Mine on Christmas

by Sarah J. Brooks

  “Okay Dad,” Jackson said. “I think that’s a good plan. I would really like to sleep in tomorrow and get caught up on my sleep.”

  The two of them giggled about whatever their secret was and then went back to texting and whispering over Jackson’s phone. I really did love it when the two of them were getting along.

  If the two of them could get along this well all of the time, then I would have a much easier time parenting. One of the hardest things for me to manage was when they were fighting with one another. I just never understood it.

  Ever since they were younger there was this constant battle going on between the two of them. Some days it was worse than others but it always seemed like one of them was trying to outdo the other one.

  The twin bond was great between them and most of the time I sensed the love they had but every now and again they were so mean to one another that I didn’t know how to handle it. When incidents like that came up I always tried to think about what Rose would do. Sometimes it helped and sometimes I still ended up yelling at them.

  I remembered one time when they were about ten years old, Jenna said that she had to go poop and we needed to stop at a rest area while we were on a trip. Then like it was some sort of competition, Jackson said he also had to go. When I stopped the car the both of them ran up to the rest area pushing and screaming at each other like it was a race to see who could actually use the bathroom first. Raising the two of them had been one crazy adventure.

  As I pulled down the street to our house I noticed the front gate was left wide open. That was really unusual since it closed automatically after you pulled through it. Then as I started up the driveway I could see several cars in the distance.

  The closer I got to the house the more cars I saw parked there.

  “Guys, what is going on?” I asked them as I looked at them through the rear view mirror and saw that they were both really excited. “I’m going to stop this car right here until you two tell me what’s going on.”

  I did exactly that. I stopped the jeep about halfway down the driveway and waited for Jenna or Jackson to fill me in on why our driveway was full of cars.

  “Dad, we decided to throw the Christmas party anyway,” Jackson said after only a second of silence. He was terrible at keeping a secret.

  Chapter 18

  Niki

  “Okay, I’m going to get out of here before Thomas and the kids arrive,” I said looking at the clock and worrying that they were going to be there at any moment.

  “No, stay for the party. It’s going to be so much fun.”

  “I can’t,” I said and grabbed my bag to get ready to leave.

  “They are here!” someone yelled from out near the front window.

  “See, now you have to stay,” Samantha smiled at me. “Thank you so much for all your help and making sure everything was ready. This is going to be such a perfect party.”

  “You’re welcome,” I said without adding that I was planning on sneaking out of the house the second Thomas and the kids got there.

  I would wait for them to get into the great room and then I was going to get out of there. I didn’t want to ruin the party and I certainly didn’t want Thomas to see me there after he had told me never to come back.

  Samantha went off to the great room with everyone else and I stayed in the kitchen and tried to hide in the corner. I did like listening to Thomas and the kids as they came in the front door though. He was pretending to be mad at them but I could tell in his voice that he really wasn’t that upset at all.

  “So what you’re telling me is that you and your sister worked together and decided to throw the Christmas party anyway? You went against my wishes and had everything delivered to the house and we are having a party. What happened to Matthew? I told him to cancel all of this.”

  “He likes us better,” Jenna said.

  “Yeah, I like them better,” I heard Matthew join them in the entryway. “I’m sorry, boss. They really wanted a party and I thought you would get over it.”

  “You’re lucky I don’t fire you,” Thomas said but he was joking again.

  Thomas seemed to be in a much better mood than the last time I saw him. I sort of wanted to stay and see if the two of us could make up after that huge fight, but it didn’t seem like the right time or place. He should enjoy the day with his family and not worry about my hurt feelings.

  I hope that somewhere in the future we would be able to make up and at least be friends. There would be a time and a place for that though and I wasn’t in a hurry to deal with the emotions that I had about the whole fight.

  As I heard Thomas and the kids move into the great room, I slowly made my way out to the entryway so I could get out of the house before Samantha said that I was there. I knew that she would tell Thomas the second she had a chance and I wanted to be long gone before that happened.

  I opened the front door and hustled out to my car. I was rushing so bad though that I dropped my bag with my keys and then ended up trying to find them on the ground in the dark. It was freezing out there and I was feeling around on the concrete for my keys when I heard the front door open.

  “Niki,” Thomas said as he stood there looking out at the cars. “Niki,” he said again and I could hear he was getting closer to me. “Nicole, are you trying to sneak out of here without letting me talk to you?” Thomas said as he stood over me.

  “I didn’t want to ruin your night.”

  “You wouldn’t ruin my night. I want to talk to you. Did you get my voicemail?”

  “No, I’ve been busy,” I said as I motioned to the house.

  “Well, I’m sorry. I’m terribly sorry for being a total jerk and I would really love it if you would come in and join the party. I want to introduce you to everyone. And you did such a fantastic job it is only fair if you got to stay and enjoy it with us.”

  “No, no, I’m fine,” I said and continued to look for my car keys.

  “Are you looking for these?” Thomas picked them up and held on to them long enough that I had to stand up to reach them. “I want you to stay, Niki. I’m so sorry. How can I possibly make this up to you?”

