The Christmas Promise

by Sean D. Young

  There were so many things she needed to sort out because the situation was so complicated. She was completely blindsided by Simeon’s revelation and hearing it made her question everything she’d previously believed about him. From one minute to another, she didn’t know how she should feel; her emotions were all over the place.

  She was relieved that she’d made a wise choice to set aside her animosity and anger toward Simeon long enough to listen to what he had to say. She had no idea about the accident and felt horrible for not listening sooner.

  She started to wonder what would have happened if she and Mariah hadn’t run into him that day. There was a great possibility that he would have never known about his children. Jennifer thought he didn’t want to be bothered with her or the babies, but was so happy to find out that wasn’t the case at all. Now that he knew about the children, it would take them both to make their relationship successful.

  Jennifer still had so many questions, but decided not to worry about them right now. She wanted her children to get to know their father and explore their relationship. This was their chance to be a family and she didn’t want any negativity to get in the way.

  The water started turning cool, so Jennifer stepped out, dried herself off, creamed her body with a scented lotion and pulled on her pajamas. She had to get to bed early since she needed to pick up the twins.

  When Jennifer came out to her van the next morning, she saw it covered with a blanket of snow. She would have to take more time getting to her parents’ house because she was sure the ground was slippery.

  Jennifer drove over to her parents’ Hyde Park home to pick up the twins. She walked into the quiet house and could smell the delicious scent of nutmeg wafting through the air. She knew her mother must have started her holiday baking. She found Myra standing at the kitchen counter. She had just turned on the mixer when Jennifer walked into the kitchen.

  Myra McClendon stood five-foot-seven inches tall and at fifty-eight years old she looked much younger. Her blue jeans and pullover top were covered by her apron as she mixed some ingredients in a bowl.

  “Hey, Mom,” Jennifer said, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

  “Hey, sweetie, I didn’t know you were here.”

  “I just came in,” Jennifer said, leaning against the kitchen counter.

  “Do Micah and Mariah know you’re here?”

  “No, not yet,” Jennifer said, leaning forward, trying to see what was in the mixing bowl. “What are you making?”

  “Some sweet potato pies for your father to take down to the barbershop. He wanted some homemade goodies for the clients to eat coming up to the holiday.”

  Jennifer was still contemplating if she wanted to reveal her situation with her mother. She knew her parents loved her, but sometimes she felt they didn’t quite get it.

  “You should see what they’ve done down there, calling themselves Decorators. They had this puny tree that looked like they’d gotten out of a garbage can. I asked your father who did it and he told me they got it from Bruce.”

  Jennifer threw her head back and chuckled. “Bruce? You mean the guy who goes around selling stuff that he got off his sister’s boyfriend’s semi-truck?”

  Myra hunched her shoulders. “I guess that’s him.”

  Jennifer threw her hand forward. “He comes into the shop all the time. Lawd, those men don’t know what they’re doing. Why didn’t Daddy ask you or some of us to go down and help them decorate the barbershop for Christmas?”

  “I asked him the same question and of course he didn’t have an answer. They’re trying to do it themselves.”

  Myra went to the refrigerator and pulled out a ball of dough.

  “Are we going to have a house full for Christmas dinner like we did for Thanksgiving?” Jennifer asked.

  Myra turned the electric mixer off, taking the spatula and scraping the sides of her bowl. She looked at Jennifer. “Probably, the same as always. Why do you ask?”

  “Because I want you to meet someone.” Jennifer gave her mother an under-eyed look.

  “Okay, who is it?” Myra asked, sprinkling some flour on the counter, spreading it out with her hands and then unwrapping the cellophane from the dough. With her rolling pin she pushed it forward, then back and forth, thinning it out to put in her pie pan.

  Jennifer didn’t know where or how to start, or if she should even say anything. But she went forward. “My children’s father.”

  In mid-stroke, Myra stopped and looked up at Jennifer.

