Chapter 10
The sight that greeted Neal Caffrey as he came down the stairs of his home on Christmas Eve morning warmed the cockles of his heart. He watched from the staircase as his daughter sat in their living room, at the foot of the brightly lit tree, looking through the basket of Christmas books - no doubt searching for her favorite one, which Neal knew was 'Little Bear's Christmas'. He stood motionless and watched in silence, a quiet and content Liam in his arms, as Hope began to turn the pages, reading the words out loud, stumbling at times as she struggled to remember the story from memory. After all, that basket only made an appearance once a year, right around the time they put up the Christmas tree, and after the holidays, it was lovingly secreted away until the following December - which made its contents all the more precious.
Neal had very few happy childhood memories related to the holidays. After he had gone into witness protection with his mom and Ellen at the tender age of three, the women had tried to make the holidays special but he realized, now, that they had both been struggling with their inner demons and try as they might, the holiday season was always bittersweet. In hindsight, he realized how difficult it must have been for his mom to face Christmas alone, constantly reliving her husband's deceit and eventual abandonment. As far as Ellen was concerned, she'd had her life totally highjacked and she too had found the holiday season difficult; it was a constant reminder that she would never have what she'd always dreamed of: a 'normal' life with a husband and children of her own. Despite her heartbreak, Ellen had always tried to rise to the occasion for Neal's sake but the circumstances were so painful that her efforts always seemed to fall just short of the mark.
Sara, on the other hand, had been exposed to some lovely traditions growing up and she'd found a way to bring some of them into their new family - the Christmas basket was one of those traditions. Every year, Sara would give Hope a special Christmas book, a beautifully illustrated hard cover, in which she would lovingly inscribe the year and her fondest wishes for her daughter, right on the inside cover. In the Ellis-Caffrey household, that was the only gift that could be opened on Christmas Eve and tradition dictated that after Hope got into her pajamas and got Santa's snack ready, she would open the precious gift and carry it up to bed with her to look at as she prepared to fall asleep. The new book would then join the others in the beautifully decorated wicker basket which was eventually tucked away until the following year when another new treasure would be added.
Neal stood, mesmerized, as he thought ahead to the coming years, imagining how the basket would eventually be full to overflowing with beautiful books as the years passed. This year, for the first time, there were two books under the tree, including one for their son, in order to mark his very first Christmas.
Liam made a gurgling sound in Neal's arms as he gently tapped his dad's face to get his attention and Neal tickled him and nuzzled him, eliciting a small giggle. They continued down the stairs, watching as Hope momentarily put down the book she'd been reading and moved on to the gifts under the tree, picking one up and shaking it just as her dad came into view.
'Hey, no peeking at gifts before Christmas' Neal warned
'I think this one is a board game' she said, undeterred, as she continued to shake to her heart's content
'You won't have any surprises left for tomorrow if you keep rattling those things' he admonished as he made his way over to where she sat, placing Liam between her outstretched legs so he could sit up against her chest
'Liam' she said as she placed her tiny arms around her brother 'I'm going to read you a story'
Neal watched the interaction fondly. Hope was a very responsible and loving big sister; she looked out for her baby brother and enjoyed making him laugh by tickling his toes and blowing raspberries on his tummy whenever she helped her mom or dad change his diaper.
'Don't forget to support his back' Neal reminded her
She gave him a 'I do know how to hold a six-month old' look and placed a kiss on the top of Liam's head as he reached out to grab the book, cooing happily.
'If he fusses, call me' Neal said as he stood to make his way to the kitchen
'... and don't try to lift him' he said, reminding her of the cardinal rule
He walked away in search of his wife who could be heard rattling around in the kitchen.
'Good morning' he said, finding her hunched over the kitchen counter, checking a list.
She looked up to greet him and his eyes were drawn to the bruise on her face which was dark and brooding and looked very, very sore.
'Oooh' he said, standing in front of her and wincing in sympathy as he gently reached out to touch her face 'That looks even worse than yesterday'
'Actually, it's at that stage where it looks worse than it feels' she said, looking up into his eyes
'How about you? How are you feeling?' she asked, noticing Neal looking a lot more chipper
'Better, I'm definitely over the worst of it. I wouldn't run a marathon but...' he said as he carefully placed his arms around Sara's waist, trying to avoid the sore spots
'Thank God it's just a 48 hour thing, huh?' she said as she let him snuggle a little closer
'Is Liam up?' she asked as Neal brought his lips to her neck, in search of a nuzzle
'Huh, huh' he answered absentmindedly continuing on his search for a little physical intimacy – something which had been sorely lacking between them the last few days
Sara attempted to pull away from his insistent mouth, obviously looking for a little more information and Neal relented momentarily, his arms still firmly holding her against his grateful body.
'He's good, I just checked his temperature and his fever's down. His eyes look a little droopy but he was smiling when I changed his diaper' he said, immediately returning to her neck
'Neal!' she said, hoping to keep his attention for more than a fleeting second
He pulled away a second time, looking into her face. 'You're really not into this, are you?' he sighed loudly, obviously disappointed
'We have a million things to do today' she reminded him as he finally let her out of his grasp and moved towards the kitchen counter to grab a cup of coffee
'I'd left a bunch of stuff in the car and the wrecking yard called and said we could pick it up...and... ' she added, with a look of smug satisfaction '... I ordered groceries on line. All you have to do is drive up and pick them up; they even carry everything out to the car for you'
'Wow!' Neal said in mock admiration 'You have been busy this morning'
The smile she gave him melted into a frown as the pain in her face flared up, reminding her of the lingering bruise.
