A Merry Little Christmas (38 page)

Lillian would not be denied, of course, and she came up to spend a couple of weeks with her daughter. It might have been easier on Donnie if he’d withheld certain information, but he’d learned his lesson about that. He picked Lillian up from the airport, and on the long ride from Romulus, where the airport was located, told Lillian the sad story of the ring and how Angelique had found out that he’d proposed to another woman before they married. Lillian, to her credit, listened to every word carefully.

“
Yo
u really made a mess of things, didn’t you, son?” Lillian looked at him thoughtfully. “If I’d heard this story from someone else, or if I’d heard it before my last visit, I have to tell you, I wouldn’t be sitting in this car. I’d be at home with my child and I’d probably be interviewing hit men. You can find lots of things on the Internet these days,” she said dryly.

“I’m not going to make you feel worse than you do,
” she said gently.  “
I’m sure that you’ve had lots of people more than happy to do that for you. I know that you’re aware that you did a rather stupid thing, something that truly hurt the person you love the most. I also know you won’t do anything like that again. That’s no small thing, you know, to make a horrible mistake and learn from it. The thing is, Donnie, Angelique is a very sensitive person. ‘I’m sorry’ isn’t nearly enough to make this up to her. She needs to feel completely secure in your love for her. I believe that you love her and I believe you are devoted to her happiness. But you’ve got to make
her believe that again and it’s not going to be easy. How are you going to regain her trust and make her believe in your love again?”

Donnie was so overcome with gratitude for
his mother-in-law’s forgiveness that
he took her hand and kissed it “Well, I do have an idea about that Lillian. Tell me what you think about this.” For the rest of the ride home, he explained what he had planned.

***

Donnie was vigilant about not leaving Angelique alone. When he had to go out Martha was there to sit with her, or Renee, or Paris or Lisette. Somehow they worked it so that she always had company and someone to make sure all her needs were met. The day Donnie left early to pick up Lillian, Big Benny was “the designated sitter,” as Angelique referred to her loving companions. He
came
into the bedroom while she was looking through pictures. One of her favorite holiday movies,
White Christmas,
was playing on DVD, and she was singing along with one of the tunes as she looked over her work.
 
They embraced and he made himself comfortable in the big overstuffed armchair. They chatted about this and that and she started showing
him
the photos.

“
Babydoll
, I’ve never seen anything like the way you take pictures. It’s like you reach into a person a pull out a little bit of them in each shot” he said appreciatively.

She showed him some commission work and a lot of family pictures she’d taken just for fun. “Look at this one of Marty and Malcolm. They’re growing like weeds, aren’t they?”

Benny chuckled as he looked at his grandsons. “And they’re pistols, too. When Benita tells me the things they get up to, it’s hard to believe,” he said.

“Oh, believe it Daddy. Those two are like a SWAT team. And the bad thing is
,
they’re so darned cute. Nobody wants to believe they’re as incorrigible as they are until they do something really wild.”

“Must be a twin thing,” he said sagely. “Benita and Andrew were hellions, and so were Alan and Andre.”

Angelique grinned and said, “Well, these little ladies won’t be, they’re just too sweet” She handed him a picture of Bennie and Clay’s youngest children, the twin girls named Isabella (called Bella), and
Katerina
(called Kate). “Aren’t they beautiful?”

Benny smiled lovingly and agreed that his grandchildren were exceptionally lovely. She handed him more candid shots and looked up to find him staring at a particular picture with a strained expression. “Daddy, what is it?”

The alarm in her voice made him look up slowly. “I’m sorry,
Babydoll
. I didn’t mean to scare you. I wanted to know where you got this picture from.” He handed the picture to her and she looked at it anxiously.

“He was over at the house one day and I took it. That’s a good friend of Bennie’s. His name is John Flores and he’s the therapist who helped Bennie after her accident. They’ve stayed in touch all this time and they see each other every once in a while. He was working at Emory University in Atlanta for a while. Don’t you think he favors Adam?”

Benny took his time answering. He took the photo from Angelique’s fingers and looked at it for a long time. “Yes, he does favor Adam quite a bit. And I know why he does. Do you want to hear a story? It’s not very long, but it’s very interesting,” he said quietly. “I don’
t want to upset you or anything;
maybe I should wait until later, until you’re feeling better.”

“Oh, no, you don’t! You’d better tell me right this minute. I hate it when somebody starts a story and won’t tell it.” Angelique looked as curious as a child.

“All right
Babydoll
. I’m from a small town in Michigan called
Idlewild
...” he began.

The story took almost an hour to tell, and when he was finished, Angelique’s eyes were huge. A lot of questions had been answered, but there were even more raised. Before she could unleash the barrage of inquiries boiling inside her, noise from the front of the house let them know Donnie and Lillian had come home.

Benny smiled at Angelique. “We’ll talk later,” he said with a conspiratorial wink.

***

It was wonderful having her mother there, even though it made for close quarters. The baby’s room had been completed and the only extra bed in the house was now the convertible sofa in the office. She and Donnie still shared a bed, something she wouldn’t have believed possible. Her fear of losing the baby had pushed everything else out of her mind and she needed the comfort and safety of his arms. From the first night she came home from the hospital, they’d shared a bed and she wouldn’t have it any other way. Sleeping in her strange upright position was much easier when she was curled into Donnie’s strong arms. He would hold her until she went to sleep and, unbeknownst to her, would continue to hold her all night.

