Mari & Ilna-You guys are the best for more reasons than I have space to write about. Thank you so much for everything. Your real life friendship is something I value more than I can say.
Sandy-you are the awesomest awesome that ever awesomed.
REAL Worlders-I can't thank you enough for all your enthusiastic support and encouragement. You guys are awesome. You make me want to write better stories to live up to your awesomeness. I apologize AGAIN for being so embarrassingly behind on replying to reviews but please know each and every one is read and appreciated. THANK YOU!
The ornament referenced in this story is from last year's 12 Days of Nonna. Chapter 10 Unbreakable.
Poem is by Maryann K. Cusimano.
The Best Stories Part 5 of the 2nd Annual Holiday REAL World McRollathon.
"Unca 'Teeve! Ann Caf!"
Steve and Catherine smiled at the insistent knocking of what was clearly a small hand on their bedroom door.
"Unca 'Teeve! Ann Caf!" Joanie's excited voice repeated.
With a smile over his shoulder to Catherine Steve opened the door and Joanie practically fell into their room, eyes big as saucers.
"What's going on," Steve asked as he picked her up.
"Santa heaw!" she clapped excitedly then threw her arms in the air.
"He was?" Catherine gasped as she came to stand beside Steve. "When did that happen? I didn't even hear him."
"Santa vewy qwiet." Joanie lowered her voice to a whisper.
As Mary reached the top of the stairs Joanie squirmed to get down and wrapped her arms around Cammie who had been woken up by all the excitement. "Santa heaw, Cammie! Ho Ho Ho!"
"Merry Christmas," Mary smiled.
"Merry Christmas!" Steve and Catherine replied in unison.
"Joan couldn't wait another minute for Uncle Steve and Aunt Catherine to come downstairs. Aunt Deb and Aaron are already down there having coffee. I could use a strong cup myself. It feels like we just went to bed a few hours ago. How are you two already showered and wide awake?"
Catherine chuckled as Joanie held up her arms to be picked up. "We're early risers," she said as she lifted the excited toddler.
Mary grinned at the sight of her daughter happily ensconced in Catherine's arms as Steve tickled her and delighted in the sound of her giggles. "That's gonna come in handy someday," she grinned.
"You realize she still has more presents to open at home, right?" Mary asked indulgently as Joan tore the paper off a colorful butterfly puzzle.
"Budder-ply!" She squealed as she held the puzzle up for her mother to see.
"Pretty," Mary said. "You love butterflies."
"That's flat," Steve shrugged. "It'll fit into your suitcase with no problem."
"That's not exactly the point I was trying to make," Mary chuckled. "But thank you."
"Tank you, Unca 'Teeve. Tank you, Ann Caf," Joanie said without taking her eyes off the colorful butterflies.
"You're very welcome, Joanie," they smiled.
"We have a lot of fun doing puzzles, don't we Joan?" Deb asked from her seat in the armchair.
Joan nodded happily then suddenly looked up. "Ma-ma Cammie?"
"She's right here," Catherine said, indicating a contented Cammie watching the proceedings from her place near Catherine's feet.
"Cammie," Joan repeated as the dog's ears perked up.
"Oh that's right," Mary said as she looked around under the tree. "I almost forgot, Peanut." She picked up a brightly wrapped package. "Here it is! We could never forget Cammie."
Joanie giggled as she made her way to her mother and took the package then headed to Cammie's side. She placed the box down carefully in front of the now curious dog then plopped down herself. "For you, Cammie."
Catherine's hand flew to her mouth as she watched Cammie, seeming to sense what was going on, sniff the package interestedly. "Go ahead, pretty girl. That's for you."
Joanie turned her big eyes on Steve. "I help?"
"You can help," he smiled softly.
Joanie tore the corners of the paper and showed Cammie what was inside. Once that was done Cammie happily removed the rest of the paper revealing a new Kong toy. She thumped her tail happily gave Joanie an excited puppy kiss.
"I think she likes it, Pumpkin," Aaron smiled.
Joanie threw her arms in the air. "Ho Ho Ho!"
"There's one more there for you, Mary. It's the one in the red foil wrapping," Catherine pointed to a gift under the tree.
"You guys," Mary sighed, "You've already done more than enough."
"We saw this one a few days ago and we couldn't resist," Catherine explained.
"If you don't learn to resist," Mary shared a look with Aaron and Deb then smirked at Steve and Catherine, "Someday this house is gonna look like a Toys R Us exploded in it."
"Just open the present and skip the psychic reading," Steve teased.
Mary tore the paper off the gift and gasped softly. "Oh wow," she sighed. "This is beautiful."
"See?" Joanie asked as she toddled to her mother's side.
Mary turned the framed piece around for everyone to see as she pointed things out to her enthralled daughter. "See, there's a space to put our favorite pictures. And the mat is decorated with some of our favorite things like butterflies and stuffed animals and the ocean."
"Pwetty," Joan touched the picture carefully.
"And there's a poem," Mary said as she kissed Joanie's head.
"Read?" Joanie leaned into her mother's side.
