Chapter 31
December was probably the busiest month of the year in the Severide house. First there was Alyssa's birthday...then the boys'...Christmas...New Year's Eve...they just moved from one celebration to another with barely a minute to take a breath in between.
But at least one thing got accomplished.
Alyssa was scheduled for surgery on January 30.
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The house was decorated in its usual Christmas overload...they were up to four trees. Two in the living room, one in the dining room, and a new one out in the four seasons room. In the living room they had the "Firefighter Tree" with all the firefighter and fire engine ornaments. They even had a couple strings on fire engine lights. They also had the "Family Tree" with photo and heirloom ornaments...and things representative of their family history throughout the years.
This year there were some new additions.
Kelly's Aunt Kathy found a box in her storage room, buried under a pile of things. And inside were the ornaments Kelly's mom used to hang on their tree...when he was a little boy. So now they had the ornaments he made for his mom in school as a child...with the paint and the glitter and the beads and the excess of glue. And they found his first little fire truck...the one that said "Kelly's First Christmas" and the year.
He got a little misty as he hung that one near the top of the Firefighter Tree, out of reach of all the little fingers. It looked weird, that cheap plastic truck with the black Sharpie lettering, amongst the Polonaise and Mercury glass ornaments. But after not seeing that little truck for almost thirty years...he wasn't about to have anything happen to it.
He took a step back and he felt Alyssa's arms slide around his midsection.
She was smiling...that special smile that was only for him.
"I miss her." he said softly. "I really wish she was here to see all this."
"She sees, Kelly. I promise. She's always watching."
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There were other things in the box too...Christmas pictures...Kelly sitting on Santa's lap, looking warily at the tired old man...you could tell he wasn't convinced this was the real thing.
The next day Lyssa went out and bought a red leather photo album and she spent the next three days collecting pictures and scanning and printing them. Then she arranged them among the pages and they had a four generation family album that she set on the top of the entertainment center...right beside her grandmother's Nativity set.
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Mrs. Hillford made her monthly visit and Kelly watched as she took in all the holiday decorations as she made her rounds through the house...working her way down the checklist. Check the food supply...check the water...make sure the toilets flushed. Were the lower cabinets baby-proofed? Was the baby clean?
Lexi was sitting on the floor in the living room playing with her shape sorter. Kelly sat down beside her as he watched her turn the triangle in her chubby little hand, trying to force it through the round hole. When that didn't work...she tried the hexagon shaped hole. But just as Kelly was about to help her...she moved onto the next one...and the triangle slid neatly through the right hole.
She looked up at Kelly...huge grin on her face...obviously pleased with herself.
"Good job, Sweetie!" Kelly told her. "I'm proud of you!"
Lexi popped up onto her feet and toddled over to the "Family Tree". Kelly picked her up and pointed to one of the newest ornament...a little frame with the picture they'd had taken of the little girl when they'd done holiday portraits of all the kids last week.
"Who's that?" he asked.
"Wexie!" she said happily. "Wexie!"
"That's right...and who's this?" he asked, pointing to a picture of Maggie.
"Sissy!"
That's what Lexi called Maggie...
Andy got a real laugh out of that...until she started calling him and Jesse "Bubba".
"That's right! You're a smart girl!" he said with a smile. "And what's this?"
He reached out to show her the "Snow White" ornament they had bought in remembrance of her first Halloween costume. It was made of porcelain...
"No-no!" Lexi said. "No touch!"
Kelly was startled...and a little confused...
Then he remembered when they were putting up the trees last week. He was stringing the lights and Alyssa was unwrapping the ornaments from their tissue paper and bubble wrap. She let the girls handle the plastic ones or the felt ones her grandmother had made for her as a little girl.
But when Lexi reached for a delicate blown glass ball or a Lenox bride and groom...
"No-no, Lexi!" Andy told her. "Don't touch!"
Kelly laughed and gave the baby a little squeeze.
"Silly girl..."
They passed Mrs. Hillford's latest inspection...and got on with their festive holiday season.
