*Thank-you for all the reviews on the last chapter. They were greatly appreciated. Thank-you all so much. = )
Over the next week Dave and I managed to find a house in New York. It wasn't quite in the city but it was in the outskirts. It was at least 10 minutes outside the city which worked well for me. It wasn't exactly private but it was a very quiet suburb. When we saw the house we fell in love with it instantly just by seeing the outside. It is your typical house made from brick, with a white picket fence out front and a tree in the front yard. There was a two car garage attached to the house and leading up to the front door was a stone pathway. It was absolutely beautiful. It's not your typical big mansion but it is big enough for Dave, Max, the baby and me. It is a simple 4 bedroom house with a dining room, a bathroom and a half, an unfinished basement with a washer and a dryer and a kitchen with black and white floor tile, black marble counter tops and polished wooden cabinets. It has such a homely feel to it and the backyard is just as beautiful with a wooden patio, a wooden fence surrounding the yard so Dave and me would have our privacy and it was big enough to add in an in-ground pool and maybe even a swing set for Max. We thought it was so beautiful we put an offer on the house and within a week we had gotten the house and at the beginning of the year we were going to move into the new house. Max was going to stay in Florida but he was going to visit at least once a month and we would have him for most of the summer. Everything was happening so fast we were moving, I had a job to start, we had a nursery to complete and my due date was growing closer. I was starting to feel like we were unprepared. I had NO idea about childbirth. And we hardly had a thing for the baby despite numerous shopping trips. I didn't know any breathing techniques. It was all very stressful.
It was finally Christmas Eve and Dave and me were spending Christmas together we obviously weren't spending it with my family because of obvious reasons. I hadn't talked to my family since Thanksgiving and it was absolutely killing me. I never planned on losing my family but things happen I guess. We also didn't have Max for Christmas because we had him for Thanksgiving so that was a little disappointing. I was looking forward to the whole Christmas gift with him on Christmas morning. Even though we weren't getting Max we were expecting Dave's mom. This was going to be the first time I was meeting her and I was really nervous. Dave and me were waiting at the airport for her plane from San Francisco to land. "You okay?" he asked wrapping his arm around my shoulders as we waited.
"I'm just nervous about meeting your mom. What if she doesn't like me?" I asked.
"Tess, trust me there's nothing for her not to like about you. You're smart, you're beautiful and you're an amazing woman. She's going to like you."
"I just don't want a repeat of Thanksgiving. You know how things were when you met my family?"
"They won't be. Trust me, Tess, my mom is very open minded. And she's really nice. You have nothing to worry about."
"All right," I said but I was still nervous. I was pretty sure she wasn't going to like me. Not many people did like me these days so why would she?
"Come on, Tess, cheer up. It's our first Christmas together and I'm off for the next two weeks. Let's enjoy it."
"Okay," I said as his mother's plane landed.
"And you have nothing to worry about with my mom. She's going to love you. I would have been more worried about meeting Max than my mom," he said as we stood up. "Max is a lot tougher to impress than my mom and he loves you so I don't think you have anything to worry about."
"Okay," I said as he took my hand and we walked to the gate to meet his mom. I didn't know much about his mom but I did know that she raised him and that he was a really big Mama's boy. Not as much as John was but he still loved his Mama and he did a lot for her. I really wasn't sure what to expect from her. I wasn't sure if she was as uptight as my mother or what. I hoped she wasn't but Dave had turned out to be a great guy so she must have been strict with him. And I know how protective mothers could be of their sons and if they didn't like their girlfriends they could make their lives hell. I just hoped she wasn't one of those mothers. I never had to worry about that stuff with Carol because she had known me since I was 5 so by the time I was in a relationship with John I was practically like the daughter she never had. I didn't have to worry about her hating me but Dave's mom had never met me before so there was no telling how she would feel about me.
We stood waiting for her to come off the plane when Dave said, "here she comes," pointing to a woman with blonde curly hair, glasses and tattoos. She wasn't what I was expecting at all. She came closer to us and Dave said, "Mom. We're over here."
When she got to us she wrapped her arms around Dave and said, "Hey, DJ, I missed you. How have you been?"
"I missed you too, Mom and I've been great," he said with a smile, "but only because of this beautiful woman here," he said wrapping his arm around my shoulders.
"You must be, Tessa," she said with a smile. "DJ has told me so much about you. I am glad I can finally meet you."
"It's nice to meet you," I said as I extended my hand to shake hers.
"No. I don't' shake hands with family. You're practically family now. We hug," she said as she hugged me. At least she knew how to make someone feel welcome. "And look at you. You're very pregnant," she said as she touched my stomach. "How far along?"
