Part 37
Maria looked up more than an hour later when she heard the noise at the front door and a few seconds later it swung open and Michael stuck his head in, glancing around to make sure she was out of bed before he opened the door wide and allowed Brian and Eddie to come in behind him.
"So, that wasn't bad for a rookie, man," Brian said as he kicked the snow off of his boots.
Michael was wearing a grin the size of Texas as he glanced at Maria. "Stop right there," he said as she raised her right hand to crack an egg into a bowl. "I've got breakfast. Me an' the boys are hungry for – "
"French toast!" Eddie yelled.
"Okay, well, I'll make up the batter," Maria said agreeably. She rolled her eyes when Michael got out of his gear in record time and hurried over to rush her out of the kitchen.
"I've got it," he insisted, giving her a smile.
Maria's eyes widened when he looked at her and she caught the abrasions on the right side of his forehead and down over his cheekbone. "Good grief, Michael, what'd you do?"
"He missed the puck and slid across the ice on his face," Brian said, laughing.
Michael shook his head. "I didn't miss the puck," he said, his voice low.
"Coulda fooled us," Eddie added, high-fiving his older brother. "Most people try to put the puck in the net and Michael tried to slide through it on his face."
"Keep it up," Michael growled, "and I won't make French toast."
"Hey," she protested, her bottom lip quivering, "I was gonna cook."
"Babe…" he ducked his head down, his lips brushing her ear as he whispered, "Maria, you sure can cook but not in the kitchen."
She poked him hard. "Hey, I can cook! There was that time…"
His smirk grew as he shook his head.
Maria looked back at the boys shoving each other as they fought to get to the remote first. Brian had his brother in a headlock as they played tug-o-war with the remote. The two of them were already tousled, their clothes in disarray, but they were perfectly content. As the battled ended with what looked like a rather painful elbow jab to Eddie's ribs the boys came over to the kitchen area and leaned against the counter on either side of Michael. She smiled as she remembered Michael with his buddies from Meta-Chem. "I'll take cinnamon and butter on mine with maple syrup."
He looked up when someone started banging on the door. "One of you guys wanna get that for me?" He snapped his fingers in front of Eddie's face when he realized the boy's eyes were glued to Maria as she dug around in the refrigerator for something to drink.
"Huh?" Eddie turned to look at Michael and quickly nodded. "Right, front door. I got it." He glared at his brother when he heard him snickering and ran across the room to pull the door open. "Hey, Kyle, what're you doin' here?"
"Uh…" Kyle looked around the room, taking in the couple and their guests. He frowned at the scrapes on Michael's face but left his comments until later. "I'm here because it's after 9am and the Christmas N… I mean, Isabel, said that she's got a million things that need to be done today and she's short a few people."
"Wow, so is your wife always like this?" Eddie asked as he resumed his position next to Michael.
"Only at Christmastime," Kyle answered.
"We're havin' breakfast first, Valenti," Michael spoke up. "So, if you need to run back and give the wife a sit rep then run along."
Eddie reached over and patted Maria on the back when she choked on her milk. "Are you okay, Maria?"
"I'm fine, Eddie, thanks," she rasped, shooting a glare at Michael when he just shrugged and continued with his breakfast preparations.
Kyle grinned at the couple and shouldered his way into the room. "What's for breakfast?"
"No one invited you to stay an' eat."
"That's alright, no one invited you to shower over at the Evans' place the other day but you did." He shrugged and visually cataloged the ingredients scattered around. "French toast, huh? My dad likes bourbon vanilla French toast." He made a face. "Scrambled eggs would be better."
"Haven't you had breakfast, Kyle?" Maria asked as she filled the Tigger mug with coffee and handed it to Michael.
"Breakfast was a bit rushed this morning. I've already been up to the house to collect Julia's sewing machine so Isabel can work on costumes tonight, I've been over to Mr. Tony's place to check the lights and make sure they're in working order after being up overnight…" he paused when Brian snickered. "What?"
"Man, you had the worst time with those lights yesterday. I know Dad has trouble with ours every year, but wow… I've never seen anyone have to check every single strand!"
"Yeah," Eddie agreed, "that was really unlucky."
