Christmas Vacation

“Unfortunately, I think you’re right. Sounds like they need to stay here. Let me talk to Kyla. Then we’ll talk to your dad. And discuss it with my supervisor. Ms. Logan, if you feel he has threatened you or the girls, and definitely if he comes back again, you should consider a restraining order. Then, well, I’m no lawyer, but I would probably go back to court to have the judge reconsider his ruling if things have changed. And keep the door locked.”

“Thank you, officer. Good advice. Let us know if you need anything else.”

Closing the door and taking a deep, calming breath, “Well, Hailey. Thank you for aging me ten years.”

“Two out of three, Mom?” She hugged her.

“Yes, Hailey. Two out of three. Matt, these pancakes smell and taste like burnt plastic. How the heck did you eat them?”

“I needed to be polite, right? I am feeling a little queasy and I may have to make use of the facilities soon.” He winked at Hailey. “Maybe a culinary boarding school would be an idea. At the penal colony of course.” They all laughed. The doorbell rang.

“Now what? I’m still in my robe. Look like crap and haven’t even had my second cup. Emily! Oh my goodness! Your face! Come in! Come in. Girls, grab the kids.”

Starting to cry, “I’m sorry, Jamie. I didn’t know what else to do. Where to go. I checked all our records like Hailey said you did and it showed that John was running around just like he was with you. I confronted him a little bit ago and, well, he was already ticked that the girls weren’t there…and started yelling and hitting me. I tried to defend myself, but..when he punched me, I just kind of went out or something.

“When I woke up or came to, he was gone. I called the police and they were going to pick him up for assault or whatever, but I am so afraid that they’ll let him out and…What if he hurt the kids? I’ll get a divorce and all that, but it takes time. I’m scared to death. I should have ended it when you called. But…” Crying, “I don’t know what to do! This is the only thing I could think of. I’m sorry, Jamie. I never should have stayed with him, but I was pregnant and….”

“It’s OK, Emily. You did the right thing.” She hugged her and held her while she cried. “You’re welcome here for as long as you need. Come on in. Sit down. Can I get you some coffee? Hailey, throw your culinary misadventure out and make some eggs for everyone. Mom, maybe you can coach her.”

“Mom! I can make eggs! It’s the toast that’s the problem,” and laughed.

“Chris, get that ice pack from the freezer. And a towel. Maybe we can stop some of the swelling. Em, do you think we need to take you to the emergency room How’s your head feel? Any dizziness? Vision OK? Matt! You know what to look for. Why don’t you go over her?

“Emily, if you were knocked out you need to probably get checked out at the ER.”

“Matt’s here? Oh, Jamie, I’m so glad. John said he was going to ruin everything between you two and I thought he had. You both seemed so happy together at the party…until the end. I tried to stop him. Matt, I should have talked to you, but I didn’t know what to say. Sorry.”

“Jamie? I really need some clean clothes, a shower, and all that..”

“No! Stinky Daddy! Matt. You can’t leave. We need you here. Just in case. My dad might get released and figure things out. Please!”

Heidi eyed Jamie,“Stinky Daddy?”

“Kind of Hailey’s pet name for Matt.”

Heidi stepped up.“Alright. So here’s a plan….Matt, you make sure everyone’s safe. Hailey, the baby. Chris, Bailey. Jamie, why don’t you make the eggs for everyone. I’ll take Emily to the emergency room. Even on Christmas Eve morning it’ll take a while. And then we can run to Walmart and get some supplies for Emily and clothes for Matt.

“Tee shirts, sweat pants, undies OK, Matt?” He nodded. “When they give Emily a clean bill I’ll bring her home and we can plan our next steps.”

“Make sure to get the undies with the micro family jewel pocket.” They all stopped and looked at Hailey.

“What? I was making a funny. You know, yuk, yuk. Relieve some of the tension….”

Matt laughed and the others smiled. Jamie shook her head. “Good. We have our assignments. And I guess I should get some aero beds since Emily probably needs to stay tonight. But we can sort that out later. Matt, do you know how to check to see if John has been arrested and how long he’ll likely be there?”

“Yea, I think. I can call some of the folks I know and probably find out.”

“Great! And if he’s in jail, Matt, maybe you and I can go back to Emily’s later and get baby stuff. Doesn’t look like she’s brought what she’ll need. I mean, no matter what, Emily should stay here, but it would make it easier to get the stuff from her house. Questions? No? I’m off. Come on Emily.”

“Matt? Can I talk to you for a moment? In the bedroom?”

“Sure, Jamie.” He followed her down the hall. She closed the door, turned and kissed him. Long, hard, passionately. A little moan escaped. “Matt? Last night was terrific. I am so thankful that you came to see me.” A tear ran from her watery eyes. “I’ve missed you so much. I felt so empty. I…I know it’s only been a few months, and it’s still early in our relationship, but I love you so much….I just hope all this craziness isn’t going to drive you away. It’s never like this. Promise!

“I never dreamed you’d get caught up in anything like this. So if you want to leave or you see nothing but nightmares ahead, I’ll understand….”

He kissed her. “Jamie, I’m not going anywhere. This is where I belong. It feels like….home. So, why don’t you, Stinky Mommy, take a shower and get dressed. And I’ll rejoin the chaos. But first, another kiss.”

