Notes: Wow, getting close to 200 reviews on this, all of you that take the time to read and comment are awesome. I love hearing your thoughts and suggestions. Here is Part 2 of the Rizzoli Christmas affair, hope you all enjoy it!
CH 21: The Way, the Truth and the Life
Angela was very specific about where she liked to sit in church: right side, dead center in front of the stained glass window depicting St. Francis of Assisi. They would need a whole aisle to all fit comfortably so being slightly early was imperative.
"I thought you said the service doesn't start until 11?" Maura whispered to Jane as they filed into the church.
"It doesn't, but the choir's lessons and carols starts at 10:30 and Ma gets a little twitchy if she can't sit on 'her' pew," Jane answered wrapping her arm around Maura's waist and guiding her down the aisle.
Jane smiled as she stole errant glances at Maura during the carols and then as the service started. She showed her how to follow along in the bulletin and Maura let her even though she was more than familiar with how a church service was run, she had gone to the Methodist church as a child with her parents before she proclaimed her agnosticism and stopped going. What she did need a little coaching on was the appropriate time to sit, stand or kneel. Apparently the joke about Catholic "pew aerobics" was fairly appropriate.
Father Tuohy stood at the head of the aisle "Lord Jesus Christ, you said to your apostles: I leave you peace, my peace I give to you. Look not on our sins, but on the faith of your Church, and grant us the peace and unity of your kingdom where you live forever and ever." Amen. "The peace of the Lord be always with you." And also with you. "Let us offer each other a sign of peace."
Jane leaned in, "Now you stand and 'give the peace' to those around you."
They rose and Jane pulled Maura into an immediate embrace, "Merry Christmas, Maura."
Maura smiled into Jane's cheek, "Merry Christmas, Jane."
As the communion was prepared Jane again leaned in to give Maura instruction, "Only confirmed Catholics can take communion, I'll skip it and stay seated with you if you feel weird being left while we all go up."
"Don't be silly," Maura whispered, "Go."
Jane brought up the rear of the Rizzoli line as they processed slowly down the aisle to the altar. When Father Tuohy came to Jane she raised and cupped her hands to receive the host. The Father did not place the wafer in her hand, rather with his thumb he traced the sign of the cross on her forehead and leaning in said, "May you find Jesus in your heart." With that he moved on to the next parishioner. Jane beat a hasty retreat back to the pew, Father Tuohy's action burning in her chest. She knew exactly the message he was sending. The attack on Maura and then the disclosure at the press conference had for all intents and purposes outed her and Maura to damn near the entire city. The last thing on her mind in the time since and the lead-up to Christmas and the familiar lapse into Rizzoli family traditions had been the Catholic Church's stance on homosexuality. That her family priest, her childhood priest could refuse to give her communion never dawned on her.
Jane slid back into the aisle, stepping past Maura to retake her seat. She didn't look at Maura for a moment, fearing the emotion would be written all over her face. Everything had gone so well to this point. Maura had said it was the best Christmas she'd ever had and Jane was determined it would stay that way, no matter what she was feeling. Finally she looked over at Maura, awash in the soft glow of the muted church lights, smiling as she watched the last of the parishioners file up to take communion.
It doesn't matter, Jane thought. She's what matters.
Maura could sense Jane's gaze and turned to meet her eyes. Jane reached for her hand and laced their fingers together; she brought the back of Maura's palm to her lips and kissed it.
Father Tuohy addressed the congregation for the closing prayer, "Lord our God, with the birth of your Son, your glory breaks on the world. Through the night hours of the darkened earth, we your people watch for the coming of your promised Son. As we wait, give us a foretaste of the joy that you will grant us when the fullness of his glory has filled the earth, who lives and reigns with you for ever and ever. Amen." The choir struck up "Joy to the World" as they processed out.
"It's officially Christmas," Jane whispered in Maura's ear. "Now you can say it's the best Christmas ever, if you still feel that way."
Maura looked at Jane, as tears glistened in her eyes that she was fighting to stay in control of, "It most certainly is."
Angela thrust wrapped packages at Jane, Frankie and Tommy as soon as they were through the door back at home, "Change! I'll get the eggnog, Frank, you get the bourbon."
"Told you," Jane joked as she led Maura to her bedroom, "Atrocious Christmas pajama time, at least spiked eggnog is part of the tradition." Jane winked at Maura.
"I can't believe I have to wear these," Maura lamented, buttoning up the green pajamas with dancing elves.
"Ahem" Jane cleared her throat, turning around to hold up for Maura's viewing her pajamas covered in Christmas wreath laden beer bottles, "Evidently from the Sam Adams winter collection, wanna trade?"
