*Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter they were greatly appreciated. Thank-you all so much*
For Thanksgiving we decided to spend the holiday in New York City. I know it was a risk bringing Zoey and Journey back to New York City but I have extra security on all of us including my shelters. We walk into the penthouse we shared a couple months ago before we moved to Connecticut. It's been a while since any of us have been here but it remains the same. "Home sweet home for a couple days," I say as we lay our luggage inside the door.
"It feels so weird to be back here," says Journey as she walks further into the penthouse. "I kind of missed the city. I miss all the traffic and all the noise."
"It's nothing like Connecticut huh?" I ask as I wrap my arms around her waist and rest my chin on her shoulder.
"Not at all, the only thing I hear in Connecticut is the sound of nature, birds chirping and that's about it. Here I hear the cars traveling through the city on a busy afternoon, the hustle and bustle of the tourists in New York City."
"Well, once Cody is dealt with if you want to move back to the city we can. I just want to make sure we are safe from Cody before we move back here."
"I would like that very much," she smiles.
"Is my room still here?" asks Zoey.
"It's still here," I smile as I let go of Journey. "You should go check it out."
"Okay," says Zoey as she runs into the room that used to be hers. "It's still as cool as it was when we left," she pops her head out of the bedroom door before she runs into her room to investigate the toys and other items in the room.
"So I have never done the Thanksgiving thing," says Journey as I walk to the kitchen to get us a drink. "Am I cooking us dinner or what's going on?"
"I never did the Thanksgiving thing either," I smile as I pour us each a glass of water. "I usually work on Thanksgiving so I don't know anything about the holiday."
"You work on Thanksgiving? You never go back to see the teacher that saved your life?"
"He's invited me a couple years but I don't feel right going to his house for Thanksgiving. I don't know. I just feel weird in that family setting. It makes me nervous. I always feel like I am going to screw something up. I just don't feel comfortable you know what I mean?" I ask.
"Your family never had Thanksgiving when you were younger?" she asks.
"If you count my dad getting drunk, burning the turkey he attempted to cook and then yelling at my sister and me then yeah you could say our family had Thanksgiving when we were younger. I'm sure you had some decent Thanksgiving dinners growing up."
"Not really. My mom was always working," she answers. "I spent Thanksgiving with my nanny and when I got older with my stepdad which you know how that went," she explains. "It was never really a good Thanksgiving then the last few Thanksgivings I spent in a shelter."
"I see," I say. "What if you, Zoey and I went to a shelter to serve dinner tomorrow on Thanksgiving but before we go to the shelter we have a nice family Thanksgiving together? You and I could both cook Thanksgiving dinner together?"
"You know I can't cook, Dean so why would you even suggest that?" she asks and she's not lying. Cooking isn't really her thing but it's not really my thing either. I don't know what we're going to do the whole Thanksgiving dinner as a family seems like a fun idea but if neither of us can cook it I don't know how we're going to pull it off.
"I never thought of that. I can't cook very well either not a Thanksgiving meal," I say. "Hmm. Maybe we can get it catered to us. I would really hate to run Mrs. Smith here on the holiday to cook us Thanksgiving dinner."
"It's the day before Thanksgiving. I don't think you're going to find any caterers that are going to be able to help you out."
"Ah but my name is Dean Ambrose," I say with a smile. "And when Dean Ambrose calls you for a job you open up your schedule in order to help him out."
"I guess that's true. Do you think you can find a caterer that is able to do that for us?"
"I can try," I say, "if not I guess we better hit the grocery store and see what I can get done for tomorrow. I don't know ANYTHING about a turkey or all that kind of stuff. I can mash some potatoes but that's about it. Let me call around if I can find a caterer what kind of foods are you looking for, for our Thanksgiving meal?"
"Well, I am a southern girl," she smiles, "but I like all the southern fixings on my Thanksgiving plate but I'm not picky."
"So what is a southern Thanksgiving?" I ask. "I want this to be special for you since you haven't enjoyed a decent Thanksgiving in years."
"Collard greens, fried turkey, baked macaroni and cheese, cornbread, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and stuffing," she answers, "I haven't had any of that for years."
"It sounds good to me," I say. "Let me go call some caterers and see what I can get arranged then I want to start packing up some stuff so that we can campout on the street tonight."
