by Amber Kelly
Braxton watches us from the doorway, patiently waiting for her to finish her fretting.
“Princess, if we get to the festival and you decide you want to turn around and come back after five minutes, I’ll bring you home.”
“You will?”
He nods.
“Sophia,” I say as I lay my hands on her shoulders and force her to look at me.
She starts to calm.
“I’ve got the baby. She’ll be fine. I’m looking forward to rocking her from the time you walk out that door until you walk back in. Stop fussing over us and go enjoy the tree lighting with your husband.”
She takes a deep breath. “Okay,” she agrees.
She walks quickly to Braxton and lets him help her with her coat.
Braxton looks back at me as he leads her to the door. “Thank you, Vivian,” he says.
I stand and watch as he loads her in the truck, and I wave as they back out of the drive. Then, I close and lock the door behind them.
I make myself a cup of tea and walk to the nursery. Lily Claire is on her back, sleeping peacefully.
She is so beautiful. She looks just like Sophia did when she was born. Like an angel.
I fight the urge to pick her up and disturb her tranquil sleep, and I walk back into the living room, carrying the monitor with me. I set it on the coffee table, and I pick up the book I was reading on the plane. I get a chapter in before I hear a knock at the door.
Oh no, I hope Sophia didn’t have an anxiety attack and force Braxton to bring her home already.
I put the book down, walk to the door, and look out the peephole.
Jefferson is standing on the front porch.
I undo the chain lock and open the door. “Jeff?”
“Hi, Viv,” he greets.
“Sophia isn’t here. She and Braxton went downtown for the festivities,” I tell him.
“Yeah, I know. I just left them there. I had to help Doreen and Ria set up their booth. I came by to have a look at the fireplace. Sophie said that smoke was backing up into the house when she built a fire this morning. It worried her.”
“Oh, well, come on in. I was about to build a fire myself,” I say as I open the door wide.
He walks in and takes off his hat. He places it on one of the hooks in the mudroom off to the left and then removes his coat and hangs it as well.
I follow him to the massive stone fireplace in the living room.
He tinkers with the levers and the screen, and then he gets on his knees and sticks practically his entire torso in the fireplace.
“Jeff, be careful. Don’t get stuck in there,” I say as I watch him twist to look up into the chimney.
“Viv, can you grab the flashlight out of my coat pocket?” he asks.
I walk quickly back to the mudroom, find the small black Maglite, and bring it back to him. “Here you go.”
He reaches out to me, and I place it in his hand. I see the bright light blink on, and then he emerges from the fireplace. His face is smeared with soot.
“Well?” I ask as he gets to his feet.
“Looks like a bad cap. There’s moisture in the flue. That’s what’s causing the smoke to back up into the house.”
“Can that be fixed?”
“Yeah, we just have to get a new cap for the chimney.”
“Oh, thank goodness.”
I reach up and wipe at the streak of black on his cheek. When I realize what I’m doing, I pull my hand back instantly.
A sharp cry comes over the monitor and startles us both.
“Lily Claire is awake.” I beam and then hurry to the nursery to retrieve her from her crib.
“There, there. Nina’s got you.” I soothe her as I place her against my chest and carry her into the living room.
Jefferson is standing in the entryway from the kitchen, wiping a damp paper towel over his face. When he sees the baby in my arms, he smiles.
“Can you hold her while I get her bottle ready?”
“Absolutely,” he says as he tosses the paper towel on the island behind him and comes to take her from me.
She lets out a whine at being jostled but settles as soon as her pop has her in his big hands.
“Hey there, baby girl,” he coos down at her.
He carries her to the sofa and sits as I place a pot of water on the stove to heat the bottle. I listen as he talks softly to her. It takes me back to when we brought Sophia home from the hospital, and he was so scared to hold her, afraid he would break her. It took days for me to get him to finally pick her up and walk her around. That’s all it took. From that moment on, she was latched on to him in some form or fashion.
