Mother Load

by KG MacGregor

  “It’s hard to say. But I’m sure he’ll come to both houses, so I guess it doesn’t really matter which one he goes to first.”

  “But Jonah said he might run out of toys.”

  She gritted her teeth at her nephew’s mischief. “Shhh…Santa always has enough toys. If he runs out he just sends his elves back to the North Pole to get more. Quit worrying and go to sleep.”

  They had discovered a trick for calming him when his asthma acted up—running a hand gently over his tummy and chest—and she employed that now. After only a couple of minutes he began to fade, his eyes finally closing once and for all as he drifted off to sleep. She gave him an extra minute or two for good measure and tiptoed out of the room just as Anna reached the top of the stairs.

  “Did you get him to sleep?”

  She nodded. “How does it look?”

  “Go see for yourself.”

  The twinkling tree afforded enough light to show off the exciting display. The gleaming BMX bicycle had been at the top of Andy’s wish list when the Christmas season rolled around. She had suggested a bike with more features, like a basket, a bell and streamers for the handlebars, but Anna insisted the Mach 1 Jr. was a better mechanical design that Andy would appreciate because of his fascination with cars.

  He would love the construction set too because he could use it in conjunction with his small toy cars. There was a paint set to encourage his artistic side and a toy guitar to develop his music aptitude. All in all, a collection of practical gifts he would enjoy.

  On the coffee table were remnants of the peanut butter cookies and milk Andy had left for Santa. Nice that Santa happened to like Anna’s favorite.

  When she heard water running in the master bathroom, she hurried back to the laundry room where she had hidden Anna’s present the night before. It was a rectangular box nearly three feet high, wrapped brightly in gold foil with a dark blue velvet ribbon. Once she had it positioned next to the tree she checked on Andy one last time and headed for bed, leaving the bedroom door ajar in case someone decided to sneak downstairs early.

  The sight that greeted her brought a smile. Anna, with an obvious inkling of how sexy she looked, sat on the end of their king-sized bed wearing a knee-length baseball shirt and a Santa hat. “Did you happen to bring the mistletoe?”

  “An unnecessary formality.” Lily straddled her lap and urged her backward onto the bed. Their kiss was just the right mix of tenderness and heat to share their love but not enough to send them into a lustful romp, which was off-limits with the door open.

  “It’s been quite a year,” Anna said, turning off the light to settle beneath the comforter. Her long arms drew Lily close. “Seems like it was only yesterday we did this Santa stuff.”

  “Kim said that too. We started all the fertility shots last January…”

  “And we took Andy to Munich to see where the BMWs are born…and spent a whole week in July camping out at Silverwood Lake.”

  “He started school. You went through all that downsizing at work.”

  “It’s been a pretty good year now that I think about it. We worried a lot but things worked out just the way we planned.”

  “And before you know it we’ll be lying here talking about Santa again and wondering where the year went.” Lily drew Anna’s hand to her lips and kissed it. “Did I ever get around to asking what you wanted for Christmas?”

  “I have everything I need under this roof…you, Andy…” Her hand crept lower to caress Lily’s tummy. “A healthy baby on the way. I don’t how you could possibly top this.”

  “I could always get you a minivan to replace that little sports car.”

  There was nothing quite like a child’s delight on Christmas morning, Anna decided. She had every intention of instilling charitable values in her son as he grew older, but for now would savor his innocent belief that a jolly man from the North Pole squeezed down their chimney overnight and deposited this bounty. Andy was already wearing his new football jersey over his pajamas and couldn’t wait to ride his bike, play his guitar, paint a picture or build a town for his cars. He also clamored to read the books, watch the DVDs and eat the candy that had been stuffed into his stocking.

  Lily snapped a picture as he slung the guitar strap over his shoulder and began to sing. “Reminds me of your cooking,” she said, covering her mouth as she leaned over.

  “Pffft, what cooking?”

  “Exactly.”

