“No, our dear sister is more than likely off talking to that numbskull she’s going to marry. He’s one of those exasperating nerds. He’ll more than likely be rich someday, but I can’t stand him. He’s a know-it-all.”
“Really? I never would have thought Allie would have gone for that type.”
“He’s a nice-looking nerd, or she never would have. She’s more than likely gone to her room and is curled up in bed with her iPhone. They Skype all the time, it’s sickening to listen to them go on about which one of them loves the other the most.” Roger shrugged. “I’m going to head up. Aunt Lisa wants me to show her to her room. Does it matter which one she gets?”
Celia shook her head, “No, she told me earlier she was going to sleep with Kendra and Brad and let Uncle Jerry have his own room. Any of them is fine.”
“Good, I’ll let her know. Really great-looking house you have here. Man, Martin must be loaded.”
“In debt is more like it,” Lillian chimed in, and she forced a smile that almost looked genuine.
“That too, I’m sure,” Roger agreed, reaching out to take Brad. “I’ll take this bundle of joy.” Roger took the baby and gooed and cooed as he looked for Lisa.
“You have a really nice family and some wonderful kids,” Lillian said as she started to clean up.
Celia thought it was a waste of time for her to tell Lillian that the maids would pick up the trash but the older woman did look very tired so she took the wrapping paper from her. “I'll take care of picking things up. You should get to bed. And thank you. My family's pretty close. And thanks for reading and giving the gifts out. That was nice. You didn’t have to go to all that trouble.”
“It was no trouble. I love children, but these days they do wear me out a bit faster. I think I’m ready to turn in. Talk to you in the morning.”
Celia noticed that Lillian didn’t bother to mention the disappearance of her own son as the children had opened the last of their gifts. She was tempted to say something, but in the end, it was nothing she wanted Lillian’s opinion on, so she didn’t.
There were boxes and paper all over the floor and Celia picked up a few items that were blocking the path. She glanced up as her Aunt Irene, Uncle William, and their kids, Sue, Billy and Riley started making their way up the stairs. Celia bade them all goodnight, and was thankful that if any of them noticed Martin wasn’t around they didn’t mention it.
She picked up a few boxes and then shrugged. She didn’t care if the paper was there in the morning. She wasn’t cleaning. The two boxes were in her hands already so she went to the kitchen, tossed them into the trash, and started to turn. She heard a swish of something and waited.
There coming out of the dark hallway was Randi. Well, she wasn’t gone after all. A look of hate or something like it must have crossed Celia’s face because Randi stopped in her tracks. Ann appeared right behind Randi. Randi slowly gave a faint smile and spoke as she walked to the sink.
“Are the children off to bed yet?" Ann asked. "Santa can’t come until they are.”
Celia wasn’t sure what Randi was up to, but it was obvious that her smile was strained. Though she went to the sink and glanced in for dirty dishes, Randi didn’t seem to want to turn her back for long. Good thing too. “Yes, they’re all working their way to bed now." Desperate to keep Martin and Randi from meeting again, she forced herself to say, "You two can go to bed. I'll pick up the wrappings in the great room. It's not much.”
Ann shuffled away, yawning. Randi nodded and answered Celia as she put away the few cups she had washed out.
“Good. I’ll see to it that the gifts are under the tree in the morning. Do I need to worry about any of them sneaking down to take a peek?” Randi leaned against the sink and crossed her arms.
“I don’t think so, but you never can tell. Maybe you should get up around six and eat a few of the cookies when you put the gifts out.” Celia thought Randi might frown at having to get up so early, but she didn’t.
“I can do that. Anything else?”
Stay away from Martin, was what Celia wanted to say, but she just shook her head. She wasn’t sure what game Randi was playing, or if she was just trying to hang around for a chance to speak to Martin. If that was her plan, Celia was going to try and get in the way. She wasn’t used to losing and she didn’t want to start now.