Guilt hits me. I’ve felt it in the past twenty years but never as hard as it’s landed at this moment.
I check the milk’s temperature against my wrist, turn off the burner, and head back to them.
Lily Claire is looking up at Jefferson as he sings “You Are My Sunshine” to her in a hushed tone. Mesmerized.
I sit down beside them and raise the bottle. “Do you want to feed her?” I ask.
He brings his eyes to me. “I’ll give it a try.”
I pass the bottle to him, and he settles the baby into the crook of his arm and brings the nipple to her mouth.
She sticks her tongue out and moves her face from side to side, opening and closing her mouth.
“Am I doing it wrong?” he asks.
“No, she’s only ever breast-fed, so she’s not used to a bottle. Give her a minute. Just hold it still, and she’ll eventually latch on to it.”
He holds the bottle steady as she continues to search in frustration. Finally, she wraps her mouth around the nipple and starts to suck.
“There she goes.”
She spits it out and wrinkles her nose, but then she retakes it.
“It’s not the same as having your momma feed you, is it, little one?” he says as he chuckles down at her.
He brings his amused eyes to me and smiles. “There’s nothing like it, is there?”
“Nothing,” I agree.
I swallow hard, and then I speak, “I’m so sorry, Jeff.”
“For what?” he asks as Lily Claire continues to hold his rapt attention.
“For breaking our vows. Leaving the way I did. Taking Sophia from you. All of it.”
He brings his eyes to mine. “I know.”
“Do you? Because I don’t think I ever apologized to you. Sophia, yes, but not you.”
“I still knew.”
“How?”
“Because I know you, Viv. Probably better than anyone does. I know you didn’t want to hurt me. You were just running. Running from this life you felt trapped in.”
I pause as I watch the pain wash over his face fleetingly.
“I was stupid and selfish. All I thought about was what I wanted, and I didn’t consider what I was doing to everyone else. I convinced myself that Sophia would grow to feel like a prisoner here too. I convinced myself that I was saving her from my life. It never occurred to me that she belonged here. I just thought she belonged with me.”
“Well, nothing we can do to change the past.”
“I wish you’d yell at me. Curse me. Tell me what a horrible mother I am,” I say.
“You’re a great mother,” he says matter-of-factly.
I shake my head.
“You are. Anyone who meets Sophie knows that. She’s smart, funny, talented, and she has a big heart. She’s loyal, and she loves hard. She’s already a wonderful mother herself. All that is a testament to how you raised her. And I’m grateful for that.”
He looks down at the baby and back to me. “We both made a lot of mistakes, and I was angry for a long time. Angry with you and angry with myself, but I’ve forgiven us both.”
“You have?”
“The way I see it, things worked out exactly as they should have. If we’d done things any different, this precious bundle in my arms wouldn’t be here, and she was meant to be.”
I
look down at our granddaughter’s face. “She is perfect, isn’t she?”
“She’s a blessing and proof that God can take our mangled mess of mistakes and create beauty from the ashes.”
“You sound like Gram,” I tell him.
“Yeah, I guess she rubbed off on me some before she left this world.”
I think she rubbed off on us all.
He sits with us a while longer. Feeding the baby and burping her, helping me bathe her before I get her gown on her.
Once I get her settled back down, he says his good-byes and heads back to town.
I stand at the door and watch as he drives off.
You’re a good man, Jefferson Lancaster. I will always love you.
Doreen
“Where is everyone?” Ria says as she stares out the kitchen window.
I look over my shoulder at her. “They’ll be here,” I assure her.
“But it’s almost ten. They were supposed to be here at nine,” she complains.
I smile to myself. “It’s Christmas morning. They are all spending time with each other. They’ll get to us.”
“I remember a time when we had to get up at the crack of dawn to try and get breakfast cooked before they could sneak down the stairs and peek in their stockings,” she mumbles.
