Christmas With the Alexanders (5 page)

There was music and the sound of pots and pans clattering. They’d come so late and probably interrupted the family dinner. At the very least, she could offer to help Mrs. Alexander clean up.

When she opened the door, she was shocked to see Eli leaning against the wall outside.
 

“Eli? I didn’t know you were out here waiting.”

“I just got here a few minutes ago.”

He didn’t say anything else, just turned to walk down the hall. Kay followed, cuddling Hope higher on her hip. They walked through the kitchen and into the dining room. The table was set with delicate wineglasses and beautiful white plates trimmed in gold. Julia stood at the head of the table, carving a turkey that looked big enough to feed a village.

“Are you hungry, honey? I saved you a place right next to Eli.” Julia looked up from her carving and smiled brightly at them.

Kay’s mouth fell open. “I thought you would have already eaten dinner. It’s so late.”

“Oh, sweetheart, I held dinner when Eli went out to look for you.”
 

Now she just felt completely self-conscious as everyone turned to look at them. “Oh no, I ruined your Christmas dinner. I’m so sorry—”

“Nonsense!” Julia interrupted. “You didn’t ruin anything. We’re all here now and ready to enjoy a nice dinner with family and friends. None of us could have thought about eating if we didn’t know you were safe.” She walked around the table and handed the carving tools to her husband. “Now, you two sit down. I’ll just take this little angel so you can eat.”

Kay watched, befuddled, as Julia plucked the baby from her arms and sat down with Hope in her lap. Eli nudged her gently toward the left side of the table. There were only two seats left. She sank down gratefully, Eli next to her.
 

Dinner was a raucous affair with eleven adults and four children all taking up space in the dining room. Mark and Julia sat at opposite ends of the main table. Jackson, Ridley, and Bennett sat on one side while Eli, Kay, Matt, and Penny sat on the other. She was sitting so close to Eli that their thighs brushed every time she moved.

Jackson and Ridley’s two kids were seated at a smaller table. Nick and Raina sat with them, cutting up their meat and trying to keep them from knocking over their cups.
 

The babies were passed around until they ended up on someone’s lap. Everyone talked at the same time, and Kay could barely keep up with who was saying what. Dishes were passed across the table and there were second and even third helpings dished out. When Eli saw her eyeing the mashed-potato bowl, he picked it up and put a huge serving on her plate.

“I’m sure I don’t need that much,” Kay lamented. At home, she’d get an earful from her mother if she ate this much, but she couldn’t help it. Everything was so delicious and she needed comfort food after the day she’d had.
 

Eli gave her an appraising look. “Eat. You’ve got to be starving. Isn’t nursing a baby hard work? Raina’s always telling us how she’s still got to eat for two since she’s nursing Jada.”

“Well, I don’t look like Raina,” she mumbled. Eli’s sister-in-law was a bona fide supermodel and stick thin. She could probably eat everything on this table and still fit her whole body in one of Kay’s pant legs.

“I’m glad you don’t. Now eat.”
 

Eli’s voice was commanding and Kay shoveled a mouthful of potatoes into her mouth automatically, all while her mind raced over his words.

He was glad she didn’t look like Raina? What the hell did he mean by that?
 

Kay looked up to see Eli still watching her. His dark, intense gaze didn’t leave hers until she swallowed and took another bite. Kay shivered when he finally turned away. On her other side, Eli’s father asked her a question about her upcoming album. She tried to focus on the conversation, but for the rest of the meal, her mind was on that one sentence.

I’m glad you don’t.

KAYLEE HAD ALWAYS secretly wondered how Elliott’s mother had dealt with four children. There were days when she was completely overwhelmed taking care of Hope and she didn’t even have any other children to worry about. But as she stood back and watched Mrs. Alexander turn down the bed and set up the spare playpen she kept for her granddaughter, she suddenly understood how she’d done it.
 

Julia Alexander was obviously a superhero.

“Thank you so much for setting this all up. I wasn’t sure where I was going to put Hope tonight.”

