Friday 25 December 2015 - Christmas Day
Kate woke up alone in her bed on Christmas morning and lay there for a while, savouring the chance of some peace and quiet before the busyness of the day began. Both she and Dylan had accompanied Pete to midnight mass last night, which had meant a late night for them, and she was glad for the lie-in.
This year Kate, Pete and Dylan were hosting Christmas Day for their friends, which included Nikki's new boyfriend Conrad Taylor. Kate knew that there were many things that needed to be done before their guests arrived but decided to take a few minutes before getting up to think over the past year.
"What a difference twelve months makes," Kate marvelled "This time last year I was full of feelings I didn't know how to deal with about Dylan and Pete. As well as dreading thinking about that Christmas, in view of my hopes from the previous one. And this year I'm excited by us hosting our friends at our house. OUR house – not just my house anymore. And this year I helped with decorating the place, instead of Pete and Dylan doing it themselves." She smiled to herself as she remembered the day last year when she had arrived home to find the house and yards decorated by the men.
Kate stretched and yawned before returning to her thoughts. "Our house and my boyfriends. I never thought I'd use the word 'boyfriend' in the plural at the same time, but it just feels so right. I mean it hasn't been easy. There's been a lot of give and take and adjusting this year. We've had to talk lots, and that hasn't always been easy. I've never been one to talk about my feelings much, but these last months have changed that. Although there have been some ups and downs. My God – the argument those two had over who was going to take me out for my birthday. It's lucky they didn't come to blows." Kate giggled a little at that memory, given that neither of the men had thought to ask what her plans were for the night. All along she had made arrangements for a girls' night out with Nikki, Sally and Lani to celebrate her fortieth birthday. The look on both men's faces when she'd told them she'd made other plans for that night had been priceless.
"The girls. My friends. How odd it still seems to be saying that. Nikki was my first real female friend in so long, and it took a lot of years before I got to the point of realising that I needed a friend. All through ADFA I kept to myself, and the first years afterwards. I told myself I didn't need friends. My career was all I needed. How wrong I was. And now I've got her and the other two as my friends. And none of them are judging me for the choices I've made." Kate paused in her thinking to consider that thought.
"I told Nikki first about Dylan, Pete and I. She was surprised, and a little shocked. Let's face it, she used the 'Princess Perfect' phrase. Well, I think I've well and truly shed that nickname now."
Kate thought back to that conversation …
"But Kate, why can't you decide between them?" Nikki's face reflected her puzzlement at Kate's decision.
"I don't really know Nikki, not totally." Kate struggled to put her thoughts into words. "I never told you at the time, but once there was a moment with Pete when, something, I don't know what, might have happened. But it was back when 2-Dads was busy spreading rumours about Pete and I, and Mike had already had words with us about the rumours, and well, there was just that brief thought that crossed my mind and, I know now, crossed his mind as well. But I was still trying to have a relationship with Mike at the time, and Pete posted off at the end of the year. And then a year or so later, with Dylan, again there might have been something. We were very slowly working towards something more than frienship. I was pulling away from Mike, but he got kidnapped and we thought he was dead, and then he was found and well, nothing happened with Dylan because he realised what I still felt for Mike and stopped. I guess what I'm trying to say is that there was always the possibility of something, some sort of relationship with either, or both, of them. And now, now those feelings for both Dylan and Pete have, I don't know, come to the surface and my feelings for them are just as strong for one as the other. I honestly can't say that I feel more for one of them than the other, so my decision is to not make a choice between them. Maybe down the track I might come to a different decision, and that's something we'd have to deal with if it happens, but just now we three have a plan, and that's what we're going to try."
Kate's thoughts returned to the present, "But Nikki has accepted that we're in a V relationship – that's a such a clumsy term; still, it's better than saying threesome, I think. That has connotations of smutty drunken sex after picking up a couple of guys in a bar." Kate snorted softly to herself. "Anyway, it helped a little that around the same time she met Conrad – he's such a lovely man. Nikki deserves to have someone in her life again. She mourned ET for years until Conrad came along. He's got a fairly normal job – well, he's a paramedic, so he's got shift work, but he's still able to spend a fair bit of time with her, and he's less prone to on-the-job injuries than we Navy are. It's great that he has the day off and can join us today for Christmas lunch. He's never even raised an eyebrow at our living situation here so far as I know, and he's been with us all quite a bit over the last six months and I've never seen him show us anything but friendship."
Kate's thoughts turned to Sally Blake. "I was a little scared of telling Sally about our relationship. She was so in love with Chris that I thought she wouldn't understand how I couldn't choose between Pete and Dylan. But she was amazing. I realised then just what a strong and compassionate woman Sally is. I suppose that I always knew that in the back of my mind – after all, it takes a special woman to be a Navy wife, to put up with a husband who's away for most of the year, leaving her to raise their child – but it took this to really open my eyes to how great she is. It's been wonderful talking to her and knowing that she doesn't judge me. I really wish that we'd been friends back in Cairns, instead of leaving it until this last couple of years." Sally had also undertaken the task of explaining Kate, Dylan and Pete's relationship to Chloe, who was now eight and a half. Sally had explained it much better than Kate would have, and Chloe happily accepted that she had one honorary aunt and two uncles.
Finally, Kate thought about Andy and Lani and their reactions to the announcement of her relationships with Pete and Dylan. Andy had served on Hammersley with both men, and respected them, but it had been hard to gauge how he might react to their news. Although he and Kate had never said anything to each other, Kate knew that Andy – Charge – had held her in high regard from her role as XO on Hammersley, and she didn't want to see disappointment in his eyes. Kate's fears had been groundless, however. The three men had gone out for drinks together, returning around three in the morning, when Pete and Dylan had put Andy to bed in the spare room. Next morning, Andy had spoken to Kate and his joy for her and the men had been wholehearted and unstinting. In her presence, he had threatened both men with bodily injury should they ever hurt Kate, and that had been the extent of his comment on the situation.
