The church was especially beautiful. It was decorated for Christmas with poinsettias and greenery, and the candles for the Christmas Eve service were lit early for the celebration. Everyone who was important to Ian and Lucy were invited to join them at the church for their child's christening…and Lucy had arranged with the minister for a special ceremony of family dedication.
Lucy was wearing a beautiful green velvet dress with her hair pulled back, and Ian had been coaxed into a suit and tie. When he walked out of their bedroom, she caught her breath in admiration of her ruggedly handsome husband. Even though it had only been a couple of days since his ordeal, he was looking relaxed and happy. Lucy had dressed all their children in their best clothes, with Serena and Christina in velvet dresses of their favorite colors and even Daniel wearing his very first suit.
"Well, young Daniel, I see yer ma has dressed you up in a monkey suit, too," Ian said to his son. "We'll have to see what we can do about getting' outta these as quick as we can—what do ya say?"
Danny nodded to his father and pulled at the collar of his shirt, but Lucy shushed them both and reminded them that it didn't hurt to get dressed up one day a year. She was carrying Caroline in her christening gown—a beautiful long gown made of antique Irish lace with a matching bonnet that she had found in Dublin over the summer. Patrick, Marty and Ian had all been very patient with her penchant for shopping on their excursions, and she had found this exquisite gown and a special present for Ian on the same day.
Ian, Lucy and their children arrived at the church first with Patrick, Marty and their two close behind. After speaking with the minister, they waited in the front of the church for their friends to arrive. Alison and Jamal arrived with Chris and Jack — Chris was to be Caroline's godfather and Alison her godmother. Patrick and Marty were in total agreement with the arrangement, as they would always be her aunt and uncle—and Caroline deserved to have godparents who lived near her and could be a regular part of her life.
The four friends came to the front of the church, and Alison was anxious to introduce Marty and Patrick to Jamal. She went up to Lucy and gave her a hug and offered to take Caroline from Ian, who kissed her on the cheek.
"If you don't mind, I think I'll be holding on to her a wee bit longer," Ian said with a smile. "She's the only one who doesn't squirm out of my arms in just a couple of minutes and I'm still not over missing them!"
"I understand, Ian. We're all just so glad that you're home where you belong," Alison replied. "Just make sure Ramsey here knows that I get to hold her when the christening begins!" Alison punched Chris lightly in the arm to emphasize her point, while Chris pretended to be hurt and rubbed his arm saying, "Ouch!"
"Alison! Are we finally going to meet the famous Jamal?" Marty said to the young woman. She held out her hand to Jamal and introduced herself, "I'm Marty Thornhart, and you're a very lucky young man."
Jamal shook Marty's hand, "Don't I know it. It's good to meet you; Ali here loves to spend time with your kids. You'll have to tell me about Ireland sometime."
"Don't you own a motorbike shop?" Patrick asked Jamal as he shook his hand. "I've always loved to ride. I'm sure we'd have much more fun talking about that than my country."
Jamal laughed, "Don't you know it, dude. You'll have to come out and take one for a spin before you head back home."
"I'd love to, thanks for the invite," Patrick answered.
"Hey, Bro, I think we better go sit down—it's just you and me, 'cause Chris and Alison have to sit up front with the family," Jack said to Jamal. "This place is fillin' up fast, come on." The two men went to sit in a pew and talk while Alison and Chris sat down with the children on a front pew.
Victor, Mary, Frank and Neal were there, just as they had been at Thanksgiving. However, they had surprise guests when Joe and Gabriela showed up from Bounds' Corners to spend the holidays with their families.
Ian was delighted to see his old friend, "Joseph! Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?"
Joe smiled broadly as he and Gabriela met him in the aisle, "Ian! It's great to see you! Your daughter is beautiful, and you're a lucky man!"
"Aye, I know that, Joseph. Get a look at young Daniel there! Growin' like weed he is!" Ian answered his friend fondly. "What about you? How's life been treatin' you two in the country?"
Gabriela smiled and put her arm around her husband as Joe said, "We love it. We're part of a community and we get to help people, and it's been healing for us. And we just found out that we're going to have a baby of our own next summer!"
Ian laughed and said, "It's about time! I'm so happy for the both of you! Promise you'll make time to visit before you head back!"
