Beginnings of the Heart (7 page)

Cole was right. Once the entire garland was up, and there was a lot of garland, there wasn't much left. Every chair had an ivory cover slipped over the back of it and then a big, dark green bow was attached, and the table had an ivory runner with dark green stripes. There was also a centerpiece made out of pine boughs and pinecones with red berries and a gold candle with a globe in the middle of it all.

It was a beautiful room, made even more so when Cole plugged in the lighted garland. The lights twinkled and the glass and other decorations caught and refracted the light. My house never looked like this.

“How's it coming?” Cecelia said. “Oh good, you're done. We should get started on the living room. It always takes the longest.”

“And I thought this took a long time.” I said, feeling a little shell shocked.

“Oh, you haven't seen anything yet. Just wait until you see her in action. It's not something you'll forget.” Cole laughed, threw his arm around my shoulders, and walked me into the living room.

This room looked the same as the dining room had. Only bigger with more decorations lying everywhere. I had stopped when I entered the room and Cole urged me forward.

“Now Cole, you'll have to get the big ladder if we're going to get the garland up, and it's always easier to do first. Morgan, if you could locate the boxes of tree decorations, there are six of them. Your father is supposed to be picking up the tree on the way home. I should call and remind him.” She said more to herself than Cole or me and then swiftly left the room.

I stared after his mother again, amazed at the amount of energy she seemed to have. Where did she get it all from?

“Remember, nothing heavy and no climbing. I have to go out to the garage to get the ladder.” He said looking at me. “Do you feel okay? I don't want you getting too tired.”

“I'm fine. By the way, are you going to umm…feed me sometime soon?”

“Are you hungry now or can you wait a little bit? I'll get my mom to order something and then we'll take a break when it gets here.” Cole said.

“I'm good now. It's just, I've found if I don't eat something every couple of hours, I get nauseous and a little… grouchy is all.” I smiled up at him.

“I'll talk to Mom on my way out to the garage. Be good.” He said over his shoulder as he left the room.

I watched him leave and then turned to survey the room. There was stuff everywhere, and I wasn't sure where to even start. There was a stack of boxes not opened yet so I headed over there to begin my search.

As I began delving into the boxes, Cecelia came back into the room. She was carrying a bowl of snack mix and what looked like a takeout menu.

“Cole said the two of you were getting hungry. Here's something to munch on, and then the two of you can decide what you'd like to eat.” She put the bowl on the corner of the coffee table and the menu beside it and turned to me. “I really am glad you came over today. I hope you won't mind if I speak a little directly. I'm not sure I know how to speak any other way.”

“Umm, sure, what did you want to talk about?” I asked, a little nervous.

“Don't worry. This isn't an inquisition.” She smiled. “I just wanted to tell you how pleased I am you are in my son's life. He is really very happy, and I wanted you to know how I feel about you.” Still smiling, she walked over to me. “I think the two of you have something very special. And I don't think your ages are as important as some others might think they are. I just want the two of you to be happy.”

I stood there in a little bit of shock. My mom wouldn't talk to me like Cecelia did. Cole was right. His parents did look at things differently than most would. I was suddenly feeling very loved, making me feel guilty because it wasn't my mom. Why did my mom always have to make me feel like I was doing something wrong when all I was doing was following my heart?

I cleared my throat. “Thanks. What you said… means a lot to me… to have you say those things.”

“I'm hoping you'll feel comfortable here. We would love to see more of you, but we also understand you and Cole like to be alone sometimes, too. Just think about it.”

“Think about what?” Cole came into the room then, carrying the ladder. He looked at the two of us standing next to each other, and his eyes narrowed slightly. “Mom, what have you been saying to Morgan? I know you said something so you might as well tell me.”

“I just shared some of my thoughts. Nothing I haven't already told you so you can stop worrying she'll run out of the house screaming, ” Cecelia said.

“Uh-huh. So, where do you want me to start?” Cole obviously was going to let it go for now, but I was quite certain he would ask me about it later.

“Where we always do. I'm sure Morgan can help you. Maybe if she climbs halfway up behind you…” his Mom trailed off.

Cole was shaking his head. “She's not allowed to climb the ladder. She might fall.”

Cole's mom tipped her head slightly to one side and narrowed her eyes slightly. Now I knew where Cole got it from. She seemed to be working something out in her head, but she recovered so quickly I couldn't be sure if she suspected I was pregnant or not.

“Okay, I'll climb up behind you, and she can hand the garland up to me. Does that meet with your approval?” she asked, watching Cole the whole time.

