Chapter 14
Elizabeth's long leg wrapped itself up around Henry's as they lay snuggled underneath the covers. A dim morning cast a muted light at the curtains. Outside snow was blanketing the farm. She woke easily and sighed kissing Henry on the cheek, "Merry Christmas!" she whispered.
"Mmm…that was a Merry Christmas Eve last night," he answered in a low, growling voice. She giggled at him. He peeked at the clock, and back at her "The kids aren't awake yet? I am shocked."
"There's a lot of people here. Your family, Will and Annie. They were up to almost midnight last night. And they are ten! This is definitely our last Santa year." She said sadly.
"Just be glad you got two bonus Santa years. Definitely not our last. We have FIVE kids. There will be a boatload of grandchildren." He smiled and rolled her back over kissing her.
She pushed him back after a few minutes, "Okay, Captain we need to get breakfast going for everyone."
Elizabeth was cutting up fruit and Henry was working on pancake mix. Maureen and Erin joined them in the kitchen making coffee and putting muffins on a plate. Henry's favorite from a Pittsburgh bakery.
Jason, Asim and Maureen's son came bounding down the stairs laughing.
"I am so going to crush you on that game later," Asim said.
"Well, you can try," Jason laughed back at him.
Asim jumped up on the stool at the counter and grabbed chocolate chips from the bowl, slid off and ran.
"Hey those are for the pancakes…" Henry said as he ran away to follow the older boys.
Aamira came down after still wiping the sleep from her eyes. Her flannel Christmas onesie making her slip on the floor a bit. She was not a morning person. She didn't even make it to the kitchen instead curling herself up on the couch in front of the tree and pulled a blanket over herself. Opened her book and began to read. She cast an eye on the presents under the tree and noticed a very, long box, wrapped in red paper with white snowflakes on it. A big white bow and it had short little legs. She knew exactly what it was. Now, she couldn't wait.
She ran into the kitchen and asked, "Can I go wake the others?"
Elizabeth looked at her. Her pigtails now long down her back, messy from the night before. Her hands together in front of her chin as she begged them.
"Yes, of course. Go ahead," Elizabeth told her.
"Yes!" she jumped up and ran back upstairs.
Breakfast was over but the late Christmas Eve, brought the scent from multiple cups of coffee to the living room as the twins and the other kids opened their gifts. Toys, sweaters from American Eagle, jewelry, perfume and makeup filled the room.
It was time for the kids' big gifts. Stevie and Jareth got a weekend in New York. Allie tickets to a concert. Jason got an Ikon ski pass for the season. Aamira's big gift was pulled out from under the tree. She knew what it was before even opening it but tore into it anyways. A new low balance beam to practice on at home.
"Yes, I love it!" she yelled as she ran over to Henry and Elizabeth to hug them.
Henry turned to Asim and said, "Yours is out in the yard, buddy!"
He ran out to the back door and peeked out, a brand new soccer net with a field now covered in snow was there. He shook his head wondering how he didn't notice it yesterday.
He thanked Henry and Elizabeth. As he finished, Aamira got up and grabbed their gifts for Henry and Elizabeth under the tree.
Stevie spoke up, "That is from all of us."
Elizabeth opened hers first, a bracelet with all five of their birthstones. She picked it up gently from the box and held it in her hand staring at it. Henry reached over and said, "Here let me help you."
As he placed it on his wrist, she looked at the kids with tears in their eyes, "I love this! Thank you so much!"
"You're welcomes" came back in unison.
"Open yours, Dad!" Asim called out.
He opened up a hardcover five-chapter book. Each chapter was a story from each of them individually. Their favorite memories with him. Pictures with him from the births and adoptions until now. What each of them loved about him.
As he flipped through the pages, he wiped a tear from his eyes. "This is amazing! Thank you so much. What wonderful gifts."
"Aamira, why don't you give Aunt Maureen and Aunt Erin their gifts?" Elizabeth suggested.
Maureen received a beautiful Renior painting that Elizabeth and Aamira bought for her on their summer trip to France.
Erin got a beautiful Burberry scarf that Elizabeth picked up in London during a G7 trip with Conrad.
It took nearly an hour for everyone to open their gifts. Maureen, Shane and Erin and their families left afterwards to head home.
Later that afternoon, Elizabeth was sitting with Will by the fireplace. They each held a scotch in their hand.
"Watching the twins opening their gifts today reminded me of Christmas morning with Mom and Dad," he said to her, looking at the fire and taking a sip of his drink.
"Ahh, yes. Remember the year you got the red bike. It was right over there tucked by the stairs. We ran right by it. They didn't even tell you until all the gifts were opened." They both laughed.
"I remember when you were 13 and you got your first makeup in your stocking. You flew up those stairs like a bird set free," he joked.
Alison walked in and plopped herself down next to Elizabeth, curled her back up against the couch and her side, "Did you always have strings of popcorn on your tree?"
