finishing touches on my present for Jack, while Jeff had enlisted him to help rebuild one side of Charlotte’s chicken coop that had been getting weak. I couldn’t wait to see what Jack thought of my unconventional gift.
“Who’ll be Father Christmas?” Charlotte asked. She was holding a furry red hat trimmed in white wool.
I nudged Jack. “I’m assuming she means Santa. I have to see you in that.”
“No way.”
“I’ll do it,” Jeff said officiously and pulled it on. “It’s an important job.”
A vision of Charlotte and Jeff as grandparents to our children suddenly caught me by surprise. I remembered Jack’s words when making love to me, and warmth hit me straight in the womb. My insides flipped with emotion, and my eyes pricked. I reached for Jack’s hand and squeezed, causing him to glance at me quizzically.
Whatever he saw in my eyes had him turning fully toward me. He brought his hand to my cheek as I stared deep into his green eyes and wondered how on earth my life had ended up here in this room, with these beautiful people, and so much love and hope that my entire future seemed bursting with promise.
Jack watched me like he knew what was going on in my head. Like he’d been waiting for me to get there. Then he dropped his forehead to mine. “One day,” he whispered.
Charlotte perched herself on the wing chair, but not before turning the radio on low volume to caroling Christmas music.
“All right,” said Jeff and slid his eyeglasses down to the very tip of his nose to read a gift tag on a small package. “Dearest Mum, Merry Christmas, love, Jack and Keri Ann.”
I had helped Jack wrap the gorgeous scarf, like mine, but in soft blue-grey. Jeff handed her the package to open.
“Oh, it’s gorgeous,” Charlotte gushed, brushing her cheek against the exquisite material. It looked incredible against her skin tone. “Now Jack, this is not some endangered species is it? It feels even softer than cashmere. There’s that endangered animal in the Himalayas, the Sha-something.”
“The Shahtoosh . Mum, you know me better than that. It’s vicuña. All responsible, I promise.”
“Well, thank you. It’s stunning.”
Jeff got a pair of fur-lined slippers and a dressing gown, for his “retirement,” from Jack and me. But personally from me, Jeff got a small fun hardback book that contained the craziest lawsuits ever filed in America, which he absolutely adored, and kept reading excerpts so Jack had to take over Santa duties. As expected, Jack looked cute as heck. Just what I wanted for Christmas.
I gave Charlotte an angel Christmas tree ornament I’d handmade from bleached oyster shells, Spanish Moss, and sea glass. She immediately hung it and saved the box to carefully pack it back into for next year.
Jack handed me a long wrapped poster tube, his face so full of boyish excitement, I couldn’t help grinning.
“Dearest Keri Ann,” I read. “All my love, Jack.”
I tore the paper off and opened the end of the tube, sliding the rolled up contents out. Pulling them open, I realized I was looking at site plans and architectural drawings and legal papers. “What is this?” I asked, confused.
Jack took them and helped spread them out on the coffee table, and then pointed to a bottom corner of a site plan.
Daufuskie Island, Lots 21 & 22, Waterfront, Butler-Eversea construction project.
“Oh my God,” I squealed. We were insanely in love with that island and had already amassed some pretty incredible memories there within the last six months. “Did you find a place on the island? Are you building?”
“We are,” he said, grinning. “It’s in our joint names, and I’ve found an architect and given him some of these drawings, but I need you to design your own studio space.”
“Holy shit,” I said. “Oops, sorry.” I grimaced, looking at Jeff and Charlotte, but they just laughed at me.
“Well?” Jack asked. “Good holy shit, or bad holy shit?”
“Good on
“Who’ll be Father Christmas?” Charlotte asked. She was holding a furry red hat trimmed in white wool.
I nudged Jack. “I’m assuming she means Santa. I have to see you in that.”
“No way.”
“I’ll do it,” Jeff said officiously and pulled it on. “It’s an important job.”
A vision of Charlotte and Jeff as grandparents to our children suddenly caught me by surprise. I remembered Jack’s words when making love to me, and warmth hit me straight in the womb. My insides flipped with emotion, and my eyes pricked. I reached for Jack’s hand and squeezed, causing him to glance at me quizzically.
Whatever he saw in my eyes had him turning fully toward me. He brought his hand to my cheek as I stared deep into his green eyes and wondered how on earth my life had ended up here in this room, with these beautiful people, and so much love and hope that my entire future seemed bursting with promise.
Jack watched me like he knew what was going on in my head. Like he’d been waiting for me to get there. Then he dropped his forehead to mine. “One day,” he whispered.
Charlotte perched herself on the wing chair, but not before turning the radio on low volume to caroling Christmas music.
“All right,” said Jeff and slid his eyeglasses down to the very tip of his nose to read a gift tag on a small package. “Dearest Mum, Merry Christmas, love, Jack and Keri Ann.”
I had helped Jack wrap the gorgeous scarf, like mine, but in soft blue-grey. Jeff handed her the package to open.
“Oh, it’s gorgeous,” Charlotte gushed, brushing her cheek against the exquisite material. It looked incredible against her skin tone. “Now Jack, this is not some endangered species is it? It feels even softer than cashmere. There’s that endangered animal in the Himalayas, the Sha-something.”
“The Shahtoosh . Mum, you know me better than that. It’s vicuña. All responsible, I promise.”
“Well, thank you. It’s stunning.”
Jeff got a pair of fur-lined slippers and a dressing gown, for his “retirement,” from Jack and me. But personally from me, Jeff got a small fun hardback book that contained the craziest lawsuits ever filed in America, which he absolutely adored, and kept reading excerpts so Jack had to take over Santa duties. As expected, Jack looked cute as heck. Just what I wanted for Christmas.
I gave Charlotte an angel Christmas tree ornament I’d handmade from bleached oyster shells, Spanish Moss, and sea glass. She immediately hung it and saved the box to carefully pack it back into for next year.
Jack handed me a long wrapped poster tube, his face so full of boyish excitement, I couldn’t help grinning.
“Dearest Keri Ann,” I read. “All my love, Jack.”
I tore the paper off and opened the end of the tube, sliding the rolled up contents out. Pulling them open, I realized I was looking at site plans and architectural drawings and legal papers. “What is this?” I asked, confused.
Jack took them and helped spread them out on the coffee table, and then pointed to a bottom corner of a site plan.
Daufuskie Island, Lots 21 & 22, Waterfront, Butler-Eversea construction project.
“Oh my God,” I squealed. We were insanely in love with that island and had already amassed some pretty incredible memories there within the last six months. “Did you find a place on the island? Are you building?”
“We are,” he said, grinning. “It’s in our joint names, and I’ve found an architect and given him some of these drawings, but I need you to design your own studio space.”
“Holy shit,” I said. “Oops, sorry.” I grimaced, looking at Jeff and Charlotte, but they just laughed at me.
“Well?” Jack asked. “Good holy shit, or bad holy shit?”
“Good on
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