Julia waved away her thanks with an amiable smile. “It’s nothing, sweetie. I always keep an extra playpen here just in case Nick forgets to bring one for Jada. It’s just a simple model. No bells and whistles, but it gets the job done.” She moved around the room, snapping her wrists briskly to open the clean sheets she carried under her arm.

“Oh, you don’t have to do that.” By the time Kay got the words out, Julia had already spread the clean fitted sheet on the bed and was shaking out the flat sheet.
 

“Wow. You’ve got everything set up and it would’ve probably taken me twice as long to get things right.”

Julia patted her on the arm. “Years of experience, dear. Now, let me know if you need anything else. Or if you need any help with the baby.” She tickled Hope under the chin and the baby let out a gurgle of delight. “I really don’t mind rocking her if she wakes up in the middle of the night.”
 

Kay smiled at the hopeful tone in Julia’s voice. Eli had warned her that his mom had baby fever and that she’d probably offer to help out with Hope. What he didn’t understand was that she didn’t mind at all. It had been ages since she’d slept soundly. She was more than happy to take any help she could get.

“I would love that.”

Julia’s face brightened and she squeezed Kay’s arm gently. “Excellent. Well, once she’s asleep come on out to the family room. It was an Alexander tradition when the boys were growing up to take a peek into our stockings on Christmas Eve. Since my boys are still
boys
”—she rolled her eyes affectionately—“they still do it to this day.”

Kay grinned at the image of Elliott as a little boy taking a peek at his Christmas gifts. “That sounds like fun. I’ll just rock Hope for a while and then I’ll be out. She usually goes to sleep pretty quickly if I sing to her.”

“Sounds good. I’ll wait a few minutes before I put the hot cocoa on.”
 

After Julia left, Kay bounced Hope on her hip gently, humming softly under her breath. Hope fidgeted for a while, then rested her head on Kay’s shoulder. As Kay sang the familiar words of her favorite church hymn, the baby let out a wide yawn. When Kay looked down at her, she was fast asleep.

She continued walking and singing softly until she was sure Hope wouldn’t wake up, then placed her carefully in the playpen. The plastic unicorn was already in there, so she placed it near the baby’s clenched fist and then covered her with her blankie. Kay backed out of the room and closed the door quietly behind her.
 

“Is she asleep?”

Kay jumped and then let out a breath when she noticed Eli waiting for her in the darkened hallway. “You scared me. Yes, she just nodded off. She’s had a long day.”

Eli walked closer, coming out of the shadows. “So have you.”

“Yeah, it’s not every day I crash into a ditch. Thank God for that.”

He grunted and took her arm gently. “That’s why you need to sit down.”

His words were gruff, but a small rush of pleasure made Kay shiver. Even when he seemed so remote and cold, he was still looking out for her well-being. Taking care of her.
 

“Your mom said something about hot cocoa?”
 

“There’ll be plenty of that along with cider, eggnog, espresso, cookies, cakes, brownies, you name it. In case you hadn’t figured this out yet, the Alexanders love a good party. Food is a big part of that.”

They entered the family room, and Kay took a seat on the edge of the room. Julia brought them steaming mugs of cocoa filled to the brim with fluffy marshmallows. Plates of cookies were passed around, and after trying valiantly to ignore the delicious smell, Kay gave up on having willpower and took one. Warm chocolate melted on her tongue and she finally began to relax.

It was so surreal to watch Jackson and Nick fighting over the candy dish and to have a supermodel sitting on the couch talking about an acting role she’d been offered. This time last year she’d been pregnant and terrified, wondering how in the world she was going to take care of a baby by herself. Her own mother hadn’t even been speaking to her at the time. Their dinner had been a tense, silent affair.
 

If things had gone to plan, this year wouldn’t have been much better. She’d be shivering in her cold, empty apartment, worried about how to keep her daughter warm. Instead, Hope was safe and happy while she was sitting next to her secret crush and drinking cocoa. They were both safely tucked away in the warm interior of the Alexanders’ living room, surrounded by happiness.
 

Everything was perfect.
 

*
 
*
 
*
 
*
 
*

“COME ON, EVERYONE. It’s time to peek in the stockings.” Julia herded all her children and grandchildren closer to the tree. Across the fireplace mantel, six stockings hung in a row, each one lovingly hand-knit by their Grandma Alexander, Mark’s mother.

