“I love it! She’s going to be so darned excited, Ash, she really is.”
He put the kitten in his hoodie pocket that was underneath his cut, then went to the vet. While the little guy didn’t quite get a clean bill of health, he’s on antibiotics and should be good to go by Christmas morning. Meanwhile, all the things we’re going to need here are tucked in our closet, presents from us have been wrapped and most of them are under our tree, which has Becca so excited already, and the ones that’ll come from Santa are hidden in Ash’s wardrobe.
Walking into Becca’s room, I ask, “You ready, Freddy?” which has her giggling as she grabs her coat.
“I’m ready! I even have my shopping list like you and Miss Holly make,” she exclaims, holding out the wrinkled piece of paper. She’s painstakingly written down each name she wants to buy presents for and my heart melts.
“Then let’s hop to it, chop suet,” I decree.
Prophet’s downstairs and he swings her up in his arms and carries her out to my SUV then gets her buckled into her booster seat. It’s more like an enhanced carseat, actually, but it’s the safest one on the market for her age and weight. While she’s steadily gained weight since we got her, she’s still got quite a ways to go before I’ll feel comfortable putting her in a regular booster seat. She doesn’t seem to mind, so I push it out of my thoughts as I get into the driver’s seat, buckle up, then start my vehicle.
“Can we listen to Christmas music?” she asks.
“Of course, we can, it’s why I have Sirius XM,” I reply.
As the music fills the space, I think about all the experiences she’s had since Thanksgiving. She’s met Santa several times now, and we have the pictures to prove it, and her teacher has let us know that she’s blooming each and every day. She’s always been a good student, just very quiet, but now she actively engages. I just know that I couldn’t love her more than if I had given birth to her myself.
“Can you help me wrap Ash’s presents?” she asks once we’re back home. I took her to Chick-fil-A where she had a peppermint bark shake, along with nuggets and fries, before we went andbought more wrapping paper, tape, and labels. Oh, and gift bags since some of the things are too awkward to wrap without them looking horrible.
“Yes, but what about the things you got for your teacher, Mrs. Talbot, Ruby, and Mina?” I question.
“Oh, I’m going to help Ash wrap the stuff we got for you, Ruby, and Mina,” she says. “I like buying presents for people, Marnie. It’s fun to give.”
“Yes, it is, sweetheart, yes, it is. Maybe for your teacher we should use a gift bag so you can take it to school tomorrow?”
She hums and I bite back a giggle when I see her tapping her chin. “That might be a good idea, because it’s a strange size. I want it to look pretty for her. I think we should do Mrs. Talbot’s present too.”
“Then that’s a plan. How about we go and pick up some Chinese food for dinner so we can watch some movies while we wrap? After school tomorrow, we’ll be making cookies for your class party, too.”
Which works out well for me. One of the brothers will pick the girls up from school so that Esther and I can get the other gifts wrapped. We’ve got a system now; she boxes them up and puts the recipient’s name on the underside, then I get them wrapped up. We’re actually going to do the cookies at Holly’s house instead of Esther’s so that the girls don’t see Chance. I have zero clue how they’ve kept him hidden from Mina and Ruby, but so far, the secret has been kept.
“We should make a tray with carrots on it too, I think,” Becca says. “Me and Mina like them and we also like fruit.”
“Okay one fruit and one veggie tray coming right up!” I sing-song like a short order cook, making her giggle. Before we leave, I go ahead and place an order at the grocery store for one of each since it beats chopping and cleaning everything on my own.
“I put a call into the jail,” Ash says later on that night as we snuggle on the couch watchingDie Hard. I’m still not convinced it’s really a Christmas movie, but it’s hard to argue the fact when it’s set in December, there’s a holiday party going on, and decorations are everywhere. Granted, McLane is blowing a lot of them up, but that’s beside the point.
“And?” I ask.
“I let them know that we want to be put on her no mail list as well as the no call list. I also informed them that we wouldnotbe helping her out financially in any way, shape, or form, nor would we be bringing Becca up there so she can ‘visit’ with her. While I know we’re going to get her into therapy after the first of the year, she’s doing so well at this point, I refuse to allow my sister’s machinations to derail that at all,” he growls out.
“Good. Because I would’ve had to consider returning your Christmas presents if you did,” I tease. “All jokes aside, I wonder if she was trying to get under Becca’s skin again.”
“Knowing that bitch, she was. Oh, and thanks for syncing your schedule on the calendar, babe. It makes it easier knowing where my two girls are, although I don’t mind calling you l to ease my curiosity.”
I giggle and say, “Thank Data. He’s the one who showed me how to do it. I figured that way, if there was something you needed and I was already out and about, I could grab it for you.”
“Well, I like it, especially since our schedule is beyond crazy right now,” he replies.
I look up at him from my position on the couch and ask, “Do you think it’s okay if I don’t work? I mean, I can during the day when Becca’s at school, but I really want to be able to nurture her, especially since she’s already showing positive results.”
“Sweetheart, I bring in more than enough money that if you never want to work another day in your life, you don’t have to,” he replies. “But I also know that you aren’t one to stay idle.”
A giggle bursts free because he’s definitely not wrong about that! I nearly went stir crazy when I was recovering with all the downtime I was forced to take. Still, there might be other things I can do, but I’ll think about those things after the holidays. “That’s true too. But I know for a bit, she’s going to have a lot of appointments while we get her current on her vaccinations, and then take her to the dentist. Oh, and therapy. However, that’s Future Marnie’s problem to deal with because I’m thoroughly enjoying being in the moment this year.”
CHAPTER
THIRTEEN