  “A little louder, Andy. Mama’s having trouble hearing you.” Anna stuck out her tongue at Lily. “Give me that camera and go open your presents.”

  She snapped away as Lily unwrapped an elaborate foot massager, bubble bath, scented massage oils and a gift certificate for two at a day spa in Palm Springs. “Someone thinks I’m going to need a little relaxation.”

  “Your comfort is my reason for living.” Since her talk with Kim in Tahoe, she had been on a mission to find the most pampering gifts on the market. Remembering how her sister had complained of not being able to tie her own shoes, she had helped Andy pick out two pairs of sturdy slip-ons Lily could wear to work.

  “Okay, your turn.” Lily snatched the camera from her hands and directed her toward the large box in the corner. “Let’s see if Santa thinks you’ve been a good girl.”

  Anna ripped off the paper to find a car seat. “Very nice. I can keep it at my office,” she added, hoping to fend off further discussion of selling her beloved sports car.

  “I predict that will last a couple of months, three at the most. Then you’ll get tired of running back and forth to fetch a car. You’ll be begging me to drive my new minivan.”

  “You know me better than that. Those things are hideous.”

  “They’re practical, and they’re safer than riding around in something no bigger than a roller skate.”

  Invoking safety was below the belt. “I’ve never had an accident, unless you count someone spilling a milkshake all over my console. And I’m sure all the studies would say the safest cars are the ones we feel most comfortable driving.” She looked to Andy for support. “Mama wants me to get rid of the Z8. Does that sound like a good idea to you?”

  “You can give it me,” he answered without missing a beat.

  “Now you’re talking. I’ll drive it until the day I hand it over to you.”

  Lily sneered at her cynically and she answered with her most innocent smile.

  At the rate Jonah was tearing through the Big House in pursuit of his new puppy, Kim and Hal’s strategy for wearing him out was almost certain to pay off. It was no surprise to see Andy following along with equal excitement as the black-and-white mutt dashed from room to room. Martine, on the other hand, was anxious about her fragile antiques, lamps and sculptures, and insisted they confine their chase to the family room and kitchen.

  “Can we get a puppy too?” Andy asked the moment he sat down for a breather.

  “We already have a dog,” Lily said.

  “But he isn’t a puppy like Peanut!”

  “Peanut will only be a puppy for a little while. Then he’ll grow up and be a dog just like Chester.” Except judging from the size of Peanut’s feet at only ten weeks, he would be twice as big as their basset hound and probably three times bigger than what Kim and Hal had in mind when they suggested Jonah call him Peanut. Someone at the animal shelter was probably still laughing hysterically at their gullibility when he insisted this dog wouldn’t grow much more.

  Anna slid onto the sofa and scooped Andy into her lap. “Mama’s right, pal. If we got a puppy, you might not play with Chester as much and it would hurt his feelings. You wouldn’t want that, would you?”

  He shook his head but looked unconvinced. “I could play with both of them the same.”

  Lily had anticipated Andy’s interest in the puppy, but was pretty sure he would forget about it once he got back home with his new bike and other toys. “There isn’t enough room for two dogs on your bed and you know how much Chester likes sleeping there. And what if
you threw the ball and the puppy got it before Chester could? That wouldn’t make him very happy, would it?”

  Anna hugged him fiercely. “You can play with Peanut whenever you go to Jonah’s, just like he plays with Chester when he comes to our house. Did you tell Jonah about your new bike?”

  That sent him scampering into the kitchen after Jonah, creating a space next to Anna that Lily filled. “He’ll settle down when we start to open gifts,” Lily said.

  “Yeah, but it won’t last long. Something tells me Peanut will steal the day.”

  “Maybe not. We have a lot of presents to open from each other. Who knows? There might be something special in there.”

  “More special than a puppy? It better have four wheels and a V-8 under the hood.”

  When Christmas dinner was finished the family gathered around the tree to exchange gifts. Lily gave Hal their pre-arranged signal and he disappeared briefly, returning with a large box she had dropped off last week and hidden in one of the guest rooms at the Big House.

