Ch54
"Where do you want to go to, Kate?"
"Can you drive us to the mall, dad?"
"Sure"
Once home, they had lunch with Hannah and her family. Later, Emma was placed in her portable crib for her nap while Kate got changed to get into the pool. She walked down the steps and reached the bottom until she reached the deep end and could float to relax. She was just floating on her back when she heard a loud splash close to her.
"Hey! I was trying to relax here!" she told Hannah's kids.
"We decided to join your auntie Kate," Amanda said while smiling
"No kidding," Kate smiled.
"Yep"
"Do you have sun lotion on?"
"Yes"
"Good," after that exchange the kids swam around playing with the pool toys. Kate walked around for a while before seating down on the steps until Emma woke up from her nap.
"Look who's up?" Michelle said bringing Emma to Kate.
"Hey there sweetie," she grabbed Emma and lowered her in the pool. As usual, her water baby enjoyed herself splashing all around. Kate lowered them a bit inside the pool.
"Kate, here," Hannah called holding a blown-up baby floater with a cover. Hannah lowered it into the water allowing Kate to place Emma into it. They all watched for a while as Emma enjoyed kicking the water with her legs and splashing it with her hands.
"She loves the water," Michelle smiled
"Oh, she adores it. She always has."
"Who got her that for her birthday?"
"Members of Mike's crew, along with some other pool toys," Kate said
"Oh, she's going to be one spoiled little girl" Michelle announced.
"Well, the real question is who's going to spoil her more, Mike or his crew."
"Mike wouldn't...would he?"
"He got her earrings for her birthday," Hannah sat on the edge of the pool with her feet in the water.
"But she hasn't got her ears pierced."
"Apparently that will be her Christmas present."
"Ah."
"So, what are you and Brad going to do now?"
"Well, since we don't have to worry about money. He said he would start to look for a job after new year's eve. For now, he wants to spend it with kids and me."
"I heard jobs are hard to get these days. Thankfully I got an excellent one."
"You are in the Navy," Hannah pointed.
"So what? It's a great one, and if I didn't join, then I wouldn't have met Mike."
"If you put it like that," Hannah smiled. They talk for a while before Emma was due to get out of the pool. With Emma perched on her hip, Kate walked over to Michelle who was holding a towel open for Emma.
"I'll go and give Emma a bath," Michelle said grabbing Emma from Kate's hands
"Thanks, mum!" Kate grinned as she tried to dry herself as much as she could. Then she too went for a quick warm shower.
"Oh, my," Brad said entering the house after leaving Patrick and Michele in the airport the next morning. "When did you get all of these?" he asked as several boxes littered the floor. They were all decorations for Christmas.
"Last year?" Kate offered, going through some boxes. Brad shook his head before he too was helping with the decorations. Soon, Hannah had them all organized with Don, Ben, and Brad outside on the roof putting Christmas lights while Amanda, Hannah, and Kate started with the Christmas tree.
On the floor next to them, Emma squealed in delight whenever she touched something for the first time, making Kate feel a bittersweet sensation. It was late at night when they finally had the house completed.
Over the next few days, they visited the mall several times to finish their Christmas list. On Christmas eve Hannah picked her parents from the airport and they were pretty surprised with all they did with the house.
Despite being surrounded by family, that night Kate found herself missing Mike. An email telling her he missed them wasn't quite as good as the real deal.
The next morning, after breakfast the family sat down in the living room opening there presents. Kate wasn't sure if Emma enjoyed her gifts or the wrapping more and they were laughing at Emma's interest with the wrappings when they heard a car pull outside. Patrick went to check, and soon a woman carrying a bag joined them in the living room.
"Mrs. Flynn"
"Which one? There are three of them here," Amanda said making everyone laugh
"I'm Kate Flynn"
"Hi, I'm Jane. We spoke the other day about Emma getting her ears pierced."
"Yes."
"Emma, come here sweetie," Kate turned around opening her arms, and Emma crawled her way over to Kate.
"Have you got earrings?"
"Yes, they are in that box next to your case," Jane nodded and checked the earrings.