'Daddy! Liam's squirming' Hope shouted from the front of the house
'Break's over!' Neal said as he gave Sara a peck and went off to his daughter's rescue
WCWCWC
It was a beautiful winter day, sunny and warm - once the heater in the car got going. Neal sat at the wheel, searching for an address in this unfamiliar part of town where warehouses and garages lined the streets of an industrial park. He squinted against the bright sun as he continued to search for his destination.
'Look for an 'R' Neal instructed Hope who sat in the backseat, looking around
'Is that it?' she asked, spotting a large sign off in the distance
'Good eye!' Neal said as he got closer, noticing the sign for 'Rogers and Sons Wrecking Yard'
They pulled into the huge yard, noticing heaps and heaps of scrap metal and demolished cars, most of which were probably not even paid for, Neal thought, as he parked and made his way to help Hope out of her booster seat. By the time they returned, they were carrying several large bags containing Sara's purchases from the previous Saturday. At first glance, the items seemed intact and appeared to have been spared the worst of the crash – Sara had likely placed everything in the back seat and not the trunk of the car. Neal positioned the bags alongside Hope in the back seat and made his way back behind the wheel on to their next destination.
'What's this?' Hope asked as Neal spied her in the rear view mirror rummaging through the bags
'Hey, stop that!' he said as he turned to see what was in her hand 'There could be stuff in there for you!'
She handed him a beautifully bound book, dark blue with a photograph of a tree's silhouette against a beautiful sunset. On the cover, the words 'Dream Journal' were inscribed in beautiful lettering; Neal smiled at the sight of it. No doubt a gift destined for him from his thoughtful wife. He handed it back to his daughter to be returned to its hiding place.
'Now stop snooping Hope or you won't have any surprises left' he said as he prepared to drive away
Ever since she was old enough to understand the whole 'Santa' thing, Neal and Sara had elected to tell their daughter that parents gave their children gifts at Christmastime and that Santa went around the world with one special gift for each deserving boy and girl. Growing up, Neal had never understood why Santa showered some of his friends with dozens of gifts while he only got one offering. He remembered wondering why Santa would treat children differently and he'd decided he didn't want his kids to have such a biased view of the world.
'Do you want to call Uncle Peter?' he asked, remembering he owed his best friend a return call
He could see her smiling back at him in the rear view mirror; he called up Peter's cell phone number on his Bluetooth as he slowly made his way back towards their end of town.
'Hello' came Peter's voice although he could hardly be heard with all the background noise
'Peter!' Neal said loudly, hoping to be heard
'Just a minute, Neal. I'll try to find a quiet place to talk' Peter answered
Neal could hear him moving around, the noise finally beginning to fade in the background and he heard a door close as Peter came back on the line.
'You have no idea how lucky you are to be home having a nice, quiet Christmas' he said into the phone 'This place is crazy'
Neal smiled at Peter's comment – if he only knew.
'Mommy had a car accident!' Hope yelled out from the back seat as Neal gave her a reproachful look
'Is that true?' Peter asked, suddenly concerned
'It's fine, Peter. It was a... fender bender...' Neal fibbed as he tried to downplay the incident
'And I threw up on Daddy's shoes and Liam had to go to the hospital' Hope continued as Neal glared at her in the rear view mirror
'What? What's going on over there?' Peter asked, worry apparent in his voice
'It's fine, really' Neal said 'The kids got the flu, that's all'
'Sounds like you've got your hands full' Peter said
'Well, we're looking forward to a nice, quiet Christmas Day, aren't we, Hope?' Neal said, prodding her to say at least one positive thing
She nodded enthusiastically from the back seat.
'So how are things in Northern New York State?' Neal asked
'Crazy! My sister's kids are driving me nuts. But on the bright side, my mom made her famous lemon bars and my dad's taking us all out in the horse and buggy tonight to midnight mass in the village'
'Sounds very...folksy' Neal answered as he rolled his eyes
'Yeah...it's nice' Peter admitted 'But we miss you guys'
'We miss you too' Neal said – Peter had no idea just how much
'So listen, El wanted me to remind you that she's catering that big party at the Westin on New Year's Eve. You're coming with us, right?' he asked, excitement in his voice
'I'll talk to Sara about it and see if we can line up a sitter' Neal answered as Hope frowned in the back seat 'I think Mozzie might be back by then'
'Good! We're really looking forward to ringing in the New Year with you guys' Peter said
'Well, give our love to El and call when you get back' Neal said before hanging up
He grew quiet for a moment, thinking about the past few Christmases shared with the Burkes and he shook off the nostalgia, smiling as he realized he was surrounded by his beautiful wife and wonderful children.
'Do you want to help me pick out a gift for Mommy?' he asked his daughter who had grown quiet in the back seat
Her eyes lit up at the suggestion and Neal pointed the car in the direction of their local mall.
TBC