs were pulled up into the air and drawn toward her wrists. Kristina’s new rope made its debut by hogtying her big sister. It was overkill, and baby sister continued to wrap the rope until it was only enough to make a knot to secure Bridget in the uncomfortable position.

“Now,” Erin swished her skirt about, “to make breakfast!”
“She’s watched too many of those old films,” Mike shook his head.
“And was in too many high school plays,” Dad agreed with him.
“Bridgie likes those films too,” Kristina added, “They’re so boring.”
“Hey! I like a little attitude and spunk with my damsel-in-distress,” Erin called back.
“MMMMM!” Bridget grunted, “GRRRR!”
“Take her upstairs, please,” Erin directed, “That bow on her lips is so funny!”

Bridget grunted a lot and roiled on the combined tastes of her own socks and her little sister's socks. Mike and Kristina hoisted her up into the air and obeyed their older sister; all the way up the stairs and onto her bed went the new captive. A pitiful gaze awaited them both when they put Bridget down; she was trying to earn their sympathy and thereby get out of this.

Kristina looked even more Christmasy with the green bandana on her head, and since they were in the bedroom the girl decided to hide in the closet and put on her outfit for the day. She emerged in a similar style to Erin and with the green headband still on herself. Seeing Mike not present, Kristina tickled the soles of her sister's feet and got a slight chuckle from the captive. She then stopped and knelt by her sister. While her eyes and lips didn't express it, she was missing their mother.

Just then, Erin walked into the room and saw the vacant gaze in her sister's green eyes. Erin carried her TUG bag over and put it down by the bed. The older girl with the red bandana looked at the one with the green one and could feel the helplessness. Bridget could see it too, and Erin knew she needed to break this before it ended in more tears. Kristina enjoyed the sight of her sister with the bow over her gag; how funny a sight was Bridget looking like a big present!

WHACK! WHACK! Erin suddenly spanked Bridget with the wooden spoon.
Mmmmmm!” Bridget wailed in surprise.
“Erin, no!” Kristina stood up, was firm in her tone, and stomped her feet, “No no no!”
“You are a strong willed little thing,” Erin put a hand on Kristina’s shoulder.
“Stop it!” the small girl brushed her sister's hand away, looked at her, and, after a quivering of her lower lip, burst into tears, “I want my mommy back! I miss her so much! Why did Jesus take her from me?!”
“I’m sorry, honey,” Erin was tightly hugged by Kristina, “God lets us make our own choices, good or bad. When He makes the choice for us, we call it a miracle.”
“Mommy made a lot of bad choices. I hope you and Bridgie don't. I need you”

Bridget didn't cry; that was useless now. She understood that it was harder for a small child to handle this than it was for the adults. The first Christmas was naturally hard as were the first birthdays; the second would be easier; and then it would fluctuate as their moods fluctuated. Little Kristina was struggling more than her older siblings, and Erin decided to distract her.

“Watch this,” big sister sat down and pulled her socks off her feet.
“Why?” Kristina dried her tears and watched Erin slowly fold one sock from top to bottom.
“Because I am about to do something naughty.”
“Mmmmm!” Bridget moaned as the wadded sock was pressed against her nose.
“Take that, Bridget!” Erin pulled the other sock over Bridget’s face and knotted it behind her head.
“Yuck! Ugh!”

Bridget immediately began trying to rub the sock off her nose. A triple sock torture of eating her and her baby sister's socks and smelling her older sister's wasn't exactly in the definition of a Merry Christmas for the average person, but it was in the Sjaastad family's! The captive looked at one sister and then the other and continued the same pitiful gaze.

The ribbon surprised Bridget in how well it worked. Hardly any of her body could be moved still, and it bound her tightly. A jerk on her bonds told her that she had a small chance of escaping, but that required being left to herself before she could exploit that opportunity. The difficult part was the binding of her fingers, but that ribbon was of the more typical smoother type and could perhaps rub off.

Big sister stood up to field a phone call, the first of many she’d receive throughout the morning. Bridget studied her sister's figure and outfit and admired the femininity of the tall girl. Erin slowly walked the room and occasionally leaned against the walls and furniture, allowing her skirt to whirl about with ease. The older sister wasn't the Spirit of Christmas Future; she was the true meaning of Christmas with her abounding love, joy, and cheerful giving and receiving.

Little sister sat down and rolled Bridget onto her side. Kristina had natural beauty like the oldest sister but the stubbornness and tough outer shell of the middle sister. She was a student who watched both older sisters with an idolatrous gaze, identified their actions as good or bad, and imitated the good. She stared at Bridget and understood it all so clearly and smiled.