  “Their father?”

  Jennifer nodded.

  “What?” she asked. Myra picked up the red-and-white-striped towel from the counter and wiped the flour off her hands.

  Jennifer had tried to hold back her tears, but she needed her mother’s comfort and advice.

  “I met with him last night.”

  Myra’s eyes widened. After Jennifer revealed the circumstances surrounding her pregnancy, they never talked about Simeon, so her parents didn’t know much about him. Really, neither did Jennifer.

  “Did something bad happen? Did he say where he’s been all this time? Why he hasn’t seen those precious babies?”

  Jennifer started to think that maybe she made a mistake by telling her mother. She didn’t want Myra to be angry at Simeon when she hadn’t even met him yet.

  “Mom, you won’t believe what he told me.”

  Myra’s brows raised.

  “He was in a horrific car accident maybe thirty minutes after hanging up the phone with me.”

  Myra’s mouth dropped open.

  “I know. That’s exactly how I felt when he told me. When he started sharing the details, I had to beg him not to continue. He was burned and was in a coma. It was terrible.”

  Myra went to Jennifer, wrapping her arms around her. “Baby, are you trying to tell me this man didn’t even know about his babies?”

  Jennifer nodded then looked up in her mother’s eyes. Myra took Jennifer by the shoulders, leading her over to the table where they sat down next to each other.

  “Okay, let me get this straight. He almost loses his life and never knew he had twins?” Myra shook her head. “Mercy. I bet he was fit to be tied.” She looked up at Jennifer. “He wasn’t angry with you was he?”

  “He seemed to take things very well. He knew about Mariah because I told him the other day, but he didn’t find out about Micah until last night.”

  “Why did you wait so long before you told him, baby?”

  Jennifer’s eyes welled with tears. “I don’t know.”

  Myra stood up and walked over to the counter. “So what now?”

  “He wants to see where our relationship will go.”

  “Okay, sounds good to me. But how do you feel about him?”

  “I don’t really know. He seemed to be a nice man when I met him, but we were only together a week.”

  Myra walked back over to the table. “You’ve been through a lot, baby, but you’re a smart young lady. I’m sure you will make the right decision.”

  At that moment, Russell walked in with both Micah and Mariah.

  As soon as they laid eyes on their mother, they wanted to get down and go to her. Micah wiggled his legs and Mariah reached out her arms. This was what Jennifer lived for, these two special people. She got up and took them both from her father and went back to her chair.

  Russell walked over and sat at the table. “You not working today, Jenn?”

  “Yes,” she said, kissing Micah on the forehead.

  “Well, they can stay here with us until you get off work if they need to,” Russell offered, picking up the newspaper.

  That’s one of the things she loved about her parents. Anytime she needed help, they were there for her. She tried not to bother them, but they would always step in right on time.

  “Thanks for the offer, b
ut I’m going to take them to Pam’s.”

  Pamela’s Prep Academy was owned by Pamela McClendon, the daughter of Jennifer’s uncle, Jeff. The school had classrooms and activity rooms for infants up to age one, a room for the toddlers up to the age of three and a room for the pre-kindergartners.

  Pamela had a group of kids that came to her after school, up to the age of eight. At first she didn’t like putting her kids in daycare, but her cousin Pamela assured her the kids would be fine in her care.

  “Just let us know if you need any help with the babies,” Myra said, pouring her sweet potato mixture into the piecrust. She then put it in the oven and closed the door.

  “I need to pack their things so I can get out of here. I still have a stop to make before getting to the shop,” Jennifer said, handing the babies to her father and walking out of the room.

  She picked up the large diaper bag, restocked it, lifted their coats from the hook on the back door of the room and left.

  An hour later, Jennifer walked into the salon ready for work. She was so grateful that things had been steady with no problems since she’d had to give all her attention to her own situation. She went to the back and lifted her smock from the hook. As soon as she walked from the back, she saw Mrs. West come in for her appointment.