"I am your parent, you are my child
I am your quiet place, you are my wild
I am your calm face, you are my giggle
I am your wait, you are my wiggle
I am your audience, you are my clown
I am your London Bridge, you are my falling down
I am your Carrot Sticks, you are my licorice
I am your dandelion, you are my first wish
I am your water wings, you are my deep
I am your open arms, you are my running leap
I am your way home, you are my new path
I am your dry towel, you are my wet bath
I am your dinner, you are my chocolate cake
I am your bedtime, you are my wide awake
I am your finish line, you are my race
I am your praying hands, you are my saving grace
I am your favorite book, you are my new lines
I am your nightlight, you are my sunshine
I am your lullaby, you are my peek-a-boo
I am your kiss goodnight, you are my I love you."
Mary swiped at a tear on her cheek then leaned in and kissed her daughter on the cheek.
"I was gonna put pictures in," Catherine said softly, "but then we thought it would be nice for you to pick your own."
"This is amazing," Mary said. "Absolutely beautiful. You guys are too much. Thank you."
By the time Nonna, Grace, Danny and Gabby arrived late morning Catherine, Deb and Mary already had most of the food either prepped and in the refrigerator or in the oven baking and they were all able to sit down and relax around the tree.
"I was always on the road performing so I never actually got to spend Christmas morning with them," Deb's face lit up as all the laughter and love in the room spurred happy Christmas memories from the past. "But I always managed to call, though to be honest sometimes I miscalculated time zones and called before the kids were even up," she chuckled.
"I remember one year the phone woke us up at like two in the morning," Steve said. "Apparently Dad had just gotten in bed after assembling everything that needed put together. While he was talking to you Mary snuck out and saw the presents and started screaming that Santa had been there." He smiled as he thought of Joanie's excited knocking on their door with the very same news earlier that morning. "There was no use trying to get her to go back to sleep so we ended up opening presents in the middle of the night."
"I think I kind of remember that," Mary said. "How old was I?"
"Maybe five," Steve guessed.
Catherine squeezed Steve's hand and shared a knowing smile with Aunt Deb and Nonna. For so long Steve and Mary had blocked out the memories of happier times in their childhoods because in a very real way it hurt too much to remember them in the light of all the pain that came after. But now, as they each felt their own family ties growing and deepening, the memories began to resurface with an air of joy and not regret.
"I remember John telling me a story from when Steve was five or six," Deb smiled. "He laid out a very elaborate trap for Santa complete with a rope snare and an alarm system made of pots and pans."
"You were trying to catch Santa?" Danny chuckled. "What were you planning on doing with him?"
"That's the best part," Deb recounted. "He wasn't trying to get extra toys or anything like that. According to John he wanted Santa to explain to him how he made it to every house on earth in one night."
Steve smiled and nodded as everyone in the room chuckled. "Go ahead. Laugh if you want. But you have to admit that would be very handy information to have."
"Yes, it would," Catherine agreed as she kissed his cheek. "You're a born mission planner."
"Thank you," he grinned.
"That reminds me of the year Daniel and his brother and sisters decided to stay up and catch a glimpse of Santa Claus," Nonna chuckled.
Danny rolled his eyes good naturedly at the prospect of hearing the familiar tale once again.
"Oh I love this story," Grace said happily. "Tell it please, Nonna."
"Yes, please do," Gabby leaned forward. "I don't think I've ever heard it.
"We've always exchanged family gifts on Christmas Eve," Nonna began, "But then the kids still got things from Santa on Christmas morning. This particular Christmas they were determined to see the man himself." Nonna winked at Danny. "It wasn't the first time they'd tried but they always wound up falling asleep. So this time Daniel came up with a plan. One would stay awake at all times while the others napped. They snuck down to the living room where they had snacks and games and all sorts of ideas to make sure they stayed awake. Daniel was certain he'd thought of everything."
"You were a born mission planner too, Danno," Gabby smiled as she patted his knee.
"Thank you," he grinned. "But you might want to withhold judgement until you hear how this mission turns out."
"Clara and Eddie were upstairs waiting for the kids to fall asleep," Nonna continued, "As they always did when they tried to wait up. The Eddie would carry the kids to bed while Clara put out the presents. But this time the kids didn't fall asleep right away."
"But Grandma and Grandpa did, right Nonna?" Grace giggled.
"Yes, they did," Nonna joined Grace's laughter. "Next thing they knew it was morning, the kids were all crying that Santa didn't come and the whole house was in chaos."
"Oh no! What did they do?" Mary asked.
"Well first they got the kids to their rooms, managed to keep them there while they put all the presents under the tree, then sat the kids down and said they'd managed to convince Santa to come back and bring their presents but that the kids were never to try to stay up and catch him again or they were cut off," Nonna smiled. "I'll never forget how frazzled Clara and Eddie were by the time they made it to the house that day."
"And you never tried to stay up to see Santa again, did you, Danno?" Grace asked.
"I did not," Danny nodded adamantly. "And Angela, Theresa and I all used that story to keep our own kids from trying the same thing."