"Oh…Jane. No thank you, dancing elves suit me just fine," she said, covering her mouth as she laughed.
Angela had all the lights in the living room dimmed with only the Christmas tree lit as they all gathered having changed into their pajamas. She passed out the heavily bourbon spiked eggnog. Jane took a sip to test its potency and was satisfied as she wrapped a long arm around Maura's waist pulling he down to the couch to relax. Maura leaned back on the couch as Jane curled around her; she brushed Maura's hair back off her shoulder and laid her head to rest on it. The family just sat, there was no conversation, only the faint tunes of a Christmas CD Angela had turned on. Angela sat on the arm of Frank's chair, his arm wrapped around her waist. Tommy was stretched out on the floor near the tree and Frankie was on the opposite end of the couch from Jane and Maura, his elbow on the arm propping up his head. Maura took the time to look at each one before kissing the crown of Jane's head.
The flannel pajamas were entirely too heavy and scratchy for Maura to sleep in. Even Jane herself had stashed a tank top in her bag to avoid wearing the flannel top, so Maura stripped down to just her underwear to sleep promising Jane she would re-don the flannel in the morning. She settled into Jane's arms, the bed in Jane's room at her parents' was much smaller than either of their beds in their respective residences and necessitated close sleeping for the night. Not that either minded. Jane let one hand caress up and down the smooth skin of Maura's back as the other played seductively with Maura's fingers.
"If we weren't ten feet from my parents' bedroom right now, I'd be very tempted to make love to you."
Maura giggled as she let her hand slide under Jane's tank top and fingers walk up Jane's abdomen towards an already hardened nipple.
"Maura!" Jane whispered exasperatedly, "Parents'…house….mmmmm." She bit down on her lip as Maura rolled on top of her and began kissing her neck.
"I can be quiet if you can," Maura said rising to hover just out of reach of Jane's lips.
Jane's hand palmed the back of Maura's head and pulled her into a kiss as their hands roamed over each other, Jane's hand eventually finding its way in Maura's underwear and Maura's finding its way in Jane's.
Jane gasped, "MMmmmhmm, Oh God."
"Shh!" Maura giggled.
Directly on the other side of the wall Frankie's face flushed bright red as he rolled onto his stomach attempting to suffocate himself by folding his pillow around his entire head. I am not hearing my sister have sex, I am not hearing my sister have sex, I am not hearing my sister have sex….
A loud knock on the bedroom door and Jane's eyes bolted open, she snatched in a panic for the bed covers to pull them over Maura's naked body.
"Janie," Frankie's voice called from the other side of the still thankfully closed door, "Ma's already cooking breakfast and was about to start the wakeup rounds, you and Maura might…want to get…you know, ready to come downstairs."
Redressed in her elf pajamas Maura took a seat on the sofa and waited for Jane to bring the coffee. In the kitchen Frankie handed Jane two clean cups, "So…sleep well, sis?" he asked snorting into a laugh.
"Yeah…" Jane said skeptically eyeing her brother, "…what's your deal?"
Frankie glanced over as Angela walked back to the pantry, "Oh, I don't know, just thought you might have stayed up a little while after you, ahem, went to bed."
Jane's eyes got wide, "Oh…my…God..."
"Yeah, that's about what I heard last night," Frankie laughed uncontrollably unable to avoid spewing some of his coffee as he did.
"Oh my God, your heard us!…Frankie!" Jane hauled off and began vigorously socking her brother in the arm.
"Ow! Ow! Damn, I wasn't trying to, Jesus Christ believe me I could go the rest of my life believing you're a virgin, but geez Janie, you know that wall's not that thick you used to yell at me for breathing too loud when we were kids."
"You snored."
"I did not snore!"
Watching the Rizzolis open Christmas presents was delightful Maura thought. There were plenty of serious, thoughtful gifts but a good smattering of joke gifts as well, it was fitting for their tone as a family.
Jane handed Maura the Christmas stocking she had stuffed for her.
"Oh! Yummy!" Maura exclaimed as she pulled out the assortment of gourmet candies from one of the local chocolatiers. At the very bottom of the stocking were hidden Maura's favorite fudge clusters. She smiled as she pulled them out, "My favorite."
"I know," Jane said with a smile of satisfaction.
"Bless you, Maura" Angela remarked as Jane opened her gifts from Maura, a plethora of new colored shirts in silk blends to replace the old worn out cotton ones she lived in at work from day to day.
"Jane! This is beautiful," Maura ran her hand over the supple red leather binding of the new journal which was embossed with an intricate celtic knot design. "I already know what my first entry will be about."
