The characters belong to JE, and here's the final chapter for his particular story. Thanks for reading and enjoy.
Almost one year later...
"Come on Babe, the place looks great. Sit down and put your feet up. The guests will be here shortly and I don't want you to be too tired to be my wonderful co-host."
I looked around our house. We moved in three weeks ago and ever since then, Val and I have been decorating and getting the house ready for Christmas. We have a huge 15ft. tree in the entrance that is light up with white lights and decorated with white, red and gold glass baubles. The tree is absolutely stunning. We also have garland running around the fireplace, decorative candles and pictures and all sorts of decorations around the rest of the house.
Tonight, our first Christmas Eve as a married couple, Carlos and I are hosting a get-together with all our family and friends. We were expecting upwards of 60 people and Val, Ella and I have worked tirelessly over the past two weeks getting everything ready.
I took Carlos' advice and sat down and put my feet up for a few minutes. My feet were sore and taking my weight off of them for just a few minutes was heavenly. Carlos looked over at me and pulled me onto his lap. He leaned down and kissed me and said, "I can't wait to share our news with the family tonight Babe. I bet they'll be almost as happy as we are."
I smiled and replied, "I don't know Carlos. I think my father will be over-the-moon." The doorbell rang so I kissed Carlos on the cheek and got up to answer the door.
Our first guests were Ella and Luis. They were both carrying trays of food and when Carlos saw who it was, he followed Luis out to get the rest of the contents from the car. I helped Ella get everything into the kitchen or dining room, depending on whether or not it needed the oven. When we walked back into the living room, Val, Albert and the girls were adding to the table with the things Val prepared in the guest house.
I made a few types of salad, leaving the roast turkey to Ella and the glazed ham to Val. They each also prepared several different side dishes so there would be plenty of selection. My mother was bringing several desserts prepared by her and Grandma Mazur and Maria and Carlos' sisters were bringing a bunch of different Cuban dishes.
Carlos and I started placing bowls of popcorn, pretzels, chips and dip around the house. Carlos also insisted on some more healthy snacks, so platters of vegetables and fruit were placed alongside the less healthy alternatives. Most of the guests weren't due to arrive for another ½ hour, but we all looked around with a sigh of relief that everything was accounted for. The turkey was in the oven keeping warm. The ham was resting in the microwave and my parents just arrived bringing at least a dozen different desserts.
My Dad, Carlos and Albert made three trips each and when the car was empty, there was no room on the buffet table in the dining room for another item. I looked at the desserts and made the decision to move the final course of the meal to one of the empty bedrooms upstairs. There was a large desk in that room but nothing else. The girls and the men moved the desserts in quick order, and just in time.
Moments later, Ricardo and Maria arrived with enough food to fill the buffet and the rest of the table. They were transporting all of the food from their family, many of whom would join us later that evening. Our families all met up in the living room where Carlos and I passed out drinks, and the embarrassing stories from our childhoods inevitably were shared. Carlos and I just sat back and smiled as we watched our families interact.
My mother was telling the Manoso's a story about me sneaking out of a dance class when I was 7 years old. I wasn't very interested in dancing, but the karate class that went on in the room next door was how I learned the whole knee to the groin trick. Everyone thought it was a funny story and for once, I wasn't embarrassed by my childhood antics. I was too happy to worry about the stories my parents were sharing.
Other guests started to arrive shortly after. Carlos was kept running for drinks and I was busy welcoming people to our new home. Ella helped Carlos set out the drinks so it was more self-serve and then he joined me at the door.
I looked around and saw all of our family and friends, but there was one obvious couple missing. I looked around for Carlos and he winked at me. He must have known who I was missing because he pointed to his watch and mimed driving and five minutes. I wasn't at all surprised when 5 minutes later, Tank, Lula, Lester and Bobby arrived.
Tank and Lula have been steadily dating for the past year. He still has his cats and she still has her allergies, but they've worked out that she just needs to take over-the-counter allergy pills at least 30 minutes before she sees Tank and she's fine. Lester hasn't changed much over the past year. He is still a ladies' man but he has matured in a way. He refuses to bring a one-night-stand date to a party like tonight.
Bobby on the other hand, is only dateless tonight because his new very serious girlfriend is on shift. She's a paramedic and will stop by later when she's done work at 8. A lot of the other Merry Men are here tonight with their girlfriends, fiancées or wives. Yup, that's right. A few of the guys got married this year. Woody married a tall and leggy blonde from Alabama whom he met while teaching my nieces how to ride the horses.
Hal is a newlywed. He and his new wife only got married 6 weeks ago. They met when she rear-ended him one icy morning this past March. They both say that it was love at first sight. It's a cute story and I remember the day that Hal came in late for work. He was a bit dozy all day and when I confronted him for a reason, he told me that he had just met the woman he was going to marry.
Junior, Manny and Cal are all engaged. Ram has a steady girlfriend and you won't believe who it is. He's been dating Connie ever since the day he walked into the Bond's office and refused to go into Vince's office after hearing that Joyce was just in there. Connie thought it was funny and Ram took a chance and asked hour out on a date. They've been hot and heavy ever since. RangeMan was definitely here in full force tonight. Everywhere you turned one of the guys was telling a story or chatting with other party guests.
Trenton PD was also here in full force. Eddie, Carl, Big Dog, Joe Juniak and even Joe and his fiancée were here. Yes, you did hear that right. Joe and I are on speaking terms again. My whirlwind marriage to Carlos really was what turned the tide. Joe's argument that Ranger didn't want me for anything other than sex was shot all to hell, and Joe finally recognised that Carlos really did love me.