"Campout on the street?" she asks. "It's November why on Earth would we do that?"
"Because I want to take Zoey to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade tomorrow, I want her to have the best seats in the house and in order to do that we need to campout overnight."
"Doesn't the parade come down this street?" she asks.
"Well, yeah it does but I just thought it would be more fun to go down there to watch it."
"I don't think having a 3 year old campout in November in New York City is going to be a fun idea. We can watch it from the balcony and it be the same thing. She'll enjoy it either way."
"Okay we'll do it that way. Make yourself comfortable while I call some caterers to have Thanksgiving dinner catered to us tomorrow."
"Okay," she says with a smile. "And thank-you," she says.
"For?"
"Giving me a place to stay this year and making it a good Thanksgiving."
"Get used to it Journey. This is your life now we'll just have to get you some cooking lessons so that you can cook next year."
"Okay," she smiles before she kisses my lips quickly and heads to the living room to watch some TV while I get to work on getting in touch with a caterer for our dinner tomorrow. I don't know how much luck I'm actually going to have but I hope my name helps me find one otherwise we may just end up having dinner at the shelter or going out somewhere to eat neither of which I want to do. I want to have Thanksgiving together as a family this year because these two are my family and the only ones I feel comfortable around in a family setting.
After calling about 5 caterers I finally got one that is able to cater mine and Journey's Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. It took a lot of money to get them to do it but they were willing. I gave them the menu of what we would like as well as what we would like for desert. They told us they could have it to us by 3 in the afternoon which gives us time to still go to the shelter to feed the homeless when our dinner is finished. I walk into the living room after turning off my cellphone for the next couple days to spend the time with my lovely little lady and my beautiful lady without interruptions I was doing that more and more recently. I was pushing more business aside for them which is the way it should have always been. "What are you two doing?" I ask.
"Daddy, we're watching a Christmas movie," answers Zoey.
"It's not even Christmas," I say. "What movie are you watching?"
"Rudolph," says Zoey. "Come watch with us, Daddy."
"Okay," I say with a smile as I join my girls on the couch. Zoey crawls onto my lap and I wrap my arm around Journey's shoulders as I get comfortable to watch the movie with them. "So is Rudolph going to come with Santa Claus to see you soon?"
"Who is Santa Claus?" Zoey asks.
"You don't know who Santa Claus is?" I ask.
"No," she shrugs. "Who is Santa Claus and I am only watching Rudolph because he is cute and his nose glows in the night time."
"She doesn't know who Santa Claus is?" I ask Journey.
"I wouldn't expect her to. She hasn't really had a real Christmas in her entire life. Unless her foster family gave her a good Christmas I doubt she has any knowledge of Santa. Santa didn't visit us in shelters."
"Gotcha," I say, "well, Zoey, Santa Claus is this man, this chubby old man that travels the world one night a year called Christmas Eve. He brings presents to all the girls and boys that have been good all year long. He has two lists. He has the nice list and the naughty list. If you're on the nice list he will bring you presents on Christmas Eve and leave them under the Christmas tree for you to open on Christmas morning and he will fill up a stocking with your name on it. You can write Santa Claus a list of things you want for Christmas and his elves can take it to the North Pole for him and you can visit Santa's helpers in the mall closer to Christmas to tell them what you want for Christmas and they will tell Santa. He makes all the toys at the North Pole," I say explaining Santa to her the best that I can.
"I never heard of that before," she says. "Santa never came to visit me. Do you think he will come visit me this year? And what is a Christmas tree?"
"I'm sure he will visit you this year. Have you been a good girl?"
"Yes, I have been a really good girl but what's a Christmas Tree will we have a Christmas Tree?"
"Of course we will have a Christmas tree," I promise her. "And we are going to have the best Christmas together as a family. A Christmas tree is a tree that we put in our house and decorate it with ornaments and lights sometimes they have an angel on top and sometimes they have a star on top," I say.
"That's cool," she says with a smile. "Do you hear that Mommy, Santa Claus will come see me this year and bring me toys."
"I heard but Christmas isn't all about toys," says Journey.
"It's not?" asks Zoey. "I am so confused."