Lani had been somewhat puzzled by their announcement and had spent some time afterwards talking to Kate in private about Kate and the men's decision. Kate had found their discussion difficult, as she wasn't one to discuss her private feelings much but had done her best to answer Lani's questions. It must have worked, because Lani had said that, provided Kate was happy, then Lani was happy for her.
At this point in her thinking, Kate was interrupted by a knock on her door, followed by Pete and Dylan coming in. They both jumped onto her bed and hugged and kissed her and wished her 'Merry Christmas'. Kate returned their Christmas wishes and kissed both men before they were interrupted by a cough from the doorway.
"Sorry to interrupt, but I can't find the coffee beans."
Dylan, whose back was to the door, briefly rolled his eyes before responding, "OK mum, I'll be there in a minute."
Christine Mulholland left and the three looked at each other and smiled.
"To be resumed at a later time." Kate murmured.
And so, their Christmas Day began.
Dylan went to the kitchen to retrieve the coffee beans from the freezer so that he could fill the coffee machine and make coffees for his mother and the others. Pete started getting out the ingredients for breakfast – nothing too big or heavy in view of the lunch to come. Lately he'd been working on his cooking abilities, particularly as with his new work role he was home more often than previously and was quite proud of his breakfast omelettes. For her part, Kate had a quick shower before dressing and coming out of her bedroom.
Once she had left Kate's room, Christine Mulholland returned to the guest room and shortly after came out again, this time with her husband Grant. The two of them settled on the bar stools along the breakfast bar and watched while Dylan and Pete worked in the kitchen.
Kate, coming out from her room, paused in the entry to the living room and studied Dylan's parents. "Well, you can see where Dylan gets his height from. Although he's a little taller than Grant. And his colouring is obviously from his mother – she's got the same blonde hair," although Kate suspected that a certain amount of artificial colouring was involved there nowadays, given that Christine must be around sixty years old or maybe more, "and the same blue eyes. Her eyes are a little lighter shade of blue than Dylan, but not much. She and Grant both seem like lovely people, but she does have a knack of popping up at just the wrong time."
Christine and Grant had arrived in Perth last weekend for a visit. They had left their guesthouse at Port Macquarie in the hands of their staff and flown over to be with their son for Christmas. Kate couldn't blame them for wanting to spend time with Dylan – too often Navy families were separated at Christmas due to operational demands, and she realised that they hadn't seen much of him over the years. They had been perfectly undemanding and self-sufficient guests since their arrival last Sunday. They had their own hire car and had spent quite a bit of their holiday driving around the southwest corner of Western Australia, visiting tourist places such as the Margaret River wineries and Busselton. Dylan had gone with them a couple of times, and other days they had gone on their own. Kate had gone with the three of them to Fremantle for the day on Tuesday, visiting the old Fremantle Prison and the Shipwrecks Museum. Yesterday Dylan had gone out with Christine and Grant while Kate spent some together time with Pete, who had arrived home late on Wednesday from his most recent time at sea.
Kate just wished that she felt more comfortable around the older couple. She wasn't quite sure why she felt uncomfortable around them. Kate had met them via Zoom and FaceTime during Dylan's calls with them, prior to meeting them in person. Dylan had told his parents some months ago about the relationship between the three of them and had told Kate and Pete that Grant and Christine understood and accepted it. Still, Kate was plagued by a feeling of uneasiness, particularly when around Christine. It crossed Kate's mind that she had felt more uncomfortable around Christine since Pete had arrived home, but Kate didn't want to go down that path – not yet anyway.
After breakfast everyone pitched in to finish preparing the house for their visitors. Lunch was going to be a buffet this year given that there would be eleven of them at the house. There was no way eleven people could fit around the dining table, which was built for six. The dining chairs were taken out onto the terrace, and picnic tables set up. Those, combined with the outdoor chairs, the daybed, and some picnic chairs, Kate hoped would be sufficient for their celebrations. During the year Kate had arranged for shade sails to be put up over the terrace, to provide some protection from the sun, as well as for some outdoor fans to be installed. The three had found these changes made sitting out there in the hot weather very much more comfortable than previously.
Their guests started arriving around noon, bringing a variety of dishes with them for sharing. Nikki and Conrad brought the pre-lunch nibbles; Kate and the guys supplied the seafood for their main course; Andy and Lani brought salads; and Sally and Chloe the dessert. The senior Mulhollands had insisted on providing the drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. The meal went well, and their friends made the Mulhollands feel welcome and included. Andy, in particular, related a number of tales about Dylan's adventures when on Hammersley, much to Dylan's embarrassment. Conrad didn't say much, preferring to sit back and watch the interactions amongst the group, but he laughed along with the others at Andy's stories.
Late in the day they exchanged Christmas gifts. Given the number of people at the house today, it had been decided to have a Secret Santa, with each person buying a present for their own sex, rather than each person buying gifts for everyone else. An exception was made for Chloe, who received gifts from everyone.
Kate received some scented candles and candle holders; Dylan received a book on photography – clearly someone knew of his hobby; while Pete was very happy with his gift of fishing equipment. Everyone seemed pleased with what they received.
The day wound down and the others left in the early evening to head to their own homes. Dinner was a simple affair, consisting of the lunch leftovers. Afterwards the five exchanged their own gifts to each other. Kate and Pete had taken advice from Dylan to the best sort of presents to give to his parents, and the two of them had joined together to buy Grant and Christine some carved jarrah wood items – salt and pepper grinders, and also a fruit basket – which they seemed to like.
After the long day, everyone slept well that night.