“I won’t keep you. I don’t want you oversleeping. It should take you about an hour to get the gifts arranged, so when you’re done, stomp around and ring the bells I left by the cookies. Then go hide. Take the bells with you. I’m sure the little ones will be listening for Santa. Seven won’t be too early for us to rise and open gifts.”
Chapter 57
Three Little Words
Martin was just washing his hands as he heard someone enter the garage from the kitchen. He rinsed, grabbed a towel, and stepped out of the bathroom. It was Celia. He had been hoping to see Randi.
Did he face the music or let her turn and go? Conscience got the better of him and he called out as she was going back into the house. “Were you looking for me?”
She turned, and this time there was no smile. She just nodded. “I was wondering where you’d gone. I was about to clean up around the tree. I was just tossing out some trash. Want to help with the rest of it?”
“Sure.” He said, not really sure what would come next when Celia claimed she was going to do some cleaning up. He followed her into the house and they went to the great room, neither of them speaking.
He really hated the situation he was in, and for the first time it was hitting him. He was going to break it off with Celia. Weeks ago he’d been planning on asking her to marry him. They’d even gone out and looked at rings together. She’d pointed at several she liked, one an engagement ring, one an emerald. He’d bought the emerald, but then decided to return it.
Even if things didn’t work out with Randi, he knew now that he’d jumped the gun by moving in with Celia, and that it would never work.
They were just too different. They wanted some of the same things out of life, but the path they wanted to take to get there was so different.
Martin just couldn’t imagine Celia ever wanting to have children of her own, and if she did, he knew she wouldn’t be the kind of mother he wanted for his offspring. He wanted the kind of woman who would sit in the floor and play with the kids.
It had become so clear to him how wrong they were for each other, that evening when the children started gathering around the tree. Celia wasn’t interested in what the children were doing. She happily stepped back and let his mother hand out the presents and tell the kids a story.
She would never be the kind of mother to sit in the floor surrounded by blocks and toy soldiers. She would never be one of those mothers covered in strained green peas, smiling at her son or daughter while they made the mess of a lifetime.
If Celia ever had children he could easily picture her sitting at the table having tea. She would be looking at the morning paper while someone else fed, diapered, and dressed her child, and that just wasn’t what Martin wanted.
When they started picking up boxes she turned to face him. His expression must have showed something. She stopped and tried to smile. “What is it?”
Martin laughed, bent down, and picked up paper, pushing it into one of the boxes. “I was just picturing you with peas in your hair.”
“What?” She laughed, but it wasn't real. “Have you been drinking?”
“I wish I could say yes, but no. I was just thinking about being a parent. Having so many kids of all ages around got me to thinking.” Martin leaned down, picked up a plush Santa and tossed him into a nearby chair.
“Kids? We’re not even married.” Celia laughed, but it still wasn’t a pleasant laugh, and something about it spoke to Martin. It was time to tell her. He picked up three more scraps of paper, pushing them into the box he was carrying. He set it by the tree and turned.
“Do you want kids some day? And if so, how many?�
� Martin took a few steps and turned on the overhead light. He wanted to see her clearly while they had this discussion, to read her expression and know in his heart that he was right.
“How many? Maybe one, two if we can have twins.”
“I want at least three, and I want them to be raised somewhere where they have spring, fall, and winter. I hope to be someplace where we can have horses, a pond, maybe, some ducks, dogs, even a cat or two.”
“What? Are you Old Mac Donald now?”
“No. Maybe.” Martin laughed, paced, and ran his fingers through his hair before turning to face Celia. “I want my kids to have everything I wanted as a child. I loved animals, still do. Most kids need a pet. It helps them learn to cope with all kinds of things. Responsibility, loyalty, life . . . death.”
Celia shook her head, set her box down and moved closer to Martin. “Is this the excuse you’re going to use to dump me for that girl? A maid, Martin. Really? I can’t believe you would do this. Now? With all of my family here?”