“I’m afraid those days are long gone. Now, they’re at their own homes, playing Santa.”
“I miss it,” she says as she continues to watch out the window.
“So do I,” I admit.
“What if, one day, it’s just us glaring at each other across the breakfast table?” she asks mournfully.
Jefferson, Madeline, Ria, Pop, and I got up and had a mug of cocoa and exchanged gifts before Emmett arrived and he and Jefferson took off to work. Pop followed after he had a second mug of cocoa. Then, Ria and I started preparing breakfast for when the kids finally show.
No sooner do the words leave her lips than the back door swings open wide. Braxton comes barreling in with his arms loaded down with gifts.
“Goodness,” I say as I wipe my hands on my apron and hurry to help him. “Here, let me have some of those.”
He lets me remove a couple from the crook of his arm, and Ria takes a couple from the top. Then, he follows us into the living room to place them under the tree. I stand back as he carefully sets the wrapped boxes down, and when he stands back up, he turns to us and kisses us each on the cheek.
“Merry Christmas to my favorite aunts,” he says.
“Oh.” Ria starts to tear up.
“Now, don’t do that, or you’ll get me started,” I tell her.
He laughs and puts an arm around each of our necks and leads us back to the kitchen. “I have to go get my girls out of the truck. It’s slippery out there, and I told Sophie to stay out there till I came back.”
He lets us go and hurries back out. Ria runs to the window again and watches as he helps Sophie out of the truck before he carefully removes Lily Claire’s car seat and covers her with a blanket.
“He’s good at this,” Ria comments.
“We knew he would be,” I agree.
As they walk to the back deck, Walker’s truck comes racing down the drive. He blows his horn with a carol blaring from the speakers. Elle is hanging out of the passenger window, waving. Sophie stops to wave back and waits for them to park. Elle hops out, runs over, and hugs Sophie, and the two start gabbing as Walker loads his arms full of packages from the back.
Braxton walks in with the baby. “Who wants her first?”
“I do!” Ria and I shout in unison.
He places her on the table. “I’ll let you two fight it out while I help Walker.”
Madeline returns from feeding the horses down at the stable.
“Did I hear that my grandniece is here?” she asks.
“I already called dibs,” I say as I block her way to the baby.
She pouts.
Sophie and Elle are wiping their feet and removing their coats and gloves by the door.
“We’ll be here all day. You’ll get your chance for baby snuggles. She’s perfectly content, being held twenty-four seven,” Sophie says.
“It smells so good in here. I’m starving,” Elle says as she slides by me and steals a piece of bacon from the stove. “Did you make my favorite waffles?” she asks as she chews.
“Of course we did. You can’t have Christmas breakfast without gingerbread waffles,” Ria answers her.
“Oh, thank goodness. I was afraid you forgot.”
“Never,” Ria gasps.
“I’m sorry we were late. Walker made a detour on the way to give me my last present,” Elle tells us.
“A detour? What was it?” I ask.
She smiles so big that we can feel the joy coming off her.
“He took me to the church where Momma and Daddy were married. Remember how I told you we couldn’t get married there? Well, we get there, and he pulls a key out of his pocket and opens the door. It’s full of roses, and Christmas lights are strung, covering the ceiling. He told me he got permission to fix it up and have our wedding there. We’re getting married there on Valentine’s weekend, just like they did. Can you believe it?”
Tears are streaming down her face, and we all get choked up.
“I can believe it. That boy would move heaven and earth for you,” I say as I hug her tightly.
“Yeah,” she agrees.
I undo the straps and pick Lily Claire up from her car seat.
I hold her up, so I can get a good look at her. She has on a tiny onesie that says Santa’s Favorite with a red tutu and a soft matching bow headband.
“Look at you,” I cry.
And I bring her to my face and bury my chin in her neck and kiss her till she squeals.
“Goodness, did that big noise come out of you?” I ask her as I cradle her to my chest and start bouncing her.