"The greatest quality is seeking to serve others."
"Say what?" Brian asked, looking at him as if he'd just sprouted wings and said he could fly.
"He's a Buddhist," Michael said as he flipped the toast over.
Eddie looked at Kyle, his gaze curious. "I thought you guys like shave your head and wear dresses and go around chanting and stuff."
"They're robes, not dresses." Kyle glared at Michael when he snickered at that. "No, your basic everyday Buddhist doesn't necessarily dress that way. Monks will wear the traditional robes, but most practicing Buddhists don't wear the robes."
"Huh." Eddie looked at his brother and they shrugged at the same time. "So, do monks wear like underwear and stuff?"
"What?"
"Is your wife a Buddhist?" Brian asked, saving Kyle from having to answer the other question.
Michael and Maria exchanged a look as they waited to see if Kyle was about to really stick his foot in his mouth with his pretend wife.
"Um, no, Isabel's not a Buddhist."
Eddie leaned forward and rested his elbows on the counter. "Do you meditate?"
"Yes, I do."
He turned his head to look at Michael when he flipped the two slices of French toast over and then caught them on a plate. "Dad tried that once with a grilled cheese." He made a face. "The bread came apart and landed on the floor, cheese side down."
"Mine never land on the floor," Michael bragged. He handed the plate to Eddie and motioned to the small breakfast table. "Here, chow down. If we don't get a move on Isabel will show up wantin' to know where we're at." He grinned at Kyle. "And we don't want to see Kyle getting in trouble with his wife, do we?"
Brian and Eddie laughed. "Yeah, we do," they said at the same time.
"You guys are a riot. That's okay though. You go ahead and laugh it up," he said with a shrug. "All I have to do is let the wife know that there're job duties that haven't been assigned." He thought for a second and then nodded to himself. "Yeah, like the reindeer… I hear they're a real mess to clean up after." He reached over and tapped the carton of eggs. "That'd be scrambled, El Capitan," he said with a smirk.
"I'm not cleanin' up after a bunch of reindeer, Valenti," Michael growled.
"Then I wouldn't forget the cheese in those eggs. Couple slices of bacon would be great too, crispy but not crunchy." He leaned over to slap Michael on the shoulder. "Thanks, man."
Maria shook her head at them, smiling at the relaxed atmosphere between the guys. "Whatever you're fixing you'd better get a move on, Spaceboy. We're already late and you know Isabel won't let that go. She'll get her pound of flesh out of us one way or the other and I'd like to still be able to move by the time we're released from our mandatory servitude this evening."
Michael just snorted at that and tossed the next batch of French toast in the pan while he started cracking eggs in a bowl, ignoring Kyle's look of triumph. "You're only getting eggs 'cause I'm makin' the same thing for Maria, so you can choke on that stupid grin."
Kyle just nodded, not believing a word of it. "So what happened to your face?" he asked after Michael had handed Brian a plate and sent him over to the table to join his brother. "Maria smack you upside the head with a cheese grater?"
"You're funny this mornin', Valenti. How's that kindergarten bed workin' for you?"
Maria rolled her eyes at them and grabbed a couple more plates, setting them on the counter on Michael's right side. They were already late so there was no reason to try to rush him now.
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Maggie looked up at Daddy as she walked along beside him from Mr. Tony's house to the barn. "Where're the boys?" she asked. "Aren't they gonna help out today?"
Edward looked down at his little girl and smiled. "They'll be along." Although he had no idea what was taking so long. It'd been a little more than an hour since they'd gone back to the cabin to warm up and collect Maria. And half an hour ago Isabel had sent Kyle to collect all of them. He had escaped the house amid elf costume fittings, telephone conversations with the company who would be supplying the reindeer, and an impatient woman who was ready to throttle her husband/assistant for wasting precious time.
"Oh, look!" she shouted happily, tugging on his hand and pointing at the group walking up the driveway. She paused after a moment. "How come the boys are with Michael?"
"Well," he coughed to clear his throat, "they went back over to the cabin with him after we finished knockin' the puck around on the ice."
Her bottom lip quivered as she looked between Daddy and Michael. "No one 'vited me to go."