"7 months," I said, "due February 17th."
"Any names picked out? Girl or Boy?" she asked. She seemed genuinely happy that I was pregnant. She was so much more different than my mom. I'm not saying my mom wasn't happy that I was pregnant she was unhappy with the fact it wasn't John's baby. She had dreams of John and me getting married and having kids together. She called it the perfect relationship and the perfect marriage but I think I destroyed her dreams by cheating on John and getting pregnant by Dave. It was her loss if she chose not to be in the baby's life because of that then that was her fault. I was done beating myself up over it which I had been doing for the last month. It just wasn't worth it anymore.
I could tell Dave didn't fill his mom in on the pregnancy details so I answered, "we don't know the sex of the baby yet. We want to be surprised," I said as we walked to the baggage claim. "And as for names we have Cecelia Isabel picked out for a girl. We're still working on a boy's name."
"Well, there is a myth out there that says whichever name is easiest to come up with is the sex of the baby you're having," she said.
I smiled because I had heard the same myth and said, "I know. So that would mean it's a girl. I think it's a girl anyway."
"I don't know. You're carrying too high for it to be a girl. I don't know," she said. "We will know when the baby gets here."
"I know but I like guessing for now," I said.
"It is pretty fun," said Dave with a smile as he took my hand. "I just want to have a girl. A boy and a girl would be perfect."
"You're not having anymore after this one?" asked Donna.
"Mom, I am 42 years old. No. This is the last baby I plan on having. I mean unless Tessa has other plans."
"That would all depend on the baby and the delivery," I said.
"I see," said Donna as we reached the baggage claim.
She grabbed her luggage and Dave stopped her and said, "I will carry that for you, Mom."
"Thanks, DJ," she said with a smile. "You're such a sweet guy. How about it, Tessa?"
"He is very sweet," I said with a smile. "That's why I love him."
Once we had her luggage we headed back to the house. It wasn't really in the best shape for his mom to visit because we had already started packing things up but it was still decent for living and hosting. We showed her to the guest room and I helped her unpack. She was so sweet and we spent some time talking about Dave and what he was like growing up. I enjoyed hearing the stories she was telling. I needed to know what kind of child my baby's father was so I would know what to expect. Dave seemed like a pretty decent kid even though he had tested the limits a few times but what kid didn't? I guess I never pushed any limits because I was too scared of what would happen if I broke a rule or disobeyed my mom or my dad. Dave and me had grown up so differently. He grew up in the slums of DC while I grew up in the middle of suburbia in West Newbury. He grew up in a single parent home with his father never around and his mother hardly around working two jobs to put food on the table for him and his baby sister while I grew up in a two parent household. I rarely saw my dad because of him being a lawyer and working late nights on cases and with clients. We had two different lives but I wish my mom could be as great as his mom is. His mom was awesome. She was sweet and understanding. I loved her already and I had only spent a couple hours with her. We were getting along pretty well which was great for me.
Later that night we had a nice family dinner just the three of us and it was followed by the exchanging of gifts. I am not good at finding gifts for people so my gift for Dave was not romantic at all. I just went by what he liked. I handed him his present as we sat by the tree and said, "it's nothing special and if you don't like it I'm sorry."
"I'm sure whatever you got me is fine," he said as he took the small gift from me.
"I don't know. I didn't know what to get you," I said as I watched him open it.
"Tess, would you relax. I'm sure anything you got me is fine," he said as he opened the card. He grew a smile as he pulled out his gift. "Tickets to the season opener of a Yankees game?" he asked.
"Yeah. I know how much you like your Yankees baseball so I figured since we're going to be living in New York and we're just going to have a newborn baby that you might want a little break to go out with Zack or someone to a Yankees game."
"Thank-you," he said, "I love them. Thank-you," he said as he leaned over and kissed my lips. "Awesome gift, Tess. Thank-you."
"You're welcome," I said with a smile.
"Here you go," he said handing me a small present. "I wasn't sure what to get you either so I hope you like it."
"I'm sure I will," I said as I began to open the gift. Once I had the wrapping paper off it was a small box but it was too big to be a ring box but not long enough to be a necklace. I took the lid off the box to see a diamond and emerald bracelet. It was so beautiful it brought tears to my eyes. "Dave, it's so beautiful," I said choking on my words.
"So you like it?" he asked with a smile.
"I love it," I said. "It's really beautiful. You didn't have to buy this for me."
"I wanted to, Tess. You deserve it. You've gone through so much lately that you deserve it."
"Thank-you, Baby!" I said as I wrapped my arms around his neck.
