Christmas had to come early for the Second Reconnaissance Battalion of Camp Lejeune. Two weeks before the rest of the world could celebrate, the Black and Lawless family gathered in front of the overly decorated Christmas tree in the family room of the colonel’s house to open gifts and revel in their last holiday before deploying to Afghanistan.
In the spirit of the holiday, a light snow had even come the night before and gave beautiful contrast to the mighty Atlantic Ocean outside of the bay windows.
Courtney and Brett couldn’t be happier. While they had married only a week after Brett proposed in a small ceremony at the base church, the two felt that they had already spent a lifetime together. Every single moment that they could steal away, they spent together with Cameron on family outings and quiet getaways. Courtney had even aced this semester’s classes and would graduate with honors after she finished the next semester.
David had even found a special someone. After being blasted by his mother about not having a life, he took a page from Courtney’s book and decided to incorporate love into his five-year-plan. Captain Kelly Jamison, a beautiful Haitian-American officer from Queens, New York with a degree from MIT had been his choice. Mrs. Lawless had expected nothing less, and Colonel Lawless couldn’t be happier. David sat with her now in the corner of the living room, hugged up and drinking eggnog, clueless to the rest of the world.
For the colonel, this would be the last tour on deployment. With his wife’s blessing, he had submitted his papers and would be retiring after he returned home, happy to pass on his legacy to David and enjoy being the husband that he’d always wanted to be.
“Alright, alright,” Brett said, standing up by the tree. “We have a little announcement to make.”
All eyes went to the couple. As they opened their mouth to speak, Cameron jumped in front of them. “Mommy and Daddy are pregnant!” he shouted with a big, happy smile.
The entire room erupted, and Mrs. Lawless eyes grew bright with excitement. In seconds, she already had plans for decorating the baby room and planning the shower.
“Yes,” Courtney said, kissing Brett on the cheek. “We’re pregnant. We’ve known for a while, but we wanted to wait until Christmas. It’s our little gift to you.”
Mrs. Lawless was the first to speak. “I hope it’s a girl,” she said, going to her daughter to give her a hug.
“I hope it’s a Marine,” the colonel said, shaking Brett’s hand. “Congrats.”
“Thanks,” Brett said proudly. He took a deep sigh and smiled at Courtney. “One thing is for sure…it will be a Black.”
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About the Author
Latrivia S. Nelson is the author of Ivy’s Twisted Vine (the largest modern interracial romance novel in its genre), the Medlov Crime Family Series including bestseller Dmitry's Closet, Dmitry's Royal Flush: Rise of the Queen and upcoming book Anatoly Medlov: Complete Reign. She is also a Public Relations Senior Specialist for the award-winning, highly-acclaimed firm, The Carter Malone Group (the largest female Public Relations firm in Memphis). Nelson's books are published by the Memphis-based company RiverHouse Publishing, LLC.
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