I hope she doesn’t talk about hemorrhoids. Pregnant women usually get those, too.
“Would you mind taking the food to the table, and Alec, would you go upstairs in the playroom and get the kids?”
The girls gather the beautiful serving dishes of food while I run up the stairs to get the kids. “Who’s hungry?” I yell.
“Me, me, me,” the kids yell as they run past me.
“Hi, kids,” I yell as they run down the hall.
The giggles fill the hall. “Hi, Uncle Alec,” they yell from down the hallway and I watch as Raelynn skips behind them.
Once we all hold hands and Dad says the grace, we all sit down at my parents’ overly large table. We put a child in between each adult to make sure they are included in the conversations. It also assures they will behave during dinner. We talk about Blake and Jill’s twins, Shannon and Sean, turning four in a few weeks and about Cameron’s due date nearing on Christmas Eve and the surprise the baby will be when they finally learn the gender of the baby at birth. They chose to not know the baby’s gender early. We also talk about Raelynn advancing in taekwondo and about Dakota and Victoria’s son, Noah, starting to walk.
During dinner we go around the room and we each say one thing we are thankful for. It’s Shannon’s turn: “I am thankful that my brother no longer pees in the bed.”
Her brother Sean is next. “I am thankful that we got to wear sunglasses into the turtle movie.” We look over at Blake and Jill, and Jill adds, “The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie was in 3-D.” We nod in understanding.
Raelynn adds, “I am thankful that Noah spit up on his daddy and not on me.”
After dinner we all help with carrying the food and dishes into the kitchen, the guys go and watch television and the girls stay in the kitchen putting everything away and cleaning up. The house is an open floor plan and although you are in the kitchen, you can still see everyone in the family room.
Mom yells into the family room, “Johnny, as soon as the game is over, let me know so we can help the kids decorate the Christmas tree.” My dad’s name is John and mom is the only one who calls him Johnny. She does this only when she wants something or when she believes he is misbehaving.
“Ok, dear, it won’t be much longer.”
It’s been a tradition ever since they have had grandchildren: Mom and dad put the lights on the tree and have all the decorations divided evenly for each grandchild to put on the tree. I know Raelynn looks forward to it every year. This is the first year we’ll be doing it without Molly.
By the time the game is over, the kitchen is cleaned and the tree is decorated, we carry our sleeping children to our cars. We ate later this year because Molly’s parents wanted to get Raelynn early. Normally we would eat Thanksgiving dinner at 2:00, but my parents wanted to wait for Rae to be here. We say our goodbyes and I take the containers of food and lay them neatly in the backseat. Mom always sends extra food home with me after I visit. That’s probably why I visit a couple times a week.
Chapter Five: Blessings and Giving Thanks
Emma
Mom and dad decided it would be nice to have everyone over to their house for Thanksgiving dinner this year. We each made food and combined everything to make a Thanksgiving feast. After dinner and while Danny, Brice, and dad watch the football game, Mom, Brooke, Cheryl, and I all decide this is the first year we will shop on Black Friday. After Thanksgiving dinner we all sit around the table and compare sale advertisements. The kids are at one end of the table doing arts and crafts. Brooke writes down all the items we want and where they are being sold at the lowest price. We decide that we won’t mess with the one-hour in-store sales. Too many people and not enough merchandise. We also decide to meet up at my house at 4:00 a.m. and we will take Brice’s truck; it’s bigger and can hold more stuff.
Dad comes with mom so he can watch James for me while we shop. My parents are a God-send, and I have no idea what I would do without them.
Once we fight the crowds, traffic, and the extremely long lines, we return home and vow this is the first and last time we will ever do that again. We joke that next year we will break into the stores before they open and get what we want even if it means risking a criminal record. Brooke and I did get everything on our list for the boys and I was even able to pick some gifts up for Sara, Brea, and Angel for our work Christmas party.
Cheryl takes James home with her for a few hours so I can hide all the gifts. I’ll pick him up before his taekwondo class this evening. I’m looking forward to going, and I’m not sure whether I like the class better than I like the thought of seeing Alec again. He is always so nice to James and to me.