"Yes some girls and boys get presents and toys from Santa Claus for Christmas but there's an even deeper meaning to Christmas than just Santa Claus. Christmas is about giving to others that need help. Christmas is about love and peace. It is also about the birth of Jesus; God's only son remember him?"
"Yes, Mommy I do but Santa Claus sounds pretty cool."
"He does but it's not just about him. Jesus is the main reason for the season," she says looking at me. "Okay, Zoey?"
"Okay, mommy," she says.
"I'm sorry," I say. "I didn't know."
"It's okay. Santa can come visit but I want her to know the bigger meaning to Christmas. Christmas is much deeper for me and for us," she says. "We haven't had a good Christmas since I left Cody. The truth is it was people's giving spirits that made our Christmases good in the shelters. Zoey may have gotten one or two gifts but someone thought of my baby girl so she could have a good Christmas. I never put emphasis on Santa Claus but more on the giving and loving hearts of the people that thought about us the last couple of years. I want her to know that Christmas is about giving not getting."
"I see we can definitely give to the shelters for Christmas," I say. "I always do I want the children in my shelters to have a good Christmas but I want you and Zoey to have a good Christmas this year. I want to give you two the best Christmas you two have ever seen."
"Thanks," she says with a smile. "That sounds good."
"So I got us a caterer tomorrow afternoon for our dinner. It was tough but I managed to get one after nearly emptying out my bank account," I say, "but we will have dinner together."
"That's good," she says with a smile. "And I highly doubt we will ever empty out your bank account. You're one of the richest men in America. I don't see that happening."
"Touche," I say with a smile. "I love you," I say as I lean over and kiss her lips softly.
"I love you too," she says with a smile.
The next morning I set up some chairs on my balcony so that we could enjoy the parade together as a family. Zoey was beyond excited to watch the parade as she hurried through her breakfast of scrambled eggs that I made for everyone since it was one of the few things I can cook without screwing it up. As soon as she was done Journey and I tried to finish. "Can we go out now?" she asks.
"In a few minutes," says Journey. "We'll go out in a few minutes."
"But I don't want to miss the parade," she says.
"You're not going to miss it we still have at least 30 minutes before it makes its way down this street," I say. "Besides you have to be dressed in warmer clothes before we go out there. It's really cold outside."
"Okay, Daddy," she says, "I'll wait."
"Okay," I say with a smile as Journey and I continue to eat our breakfast. Like we promised Zoey it didn't take long and we were getting dressed into warmer clothes before we took a seat on the balcony. Journey put Zoey's purple winter coat on her along with purple gloves and a hat to keep her warm while we watched the parade. It was an unusually cold Thanksgiving morning.
Once she was ready to go she practically dragged us out to the balcony so we could watch. As soon as we took our seats the parade was just turning down our street. I offered Zoey a spot on my lap but she chose to stand and watch. The excitement she showed over the balloons of most of her favorite characters put a smile on my face. She was enjoying the parade pointing out all her favorite characters and dancing to the marching band music that played. The parade was drawing to an end when Santa's elves appeared. "Zoey, look who's coming," I say as I stand up with her.
"Who, who, who?" she asks with excitement.
"Santa Claus with his wife Mrs. Claus," I say with a smile as I point to the sleigh coming down the street, "and there are his reindeer pulling the sleigh and look Rudolph is leading the way!" I say hyping her up more as she starts jumping up and down out of excitement.
"There's Santa!" she yells. "Hi, Santa!" she yells as she waves to the jolly old man on the sleigh as he yells ho, ho, ho. She continues to wave at him until he's out of sight. "He waved back, Daddy!" She yells.
"I saw that. In a couple weeks we're going to take you to see Santa Claus so you can tell him what you want him to bring you for Christmas but we're also going to take you shopping so you can pick out a couple toys for the kids that Santa can't come see in the shelters to give to them on Christmas Day."
"Why can't Santa come see them?" she asks. "Does he only give to rich kids?"
"No," I say as I feel challenged by a 3 year old. "He gives to the poor too but sometimes it helps children in a shelter to know they are loved and people care about them not just Santa Claus so it would be nice to show those kids we love them right?"
"Yes, Daddy," she says. "I lived in a shelter once but then this lady took me and put me with a nice family but I missed my mommy."
"I know and do you remember when you got presents on Christmas?"
"Yes," she says.