  Jennifer put the cape around her and led her over to the shampoo bowl.

  “Jenn, I don’t know why my hair keeps coming out.”

  “Did you start taking any new medications, Mrs. West?”

  “Yes, they had to change a couple of them because of the side effects,” she said.

  “I think I have just the thing. You have to remember that taking some drugs not only affects your body, but your hair too. No need to worry though, I have a treatment that can strip away all that and we can hopefully get your hair growing back nicely.” She squeezed Mrs. West’s shoulders, hoping to reassure her.

  As Jennifer got busy shampooing her hair, the telephone kept ringing and finally, Jennifer looked up and saw no one was at the front. Seeing the reception desk temporarily unmanned, Jennifer rushed over and snatched up the ringing phone.

  “Lavish Locks, Jennifer speaking. How can I help you?”

  “Hey Jenn, it’s Simeon.”

  “Hello, Simeon. Can I give you a call back? I’m right in the middle of rinsing my client’s hair.”

  “You don’t have to call back. I left you a message on your cell, but you didn’t call me back fast enough.”

  “What’s wrong?” Jennifer asked, wondering why he sounded so anxious.

  “Nothing’s wrong, I just wanted to know if it would be okay for me to come and see the kids tonight.”

  “Of course you can. We should be home at six o’clock.”

  “Thank you. I’ll see you then.”

  “See you then, Simeon.”

  Jennifer could hear the excitement in Simeon’s voice and she felt it too because her children would finally meet their father. She was so grateful that it was happening now and not when they were in their teens or older. She had no intention of keeping Micah and Mariah from Simeon. He deserved an opportunity to bond with them and she wasn’t going to stand in the way of that.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Simeon couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that Micah and Mariah were his children. He wanted to shout it from the rooftops, but he had to be careful because of the circumstances surrounding their births. He thought about telling his brother Charlie, but changed his mind. Even though Charlie had three kids of his own, Simeon didn’t think he’d understand his situation.

  Simeon had several conference call meetings on his agenda today, but soon after he’d planned to go to the toy store and pick up a few things for Micah and Mariah.

  Late in the afternoon, Jennifer picked up the children. She stood at the reception desk and waited to be buzzed in, then popped her head in the door of her their classroom.

  “Hey, guys,” she said watching their eyes light up. They ran over to her and she scooped up the twins, one in each arm.

  “Are you ready to go?” Jennifer asked, looking around for her cousin Pamela. She spotted her talking to other parents who were picking up their children.

  They both nodded.

  Jennifer set them on their feet and walked over to the cubby where they kept their belongings and helped them with their coats. She saw Pamela walking over to them.

  “Hey, cuz,” Pamela said to Jennifer.

  “Hey, girl. Looks like everyone’s on time today,” Jennifer said, scanning the room to see that there were only two other children left to be picked up.

  “Yes, I’m glad because I need to do some Christmas shopping today,” Pamela said.

  “Christmas shopping? What’s that?” Jennifer said, jokingly.

  Pamela laughed. “I know, right. I’m just starting.”

  “I haven’t had a chance to go shopping yet, but I have to find the time and soon,” she said, pointing down at her kids. She couldn’t wait to see the excitement in their eyes when they opened their gifts on Christmas morning. “Are you coming to the house for Christmas Eve?” Jennifer asked.

  “Girl, now you know I’m not going to miss Aunt Myra’s seven-layer cake. We have so much fun. I’m really excited,” Pamela said.

  “It’s going to be interesting to see who drinks the most spiked eggnog this year,” Jennifer said.

  Pamela giggled. “Uncle Henry swears that they don’t spike it. You know I don’t believe that.”

  “They’ve been spiking that eggnog since we were little girls. That’s why they never let us have any.”

  Pamela laughed while nodding her head. “I know, right. Those old men are a trip.” She leaned closer to Jennifer. “You know I sneaked a cup once,” she said, then sniggled.