After everyone leaves, I hide all the gifts in the spare bedroom closet and take a nap before class. Right before I leave to pick up James from his grandparents’ house, Brooke walks in.
“Where are you going?” she asks.
“Um, taekwondo. Remember? Every Tuesday and Friday for the past month,” I say, saying every word very slowly so she understands them.
“Don’t be funny, where are you going looking like that?”
“Looking like what?” I should have known she would notice. I did apply some light mascara and eyeliner.
Brooke laughs, “I’m going to taekwondo, but first, I’m going to put on makeup, curl my hair, and smell all sexy for that sexy instructor.”
“I did not curl my hair.”
“No, but you did do all the other stuff. And what is that smell, Victoria Secret, Hello Darling?”
“I like it, I wear it all the time.”
“I know you do, but I haven’t noticed that you’ve worn it to class before,” she says, smirking.
“Well, I do.”
“Come on, let’s go.”
“Where are you going?” I ask.
“I’m joining taekwondo. I want to see what the sexy instructor is all about. I bet he’s got moves and I want to see them. We need a law that requires all sexy male taekwondo instructors not to wear shirts.”
“Brooke, stop it,” I say, laughing, because she can be so funny sometimes. I follow her outside and lock up the house. Brooke yells across the yard to her house, “Come on, boys! Let’s go, and Brice, I’ll be home later.”
“Walk over there and get them,” I say.
“Nah, they can hear me.”
“This really did use to be a nice neighborhood,” I joke.
The boys run across the yard and Brice waits on the front porch for everyone to get fastened in the car. He yells before we pull off, “Be careful, love you guys.”
I yell out the window and wave and yell, “Love you, too, forever and always.” Brooke and I laugh and he probably thinks I’m crazy.
We get James from my mom’s before we go to class. As we pull up into the parking lot, I look over at Brooke. “Brooke, do not embarrass me in there and I mean it.”
“Who, me? I wouldn’t dream of it. Come on, boys,” she says as she gets out of the passenger seat.
We walk in and sure enough Brooke signs up for the beginners class. She looks over her shoulder at me as she walks into the changing room. I smile and wave when I see Raelynn skipping down the long hallway. Her long brown braid moves up and down with every skip. Raelynn’s hair always looks good; her mother must fix it right before she gets here.
She sees us and runs up to us. “Hi, Miss Emma.”
“Hi, Raelynn. How was your Thanksgiving?”
“Fine, we put up the Christmas tree at grandpa and grandma’s house.”
“That sounds like fun.” I kneel down so we are eye to eye.
“It was, but mommy wasn’t there this year.”
“Oh, did she have to work?” I ask.
“No, I don’t have a mommy anymore.”
Brooke comes out of the changing room and the room quickly fills up with people arriving for the next group of classes. I watch as Raelynn, James, Braden, and Briley take off for their classes. Once they go into their assigned rooms, Brooke and I go to
the adult beginners class. “Where’s Mr. Sex on a Stick?” Brooke asks.
“Who?” I ask, so no one can hear me.
“You know, Mr. Kung Fu.”
“It’s taekwondo; don’t confuse it with Kung Fu,” a male voice answers behind us.
My heart drops to the pit of my stomach as Brooke and I slowly turn around. Alec is standing tall and confident just inches from us. I turn completely around and bow, and he returns the gesture. Brooke stands there and says nothing. Good, that will teach her.
“I’m sorry, that was rude of me. I didn’t mean to offend anyone,” she finally says once she finds her voice.
“I may have been offended if I didn’t hear the first part of your conversation,” he says, grinning. And before I have a chance to say anything, he adds, “Are we ready to get started? Your instructor had an emergency this evening, so I’ll be filling in.” Alec winks. “Don’t worry, Emma, James is in good hands.” Alec then shouts loud enough for the others to hear, “First timers to the right of the room and everyone else to the left.”
We start right into our running and stretching exercise and then we begin our routine of kicks and punches. The girl from the front desk walks up to Alec and whispers into his ear. He smiles and looks at me. He bows and the girl walks out of the room. He walks up to me and smiles. “James is advancing to orange belt, do you want to go watch?”
