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ALTHEA
By seven o’clock, I was a basket case. I’d changed my outfit twice, finally settling on a turquoise tunic and my leopard- and turquoise-striped pants. Not as dressy as my first choice, but if I was about to have a bunch of strangers who were about to become family judging me, I wanted to be comfortable while it happened.
Despite my jumpy nerves about seeing Lou’s kids for the first time as his fiancée, this celebration would be a far cry from my last Christmas Eve with Archie. By then, he was in hospice. The mesothelioma had stripped his lungs of their ability to take in and filter air, and he required oxygen at all times. The illness had metastasized to his laryngeal nerve, leaving him without the use of his voicebox. Extreme weight loss and the weakening of his muscles had transformed my strong, brawny man into a shadow, a dried husk. He hung on for another few months after the new year, but I’d already lost him long before that final December twenty-fourth.
Bing-bong! The doorbell shook me from the past, and after one last look at my image in the full-length mirror, I straightened my shoulders and headed downstairs. I was a survivor, I told myself. A warrior. Lou’s kids would not intimidate me. But a nagging dread lingered, nonetheless.
When I opened the front door, Lou’s smile sent the rest of my jitters scattering. He pulled me into his standard bear hug, and my courage returned. Why should I be nervous? Lou loved me, and I loved him. Whatever time we had left on this earth, we’d spend like this, wrapped in each other’s arms. If decades apart, marriages to other people, and age hadn’t dimmed Lou’s love for me, nothing his kids said or did could change his mind in one night.
With my confidence renewed, I melted into his embrace. “Merry Christmas Eve, my love,” I murmured into his jacket.
He gathered me closer. “Merry Christmas Eve, Thea, sweetheart. Are you ready to go?”
I pulled away and straightened. “Just need my coat.”
“Terrific. Let’s go then. The kids are looking forward to seeing you tonight.”
“And I’m...” I said as I grabbed my Sherpa-lined mock suede coat from the couch and slipped my arms into the sleeves, “...looking forward to seeing them.”
We were quiet on the drive, each lost in our own thoughts, I imagine. Yet, during the ride, our hands rested, clasped together, on the center console. During turns, Lou would extricate himself from my hold, use both hands on the steering wheel, then once he completed the turn, he’d clasp my hand again. Few other cars were on the road, and the evening was dark and still—peaceful, as Christmas Eve should always be. Almost as if the weather gods respected the joy of the holiday and decided to give us mortals a break.
Courtney and Brice Howell lived about twenty minutes outside of Snug Harbor, in the nearby town of Morning Hollow. Their home, an L-shaped ranch at the end of a cul-de-sac, looked homey and inviting. Rainbow lights tacked to the framing around the roof and rafters illuminated the home, and golden reindeer decorated the lawn. Butterflies flitted in my belly as I stepped out of the car, but Lou took my hand in his again, squeezed my fingertips, and my nerves resettled into calmer behavior.
“They’re gonna love you, Thea. I promise.”
Feigning confidence, I tossed my hair over my shoulder. “They better. I’ve known your kids since they were barely out of diapers. They liked me then. They have no reason to dislike me now.” Brave words, I know. I said them more for me than for him.
The front door opened before we could knock. Brice Howell, wearing a red flannel shirt and jeans, greeted us with an ebullient, “Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!”
Full disclosure: I hadn’t known Brice quite as long as I knew his wife and in-laws, but he had worked in Archie’s shop as a teen, gaining the knowledge that would eventually allow him to become the owner of Snug Harbor Auto Body. So, he had even more reason to be good to me. If not for my husband, he wouldn’t have his livelihood. Well, maybe he would. But I liked to think Archie played some part in Brice’s career.
“Merry Christmas,” Lou and I said in unison as we stepped inside the toasty foyer.
Brice winked at me. “Already doing everything as a couple, I see. Court and I didn’t start doing that ‘til we were married ten years. Come in. I hope you like seafood. Now that we’re expecting our first kid, Courtney’s really embraced the Christmas traditions—right down to the Feast of Seven Baits.”
Bait? Like raw squid and stuff? I shivered, and Lou chuckled. “As an old fisherman, I can assure you only one of the fish dishes served tonight could ever be used for bait, and not in the way our gourmet, Courtney, makes it. Raw squid is great for catching fluke or stripers, but I haven’t yet met an ocean creature that likes fried calamari with lemon and aioli.”
While Brice took our coats, Lou led me into the living room where a crowd clustered around the Christmas tree and a table full of snacks.
“Grandpa Lou’s here!” Courtney announced from the arched hallway that led from the living room into the kitchen.
Seconds later, a boy with unruly dark curls cannonballed from the couch and launched himself at Lou.