  “Thomas, you can’t take back the things you said. So I’ll accept your apology and we can move on with things,” I said hoping that would be enough so he would just let me leave.

  “And you’ll come inside and visit with us for a little bit?” he asked looking at me with that handsome face of his and knowing I wouldn’t be able to say no to him.

  “Fine, but just for a little bit.”

  I did love seeing everyone enjoying the party as we walked into the great room. I’d already grabbed a ton of pictures before people arrived but I pulled out my phone and took a few more just to show what it looked like with people there.

  The room was packed with at least thirty people including kids. It was exactly as I pictured it though. There were a few small areas for people to gather around. Then the main area in the middle of the room. Plus, we had accessories throughout the room to show off the silver tone and the three beautiful Christmas trees for the past, present, and future.

  “Everyone, this is Niki. She is the amazing woman who planned this party. Well, with the help of Jackson and Jenna as well.”

  “And Samantha,” Jenna added.

  “Thank you all for letting me be part of your Christmas party,” I said. “I hope you enjoy everything and please make sure and check out those snowman chairs out on the back patio. There’s a smore’s station there for you to enjoy as well.”

  Thomas turned to me and said, “I will remember this Christmas for years to come, thank you again for putting so much work into it. And thank you for making me help with the decisions. I appreciate you letting me have that feedback.”

  “You’re welcome,” I said.

  “You know what? I don’t think that I apologized enough,” Thomas said and then walked up to stand in front of the Christmas trees. “Everyone, I need to formally apologize to Niki. She did an ama
zing job planning this party and worked with the kids to bring to life a vision for this family. It was a beautiful vision,” he said as Mildred and Henry walked in and stood next to me.

  “Hello,” I whispered to the both of them.

  “Oh, is he apologizing?” Mildred asked looking really excited that she had arrived when she did.

  “I’m so glad you two are here. You’re sneaking, but I’m glad you’re here,” Thomas said to Mildred and Henry. “Niki, I’m sorry for being the world’s biggest jerk and not seeing that you were only trying to make my children happy. I think Rose would have really loved you for that. She was always trying to make them happy too.”

  “You’re welcome,” I said hoping that was the end of his apology.

  “I never imagined that I would have another connection with anyone and I felt it with you as we planned this party,” Thomas said to my shock.

  I wasn’t ready for him to talk about our connection or anything else that had gone on between the two of us. My eyes darted over to Samantha who was smiling. And then I looked at Jackson and Jenna who were also smiling.

  “Okay, that’s enough,” I whispered under my breath hoping that he would stop talking now and not continued to embarrass me.

  “Let him apologize,” Mildred whispered back at him. “The man is not known for his apologies.”

  “So what I’m trying to say is that I want to get to know you, Niki. I think you’re an amazing person and I would really love it if you would let me take you on a date.” Thomas finally stopped talking and walked over to me gallantly holding out his hand.

  “Am I supposed to come with you?” I asked a little confused by what was going on.

  “I have to go to Paris next week for business. Would you like to come to Paris with me, not just for business but for a date?”

  “You want to take me to Paris for our first date?” I asked as I giggled like a school girl.

  What sort of guy took a girl to Paris for their first date? This was crazy. This was like some sort of fairytale. I was just a girl from the city trying to build my party planning business.

  I couldn’t talk. I was frozen with my thoughts running wildly through my head. I felt everyone’s eyes on me as they waited for me to respond, but I still couldn’t form the words. It was getting really awkward as I stayed silent though and I finally closed my eyes and forced myself to say something.

  “Yes,” I said loudly. “I’ll go with you.”

  The room erupted in applause and I felt Jackson and Jenna come up beside me and wrap their arms around me in a giant hug. This wasn’t what I thought this evening was going to end like.

  I felt a tear starting down my cheek and then another one. They weren’t sad tears, they were happy tears for finally feeling like I had a life to get excited about. Thomas and I were good and his apology was genuine.

  Having Jenna and Jackson excited for me to go on a date with their dad really made me feel amazing too. I loved those kids and no matter what happened between their father and me, the kids would be my friends forever.

  “So we are going on a date?” I said when Thomas came in close to me. “Does that mean that I get to tell people I’m dating a sexy world traveler?”

  “Yep. It does,” he pulled me in close and moved his lips even closer to me. “Does this mean I get to tell people that I’m dating a famous party planner?”

  “Sure, you could tell them that, but I’m not exactly famous,” I laughed.

  Then just as I laughed, Thomas moved in for a kiss and I felt some really strong camera flashes going off around us. When I opened my eyes I saw a man with a large camera standing near us and taking a photo.

  “He’s with Style magazine. They are doing a story about my family, this party, and our amazing party planner,” Thomas said as he looked over at Samantha who had clearly arranged this whole thing. “So I’m pretty sure you are going to be a famous party planner when this edition comes out.”