“Bridgie, being sad won't get me a miracle. Is Mommy really in heaven?”
“Mmm hmm,” the captive nodded.
“And you told me that in heaven everyday is like Christmas and Easter. We get only one Christmas and Easter each year, but Mommy is celebrating Christmas with us even if we can't see her or touch her! Oh, Bridgie, can you imagine how happy that must be?!” she stood up and clasped her hands like Erin had before.
“Mmm hmm!” Bridget beamed with pride.
“You,” Kristina stooped over and kissed Bridget on the forehead, “are such a cute little Christmas present!”
“Awwww!”
“I,” Kristina skipped back a couple of steps and curtsied sloppily, “am going down to check on breakfast!”

Erin hung up the phone and walked over to Bridget. She knelt down by the bed while smiling broadly. Bridget knew that she'd heard the little exchange and tried to smile as well; instead, she gave herself a triple dose of Sjaastad feet. Just when it seemed like an intimate moment was approaching, Bridget felt the wooden spoon slap her on each butt cheek.

“Yeow!”
“Keeping you in submission,” big sister laughed before undoing the hogtie.
“Mmmm,” Bridget relaxed as her legs lowered.
“You're going to put on that green-and-white striped skirt and the pretty red Christmas sweater,” Erin gave the order.
“Ay-he.”
“You are, because no one looks like Mom more than you do. You’ll be our own cute little Christmas present by making Mom proud by not letting her good clothes go to waste. You’ll put on a white bandana, and we'll each have a bandana that represents one of the colors of Christmas. We’ll look like the silly college friends that gave us the gift of having happy Bridget back in our lives, we’ll go to grandpa’s and play hockey, we’ll eat Christmas dinner, and then we'll come home, drink hot chocolate, and have fun together, probably tied up. The three Sjaastad sisters, the three spirits of Christmas, the three silly little Sjaastad Christmas Gangstas, as your friends say, OK? Either do it, or stay tied up until it's almost time to leave.”

It was impossible to forget the skirt. The previous Christmas Erin had bought herself, Bridget, and Mom a set of matching Christmas outfits. They had all loved wearing the matching outfits for the day. Each outfit was based on the three typical Christmas colors of red, white, and green with different pairs of each for a set of socks, skirt, and shirt. Bridget had the red and green skirt, but the clothes that had been her mothers would fit her but in a different way. Bridget realized that one day the outfit would be Kristina’s, and they would be the three Christmas Sjaastad’s once again. But then it would be the three sisters instead of mother and daughters. She was shorter than Mom was, but a skirt down to her ankles wasn’t a bad thing.

Bridget nodded and saw her captivity come to an end after 10 hours of nonstop adventure. In an indirect thanks to her friends, a new tradition had been born in the Sjaastad household. Wouldn’t Mom want them to still have fun even without her. Down the stairs Bridget walked and, with her father’s permission, back to the closet that had been Mom’s before the divorce, now the closet where those things that had been hers and with which someone couldn’t part now lived. Taking the outfit and with tears rolling down her cheeks, Bridget ran up the stairs and into her own walk in closet.

Soon, Bridget stepped out of the closet in her late mother’s clothes. Never had her mother felt so close to her heart as at this moment. She wasn’t sure if she was the right sibling to be the one to wear this outfit, but she figured if Erin suggested it then she should do it. She wasn’t too fond of wearing bandanas outside rowing events or as part of a theme for a game, but again she would do it for Erin. Such was Bridget’s love for her big sister. Down the stairs walked the rower and into the living room with the skirt swirling about her, and Dad’s jaw gaped open when he saw her.

“Beth,” he mouthed, stood up, and walked over to her, “Kristie has the hair, but you resemble her so much more.”
“See Dad? Mom’s still here with us,” Bridget spoke softly and fixed his collar, “Just because we can’t see her doesn’t mean she isn’t praying for us.”
“Breakfast is done!” Kristina bounced into the room and froze, “Bridgie, you’re so beautiful!”
“Michael,” Erin pointed to him, “take pictures of the Sjaastad girls, with and without Dad.”
“Ask and receive,” Mike took her cell phone, “Look at Bridgie looking just as pretty as Mom.”
“Let’s just get this over with,” Bridget fidgeted, “You know how I am.”
“Do you know how annoying it is to be so far away and the only pictures of you I ever get are when you’re tied up?”

Bridget was nicely red faced for the pictures from the combination of embarrassment and tape residue. She and her sisters posed for the photos, and then it was time to eat breakfast with their brother and father. This was a particularly special Christmas for all of them as they had managed to find the true spirit of Christmas amidst their sorrow.

[Lucky Lottie]

Oh! the sweet joys of Christmas bondage. Still on my bondage to do list

Lovely story as always