At the Taylor home in St. Louis, Christmas morning amounted to being pounced on by a half-crazed lunatic at five-thirty in the morning. She was used to getting up at that time, no one should sleep in on Christmas, and how exactly can you sleep at a time like this anyway?
It immediately occurred to me that something very similar happened on one of those Anne of Green Gables movies, and it didn’t work out so well for the heroine…in the beginning at least. Things always worked out well for her in the end, because it paid to be quirky and smart and have a great imagination.
“I don’t know why I wake up so early,” she said as she settled beside me. “Nothing I do ever makes Charlie get up. Ever. He’ll just saunter out here when he feels like he’s good and ready.”
That tidbit of information might have caused her some irritation, but it was great news for me, because it meant I might have time to make myself presentable. By presentable, of course, that meant giving my hair a slight curl since he seemed to like it the night before, and making sure my lip gloss was expertly applied. It was shameless, really.
By the time I wandered into the kitchen, Willa was sitting there with a cup of coffee and Camdyn was across from her, chin on her hand and drumming her fingers on the table. When she locked eyes on me, she sat up straighter and narrowed her eyes.
“Um, it’s Christmas morning,” Camdyn informed me. “You’re supposed to make a messy appearance in your pajamas as per tradition. We’re not going to Glamour Shots.”
“Oh.” Thinking fast, I pulled out the chair closest to Willa. “We always dress up at my parents’ house. Sorry.”
It wasn’t one hundred percent accurate, but if Charlie Taylor had been at my parents’ house, you can bet I would have dressed up.
“Morning.” Charlie’s voice broke into my thoughts as he entered the room, grabbing a mug from the counter and heading toward the coffee pot. In the place of his standard uniform of Cardinals T-shirts, he decided to grace us with his presence that morning wearing a metallic gray button-up shirt that he had tucked into his jeans.
“Looks like I didn’t get the memo,” Camdyn complained. “Were you all planning a family photo or something and didn’t bother to tell me?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Charlie lifted the mug to his lips as he stared at his sister, but I knew exactly what she meant. If nothing else happened on that entire Christmas Day, seeing him dressed up just to make a point to me was more than enough.
Besides, he looked pretty spectacular.
“Are you wearing cologne?” Camdyn scoffed as she adjusted the topknot at the back of her head, hair sticking out every which way.
“I took a shower. It’s not a crime.” Giving his sister one last little teasing glare over his coffee, he pressed a kiss against Willa’s cheek. “Merry Christmas, Grandma.”
“Stop with the formalities,” Camdyn ordered. “I want to see these awesome presents you got me that you had to sneak away for.”
She popped up out of her chair like she was a bundle of energy while Willa stifled a yawn as she glanced at me. Of everyone else in the room, she and I were the only ones who had inside information on the magic, but even though I knew the secrets, it was still sucking me in a bit.
There was nothing at all posh and dignified about that Christmas morning. Willa was laughing even before the festivities started. Camdyn mouthed something at Charlie, and he turned around and threw something at her, after which they both smiled. Charlie then promptly lost something beneath the piles of paper, and what ensued was about five minutes of Camdyn standing on the couch while he ordered everyone else not to move. When she finally sat down, it was too far to the side of the armrest and she toppled over and ended up on the floor.
In the midst of all the silliness, I noticed Willa watching me. When she raised her eyebrows in my direction, all I could do was nod. She was right. Her efforts had been worth it, and it was impossible not to be caught up in their happiness.
Sitting on my corner of the couch, I stared at the gifts I had already opened from Willa and Camdyn, feeling every bit as loved as I was at my own home. Then, my eyes darted to the box next to them in the St. Louis Cardinals wrapping paper. My intention wasn’t to save Charlie’s gift for last, but I found myself doing it anyway. I glanced his way as I began to pull back the paper, but he was avoiding my gaze, so I stared at my lap while I uncovered the box. Carefully plucking it open, I pressed back the packing material to pull out the snow globe I had seen that day at the mall when Charlie and I were shopping. There inside that glass ball stood the likeness of my home in Cape Girardeau.
