Chapter 27
It was Christmas Eve and Gary was finished with the paper for the day. He was looking forward to spending a first Christmas with his family. He had stopped to pick up another gift for Kaitlyn and was on his way home, just in time for dinner. His parents were coming to town to spend the holiday with them.
When Gary walked in the door, he could hear his father in the living room playing with the girls. Gary took off his gloves, hung up his jacket, and then peeked into the living room. The girls were into playing dress up and it looked like his father was their latest victim. Jessica was tying a scarf around his neck and Casey was trying her best to put velcro rollers in his hair.
"Oh you're looking good Dad." Gary said trying to suppress his laughter.
"Hi, Daddy." Casey said. "Grandpa Bernie doesn't sit still very well." Gary laughed.
"Go ahead and laugh Gar, you're next." Bernie said with a smile on his face.
"Believe me Dad, I've had my share of being the guinea pig." Gary said as he headed into the kitchen where he found his mother over the stove.
"Hi, Mom. Merry Christmas." He said as he kissed her cheek.
"Hi, honey." She said with a smile.
"Where's Kaitlyn?" Gary asked.
"Oh, I sent her upstairs to lie down. She looked like she was completely exhausted." Lois said.
"Really?" Gary said concerned. " Well, I'm going to go up and make sure she is all right." He said as he headed into the hallway.
"Okay, honey, dinner will be ready in about an hour. The Kelly's should be on their way and Chuck and Marissa are coming. Gary there was an envelope delivered for you. It's on the table in the hallway." She called after him.
"Thanks Mom." Gary said as he picked up the envelope and headed up the stairs.
Gary looked at the envelope on his way upstairs. It was from the adoption attorney. He started to open it as he headed into the bedroom and ran right into Kaitlyn as she was coming out the door.
"Gary!" She said as she put her hands on his chest.
"Sorry, honey." He said as he quickly kissed her. "I thought you were supposed to be taking nap. Are you feeling all right? Mom said you looked tired."
"I'm fine. It has just been a lot of work getting ready for the holidays. What's that?" She asked pointing to the letter.
"I don't know I was just about to open it. It came by messenger." Gary said as he walked past her and into the bedroom. She turned around and walked in behind him, closing the door.
"Who is it from?" She asked.
"It must be about the adoption. It's from Kirkpatrick." Gary said.
"Well, we just filed the papers a little over a month ago. I thought he told us it would be months before everything would go through." Kaitlyn said.
Gary shrugged and handed the envelope to Kaitlyn. "Here you open it. Maybe it's bad news." He said.
"Gary." Kaitlyn said as she rolled he eyes. She finished opening the envelope and pulled out the letter.
"Dear Gary." She began to read aloud. "We are pleased to inform you that your Petition for Adoption for Jessica Ann Kelly and Cassandra Lee Kelly has been granted by the State of Illinois. I personally hand delivered the Petition to Judge Hirsch, who signed it this afternoon. Due to the holiday, the official Petition will be filed on Monday. I will send you copies of the documentation once it has been filed. Congratulations and Happy Holidays to you and your family. Sincerely, Andrew Kirkpatrick." Kaitlyn looked up at Gary and smiled. "It's official." She said as she handed him back the letter.
"I can't believe it." He said as he smiled and looked at the letter. Kaitlyn walked over and put her arms around his waist.
"Congratulations, Daddy." She said as she reached up and kissed his cheek. He smiled.
"Let's go and tell the girls." Gary said.
"Gary, the girls aren't going to understand. Besides, in their minds you are already their father. That piece of paper isn't going to mean anything to them. I think we're probably better off not even bringing it up, because it's only going to confuse them." Kaitlyn said.
"Yeah, your probably right. I'll tell my parents later, they'll be happy." Gary smiled.
"Now we have two reasons to celebrate." She said.
"What's the second reason?" Gary asked.
"Well, I was going to wait until later tonight to tell you this, but I think the timing is right. I meant it two ways when I said, congratulations Daddy." She said as she put his hand on her stomach and looked into his eyes and smiled.
Gary swallowed hard. "We…we…we're pregnant?" He stuttered. "I..I..I..mean you're pregnant?" Kaitlyn shook her head yes. "We're going to have a baby?" He said.
"That's usually what pregnant means." Kaitlyn said with a laugh.
"We're going to have a baby." Gary said again as he kissed her then picked her up and held her tight. He suddenly set her down. "I probably shouldn't do that." He said as he gently rubbed her stomach with his hands.
"Gary, I'm pregnant. I'm not going to break." Kaitlyn said with a smile.
"When?" Gary asked.
"When what?" Kaitlyn asked.
"When did you find out?" Gary stammered.
"I've know for a little while now. I found out right after Thanksgiving." Kaitlyn said softly. "Don't be mad at me for not telling you right away, I just wanted to make sure everything was okay, because of the complications I had with Casey."
"Is everything okay?" Gary asked concerned.
"Everything is fine. Outside of a little morning sickness and being tired and those are all completely normal. Otherwise, everything is on schedule." Kaitlyn smiled.
"Well, when is the baby due?" Gary asked.
"August 3rd." Kaitlyn said with a smile.
"August 3rd." Gary repeated as he hugged her tight. "God, I love you." He whispered in her ear.
"I love you too." She said. He pulled back and looked at her.
"Oh, do you know how thrilled my parents are going to be?" Gary asked.
"I have an idea." Kaitlyn smiled.
"Let's wait and tell everybody together, at dinner." Gary said.
"Okay." She said as she kissed him. "I have to go and help your Mom."
"Oh, no." Gary said as he picked her up and started to walk towards the bed. "You're going to get some rest." He laid her down on the bed and kissed her forehead.
"Gary, I'm fine." Kaitlyn said as she sat up. "I have to help your mother with dinner."
"No you don't. My mother has everything under control. You need to get at least a 20 minute nap." Gary said as he pointed his finger at her.
"But…" Before she could finish Gary cut her off.
"No buts." Gary said. "Lay down."
"I was just going to ask you if you wanted to keep me company?" Kaitlyn said with a smile.
"Sure I'll keep you company." He said as he crawled onto the bed beside her. "But, we're going to sleep." He wrapped his arms around her and smiled. "Thank you." He whispered in her ear before they fell asleep in each other's arms.