A/N: Happy Wednesday! It's a bleak day here on the east coast, but hopefully, you'll give me a lot of reviews to cheer me up. Thanks for the ones you've left so far...I appreciate them.
SMeyer owns all Twilight characters. No copyright infringement intended. I wonder what KStewart and RPatts think regarding the fact that the Fifty Shades Trilogy started as a Bella/Edward fanfiction story? Now that the movie rights have been sold, I'm dying to know who will play Domward!
\\\
16.
I walked down the hallway toward the on-call room and saw Emmett and Jasper sitting in chairs outside the door, one on each side. Both of them were playing with their phones, and Emmett had a strange look on his face. "What's up, docs?" I asked jokingly.
They both looked at me and only Jasper smiled. "We're guarding the door. You're late," Emmett accused. I looked at my watch and saw that I was about three minutes late, but that was because I stopped at the bakery in town and picked up a pumpkin cheesecake for dessert. Rosalie had held one back for me when I'd called her earlier, and she sent treats for Jasper and Emmett as well.
"Obviously, your wife called you and told you that I had something for you?" I surmised. Being denied food was the only thing that would ever upset Emmett McCarty. He nodded and held out his hands and I dropped a small bag into it that had his name on it. I reached over and handed the other one to Jasper who was licking his lips, and I laughed as I watched the two of them tear into the bags like little boys.
"Good job, Blacksheep. Dismissed," Emmett announced as he reached up and opened the door to the on-call room for me. Those two were a piece of work and all I could do was laugh at them and shake my head.
I laughed until I walked into the room and saw Edward standing inside in a suit. The room was lit by candles, and there were flowers on the table. There was actually a table cloth, and it was set with stemware and silverware and china. I was certain that my mouth was hanging open. It was quite a surprise.
"Dr. Cullen, what's all this?" I asked as I set the box with the cheesecake on the corner of the table. He walked around to where I was standing and helped me take off my coat, tossing it on the top bunk to the left of the table.
"This is the romantic dinner I was supposed to take you on Saturday night before I got called into the emergency room for that accident. I'm sorry about that, but I'm afraid that's something you'll kind of have to adjust to, love," he apologized.
We were just about to leave the house on Saturday night to go to Port Angeles for a romantic dinner when he was paged to the hospital. I ended up going back to Carlisle and Esme's to get the girls and had a lovely dinner with them.
Esme did, however, quiz me about what was going on with Edward and me like I was in a Congressional hearing. We hadn't decided when to tell them about our engagement and our plans, so I unfortunately had to tell her a little lie that we were taking it slow. I felt horrible lying to her, but it wouldn't be the first time I'd done it since I'd known the woman. When I told Edward, he laughed and said that she'd just be that much more excited when we told them the truth.
That was when it hit me that I was going to be marrying a doctor. My life had changed so substantially from what I ever thought it would be. I had a lucrative business and a great partner in Alice, and we were making a lot of money from the jobs that Peter sent our way.
I was no longer working in the morgue at a crappy job, and I wasn't alone in raising my daughter. I was engaged to a wonderful man who loved my daughter and who had one of his own who I loved just as much. It wasn't anything I'd have believed if a fortune teller had told me it was my future, but there it was, staring at me with the biggest crooked smile on his face and love in his eyes. I was quite fortunate.
"So, I hope you're hungry. I had Italian catered from Bella Luna in Port Angeles. I had to feed McCarty and Whitlock as well to get them to guard the door so we wouldn't be interrupted. Come here and give me a kiss, at least. Is something wrong?" he asked. I guess the look on my face had him worried, but he needn't have been.
I walked over to where he was standing and wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him down to me. I brushed my lips against his gently as his arms wrapped around my waist, and then I deepened the kiss to show him just how great everything really was in my life. Our tongues danced a sensual dance with each other as we stood in that stupid on-call room, and I was fighting to keep the tears from my eyes because my heart was exploding with happiness.