“Okay. Just let me get the ladder set up and we can start. Morgan, did you look at the menu yet? We should order something soon.”

“No not yet,” I answered, “but I'll look at it now. Just let me know when you're ready.”

I was sure his mom suspected something, and after looking at Cole, I knew he was thinking the same thing. He kept looking at his mom, almost assessing her body language for an explanation. I kept expecting Cecelia to say something, but she never did.

The rest of the day passed as pleasantly as it had begun. Cole's dad, Mark, made it home with the biggest Christmas tree I had ever seen
inside a house. We all decorated it together, and like the other rooms of the house, it was perfectly coordinated.

As I said goodbye to his parents and thanked them for allowing me to help, I thought I saw a speculative glance from Cole's mom, but it was gone so quickly I wasn't really sure it had even been there.

Cole stayed for a while, and like the night before, I fell asleep on his lap and woke to him saying he had to go home.

After I crawled into bed, I remembered I hadn't talked to Cole about his mom. I was sure he had thoughts on the matter, and I was wondering what he might have come up with. I guess I would have to wait until tomorrow.

The final run up to Christmas went by in a blur. The usual wrapping, baking, and candy making went off without a hitch. School let out for break four days before Christmas, which gave everyone a chance to finish up those last minute details.

Amazingly, I didn't have much to do. All my shopping and wrapping was complete and under the tree waiting for Christmas morning. With all the spare time I did a lot of thinking. Not always the best idea for me as I seemed to dwell on, well, everything.

It was a little scary to realize next year there would be a baby to shop for and spend a first Christmas with. Of course, the baby would only be about five months old, but it would still be fun. I also couldn't help but worry over my parents' reaction to the announcement coming very shortly after the holiday.

Their reaction, my mother's in particular, worried me. I knew they would be disappointed and probably a little angry, but would they lay down ultimatums as well? And if they did, what would they be?

My speculation ranged from sending me away somewhere so no one would know, to just kicking me out of the house, disowning me, and everything in between.

I talked about all of these possibilities with Cole, and he patiently listened before dismissing all of my concerns. He was of the opinion both of our parents were going to be disappointed, but they would accept our decisions and we would work to get past it.

I thought he was a little too optimistic, and I told him so. He, of course, disagreed with me. I held to my opinion and quietly resolved to prepare myself mentally as best I could. I was sure there would be some ultimatums, but I wasn't confident enough to predict what those might be.

.

Christmas Eve we spent with both of our families. Cole's parents always had a dinner early in the evening. They invited their family and enjoyed everyone's company. I met a few of Cole‘s cousins and his aunts and uncles. It was more relaxed than I thought it would be.

After dinner, we went back to my parents' house. Their yearly holiday gathering included the neighbors and family who were close enough to make it.

About ten houses from mine, Cole pulled over and turned the truck off. I looked at him with my head cocked to the side, wondering what he was doing.

He gave me a little grin and reached under the seat. He handed me a little wrapped gift. “Merry Christmas, Morgan. I didn't want to give this to you in front of anyone. I hope you like it.”

I unwrapped and opened the little white box to find a small jewelry box. I opened it and found a charm in the shape of a baby's booty. My eyes started to cloud with tears, and I looked up at Cole.

“Do you like it? I thought it was appropriate, but if you would rather have…”

“I love it.” I said, cutting him off. “I'm just a little emotional. Thank you.” I leaned in and gave him a kiss.

I started to take my bracelet off so I could put the new charm on it, but I stopped when Cole put his hand on top of mine. I looked up at him questioningly.

“I think you should wait to put it on until after we tell our parents about the baby. I don't want there to be a confrontation because someone notices it.” Cole explained.

“Okay. I'm still not sure I even want to tell anyone at all, but I know the impossibility of it. I just don't want there to be any kind of… hard feelings, but I…” I couldn't go on.

Cole pulled me into his arms and kissed the top of my head. “I know you're really nervous and you don't want to tell your parents, but I really think it'll be okay. And the sooner we tell them the better. Besides, what's the worst they can do? Tell you we can't see each other?” He pulled back to look me in the eyes, and I'm sure he saw the uncertainty there. “It won't happen. You and this baby are my family, and no one is going to keep us apart.” he vowed.

I heard the conviction in his voice and read the determination in his eyes. “You're right. We are a family even if we don't really look like a traditional one, and I know we need to tell them as soon as possible. I'm still going to be nervous, but I also know with you beside me, it will all work out somehow.”