  The children’s gifts came first. For the sake of harmony, George and Martine gave both boys the same thing, inflatable kayaks for the pool. Alice got a small pony on wheels that she could scoot throughout the house.

  Kim’s gift to Lily was a cookbook—for Anna—called Cooking for Morons.

  “Very funny,” Anna said. “I’ll have you know I made a perfectly good lasagna last week, so there!”

  Lily shielded her mouth from Anna and whispered loudly, “She warmed it up. Sandy sent it home with us after we went over there to eat.”

  “I didn’t just warm it up. I added a little parmesan cheese on top,” she countered indignantly. “You guys never give me any credit.”

  “You’re right, honey. It was delicious…especially that little sprinkle of parmesan. And that bag of salad…” She kissed her fingertips with flair. “Magnifico!”

  Andy gave his grandparents his school picture, framed and ready to hang in the den beneath the ones of his mother and aunt. Lily voiced her satisfaction that his class had gone for pictures before lunch, since he had arrived home that afternoon sporting a mustard stain on his new sweater vest.

  Not to be outdone, Jonah presented a photo from his preschool, and topped Andy’s gift by adding a studio photo of him holding his sister. They were beautiful children, Lily had to admit, and she didn’t blame Kim and Hal one bit for showing them off. From his fallen face, Andy felt his gift had come up short.

  “Come sit with me, Andy. There might be another surprise under the tree.”

  They worked their way through the gifts until only the large box remained. “This one’s for Anna,” George said. “From Lily.”

  Anna looked at her curiously. “What’s this? We always do our gifts at home.”

  “Just a little something extra.”

  “Little?” The box was half again as large as the box that had held the car seat, and wrapped identically in gold foil with a velvet ribbon. Anna tore the paper tentatively and finally opened the top to peek inside. “There’s another box inside this box.”

  By this time the boys were curious too, and they helped separate the two boxes. “Open it,” Andy said, pulling the ribbon on the smaller package.

  Inside, Anna found a second car seat. “I feel like I’m having a déjà vu. Is this supposed to be one for your car and one for my office?”

  Lily shook her head. “Nope, for your car.”

  Anna sighed and looked at the others plaintively. “She’s trying to talk me into selling the Z8 and getting a minivan. I told her no way, that if I needed to pick up Andy and the baby I’d just grab something off the lot. Seriously, can you guys picture me in a minivan?”

  “I think it’s a marvelous idea,” Kim said. “You can swing by and pick up Jonah too…and eight of his closest friends.”

  “Don’t you need a bus driver’s license for that?” Hal teased. “And I think they have a union.”

  Even Martine got into the game. “You can wear a uniform! Dark slacks and a short-sleeved shirt with a necktie.”

  “You guys are hilarious. I’m not getting a minivan.” Anna folded her arms and stubbornly jutted out her lower lip.

  “Maybe I’ll get a minivan,” Lily said.

  “I don’t see why you’d need one. This baby seat will fit just fine in the X3.”

  “That one’s yours.”

  “Then the other one, the one you gave me this morning.”

  “That one’s yours too.”

  Anna’s face contorted and she locked eyes with Lily, who was fighting a losing battle not to smile.

  “Holy—” Kim slapped her hand over her mouth.

  “Holy what? Why would I—” Her jaw dropped and her eyes went wide. “Oh, my God.”

  Lily nodded. “You’ll need both of them. And two cribs…two high chairs…and a double stroller.”

  The next few moments were a blur as the room filled with shrieks and everyone reached out to claim a hug. When the chaos cleared, Anna was holding her in front of the tree grinning wildly. “Twins.”

  “Two of them.”

  “And you’ve known this how long?”

  “Since the second sonogram. That’s why Beth had me come back. She saw a shadow and it turned out one of our babies was hiding behind the other one.” The last two weeks had been sheer torture as she planned her surprise. The idea had come to her as she wrapped the first car seat, which she had bought with every intention of letting Anna keep it in her office for emergencies. Now with two children on the way, the sports car was toast. “And there’s more.”