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On the night of the twenty-first, Kelly was purposely evasive with Andy and Jesse about where they were going...just the three of them. Then they stopped along the way to pick up Casey and Mills...
As they drove down Damen, and the United Center came into view...it suddenly became clear.
"Dad?" Jesse asked. "Are we goin' to the Bulls game?"
Kelly grinned in the mirror...not that they could see it...it was dark out.
"Happy Birthday, guys!" he said.
"No way!" Andy exclaimed. "Seriously? We're goin' to a Bulls game?"
"Welcome to 'Guys Night Out'..." Casey told them. "A sacred ritual with the CFD...and you have to be...eleven?"
He looked at Kelly for confirmation...but he knew how old his godsons were...he was just messing with them.
"Eleven..." Kelly said decisively.
"Eleven before you can take part." Casey finished. "Good thing you two have a birthday comin' up soon."
Mills chuckled from the back seat.
"If you could only see their faces right now..." he said to Kelly and Casey.
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The boys' eyes were open wide as they made their way through the gate.
There was so much to see...neither one knew where to look first.
"Over here, guys!" Kelly told them.
He grabbed onto Andy and Casey grabbed Jesse and they steered the boys off to the side where Chief, Hermann, Otis, Cruz, and Clarke were waiting.
"Hey! Happy Birthday!" Hermann said.
He had his youngest son...who was only about a year and a half older than the twins...with him.
"Whaddya say, Buddy?" he said as he gave the boy a gentle nudge.
"Happy Birthday, guys..."
More people were arriving.
Uncle Joey and Dylan...Uncle Nicky and Declan, Connor and Aiden...Uncle Jimmy and Garrett. Capp came in with Vargas...and finally, just as Kelly was starting to get a little nervous...Hollywood showed up with the tickets.
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The group made their way through the gate...and through the crowd to a section on the main floor.
"Good seats..." Otis said. "I'm impressed..."
"Right near the food..." Cruz commented.
"And the beer..." Clarke added.
"Guess it pays to have friends in high places." Chief said decisively.
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It was incredible...to be at a real basketball game...with all the guys.
Andy and Jesse couldn't stop smiling...
And then Kelly nudged Jesse.
"Look up, Jess..."
He got Andy's attention.
"Look up there!"
He was looking up at the Jumbo Tron in the middle of the floor.
It said "HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDY AND JESSE SEVERIDE!" for everyone to see!
"No way!" Andy screamed as he jumped to his feet. "We're on the Jumbo Tron!"
"Way cool..." Jesse said in awe.
He turned to Kelly.
"This is the greatest birthday we ever had!"
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They were getting ready for their usual Christmas Eve crowd when the phone rang.
Alyssa was taking the cakes out of the over...chocolate for Andy...Fun-fetti for Jesse...so Kelly grabbed it.
"Hello?"
He listened to the caller on the other end for a minute.
Lyssa closed the oven door and waited...wondering what was going on.
"Are you kidding?" Kelly asked. "You're serious?"
He turned to his wife...and she quickly crossed the kitchen floor. She reached out to Kelly and he laid one hand on her shoulder.
"So what do we need to do?" he asked.
He listened for another minute more.
"Okay...okay..." he said. "Thanks...and Merry Christmas."
He clicked the phone off and set it down on the counter. He felt like he was moving in slow motion, like he was in a fog.
"Kelly? Honey?" Lyssa asked. "Honey, who was that?"
Kelly blinked in surprise.
"That was Mrs. Hillford..." he started.
"What does she want?" Alyssa was immediately suspicious.
He wrapped her gently in his arms.
"Lexi's mom...she gave her up." he said. "She apparently agreed to a deal...life in prison...and she decided to surrender her parental rights."
"So what does that mean?"
"It means Lexi's available for adoption! We can adopt her!"
"You're kidding?" she said. "Really?"
"Yeah...we've got a good chance it'll go through right away. Since we've already had her for seven months..."
Alyssa couldn't believe what she was hearing. It was like it was meant to be. It was like affirming that Lexi belonged with them...with their family.
'Merry Christmas...' she thought, as she and Kelly held onto one another. 'Merry Christmas.'