  “Thomas, I can’t believe this. If I had a Christmas wish list you would have just checked off everything I’ve ever wanted.”

  “Perfect, because you already checked off everything I wanted for Christmas. Niki, I’m so glad you came into my life and the kid's life and I can’t wait to get to know you more. I have a feeling you and I are going to have an amazing life together.”

  Epilogue

  “We are taking a private plane? That’s crazy, Dad,” Jenna said as we loaded up the jeep to head into the airport.

  “It’s actually cheaper to take one plane than it would be to have everyone fly over separately. Don’t get used to it though. We aren’t one of those families who takes private planes wherever we go,” I said trying to curb any sort of plan that we would do this again someday.

  “Honey, maybe we should get going?” Niki said as she looked at her watch. “We have a long drive and you never know how bad that traffic is going to be.”

  “Yes, everyone in!” I yelled as I hurried Jenna and Jackson into the back seat and then shut the door as Niki climbed in as well.

  It had been two years since our big Christmas party and this year we were heading over to Paris for a double party. Not only were we celebrating Christmas with the whole family, but Niki and I were having a destination wedding while we were there as well.

  Our first date in Paris was so amazing that I knew I wanted to marry Niki under the Eiffel Tower. It was where we kissed on our first date and where I will always remember telling her that I loved her.

  It might seem a little odd that I confessed my love for Niki on our first official date but the two of us had been through a lot already. I knew deep down that she was the one for me and I didn’t want to let that moment pass us by.

  We didn’t rush things though. Over the last two years, Niki had been crazy busy with her work. Her business expanded and she had three employees now. My business was as busy as usual, and I’d hired a managing director to try and lessen my own workload. Life was busy for us over the last two years but we continued seeing each other several times a week and finally, Niki agreed to move in.

  “Is Samantha coming?” Niki asked a little worried that we weren’t going to have everyone at the wedding.

  “Yes, she got approved by her prenatal doctor and she is coming.”

  “I’m so excited they are having another baby,” Niki said as if she hadn’t told me that a million times since we found out.

  It was fun to play with Eve and I would be fine with playing with the new baby too, but I was a little worried that Niki was getting baby fever herself. We talked about having children and I was open to it. The thought was exhausting to me though and now that Jenna and Jackson were graduating I secretly hoped Niki would get all the baby stuff out of her system by playing with Eve and the new baby. I wasn’t sure I really wanted to start back at zero with the father thing.

  “Matthew and his girlfriend are coming too,” I added, just in case that was the next question she was going to ask. “Mildred and Henry are already at the airport. Alana and her boyfriend texted to say they were on their way. My family is already at the airport. I think everyone is going to be there and ready to go when we arrive.”

  “Okay, okay, I get your point,” Niki laughed. “I can stop worrying about this party planning because you have taken care of everything.”

  “Exactly. I don’t want you thinking about or worrying about anything this week. I’m in charge of this party. I’m not going to let you lift a finger for your own wedding. I have some great help and we have made sure you will have the wedding of your dreams.”

  I really loved Niki and this wedding was so important to both of us. The little details had been decided together but then I hired a party planner in Paris and enlisted the help of my sister Ashley and Samantha in choosing the small details whenever I had questions.

  Party planning was a lot harder than I imagined it to be. Even when I worked with Niki on our Christmas party I didn’t realize just how much time and energy went into every lit
tle detail. But after working to finalize our wedding party I now appreciated Niki’s job so much more.

  When we arrived at the airplane the crew was already loading the passengers. It was a big group of people and included friends, family, and even extended family. The plane was going to be packed with nearly seventy people, as long as everyone showed up. I suspected they would. It wasn’t very often that you get a free trip to Paris to see the Eiffel Tower and an epic wedding.

  Flying on a chartered jet meant that we could take our time boarding and getting settled. We waited for the last few stragglers to arrive and when everyone was there we took off for Paris. The flight was made even more enjoyable by the reclining seats and personalized care of the four flight attendants.

  I slept like a baby for most of the flight. The few days before our trip had been so busy that I was often staying up until midnight and then getting up before dawn. There were only so many days that I could do that for before I was going to sleep and apparently I had planned that perfectly. Because I slept hard when we got on the plane.

  Arriving in Paris was a disaster. We had seventy people that had to get to the hotel and no good means of transportation.

  “I thought you arranged something with the hotel?” Niki asked as we waited for a taxi.

  “No, they were going to send their shuttle but I figured it would be faster if we all just grabbed cabs. I might have been wrong. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay, I don’t mind taking a cab,” she said and then got on her tiptoes to give me a kiss.

  The relationship that Niki and I had built over the last two years was solid and strong. We were kind to one another; we were giving to one another. There were no more of my outbursts because I trusted her, and I knew she had my best interests and the best interests of the kids in her heart at all times.

  My anger toward everyone had died down and I felt calmer than I remembered feeling in years. Rose was a part of our lives too. I didn’t feel the need to hide her away and pretend like she didn’t exist. Instead, we often talked about her at dinner or during something funny.