by Taryn Plendl
“Yes honey, how did things go with Ally? Were you two able to talk?”
“Yes. Mom, everything is perfect!”
“Oh good honey! Are you ready with your Christmas surprise now?”
“More than ever. Listen, Ally is coming this way, so I will call you and dad on Christmas, okay?”
“Okay. Goodbye Ian.”
“Bye mom, and thank you!” I hung up and turned around to see Ally smiling as she took her change.
Looking up at me, her eyes were sparkling. “Ready?” I asked.
We said our goodbyes and headed out to the car. “Groceries?” I asked as we climbed in.
Chapter 38
~Ally
“I can believe how much food we bought.” I said laughing at the full trunk. “We won’t have to leave the house for weeks at this rate.”
Ian glanced over at me, “That would be fine with me.” He said looking at me with desire. I couldn’t help but giggle. It would be fine with me too.
I watched as he passed our turn, and looked at him confused. “Are we going somewhere else?”
“I told you I had a surprise.” He said mischievously.
“Umm, okay.” I said nervously. I didn’t know how comfortable I was without knowing where we were going. I had spent the last few years knowing my surroundings at all times, and this whole night had been a little nerve racking.
Sensing my apprehension, Ian reached over and took my hand in his, bringing it up to his mouth and kissing my knuckles. “Trust me, okay?”
I nodded. I did trust him, more than anything or anyone. We drove a couple more miles and then turned into a lot, filled with trees.
“What are we doing?” I gasped, feeling the excitement bubbling up. Ian walked around the car and pulled me up into his arms. Pressing himself tightly against me, he leaned down and kissed me. “We are getting our Christmas tree.” He said, laughing at my reaction.
It had been so long since I had celebrated any holidays. The idea of having my own tree sent elation through me. I could hardly keep myself from jumping up and down as we walked around, sizing up the trees and looking for the perfect one. When we finally found it, Ian paid for it and helped the man secure it to the top of his car.
As we got on the road, I had a thought. “Ian, I don’t have any decorations or lights.”
He winked at me, “My mom brought us some when she came today.”
I smiled. “Just how much did your mom know about me before today?” I asked raising my eyebrows.
“As much as I could tell my parents before I couldn’t stay away from you any longer.” He chuckled.
I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. I would never have expected this day to turn out like this when I woke up this morning. I was happier than I’d ever been.
***
I must have dozed off, because the next thing I knew we were in front of my house. “Come on, let’s get these groceries put away and then we can go lay down. It’s been a long day.” He said softly.
We worked side by side in silence as we moved around the kitchen, putting everything in its place. “I’m going to go put the car away and get some clothes, okay?”
“Okay.” I said as I rearranged a few things in the pantry so I could fit everything in. As soon as Ian shut the door, I took my bag from the hardware store into my back room. I had gotten the last couple of things I needed to finish Ian’s Christmas gift, and I didn’t want him to see what was in the bag and ask questions.
By the time he had gotten back, I had everything put away and was exhausted. He led me to the bedroom and helped me pull my sweater over my head. I unhooked my bra and watched as his eyes lit up. Instead of touching me, he gently lowered my nightgown over my head as I slipped off my pants. I went into the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth and he soon joined me, dressed in a pair of pajama pants and nothing else.
We watched each other in the mirror, taking it all in. Finally we both climbed under the sheets where Ian pulled me back against him and wrapped his arms around me. “Anymore nightmares?” He asked. I shook my head. “Not since before Thanksgiving.” “I’m glad babe.” He said as he kissed my head. “Goodnight Ally, I love you,” was the last thing I heard before I drifted off into a peaceful sleep.
***
“Mmmmm.” I moaned softly, feeling Ian’s hands slowly moving across my breasts, teasing my nipples to attention. I turned over, looking at Ian’s attempt at an innocent face. “Good morning Mr. Rhodes.” I said, smiling up at him. Leaning forward I kiss his neck, slowly moving my tongue up toward his ear and nip at his ear lobe as I make my way back across his chin until I reach his soft mouth. Pressing a kiss onto his lips, I adjust myself so I am sitting astride him. I can feel his bulge below me, pressing against our thin layers of clothing.
“Oh God Ally, I want you so bad.”
“You have me Ian, I’m yours.” I whispered as I reached down touching him. He groaned and flipped me over onto my back, reaching to the nightstand where he had left some foil packets. He handed the condom to me and I carefully unrolled in down his length, watching as his eyes closed. He positioned himself between my thighs and gave me the best wakeup call of my life.
***
“Where do you want this? “ Ian asked as he tried to peek through the branches of the tree.
“Umm, I’m not sure.” I looked around the room holding the tree stand, trying to decide where it would look the best.