Edward smiled and shook his head. "Maggie, honey, you were helping Mama over here. You can't be everywhere he is."
"Can I go say hi?"
He nodded and waved her on. "Go ahead." He chuckled under his breath when she took off like a shot. "Be careful, Maggie!" he yelled after her. The last thing he wanted was to see her take a header on the hard-packed snow.
Maggie ran down the driveway, stopping a foot or so in front of Michael and glancing at the boys before looking up to meet his gaze. "You missed breakfast this mornin'."
"He just had breakfast, goofy," Brian said with a roll of his eyes. "With us."
She frowned at her brothers when they continued on their way up to the house to get their assignments. "You had breakfast with the boys?"
Michael crouched down to meet her on her level. "I did, yes."
"You played hockey with them too?" she asked, her bottom lip jutting out in a pout.
"Um-hmm." He pointed to his face. "I think I'm gonna need some more practice though."
Her gloved hand came up to ever so gently brush against the abrasions. "Do they hurt?"
"Nah." He reached out to tug on Miss Cindy's paw. "I know she's a polar bear, but she looks a little chilly."
Maggie looked down at Cindy. "Think so?"
"Tell you what… I'm all full now, so I'm yours for the rest of the day." He gave the little bear another tug and Maggie released her beloved toy into his hands, watching him as he unzipped his coat enough to tuck the bear inside his jacket with her nose poking over the zipper.
Maggie watched him as he snugged the zipper up under Cindy's chin and after a moment she leaned in and pressed her ear close to the bear. "Cindy says she's much warmer now." She smiled at him. "Thank you."
"You're very welcome, Princess Maggie. Would you care to get your feet outta the snow and let your Captain of the Guard carry you back up to the house?"
She giggled and nodded, laughing outright when he swung her up and settled her on his shoulders. "Did you have fun playing hockey, Michael?" she asked.
Maria smiled when she and Kyle were excluded from the conversation as Maggie and Michael discussed hockey, breakfast, and anything else that struck the little girl's fancy. "He's so good with kids."
Kyle glanced at her. "That's not an indicator that your biological clock's tickin' is it?" He grinned and tried to pinch her side, something that wasn't possible with the bulky winter gear she was wearing.
She ducked out of his reach and ran back at him, pushing him off balance and into the snow lining the sides of the driveway. She laughed gleefully and dodged him when he hauled himself up and ran after her.
"They're funny," Maggie said as she watched them chasing each other through the snow.
Michael smiled at Maria's carefree laugh and he tipped his head back to look up at Maggie. "Yeah, they are."
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Isabel stepped out on the porch, arms crossed over her chest as she watched Kyle and Maria horsing around. The fingers of her right hand drummed against her upper left arm and she just barely kept her foot from tapping out an annoyed rhythm against the porch as she waited for them to take notice of her appearance. She brought the impulse to smile at their antics under control and cleared her throat, immensely pleased when she saw Kyle hunch his shoulders at the realization that she had caught him.
He slowly straightened up and his expression sobered as he turned to face Isabel. "Hey, what's up?"
"Where have you been?"
Ooookay, he muttered silently, you were expecting the question so play it cool, Valenti. He exchanged a look with Michael when he and Maggie joined them. "Uh, well…" he cleared his throat and glanced at Maria and then back at Michael. Sorry, buddy.
Michael had a feeling he was about to be thrown under the bus so Kyle could escape the Christmas Nazi's wrath. He could feel himself fidgeting even though he was fighting to stand still under her narrowed gaze.
"See, Michael wanted – "
"Michael and the boys played hockey with Daddy." She leaned slightly to one side, reaching down to pat his face when she couldn't adequately see him. "See? He has an ouch on his face." She paused for a moment to take in a breath. "An' then Kyle came over an' Michael was makin' French toast for breakfast but Kyle didn't want that…" she bit her lip when she caught the look of irritation on Isabel's face. "I didn't get to have breakfast with them neither, but Michael says he's all mine today now."
Michael's face split into a big grin. No way Isabel would disappoint the little girl and on top of that she'd have to watch herself as long as Maggie was around. Next to him he could feel how much effort Kyle was expending trying to keep from letting loose with a big ol' donkey laugh.
