Christmas Love

Chapter Three

 "Hi Aunt Mabel" I said opening the door to go outside but she was already on the porch with her dog. "Hi, my girl, how are you and oh you are getting so big these days" Aunt Mabel said.

Her dog Tipsy decided this was the perfect time to pee on the porch just standing there, well better out here than in the cabin, I thought. "Oh, good girl Tipsy, and Laura, I have my own room, right?" Aunt Mabel asked.

Why she would ask that question I have no clue. "Of course, Aunt Mabel, and everything is set up just how you like it" I told her following her inside.

Once inside, Aunt Mabel went right to her room with Tipsy in tow. I sat down at the kitchen island after getting myself a glass of iced tea with lemon. "Laura dear the room is perfect, thank you so much" Aunt Mabel yelled from her room.

Tipsy came barreling out of the room and down the hallway to the kitchen and slide into the island. I leaned over to check on the dog, and Tipsy shook her head and went ahead to stand there looking at the island and bark.

Here we go, I thought. Aunt Mabel walked down the hall and walked into the kitchen like she was on a mission. "Everything okay Aunt Mabel?" I asked.

"Oh yes dear, I was just going to get some iced tea and relax with you" she said patting my hand.

Aunt Mabel and I sat in the kitchen for the next two hours talking about her house. I think after this I am so glad; we were building a new one. This way I will not worry about a new roof or leaky pipes.

According to her, she just needs a new house and was thinking one closer to us. She wanted to be closer to us and the new baby, according to her she would be willing to babysit once the child is older around nine or ten.

She was not into changing diapers or listening to it cry. Now I understood why she never had kids and did not want a husband. Aunt Mabel said "men are nothing but a pain in the ass and I have no time for that crap" she would say.

It was always funny hearing her say that every time Steve would ask her if she had a new man in her life. Steve loved to mess with his Aunt Mabel. She could always take a joke, but she could also dish it out.

We could hear Steve pull up in his truck, "about time my nephew gets home" she says standing up and walking to the door. Once she saw he was out of his truck, "about time nephew, I was beginning to think you were hiding out at work" she said with her hands on her hips.

I always laughed when she did that, Aunt Mabel was a seventy-three-year-old spitfire, she was only 5 foot and weighed hardly anything but that never stopped her.

"No Aunt Mabel, you know I always want to be around when you show up" he said walking up and bending down to give her cheek a kiss, he stood up and smiled at me.

I knew that smile, he was smiling but questioning how things were so far, I just smiled and shrugged my shoulders, my way of telling him it is okay so far. Except the only one that is never happy to see Steve is Tipsy.

As soon as this dog sees him, she goes into a full-on barking mode that could make your ears bleed. "Aunt Mabel, can you get your dog to stop barking please" Steve asked.

"What for, that is what dogs do, and she's telling you something, you figure out what though I'm thirsty for more iced tea" she said and walked into the cabin, leaving Steve, Tipsy and myself outside.

Ignoring the dog, Steve came over and wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into one of his hugs where he would rub my back as he hugged me. I melted every time into him when he did that.

"How's my little mouse so far today?" he asked as he kissed the top of my head, "I am doing good, our daughter is active every time she hears Aunt Mabel" I said smiling while my head is laying against Steve's chest.

These kinds of moments I love the most, just being wrapped in his arms, smelling his cologne, and knowing he is right here with me. Took a long time in the making but I am glad about last year's snowstorm.

It made us come together and reconnect, even over twenty years we learned from each other that we loved each other and wanted to be with each other. Now here I am married to this man, pregnant with our baby and building a house.

Everything is simply perfect in my eyes, well almost perfect. I looked down at Tipsy now peeing on Steve's shoe. Steve looked down and saw what Tipsy was doing. "Great, now the dog is acting like she's in charge" he said rolling his eyes.

I had to laugh, "well she is Aunt Mabel's dog, so isn't she in charge?" I asked and laughed when he glowered at me. I opened the door and told Tipsy to get inside, the dog ran inside and barked at every piece of furniture we had.

I could hear Steve sigh, I just had to smile. This was family, for good or bad, I guess. But soon with our new place it will be big enough that we will not be on top of each other like it is here in the cabin.