A Merry Little Christmas (32 page)

Warren lit the candles in the bedroom as well as the ones in the living room. He put on a Kevin Mahogany CD and was about to uncork the champagne when a soft noise drew his attention to the bedroom. Lisette was standing in the doorway wearing an outfit that made him bless the day he had asked Angelique to go to that auction. It was a very short gown made of silk organza with lace cups and very thin straps. A lace thong was visible through the nearly transparent fabric and she was also wearing a short matching robe
that was open to show off the sheer gown.
On her small feet she wore a pair of high-heeled satin mules with a silk flower on the toe. One of the gardenias from her wreath was nestled in her hair, right above her ear. She looked incredible: sexy
,
yet innocent and totally in love. He held out his hand to her and she came to him at once, floating across the room like a goddess.
 
He sat down on the chaise longue and pulled Lisette into his lap, where they kissed for several long minutes before either of them said anything.

“Lisette.
My Lisette,” he said softly. “Is this real or another one of those dreams I’ve been having about you?”

By way of an answer she took his handsome face in both hands and pulled him down to kiss him softly, gently and thoroughly. “This is as real as it gets, Warren. I’ve been waiting for you my whole life; I don’t want to wait any longer,” she breathed.

He offered her a glass of champagne, which she refused. “Not right now. Right now, I want my husband,” she said with a wealth of meaning in the simple words.

Warren stood up with her in his arms and said, “As always, Lisette, your wish is my command.” He carried her off to the bedroom to begin their lifetime of love.

***

Donnie was looking at his wife with his heart in his eyes. They were in the kitchen of their home eating a midnight repast that consisted of scrambled eggs, grits, toast and grilled ham. Angelique had found that one of the best ways to avoid morning sickness was to eat when the baby said it was hungry, which was why
they were eating breakfast
food at such a late hour. Lisette and Warren’s wedding reception had ended earlier but they had opted not to attend any of the after-parties; they just wanted to go home.
 
Angelique had changed out of her gown and was wearing a cute sundress with little flowers all over it; she often wore it around the house. Donnie had also shed his tuxedo and was wearing a pair of drawstring pants and an old T-shirt. They talked about the wedding and how happy Lisette and Warren had been.

“It was so beautiful.” Angelique sighed. “It was the wedding she dreamed of ever since she was a little girl. She was so happy.”

“Warren was so happy he couldn’t stand himself.” Donnie laughed. “He’s so in love with Lisette, he was crying when she walked down the aisle. You hear about stuff like that and you think it would be embarrassing, but it was nice.
It was very appropriate for him;
he holds nothing back from her.”

Angelique nodded in agreement and began to clear the table in her usual frenzy to put things back in order. Donnie took her wrist and stopped her. “You sit down, baby. I’ll take care of this. You do too much around here as it is. Mrs. Montez feels like you don’t want her here,” he said, referring to their weekly housekeeper.

“I had no idea,” Angelique said sadly. “I’ll try to do better. And Mrs. Montez should just wait until the baby
comes,
there’ll be plenty to keep her busy.”

She continued to sit at the kitchen table, deep in thought. Donnie watched her for a moment
as he put their few dishes in the dishwasher.  He joined her as the table, t
aking one of her long, slender hands in his
as
he leaned forward to get her attention.

“Angel, I have to tell you something. I finally remembered it, all of it. Our wedding, I mean. When I was standing at the altar today watching you, it all came to me out of the blue.”

Angelique’s eyes grew huge. They had never talked about it before. Even though Angelique’s memory of the Las Vegas nuptials had come back to her after her amnesia went away, they had never discussed it. But now that they both had a recollection, it seemed right. Donnie continued to hold her hand and led her through the dining room into the living room w
h
ere there was soft music playing and a couple of her favorite candles were lit. A provocative fig fragrance drifted through the room and seemed to personify the late summer.
 
They sat on the sofa—rather, Donnie sat and Angelique sat in his lap with her legs elevated. She laid her head on his shoulder and he began to speak.

“It started when we were on the plane going to Vegas. You were sitting with Matt and I was sitting with Nicole, who never shuts up, by the way. She talked and talked and told me all about you, about what you were like in school, what kind of friend you were, how wonderful you were and I had to agree with her because I knew it was true. I could look across the aisle where you were sound asleep and all I could think about was how pretty you looked, how much fun you were, how I looked forward to seeing you every day. When I came back to Detroit after being out on the road, all I wanted to do was see you, make you laugh, kiss you.” He kissed her then, a soft one on her forehead.

“When I saw you all hugged up with Matt, I wanted to break his skull. I really did, I’m not proud of it, but I did. And on the plane, wow, you just looked so sweet and adorable, I couldn’t think of anything else but the possibility of not being with you. The flight attendant started bringing around drinks and you woke up and we all had champagne. We started drinking toasts to Matt and Nicole and I drank a toast to you, then another one ... I was pretty mellow when we got off the plane. When we got to the chapel, Matt and I kept drinking champagne while we waited for you and Nicole to find a dress. Well, I should say that I kept drinking, Matt kept pouring.

“While they were getting married, I kept looking at you and I knew I wanted to be the man you married. I didn’t want to get on another plane and fly back here without making you mine. I kissed you and said that I wanted to take care of you forever. You kissed me back and said that we should take care of each other. I kissed you again and said you had to be mine, that no one else could have you. You kissed me back and said you wanted me, too. And we kept kissing, right there in the chapel and the justice of the peace said the next wedding had canceled and he had an opening if we
wanted it. And we both said yes,
yes, we wanted to be married right then and there, and we were. We weren’t sloppy falling-down drunk. We were pretty merry, but we weren’t passing out or anything.

