Christmas Shock
Chapter 2
Mike woke up to two tiny voices looking for their mom. Early daylight was streaming through the windows, so he very carefully got out of the bed and stepped into the hallway. Izzie and Ivey both looked worried. "Girls, she's in here. Do you want to come in?" Mike asked. The girls exchanged a look and Ivey nodded. "Alright, c'mon." Mike said as he held his hands out. Both girls took his hands and he guided them to his bed. They settled in on either side of Christine and he laid down next to Izzie. She snuggled up close and smiled at him.
"You're warm." Izzie said.
"That's what your mom said too. So, anything special you want for Christmas?" Mike asked. The little girl quirked an eyebrow at him and thought.
"To stay here. Its warm. Mama's happy and we feel safe. Last week; at night, there was this big boom outside and Mama said it was a gunshot. Someone died." Izzie explained. It broke his heart to hear.
"Well, you won't ever have to deal with that again." Mike said.
"We hadn't lived there very long, and sometimes we didn't have a house or place to sleep in. We slept in the car." Izzie continued.
"I am sorry about that." Mike told her.
"We mostly just want Mama to be happy again. I've never known when she wasn't sad." Izzie commented. Mike was shocked at how mature the conversation was, but he wasn't shocked. Christine had always instilled a sense of maturity in their kids. She was a realist. Mike had been the fun parent who would feed the kids ice cream for breakfast and let them build pillow forts in the living room.
"I am going to do my best to make sure everyone is happy." Mike promised. He put an arm around the little girl and drew her close. The little girl cuddled in and was soon asleep, giving Mike a chance to focus on his other daughter and wife. Ivey was sound asleep basically on top of Christine. It would take some time to heal the psychological wounds, but he was prepared. He knew what he was getting into. He was already making shopping plans to make. Christmas was going to be amazing for his family. Not just for gifts, but for the memories made.
He fixed breakfast for his family and was pleased that they ate heartily. Katie's fever had broken and while she needed to rest, she was already feeling better. He tried to probe and get any wishes, but got nowhere. Isaac told him he wanted new socks. Not a normal request for a five-year-old. He was going to go crazy buying. Thankfully; he had the money.
They spent the day relaxing on the couch and watching movies. The older girls had expressed an interest in getting some board games and family friendly movies. The triplets would need toys and books to occupy themselves with. Mike's mental list was endless, but he didn't mind in the least. Ivey had cuddled up on his lap and fell asleep, which had upset Izzie. Isaac was a mama's boy, through and through, which didn't bother Mike in the least.
They slept through the night and in the early morning, the triplets all ended up in bed with Mike and Christine. They didn't really sleep much after that, but Mike was thankful for his king-sized bed since the triplets sleeping with them was becoming habit. Christine had already planned on staying home with the kids, so Mike could shop to his heart's content. She gave him some pointers and sent him on his way with a kiss.
Mike would never be a shopper but he quickly had filled another two shopping carts with clothes, toys, books, stocking stuffers, hair stuff for the girls, movies, games and wrapping supplies. He also got Christine a few new outfits and warmer nightgowns. His last stop was at a jewelry store. She had told him that she had sold her engagement ring and wedding band for food. He wanted to give her new ones, hoping to communicate he wanted the marriage to continue. He quickly settled on a very nice engagement ring and matching band. It was much nicer than her original set. The trick had been finding a small enough size that could be resized as she gained weight.
Overall, he was happy with all the purchases. Wrapping them would be a major headache, but Christine had wrapped presents for side money before Christmas every year, so they would look beautiful. He would only be responsible for Christine's. Hiding them would also be hard, but there was only two days before Christmas. He would manage.