Bella smiled and said “Well, I think Primrose is the cutest Corgi in the land, so I understand, you always think your own dog is the best.”
“What about Christmas? What are you doing for Christmas? Do you want to come to our house?”
Bella and Jack sat quietly for a moment. Neither of them had actually even thought about Christmas, they were still learning about each other, and neither quite knew where this was going, or where it would end up.
“Piper, Bella just said her daughters were coming home for Christmas, so she will be with them at her house in Dallas.”
“Cool, so we are going to Dallas for Christmas. Are we bringing Daisy? I don’t want to put her in a kennel Dad; it’s her Christmas too.”
Jack actually looked helpless at that, not knowing how to answer.
“I would love to have you all come up for Christmas if you want to - Daisy can come too. I have plenty of room - you can each have your own room too. But if your dad has already made plans for you that’s okay, maybe we can see each other sometime over the holidays while you’re on your school break.”
“No, we don’t have plans - it would just be us at home. This will be fun,” Sloane replied.
“Well, I guess it’s a done deal. Christmas in Dallas,” said Jack.
“Excellent. Hey Dad, if you’re not going to eat that last piece of bacon can I have it? Piper reached over, grabbed the bacon, shoved it into her mouth, and smiled. Bella and Jack looked at each other and wondered how a 13-year-old girl had managed to play them both. The kid was a chess master.
Chapter 16
It was December 20th, and Bella was in her office taking care of a few last-minute things before Bella Pelle closed for the festive season. They would close from today and not reopen until 4th January. She, Jerome, and Carrie had all agreed that it was important that everyone had plenty of time to spend with family, especially those who might have to travel during the holidays. Angela and Madeline will be arriving tomorrow, and Jack and the girls are coming in on the 23rd. Over Thanksgiving in Boston, Bella and Angela had Facetimed Madeline in London to tell her about Jack and the Christmas invitation. Both girls were pleased for her and were happy to have more guests at Christmas.
Carrie stuck her head into Bella’s office, “Are you leaving soon? Did you want me to stay and lock up?”
“No, you go ahead, I know you need to pick up Madison at the airport. Give her a big, squishy hug from me and tell her I missed her at the party this year.” Carrie’s daughter was in nursing school and was flying home that day.
Bella double checked that the customer service company they used to monitor any possible issues with products or missing packages was all set up. She turned off the lights, set the alarm, and locked up, pausing for a moment in the doorway. Ithad been quite a year, and a successful one. Bella was pleased that everyone’s Christmas bonus was double the amount of last year's, and had been speaking to Big G and Mary about setting up some kind of incentive program for the employees in addition to the other benefits they already offered - Bella was a big fan of spreading the wealth.
Getting into her car, she turned on her holiday playlist and pulled out of the parking lot, heading home. She had so much to do before everyone arrived, but she had a list, had checked it twice and was ready for the chaos that was sure to happen.
“I Believe in Father Christmas” by Greg Lake came on the car’s sound system and Bella turned it up. It was one of her favorite Christmas songs. The song brought last week's company Christmas party to mind. Jack had been able to get away for a day, as well as being able to stay over that night, so he joined them at the party. When he walked into the restaurant heads had turned to look and followed as he walked straight to Bella’s side and greeted her with a kiss. But no heads turned faster than Bella’s when she saw who was with him - a certain Lt Commander Mike Rendit. Swiveling to look at Carrie, Carrie blushed and said “What? He’s funny. And cute.”Jack had definitely not been lying about Navy boys.
Everyone had a wonderful night, and as she and Jack made the rounds, she felt him take her hand guiding her along, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.This is nice.
Arriving home, she disarmed the security system, walked into the kitchen to feed Primrose, before a nice hot bath and an early night. The madness would be starting soon, and she was ready for it!
A few days later Jack and the girls turned into Bella’s driveway, and before they all got out, Jack asked them to please be on their best behavior. “That means you too Daisy.” Daisylooked at him, her head tilting as if to say“Who me? I'm a good girl!”
Angela and Madeline met them at the door, introduced themselves and helped carry in their cases and several bags of wrapped presents to be placed under the massive tree in the family room. Running to see who was there, Primrose skidded to halt when she saw the other Corgi.
Daisy stared back at her, then gave a little chuff of greeting. Sniffing at each other with their nubby tails wiggling, they took off running, both dogs with a serious case of the zoomies.
“I guess we don’t have to worry about those two getting along!” said Bella as she came to the door to greet them.
"Angela, Madeline, will you show Sloane and Piper which rooms are theirs? And girls," she added, turning to Sloane and Piper, "there are fresh towels in the guest bathroom for you."
“Hey, Sloane, Hey, Piper, I’m Angela. That’s a cute bag charm - where did you get that?”
“I’m Madeline, I love your trainers - Puma?”
“Trainers?” asked Piper
“Yes, it’s what we call tennis shoes in the UK. C’mon, let’s get your bags put away.”
Knowing how much privacy matters to teenage girls, Bella had given Sloane and Piper each their own room. With all four girls in their own rooms, the couch fell to Jack, which he agreed with - still too soon for sleepovers in front of them. As a surprise, Bella had hired a van to drive them to Fort Worth that afternoon. None of the girls had ever been there, and she thought they would enjoy the historic area, especially the real cattle drive with Texas Longhorn cattle that happened every day. Afterwards they ate an old-time steakhouse, before returning home. The dogs had been remarkably well behaved, so after letting them out,both Corgis were rewarded with extra treats. They all turned in for an early night, as the next day was Christmas Eve and sure to be hectic!
Christmas Eve was a busy day. Wanting Sloane and Piper to feel at home, Bella had asked them about some of their Christmas traditions, and they said they always had a Taco Bar on Christmas Eve, where everyone made their own tacos, along with sides like beans, rice, salsa, guacamole, and more - they were immediately excited — who doesn't love tacos!