“He is? Can I? May Brooke watch?” I realize how short and simple my sentences are, but I am so excited that I am not capable of forming long, complex sentences. Not that I would use them, anyway. I value clarity over complexity.
“Of course.”
Alec, Brooke, and I walk out of the room and stand in the doorway of James’ class. The instructor looks at Alec and Alec nods. My eyes fill up with tears and I can barely see. “James Greyson,” a man says and James walks up to the front of the room. James bows and then the instructor bows. They remove James’ yellow belt before replacing it with the orange one. Brooke and I squeal and I cry at the same time. My nose tingles and I rub it to get it to stop. James bows before taking his place in the front row. We leave and Alec closes the door behind us and Brooke hugs me tightly.
“Pictures, shoot, I forgot to take pictures,” I whisper.
“Emma, they always take pictures of each child’s advancement and they’ll provide you with one sometime next week. I also got it on video if you would like a copy,” Alec says, holding up his cell phone.
I wipe the tears from my eyes and look up at Alec. He is standing tall beside me, waving his very large phone in his hands, smiling. Without thinking I jump up and hug him. “Thank you, thank you so much.”
He hugs me back and laughs. “Phone number?”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Phone number. If you want a copy of the video, I need your phone number.”
“Oh, right. I’m sorry.” I give him my number and we return to finish class.
After class we call Brice to inform him of James’ advancement and he wants to celebrate with us. Brooke, me, and the boys meet Brice at Monte’s Pizzeria and we all celebrate James’ advancement with pizza and ice cream sundaes for everyone.
Later that night I lie in bed replaying the video of James. My face hurts from the smile that is plastered to it since his small advancement ceremony. I watch and re-watch the video of James receiving a new belt. I forward it to both sets of grandparents and to Brooke and Brice.
My phone chirps that I have a text. Assuming it’s from Brooke, I read it without looking at the name.
Unknown number: Did you receive the video all right?
Emma: Alec?
Unknown number: I’m sorry. Yes, Emma, it’s Alec. I just wanted to make sure you received the video of James all right. If not, I can resend it. We don’t always have great service in the training rooms.
Emma: I got it and have already sent it to everyone I know. Thank you so much for recording that and sending it to me. I am so grateful you did that.
Alec: You’re welcome. I’m just glad you received it. I didn’t wake you, did I?
Emma: No, we just got settled down. We had to go out and celebrate when we left.
Alec: Good, I was afraid it was too late to text you, but I wanted to make sure you received it. Good night, Emma, and I’ll see you in class on Tuesday.
Emma: Thank you again and good night.
I lie in bed and smile. I was smiling before Alec called, but this smile feels different. That feeling low in my belly is back as I think about Alec. I stare at my phone and decide to save his number to my contacts. Who knows, I may need it one day.
I check the mail after work and am a bit surprised to see a wedding invitation from Angel and Mason.
ANGELICA HOPE RAMOS PEREZ
AND
DR. MASON ALEXANDER MYLES
INVITE YOU TO JOIN THEM
IN THE CELEBRATION
OF THEIR MARRIAGE
ON SATURDAY, THE THIRTY-FIRST DAY OF DECEMBER
AT
SIX THIRTY IN THE EVENING
RECEPTION FOLLOWING CEREMONY
I reread the very elegant card and run my fingers gently over the embossed lettering.
My mind automatically drifts back to my own wedding day. Max standing at the church altar in his all-black tuxedo, smiling his all-American smile. I remember dad walking me down the aisle, my sweaty palms, fast heartbeat, and shortness of breath. I remember dad’s pep talk reminding me that I am marrying my best friend and I have no reason to be nervous about that. I remember Max waiting patiently for me to join him at the altar.
“Momma, ready to get the Christmas tree?” James asks, excitedly.
I look down at my precious baby boy. “I am, are you sure you want a live tree this year?”
“Yep, and I have the perfect place to put it.”
