While Bella picked up a few last-minute things for Christmas dinner, the girls took over the kitchen making sugar cookies and decorating them.
“What shows do you like to watch?” asked Madeline.
“We love the Real Housewives,” said Sloane.
“No way, so do I - which one do you watch?” replied Madeline.
“My favorite is Real Housewives of New Jersey.”
“Same, I love Teresa, she’s the best” said Angela.
“We love Teresa” chimed in Piper. “And we hate that Melissa!”
“Ugh, she’s theworst!” agreed Angela.
From the doorway Bella and Jack exchanged an amused look, both quietly relieved they were getting along. After cleaning up the cookie mess in the kitchen, Bella started dinner, with the girls setting up all the plates, serving bowls, and platters on the kitchen island, where they would serve themselves. Dinner was a rousing success, and afterwards they settled into the living room planning to watch a few Christmas shows, and apparently a Real Housewives special the girls all demanded towatch. A few minutes into the first show, the doorbell rang, setting both dogs off barking.
Before anyone could move, the door opened, they heard a voice calling out, “Bella, Girls, where are you?”
“Dad, Mom, what are you doing here? I thought we weren’t seeing you till tomorrow?” asked Bella. She got up off the sofa, gave them both hugs and introduced them to Jack’s girls.
"Jack, you know my dad already. Mom, this is Jack."
"It's really nice to meet you, Mrs. Genovese," Jack said. “Thank you for letting us crash your Christmas — the girls have talked of nothing else for two weeks."
He turned to Big G with a handshake. "Big G, good to see you. Merry Christmas."
“We thought we’d surprise the girls. We booked a horsedrawn carriage to take us around Highland Park, to see all the mansions there decorated for Christmas. Would you like to come with us? They have blankets to keep you warm, and cups of hot chocolate,” said Mary.
“Dad, Dad - can we go? That sounds awesome!” cried Sloane.
“Sure, honey, you can go. That sounds like a lot of fun. Thank you for thinking of them Mrs. Genovese - that is really kind of you.”
“It’s no problem, Angela and Madeline loved doing it when they were younger, so we thought your girls might too.”
“Hey Nana, westilllove doing that - is there room for us? “
“Of course, Big G booked the big carriage. But you’d better get a move on, we have to be there by 7:30 and we can’t be late. Sorry, Bella, there’s no room for you and Jack, so I guess you’ll have to stay home.,” Mary said with a wink at Bella.
“Thank you Mom,” Bella mouthed back.
Everyone bundled up and out the door, Jack turned to Bella and said “Look. Mistletoe.”
“I know I didn’t hang mistletoe.”
“It’s there, you just can’t see it. Trust me. It’s my job to notice things” he said, pulling her into his arms, and kissing her so thoroughly she was weak in the knees.
“Oh yes, I see it now.”
Deciding to take advantage of the empty house, they wrapped presents to put under the tree, and left milk and cookies on the little table next to the tree for Santa, although Jack swore Santa was really a scotch man, so a small glass of Laphroaig was left out as well. When they were done with all that, they sat on the sofa, holding hands and enjoying a moment of quiet. Daisy and Primrose were both stretched out under the tree, like they were gifts waiting to be opened.
The girls arrived back about 10:30pm, talking a mile a minute about how great it was, with Sloane showing Jack all the photos she’d taken with her phone. Getting them all to bed was a task. Bella took a quick bath before joining Jack on the sofa for a nightcap - and a few more ‘mistletoe’ kisses - before getting him set up with pillows and a blanket and heading into her own bed, setting the alarm on her phone for midnight. Finally the house was quiet and silent, except for the sounds of two Corgis snoring softly in the kitchen.
“Sloane, Sloane, wake up,” Sloane heard a whisper and a soft shake on her shoulder.
“Angela, is everything okay? It’s like midnight.”
“Exactly. Get your robe on and meet us in the kitchen.”