Will and Elizabeth laughed. Will answered, "When your mother didn't eat all of it before your grandmother had a chance to string it."
The other kids gathered in around them, all with cups of cocoa after playing with the horses in the snow. Everyone settled in. Henry joined them with a scotch of his own, he stoked the fire and then sat on the other side of Elizabeth, putting his arm up over her.
Aamira and Asim sat on their knees at the big coffee table as they played with the marshmallows floating on top of the cocoa in their mugs.
The rest of them were staring at the fire and the tree, when Annie asked, "If they were here with us, what would we call them?"
The question stopped the room in its' tracks.
Asim backed her up, "Yeah, what would we call them?"
"I don't know," Elizabeth answered, pulling on the loose collar of her cream colored sweater, all of a sudden feeling warm. Not sure if it was the moment or the menopause. "What do you think you would have called them?"
Jason joined the conversation, "Stevie's the oldest, so it would have been her call."
Stevie took a sip of her cocoa, "I don't know. They would have been young grandparents so Nana or Grampy don't really apply here."
"Yeah, I think they would have been more like a Gram and Grandpa type of grandparents," Alison replied.
Will sat up, "I could definitely have seen her as a Gram."
Aamira asked, "What did they like to do?"
Elizabeth tucked her legs up to her left to tuck her chilled toes under Henry's leg as he put his hand on her thigh, "Well, the horseback riding comes from your grandmother. Your grandfather loved to golf and fly fish."
Asim had taken a sip of his cocoa and now white marshmallow made a mustache against his gorgeous dark skin, he turned to the family, licked the marshmallow off of his lips, "What were their real names?"
Will answered, "Benjamin and Suzanne."
Aamira stared at Asim as he looked back at her, "Oh I love those names."
"Dad, what were your parents' names?" Asim asked, going for more cocoa.
"Marie and Patrick," Henry answered.
Stevie jumped in, "But we called them Grandma and Grandpa."
Aamira nodded her head.
Everyone went back to drinking their drinks. Except Elizabeth, she had a thought. Then, gave Henry a smack and said "Remember when we went through my Dad's old family movies. Where are those? We haven't pulled them out since before the kids were born."
"Yeah because it made you super sad. You requested that we put them away for a long time" Henry replied.
"Well, now the long time is up," she slapped his knee and got up running up the stairs.
Will turned to Henry, who had stood up to go help Elizabeth, "The projector and the screen are in the basement. I will go get them."
Jason got up, "I will help you, Will."
Stevie turned to Alison and the others, "Should we start the pizzas?"
Annie jumped up, "Yes and popcorn."
Aamira yelled out, "And the cookies we made last night."
The kids worked in the kitchen while the adults set up the movies.
Eventually there was three bowls of popcorn, multiple paper plates of pizza slices, soda cans and a platter of sugar and chocolate chip cookies in the room.
The room was dim on the screen the kids watched and laughed at their grandparents.
On the screen it was summertime, Suzanne was helping a one year-old Elizabeth off the ground so she could walk. Benjamin called her, "Hon, look here."
Suzanne looked up through her long, blonde locks. Jason said, 'Wow. Mom, I never realized how much you and Stevie look like her."
Elizabeth smiled back at him as Henry kissed her head.
Will's turn was next. Film of him riding the red bicycle on a cold, winter's day came up. Elizabeth laughed, "There it is! The red bike we just talked about."
"I loved that bike," Will said, taking a bite of his pizza.
"You rode that bike until Dad forced you out of it. You were eating your knees the bike was so small for you," she laughed.
The next hour included family vacations, Christmas mornings, their birthdays. They laughed through most of them, a few moments caught their breath.
Jason was running the reels. As he replaced another reel, Henry got up and grabbed Elizabeth and Will another drink and one for himself.
Elizabeth's breath caught as he walked back in the room. Elizabeth was on her old horse, Millie. A beautiful chestnut with a black mane.
"She looks just like Buttercup," Stevie commented.
Her father was filming her at her equestrian competition. Elizabeth didn't take her eyes off the screen, "They came from the same breed line."
Stevie turned quickly, "What? I didn't know that."
"Yeah, she was probably his aunt or something like that."
Henry handed her and Will their drinks not taking his eye off his wife, he sat back down and pulled her back to lean on him. He wrapped his left arm around her holding his drink in the right.
She took a big drink of her scotch. He whispered in her ear, "We can shut it off."
Elizabeth shrugged, "No, the kids are getting to know my parents. It's okay."
She wiped a tear from her eye and looked to her brother. He glanced at her and winked, letting her know he was okay.
They were at MJ's for milkshakes with them. Her father was still filming as he tried to get a shot of his wife, Suzanne put her hand up to the camera laughing. Her milkshake in her hand.
Elizabeth took another drink of her scotch.
