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Chapter Twenty Five – December 25

“Livvvvvyyy, wake uppppp,” Nick sang in my ear. I opened one eye warily.

“What time is it?”

“It’s nine o’clock. Merry Christmas,” he whispered as he kissed me softly.

“Merry Christmas,” I murmured back sleepily.

I was pretty sure I had gotten the best present the night before. As Nick got up I buried further down into the comforter.

“What are you doing?” Nick asked.

“Sleeping,” I said drowsily.

His hands pulled back the covers; the cold morning air hit my bare legs and traveled steadily north. My eyes snapped open.

“You play dirty,” I complained. Nick smiled.

“Hey, you didn’t complain last night.”

He took my hands and helped me up. With a loud yawn we both into our bath robes and headed downstairs.

Like two completely dog-obsessed parents, we took down the four stockings hanging on the mantle and spread out a plethora of treats and toys for Bitsy, Atari, Iggy, and Lila. Nick and I sat side by side on the couch for several minutes laughing as they fell over each other trying to play with the tug-o-rope.

“You want me to pass our presents?” Nick asked. I smiled.

“Yeah, I don’t think I want to crawl on the ground this morning.”

He dived like a little boy under the tree. Anything with my name on it, he calmly passed to me. Anything with his name on it he shook vigorously.

“Do you realize that if I got you anything breakable that you have completely shattered it by now?”

Nick laughed. “I haven’t heard any glass yet, thank you.”

Somehow Nick had managed to steal away enough time to amass a startling number of presents around my feet.

“Nick, what is all this?” I asked incredulously.

“Presents.”

“Why so many?”

“Because I love you.”

I shook my head. “I love you too, but…”

Nick waved me off. After he distributed the last present, he tore into the packages eagerly.

Let me tell you, it’s not easy shopping for a man who can afford most anything. Even though his presents far outnumbered the ones I had wrapped for him, each selection was thought over long and hard.

“Wow,” he said as he unwrapped the first present.

I had accumulated all of the pictures from the time we had met until just recently and bound them in an album for him. Even though he had albums and walls of professional shots, magazine covers, and record albums, this had the other side, the real side, of Nick; the one that jumped into ball pits at playgrounds and who lost his pants on set when someone pranked him. That was the Nick that I had fallen in love with and I wanted to show him that.

“This is awesome,” he said tenderly. “I love it.”

For the next hour, we unwrapped our presents and admired this or that. I had accumulated more jewelry than I had ever owned in my entire life. Nick sprawled out against my legs wearing what he had happily declared were his favorite presents: a Garfield shirt that actually burped and a Family Guy hat.

“You’re not wearing those when we go to your dad’s, right?” I asked. He grinned.

“Why not?” He pressed his stomach and a loud burp echoed around the room.

Sometimes it was the little things that mattered.

----------------------------------------------

Later that afternoon, we pulled up to Bob’s home. Jane hadn’t even invited us over to see her; Nick didn’t feel like asking.

“I don’t want to ruin our first Christmas,” he said. “It’s already going to be hard for everyone with Aaron not here.”

“Well,” he said, his hands wrapped around the steering wheel. “Welcome to your first Carter family Christmas.”

Kaden met us at the door, dressed head to toe like a bear.

“Grrrr,” he growled up at us.

“Grrrr, yourself,” Nick answered back. “If you want your presents Mr. Bear, you’ll let us in.”

That did the trick.

“DAD! Nick’s here!”

Angel, Leslie, and BJ were gathered in the living room. No one was talking much. Nick’s step-sister Taryn was hanging off to the side with her mom. BJ looked like she had already been crying.

Even though everyone bought for Kaden, the rest of us had thrown our hat into a gift exchange. I had gotten Leslie and had no clue what to get her. Nick had gotten Angel. I begged him to trade but he just smiled and shook his head. In the end, he helped me put together a huge movie basket with DVDs, popcorn, soda, and a bucket of chocolate chip cookie dough.

I knew the minute that I unwrapped my present that Angel had pulled my name. She had bought a huge stack of children’s books and a skimpy t-shirt that she had embellished with rhinestones that said “Mrs. Carter.”

I held up the shirt with a laugh. “Angel, I don't think my pinkie finger will fit in this.”

Angel shook her head. “Once that baby’s born I better see you wearing that.”

“I second that,” Nick said with a grin. He flipped through the stack of books and broke into a grin.