Isabel glanced to the side when Brian and Eddie joined them but her gaze pinned Michael as she spoke to Maggie. "Oh, that's so sweet of Michael to help you out today." She smiled. "You know, I have just the perfect job for you two. Do you like to decorate Christmas trees?"
Maggie nodded enthusiastically and she patted Michael's head. "It's a lot of fun isn't it, Michael?"
He had no idea but he nodded because he knew it's what she was expecting.
"Wonderful. I have the boxes of ornaments that need to be hung on the trees out here," she said and gestured to the property around them. "You and Michael are just the right height for the job."
Michael cleared his throat as he looked around at the trees as Maggie clapped her hands excitedly. "Uh, so what, like a couple of the ones close to the house?" He swallowed hard when she just smiled at him and he turned slowly to do a count of the trees dotted along the driveway.
"The boxes are on the table closest to the door… they're marked for the outdoor trees."
"Of course they are," he muttered. He glared at Kyle when he tried to sneak off. "I think maybe Kyle should give us a hand. It is his fault we're late… I mean, he's the one who wanted bacon an' scrambled eggs. If he'd just had toast like everyone else we could've been here at least 45 minutes ago."
Kyle sighed when Michael helpfully pointed the finger of guilt in his direction and he knew his goose was cooked as soon as she pinned him with that pointed gaze. "I'll just go grab those ornaments."
"No, I have something even more special in mind for you, honey."
Crap.
Brian glanced up at Michael. "Man, I'm never getting married."
Michael snickered because he knew Kyle wouldn't dare agree at that moment.
Isabel turned to look at the boys. "Brian, Eddie, do you boys think you could give Kyle a hand erecting the reindeer pen in the barn?"
"The reindeer…?" Kyle shook his head. "Honey, I'm a mechanic, not a carpenter, and I'm pretty sure that falls under the Reindeer Wrangler's duties."
She knew getting him to do what she wanted would be easier if there was some incentive to motivate him. "Kyle, do me a favor and check on Max for me, would you? He's being fitted for his costume in the barn – "
"Oh, I'm so there." He was on his way to the barn before she could even finish what she was saying.
"Uh… we've gotta grab those boxes of ornaments," Michael said, hurrying after him.
"You're real excited about decorating the trees, huh, Michael?" Maggie asked.
"Huh?" There was not enough money in the world to stop him from making fun of Max right now. "Oh, yeah, right. You pretty good at this tree decorating thing?"
Maggie smiled. "Yes! Mrs. Tony always made Mr. Tony put the birds in the trees, the white ones and the red ones."
"Okay." He grumbled under his breath when Kyle ducked through the opening between the doors first.
Kyle stopped just inside the doors and bit the inside of his cheek to control his laughter. God, Buddha, Santa Claus… they all existed, there was no doubt about it. Max Evans was standing on a box in the center of the open space wearing a green outfit that was at least two sizes too big while Dayna took some measurements. "Wow, Evans… that's… that really had to be one big elf last year." His gaze followed the hideous outfit until it landed on the hat, once again perched on Max's head. "But I've gotta say I love the hat. Really, it balances out those ears."
Maggie motioned for Michael to put her down and she walked over to Max, tipping her head back and looking up at him. "Are you gonna be helpin' Santa with his reindeer?"
Max glanced down at her, feeling like ten kinds of fool. "Yeah, someone has to look after his reindeer while he's here."
Her eyes widened. "He's really gonna bring his reindeer?"
"Well, it probably won't be all of them. Maybe just a couple… I hope," he added under his breath.
"Can I meet them?"
Max looked at Kyle and Michael, knowing they were going to start laughing at any second. "You know, if you can keep those two occupied I'll see what I can do about you getting a ride with Santa and his visiting reindeer while they're here."
Her mouth formed an O of surprise and she ran over to hug him, unaware of just how uncomfortable he was. "Thanks, Max!" She ran back over to Michael and grabbed his hand. "C'mon, we gotta go decorate those trees an' Kyle's gotta make that pen for the reindeer 'cause his wife said so."
"Sounds like the wife's got you by the short ones, Valenti," he smirked.