Holding the globe gently between my hands, I lifted my eyes again, catching Charlie’s gaze focused on me. “Thank you,” I mouthed, meeting his intense look and not bothering to avert my eyes. Without breaking our connection, he started tearing into his own present…one that I had purchased on the sly when I was with Camdyn.
Charlie’s gaze finally dropped to his lap, and as the child-size baseball glove emerged from the paper, he sat unmoving. His sudden stillness caught the attention of Camdyn, to my complete dread, and in my head I sensed the questions coming.
What’s going on?
Why did you get Charlie a kid’s gift?
Why are you and Charlie buying gifts for each other anyway?
Then my heart sank when he still didn’t look up. I had hoped it would remind him of his memories with his dad and why he loved baseball so much, but what if I offended him somehow? What if that was something he liked to keep to himself?
His full attention shot to me, and for a split second, I thought maybe I should say something. Before I had a chance, he shifted to one knee, stood up and walked toward me. I rose from my position on the couch like I was waiting…for what? I had no idea, but something.
The instant Charlie stood in front of me, his arms crept around my waist, pulling me into a hug. I was so thrilled that he was pleased, all I could do was throw my arms around his neck and hang on tight. It must not have been close enough, because he drew me even closer until my feet actually lifted off the ground. I laughed as he spun me around before he released me. No words passed between us as he smiled down at me, and that was perfectly fine. I knew exactly what he was saying.
“Am I missing something?” Camdyn blurted. Peeling my gaze away from Charlie, I managed to fix it on my wide-eyed friend who still sat on the couch, mouth gaping as she stared at her brother. “Are you and Charlie…?”
My brain ordered me to tell her something, anything, but instead I glanced at Charlie. That alone must have been enough of an answer, because she let out one of the most horrific, terrible groaning noises I’ve heard in all my life.
“Thank you so much, really. I don’t even know what else to say.” Crumpling the nearest wrapping paper into a ball, she threw it at us, hitting Charlie square in the arm. “Can you believe this, Grandma? Honestly?”
Camdyn turned her attention to Willa, who merely smiled and shrugged her shoulders.
“Well, that’s it then,” Camdyn stated, wrapping her arms across her chest as she stared emptily at the vacant area under the Christmas tree. “I hope you’re all happy. It’s officially the worst Christmas in the history of Christmases.”
Epilogue
Three Years Later…
The last strains of the song began to fade away, accompanied by subtle clapping as Charlie took my hand, drawing it up to his lips and pressing a quick kiss to my knuckles. There had been many moments preserved in my memory relating to this man, but that one in particular had to rank right up there with the best of them. We had danced before many times, but this was the first time I had ever danced with Charlie as my husband.
“There’s a perfect smile,” he stated as he moved my chair so I could adjust the layers of white billowing around my feet. Pulling out the chair next to me, he settled into it as he rewarded me with a slow grin. “What are you thinking about?”
“Just thinking it’s perfect that the kids at the daycare call me Miss Trina
, because now they won’t have to remember a new name.” Glancing out at the room full of our friends and family, I allowed my focus to rest on Camdyn. “What are you thinking about?”
“I wish Grandma could have been here.”
Instinctively I placed my hand on his arm, the fabric of the shirt under the tux jacket causing my fingers to slide slightly. “Me too,” I whispered. “She would have been so proud of you, Charlie.”
“She thought the world of you. I think she’d like the fact that you’ll be in her house, using her recipes, keeping an eye on me.”
“I can’t say that I’ll mind any of that myself. What about her, though?”
Charlie followed my line of vision to his sister, who was in animated conversation with my father. No doubt she’d found some academic theory he would speak about for hours, and she just wanted to show him that she could hold her own.
“Did you miss that part of the vows?” Charlie asked. “‘I, Trina, promise to love, honor, and cherish Charlie as long as we both shall live, and help him look out for Camdyn.’”