“We held hands and he said the vows and we kissed some more and we were really happy because we knew it was meant to be. It sounds corny and ridiculous, but that’s the way it happened, or the way I remember it. It wasn’t sordid at all, Angel, but it wasn’t right.”

Angelique froze in his arms. His recollection mirrored hers, except for the part about her being asleep on th
e plane. She hadn’t been
asleep,
she
’d been
wishing she were on her way to her own wedding with Donnie. And now he was saying that it wasn’t right

His arms tightened around her and he kept talking in his low, deep voice. “It wasn’t right because we should have had a beautiful ceremony like Warren and Lisette. We should have had flowers and candlelight and music and all of our nieces as flower girls. You
r family should have been there with
mine, and everybody should have seen how happy we are to be together. That’s what should have happened, Angel, and that’s what could have happened, but I couldn’t wait. I wasn’t man enough to wait until we got home and court you like you deserve. So I’m asking for a second chance, Angel. I want you to marry me all over again in front of God and everybody. Please say you will, say that you forgive me for not controlling myself and that you’ll allow me to make it up to you.”

Angelique relaxed again in his embrace. She stroked his forearms with their coating of silky hair, and said so softly that he could barely hear her, “Yes, I will, Adonis. But not right away
, let’s wait
after
th
e baby comes. We’ll have a real ceremony and everyone we love will be there and it will be beautiful and meaningful. And I love you very much for
thinking
of it. You’re a wonderful husband” she murmured and turned her face up for his kiss.

“That’s because I have a wonderful wife. I love you,
Angel,” he said before kissing her beloved face. “But I think you need to get into bed now, because your mom’s flight comes in early tomorrow. Are you excited about her coming?”

Angelique yawned and said that she was. “I’
m really looking forward to seeing her
. I hope we have a good time,” she replied and then fell asleep on her husband’s shoulder. He continued to hold her for a long time before taking her to bed, just loving the fact that she was in his arms.

***

Lillian wasn’t quite sure what to expect when she came to stay with Angelique and Donnie, but it wasn’t what she got. Their house was immaculately clean, and this was before the
housekeeper’s visit on Tuesday. Angelique had cautioned her about Jordan and Pippen, but dogs, even big ones, didn’t bother her.

“Didn’t I tell you that we’re now the proud owners of two black Pomeranians? Bill was so crazy about those
little dogs
of Vera’s that he went out and got two little ladies. He named them Ella and Sarah and he
takes
them everywhere. I
think
he
plans on taking them to the golf
course next,” she said, shaking her head.

In any case, Jordan and Pippen had won her h
eart by giving her their w
inning smiles and holding up paws to shake when she got to the house. They were being perfect gentlemen and the fact that Angelique had taken them to the groomer also helped. Their coats gleamed like every other surface in the house. Lillian had to admire the way the house looked, especially the room they were fixing up as a nursery. Angelique showed her the wallpaper that had come out of the room; she’d kept a piece of the hideous burgundy stripes as a memento. Now the room was all peach and aqua and yellow, soft pastel shades that made it look fresh and pretty. Angelique’s bedroom furniture was going to be put into storage and they were going shopping for baby furniture soon.

Angelique kept Lillian busy for the first few days, taking her to see the Cochran building and her studio, touring the new developments in downtown Detroit, shopping at the Somerset Town Center, lunching at
a different restaurant every day
, visiting Renee and Andrew and Big Benny and Martha; she practically ran her mother’s legs off. She was checking off things like a travel agent with an itinerary.
 
The two women were now in the dining room, where they’d been looking at books of baby furniture.

“Tomorrow I thought we could go to Windsor, Mama.
They have some great shopping there, and some really good restaurants.  Did you bring your passport with you?  You have to have it just to cross the border these days
,” Angelique reported.

Lillian finally threw up her hands. “My goodness, Angel, we don’t need to go to another place. Let’s just stay home and talk tomorrow,” she said firmly. “I come up here to see my only daughter and I get Superwoman instead.” She laughed. “I want to know how you’re doing, my love. I want to go shopping for my grandchild, not for me. I want to talk about your wedding, even though it’s not until next Valentine’s Day. I just want to sit and relax with you, is that okay?”

“It’s fine with me, Mama. Are you sure you’re comfortable in your room? Do you need anything?” she asked anxiously.

Lillian assured her that she was fine. There had been fresh flowers in the room, a basket of current magazines and several novels and another basket with towels and toiletries. In addition there was a
flat-screen
television
and an iPod dock
.

“
No, darling, I
don’t need an
other thing
. You and Donnie have spoiled me shamelessly. In fact, I’m making breakfast tomorrow so you can get some rest. Expectant mothers need as much
rest as they can get, you know.” She smiled at her only daughter and said truthfully, “I’m so looking forward to being a grandmother. This is so exciting, Angel.”

“Mama, you have thirteen grandchildren already and another on the way, or did you forget that Vera is also expecting?”

“Fourteen is a boring number, we need number fifteen. Besides, my daughter
is having her very first child so
that makes it a miraculous event,” her mother said fondly. “And sixteen has always been my lucky number,” she added with thinly veiled meaning.

***

The next morning Donnie was surprised to find his mother-in-law in the kitchen when he got up to make Angelique’s herbal tea. He liked to get the water on so that when she arose she could have it right away. Instead, Lillian was bustling around the kitchen, making what looked to be an elaborate Southern feast. He was struck, as always, by her startling resemblance to Nancy Wilson, with her deep, rich coloring and the distinctive blaze of white hair in the front.