Kyle just grinned at him. "Better get to decorating… rumor has it Santa's close by."
Michael glared at him and followed Maggie when she tugged on his hand insistently. "Good luck with that pen. Hope it cooperates better than those lights did." He grabbed two of the boxes that Maggie pointed to and followed her outside.
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Julia poked her head around the corner of the living room doorway to glance at the costume the girls were discussing. Dayna had come in a while ago with Max's costume and she and Isabel had gone over the necessary alterations before it had been carefully folded and put away for later. Now they were busy decorating the artificial trees set up in two corners of the room, flanking the wide picture window that looked out over the front yard. She glanced over the red Santa suit being held up by Dayna as Isabel looked it over with a critical eye.
"You really think you'll get Michael into that suit?" she asked.
Isabel looked up and nodded. "Oh, he'll wear it." She smiled as she turned her head to look at the blonde fussing with a strand of garland. "Maria will see to that."
Maria rolled her eyes. "Please," she said and glanced outside. A smile graced her lips as she watched Michael kneeling next to Maggie, sorting through the red and white birds that were dwarfed in his big hands before handing her one. "He won't need any convincing," she said with a nod at the little girl he had picked up so she could reach a high branch to hang the red bird. "He'll do it for her."
Julia smiled and went back to wrapping the cookies in cellophane, tying each little bundle with a red ribbon. The cookies were shaped like trees and stars and decorated with yellow and green sprinkles and little red ribbons. She glanced over her shoulder when Edward came inside and she hid a smile when he paused in the living room for a few minutes of small talk before coming into the kitchen. She had known Edward more than long enough to decipher his different looks and expressions and the one he was currently wearing told her his curiosity about the gang's procurement of Shane's old van was driving him up the wall.
"These kids are young to be married," he said quietly. "Max and Liz, okay, they're pretty obvious. Kyle and Isabel, not so much, and have you noticed that he doesn't wear a wedding ring?"
"You're turning into a nosy old woman, Edward," Julia chuckled. "If I recall correctly Isabel said he's a mechanic and a lot of men who work with machinery don't wear their wedding rings." She pulled another tray of cookies out of the oven. "Besides, I seem to recall a certain young man explaining in great detail how he didn't care for jewelry and how he didn't feel it was necessary for him to wear a ring."
Edward looked down at the simple gold band he wore. Yeah, he remembered that. He had expected resistance from her over that declaration but his Julia had been fine with it, insisting that she didn't have a problem with that and she understood. Of course, then she had turned around and stated that she didn't need to wear a ring to show that she was married either. What mattered was what they had in their hearts. He could still recall his disgruntled snort at that. There had been no way he was going to let his beautiful young bride go anywhere without his ring on her finger. He smiled faintly and shot one more glance at his concession. The ring was scarred and it showed its years of wear but it had become a part of him. "Yeah, that argument didn't work with you, so how do you suppose it worked for Kyle?"
Julia elbowed his hand away when he reached around her to snag one of the cooling cookies. "Shush, Edward, it doesn't matter. Have you seen the way they act around each other?"
Edward wrapped his arms around his wife and nuzzled her neck. "Think so?"
"Speaking of Kyle, why don't you go down to the barn and see how he's coming along with that pen? Maybe give him a hand if he needs some help," she suggested.
He grinned. "Depends on how many of those cookies you're willin' to part with."
She sidestepped, taking the sheet of cookies with her. "Uh-huh, and if you go and help him now maybe you'll have a couple waiting for you later."
"Ungh, Mom… Dad, you guys have to know how embarrassing this is," Brian complained from behind them.
"Thank you for expressing your opinion," Julia said with a smile. "Where's your brother?"
"He's helping Kyle with that pen." He rolled his eyes. "I think Max was trying to collect his dignity." He snorted. "Pretty sure that's out the window."
"You be nice."
He rolled his eyes at Mom's admonishment and wandered into the living room, throwing himself on the sofa and slouching down comfortably.
"I think it's time for you to take that young man in there and head down to the barn, Edward. I can only imagine that Kyle's going to be needing some help out there. Those panels for the pen looked to be pretty heavy and since Brian's deserted him and left Eddie to help…"
"Well, he has Max to give him a hand."
