Elizabeth finished adding chocolate icing to the large marble cake in front of her. She figured it was enough to feed about twenty people and chuckled to herself thinking about her conversation with Nathan during their Christmas tree hunt. Once she was satisfied with the cake, she picked up her decorating pen and proceeded to write Happy Birthday Jack in light blue icing. Finally, she added some of the toy car fondant toppers she had purchased as embellishment. Elizabeth took a quick photo of the finished cake and texted it to Nathan for his opinion. He quickly texted back a thumbs up emoji and she smiled as she no longer felt like she was parenting alone. Elizabeth placed the cake in a cake dish and then placed it inside the spare refrigerator that she kept in her garage.
Next, she took the two dozen chocolate chip cookies that were sitting on a cooling rack and placed them on a serving tray. The tray was quickly covered and set aside on the kitchen island. Elizabeth then set to work on a large charcuterie board and spent the next half hour working on it. Elizabeth also prepared a second board of crudites. On it, she included celery, carrots, grape tomatoes, red, yellow, and green pepper slices. Finally, she added two different kinds of dip. Both boards contained melba toast rounds as well as thin crackers. She then proceeded to work on small bowls of toddler friendly snacks such as mixed goldfish pretzels and crackers, blueberries, dried fruit, cut up strawberries, and small cheese cubes. Jack's birthday party would be mid-afternoon after nap time but Elizabeth wanted to have ample snacks available for friends and family to enjoy. Once the food was fully prepared, Elizabeth checked on the beverage bar she had set up at the kitchen credenza. Several flavors of soda plus sparkling and flat water were available. Red and white wine was in the spare refrigerator for now.
Since it was Christmas Eve, the house was already fully decorated for the holiday. However, Elizabeth wanted the decorations to also reflect Little Jack's birthday so themed paper goods and decorations from the movie Cars were sprinkled throughout the kitchen and living room.
Fully satisfied with the food arrangements, Elizabeth went up to her bedroom and took a quick shower. She then slipped into a red and green plaid ponte mini dress with a ruffled hemline. It came to just above her knees and also had three-quarter length sleeves with a ruffled cuff. She added dark green tights and red leather booties to balance the look. Elizabeth wanted Jack's birthday to be special but at the same time she wanted to acknowledge that it was also Christmas Eve. She brushed her hair out and put on her makeup just in time for Little Jack to wake up from his nap.
"Hi sweet boy!" Elizabeth said as she hurried into the nursery and scooped Jack into her arms. "How old are you today?"
Little Jack responded by holding up two fingers.
"That's right, sweetheart. You are two. My big boy."
"Big boy!" Jack said with a giggle.
Elizabeth quickly changed Jack's diaper and clothes while she told him about all the snacks she had prepared for his birthday party. The little boy squealed happily though Elizabeth wasn't sure how much he actually understood. She dressed Jack in jeans and a dark green plaid shirt. She put on little red suspenders for added cuteness. The doorbell rang just as she was finishing up.
"My goodness, we are making perfect timing today!" she nuzzled Jack's cheek with her nose.
Mother and son went downstairs and found Nathan and Allie at the front door carrying several wrapped packages.
"Hi! Come in out of the cold! Merry Christmas, you two!" said Elizabeth.
She and Nathan gave each other a quick kiss, conscious of their young audience. Nathan quickly proceeded to shed his coat and help Allie of hers and then hung them both in the closet.
"Merry Christmas to you two as well." Nathan said as he caught his breath and ruffled Jack's hair. The little boy immediately reached out for Nathan who happily obliged. "Happy birthday big guy!"
"Ask him how old he is," whispered Elizabeth.
Nathan grinned. "How old are you today, Jack?"
Jack once again held up two fingers and earned himself a hug and a kiss on the cheek from Nathan.
"Very good buddy! You're a big boy now."
Jack giggled and gave Nathan a hug. "I wuv you Nat'an," he said.
"I love you too, Jack." Nathan said without hesitation as he hugged Jack again.
Elizabeth watched her two guys with tears in her eyes and hands on Allie's shoulders. Nathan looked at Elizabeth and gave her his crooked smile. He also had tears in his eyes.
"I think I just got an early Christmas present."
"I think so!"
Nathan quickly closed the space between himself and Elizabeth and Allie and pulled them into a group hug. The foursome stood like that for a few minutes before Jack had had enough. Nathan carefully set the little boy down on the floor and Jack immediately grabbed Allie's hand and pulled her over to his play area. Once the kids walked away, Nathan turned back to Elizabeth and wrapped his arms around her.
"You look beautiful today, my love. How are you feeling about the day?"