  Jennifer threw her hand forward. “How do you think I know it was spiked? Me and Treecie both had some. I think she had more than me because she was knocked out and didn’t wake up until the next morning.”

  Both women threw their heads back and laughed.

  Jennifer looked around the room at the children’s work that had been displayed in different areas throughout the room. “You guys are doing well, Pam. I’m very proud of you,” Jennifer said, smiling. She loved the way the children were being exposed to their culture as well as learning the fundamentals.

  “All I can say, cuz, is we aim to please,” Pamela giggled.

  Jennifer stooped down and said to Micah and Mariah, “You guys going to tell Pam goodbye?”

  Micah stood behind Jennifer, grabbing her leg, but Mariah went over and hugged Pamela. “Micah, aren’t you going to say goodbye?” Jennifer asked him again, lifting him up into her arms.

  Both women smiled as Micah looked between them, finally waving goodbye to Pamela.

  “Let me get out of here, they’ve got those coats on now and I don’t want them to burn up and then go out in the cold,” Jennifer said, turning toward the door.

  Pamela waved. “I’ll see you guys on Monday. Have a great weekend.”

  Outside in the apartment complex parking lot, Simeon sat in his car staring at the main entrance to Jennifer’s building. Even with the cold weather, people were cheerful as they came to and from the building. Most of them were carrying packages he perceived as holiday shopping.

  Simeon hadn’t thought about safety as much as he did today. Would this place be safe enough for Jennifer and the kids? What was the crime rate? How often did the police get called in this area? He figured it wasn’t a bad neighborhood, but anything could happen. It was now his job to make sure that his kids were safe. He made a mental note to ask Jennifer some questions about alarm systems and the like.

  He stared at his reflection in the rear view mirror and saw beads of sweat popping up on his forehead. He was nervous, but couldn’t wait to hold the twins in his arms, to feel their little hands in his
.

  He popped the trunk, then got out of his car, feet crunching in the light snow on the ground, to retrieve the gifts. He tried not to go overboard especially since he had no idea what two-and-a-half-year-solds played with, so he hoped that Jennifer would be okay with the presents. He didn’t think of buying them until this morning, so he hadn’t gotten permission from her.

  Balancing the lavishly wrapped boxes with his left arm, he closed the trunk and headed for the door. He steadied them in both arms, reaching for the buzzer, waiting for the front door lock to disengage. Simeon let out a nervous sigh before opening the door and going inside.

  He only waited a few seconds after he knocked on the door before Jennifer swung it open. She smiled.

  “Simeon, what are you doing with all of these boxes?” she asked, stifling a laugh as she watched him try to juggle the stack. She took a couple off the top to lighten his load, then stepped back inside, so that he could enter the apartment.

  “I’m surprised you could see how to get up here,” she said.

  Simeon was so grateful she took some of them from him because he couldn’t see. “Can you catch the other two that are on top?” Simeon asked because he could feel himself losing them. He didn’t want the contents to spill out on the floor. Walking inside, he set the rest down on the floor next to the coffee table.

  Simeon was so anxious he started darting around, looking for the twins as he removed his coat. He glanced up at Jennifer who had a huge smile on her face. “What’s so funny?” he asked.

  “You,” Jennifer said, pointing purposefully at him, her finger touching his chest.

  Simeon quickly grabbed her finger, gently pulling her toward him. “Can I have a hug?”

  Jennifer stepped closer to him, stood on the tips of her toes and threw her arms around his neck. He squeezed her gently, loving the familiar feel of her body against his.

  Jennifer stepped back. “Why don’t you have a seat? I’m going to go and get the kids.”

  Simeon rubbed his hands together merely from nervous energy, walked over to the sofa in the living room and sat down. He wasn’t surprised that this heart rate accelerated when he heard the children talking in the hallway. You couldn’t make out exactly what they said, but they were talking nonetheless.