"Shall we get started?" Jane lowered the earring box and opened her bag, she put on a glove before picking a tub and smear some gel between her finger and thumb. "So, this will numb her ear. And we will need to wait for a few before it takes effect." She checked her watch before grabbing a cotton ball to remove the gel. Methodically, she took off her glove taking the cotton ball with it and opened a small dish that she filled with a disinfectant. She placed the earrings on the liquid and grabbed another cotton ball which she lowered into the liquid before she ran it through Emma's lobes.
"Why did you do that?" Hannah asked
"To prevent infections just like when the nurse takes blood."
"That I didn't have it in my day," Michele commented
"I guess times change, now it's done by law," Jane explained removing the back of the earrings before she grabbed her piercing gun. "Okay, ma'am. Now I need you to hold her head still, please," Jane said positioning Emma in the way she needed.
Quickly, she pushed the trigger and placed the ring on the ear before doing the same on the other side. Soon, she was picking the mess she did and turned to Kate with a small bottle of alcohol iodine.
"Here you go, ma'am. You can remove the earring in two days, use this to clear the earlobe and the earrings before putting them back in. If you want her to use any other earring, you will need to wait for six weeks. The numbness will go away in ten minutes."
"Thank you," Kate said as she managed to stand up.
"Thank you and Merry Christmas," Jane said
"Merry Christmas!" the other chorused as Jane followed Kate out of the room.
"Here's the money, thank you for doing this today."
"You are welcomed. It's a shame that your husband couldn't be here to see it."
"I know. But we have it recorded."
"Clever idea, merry Christmas."
Soon, cars started to pull around the house as the loved ones of the Childers crew members. By the turn of the hour, people were talking and munching around waiting for lunch to be ready and to see if someone else decided to join them. The doorbell rang, and Kate walked towards the door to let whomever it was.
"Surprise!" a group voiced, and Kate looked them in shock.
"Mike!" she yelled wrapping her arms around his neck. "Wait… what…" she frowned.
"Do you want to hear a funny history?" he smiled, and she nodded. "Well, a patrol boat was caught in a ghost net, and we had to tow it back to port. Now we have five hours so…" She kissed him and grabbed his hand.
"Come on guys; I know a group of people who will be happy you are here." She smiled and pulled Mike towards the back. "I hope there's plenty of food!" Kate called out to their guests, and as soon as they turned around eyes widened and silence took over.
"Merry Christmas!" The whole crew called out at once and then, the people reacted. Squeals of joy and teary eyes filled the environment as wives, husbands, and kids rushed to each other's sides. Patrick walked to Kate and Mike with Emma's in his hands. Emma threw herself to Mike.
"Dada!" she said grinning
"Hey, sweetie! I see you got your Christmas present already," he grinned.
"Yup, two hours ago."
"How?" Mike asked
"When I spoke to the woman the other day, I told her that if she showed today, I was willing to pay her a thousand dollars. She was suspicious, so we signed a little agreement."
"And now who's spoiling Emma?"
"She's worth it."
"That she is," he kissed Kate's cheek.
"Mike, we've got a problem."
"What problem?"
"We need more chairs and plates."
"Lucky for us, I thought that might be the case, and we got some of the Childers plates and cutlery with us. Now for table and chairs, I'll get the guys to lend a hand."
"I'll wait for that to happen," she grinned.
"Alright everyone!" Mike said loud enough to catch everyone's attention. "Guys I need you to follow me and help me to set the portable table and get chairs from the garage!"
Mike returned Emma to Kate as before he directed the crew to set the thing they needed. Soon, they were all enjoying lunch and spending a nice time. But time wasn't long enough, and before they noticed they were piling everything in taxis to return to the Childers.
"See you when you return, Mike," Kate whispered in his ear.
"I'll be looking forth to it, take care, Kate."
"I will; I love you."
"I love you too!" they kissed, and Mike jumped in the last waiting taxi. A chorus of "fair winds' were loudly heard as the man walked away. The guests followed soon, and after a tiring day, Mike's family was in bed early.
Over the next few days, they found time to relax at home. The Flynn's decided to go for a quiet new year; they weren't in a very festive mood with Mike missing. But they took time to enjoy the fireworks lightening the backyard.