Three years later
The Duncan-Green wedding had happened last summer. The Commons were transformed for the lavish ceremony, decorated in, lavender and cream.
Hayden’s family—the Greens—had attended, on their best behavior without Grandma Winnie in tow. She’d passed away eight months ago now, her suffering meeting its end. Quite a bit of Hayden’s and her mother’s had died along with Winnie. Both of Tate’s families had shown as well—the Duncans and the Singletons—and as a result the Singletons hadn’t returned to Spright Island that winter for Christmas.
This year, they had. Christmas dinner had been served in their home—Hayden and Tate’s mansion in the woods. They’d proudly stepped Marion and William through the tradition of Christmas crackers, and Jane and George had gotten their first taste of American holiday cuisine.
Reid and Drew had come to celebrate with them as well and were currently sitting on the floor with their two-year-old son, Roland. Drew cooed over her baby boy, who was tearing apart a box—a box that had previously contained an outfit that Roland was ignoring.
Aunt Hayden understood his lack of excitement.
Tate came into the room with a tray of mugs as Jane followed with their family’s specialty: bread pudding. Hayden had thought she was too stuffed for another bite, but now that she saw the rich dessert she knew she wouldn’t be able to deny herself a taste.
“We have one more gift,” Tate said after everyone had settled into the sofas and chairs with their desserts.
“A surprise actually,” Hayden said, pulling one last paper-wrapped Christmas cracker from its hiding place on the tree.
“Another cracker?” Jane asked.
“A very special cracker.” Tate took the wrapped gift from Hayden and handed it to Jane, then gestured to his Marion. “Mom, why don’t you take the other end and give it a tug.”
“Okay, but I’m not reading another silly joke.” Marion warned. Her Christmas cracker contained a dirty joke about Rudolph and his “sleigh balls.” Hayden wasn’t sure how it got there, but she thought Reid might have had something to do with it.
“I promise there is no joke.” Hayden tucked her palms around her protruding belly, excited for the grandparents to learn what she and Tate now knew.
The pair of moms tugged and the cracker popped, spraying out paper confetti and a rolled photo. Jane reached for it first, gasping as she studied the blurry black-and-white ultrasound.
“You know the sex!” Jane exclaimed, squinting at the blurs and bumps on the photo.
“Let me see!” Marion sat close to Jane and leaned in also.
It took only a few seconds for Jane to recognize what had so obviously been there all along.
“Twins!” Jane exclaimed.
“Twins?” Marion repeated and both women burst into tears.
William and George shook hands and then claimed it was time for celebrating with cigars. Drew left Roland in Reid’s arms to see the photo for herself.
“Twins?” Reid frowned at his own son and then to Tate. “Show-off.”
Soon after, the bread pudding and coffee were gone. The men went to light cigars in celebration of twin baby boys coming soon to a wellness community near them.
Before Tate went outside with his brother and fathers he made sure to stop and place a kiss on Hayden’s lips.
“Merry Christmas, Tate.”
“Merry Christmas, Hayden.” He bent to press his lips to her tummy then stood and gave her a wink. “And family.”