Lillian’s presence made a festive Thanksgiving possible, although it wasn’t the one she’d expected. The plan was for everyone to go to the annual Thanksgiving parade held in Detroit. Some of the men were going to the Detroit Lions game, but for the most part everyone would have dinner at Renee and Andrew’s house. That was out of the question for Angelique. It was still fun, though. Lillian made a big, old-fashioned dinner with the traditional turkey, co
rn
bread dressing, squash, green beans, spinach salad, and cranberry-orange relish. There was also a ham and sweet potatoes, plus homemade rolls and co
rn
bread muffins. And there was company, too. Paris was there all day helping her aunt Lillian
prepare
the feast. Everyone stopped by on their way to the parade, so she got to have little visits with her in-laws.

Donnie had bought her a small chaise longue that was cleverly made like a long armchair. It was incredibly comfortable to sit on; Angelique’s back was supported and her legs were able to stretch out in front of her. After her confinement, it was going into the baby’s room.
 
When
Renee showed up with her four little girls, they stood on either side of the chaise and rubbed Angelique’s tummy, ta
lking to their new cousin. Alan’s
wife, Tina, brought her family, which included her daughter Lillian. Lillian had insisted that Clay’s mother was her grandma from the first time they met. She’d been calling her “Grandma” since she was three years old and nothing had changed. She and the older woman had a special relationship, partially because they shared the same name, and they were delighted to see each other.

Martha and Big Benny stayed for dinner and there was a stream of company all day, including Lisette and Warren. Lisette had softened in her attitude toward Donnie, at least to the point of being cordial if not effusive. Adam and Alicia Fuentes also stopped by for a brief visit. It was a warm and homey day, even though it wasn’t what she’d expected for her first Thanksgiving as a married woman. But she was grateful for the
day she’d had. It was wonderful;
the baby was well and her husband rarely left her side. It was a day to give thanks, indeed.

The next day was a little different. Donnie helped her into a nice bubble bath and he even bathed her. He was supposed to just wash her back, as usual, but ended up doing most of the bathing. He wrapped her up in warm towels and took her back to the bedroom, where there was a nice new maternity outfit on the bed, nice black knit pants and a cheerful red top with a Christmas design.

“How cute!
What’s the occasion?” she asked.

“Nothing in particular.
Your mom just thought you might like something festive to wear,” he told her.

She got lotioned and scented with Cashmere Mist and put on her new outfit, which also included some cute little black velvet flats with Christmas trees on the toes. She was smiling at the shoes when Donnie came back to take her to the living room.

“Donnie, look at these! My mother is so thoughtful,” she said happily.

“Yes, she is,” Donnie agreed. “Now come with me, my Angel.” He picked her up and carried her into the living room, where she was stunned by what she saw. There were all her friends, all her favorite people, trimming a huge tree that scented the house with its lovely pine fragrance. Lisette and Warren, Paris, all of Donnie’s nieces and nephews, and, best of all, Matt and Nicole, too, as well as her dearly loved stepfather,
Bump
. Neesha, who did party planning and weddings as a sideline, was busily directing everyone, and the room was taking on a festive air that was intoxicating. Even Danny was there, tacking greenery across the fireplace.
 
There was a table set up with piles of presents wrapped in baby paper on it. On cue, instead of screaming “Surprise,” Prescott and Drew, Donnie’s nephews, unrolled a banner that read
Welcome to Your Baby Shower.

Angelique was totally blown away. The effort that had gone into this, the love and the ingenuity it had taken made her teary-eyed. She was amazed that so many people cared about her. It wasn’t a loud or boisterous celebration, given her need to stay tranquil, but it was a lot of fun just the same. Her Deveraux sisters-in-law had come through handsomely, sending expensive
and beautifully wrapped presents, which Bump brought with him on the plane. She got so many beautiful and thoughtful gifts, including really practical things like cases of diapers and baby wipes, she couldn’t contain her emotion.

She was trying to thank everyone and stem the tide of happy tears. “This is the most thoughtful thing I’ve ever heard of,” she sobbed happily. “You are the most loving people in the whole world.”

Danny informed her that it was all her husband’s doing. “He’s the one who dragged us all out of our beds at the crack of dawn. I’m still trying to digest yesterday’s dinner,” he said with a smile. “Donnie is just extremely persuasive.”

At that point Donnie got everyone’s attention. “I have something I’d like to say to my wife, and I want you all to be witnesses,” he said. “I did something truly stupid not too long ago. Actuall
y, ‘stupid’ isn’t the best word,
criminally ignorant and cruel is more like it. I’ve been trying to think of a way to make it up to her, since she was kind enough to allow me a chance to stay in her life.”

Angelique wanted to b
e embarrassed, but she couldn’t
because
Donnie was looking at her with such love and tenderness, she couldn’t look away from him, couldn’t feel any shame.

“I want you all to know that I’m a very, very fortunate man. I have the privilege of being married to the most incredible woman in the world. She’s beautiful, she’s brilliant and talented and she’s funny, compassionate and kind. She is the most fascinating woman I’ve ever known, and she can do anything. Anything she decides to do, she does and she does it in a way that’s totally unique, totally her. She’s tough, she’s resilient and she doesn’t take any mess, so don’t ever try to put one over on her, she’ll see right through it,” he said with a wry smile.

“She makes every day a delight, and I won’t live long enough to have a boring day with her. Every moment I get to spend with her is a treasure beyond price. That’s why I want to marry her all over again on our anniversary. Next Valentine’s Day, I want her to be my bride all over again, but this time I want her to wear
this
ring, the ring that my father put on my mother’s hand when he took her in marriage. Will you do that for me, my Angel? Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife once more?”

He knelt beside the chaise and opened the box. Angelique’s eyes lit up: this was just what she had in mind for a ring. It was yellow gold and there was a nice round one-karat diamond in a simple Tiffany setting with smaller stones on the matching band. It was simple and old-fashioned and just beautiful. She wanted to reach for the small box, but something stopped her.