“How’d you remember?” he asked Angel. She laughed.

“How could I forget?”

Nick held up a copy of Alexander and the No Good Very Bad Day.

“This was my favorite book when I was little,” he told me. I smiled. Somehow it seemed like a perfect Nick book.

BJ must have drawn Nick’s name. She had gone for a book as well; I watched Nick unwrap a copy of Chicken Soup for the Grieving Soul. BJ burst into tears when he held it up.

To make matters worse, Angel had unwrapped her gift from Nick at the exact same time. He had found an unusual Ouija board and wrapped it up along with a pair of beautiful earrings. The moment BJ saw the Ouija board she freaked, I mean freaked, out.

“Get that out here!” she screamed. “Haven’t we had enough bad luck?!”

“BJ, calm down,” Nick said. “It’s not even opened. It’s just sitting there. We’re not playing it.”

“It doesn’t matter! Get it out of here! Do you want to die like Aaron?”

It was like I had enterd an episode of House of Carters Angel threw up her hands, picked up the board and marched out to her car. I heard the trunk slam shut. When she came back in she looked over at BJ who was still bawling.

“Happy now?”

Instead of responding, BJ flew into the kitchen. Taryn must have calmed her down because a little while later BJ came back and began handing out plates of food. As we ate, Bob looked over at Nick and me.

“So do you have a wedding date?” he asked. Nick nodded.

“August 6.”

“Where’s it going to be?”

“After the first of the year we’re going to be working with a consultant from Key West,” I said. “We’re looking at a beach wedding.”

“Aaron died at a beach,” BJ said morosely on her way back to the kitchen. I winced; Nick didn’t blink an eye.

“We also just had his funeral in a church,” Nick said. “We’re going with a beach wedding.”

“Have you thought of any names for the baby?” Leslie asked. I think she, like us, was desperate to get off of any subject that would lead us back to Aaron.

“We’ve tossed around a few. Nothing definite,” Nick said lightly.

“I like the name Talia,” Angel said.

“Danielle.”

“I was never good at girl’s names,” Bob admitted. He smiled proudly at Nick. “But I think I did a pretty good job with you.”

Nick couldn’t help but smile; it was nice to see.

“I have a feeling she’s going to be a daddy girl,” Angel said. “I don’t know of a girl in this world that Nick doesn’t have wrapped around his finger.”

I laughed. “I think you’re right; but somehow I think she’s going to have him wrapped around her little finger.”

Nick grinned. “Naw, I’m going to be a stern disciplinarian.”

Everyone gave him a disbelieving look. He shrugged.

“You’re right, I’m a sucker.”

We stayed at Bob’s for another hour; BJ and Leslie were the first to leave. After awhile Nick got down on the floor and showed Kaden how some of his toys worked, there were some even Nick couldn’t figure out. Angel and I made s’mores over the stove.

“Nick,” I heard Bob say. “I’m really glad you came over this year.”

Nick said something I couldn’t hear.

“Well, I know I’ve made mistakes with you guys, but I really want to be there for my grandchild. I’m proud of you; you’re going to make a great father. And I think you’ve picked a great girl”

Angel gave me a marshmallow-y smile. We peeked our head out of the kitchen just in time to see Nick give his dad a great big hug.

On the way home, Nick took my hand.

“I’ve got to say, that was probably one of the best Christmases we’ve had for a long time,” Nick said quietly.

“Well, I’m glad I could be there,” I added. Nick pulled up to our house, but didn’t get out right away.

“How’d you spend last Christmas?” he asked.

I shook my head. “I spent six hours at Hunter’s parents house while he decided to take his entire car apart in the garage even though it was twenty degrees outside. I ended up watching A Christmas Story three times. Then, when the car was put back together he ended up taking off. He had forgotten about me.”

“He forgot?”

I shrugged. “It wasn’t the first time and it wasn’t the last. How’d you spend last Christmas?”

Nick nodded towards the house. “Here.”

“Alone?”

He nodded. “Angel came over for a bit but everyone had someplace else they needed to be. It wasn’t the first year it had happened. Lauren was in New York, but even by that time I knew that wasn’t going to work out.” He looked over at me and grinned.

“I sure didn’t think I’d be where I am now. But I’m glad that I am.”

He leaned over and kissed me, his hand pressing gently on the back of my head. I closed my eyes at his now extremely familiar, but nonetheless amazing, touch.

What a difference a year could make.