A Christmas to Remember (26 page)

B
e
careful not to spend too much time planning for the future and keep an open mind while in the present. The present can either change your life’s direction or solidify it.

Olivia took Carrie’s hand to lead her down the hallway. “Where’s David?” Carrie whispered, wondering why Olivia hadn’t gotten him first and then come to get her. After all, it was Christmas morning, and certainly she’d want her brother to be ready to go downstairs with them.

“He’s getting Daddy,” she said just as Adam and David surfaced at the other end of the hallway. Olivia had been so excited, she’d pulled Carrie into the hallway without letting her get ready for the day. She’d barely brushed her teeth. Carrie hadn’t fixed her hair yet, and she still had on her moon and stars flannel pajamas. Adam grinned at her, and she knew that it didn’t matter. Adam himself had on a T-shirt and plaid pajama bottoms, his feet bare. He looked so handsome—just like that—his hair pointing in different directions, David holding his hand. Of course that night at Ashford, when they’d been all dressed up, he’d looked fantastic in his tuxedo, but she liked him better just like this.

The four of them walked together downstairs to the Christmas tree. She’d stayed up with all the men as they’d worked tirelessly to build and install the tube slide jungle gym that Adam and Carrie had bought. There was something so perfect about holding Olivia’s hand, David and Adam beside her, that she couldn’t image being anywhere else on Christmas. She’d only been with the Fletcher family a short time, but they’d impacted her life in a big way. As they walked together, she realized how they’d taught her as much as she’d taught them. They’d taught her how to live life in a way, and she knew they could teach her so much more, if she just had the time. But mostly, they were open now to learn from each other. Carrie didn’t know what she was going to do come New Year’s. She’d been hoping for a chance to make conversation with Adam last night, but he’d been so busy building the play set that she’d never had a chance to talk to him.

They entered the living room, and David and Olivia ran full speed past the half-eaten cookies they’d left for Santa, toward the stockings they’d painted with Carrie. They’d not had a chance to fill them at the candy store, so Santa had done it, and wow, had he delivered! Small toys, candy, peppermints—they filled the stockings like Christmas confetti, the fabric bulging under the weight of it all. Carrie looked over at Adam when she saw what was in them, and he smiled. When had he thought to buy candy? She helped the children get the stockings down off the mantle, and then she sat on the sofa next to Adam.

The tree was the only light in the room apart from the gray of morning coming through the windows. When she’d first gotten there, Adam hadn’t even planned on that tree, he’d barely been with them when they’d bought it, and he hadn’t even taken part in decorating it. But now, it stood as if it were looking over them as Olivia ran over to her daddy to show him a pack of crayons she’d gotten in her stocking. Olivia ran back to David to inspect his stocking. As she watched them, Carrie realized that she, too, needed change in her life. She finally realized that she wanted a life even more than she wanted to work. She wanted this for herself.

“Thank you,” Adam said quietly, looking at the children, but she knew he’d meant it for her. He turned and looked right at her. They were so close that normally she’d have worried about their proximity, but this morning, it all seemed so right.

“Thank you for what?” she asked.

“Thank you for showing me what I was missing.”

There was a creak on the stairs, and then the sound of footsteps. Joyce came into the room in her bathrobe and slippers. “Good morning,” she greeted Adam and Carrie. Olivia ran to show her the items in her stocking. “Oh, that’s lovely, Olivia.” After offering Olivia and David attention and seeing all the things they had in their stockings, she said, “I’m going to make a pot of coffee. The others are on their way down.”

Only a few minutes after, as the coffee was percolating in the kitchen, the aroma of it seeping into the living room, the others came downstairs. Sharon sat down on the floor with the kids as everyone else made themselves comfortable on the love seat and chairs around the room. Walter was the last to come in, pushing his way across the floor with his walker. He sat down next to Carrie.

“This is an ungodly hour. You know that, right?” he said with a smirk. He looked at the kids and shook his head. “I don’t really mind, though. You think the magic of Christmas morning is over once your own kids grow up, but then you get to have it again with your grandkids, and, if you’re lucky, your great-grandkids. I guess that makes me one of the lucky ones.”

