On Christmas Eve-Eve we decide to call our families since we won't be coming this year. We had barely been in contact with anyone and it has been amazing to be just us for a while. The rare dusting of snow we dreamed about was falling outside and we sat in awe, drinking hot cocoa with lots of extra marshmallows, per my request. Lindsey talked to his brother first and he was so happy to hear from him. We put the calls on speaker and so we could each surprise our families with our relationship.
"Mom, I think someone wants to say hi"
"Oh, who is it, honey?" Ruth asked. "Put them on"
"Hi, mom" I said.
"Oh my word, Stevie, is that you?"
"It sure is!"
"Well how are you my dear?"
"I'm wonderful."
"Mama, we have some news for you" Lindsey says. He looks at me and I'm smiling so much. He takes my hand in his and kisses it. "We're having a baby, due in June!" His mother is so excited and the line is kind of quiet while she tells everyone in the house, she has company over. "I'm sorry, kids. I'm back. Oh, I'm so excited for you! A new grand baby!"
"That's right."
"Come out to see us soon, if you can"
"I would love to." I interject.
"I bet you look absolutely beautiful, Stevie! Will you send me pictures in your next letter, my boy?"
"I will, mama. We are going to call her family now. I love you. See you very very soon"
"I love you. Merry Christmas all three of you!"
"Merry Christmas"
We end the call and call my mom and dad. The call goes similarly when we put Lindsey on the phone. My mother and father are thrilled to hear we have been reunited. I was asked to take my father off speaker so he could talk to Lindsey and I granted it. I made myself a snack and came back when I was told it was okay.
"Can we call one more person, please?" I ask in my high TeeDee voice that drove him crazy.
"Yes baby. Dial away" He says, kissing me.
I wait while the phone rings and a very familiar soft voice comes on. "Hello, Christine speaking"
"Hey there, pretty lady" I say, winking at Lindsey.
"Oh, Stevie! How are you love? I've missed you terribly!"
"I'm fantastic. I've missed you too"
"Merry Christmas! How are you feeling? How's Buck?"
"Merry Christmas, I'm doing very well....How would I know how Lindsey is doing?"
"Oh come on, I knew from the minute you said you were with someone and how perfect he was that it was Lindsey. I was simply playing along"
"Ooh, you little--!"
"It was quite fun really! I would talk to you about the house and then go right to Lindsey and talk about the very same things. Then I'd see you guys sneaking off to each other's rooms. I thought you'd confess so many times but you never did. You were quite good at not slipping up, even drunk!" She falls into a fit of giggles and we can't help but laugh. "Did you guys make up? I worried I took it too far when you found out about your little bundle, and I joked about it not being Lindsey...oh, I feel so bad now"
"Don't"
"But are you two alright now?"
"We are" Lindsey says. "It took longer than either of us thought but we are definitely back together"
"Love, I'm not even going to ask what that means." She says, laughing again.
We talk about her garden for a bit and her plans for it when it gets warm again, things she plans to renovate in her house and life in the country side. She begs us to visit and we happily accept the invitation but say we will come after the baby is here and we've adjusted.
"There was something I wanted to tell you though" I said.
"I'm all ears, honey."
"It's a girl!"
"A little girl! She will have Lindsey wrapped round her little finger! Oh how fun! She's going to be an absolute doll. The most beautiful girl in the world"
"Besides her mother" Lindsey says.
"But of course!" She agrees.
"We will let you go but please don't be a stranger. We love you and miss you so much." I tell her and I'm in tears. I didn't realize how much I really missed her until I heard her voice on the line. She is truly my best friend. She was having such bad anxiety attacks and she became terrified of flying.
"Don't cry, honey. I love you and miss you too. Merry Christmas. And treat her well, Lindsey- both of them, or I will hunt you down"
"Oh I will. Good bye, Chris"
"Good bye"
When the call ends, I'm begging for the comfort of his arms. Lindsey pulls me into his arms and sways with me. "We will see her one day, my love. All three of us will have to go over at some point but I fear we will never come back to America." His words make me laugh. "Don't be sad. I know you miss her. It's never easy when you don't get to see someone you love whenever you want." He says. "I know that for a fact"
"I missed you everyday" I tell him, looking into his eyes.
"I missed you too. I know it's not manly to say so, but so many nights I cried over you. My only comfort was believing one day we would see each other again. We share an unbelievable bond, don't we?"
"Our sweet little Gemini"
"If she's born on time" he points out.
"Ooh, don't say that. I don't think I could deal with her being late. I already feel huge and I have months left"
"You're not huge at all. I cannot wait to watch you grow though. Let me photograph you. You look so beautiful right now"
"I'm sure I'm a mess, honey. I've been crying, my face is probably red and puffy..."
"Not at all. Let me capture the pregnancy so we can look back at it one day with our beautiful daughter"
"Alright, but let me look at the pictures"
"Of course"
"Should I change my clothes?"
"You're perfect as you are" He grabs his camera and I lift my sweater. He touches my creamy white skin, causing our little one to stir. "Oops she must have been asleep" I giggle. He takes a couple pictures of my from the side but then I take over. I've taken polaroids for years so I set it up on the timer so he can be in some of them too. One of his favorites was of him standing behind me, his hands holding my bump but my favorite was one where he kissed me and I was on my tip toes. He had his hand on my waist, no exposed skin but you could see our creation perfectly. This one could have been our Christmas card, the perfect representation of us right now.
When it was time for bed, it being after midnight so it was technically Christmas Eve, we read the Christmas story together. More like we were reading it to our baby. We drifted off to sleep, cuddled up, as we do every night now.
Not a creature was stirring, not even our sweet baby girl