I pulled away when breathing became absolutely necessary and looking into his eyes. "There's absolutely nothing wrong. In fact, everything is so perfectly right that I can't believe it's not a dream. I love you so much," I told him as I placed my head against his chest and hugged him tighter.
"God, I want to make love to you right now, but with those two idiots out there, I know that it would be tweeted before I was ever inside of you. I'll be home in the morning at 8:00. What time will you be over?" he asked as his hands gently rubbed my back.
I pulled away and took a deep breath, trying to rein in the hormones before we embarrassed the shit out of ourselves, and replied, "How about I go home and pack a bag and just stay at your place tonight so that I'll be there when you get home in the morning. I'll make you breakfast, and then maybe we can get the girls interested in something and sneak upstairs for a little slap and tickle?"
He laughed. "That'd be perfect. Now, sit and let's eat while it's still hot," he ordered. He pulled out a chair and I dropped into it, reaching for my napkin. He walked over to the microwave and pulled out two containers and placed them on the table, opening them with a grand flourish.
"So, are you dressed like a waiter for a reason?" I teased, curious for the explanation of the suit. He looked incredible, but the scrubs were really fucking sexy on him and I was looking forward to that visual all day.
"You wound me, Mrs. Black. I dressed up for my sexy fiancée, who, once again, didn't disappoint. So, what did O'Rourke say today when you told him that you're off the market?" he asked as he served up my favorite mushroom ravioli in a creamy brown butter sauce. It was incredible.
I wasn't looking forward to the confession I was going to have to make, but I couldn't lie to him. "Um, actually, it didn't come up. We were busy going over the budget for the new motel that's being built in Sequim and there wasn't really an opportunity to tactfully bring it up. I'll tell him after we tell our family and friends," I replied without looking up.
Edward poured us each a soda and then served himself some veal parmesan from the other container. "So, you didn't tell him that we're engaged? Well, I'll fix that," he replied. I dug into my food without another word, and suddenly, my fork was out of my hand and my chair was turned to face him and he was down on one knee in front of me with a small black box.
"You've already agreed, so this is merely a formality. Isabella Swan Black, will you please marry me?" he asked popping open the box to reveal a gorgeous diamond ring inside. He pulled it out of the box and placed it on my finger where it fit perfectly.
"Aren't you supposed to wait for my answer?" I asked with a laugh.
"Don't have to. You've already said yes. Now, I expect that ring to stay there until you take it off on our wedding day so that I can place your wedding band on that finger. We'll tell the parents tomorrow night. We can talk to the girls in the morning after I make your eyes roll back in your head, and then we'll have the parents over tomorrow night for dinner. Just so you know, I already called Billy and got his blessing on our engagement. He wants us to visit this weekend," he told me as he looked into my eyes.
I laughed as I pulled him in to kiss him again. When we broke the kiss, he smiled and sat back down in his seat to eat his dinner. "You're quite organized, Dr. Cullen. So on to another topic. How will things work for Christmas? This is Chelsea's first Christmas with you, and if you two want to spend it with your parents, I understand. I usually have my parents over to my place on Christmas Eve, and then Mom, Dad and I go down to the reservation on Christmas Day. Now that Billy doesn't live there anymore, I'm not sure what we'll do, but I want you and Chelsea to do what you'd like to do. We'll have a lot of Christmases in the future. This one should be special for the two of you," I explained.
I'd thought about it, and I decided that the right thing to do would be to allow them time alone for their first Christmas together. They were trying to adjust to each other, and I thought that it would be good for the Cullens to introduce Chelsea to their Christmas traditions without the added distraction of me and my energizer bunny. Based on the screwed up, pissed off, look on my fiancé's face, he had some very distinct thoughts on the matter that he was going to share.