"You're welcome," he said with a smile before he kissed my lips softly. I don't remember ever getting something so beautiful. John never knew what to get me for Christmas so I always ended up with a gift card to one of my favorite stores. John was not a good gift giver but Dave was amazing at giving gifts and he did so well at picking things out. The bracelet was absolutely beautiful it was one of the best gifts I had ever gotten.
The next morning I woke up before Dave and his mom. I was feeling a little sad about not spending Christmas with my family. It was the first time in my entire life I wasn't with them for Christmas. I got out of bed and put on my robe to go downstairs to the kitchen to get some decaffeinated coffee. I sat at the table drinking it and lost in thought about Christmas when I was a little girl with my family when Dave came into the kitchen. "You're up early," he said.
"Couldn't sleep," I said as I watched him pour himself some coffee. "It's decaffeinated."
"Oh well," he said, "I don't need all that caffeine anyway," he said sitting down next to me. "So what's up with you?"
"Just thinking," I said.
"About?" he asked.
"My family. I miss them, Dave. This is the first Christmas I haven't been with them. I know my mom was a bit harsh but I still miss her. My mom and me had the best relationship before this now she doesn't even want to speak to me."
"Before us?" he asked as he rubbed my back.
"Yeah," I said.
"So you regret me?" he asked.
"No. I don't regret you," I said. "I love you and I love being with you. I just wish I could have that relationship with my mom again. I love her, Dave but she doesn't love me. It's kind of hard to take you know?"
"I know," he said. "But she made her choice, Tessa. She's not happy about us being together and she's not happy about the baby. You just need to give her time to get over it. I'm sure that one day she will be all right with everything but you're just going to need to wait."
"But what if she never gets over it, Dave? My mom could hold this against me forever."
"Then that would be her loss, Tessa. You can't keep beating yourself up over things you can't control. I know it's hard for you but you have to remember you did everything you could. You didn't do anything wrong. You just did what was best for you. Are you happy?"
"Yes I'm happy," I said, "but I wish my mom was here to enjoy this happiness with me. For years she talked about me being a mom and being a grandma. She had so many plans for my baby but now she doesn't want anything to do with it. It really kind of sucks, Dave."
"It does suck. It sucks for her, Tessa. If she wants to be selfish because you didn't marry the guy she wanted you to or you didn't have a baby with the guy she wanted you to she is just going to shut our baby out of her life then that's her loss. We are going to have an amazing baby and she's not going to be there. That's her loss, Tess. Stop beating yourself up over it. Okay?"
"Okay," I said. "I'm sorry. This is just really hard for me."
"I know but just give it time. I'm sure she will come back around."
"I hope," I said. "She's been upset with me but never this upset so I don't know."
"Like I said; she will get over it, Tess and if she doesn't it will be her loss."
"Thanks," I said.
"You're welcome," he said as the baby started kicking.
"It's kicking do you want to feel?"
"I can feel it now?" he asked.
"Yeah," I said. "And it's going hardcore. I think it's playing soccer," I said taking his hand. "Feel right here," I said as I put his hand on my stomach.
The baby continued to kick and Dave got to feel it for the first time. He grew a smile on his face and said, "amazing. I missed this part of pregnancy. Max used to kick like that too. There is nothing more amazing than being able to feel your baby kick." He kept his hand there as the baby continued to kick, "I think we have a soccer player on our hands."
"Me too," I said with a smile, "sometimes it kicks so hard it gets its foot caught in my ribs."
"Sounds painful," he said.
"It is but it eventually gets it out. I don't think I would give this feeling up for anything. I can't believe I almost gave it up. I can't believe that I didn't want this. I was stupid because carrying a life inside of you is the best thing in the world."
"I guess we got pretty lucky huh?" he asked with a smile.
"I guess you could say that," I said with a smile, "Thanks."
"For what?" he asked.
"Being so wonderful and being the best boyfriend a woman could ask for."
"You're welcome. Thank-you for being the best girlfriend I could ask for. I love you, Tessa."
"I love you too," I said, "Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas," he said before he softly kissed my lips. It may have been the first Christmas I ever had without my parents but it wasn't all that bad. I got to be with Dave and I got to meet his mom. It wasn't as bad as it could have been. I was actually kind of happy that I did get to spend it with Dave and his mom. It was definitely less stressful than Thanksgiving and it didn't end with an unexpected trip to the hospital. It was a good Christmas and my first Christmas with Dave couldn't have been any better. And next year I'm sure it will be even better as it will be our first Christmas with the baby.
*A/N: So what did you think? Please review and thank-you for reading.