  “Not more children.”

  “More news, smart aleck. Beth’s pretty sure from the way they’re situated that they aren’t identical, which means…” She waited a few beats for realization to dawn. “One of them is mine and the other is yours.”

  Another round of cheers erupted and Andy wrapped his arms around their legs. “Why is everybody so happy?”

  Lily knelt and put her arms on his shoulders. “Because we aren’t just having one baby. We’re having two. You might get two little brothers or two little sisters, or maybe even one of each.”

  There was a flicker of concern but it lasted only a second. Then he turned to Jonah and announced proudly, “I’ll be a bigger brother than you.”

  Chapter 7

  “Are you doing that on purpose?” Hal asked, leaning away to cast a look of annoyance.

  Anna was momentarily perplexed, until realizing she had been crunching potato chips in his ear as she peered over his shoulder at the figures on his computer screen. That passed for lunch these days, as she never seemed to have time to get out of the office. Everyone was pulling a heavier load now that their staff was leaner, and she was back to handling all the advertising for the BMW lot.

  “Sorry…type faster and I’ll get out of your hair.” She was anxiously awaiting his December report, their first full month since the downsizing. If they couldn’t turn a profit with a skeleton crew and year-end sales that slashed prices to just over invoice, Premier Motors was going to hell in a handbasket.

  “I think you’re going to be happy with the numbers.”

  “Happiness is too much to hope for. I just want to exhale for a change.”

  He made some final adjustments to his spreadsheet and zeroed in on the profit/loss column. As he predicted, they finished in the black for the first time in eight months. “What’d I tell you?”

  There it was, the first sign they were bouncing back. “It’s not as much as I’d hoped.”

  “Southern California isn’t out of the slide yet, Anna. As people get back to work, that number will grow. But for now you’ve stopped the bleeding, which is what the reduction in force was supposed to do. That’s quite a feat in this economy.” He continued with his calculations. “Whatever you do, don’t look at the fourth quarter by itself. You’ll have a heart attack.”

  The severance payouts had cost them almost two million dollars, but she had braced for the drop. Without t
hem she would have leaked the money gradually through payroll and been forced into layoffs. “What’s that number going to look like for January without the Christmas sales?”

  “It’ll probably be flat for a while, but we should be sailing again by the time your little ones get here in June.”

  Twins. She had been smiling nonstop for the last three weeks. They had known going in that twins were a strong possibility since they were implanting two eggs, but after their first two attempts had failed it seemed unlikely.

  “How’s Lily?”

  “That depends on which minute you’re talking about. She’s got some energy back but she’s still having her mood swings—except I’m not supposed to call them that because it’s patronizing.”

  “Ah, yes. I remember it well.” He swiveled in his chair as she perched on the edge of his desk. “You can’t even head it off because sometimes it’s just flat-out contrariness. Kim finally admitted to me that what she wanted was just to bitch. If I tried to make things better I was an insufferable pest, and if I left her alone I was a heartless bastard.”

  “Was there anything you could do that actually helped?”

  “Keeping Jonah occupied seemed to help the most. It was good for him too.”

  Anna recalled several times she had dropped in to find her sister relaxing on her own. “I think Andy would like that. By the way, we want to get an early start down to Palm Springs on Saturday. Can we drop Andy off around eight o’clock?”

  Hal snorted. “Jonah will have been up two hours by then.”

  “Knowing Andy, he’ll fall asleep in the car on the way over.”

  “It isn’t fair.”

  “I know, but we’re rolling the dice with these two on the way. With our luck, they’ll sleep at opposite times and wake each other up.” She slumped into the chair across from his desk. “Anything besides keeping Andy occupied?”

  “I did a lot of little stuff that seemed to help, like bringing flowers or rubbing her feet while we watched TV. That was kind of a crapshoot though because sometimes she got sentimental and it made her cry.”