"Oh, really? That's an interesting idea, but that's not what's going to happen. You and Jax are our family, and it wouldn't be a family Christmas without you. We can have the whole family over on Christmas Day, Billy included, but on Christmas Eve, it should just be the four of us. We're beginning our lives together, and it starts now, not later. I would be so damn disappointed if I didn't get to see Jax open her gifts on Christmas morning, and I knew Chelsea would as well, so we'll all be together. Based on your daughter's bubbly personality on any given day, I can only imagine how she is on Christmas morning, and if you think I want to miss that, we need to have you evaluated for possible brain damage," he demanded. Fuck, he already knew I was crazy, so why he'd want the diagnosis confirmed was a surprise.
"So, do you like the ring or would you rather have something else? Chelsea and I went to the jewelry store today and found it. I had to pay the guy a little extra to get it sized this afternoon, and then I had to bribe Alice to go pick it up for me, but if you'd like something else, I'll take you there on Thursday when I'm off," he offered.
I looked at the ring and it was perfect. It was a simple emerald cut diamond of a substantial size, and I had no desire for another ring. I was curious about one thing, though. "I love it, but how'd you know what size to get?" I asked. He blushed a little and took a drink of his soda, obviously stalling.
Once he swallowed, he cleared his throat and took my right hand, caressing my knuckles with his thumb. "I, uh, sort of nosed through your jewelry box the last time I was at your house and measured your wedding band. I'm sorry I went into your things without your permission, but it was a necessary violation of your personal space," he answered. I just laughed.
"I've got no secrets. Feel free to nose around any time you'd like. So, I thought that maybe Jax and I would plan to move in after the holidays," I suggested.
"Actually, I've got some good news for you. Someone wants to rent your house. The catch is that they need it to be furnished and they want to be in before Christmas. I'd say that we can start packing your things this weekend and move you in as soon as possible," he enlightened.
"Who?" I asked. I was surprised that he'd found someone. I was pretty sure that my place would sit empty for a while, and I wasn't sure what I'd do with my furniture because Edward's place was full. I thought I'd have to sell it all, and I had no idea what to do with Jake's car. I wasn't so sure I could be out as quickly as he had mentioned.
"Jasper and Alice. Actually, Jasper wants to buy it, but I told him I wasn't sure that you wanted to sell it. Anyway, they'd like to be settled before the holidays," he replied. That was interesting news.
"Well, I guess I need to talk to Dr. Whitlock. Okay, I suppose we'll start packing our shit this week. Now, would you like some dessert?" I asked as we finished our dinner. I looked at my watch and saw that he only had another twenty minutes left on his dinner break, and I was sorry that our dinner would be over, but knowing that he'd be home…to the place that would be our home…in about twelve hours would make it bearable.
"Actually, I'd like a piece to have later and I'd like to have you for my dessert...well, a chaste version, anyway, considering the two morons listening outside the door," Edward announced loudly. We heard Jasper and Emmett laughing which led me to believe that they were, indeed, listening.
I got up from my chair and walked around, hopping onto Edward's lap. "I guess I'll have to be quiet," I whispered. I kissed him firmly on his beautiful mouth and I felt his hand sweep up my thigh under my skirt. He was heading north, so to speak, and I wasn't planning to stop him as I opened my legs a little wider to reveal that I'd thought ahead and left the panties in my car.
When he found bare skin, he didn't hesitate to slip a finger inside me and then pull away. "Please tell me you weren't like this all day. Please tell me you did this just before you got here," he pleaded. I smirked at him.
"I don't make a habit of running around town without panties. My panties are in my computer bag in my car. It was a hopeful decision that caused me to come in here commando," I whispered as I loosened his tie and kissed along his jaw.
"Fuck, you're the smartest woman I've ever met, and clearly, you're a good planner. God, I want to fuck you so much. Do you think you can be quiet?" he asked. I eagerly nodded my head as he pulled his fingers out of me, licking them as I'd seen him do before. Hey, a quick and dirty fuck in the on-call room with my hot fiancé sounded like the perfect way to end the night.
He stood up and unbuckled his belt, quickly unbuttoning and unzipping his trousers and sliding them down with his boxers. He pulled up his dress-shirt's tails and sat back down, pulling me closer and pushing up my skirt at the same time. He pulled me onto his thighs and positioned his hard cock at my center, pulling me onto it. We both gasped at the sensation.
