On the day before Christmas, Ilya handed Jan a small box right after breakfast. "Happy anniversary, sweet Jan," he said.

Jan felt a thrill of joy go through her when she opened the box and saw the pearl necklace inside. "Oh, thank you, Ilya!" she exclaimed as she embraced her husband. "I have something for you, too," she added. She fetched the package from its hiding place and handed it to him.

She was relieved to see his face light up at the sight of the new wallet she'd bought him. "Look inside," she told him.

He opened the wallet to find a photograph of a smiling Chelsea in a pink-and-white one piece outfit with a pink headband and little white patent leather shoes. Jan had had the baby's picture taken at the mall the previous week.

"Why, Jan, it is lovely!" Ilya exclaimed. "Thank you!" He kissed her deeply and passionately.

Later that day, he had to work at his restaurant job. Jan settled Chelsea down for the night and planned to sit up in bed reading until Ilya got home, as she usually did, but he ended up having to work later than usual, and she fell asleep reading while waiting for him to get home.

She awakened as he gently kissed her cheek. "Busy night?" she mumbled.

"Very busy," he chuckled. "I was lucky to finally get home."

He undressed down to his underwear and joined her in bed. As Jan snuggled up to him, her hand lightly brushed the front of his underpants.

"I am sorry," he laughed. "But I am too tired right now. I need to sleep." He pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head.

The following morning, she was awakened by his lips placing soft kisses all over her face. "You want something last night," he reminded her with a cheeky grin. "I am ready to give it to you now."

They were in the middle of making love when Chelsea awakened and started crying.

"It is all right," Ilya said with a gentle laugh. Clad only in his undershirt, he walked to the crib and picked the baby up. Jan watched with a sly smile as he did so. He noticed her watching and gave her a saucy grin.

As soon as he picked his daughter up, she stopped crying and began rooting with her lips on his undershirt, which made both Ilya and Jan burst out laughing.

"I do not have what you want, little one," Ilya told his daughter apologetically. He handed her to Jan, and she eagerly latched on and began to nurse.

"My, you were hungry, weren't you," she murmured as she stroked her daughter's fuzzy head.

After Chelsea had finished nursing, the three of them went downstairs to join the rest of the family. Wally had already arrived, and he and Marcia were busily chatting. It occurred to Jan that her older sister looked as if she were bursting with excitement.

At last dinner was served, and everyone gathered around the table. "I was thinking that perhaps Ilya would like to turn thanks for today," Mike suggested gently.

Ilya looked frightened for a moment but quickly recovered. "Dear God, once again we thank You for delicious food, wonderful family, and for chance to live in country where we can say what we want and believe in You if we choose. And also I especially thank You for beautiful wife and lovely new baby daughter, and many other wonderful blessings come from You. That is all."

"Amen," everyone said together. Jan looked around and noticed that there were tears in the eyes of several of her family members.

"Big news, everybody!" Marcia announced as the food was being passed around. "Wally and I are getting married!"

A shocked silence followed, broken by Carol. "Why, honey, that's wonderful! What's the date?"

"We haven't set one yet, but we want to do it as quickly as possible," Marcia replied. "Which brings me to the next important thing I have to tell you. We're also going to have a baby!"

Another shocked silence followed, once again broken by Carol, only this time, she sounded dismayed rather than pleased. "Oh, Marcia! How could you have let that happen?"

"I was being careful, just like Jan was, but you know how accidents happen," Marcia said airily. "But don't you think it's kind of neat? Our baby's due in June, so Chelsea will have a cousin only ten months younger than her!"

"I don't think I can eat any more." Carol pushed aside her almost-completely-full plate and left the table. The rest of the family continued to eat in silence, except for Mike, who joined his wife in the den a few seconds later.

"Well, aren't any of you happy for us?" Marcia sounded dismayed.

"If it is really what you want, then I am happy for you," Ilya told her.

The muffled sounds of Mike and Carol talking wafted from the den into the dining room.

Greg and Peter soon excused themselves as well, leaving only the girls, Ilya, and Bobby still eating. "Wow, sis, you'd think you would have learned your lesson from what happened to Jan last year," Bobby commented.

Marcia shrugged. "Well, everything turned out just fine for Jan, didn't it?"

Nobody answered her.