Kevin had arrived with Colleen, Erin and Livvie. Erin ran to the front of the church to see her friends and Kevin and Colleen quickly chased after her, with Livvie reluctantly following the group. Alison had been warned in advance and, although nervous, was willing that Livvie be invited.
"Erin! Sweetheart, we need to sit back here," Colleen told her sister gently.
"But I wanna play with Danny and Christina!" Erin told her sister. "Can't I sit with my friends, Sissy?"
"I'm sorry, Erin, but you have to sit back here with me and Colleen and Livvie. You can play with them in a little while. Okay?" Kevin said softly. "Who would you like to sit next to?"
"Well, hello there Erin!" Ian said. "It's good to see you here! I'm so glad you could come."
"Hi, Ian. I wanna play with Danny and Christina but Sissy and Kevin say I have to wait 'til later. Is that right?" Erin asked him.
"Yeah, I think it is. Will that be okay?"
"Uh-huh. Can I say 'Hi' before we have to go sit down?"
"Sure, you can Erin. I know they'd like that." Ian said. As Erin went over to the pew to say hello to her playmates, Ian turned to Kevin and Colleen.
"I'm sorry about Erin—she looks forward to seeing them and they haven't been around much lately with everything that's been going on," Colleen said.
"It's alright, Colleen. She's our friend and we love her. This is a celebration for family and friends, and if she wants to sit with the kids it'll be okay," Ian answered her honestly.
"Caroline looks beautiful today, Ian. Did Lucy find that? Or is it something from your family?" Kevin said, while Colleen was gently coaxing her sister to another pew.
"Lucy, of course. She thinks of everything. Why don't you say hello yourselves before you sit down—and Kevin," Ian said putting his free hand on the other man's arm, "thank you for all your help in getting me home. If it wasn't for Victor, I'd probably still be in that hell hole."
Kevin just smiled, "There's nothing to thank me for. You needed to be home with your family, and my father had the connections to make it happen. I'm just glad that you're back with us again." Kevin then walked over and embraced Lucy and kissed her on the cheek.
Livvie was standing quietly behind Colleen, waiting for Erin and hoping to escape notice. However, Alison had seen her come into the church, and she also knew from Lucy how much she had changed. She walked over to Livvie and put a hand on her arm.
"Hi, Livvie. How's Chicago?" Alison said softly. "I hear you went back to college. I'm really glad."
Livvie looked at Alison, and tears came suddenly to her eyes, "Alison! I—I didn't think you'd ever look at me again, much less speak to me!"
"It's been a long time, and we need to all let go of the past. It's nice that you can be here for Caroline's christening, and to spend the holidays with your dad."
"Thank you. I hope that you have a nice Christmas, too," Livvie said. She turned around and went to the back of the church to sit. Alison watched her to her seat and noticed that she was still wiping away tears as she sat down.
Ian put his hand on Alison's shoulder, and she looked at him with tears in her eyes, "I'm okay. It's just that I'm so happy on Caroline's special day."
When they were all seated, the minister invited Ian and Lucy to bring Caroline forward. He explained that they were having a special family dedication prior to Caroline's christening, and called the other children forward. Serena helped Christina and Danny to join their parents.
Serena explained, "We decided that today isn't just about our new baby sister, but our whole family. My brother and sisters and I, we each have different mothers and fathers, but Mom and Ian have made us all one family. We are a family now because Mom adopted us, and Ian loves us. We want to thank our other mothers and fathers for giving us life—and thank Ian and Mom for making us a family." The three older children each gave Lucy and Ian a hug, and gave their baby sister a kiss before sitting in the front pew with their aunt, uncle and cousins. Everyone applauded, and the minister thanked the children before asking Alison and Chris to join Lucy and Ian for Caroline's christening.
Afterwards, they took some pictures and visited in the church vestibule. Lucy had decided not to plan a reception or party—stating that Christmas Eve was a family day—but really to make things easier on Ian. However, Chris and Jack invited everyone back to their restaurant for a celebration, and nearly everyone accepted. They spent a wonderful time together…but were very glad to get home. Ian, Lucy, Patrick and Marty shared a toast together at the house afterwards, very glad to be able to celebrate the holidays with each other.