“There’s my fishing buddy,” Lou exclaimed and scooped the child into his arms. “Thea, meet Jesse. Jesse, this is Nana Thea. She’s gonna be your new grandma next week. Can you say hi to the pretty lady?”
The boy gave me a shy smile then snuggled his face into Lou’s neck.
“Come on,” Lou coaxed. “Say hello.”
I touched Lou’s shoulder. “Don’t push. He’ll open up to me when he’s ready. Always respect a child’s boundaries.”
“Wise as well as beautiful,” another male voice intoned, followed by the appearance of Lou’s son, Evan.
Riding high on his hip was the most beautiful baby girl I’d ever seen. She had the kind of face Renaissance painters used as inspiration for cherubs: round, peachy cheeks; blue eyes full of innocence and wonder; tousled curls; and Cupid’s bow lips.
“Thea,” Evan said, leaning forward to kiss my cheek. “It’s good to see you again. Welcome—to Christmas Eve and our family. We’re all excited to have you here.”
“Thank you. That’s sweet. It’s good to see you, too. You look happy and well cared for.” Evan Rugerman resembled his father in his youth, with a more sophisticated polish Lou had never acquired. Of course, this adorable baby might have colored my opinion. I touched the hem of the child’s pink frilly dress. “And who is this?”
“This is our foster daughter, Elizabeth.”
“Elizabeth.” I glanced at Lou, who understood exactly why I repeated the child’s name.
He had the grace to flush and stare at the floor. “I thought it was something with Angel in it.”
A confused Evan looked from me to his dad and back again before clarifying, “Elizabeth Angeline.”
Oh, that got Lou feeling all proud of himself! “See? I knew it!”
“Uh-huh.” I paid him no more mind and focused on Elizabeth Angeline. “Hello, sweetheart. Merry Christmas.” Unlike her shyer brother, this child gave me her full attention and a beaming smile, then grabbed for the golden clip in my hair.
I jerked back as Evan issued a gentle but stern admonishment. “Don’t touch, Lizzie.” He offered me an apologetic smile. “Sorry. She loves shiny stuff.”
“Smart girl,” I quipped. “Marilyn was half right. Diamonds and annuities are a girl’s best friends.”
“That explains the rush for this wedding,” another male voice slurred. “When Lou first told us, we couldn’t figure it out. It’s not like you’re pregnant or anything. But I guess your first husband didn’t leave you comfortable enough, so now you’ll milk old Lou here dry, too.”
Hard to tell who reacted faster or more strongly. I gasped, Lou growled, and an umber-faced Evan snapped, “No one asked you, Tony. Have a cup of coffee and sober up, for God’s sake.”
“I’ve got a better idea.” Lou set Jesse down, curled his hands into fists, and thundered toward the man sprawled on the sofa. “You have five seconds to apologize to Thea or I’ll toss you out of here by your scrawny neck.”
I grabbed his forearm to pull him back. “Lou, no. It’s Christmas. He’s obviously drunk. Let it go.”
“No way. We’re going to have this out right now. What’s it gonna be, Tony? Are you going to apologize or are you ready to hit the bricks outside?”
Tony pulled himself up from full-on slouch to semi-sag on the couch and took a long drink from the beer bottle in his hand. “Jeez, I’m sorry,” he said without a scintilla of sincerity. “It was a joke.”
“Okay,” I replied on a long exhale of air. “There, see? Everything’s good now.”
I looked around the room at the cluster of men. Aside from little Elizabeth, I was the only female in here. Lou stood beside me, still stiff, anger emanating from him in heated waves that had sweat breaking out on my nape. Evan backed up his father, the cherub perched on his hip doing her best to ease the tension by babbling in a sing-song voice and pulling his hair and a worried-looking Jesse watching the scene unfold while bouncing from one foot to the other. Across from Tony, Evan’s partner, Dominick Bautista, perched on the edge of the club chair near the Christmas tree, no doubt ready to leap into action before the heated scene grew violent.
The sound of feminine laughter came from the archway where I’d first spotted Courtney when we entered the house. Of course. While the men sat laughing, joking, or in Tony’s case, drinking themselves into stupidity, the women worked together in the kitchen. Talk about traditional! How unfair that the men got to enjoy the evening while the women-folk did all the work. Give me time. That tradition would change by next year and the men would be pitching in more. Of course, I’d have to influence this family into breaking some of these patterns one holiday at a time. For now, this household had seen enough conflict, and I’d be on my best behavior all evening.
But before I could escape this den of male machismo, I’d have to make sure hell didn’t break loose in my absence. I left Lou’s side and strode with a careless air toward Dom. “Hey there, you,” I said with an excess of cheer. “Merry Christmas! How wonderful to see you again.”