When Carlos and I returned from our honeymoon in the Florida Keys, I ran into Joe at the TPD and he actually congratulated me on my marriage. After that, we started a delicate friendship that was solidified when Carlos and Joe worked on a case together. One of Carlos' favourite clients was accused of murder by a very powerful and connected man. The potential murder victim was missing and there was no body, so it was hard to prove anything. Joe was assigned the case and Ranger was asked to work alongside him.
Together, they proved that the missing man was indeed alive and they worked well together. Since they were no longer competing for me, Joe and Carlos realised that they had a lot in common. They became friends and it was because of their friendship that Joe met his fiancée. Carlos was the one that introduced them.
Mandy's father owns several roller derby rinks throughout the state. He also owns Trenton's own Temptresses, the local Roller Derby team. Mandy is the captain of that team and she was a no-nonsense kind of girl that had an attitude that really reminded Carlos of me when we first met. Carlos bought a couple of tickets to one of their bouts and took Joe. He introduced him to Mandy after the game, and as they say, the rest is history. It still boggles my mind when Joe calls the house and asks to talk to Carlos. I think they like to tease me about it, but I'm just glad that Joe no longer hates me and has finally stopped calling me 'Cupcake.'
I keep looking around and seeing how happy everyone is here tonight. I smile as I make my rounds making sure that everyone has enough to eat and drink. Each time I pass by Carlos, I kiss him and move on. I pass by Mary Lou and Val who are deep in conversation. I think they both know my secret, but I don't want to confirm or deny anything just yet. Carlos and I will share our news when we are ready.
That time actually came a little earlier than expected. My dad, Albert, Carlos and a few of the other guys were out on the back deck smoking cigars. The acrid smell turned my stomach and I had to run to make it to the bathroom in time. When I emerged a few minutes later, Carlos, my mother and a few others were gathered around the door enquiring if I was OK. I looked up at Carlos and nodded so he led me into the middle of the living room and cleared his throat.
The room silenced immediately. Carlos looked around and smiled warmly at all our friends and family. "Steph and I can't express how grateful we are that you were able to join us this evening. Stephanie and Val sure have put in a lot of work to get the house ready for us to be in by Christmas. When the builders were done 6 weeks ago, it looked almost impossible to me that we'd be here now.
"When we first looked at this house, Stephanie was a little reluctant because of the size of this house, but it turns out we might need that extra space sooner than we expected."
Carlos paused at this point and waited for the whispering to finish. He smiled at me and pulled me tighter and then held his hand out to Julie who was sitting beside Mary Alice. Julie walked over and stood in front of us and Carlos continued.
"As many of you know, Julie's step-father has accepted a new job here in New Jersey. As a result, Julie will be spending a lot more time here and will have a room of her own."
Clapping and comments of congratulation were passed around. Everyone thought that was the big news. Everyone but my mother, Mary Lou and Val. I could tell by the look on their faces that they were expecting Carlos to continue. Finally, my mother could take the tension no longer so she spoke loudly and asked, "Is that all your new Carlos?"
Carlos smiled at here and shook his head. "Actually, it's not. It seems that we'll need two of those rooms in 4 months. We're going to have two babies, but we wanted you all to be the first to know."
After twenty minutes of hugs, Carlos finally pulled me from the middle of the throng of people to get some air. My mother came over and hugged me and asked, "How come you waited until your 5th month to tell us?"
I knew my mother was disappointed so I told her the truth. "When I found out that I was pregnant, the doctor didn't think I would be able to carry a baby. We decided to wait until the first trimester was over before we told anyone. When we went in for what we thought was our 3 month check-up, we were told that the baby was actually two babies. The second one must have been hiding when we had our first ultrasound and because it was so small, they assumed it was younger than it really was. "
My father joined us just as I was explaining this to my mother and I could tell by the look on his face that he really wanted to know the sex of the babies. I nodded and grinned at him and he almost picked me up before yelling, "I'm going to have a grandson!"
Carlos shook dad's hand and said, "Actually Frank, you're going to have two grandsons." The grin on my father's face was bigger than I have ever seen. I looked over at Val and she wrapped her arms around me and said, "Thank god you're having a boy. I was afraid that they'd expect me to keep popping them out until I had a boy. I'm so happy for you Steph. You can Carlos are going to make wonderful parents."
Maria and Ricardo were next in line to hug me. They congratulated us and wished me luck. "I hope your little boys are better behaved than their father was as a little boy, and you'll have two of them. Oh my. Please don't hesitate if you need anything."
It was getting late so the crowds with small kids made their way home first. After a while, our families headed home and last but not least, the Merry Men. Ella and our mothers had already gathered all of the dishes and left-overs and brought them into the kitchen, so all we had left to do was run the dishwasher and take out the trash.
After everyone was put away and finished for the night, Carlos and I were lying in bed. He looked over at me and said, "I hope at least one of our sons has your eyes Babe." I had similar sentiments about his eyes and replied, "I hope at least one of our sons has your eyes Carlos."
We both laughed and I fell asleep dreaming about the two boys that we would meet in four short months as I slept wrapped in Carlos' strong and comforting arms.
Thanks for reading. I've got a few other ideas in the works. Let me know if you're interested in reading them.
Cheers and Happy Christmas/Holidays and a Brilliant New Year.
L.