"And you look as handsome as ever, sweetheart. I love that red v-neck sweater on you. It goes perfectly with those grey jeans. Red is definitely your color."
"Well, that's a good thing because it's my favorite color."
Elizabeth smiled. "That's what I like to hear. But, I still love you in blue as well. It brings out those gorgeous eyes of yours."
Nathan quickly captured Elizabeth's lips with his own and this time kissed her passionately.
"Jack, we'd better get used to seeing this type of thing from them." Allie said feigning annoyance.
"Nat'an kiss Mama!"
"I guess you'd better get used to it, you two." Nathan said without taking his eyes off Elizabeth. She laughed and buried her face in his neck. "Lizbeth, you didn't answer my earlier question. How are you feeling today?"
"I'm great Nathan. I'm excited to celebrate Jack's birthday with all of our loved ones today and keep the day as focused on him as possible. I think the plan to celebrate Jack today and Christmas tomorrow is a good one that I hope we can continue to do each year."
"That sounds perfect to me too. The little guy deserves to have his own special day. His birthday will always be extra special because it will have Christmas decorations and end with Christmas Eve mass."
Elizabeth smiled. "Now come and help me with the remaining decorations before everyone else arrives for the party." Once she made sure the kids were ok, Elizabeth took Nathan's hand and pulled him into the kitchen with her.
About an hour later, the party guests started to trickle into the Thornton home. Rosemary had performed an early matinee so she arrived first with Lee and Abby followed by Gabe, Lillian, Spencer, Carson, Faith, Maggie, Joe, Laura, Julie, and Charles. William and Grace were at one of their resorts in Turks & Caicos for the week and Archie and Carole were at their Florida home. Both couples as well as Viola had left birthday and Christmas gifts behind. Nathan and Allie would normally spend the holiday week in Florida too but this year, they mutually chose to stay in New York with Elizabeth and Jack, hopeful of starting new holiday traditions. They had some family friendly activities planned for the holiday week.
The party guests had all been prepped that this would primarily be a celebration of Little Jack's birthday and not Christmas so they primarily came with birthday presents only. Elizabeth had designated a corner table in the living room for birthday gifts so she pointed everyone there as they arrived. She occasionally noticed Nathan sneaking over to organize the gifts and couldn't help but smile.
Elizabeth did manage to pull Laura aside at one point to chat with her.
"Laura, I wanted to thank you for taking such good care of Jack this year and for your flexibility in giving us some extra hours when needed. I wasn't sure of what my work schedule would look like but you've made things so easy for me." Elizabeth said as she pulled the young woman into a hug.
"It's been my pleasure, Elizabeth. Jack is such a joy and he's going to grow into such a wonderful young man one day, thanks to you and now Detective Grant." Laura quickly covered her mouth with both hands realizing the implication of her words. "Oh I'm so sorry if I spoke out of school."
Elizabeth chuckled. "It's quite alright Laura. I want that to be true too."
"I'm really happy for you, Elizabeth. I haven't seen you this happy in a long time and it's clear that Detective Grant adores you and Jack."
The two ladies hugged again.
"Thank you again, Laura. Here is your Christmas bonus. I hope you do something fun with it! Also, here is a little gift from Jack and I. We truly would not have survived this past year without your help so I don't even think this is enough." Elizabeth handed Laura a greeting card sized envelope along with a small wrapped present.
"Thank you! Is it ok to open the gift now?"
"Of course!" Elizabeth replied as she looked around the room at her friends mingling with one another and enjoying snacks. She caught Nathan's eye from across the room and he winked at her. Blushing, she turned back to Laura and watched the young woman open her gift.
Laura opened the box to find a beautiful folded up black and camel Longchamp tote bag. The bag had been monogrammed with Laura's initials.
"Oh Elizabeth, this is beautiful and way too much!"
"On the contrary, it's not nearly enough. But I figured it would come in handy as you start going to job interviews. I hope you enjoy it. I'm so excited for you to start working in stage management! And I believe the Coulters may have a related gift for you as well."
"I will cherish it. Thank you again."
With tears in her eyes, Laura hugged Elizabeth again. As if on cue, Rosemary walked over with a similar sized wrapped gift for Laura.
"Merry Christmas Laura!" she said as she handed Laura the gift.
"Thank you Rosemary!"
Laura opened the second gift as Elizabeth and Rosemary stood arm in arm.
"Oh it's a matching cosmetic case to go with my new tote. Thank you!"
Laura hugged the two women at the same time.
"You are a treasure to us Laura! And now I think it's time for cake." said Rosemary.
"I think you're right!" Elizabeth said as she turned to the rest of her guests. She saw Jack happily playing on the floor with Spencer, Abby, and Joe. Allie and Maggie were sitting in a corner watching a video on Allie's phone. Nathan was standing close by chatting with Gabe and Carson.