“I’m not doing anything. I’m not going to say anything to any of them. But I’m not going to pretend with you. I tried to tell you a few nights ago. It’s not just Randi . . .”
“Don’t even bother to give me that sad speech about how it’s not me, it’s you. I don’t want to hear it.” Celia turned and started to leave but Martin took her by the arm. He quickly let go as she turned, glaring at him.
“I wasn’t, and it isn’t just me, it’s you, too.”
“Great. You sneak around this house with another woman, and you say it’s my fault. That’s really low.”
“That’s not what I meant. You’re right. I never should have done anything, but so you’ll know, I haven’t slept with her.”
“But you want to.”
“I won’t deny that, but I haven’t, and I know I didn’t go about this the right way. I never meant for any of this to happen, but it did.”
“That’s a fine excuse. You let it happen.”
“True. I did. I could have stopped it, but it made me see that I’m not happy. After this is over I think you’ll see that down deep you weren’t either.”
“Don’t you dare tell me what I am. What I am is angry.” Celia, as usual, didn’t want anyone hearing them, and he could tell it took a lot of self-control to tone it down.
“Tell me, Celia, are you hurt, or just embarrassed? You know we’ve never once said those three little words to each other.”
She glanced up as if to say How dare you? Again. This time Martin’s anger started to show. “Do you love me, Celia? Look me in the eye and tell me that you’re in love with me.”
Celia shook her head, let out a sound of disgust, and stomped off toward the steps. Martin followed her, wanting an answer. She took two steps and turned to look at him. “Even if I did say it now, it wouldn’t ring true.”
“It would if you meant it.” Martin hated moments like this. He never liked hurting people, but he felt he had to make her see the truth.
They had enjoyed each other, they had even been happy at times, but they had never been in love. He took a step back and turned. He walked slowly, waiting, but she didn’t speak.
He reached into the great room and flicked out the lights. Still she said nothing. As he turned and made his way to his temporary room he heard his final answer. It wasn’t those three little words. It wasn’t any words. It was the lonely sound of her high-heeled shoes as they slowly moved up the hardwood steps.
Chapter 58
Santa’s Helper
Since she didn’t trust Celia to actually do the cleaning, Randi waited an hour. Then she came back to the great room and began cleaning up the mess herself. She smiled as she looked at all of the torn boxes and toys that had been left behind. It looked like the kids had enjoyed everything so far.
She picked up a small box that had a motorcycle on it, and a scene from the movie she’d watched earlier came to her mind. Watching Martin’s movie wasn’t the brightest thing she could have done, because it brought out so many emotions.
He was gorgeous, of course, and then there was the jealousy over the kissing scenes. She was just thankful there hadn’t been a bedroom scene. How in the world did people do that? Could she ever be in a relationship with an actor?
She pushed the thought aside, tossing the box into the trash bag. Then she lined up the forgotten toys on the couch and began bringing in the presents.
It was a good thing she hadn’t waited until six, because it took over an hour to arrange the gifts. Being Santa’s Helper was hard work, but it was worth it. When she placed the last gift under the tree, she took out her phone.
She took three pictures but noticed something. There was a spot under the tree that didn’t look right. She got on her knees, pushing and arranging the presents. Letting out a sigh, she nodded. “Finally. Perfection.”
“You missed one.”
Thankfully, Randi never was one to scream when startled, but she did jump at the sound of Martin's voice. She looked at the small gift he held out to her. She took it, watching as he sat down on the couch, pushing the toys aside.
She looked at the man before her and remembered the hardcore Martin from the film she’d watched. The character Moses had been a man racing to prove his innocence. There were lots of chase scenes and shootouts. It was an edge-of-your-seat kind of movie. Martin’s hair had been longer, and maybe darker, but he was definitely better looking in person. Was her anger melting completely for this man?
“There’s no tag.” She looked at the small box, guessing it was for her, but wanting to make him say it.