"Shit. That's perfect," he whispered as he placed his hands on my hips and pulled me harder onto him. Luckily, I could use my legs to help me move on him, and I didn't think twice about bracing my feet on the floor and moving hard. God, it felt good.
"I promise…tomorrow…slower," he gasped against my mouth. Hell, I was looking forward to it, but there was absolutely nothing wrong with what the hell we were doing at that point. It was exciting because anyone could come in…well, Emmett or Jasper could come in…at any time and catch us. It was one of the boldest things I'd ever done.
My body was winding up for release, and I didn't hesitate to reach down between us and circle my clit because at the pace we were going, I was pretty sure he was almost there. "Yeah, baby, touch yourself. Fuck, yesss," he hissed. I felt myself let go as he pulsed inside of me, feeling him so deeply that I made a note to myself that the position would be perfect in the kitchen or his office at the house for a little fun sometime.
I pulled away and looked at his face. His eyes were closed, and he had a smile on his face. "God, that was incredible," I whispered before I kissed him again.
Suddenly, there was a commotion outside the room, and we both froze. "You can't wait five fucking minutes?" I heard Emmett remark loudly.
"It's the fucking on-call room. Who's in there?" I heard snapped at him. I didn't recognize the voice, but based on the scrambling that Edward was doing, he did. He quickly moved me off of him and whipped up his pants, leading me into the bathroom off to the side to clean up.
"Who's that?" I whispered.
"Caius. I forgot that he's on at 7:00. I'm sorry, honey," he apologized. Hey, I wasn't embarrassed about it, and I hoped that he wasn't.
"Shit, I don't care. He's fucked in there before, so it shouldn't be a surprise that anyone else has. You aren't embarrassed at being caught, are you?" I asked as I tried to discreetly clean myself up. He quickly changed into his scrubs after he was finished cleaning up, and I hung up his suit to take with me.
"Jeez, I don't wanna think about how many people have fucked in there. Next time, we'll go to the dictation room. That door has a lock," he responded as I washed my hands. I laughed.
We walked out of the bathroom just as Simmons strolled inside taking in the sight before him. There was no way he didn't know what we'd been doing in the room, and the smirk on his face let me know that he was going to tweet that shit whether Edward wanted him to or not.
"Ah, Cullen. I should have known based on the watch dogs sitting outside. Black? I didn't realize that you were working here again," Simmons taunted.
"I don't, actually. I'm here having dinner with Dr. Cullen. How's Dr. Volturi?" I sniped back. Edward was cleaning up the dinner mess, and I was anxious to get the hell out of there because I was sure that my face was as red as the roses on the table, but, seriously, fuck Caius Simmons. He was an asshole, and I wasn't going to let him intimidate me.
"I see. So, you're the latest conquest of our randy Dr. Cullen? A lot of the other doctors and techs around the hospital are going to be sad that you became the next notch on his proverbial bedpost. There was actually a pool on you before you left, you know. You were like the ultimate score," he remarked.
"I'd suggest you mind your manners, Simmons. Bella's my fiancée and I don't appreciate that kind of talk about her," Edward snapped as he walked around the table and stood between me and Simmons. I didn't want him to get into trouble, but I did appreciate him sticking up for me. I also knew that once it hit the 'circuit' that Dr. Edward Cullen was off the market, our families would find out before we could tell them.
"Wait, what? You're engaged?" Simmons asked with wide eyes. Yeah, I guess that would be the hottest news at the hospital. I decided to take the matter in hand, so to speak.
"Dr. Simmons, I'll give you a piece of pumpkin cheesecake from Rosie's Bakery if it will buy your silence for twenty-four hours. We've just gotten engaged, and we haven't told our families yet. This time tomorrow night, the news is all yours to tweet exclusively. What do you say?" I asked as I flipped open the pink box and pulled one of the clean dessert plates from the table.