She looks up at me and coos.
“I swear she’s so much more alert than she was last week.”
Sophie pours a cup of coffee and sits at the table across from us. “She is. Of course, she slept from midnight to five this morning. I woke up in a panic, thinking I must have slept through her cries and that she had been lying in her crib, starving to death. But Braxton and Mom both said she didn’t make a peep. He checked on her several times while I was out, and she was resting peacefully. I’m hoping that’s her new thing, but it’s probably just her Christmas gift to her mommy.”
“Anytime you need rest, you just pump a couple of bottles and bring her here. Ria and I would love to sit up all night with her,” I offer.
“Careful. I just might take you up on that.”
“Where are Vivian and Stanhope?” Ria asks.
“They are still at the house. Mom was cleaning up the wreckage from Santa, and she was going to make breakfast for the two of them.”
“That’s silly. We have plenty. Call her and tell them to get down here,” Ria suggests.
“I don’t know. I don’t want things to be awkward,” she says.
“They are welcome here, Sophie. Everything in town is closed, and they don’t need to sit at your house, alone, all day,” Madeline insists.
Sophie looks around at us all with hopeful eyes. She obviously wants her mother and stepfather to spend the day with us. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” we all answer at once.
“Okay!” She jumps up and walks into the other room to call Vivian.
“That was super cool of you guys,” Elle says as she sits with another piece of bacon.
Sophie’s head pops back through the door. “Do you have enough for two more?”
“I’m sure we do,” I reply.
“I’m going to ask Payne to bring Charlotte over once they are done at Dallas’s,” she explains.
“That would be lovely. Tell Myer and Dallas to bring Beau and Faith over too. We have gifts for them,” Ria suggests.
“Got it.”
“Oh, I forgot to tell you guys that I invited So
nia, and she is going to stop and pick up Walker’s mother on the way. I hope that’s okay too,” Elle adds.
“I was going to suggest you guys bring Edith, and you know Sonia is always welcome,” I answer.
Ria stands with her hands on her hips, looking about the kitchen. “We’re going to have to bring a few folding chairs in from the storage shed. I’ll text Jefferson and Emmett and have them fetch some.”
Braxton and Walker finally get his truck unloaded, and the living room is packed with gifts bursting from under the tree.
“You two need to sit and eat,” Ria insists.
“Can you wrap us a couple of bacon and egg sandwiches to go? We want to get out and help Uncle Jefferson and Emmett, so we can get back here as soon as possible. Silas is dropping Chloe off, and then he and Walker will get a load of wood from the woodshed. I figure the fireplace will be burning all day, and we want to build one on the back deck too,” Braxton asks.
“I’ll get you a few thrown together,” Ria agrees.
Pop rounds the corner, and his eyes search the room. They land on Madeline. “Do you still have my truck keys? I’m going to town to pick up Ms. Elaine. She’ll be joining us for lunch,” he tells her.
“I’ll get them,” she says before scooting past the table and disappearing.
“If Elaine is coming, you should tell Brandt and Bellamy to swing by,” I suggest.
“I’ll tell her to call ’em,” he says.
I stand. “Who’s next? I need to get another ham in the oven. I’m not sure we have enough cooking,” I say.
“Me!” Elle says as she opens her arms to take Lily Claire.
Sophie joins us again. “I got Dallas, and they are at Myer’s parents’ house. They’ll come by later. Mrs. Wilson has been cooking all morning, and Mr. Wilson deep-fried a turkey. They are waiting on Bellamy and Brandt and his mother.”
“I thought Pop was on his way to get Ms. Elaine?” I say.
“He is? They must not know that. I should call her back,” Sophie says.
“No, no. I’ll call Beverly and tell her and Winston to come with all the kids. Winston can pack up all their food and bring it here.”
“In that case, tell Dallas to invite her parents because Dottie will be upset if both Payne and Dallas are here,” Sophie calls.