“Ally…Could you please make a decision soon or you are going to have to drag me out from under this tree.” He groaned from behind the tree.
“Oh! I’m sorry, over here is good.” I set the stand down in front of the big window, but far enough away from the fireplace.
I watched as Ian secured the tree to the stand and stood back to make sure it was straight. When he was happy with it he turned and grinned at me. I couldn’t help but grin back. We were like two kids in a candy store, the excitement was palpable.
I made hot chocolate as Ian strung the lights around the tree. When he was finished, he pulled out several boxes that his mom had brought down to him yesterday. We worked together, placing ornaments all over our tree, sipping hot chocolate and giggling as we brushed up against each other. By the time we finished, the tree was fabulous! “I love it!” I breathed. I had forgotten how much I loved Christmas. Ian came to stand beside me, and put his arm around me. “We’re good together, huh?” He leaned down to kiss me.
***
Ian went home for a few hours to finish up some work and that gave me a chance to work on his gift. I was just putting the finishing touches on it when he came back. I heard the doorknob rattle. Thank God I locked it. I thought as I finished wrapping it. “Ally?” I heard his voice through the door. “I’m in here Ian, I’m finishing up something, and I’ll be right out.” I hollered.
This was my big gift for him. I had bought him several little things over the internet a few weeks ago, but this was something that was from my heart. I hope he likes it as much as I do. I thought.
I opened the door and found him in the kitchen. I had wrapped the little gifts and set them under the tree right after he’d left, and I was surprised to see at least five more wrapped gifts under it. “Wow, looks like the elves have been busy!” I said as I threw my harms around his neck.
“I thought I would throw together some chili and we could build a fire and snuggle tonight—sound okay?”
“Perfect!” I started to brown the meat while Ian built a fire. By the time both were done, he came back to the kitchen and dismissed me, forcing me to sit on the couch with a glass of wine. He was so demanding!
After dinner, we cleaned up and did some of the prep work for our Christmas dinner tomorrow. We decided to have prime rib, oven potatoes, a fresh salad and of course, pecan pie!
Finally Ian guided me to the couch and pulled me down along side of him. We snuggled and talked.
“Ally, do you want to go to college?” He asked as he traced circles on my arm.
“I don’t know. Until just recently, I never left my house, so it would’ve been hard.” I smiled at him.
“You really have a talent with your art. Maybe you could get them in a bigger gallery?”
“Maybe.” I said, lost in thought.
Ian was quiet for a few minutes, and I could tell he was lost in thought. “Are you okay?” I asked, tilting my head slightly so I could see him better.
“Ally, you know I love you right?” Uh oh, where was he going with this. I nodded. “Well, I want you to have everything you’ve ever dreamed of. I want you to know that if it is college or something else, I can afford to help you with it.”
I wasn’t expecting that. I sat up and turned to face him. “Ian, I love you so much! That truly means the world to me to hear you say that. All I know right now is that I already have everything I’ve ever dreamed of right in front of me.” I sighed and looked down for a moment before saying what I needed to. “Ian, I have money. My parents were covered with life insurance, but it just seems wrong that I am living off of something that required them to die in order for me to have, you know?”
“I’m sorry baby.” He tucked my hair behind my ear. “I didn’t know your parents, but if they were anything like you Ally, they wouldn’t want you to feel that way. I know you would give anything to have them back, but I’m sure they probably viewed their life insurance as a source of comfort, knowing that if anything happened to them, you would be taken care of.”
“I guess I never really thought of it like that.” I said, leaning back against him.
We sat there until close to midnight, cuddling and watching Christmas movies until we were having trouble keeping our eyes open. “Come on babe, let’s go to bed, tomorrows a big day!” I was so excited to celebrate Christmas again. As I climbed into bed and curled up against Ian, I thought about how much I had missed over the past few years, and how much I loved him for finding a way to bring me back from that.
Chapter 39
~Ian
“Merry Christmas baby.” I whispered as Ally stirred next to me. “Merry Christmas to you too.” She said as she opened her eyes. “Should we go take a shower and grab some breakfast before opening presents?” She asked, her eyes full of excitement.
“Come on, that sounds perfect.” I took her hand and led her into the bathroom.
***
I couldn’t stop laughing at her. She was practically squirming in her seat waiting for me to finish my cinnamon roll. “Come on! You are enjoying that roll way too much!” She pouted, which made me laugh even harder. I couldn’t do this to her anymore, so I put the roll down and smiled. “Come on.” I said standing. She jumped up so quickly that I thought she was going to knock the table over.
“Jeez Ally! You’re worse than a kid!” I said as I followed her to the living room and sat down on the floor next to the tree.
Ally handed me a box, “You first!”
“Wow, night vision glasses?” I asked confused.
“Now you can run at night with me.” She giggled.