Once the smell wafted through the air, I could tell I had him. Rosalie had bought and opened a bakery in town when the housing market had stalled, and her baked goods were known far and wide and everyone loved them. She only made a select number of pumpkin cheesecakes between Halloween and Christmas, but I was able to get her to hold one for me, and it was truly a treat that I could see he didn't want to pass up.
"She's a smart cookie, Cullen. Good for you for catching her. You're a lucky man. I'll give you until 8:00 PM tomorrow night before the tweet goes out. Now, I'd like a big slice," Simmons bargained. I laughed and grabbed a knife. You caught more flies with honey…and all of that business.
Edward laughed and finished cleaning up the mess, and then he walked me out to my car, carrying the flowers and placing them on the backseat floorboard. It was then that I remembered that I had to face Esme when I got back to Platte House, and he'd asked me not to take the ring off so I had a bit of a problem.
"What should I do about my ring when I get home? If we're going to talk to everyone tomorrow, I'm going to have to take it off," I reminded.
"Shit. Okay, but I want to see it there when I get home tomorrow morning. We'll talk to the girls first thing over breakfast, okay? I love you so much. Thank you for coming tonight," he replied.
"Oh, thank you for coming in me…I love you too, honey. I'll see you in the morning," I responded sarcastically. He laughed and kissed me again, and he walked back into the building. It had been a beautiful hour, and I was looking forward to many more stolen hours like it in the future…him being a doctor and all.
##
I was standing at the stove fixing French toast while Jax and Chelsea were getting dressed for the day. Since Chelsea was out of school for the week, I was going to keep Jax out of pre-school that day so that the two of them could spend time together. They got along so well, it was uncanny, and I credited it to Chelsea, because my daughter was completely spoiled and Chelsea gave into her all of the time.
I'd need to address it, but I wasn't going to do it that morning because as soon as Edward got home from the hospital, we had some big news to share with the two of them, and I didn't want anyone upset before we told them.
Jax came skipping into the kitchen with Chelsea slowly walking behind her, still feeling her stitches. Jax was carrying a big pad of paper and Chelsea had a pencil. I turned from the stove and smiled at them. "What's up, girls?" I asked, so happy that I wanted to burst.
"Mesme said we should write our letters," Jax replied as she tore a sheet of paper from the pad and handed it to Chelsea with a "me first" tossed in.
"Letters?" I asked as I looked at the grin…Edward's grin…on Chelsea's face.
"Nana said we should write our letters to Santa about what we want for Christmas," Chelsea replied with a wink which led me to believe that she didn't believe in Santa. I didn't know if it was the age or if she'd ever had the luxury of believing in Santa, but for Jax's sake, I was happy she wasn't giving it away.
"Oh, well, that's probably a good idea," I responded, winking at Chelsea in acknowledgement. It broke my heart a little because every child should have the fantasy of Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy, but I decided that I'd talk to Chelsea about it when Jax wasn't around.
Just then, I heard the car in the garage, and I smiled. Edward was home, and we were going to tell them our news. I prayed it would be happy news for them. I wasn't sure if Jax would understand it, but I was sure that all I had to do was mention "wedding" and she'd be all over it.
"So, Jaxie, what do you want from Santa?" Chelsea asked. Apparently, she was the scribe for the two of them.
"Um, I want a pink hat and gloves. I want a new Barbie. Oh, I want the one with the pony. I want Uno Moo. I want…" Jax continued. I saw Chelsea writing feverishly, and I turned my head to laugh. My daughter had spent far too much time with Alice Brandon and a toy catalogue. I stopped listening until I heard, "…and I want Redward to be my daddy."
I turned to look over my shoulder and saw Edward standing in the doorway behind Jax's chair with a huge smile on his face. He'd heard what I'd heard, and I was certain that I saw a tear on his cheek. I knew I was crying. I reached into the pocket of my hoodie and slipped my engagement ring on my finger and walked over to where he stood.