“You do?” I ask, kneeling down closer to him. “And where would this perfect place be?”
“Right beside the fireplace, next to daddy’s special things.”
My nose begins to tingle and my eyes get misty. “James, I do believe that is the perfect spot for our Christmas tree.”
After deciding on the perfect tree, we go home and set it in the tree stand. Dad, Danny, and Brice offered to come over and help us, but this is something I wanted James and me to do together. I make some hot chocolate and put Christmas music in the C.D. player. James and I bought some new Christmas ornaments, but I also find a box of our old decorations in the garage that we’ll use.
Once the lights and decorations are on the tree, I start a fire in the wood-burning fireplace, light some cranberry-scented candles, and stand back to admire our perfect tree.
“Momma, it’s perfect.”
“Yes, James. I believe it is.”
Alec
I lie in bed and decide to text Emma to make sure she received the video of James. The look on her face when he advanced was priceless. She was one proud momma. I think about Raelynn, and James is very blessed to have a mother who loves him so much.
I hold my phone in front of me and stare at it before deciding to save Emma’s number in my contacts. I may never get another chance to get it from her again. One day I may decide to use it again. Does this make me a creep? I wonder. Probably.
Raelynn and I decide we need a new Christmas tree. I talk her out of a real one — bribed her more like it with a Batman costume. We decide a tall thin one would be a nice change from the short fat one her mother liked. Raelynn likes the tree to be in front of the bay window so people can see it when they drive by.
We stick with the traditional red and white decorations, bulbs, and clear Christmas lights. Once we are finished and happy with the tree, Raelynn gets her bath and we sit in our Christmas pajamas and watch Polar Express. Rae has a snowman mug of hot chocolate, and I have a beer in a frozen mug.
“Daddy, that’s not a Christmas mug,” Rae says, looking over at me from under her blanket.
I look at her snowman mug and then mine. I use a Sharpie to dra
w a picture of a snowman on my frosted mug and show it to her. “Now it is.” I laugh.
“Daddy,” she giggles, “you’re silly.”
After the movie I pick her up from the couch and carry her to bed. I tuck her in and pull the covers up to her chin the way she likes them. Once she is tucked into bed, I have another beer and pick up the tinsel that is all over the family room floor, all over the couch and down the hallway floor. I grab the stack of mail sitting on the kitchen bar and begin opening it. I am surprised to see a wedding invitation from Mason and Angel.
Wow, I didn’t see that coming. I was Angel’s doctor in the hospital after her accident and I knew Mason seemed to care for her, but wow, a wedding? Good for him and her. I finish my beer and head to bed. I have another long day at work tomorrow.
At work the next day, I call Mom and Dad on my break to check in on Rae. I speak to her briefly and remind her to brush her teeth before bed. I also remind her to say her prayers before bedtime.
I walk out of the break room and see a petite blond crying in the hallway alone. I walk up to her and I am surprised to see it’s Emma. “Emma, is everything all right?”
“It’s James, he got so sick today and I couldn’t get him to stop throwing up. Please help him,” she begs.
“Where is he?”
“He’s in the examining room; they asked me to wait out here,” she says, crying. Her face is red and her mascara is running. “I can hear him crying, please help him.”
“Wait here, all right?”
She nods and cries into a Kleenex.
I walk into the room and close the door behind me so Emma can’t hear James crying. Two nurses are with him. One is holding the emesis basin to his mouth for him to throw up in and the other nurse is getting his vital signs. I walk over to him so he can see me. I nod to the nurse and take the emesis basin from her. I sit beside James, holding the basin to his mouth. “Hi, James, I hear you are sick today.”
“I don’t feel good.”
“Can you tell me where it hurts?”
He points to his head and to his belly. I assess him and get the vitals from the nurses in the room. He is running a fever and he is becoming dehydrated. “Here, let’s get you into a hospital gown,” I say to him, and then tell the nurse, “Can you please get his mother? She standing in the hallway.” I say to James and the other nurse. I lay the full emesis basin on the stand and help a weak James out of his clothing and into a hospital gown.
Shattered Dreams Page 12