What Walter had said stayed with Carrie. She realized as she watched David and Olivia, Walter, and even Sharon, that everything she’d experienced up until this point in her life was just preparation for the life that was to come. She knew what she wanted, and how easily it could come if she found the right person. She had no idea if Adam would be the one for her. All she knew was that loving him was as easy as breathing, and she couldn’t stand to be away from him. Sitting next to him now, she wanted to curl up against his chest and relieve her eyes of the sleep-deprived ache that was there from staying up so late.
Perhaps another Christmas
, she thought.

“Coffee’s ready,” Joyce said from the kitchen. “And I’ve whipped up some scrambled eggs and toast for everybody. We’re gonna need a good base in our bellies for unwrapping all those presents under the tree. Come on in and eat!”

When they all stood up to go into the kitchen, Carrie almost gasped out loud. She didn’t, which was a good thing because she didn’t want the kids to think it was anything out of the ordinary, but when Adam stood up, the kids went tearing after him, Olivia almost jumping on his back. “After breakfast, can I show you what I got, Daddy?” David asked. “I haven’t had a chance to show you yet.” Carrie had never experienced that kind of happiness before. It came in a rush, flooding her, but right on its heels was an intense feeling of sadness and fear that she may not get a chance to have this for herself. She couldn’t wait to get started living. But she’d miss them. Soon, she’d have to pack her things back into her car and head home.

“Of course you can,” he said, smiling down at David. The affection she’d seen in his eyes was present, but what surprised her more than that was the look of complete adoration that David had, gazing up at his daddy. She thought how this was probably what David had wanted all along. Adam turned around and tickled Olivia, making her squeal. Carrie laughed out loud, covering her mouth in surprise.

The kids could barely sit to eat once everyone had taken their coffee, toast, and eggs to the table. Carrie wanted to savor the moment, take in all the wonderful faces around her. Everyone looked so happy. Even Sharon was smiling as David sat next to Adam, telling him about what he hoped was under the tree. Carrie wrapped her hands around her mug, wishing the kids wouldn’t be so hasty. If only she’d known when she was a child how numbered those days were. She could remember that one day a year—that magical day—when nothing was wrong, and she could have everything she’d ever wanted. Back then, everything she’d ever wanted was a doll or a card game. But now she wanted things that were too big for even Santa to bring her: a family, someone to love, a person she could live out the rest of her years with.
Don’t rush it
, she wanted to say to the twins, but she knew they could never understand.

“Is anyone ready to open some presents?” Joyce asked. Both children began bouncing up and down, their hands in the air. “I don’t think they can wait much longer, Adam. Do you?” she kidded.

Adam looked down at David who was sitting beside him. There was that little, amused exhale and then a smile, and Carrie could hardly manage the feelings she had for this man. She’d never been able to understand how people meet each other and fall in love because it had never happened to her before. She’d tried to find answers in her books, plan her way to happiness, but the answers would never be there because she couldn’t plan who she was going to fall in love with. This feeling couldn’t be created. It just happened. Like lightning. And—
boom
—it had definitely struck.

“Leave your plates, and I’ll get them later,” Joyce said, standing up. Carrie set her empty coffee mug down onto the table and followed the Fletcher family into the living room.

To her surprise, Adam sat down on the floor next to the tree. In the soft light of morning, the lights on the tree were as bright as stars. He reached under it and pulled out a present, his eyes squinting to read the tag. “For David, with love, Grandma and Grandpa.” David’s eyes got big, the excitement showing on his face, as he took the present from Adam.

The ribbon that had been taped around the present fell loose, and David dropped it down beside him. Joyce scooped it up and put it into a trash bag she’d brought with her into the living room. With a rip, David pulled the paper off and turned the gift over in his hand to inspect it. He took in a loud breath when he saw what he was holding.

“It’s a model race car that you can paint yourself,” Bruce said, his adoration for his grandson clear. “What do you think?”

“Can I paint it now?” David asked.

Everyone laughed, and David looked around, his little eyebrows pulling together in concern. “How about after we finish unwrapping everything?” Bruce said. “I promise I’ll help you.”