"I guess we have nothing to worry about?" I whispered. He kissed me and nodded, dropping his duffel to make his presence known.
"Daddy!" Chelsea exclaimed.
Jax turned in her chair and smiled. "Did you help a momma have a baby?" she asked. She was fascinated by the fact that he was in his OB rotation, and I was actually curious about what his specialty was going to be. I'd have to talk to him about it another time, but I really wondered about it because he'd never mentioned that he'd made a decision.
He scooped up Jax and walked over to where Chelsea sat, kissing her on the top of the head. "I actually delivered twins early this morning. It was a little boy and a little girl. What are you two doing?" he asked as he looked at the paper in front of Chelsea with a smile.
"We're writing our letters," Jax announced as she twisted her little hand in the hair at the back of his neck. She had this weird thing about her that she loved to play with people's hair, and apparently, she liked Edward's hair as much as I did.
"That's quite a list, Miss Black," he joked as he blew a raspberry against her cheek causing her to dissolve into giggles.
"Redward, stop," she ordered. He tickled her until she squealed and wiggled from his arms, and then she ran over to the other side of the table to get away from him.
"How do you feel, sweetheart?" he asked as he tilted Chelsea's beautiful face up to look at him.
"I'm fine, Daddy. How was work?" she asked. He leaned down and placed a sweet kiss on her forehead and walked over to the coffee maker, pouring himself a cup and sitting down.
"Actually, after the twins were delivered, I got to sleep for most of the rest of my shift, so I'm not even tired. Now, Chels, what's on your list for Santa?" he asked. She looked at me with a worried look, and I nodded to her to play along.
I knew he'd be heartbroken if he knew she didn't believe in Santa, so I was actually going to get her alone and ask her to give him just one Christmas with her pretending to believe before we broke the news to him that she knew the truth.
She smiled sweetly and accepted the sheet of paper that Jax handed her. "Um, let's see. I'd like an iPod Nano, and a few books," she began writing furiously without speaking again. I continued to cook breakfast, pulling eggs out of the fridge to make something with protein to counteract the carbs from the French toast, and just as I was putting them into a bowl, Chelsea sat up and perused her list once again.
"Okay, enough of lists for right now. Time to eat," I announced as I plated up breakfast for the girls. I made Edward a huge plate, assuming he was just as hungry as he always was when he got home from the hospital, and I settled into a chair across from him with a plate of my own.
Chelsea handed him her list as she dug into her breakfast while I cut up Jax's French toast. "Well, I can tell you both that you'll get one thing on your list before Christmas. Some things aren't up to Santa, but you're both lucky that someone else can take care of it. Jacqueline Renee, Chelsea Carlotta, I can tell you that I've taken care of um, number ten on your list, Jax, and number four on your list, Chels. Bella and I are very excited to tell you that we're getting married," he announced. Yeah, I choked on my bite of eggs. I had no idea that Chelsea had asked for the same thing that Jax had asked for.
"Can I see Chelsea's list?" I asked.
Edward handed it to me, and I saw that Chelsea had "a family" on her list and it made me cry. I looked at the two girls and saw the look of surprise on Chelsea's face. Jax, of course, had no idea what we were talking about.
"Really?" Chelsea asked. I nodded and she sprung from her chair and hugged me.
"What'samatter?" Jax asked. Edward walked over to her chair and picked her up from her booster and carried her back to his chair, perching her on his lap.
"Miss Black, there is going to be a wedding and you get to wear your white blanket and when it's over I will be your daddy. Is that okay with you?" Edward explained. That set her off. He gave him a syrupy kiss and bounced in his lap like she was hopped up on caffeine.
"Can I call you Daddy like Chelsea does?" Jax asked him as Chelsea hung on my neck. I felt moisture, and pulled her away, seeing her crying. I pulled her onto my lap and held her, not sure why she was crying.