“You’re silly!” I said as I gave her a kiss. “Thank you. Your turn.” I handed her a flat box.
“Oh Ian, its perfect!” She squealed, holding up a pink and black running outfit.
“Here.” She said, handing me another box, biting her lip.
I opened it up and pulled out a hot stone massage set. I looked up, raising my eyebrow. “Is this for me or you?” I asked.
She blushed a little bit, “I imagine it would be for both of us.”
“I bet you’re right,” I said winking at her as I leaned forward for another kiss. The morning continued with us opening several little gifts that were special in their own little ways. I loved that Ally picked things out for me for a reason or with a purpose, no matter how small. She took so much delight in giving me gifts, and I found that watching her during the exchange was a gift in itself.
I was just about to give her my final present when she jumped up and ran to the back room. She came out a moment later carrying a large wrapped package.
“This is for you.” She set the package down carefully in front of me, stepping back to watch me open it. As I started to tear the paper, I could see the hint of a design underneath. She made me something!
As I pulled the rest of the paper off I gasped. “Oh. My. God!” I looked up at her and saw her eyes start to water. The rectangle was a framed mosaic design. The center had two hearts that were woven together. The upper right corner had a beautiful sun made with yellows and oranges, and had “Ian” under it. The bottom left had a moon surrounded by different shades of blues and had “Ally” just above it. This was all made with beautiful cut colored glass, but what was so spectacular was that all of that was surrounded by pieces of pottery, my broken pot that she cleaned up off my porch after I shattered it.
I looked up at her as she spoke softly, “No matter how dark the night, somehow the sun rises once again and all shadows are chased away.”
“Ally?” I reached for her.
“It’s a quote by David Matthew Click.” She explained as she walked toward me, repeating the quote, “No matter how dark the night, somehow the sun rises once again and all shadows are chased away.” Kneeling down, she took my hands in hers and whispered, “Ian, you are my sun. You chased away my shadows and brought me back. I love you so much!”
I couldn’t speak as tears rolled down my cheeks. I cradled her face with my hands and kissed her with more love and passion than I had ever kissed anyone with before. This woman was my life—my future. I pulled away, and reached for an envelope that lay alone under the tree. “This is for you.” I said, my voice thick with emotion. She looked at me and opened the envelope, pulling out the note inside.
My dearest Ally,
You changed my life the moment you popped out from the trees. The day I met you, was the day the missing pieces of the puzzle all fell in place. I love the way you look at me, the way you kiss me, the way you touch me, I love everything about you baby and nothing could ever change that!
You are so much more than I could ever hope to deserve. When I look in your eyes I see comfort, when I lay in your arms I feel safe, when I kiss you I feel loved, but knowing you’re the only one for me gives me a hope that I’ve never had before. I love you Ally, with everything I am.
Forever yours,
Ian
I watched Ally fold the note after she finished reading it. She looked up at me and gasped as I knelt before her, holding a red ring box. “Ally, it doesn’t matter if you know someone for two weeks or two years, when you’re so sure of something, you just know. I have never loved another person like I love you. I can’t imagine even one more night away from you. Please tell me you will marry me.” Her hands were shaking as I looked at her, begging for an answer.
“Ally?” I whispered.
She looked up at me and smiled as tears rolled down her face, “I'll do it if it means I get to love you forever.”
Epilogue
~ One year later
“Are you coming Ally?” I hollered from the wraparound porch, watching as my very pregnant wife walked up our new steps. “Jeez Ian, give me a break here.” Ally laughed as she waddled across the porch to me. As she reached me, I pulled her into my arms, kissing her hard on the lips and placing my hand on her very full belly. God, this woman was so sexy!
Ally and I had gotten married only two months after our engagement, and had gotten pregnant almost right away. Ally had been able to get back in touch with her extended family and some of her old friends at our wedding, and realized just how much they all cared about her. I had been accepted with open arms from all of them, and loved that I had a new extended family too.
We decided to build a new home right in the middle of our two lots. The other houses were removed, and a lot of the materials were able to be salvaged for use in our new home, bringing with it the character that we both loved so much.
The house was two levels. The bottom floor had a
gourmet kitchen and open living room with a wall of glass that overlooked the mountains. We had an art studio built onto the back of the house for Ally. She had been creating bigger and better art pieces, and was really making a name for herself in local galleries. She had designed many pieces that were built into our new home, and I loved each one of them.
The upstairs had four bedrooms and three bathrooms. Ally and I were hoping for more children in the future to fill them up.
“Well, are you ready?” I asked as we walked through the door for the first time since the house had been finished. “Oh Ian! It’s gorgeous isn’t it?”
I watched as she moved across the entry way, looking around our new home. I was unaware of anything else, looking only at the woman I loved. “It sure is.”