The reel cut away and then it was a teenage Elizabeth blowing fifteen candles off a big cake decorated with white and pink frosting and a bunch of sprinkles. She was surrounded by six friends, Will, her mother and Aunt Joan as her father filmed.
She took another drink as Henry squeezed her shoulder. Alison slid over from the floor to lean on her legs.
The reel finished with Elizabeth blowing out the candles and everyone clapping.
Jason was oblivious to his mother and uncle's demeanor said, "Well, that's the last of them."
Elizabeth got up and headed for the kitchen. Stevie and Alison followed her.
As they put the paper plates in the trash, Stevie asked her, "How long after?"
"Two weeks," Elizabeth answered not looking at her, cleaning dishes in the sink.
"Mom, I guess we never put it together that it was so soon after your birthday." Alison said quietly.
Elizabeth shut off the water, turned to both her daughters, leaning against the sink, "Well, I haven't really ever talked about it."
"We're sorry, Mom. I am sure it is hard to talk about that. I can't imagine how painful that was," Alison said, furrowing her brow at her mother. Leaning into her for a hug.
"It's very hard," Aamira's sweet voice came from the doorway. She was leaning there, her arms across her almost mimicking one of Elizabeth's signature stances. Her red plaid shirt now untucked and hanging over her jeans that hugged her legs, her fuzzy socks making her slide a bit as she leaned. "You don't know how lucky you both are to still have your mother. I never knew mine because she died on my birthday."
Stevie moved toward her and put an arm around her pulling her into the kitchen. The girls all sat on the stools at the island staring back at their mother.
"Your Dad and I were given some information about your mother. Are there things you don't know that you want to know?" Elizabeth asked her, returning to loading the dishwasher with cocoa mugs and greasy pizza pans.
Aamira asked her "Like what?"
"Girls, can you give us a moment?" Elizabeth looked to Stevie and Allie as they easily got up and left the room.
Elizabeth stepped around the island, throwing the towel she was holding on the counter, "We have been waiting for one of you to ask. So you can ask me anything."
"Did you know my mother or something?" Aamira furrowed her brow at her.
Elizabeth laughed, "No, but the orphanage gave us as much information on her that they could, in case, you ever wondered about her."
She sat down next to her, tucking the one stray hair that always fell in Aamira's face behind her ear, "What do you want to know?"
"How did she die?" she asked point blank.
"Well, you're coming out swinging," Elizabeth whispered. "As you may remember, going to the doctor in Uganda is not as easy as it is here in the United States, right?"
"Yes," Aamira rested her elbow on the counter and her chin in her hand turning sideways to face Elizabeth.
"Well, sometimes giving birth to a child can be tricky. The mother may need different medical needs. Those just weren't available to your mother."
"So, did we kill her?" she asked as Elizabeth noticed the tears welling up in her eyes.
"Oh no, baby. Don't you ever think like that. She died because she couldn't get the care she needed. Not because of you or your brother. She loved you both so much. More than you can ever imagine." Elizabeth answered her.
"But, if she didn't have us she would have lived," it came off more of a statement than a question.
"Sweetheart, your mother wanted you and your brother so much. It was never that without you she would still be alive. It is because of her that you are alive and Asim is alive. Both of you are going to do great things to make her proud."
Aamira gave her the unconvinced look.
"Trust me, none of this is easy. But, you have the benefit of having us as your parents. You are going to have questions about your mother that we just don't have the answers. Baby, I am so sorry for that. I have been there and that is something you and I can work on because of that."
She reached out to her giving her the tightest hug and holding her just a bit longer.
Aamira took in Elizabeth's scent. The scent of the only mother she ever knew, she tucked her head on her shoulder and whispered, "Do you have a picture of her?"
Elizabeth pulled her back and smiled at her as she wiped away her tears, "I do."
A few minutes later, the twins were staring at a photo of their mother, very pregnant, standing under a tree near a dark hut, the ground dusty at her bare feet.
"Aamira, you look just like her," Asim said excitedly.
Aamira sighed and stared at Elizabeth, "Another thing I have in common with you and Stevie."
Henry jumped in, "You say that like it's a bad thing. Aamira, your mother was beautiful and she is so proud of you. You have this amazing opportunity to carry her with you."
"Yeah, because I must look like whoever our Dad was," Asim smirked. "I look nothing like her."
"Not true. You totally have her nose." Alison said looking over his shoulder at the photo.
"Do we get to keep these?" Asim asked.
Elizabeth smiled, "Yes, they are yours to keep. We can put them in your rooms."
She glanced over at Henry and they shared a smile of relief. Those photos were printed from the original and put into frames for this moment when the twins asked about her.
Later that night, she tucked them both into sleep in their shared room at the farmhouse. Glancing at the photo of their mother on each of their dresser, Elizabeth whispered a "Thank you!" as she looked down on her sleeping children and turned out the light.