He rose at once and pulled me into a hug. “Thea. Merry Christmas. You look fabulous.”
I pulled away and gestured at myself from head to toe. “What? This old thing? It’s just the body I woke up in one day. Imagine my surprise when I stared in the mirror. As far as I’m concerned, inside, I’m still nineteen and gorgeous.”
“You’ll be gorgeous when you’re a hundred and nineteen.”
Lou’s soft yet gruff tone washed over me in ripples of pleasure, and I relaxed. The crisis had passed. I grabbed his face with both hands and planted a kiss on his lips. Before I moved away, I added in a low whisper only he could hear, “Behave yourself, okay? Tony’s an ass, but he’s married to your daughter.”
“I will if he will,” he said loud enough for the neighbors to hear while he glared at his son-in-law.
I sighed and looked to Evan first, then Dom. Each of them offered me a curt nod, suggesting they’d defuse any situation that threatened to explode. I pointed at them one at a time. “I’m counting on you both.”
“We’re on it,” Dom said.
“We’re used to it,” Evan added.
Hmm...
Another challenge I’d have to tackle once Lou and I were married. Again, I reminded myself to be patient. There’d be plenty of time to repair some of the fractures I saw in this family going forward. “I’ll go see if Courtney and Kristen need help in the kitchen.”
I left the living room and found the sisters knee-deep in pots and dishes while they cooked and chatted, oblivious to the fracas happening a few yards away. “Hello, ladies. Merry Christmas! I came to see if I could help with anything.”
“Thea!” Courtney exclaimed as she closed the oven door. “I’m so sorry I didn’t come to the door to greet you. I’m keeping an eye on the pie. The crust is cooking faster than the filling, I’m afraid.” She wiped her hands on her apron before accepting my hug. “Merry Christmas. I’m so glad you’re here.”
Kristen followed suit and then gestured to an open wine bottle on the counter before picking up a full goblet and taking a sip. “Pour yourself a little Christmas spirit. There are glasses in the cabinet over there.” She pointed behind her.
I waved her off. “Thanks, but if I start drinking now, I’ll fall asleep before dinner is served.” The last thing anyone needed tonight was more alcohol in the mix. I wondered if this was a habit for Kristen and her husband, or an anomaly. “What can I do here?”
Courtney grabbed a serving platter and placed it on a bare area of the counter. “Oh, gosh. Thanks. Could you start bringing some of this stuff into the dining room for me? We’ll be eating in about five minutes, now that you and Dad are here.”
“Oh, I hope we didn’t keep you waiting.”
“Not at all. In fact, your timing is perfect. I’m actually running a little ahead of schedule. With fish, you want to serve everything immediately. Kristen, would you grab the orange surprise out of the fridge?”
I paused with the casserole dish of wild rice and cherry pilaf in my hands. “Orange surprise?”
Kristen nodded. “It’s my favorite. Sliced oranges with coconut and honey.”
“It adds a little bit of sunshine to a cold weather meal,” Courtney added.
“Well, everything looks delicious,” I said and headed into the dining room where the set table waited beneath the glow of the artificial candelabra chandelier. Gleaming china and cut crystal glasses glinted, and I could tell Courtney had pulled out all the stops for tonight’s feast. I doubled my determination to make the evening a peaceful success.
For the most part, Courtney and I achieved that goal. The meal was delicious, and conversation flowed. The only hiccup came when Tony, a little less drunk but still obnoxious, said again, “Why are you two getting married so fast?”
Seated beside me, Lou cupped my hand in his. “Not so fast. I’ve waited fifty years for this lady.”
Tony pursed his lips, and his brows drew downward in doubt. Time for me to take control of this question once and for all.
I addressed my statement to everyone at the table. “Your dad and I have danced around our attraction since we first met. We never cheated or were even tempted when we were both married to other people, but there’s no denying we’ve always been drawn to each other. I chose the date because neither of us needs a big to-do, we don’t want to wait because of some silly societal requirement, and to me, New Year’s Eve is the opportune time for saying goodbye to an old life while welcoming a new future. When more of your life is behind you than ahead, you grab every second of what God gives to you and you’re grateful for the time you get.”
Lou squeezed my fingers before bringing my hand to his lips and kissing my knuckles. “Well said, my love.”
Silence reigned at the dinner table for a heartbeat or two, and then Evan raised his wineglass. “No one can argue with that. To Thea and Dad. May you know love for every second you have together.”
All the other adults at the table raised their glasses, and Lou and I did the same. “Thank you,” I said, and everyone drank.
Another hurdle jumped.