"Sounds a lot like the year Mary left the back door open for Santa and no one realized it until John heard something downstairs in the middle of the night," Deb chuckled. "He grabbed his service revolver and went down only to find the neighbor's dog tearing into the presents. Luckily there was no damage done and he sent the dog home and managed to get things rewrapped just seconds before the kids got up."
"Makes me think we got off easy this year," Steve smiled. "Everything has gone smoothly."
"So far," Danny pointed out. "But remember Thanksgiving was humming right along too but we still ended up sleeping in a blanket fort."
"The disasters are where some of the best stories come from," Nonna smiled. "That will never change."
"Oh you're definitely gonna want to ask Catherine to help you with that," Steve said as Catherine entered the living room from the kitchen.
"Help with what?" she asked.
"Aaron's company has an Olympics every year," Mary said.
"It's a team building thing," Aaron explained. "And this year my department is in charge of creating an obstacle course."
Catherine grinned.
"I was just telling them how the obstacle course is your specialty," Steve said as he reached out for her hand. "She's still a legend at the Academy," he told Aaron and Mary.
"I don't think I'd go that far," Catherine blushed.
"Why not, it's the truth," Steve said proudly.
"If you have some time I'd love any input or advice you could offer," Aaron said sincerely.
"I could probably sketch a few things up," Catherine offered.
"Oh geez," Danny said, "You better tell the people in your company to start training now. They'll need it if Ramboette is designing the course."
"I'll keep in mind they're not in training and take it easy on them," Catherine assured Aaron.
"The first time Cath asked me if I wanted to come along on a 'little hike' it was five miles straight up a mountain," Danny groused. "I'm just sayin'. I could barely walk for a week. Her idea of taking it easy is a little … well … you've met them. You know what I mean."
"Maybe you should volunteer to help me and test out the course so we can make sure it isn't too much," Catherine challenged.
Danny dropped his head to his chest. "I walked right into that one, didn't I?"
"You really did," Steve, Mary and Aaron laughed.
Steve and Catherine entered the living room after adding a fresh batch of food to the buffet they had set up on the dining room table and saw Mary, Grace and Nonna huddled around the Christmas tree.
"Everything ok?" Steve asked as the approached the small group.
"Everything is fine, Nipote," Nonna assured him. "Grace and I were just telling Mary the story of the magic ornament."
"It's amazing it survived this many years," Mary said as she admired the silver and red ornament. "It looks so delicate."
"We're so honored you wanted us to have it," Catherine said as she squeezed Nonna's hand.
"It graced our tree for many years and now it graces yours. As it was meant to be." Nonna patted Catherine's arm. "As soon as I met the two of you I knew your love is unbreakable … just like this ornament. It was destiny that it survived for so many years so it could end up here on your tree. And some day you'll pass it on to someone equally as deserving."
"We'll do that, Nonna," Catherine assured her.
"We love it so much and we're grateful to have it," Steve added.
"I'm glad," Nonna patted his cheek affectionately. "And someday hopefully your children and grandchildren will feel the same way and will pass the story on." Her eyes twinkled.
Before Steve or Catherine could comment on Nonna's not-so-subtle hinting Mary jumped in.
"Speaking of stories to tell the children and grandchildren," she said, "That one about the purple plastic ring is kinda cute but not if it goes on for much longer."
"Oh my, I agree," Nonna nodded. "I love you, Nipote and the thought behind that ring is beautiful but … "
"Auntie Cath needs a real ring, Uncle Steve," Grace agreed. "I mean this one is like the most romantic thing ever for sure but still."
"I don't ..." Catherine started.
"Yes, you do," A chorus of voices cut her off.
Catherine shook her head and laughed as Steve kissed her on the temple.
"The day after Christmas is a terrible day to go shopping," Nonna said, "But what do you say we head to a few jewelry stores on Sunday and see what we can find. Just see what's out there. Maybe Mary could come along as well. And the bambina if she wants." Nonna smiled at Grace.
"Sounds like a great idea to me," Mary said. "Count me in."
"I kind of like the idea of seeing the ring after it's picked out if that's ok," Grace said.
"That's absolutely fine," Nonna assured her.
Steve looked at Catherine. "Did we have anything planned for Sunday?"
"Nothing specific."
"Ok then ring shopping it is."
THE END
Today's REAL World Ask the Authors Q&A question:
From too-strong-to-lose
Now that Catherine and Steve are engaged how things are gonna change, there will be other changes in the relationships of the others characters, like Mary and Aaron, I totally love him, and they look so cute together, with Joan, the perfect little family, Aaron seems to love Joan so much, I wanna know what is in the future for them, the three of them.
As Steve and Catherine said in the proposal story, the engagement and impending wedding changes both nothing and everything in their lives. We're excited to go on the journey with them as we plan a wedding and the life beyond it. And as it says in our tagline—they'll always be safe with us.
As far as Aaron goes, we're excited you and so many others love him because we do too! There's definitely lots to come in the development of the Aaron/Mary/Joan family unit.
Answers to our REAL World ask the writers will appear in our endnotes and also on our tumblr page.
You can submit questions to the REAL World writing team via reviews, email, tumblr and to Mari on Twitter mari21763
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