Elizabeth nodded to Rosemary and then headed to the kitchen to start preparing the cake and cookies. She quickly uncovered the serving tray with the cookies and placed it on the table. She then got the cake out of the spare refrigerator and carefully started to place a number two candle in the center of it. She was in deep concentration until she felt strong arms encircle her waist from behind.
"Hi. I haven't seen much of you today." Nathan whispered in her ear.
"Hi yourself. In case you haven't noticed, I have been a little busy." Elizabeth grinned as she felt Nathan rest his chin on her shoulder.
"Noted. I just miss you. Anything I can help with?"
"I think I'm all set, thank you. Is Allie's Christmas present all set?"
"It sure is! I cannot wait to see her face tomorrow morning when she opens it."
"And I cannot wait for her to tell me all about it when you two come over for dinner. She is one lucky girl, Nathan Grant."
"I think I am the lucky one, Lizbeth. I can't wait for tomorrow."
Elizabeth turned in his arms and pulled his head down into a slow kiss.
"Ahem"
The couple broke the kiss but remained embracing to find Rosemary smiling at them.
"I think we have a little boy eager for his birthday cake!"
Everyone chuckled as Elizabeth lit the candle. "Rosie, will you have everyone come in here please?"
"Of course"
A couple minutes later, the entire party was standing around Elizabeth's kitchen table. Elizabeth now had Jack in her arms while Nathan placed the cake in front of them on the table. He then took a step back and placed his hands on Allie's shoulders who was standing next to Elizabeth and Jack.
"Ok everybody, on the count of three, let's all sing to this little man." said Rosemary.
"One, two, three…"
The party sang Happy Birthday to Jack in full harmony. At first Jack looked a little scared and he tightly clutched his mother's shoulder but as soon as everyone got to the Jack part of the song, he smiled happily. Elizabeth leaned over the cake with Jack and told him to make a wish and then she helped him blow out the candle. She didn't tell anyone that she also made a birthday wish for Jack to expand his family in the coming year.
Nathan and Julie helped Elizabeth slice and serve Jack's birthday cake while Allie kept him and the other little kids entertained. Elizabeth also walked around the living room with the platter of chocolate chip cookies and used that as an opportunity to mingle with all her guests. Once dessert was over, Elizabeth sat on one of the living room couches with Jack standing in front of her. Rosemary and Julie started adding gifts one by one to the coffee table in front of mother and son. Carson sat across from them with his digital camera while Nathan sat next to him and used his phone to take photos. Allie sat on the same couch as Elizabeth but sat off to the far side. She also used her phone to take some photos from a side and back angle.
Elizabeth helped Jack open all of his birthday presents. The little boy was overwhelmed by all of the new gifts but overall, he was happy. Jack received a set of Lincoln Logs and a cowboy outfit complete with hat from Nathan and Allie, a toy medical kit from the Shepherds, a set of toddler legos from the Kinslows, a new train set from the Coulters, a toddler electronic tablet from Julie and Charles with Elizabeth's permission, and a hand knit sweater from Laura. In addition, he received a stack of new picture books from Carole and Archie and the full Pixar library on Blu Ray from William and Grace. Elizabeth had only asked for the three Cars movies so she intended to talk to her parents about spoiling their grandson when they returned to New York. Charlotte Thornton, Jack's mother, had sent a $100 gift card to a local children's clothing store along with a stuffed brown horse that looked a lot like Newton. The woman had relocated to Montana several years ago to run a horse ranch so Elizabeth had never been very close to her. Finally, Viola gave her nephew a teddy bear dressed like one of the yeoman guards from Buckingham Palace.
After Jack opened each gift, Elizabeth had him hug the giver as well as thank them. She enjoyed watching her son move around the room and even took a few photos on her phone.
"Oh my goodness! We are truly blessed. Thank you everyone! Jack, what do you say?"
"Tank you"
Elizabeth pulled Jack into her lap. "I appreciate everyone spending part of their Christmas Eve with us and celebrating this little man. I always want his day to be his own and be just as special as if it were any other day of the year."
"It's our pleasure! Anything for this little man!" said Rosemary.
The rest of the party attendees added their approvals and then started to get ready to head to church for Christmas Eve mass. Nathan came over and put his arm around Elizabeth.
"Are you happy, sweetheart?"
"Very much so, Nathan. I'm so happy that you and Allie decided to stay home for the holidays. I can't imagine spending this week without you two."
"Me too. And I think this holiday week is going to be very special."
Elizabeth smiled and leaned up to kiss Nathan before joining the group to head to church.