“It’s yours. I bought it the other day. I hope you like it. Now isn’t the best time to give it to you, but I was afraid you’d leave. When I heard someone moving around, I came out, hoping it would be you.”
Randi gave a slight nod and laughed. “You should have come out sooner and helped me carry all of the junk.” Randi had been sitting on her knees so she moved, sitting Indian-style, and looked at the small box.
Martin leaned back, seeming to relax, since she hadn’t started cursing or throwing things. She looked at the silver and green paper. It was so embarrassing to think of the way she’d acted. A part of her wanted to apologize, but another part wanted to . . .
“I’ve been pacing for the last hour wondering what I’d say when I got the chance.” Martin’s words shattered her thoughts and she looked up.
“What did you decide?”
“I thought I’d start with . . . I’m sorry, and then move on to some groveling and begging. Maybe I should have gotten you a bigger gift.” Martin smiled and put the ball in her court.
Randi could feel the tension easing out. Sometimes when you’d had time to reflect, things didn’t seem as bad. You would start to balance things in your mind. You'd think about things you’d done or said, and you would finally get to the point where you could put yourself in the other person’s shoes.
The anger could still be there, and tried to rise now and then, but it didn’t carry the same weight. There was room for forgiveness to start creeping in, for light to replace the dark, and oftentimes love would heal and replace the hate or anger you’d first felt.
“I don’t know. Sometimes good things come in small packages.” Randi looked at the gift, fingering the pretty bow.
“Open it.”
“I don’t know.”
“Come on. You’ll love it.”
Randi looked at Martin. He sat up in anticipation. When she still hesitated he said one more word.
“Please.”
That one small word most men never used. Maybe it was his tone, or the look in his eyes, but whatever it was, the word pulled at her heart. She did want to know what was in the box, but should she take the gift? Was she ready to forgive and forget?
She started with the bow, and then began to remove the paper. She didn’t want to act like a child, but what young woman didn’t love getting a gift from a handsome young man? She stopped short of opening a black
velvet box and looked up again.
“Go on,” was all he said, a smile curling at the corner of his lips.
Randi sighed and turned her gaze back to the box. She didn’t have any idea of what to expect. She tilted the lid open and immediately reached in, running her fingers across the jewels on the small dog that sat smiling at her.
When Martin moved to join her, sitting on the floor by her side, she didn’t protest. “I thought it would suit you. You’re so crazy about those little mutts from out back. When I saw the set, I just had to get it.”
Randi closed her eyes when Martin pushed her hair back. He was so close and he smelled so good.
He kept his tone low when he spoke. “Do you have pierced ears?”
She could only tilt her head toward him as his thumb touched her ear lobe. “Yes,” she managed.
“Good.” He didn’t move his hand. Instead, he trailed his fingers down her neck, but then he pulled back. “Do you like it?”
“Yes. Thanks. I guess you know I didn’t get you anything.”
“I didn’t expect you to, and I don’t want you going out and buying something just because I got you this. I wanted to do this. I bought it days ago.”
“It’s beautiful.” Randi wanted to ask what it cost, but instead she glanced once more at the pin, necklace and earrings. She closed the lid and rose. He looked up at her, waiting for some kind of sign or word. When she held out her hand to him he gave her a smile that she loved.
He rose and faced her, resting his hands on her waist. She knew it would be so good to taste his kisses again, but she just wasn’t sure that was what they really needed at this moment.
“Randi, I’m sorry. I should have told you that first day, but I thought you were playing with me, trying to win over the boss with some silly game. After that I just kept digging in deeper and deeper. You made me feel normal. I got to the point where I didn’t want you to know. I was afraid of what would happen.”
“I’m not happy about it, but I’m trying to understand.”
“Thank heavens. You make me feel like a real person. I liked being your Mike. There was no pressure. No worries about why you wanted me. For the first time in a long time I was just me, and you can’t believe how good that felt.”
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