"Well, we are going to do the same plus parents have to pay Santa Claus for their children's gifts. He doesn't just make them for free. And sometimes the parents in the shelter can't pay Santa Claus so people like us have to bring them presents. You see what I mean?"
"Yes, Daddy," she says. "I see what you mean."
"Okay," I say, "so let's go inside and have some hot cocoa and watch a few movies before our dinner arrives."
"Okay, Daddy," she says with a smile.
"Nice save," says Journey as we walk into the penthouse.
"I know. I was feeling challenged for a second there," I say.
"Yep welcome to my life," she smiles. "Zoey is smart for her age sometimes a little too smart. She doesn't miss a trick."
"I am starting to see that," I say with a smile. "You know what I am most thankful for this year?" I ask locking the door as we come inside to the warm penthouse.
"What's that?" she asks.
"You and Zoey," I say wrapping my arms around her waist. "I'm so thankful that I have you two in my life and you make me happier than I ever have been. I love you."
"I love you too," she says with a smile. "And I'm thankful to have Zoey back and I'm thankful that I found a home not only a physical home but a home in you."
"I'm glad I could make you happy. I plan to do it the rest of my life. And I meant what I said last night, I'm going to make sure that you and Zoey have the best Christmas ever. We're going to go all out for the holiday, decorations, trees and the works. Plus you and I will have a few parties to go to. I always have a big Christmas party at my office not to mention Seth and Roman have parties. We'll have a few busy weeks coming up but it will all be worth it."
"I look forward to it," she says with a smile. "So how about that hot chocolate now?"
"Right," I say with a smile before we go to the kitchen to make hot chocolate after we take off our gloves and jacket. "Have you ever seen New York around Christmas time?"
"From the shelter yes," she says.
"Well, you're in for a treat Christmas in New York City is the most beautiful time. I think we should move back just for the Christmas season what do you think?"
"As long as we are safe then yeah I think we should."
"We'll be safe," I say. "I promise."
"I trust you," she smiles.
We spent the morning drinking hot chocolate together and watching Christmas movies before our dinner came. We sat and enjoyed our dinner together before we spent the evening at the shelter feeding the homeless to make sure they could have something to eat on this beautiful day. It is always amazing to me to spend time with the people in my shelters getting to know them, feeding them and giving them a good holiday. If I could help everyone in my shelters I would. I can't believe that I met my future wife in one of my shelters and I will never forget the day that I saw her. There was just something about her that made me sit with her, talk with her and then go back to ask her out on a date. It was the best day I could have imagined. Once we were finished at the shelter we came back to the penthouse where we plan to stay until after the New Year to enjoy the Christmas season not to mention I have some work to do as well as Journey while we are here. I was getting Zoey ready for bed and tucking her into bed when Journey came into her bedroom with her hand shaking. "What's wrong?" I ask in a whisper not to wake up a sleeping Zoey.
"He called me," she says with her voice shaking.
"Who called you?" I ask as we walk out of Zoey's room.
"Cody," she says with tears in her eyes. "He called me."
"What do you mean?"
"He promised me he would find me and it wouldn't be too hard because he knows I am with you and he wants Zoey back. He said he wants to make us work again. He wants me to go back to Georgia with him," she starts to cry.
I embrace her and say, "he has a lot to get through before he gets to you. Trust me Journey he's not touching you or Zoey. You two are safe. I spent a lot of money on security to keep him away. You have nothing to worry about. I promise. First thing tomorrow we are going to change your phone number and forget all about Cody. Okay?"
"Okay," she cries. "He scares me, Dean. If he finds me he's going to kill me."
"He's not going to do anything he will be dead before he does anything to you. You don't have to worry about him."
"Okay," she says as she hugs me and cries on my shoulder. I have no idea how he found her number but I will find out and if I find out there's a leak in my security team or my business team someone will have hell to pay.
*A/N: Should I keep this story going? Are you still interested in it? What did you think of their Thanksgiving? What about Dean promising Zoey the best Christmas ever? Do you think he will come through? What did you think about her not knowing who Santa Claus was? What about them staying in New York till after the New Year? Is that a bad idea or a good idea? What do you think about Cody calling Journey? Do you think there is a leak in Dean's security or business? Please review and thank-you for reading.