Adam reached under the tree and pulled out another present. “This one is for… me,” he said quietly with a slightly surprised look on his face. “It’s from ‘Everyone,’ it says.” He looked up from the tag on the gift, making eye contact with those around him. Gently, he pulled off the wrapping, handing it to Joyce as she reached out for it. It was a book. He turned it over in his hands and let out a “Ha!” and then a chuckle that could make Carrie’s tummy do somersaults. He turned it around for everyone to see. “100 Useful (and Not Useful) Things to do with Beer.”

“Just in case it all goes to pot,” Walter said with a wink.

David looked slightly relieved when everyone laughed at Walter’s comment, and Carrie wondered if he was still thinking about how they’d all giggled at him. He was such a serious little boy, more serious even than his daddy, and Carrie wanted to abandon presents just to paint that car with him. She watched his face as each person unwrapped their gifts, his interest undeniable. He was patient, quiet, focused. Then she looked at Olivia who was on her knees next to the tree, waiting for her own gift. She kept leaning over toward Adam and whispering, “Is that one mine?” He couldn’t hide his smile whenever she asked as he shook his head. Then, finally, one for her.

Carrie recognized it immediately. It was the crown she’d bought with Adam and helped him wrap. Olivia took the gift into her hands and ripped wildly until she was holding the crown in her hands, Joyce grabbing the shredded paper around her. “Oh!” she said with a gasp. “This is so pretty!” She put it on her head and stood up. It was huge, the jeweled faux metal swallowing her forehead, but she didn’t care. She held out her nightgown as if it were a dress and danced in circles. “Do I look like a princess?” she asked Walter.

“You
are
a princess,” he said, smiling with doting eyes.

“I have one more gift for David and Olivia together,” Adam said, pulling a huge box from the back of the tree. It had been hidden by all the other presents. He slid the substantial box from behind the tree and set it down in front of the twins. “Go ahead. Open it,” he said with a smile.

Olivia ripped the paper off the front, David pulling at one end. When they finally got all the paper off, the box—empty of any wording—didn’t offer any more information about what was inside. David lifted the lid and pushed it back, and Olivia pulled the tissue paper. When she did, she let out the loudest cry of joy that Carrie had ever heard her make. She leaned over Olivia to see what it was. Nestled in the tissue were three pairs of ice skates: one large pair and two smaller pairs. There was also an envelope. Adam pulled it from the box and slipped his finger under the flap. “The ice skates are for you, me, and David,” Adam said to Olivia. “But do you know what this is?” He waved the envelope. Carrie could hardly stand it. She wanted to know what it was. Just looking at Adam’s face, she could tell it was something great. The kids were watching him, waiting just like she was. “In this envelope, I have tickets to Snow White on Ice at the Richmond Coliseum.”

“We get to see Snow White?” Olivia said, her eyes round with excitement. She had pulled her skates from the box, and she was hugging them.

“Yes,” he said. “And you know what else? A man I work with knows her, and, after the show, he’s going to let us skate with her.”

Olivia’s mouth hung open with that news. She threw her arms around her daddy and buried her head in his neck. “Thank you!” she said in a muffled voice.

“Will you skate with me, Daddy?” David asked.

“Absolutely.”

Unexpectedly, Carrie’s eyes filled with tears. No one had told him anything. She hadn’t pressed him to do it; she’d barely even mentioned it. He’d just remembered. He’d made it happen. And it was better than she could have dreamed. He gave Olivia and David exactly what they wanted for Christmas. She blinked away her tears. Eventually, they subsided, but her heart was so full it was about to burst.

Once everyone had opened their gifts, Adam pulled one more small gift bag from under the tree. “This one’s for Carrie,” he said, handing it to her.

Surprised, she got down on the floor next to Adam. She took the gift and read the tag:
To Carrie, Love, The Fletcher Family
. She felt around inside until her fingers caught something thin and metal. She pulled it out. It was a beautiful bookmark, shiny, with beads on one end. “Thank you,” she said to everyone collectively.

“There’s more,” Adam said, nodding toward the bag.

Carrie reached in and found something else. She pulled out a gift card to the bookstore. Her face registered shock, she was certain, but she couldn’t help it. It was a gift card for one hundred dollars’ worth of books.