“Hmm…” A giggle slid out as I glanced at him. “I honestly don’t recall saying those words.”
“They were there.”
“Huh.” I turned my focus back to Camdyn, still standing next to my father in her pale yellow dress, hair halfway up with a small section of curls cascading over her shoulders, completely oblivious to the people looking at her. Naturally, those people included the man she brought as her date. He sat alone at another table, brooding over his empty champagne flute.
“I guess you’ll need all the help you can get in that department,” I finally told my husband.
“What’s that poor guy’s name again?”
“Jamie. You know, if I squint really hard, he kind of looks like Clark Kent.”
Charlie laughed quietly next to my ear. “Clark Kent morphs into Superman, though. I’m pretty sure that guy is always…that version. Anyway, you can’t help but feel sorry for the poor sap.”
“He was only coming as a friend in the first place,” I explained. “She wanted to un-invite him after he started acting interested in her romantically, but he already had the plane ticket.”
Charlie grunted next to me as he placed an arm around my shoulders. “I just hope her chaotic life doesn’t leave a mess in the wake again. Did you talk to her about coming back home?”
“I always do. She was almost done with her book research, so she said she might be moving soon. I’d say she’s open to the idea, as soon as there’s a catalyst to get her into motion.”
“Don’t say that too loud. It could be a disaster.”
“Your dad thinks an awesome curveball has that distinction because the ball is spinning forward and creates unequal pressure between the top and the bottom,” Camdyn informed us as she suddenly appeared across from me at the table. “Since the bottom of the baseball has the lower amount of pressure, there’s a downward force caused.”
“Um, he’s probably right?” I suggested.
As she slowly shook her head, Charlie placed his arm around my shoulders, as though I still had a lot to learn about baseball. Granted, my love for that had never blossomed, but I wasn’t about to argue over my dad knowing physics. It was his thing, after all.
“Trina, you can’t be serious,” Camdyn said. “There is such a thing as a clutch pitcher, you know. He’s not thinking about physics, he’s just crazy talented. I thought you were explaining all this to her, Charlie.”
“He tries.”
Rather than make fun of me, Charlie pulled me closer and kissed my temple. “Why don’t you come back to St. Louis so we can go to the games together, Cam? That will save Trina from the headache of pretending she likes baseball.”
“Please,” I begged, making a pouty face as I twined my fingers together in front of my face.
“Don’t guilt me. You know I can’t stand that.” She twisted her head to glance at Jamie, and then returned her gaze to me with a slight grimace on her face. “How totally awkward is this? I feel rather bad for ignoring him, but I don’t want him to get the wrong idea.”
Having only been introduced to Jamie the night before at the rehearsal dinner, I barely knew the guy. He seemed polite, and Camdyn had told me a couple times about their lively discussions, since he was a history professor at one of the local colleges where she lived.
“He’s coming over here,” Charlie stated.
Her eyes widened as Jamie tapped on her shoulder, and she slowly turned around.
“Care to dance?”
Camdyn offered him a gracious smile and rose to take his hand, appearing not to want to hurt his feelings. It made me feel slightly proud of her, and I turned to look at Charlie.
“I’m pretty sure she’ll be okay,” I said. “Anyway, there are more important things to think about, like picking out new appliances so I can use Willa’s recipes.”
“If you get new appliances, you’ll have to repaint the kitchen.”
“Something bright and sunny, so it would fit the vibe of the house.”
He nodded his agreement as he took my hand. “You’re sure you don’t want a nicer house, sweetheart? With my new job, it wouldn’t be any trouble finding something else. The fact that Grandma left it to me doesn’t mean we have to live there.”
“I can’t imagine living anywhere else.” I lifted his hand and placed both mine around his, rubbing my finger across the new ring he was wearing. “I found joy there, and hope, and…you. If we live the whole of our lives in that little house, you playing baseball in the backyard with the kids and me making cookies in the kitchen, I’d be perfectly content.”
He leaned forward to kiss me, leaving his head against my forehead when he was finished. “I’m pretty sure everything about that little speech would make Grandma smile.”