"Yeah, and Mom, I'm done for the day," Brian said when he overheard her remarks. "No more building pens or whatever."
"Um-hmm, well, if you're finished with that type of work then I can use a hand in here cleaning up the kitchen once these cookies are finished."
Brian heaved a long-suffering sigh and hauled himself to his feet once more. "Fine, but I'm not happy about it."
"I know, and I'm alright with that." She smiled and ushered him and Edward out of the house once more, sending them to give Kyle a hand with the pen before going back to her cookies.
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Maggie leaned back against Michael and tipped her head back to look up at him. "Hey, Michael, if you stay with us for Christmas who's gonna help your mommy and daddy decorate your tree?"
He studied her for a moment, debating on what to tell her. "Well, I've never really done the whole Christmas thing with the decorating and stuff."
"What about your mommy and daddy?"
He cleared his throat and hunkered down in front of her. "Maria and the others… they're my family. See, some people don't have a family like you have with a mom and a dad and brothers and sisters. And when they don't, they kinda make their own family." Well, maybe it was the other way around, he thought with an inner smile.
"But everyone has a mommy and daddy. Did yours go to heaven like Mr. Tony did?"
His thumb stroked over the wing of the little white bird he was holding as he considered his answer. He wasn't a liar and he didn't want to start now, especially not with her. "I don't know much about my parents, Maggie. They weren't there when I was growing up and eventually I found my way into the family I'm in now."
"Oh." She stared at him as she mulled over what he had said and after a few moments she leaned forward and hugged him. "I'm glad you have them for a family then 'cause they love you a lot." When she released him she touched the bird in his hand and looked up at him. "I like the way you decorate trees," she said with a smile.
He cleared his throat. "Guess we'd better get back to work, huh? We've got a few more to do before we're finished out here." Somehow talking to Maggie about things that were otherwise painful didn't seem to dig at the old scars. She was curious about things and she asked her questions in a direct manner but once they were answered she moved on to the next subject.
"Look," she said, pointing over his left shoulder, "your friend Max is coming over."
He turned his head and followed her pointing finger, grinning when the image of Max in that ridiculous elf costume immediately came to mind. He actually felt kinda bad for the guy because no one should have to look that stupid. "Finished with the fitting?"
"I hope so," Max grumbled. He watched Maggie as she walked around the tree to find a suitable place to hang the bird in her hand. "I've done a lot of things for my sister over the years, but this's by far the most humiliating."
"It'll be okay, Max," Maggie said as she peered around the tree to smile up at him. "I don't think you looked silly at all and you get to take care of Santa's reindeer. Aren't you excited about that?"
No, not really. "I'm trying to be."
"Wanna help us decorate the trees? It's fun."
Michael smirked and grabbed a box of ornaments, shoving it into his friend's hands. "It's fun, Evans. And it's gotta be better than the alternative."
Max made a face at that. Back home Isabel had always ended up rearranging every decoration he hung on the tree anyway. Chances were good she'd do the same thing here. Not that he really cared. His options were decorating trees with Michael and Maggie or putting that stupid reindeer pen together with Kyle and the boys. Not much to think about there. "Lemme have 'em and tell me where to put 'em." He paused and shook his head at the look of amusement on Michael's face. "On second thought, just give 'em to me, I can figure out the rest."
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At the picture window Liz was watching as Max ducked a tackle from one of the boys. She had been keeping an eye on them off and on throughout the later part of the afternoon when he had joined the little girl and Michael. He had been stiff and his discomfort had been palpable but after a while he had started to relax and his demeanor had slowly changed as they decorated the trees and Maggie talked the guys' ears off.
"It's not the same as last time," Maria said quietly as she joined Liz at the window.
"No, I know that. Rationally, I know that. There's no reason for me to worry about him trying to find a way to contact his son. His parents made sure he was placed someplace safe but… that decision haunts him, you know? I see the way he watches kids and I can almost see what he's thinking, wondering where his son is, if he's safe, if he's happy."
"I know how much that whole thing bothers you, Liz, but it'd be good for him if you'd talk to him about it." She wrapped her arm around her friend's shoulders. "You never know, it might be good for you too."