"You most certainly can. Now, Chels, honey, why are you crying?" he asked as he rested his chin on top of Jax's head while she went back to eating from his plate. Maybe I should have asked Jasper to test Jax for ADD because nothing seemed to hold her attention for very long, and I was certain the reference to her 'white blanket' would send her flying in all kinds of directions, but she was content to eat her breakfast on Edward's lap.
"I'm happy, Daddy. I didn't ever think I'd have a little sister and a mother and a father. Pappa and Nonna didn't like it when I asked about my father or mother. I think that's why they sent me away to school. Sister Ignatius told me that I didn't have a mother or a father and I should stop praying for it, so I gave up hope. I guess she was wrong," Chelsea explained. I kissed her cheek and released her to eat her breakfast.
"Yes, sweetheart, she was very wrong," Edward replied as he placed Jax back in her booster to eat her own breakfast. He sat down and dug back into his without one second's thought that my daughter had been eating his eggs with her little hands. I laughed.
The rest of breakfast was spent talking about Christmas and getting a tree. Chelsea had seen Christmas trees, but she'd never decorated one, and that was going to be remedied as soon as we could get to my house and get my Christmas decorations from my attic.
Once we were all finished, I stated, "Edward, go wash the hospital off of you and Jax you go with him and get washed up. Chelsea and I will clean this up."
Edward swung Jax up on his shoulders and carried her upstairs, leaving Chelsea with me. "So, are you okay with this, really?" I asked.
"I'm more than okay with this. I've always wondered about my mother," she remarked as she carried dishes to the sink.
That caused me some concern. "Have you never seen pictures of her?" I asked.
"Once, at Nonna's house in Rome. She looked like she was very pretty," Chelsea replied as she put the butter and the orange juice in the refrigerator.
I dried my hands from where I was rinsing the dishes for the dishwasher and walked over to the house phone, picking it up and calling Esme. We needed to rectify something immediately, and Esme had exactly what we needed, plus, Chelsea and I could organize her photos and present them to her for Christmas in albums. It was a great idea.
"Hello?" Esme sang through the line which led me to believe that the woman never looked at the caller ID.
"Hi, Esme. How are you?" I asked, making small talk.
"Oh, dear, we're great. We're looking forward to dinner. I made a chocolate cake for tonight. Is there anything else I can bring?" she asked. Perfect set up.
"Actually, can you bring that box of photos that you have? Chelsea hasn't seen the pictures of Gianna and Edward and her when she was a baby. I think she needs to see them," I announced.
"She hasn't? Oh, shame on us. Of course, I'll bring it. I didn't even think about it. What time should we be over?" she asked sounding upset.
"Esme, don't beat yourself up about it. Who would have thought that Didi and Finn wouldn't show her any pictures of her family? Don't worry about it. We'll see you at 6:00 for cocktails," I comforted.
"I guess you're right, but that still doesn't make it acceptable. Okay, honey, we'll see you tonight," she replied. We said good-bye and hung up.
"So, we'll get you some pictures of your mom and dad and you when you were a tiny little baby. You were absolutely beautiful, as was your mother, so don't you worry about it. Now, what about Santa? Did you ever believe in Santa, or did they take that away from you as well?" I asked sounding a lot more aggravated than I intended.
"No, I never really had a regular Christmas like my friends from school. I'm excited this year. Don't worry, I won't tell Jaxie about Santa," she answered.
I leaned over and kissed the top of her head. "Can I ask a favor?"
"Sure," she responded.
"Just this year, can you pretend for your daddy, too? He seems to think that you still believe, and well, I think he'd be disappointed if he couldn't play Santa for you. Can you just pretend this year for him? I'll look at is as your gift to me," I whispered.
She looked at me with tears in her eyes, and smiled. "You really love my dad, don't you?" she asked.
"With all my heart, honey," I answered as I placed my arm around her shoulders as we stood at the sink.
"I love you, Mom," she announced causing me to tear up so much that I couldn't see the look on her face.
"I love you, too, daughter," I whispered as I hugged her. It was a wonderful moment, and I'd remember it for the rest of my life.
\\\
Please let me know what you think.
Till next time...xoxo