Ridley took a seat on the couch. Jackson sat next to her as Chris and Jase made a beeline for the Christmas tree. At Mark’s suggestion, they’d started allowing the kids to open one present on Christmas Eve while the adults looked in their stockings. They usually hid candy and treats for the kids amongst the boughs of the Christmas tree as well.

It was a lovely tradition, one that Ridley looked forward to continuing for years to come.

“Hey, Mom, why don’t you go first?” Jackson called out. He squeezed her hand and winked at her. He seemed just as anxious for her mother-in-law to find their surprise as she was.
 

“I would love to.” Julia unhooked the stocking labeled “MOM” and rooted around in the bottom. The first thing she pulled out was a slim jewelry case. She turned to Mark, who was reclining in his favorite comfy leather chair near the fireplace.
 

“Mark, you didn’t?” She popped open the case and let out a small sigh. “Would you look at that?” Her eyes were bright as she lifted the delicate bracelet out of the box.

“You always wanted one of those charm bracelets when we first got married,” Mark grumbled. He looked abashed at all the attention.
 

“But we couldn’t afford it back then,” Julia whispered. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears as she walked over and draped herself across his lap. “It’s never too late. Thank you, honey.” She kissed him tenderly while her two grandsons made gagging noises.
 

“Ew, they’re kissing again,” Chris whispered. Laughter broke out as his loud whisper broke the silence.
 

“You’ll understand one day.” Nick pulled Chris into a hug. “I promise.”

“Okay, enough of that,” Jackson called out to his parents who were still snuggling. “What else have you got?”

“What more do I need?” Julia wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and then reached into the stocking again. She pulled out a small piece of blue fabric. Her brow furrowed as she stared at it. “It’s a baby’s hat. How did this get in my stocking?”

She glanced over at Nick and Raina who both looked just as puzzled as she did. Then she swung around to look at Jackson and Ridley.
 

“Oh! Oh! Does this mean what I think it means?” Julia jumped up and held out her arms to Ridley.
 

Ridley nodded shyly. Julia let out a whoop that startled both of the babies. Jada let out a disgruntled cry until Nick picked her up and rocked her.
 

“It’s okay, baby girl. Grandma is just excited. And you’re getting another cousin.” He turned to Jackson and offered a hand. “Congratulations, little brother. I can’t wait to meet the newest addition.”

As Jackson accepted handshakes and backslapping from Matt, Eli, and Bennett, Ridley sat back down on the couch. She already could feel the changes in her body and she was only about four months along. Along with crying at everything from cute pictures of kittens on the Internet to Jase’s drawings, she was also exhausted all the time.
 

“We’re getting a baby?”

Ridley looked up when Chris sat on the couch next to her. He bit his lip as he glanced at her stomach. “Yes, we’re getting a baby. Do you remember when Auntie Raina carried baby Jada in her tummy?”

He nodded. “Jada kicked my hand when I touched Auntie Raina’s belly.”

“Yeah, she did.” She pulled him close and kissed the top of his tight curls. He sat quietly for a moment and Ridley didn’t push him. Chris liked to talk and ask questions, but she figured he needed time to process. They’d debated telling the kids first, but they’d been worried the boys would announce it as soon as they arrived.
 

Jase walked over to them. “RiRi, you’ve got a baby on your belly!”
 

The whole room laughed.
 

“Well, there’s a baby
in
my belly. But that’s close enough, sweetie.”
 

Jase looked offended that everyone was still chuckling at his expense. Ridley pulled him onto her lap. He put his small hands on her cheeks.

“You’re going to be the mommy.” Since his own mother had died not long after he was born, Jase had long been fascinated by the concept of “mommies.” She was sure he’d have many questions over the next few months.
 

Chris looked up then. “If the baby is going to call you mommy, can we call you mommy, too? Our first mommy is in heaven now, so maybe she won’t mind.” He looked down at his sneakers and then back up at her. The hope in his eyes made her feel like a big fist was wrapped around her heart.