Maura handed Jane a smaller box. Even Jane, as tomboyish as she was recognized the familiar teal color of a Tiffany jewelry box as she peeled back the wrapping paper. Inside the box lay an exquisite gold charm bracelet with a quarter-size heart charm engraved with the letter "J." A few links up Maura had had the jeweler affix the St. Valentine's medal Nonna had given Jane. Jane ran her fingers over the medal.
"You don't wear necklaces much, so I thought a bracelet…if you don't like it I can have the jeweler take the medal off…" Maura started to explain, and then Jane looked up, tears beginning to streak down her face. She laughed, amused at herself for being overcome with such emotion as she wiped at the tears.
"It's perfect, I love it. Help me put it on please." She held out her wrist for Maura to hook the bracelet around.
Jane handed Maura the box which contained her main gift. Tearing through the paper, she lifted the box top and peeled back the layers of tissue paper to reveal the weathered binding of what appeared to be a very old book. Maura extricated it from its tissue paper prison and opened it to the title page.
"Jane! Where did you…how did you…This is an early Latin edition of Rene Descartes' De Homine Figuris." She ran her hands over the rough and thick-weight pages, turning the book around to admire the worn but well-preserved binding. "It's largely considered one of the first European books on human physiology. Descartes held it back from publication for numerous years because of the Papal condemnation of Galileo's positing that the earth revolved around the sun. Descartes feared similar condemnation for many of his assertions including depiction of the human body as a machine and his philosophical views rejecting the role of the divine in natural phenomena. He was a key figure in the Scientific Revolution. Cogito ergo sum, I think, therefore I am, his most famous statement perhaps, not from this work though…"
Normally Jane would have teased Maura for turning into human google, but not this time. She sat with her chin propped in her hand, her eyes locked on Maura, relishing every bit of Maura's historical account of the Scientific Revolution and the evolution of medicine; not because the facts interested her, not because she planned on remembering them down the road or even later that day but for the sheer joy that was dancing across Maura's face as she reveled in the gift in her own uniquely Maura way.
"Jane, this is…this is absolutely wonderful. This is like part of the historical record of who I am reflected through my work. I love it." Maura set the book in her lap and wrapped her arms around Jane, kissing her on the neck she whispered through the brunette waves that hung around Jane's ear, "Thank you, for making this Christmas so special."
As the family gathering at Aunt Sophia's drew to a close Maura was very nearly exhausted. She didn't feel her body leaning or her head drooping closer and closer to Frankie's shoulder, who she was sitting next to on the sofa. Eventually her head found the resting place and her body gave in to sleep. Jane laughed as she wandered back into the room taking in the sight.
"Frankie, you can wake her up, she won't mind," Jane said as she sat down on the arm of the couch next to her brother.
"Nah, it's ok," he whispered, "our family is pretty exhausting."
Nonna hoisted herself from the old creaky recliner she had been recuperating from lunch in. She grabbed Jane's hand as she shuffled by and pulled her along. Jane steadied her grandmother's arm as they slowly made their way back to the bedroom.
"Chiudi la porta," Nonna instructed, gesturing at the door. She made her way to the dresser and began to root through the top drawer finally extracting a well-hidden velvet box. Shuffling to the bed she eased herself down and patted the space next to her. Jane obliged, though the sight of the velvet ring box Nonna was holding was giving her heart palpitations.
"When your grandfather asked me to marry him there was no money for an engagement ring. I didn't get a ring until the wedding when Mama Fiorelli gave her wedding band to Guiseppe to give to me. His father had been killed in the war."
Nonna opened the box and removed the pristine gold band engraved with a simple but classic scroll pattern and held it up for Jane to see.
"After we came to America he worked and saved and for Christmas one year he gave me the engagement ring he couldn't give me before."
Nonna pulled the second ring from the box, a gold rounded band with a one karat marquise cut diamond flanked by a scroll pattern thoughtfully chosen to no doubt to mimic that on the older wedding band. Nonna manipulated the ring between her fingers watching the light twinkle in the stone. She placed both of the rings back in the velvet box and handed it to Jane.
Jane's eyes popped as wide as saucers as she threw her hands up to decline the gift, "Nonna, I can't, that's…I mean…it's…I'm not, I mean you know, we're not…there yet."
Nonna grabbed Jane's hand and plunked the box down into it and pushed Jane's fingers to close around it, "I always knew I would give these to someone in the family one day and I've never been inclined to until now. These are for you cara mia, so you will be ready when you are ready, whenever that may be."
Jane softened as she looked in her grandmother's eyes and then down to the box, which she opened in order to take another glance at the rings. She ran her finger over them before closing the box and dropping it in her jacket pocket, "Grazie Nonna."
Jane stood to leave but was stopped as Nonna spoke again, "Janie, just remember Nonna's not getting any younger."
"Haha," Jane laughed, "You're worse than Ma."