Liz sighed. "I think about it sometimes but I just can't get the words past my throat. It's like, if we talk about it…" she swallowed hard. "I'm scared to bring it up."
Maria nodded. "I can understand that." She and Michael had things still between them that she was reluctant to bring up too.
"Have you guys seen Kyle?" Isabel asked as she joined them at the window. She squinted against the quickly fading light, trying to determine if he was out there with the others.
Liz pointed to a figure on the right who was doing his best to stay upright while dodging another shadowy figure. "They found a football somewhere and they've been playing for the past 15 or 20 minutes. Looks like it's Michael, Eddie, and Maggie against Max, Kyle, and Brian. Edward was watching from the sidelines but he just walked up this way…"
"Oooooh," the girls said as one when the lights on the Christmas trees suddenly came to life, lighting the yard up and giving it a magical glow.
"Isn't that pretty?" Julia asked as she came up behind them. "It's getting dark and cold out there and I think it's time for them to come inside. Besides, it's just about dinnertime and I know you girls are ready for a break and you'd like some time alone with your guys." They had talked about it earlier and the girls had admitted to needing a little downtime. She reached out and handed each of them a small package of cookies. "To take home to share with your guys."
The girls gathered up the costumes and said their goodnights before bundling up in their winter gear and heading outside to collect the guys. Julia came out behind them to stand next to Edward on the porch, calling the kids to say their goodnights and come up to the house. The boys complied after several moments of complaining and Maggie ran over to Michael, looking up at him as she smiled brightly.
"Are you going back to your cabin now?" she asked.
He dropped to his haunches again and nodded. "Yeah, sometimes Maria likes to spend some time alone with me too."
"Of course she does, silly. It's 'cause she loves you." She giggled and threw herself into his arms, hugging him tightly. "Thanks for helping and bringing Santa to the lake this year, Michael," she murmured and kissed his cheek.
"Yeah," he mumbled. "Thanks, ya know, for helpin' me out here today."
She smiled up at him as she stood back and her eyes followed his hands when he patted the front of his coat, trying to find Miss Cindy. She laughed when he unzipped his coat and pulled the little polar bear out and she hugged the stuffed animal close. "She's all warm." She held the bear up to her ear. "She says thank you for keepin' her warm all day."
He reached out and tweaked the bear's nose. "She's welcome."
"G'night, Captain Michael." She smiled. "I'll see ya tomorrow."
He nodded. "G'night, Princess Maggie."
Maria smiled and said her goodnights and goodbyes as she passed the little girl and she looked up at Michael when he straightened up to stand before her. "You've had a busy day, Spaceboy."
He shrugged and motioned to the trees around them. "Not bad, huh?"
"No, not bad at all," she mused with a smile. "You and Maggie make a pretty good team. I noticed you even had Max out here helping you earlier." She stretched up on her tiptoes to kiss him. "They're beautiful."
He shrugged. "Yeah, they're not bad." He looked at the other couples, already starting to walk down the driveway. "What about dinner?"
Maria smiled and shook her head at him. "We thought it'd be nice to take a night off and have dinner at the cabins. Just spend some time together one on one."
"One on one, huh?" he smirked. "I like the sound of that."
She chuckled and snuggled into his side when he wrapped his arm around her and they started to follow the others at a more sedate pace. "You looked like you were having fun out here today." She patted his stomach. "I love watching you when you're with Maggie." She bit her bottom lip for a moment. "Could you see this for us one day?"
His footsteps slowed and he considered her unexpected question for a few moments before he nodded. "One day maybe." He thought back to their recent conversation about their pregnancy scare a few months back. "Yeah, I'd like that."
"We'd have beautiful children."
"We'd have troublemakers," he corrected. "But," he looked down at her and smiled, "our kids will be good looking." He kissed her temple and smiled. "No doubt about that."
Maria smiled and leaned her head against his shoulder. She wondered if he'd noticed his slip when he'd spoken of their future children as if it was a matter of when and not if. No matter, she wasn't about to draw his attention to it. Even with things to be settled between them, it was moments like this that gave her hope.