We kissed again with a feeling of renewed faith in each other. Too soon we pulled apart and Cole started the truck to drive the last few houses to mine.

There weren't a lot of cars parked on the street because most of the neighbors had walked. Cole parked and we walked up to the house hand in hand and entered the same way. No one immediately noticed our entrance so I slipped to my room and put the charm Cole had given to me under the socks in the top drawer.

I slipped back out to the foyer where Cole was waiting for me. He had taken his jacket off, and my breath caught in my throat like always. You'd think I'd get used to it.

He was wearing the navy blue sweater I had gotten him for Christmas. His eyes were so blue they seemed to leap out of his face and draw me in.

He gave me a lazy grin, and I was finally able to tear my eyes from his and drew in a shaky breath. He put his arm around my shoulders and urged me forward into the living room where some of the guests were gathered.

A few of the neighbors noticed our entrance and waved and said hello, but we otherwise went largely unnoticed, which was fine with me. But no one could ever escape the sharp eyes of Mrs. Tompkins, the most avid gossip in the town and quite possibly the county.

Mrs. Tompkins should have been recruited by the CIA because no one could ever get anything by her. Not just because she spent the majority of her day sitting in her front window watching the residents of Centerville, reporting back, and receiving important information from her fellow compatriots. No one could get anything by her because all she had to do was look at you with her glasses perched on her nose and her hands folded in front of her just so with her head slightly tilted to the side, ask you her question, and some compulsion would make you spill your guts to her. It was as if she could reach inside of your mind, root around for the information she wanted, and it would just fall out of your mouth.

At least Mrs. Tompkins was selective with her gossip. She never spread anything not absolutely true. A gossip with a strict code of ethics, if you will. Seeing her always made me a little nervous, but tonight it was worse because I actually had something gossip worthy to hide from her.

I turned to lead Cole to another room, and I could feel her eyes boring into me from behind. I tried to suppress a shiver, but it still ran through me. Cole noticed and started rubbing his hand up and down my back as if to warm me up or soothe me. His movement so natural I doubted he even knew he was doing it.

“Are you okay?” Cole asked, quietly near my ear.

“Yeah. Mrs. Tompkins always makes me nervous, and it was like I could feel her eyes probing my brain in there.” I replied just as quietly while casually looking around the dining room.

There were several people here who noticed us, and we were soon caught up in conversations. I didn't notice time passing as I fell in with the holiday cheer and gave myself over to it all.

Too soon Cole had to leave and I walked with him to the front porch.

“You should have stayed inside, you know.” He scolded gently.

“I know, but there are still a lot of eyes and ears in there. I wanted a few minutes to us.”

He wrapped his arms around me and bent his head to my ear. “There is nothing I would like better than to be here with you all night and have Christmas with just the two of us. Try to remember I love you, Morgan, and I love this baby.” He kissed my cheek.

“I love you more, you know. Drive safe and call me tomorrow when you can.”

“I will. Now, get inside before you freeze.” Cole called from the curb.

After one more smile and wave I did return to the warmth of my house. I pushed the door closed and turned to go back into the living room and once again felt the sharp eyes of Mrs. Tompkins.

She was seated on the end of the couch closest to the tree. Her hawk-like eyes were raking over me, and I had to suppress another shiver. I gave her a small, nervous smile and retreated to the kitchen as soon as I could. Something about the way she was looking at me made me wonder if she suspected anything.

I gave myself a mental shake and told myself she was just being her normal self. Looking for the next piece of gossip before someone else did.

I made it through the rest of the night on autopilot. By the time the last guest left and I was able to escape to my room, I had worked myself up to the point of not being able to sleep. I lay in my bed, stared out the window, and let my eyes unfocus. The night was beautiful. The Christmas lights from our house and others glowed through darkened windows and reflected on the snow, making everything appear brighter in the dark night.

My mind wandered, and I found myself remembering Christmases past. The excitement, my eyes flashing open in the morning, and not remembering the moment sleep had crept up on me. Tearing into the presents spread around the tree while my parents sat smiling on the couch oohing and aahhing in the appropriate places were fond memories.

I began to think about how Christmas changes as you grow up and then when you become a parent, you relive the fun of it all with your children. I wanted it to be the way I imagined it would be.

As sleep weighted my eyes, I smiled at the thought of sharing future Christmases with Cole and the baby. I knew I would share our child's excitement and enthusiasm for Christmas morning and could only hope our families would be with us to share the excitement.