♥
“May I have your attention please?” The distinct sound of a fork clinking against a glass rang out across the banquet hall, and Charlie squeezed my hand under the table as we turned our attention to Camdyn, who was standing in front of the microphone, looking slightly embarrassed. As confident as she seemed in everyday conversation, she couldn’t stand speaking in front of a crowd. In fact, beyond her wide-eyed countenance, I saw the beginnings of a blush creeping into her cheeks.
“I’ve been told that I’m supposed to say a few words about Trina and Charlie,” she began, glancing over at us. “I wish I would have known ahead of time. I would have prepared something.” Unclasping her fist, she let a roll of paper slip downward, where it continued to unroll until it draped across the floor. The crowd giggled, and she looked over at me and winked. “You all think that was a grand joke, but Trina is worried right now that I have written on every inch of this paper. And her worries are founded, because I have.”
Charlie groaned, and I poked him in the side. Camdyn was my best friend and now my sister-in-law, so although his teasing about her quirky traits usually made me laugh, at that moment I was feeling somewhat sentimental.
“Trina Justine Miller stepped into my life on a cold January day, breezing into my dorm room like a breath of summer air. She tossed a canvas bag on the bed and asked me what I was reading. I promptly told her that I was contemplating strategy by Burnside at the Battle of Antietam, and her eyes glazed over. Luckily for me, I happened to have a snack size package of Oreos. Unable to think of anything to follow my history announcement, I wordlessly offered her my snack. She’s been following me around ever since.”
I remembered that day well. She was cross-legged on her bed and had a pencil holding her bun in place on top of her head. When she started rattling off things about strategy, I thought she was talking about one of those reality television shows. We had a good laugh about it.
“Things seemed to be going well for me at the time, but once Trina came into my life, I knew they couldn’t go back to the way they were. Even though it seems like we don’t have much in common, Trina and I were designed to be kindred spirits. She was destined
to be family to me from the moment I met her. I had no idea how literal that thought would turn out to be.
“There was a time when the idea of Trina and Charlie made me anything but happy. It was Christmas Day, and Trina had come to stay with us because her parents were in Florida and she wanted pumpkin pie. Wow, Trina, I never realized before how much your life revolves around food.”
Laughter helped ward off my embarrassment, but I couldn’t help but glance toward Aunt Shelly while I thought about her seafood Christmas. My step-cousin Todd caught my eye, and I doubted that kid had ever stopped growing. He was practically predestined to be a center for the Miami Heat.
“I’ll never forget it, because I was sitting on the couch in my pajamas, we were opening gifts, and suddenly there was this moment happening between the two of them. It was palpable, really, and I felt it before I knew what was going on. I looked up to see him crossing the room, giving her a hug, and I was pretty sure I’d just lost my friend to my brother. Feeling devastated, I immediately dubbed it the worst Christmas ever.”
“Notice she didn’t mention anything about kicking the couch and barely being able to walk after,” Charlie whispered as he leaned close.
“No doubt she wants to forget that,” I answered, nestling further into the crook of his arm.
“Well, I was wrong,” Camdyn continued, her focus moving from her paper to me and Charlie. “That was the best Christmas ever, because it was the one and only Christmas where my entire family was present. The next year, Trina spent the holidays with her parents in Nebraska. The year after that, my grandma was gone.”
She paused for a moment to collect herself, and I knew how hard that was for her to say. Willa’s death had devastated her, and she still hadn’t recovered. My heart hurt for her.
“So in my memories, that worst Christmas now ranks right up there with the most wonderful memories I have. All the people I loved were under one roof, sneaking around behind my back, but together all the same.” She hesitated a couple seconds as she offered us a smile. “Trina has been my sister from the very beginning. Thank you, Charlie, for making it official.” Grabbing a glass from the table behind her, she held it aloft. “To Charlie and Trina. May I dream of one day having a love so perfect.”
Unwrapped (The Camdyn Series Book 5) Page 8
