“Which means that he might be opposed to letting these French Canadian children be with you or leave the province, is that what you’re saying?”
“Yes.” Colin gazed over at the two children nestled together on a quilt that Jaq had put down on the cold floor. Maisie had babydoll Princess hugged close to her body while Charlie had finally put down his iPad to watch the show. Both kids were settling in after their excitement filled day, and his heart sped up with pride as he looked at them. They were so precious.
“I couldn’t give them up now, Jaq. Not in a million years. If I had to, I’d search for a job here in Quebec.”
“Then I guess I would too.” Her automatic response replayed itself in her head, and she admitted, “Leaving Vancouver would be so hard. But leaving Maisie and Charlie is unthinkable.”
“I know.”
Yet even the thought of not being near her mother and Gigi ripped her heart apart. She’d never dreamed of living anywhere but in the city she’d called home all her life.
She glanced at Colin to see the same anxiety written over his features. He finally admitted, “I’ve never imagined myself anywhere but in Vancouver. I love that city. And I love my old house, and the life I’ve made for myself there… my friends and colleagues.”
“Yet you’d give it all up for Charlie and Maisie.”
“In a heartbeat.”
Chapter Twenty-two
That night after they’d tucked the kids into bed and Colin left, Jaq couldn’t settle. She kept telling herself that the cranky old judge might not be as bad as they suspected. Yet it kept coming back to her… what if he is? Then their comfortable lives would be ripped apart, and everything turned upside down.
Just the thought of all that chaos made her shudder. Unable to sleep, the night passed in fits of dozing and then waking to rehash the worry. Finally, knowing the time difference would make calling home reasonable, she phoned Gigi.
“Merry Christmas again, darling. How were the children? Did they like their presents?”
“Yes. So much. Thank you for having gone to all the trouble of ordering them stockings from the Christmas store and having them delivered. They were ridiculously excited with all the special little surprises. I know Gisele lived on a shoestring, and they aren’t used to being spoiled. I sent you videos of them saying thank you.”
“Yes, I’ve been watching them again today. What little darlings they are! I can’t wait to meet them.”
“That’s why I called.” Jaq explained the text message Colin received from his lawyer the day before.
“What’s his name, the judge you drew?”
As soon as Jaq told her, her Gigi seemed to lose interest. “Not to worry, dear. If your Colin is as wonderful as you’ve described, I’ve no doubt the judge will see it too and give him guardianship. I must run now, I have a group of friends coming for Boxing Day dinner, so I need to get busy. I wish you were here to help me set up as usual, but I guess I’ll manage. I’m just not as good at all the Christmas table arrangements as you are. Guess it’ll just take longer.”
Once Jaq ended the call, she felt a wee bit upset. Gigi didn’t normally put her needs ahead of Jaq’s. Goodness, didn’t she have the rest of the day to prepare for a dinner? It wasn’t like her to fob off Jaqueline’s worries in such a cavalier manner.
Feeling hurt, Jaq tried to shake off the feeling of betrayal. Gradually, realizing how foolish and silly she’d become, she shook off her irritation and headed for the coffee pot in the kitchen.
Though they tried to make the day fun for the kids, spending time outside in the snow and walking along the paths cleaned by the city to head to the garlanded main square by the Chateau Frontenac, Jaq had a hard time keeping a happy face.
Since Colin had promised them a fancy lunch at the hotel, it gave her something to look forward to, and she appreciated his thoughtfulness in arranging it. All dressed in their Christmas finery, Jaq feeling special in her new blue cashmere sweater and beloved bracelet, she surveyed the rest of her group. The light gray shirt she’d picked out for Colin suited him well as did the silk tie she’d bought to wear with it.
What made her swell with pride was that both the kids appeared well dressed in their new finery. Maisie suited her flowing, blue flowered dress with the smocked front and dark leggings. And Charlie strutted in his new navy slacks, dressy shirt, and tie that unsurprisingly looked similar to Colin’s.
Sitting at the fancy table near the window overlooking the frozen lake, they looked like any other family out to celebrate the holiday. She glanced all around the narrow space and saw the sideboards filled with crystal glasses, colored punch bowls, and folded linen napkins.
Colin reached for her hand and whispered, “Let’s not spoil this time worrying. We’ll have to deal with all the stress eventually, but today we need to be happy, right?”
“Right.” She squeezed his fingers. “Look at Maisie and Charlie. They clean up so well. Thank you for letting Maisie bring her babydoll for lunch. She’s very proud of Princess.”
“I know. And thank you for pointing out how much she liked that one doll. I hadn’t been paying attention to her as Charlie had me over at the other end of the store at that time.”
“I watched her touching the doll’s hand as if it were made of spun glass. Her eyes were filled with adoration as she stared into the doll’s face so avidly. I could swear I heard her talking to the toy. Princess, with her embroidered cotton nightie decorated by satin ribbons and wearing that fancy pink crocheted sweater, bonnet, and booties wasn’t the sweetest of the bunch, yet Maisie didn’t seem to care.”
He nodded. “I wonder what made her choose that particular doll?”
“I knew why the toy hadn’t been bought when I held it up and saw the doll’s crooked leg. I even pointed out the defect to Maisie. But she didn’t care. In fact, she seemed to have already seen it. Maybe it was the flaw that made her care so much. Her expression lit up so bright, I had to back off. I wasn’t sure ifyou wanted to spend that much money on a toy, and I’d already blown most of my allowance on their clothes.”