She reached down and gently cupped his cock in her hand. “It’s not a micro.” They laughed. “That girl! If I live through her growing up….But I do need some more of this. You may need to take me for a ride in your truck or we could sneak over to your place, ‘just to get a few things,’ deal?”

“Deal”

Later, finally having her second cup and some eggs, “So, Hailey. Fairly eventful 16th birthday. Anything planned for your 17th?”

“Heck no, Mom. I’ve accomplished more than my fair share of good deeds. The world is a better place. But Chris! Chris said something about solving climate change….or taking on the whole football team.”

“HAILEY! I’m sure it would be no more than the starters.”

Chris rolled her eyes, the rest laughed and shook their heads. “You too, Mom? I’m sending my application to boarding school out tomorrow. Besides, it would just be the offensive starters. I already did the defense.”

“Chris!

“So it’s Christmas Eve. Let’s get the presents out. Can we skip the cookies, milk, and reindeer food this year?”

Whispering, “No way! Bailey’s three. She needs that and The Night Before Christmas and all the other stuff. Traditions, Mom. Traditions. She needs to start getting excited about these things.”

“OK. We don’t have any cookies though.”

“No problema, Madre. Chris and I can make some sugar cookies. Bailey can help and then she can help decorate. We need to include her in all this stuff.”

“Chris, you’ll take charge of the cookies, right?”

“Absolutely. We want them fit for human consumption. Unlike the pancakes. Look here’s Emily and Grandma. We’ll help her unload.”

“So, I have a mild concussion. No broken bones, and everything else checks out fine. Any update on John?”

“I called a guy on the force and John’s in. The judge won’t be available until the 26th so he’ll be in at least until then. Why don’t I take the van, hope that it can make it there and back and pick up some things at Emily’s. I could take a list, but it might be best if you came with me Em. Do you feel up to it?” She nodded.

“It appears that you all have things well in hand. So I’m going to spend time with Grandpa.” She hugged Jamie. “I do hope you can forgive me for being such a fool. I was so wrong. So very wrong.”

“Sure, Mom. Can you two come by tomorrow for lunch or something?”

“I’d like that.” She hugged each of the girls. “And thank the two of you for making this possible. May I bring some presents tomorrow?”

“You and presents are always welcome, Grandma. See you tomorrow. Merry Christmas.”

“Come on, Matt. Let’s hit the hay. Things’ll start early tomorrow. You’ll stay and be here for Christmas won’t you?”

“Wouldn’t miss it. I need a shower, though. Is that OK?”

“Only if I get to join you. But we have to be quiet because of….”

“I understand. And we have to wear clothes and leave the door unlocked….”

“Well, yea, but we could keep it locked and the clothes off for a while. After all, I’ll need someone to warm me up after the shower. And it’s been a pretty emotional day. But mostly, I am just so damn happy that you’re here, I need to hold you. More than anything.”

“I swear, this was the nicest Christmas I think I’ve ever had. Thank you for letting me be here and take part. I know it’s crowded and the kids add a lot of confusion….”

Jamie turned and hugged her. “Emily. You’re family. You’ll always be family. Maybe we should make this a tradition. And compared to Hailey, your kids are a dream.”

“Err…Jamie? Can I talk to you for a bit in the bedroom?”

“Sure. So what’s up.”

“I don’t know exactly how to tell you or even if I should, but…”

“What is it, Emily? It’s alright. Just tell me.”

“Well, while I was gathering things up and taking some records to use for the divorce, I, uh, I found a box. With these in it.”

“What are they?”

“Not exactly sure, but I think they’re phony birth control pills. Here. Look.”

“Those are the ones I was on when I got pregnant. I thought it was just a different generic or something.”

“Me too.”

“What? But that would mean….”

“That he switched our pills so we’d get pregnant. What a worm! But, Jamie, I also found these pills. I had to look them up online.”

“And…”

“And, they’re abortion pills.”

“God no!” She burst into tears. “You think he made me lose my baby? He murdered my baby?” Emily shrugged. “Oh my God! How could anybody? I have to sit.” She put her hands on her face and sobbed. Emily hugged her and held on.

“I’m sorry, Jamie. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“No. This may be the best Christmas gift of all. It means it was not my fault. I was not the cause. I was not a failure. I can finally forgive myself. Thank you.” She squeezed Emily’s hand. “Thank you.”

Later, “Mom! I guess I scored three for three on my birthday projects?”

“Yes, Hailey. Three for three. Great job on your birthday.”

“I’m going to take my two little ones back to the bedroom to clean them up and get them ready for bed. Merry Christmas to all of you. And thanks again.”

“So, girls, did you get everything you wanted? Hailey, I thought I saw a flash of disappointment.”

“No, everything is great, Mom. Thanks for everything. I was just…well, I was kind of hoping to see a set of keys to a new car under the tree.”

“Sorry, Hailey. I told you. The budget. You’ll need to use the van.”

“Mom. I can’t drive the van! It’s a beast. I’ve tried. I feel like I’m never in control when I drive it. The steering is, well, it just doesn’t work. And the brakes are awful. And it makes all those weird noises.”

“Jamie? I think she’s right. I drove it yesterday and that thing probably should not be on the road.”

“I don’t know, then. Maybe we can trade it in and find something.”

“Tell you what, Jamie. Sign the van over to me. I’ll trade it in and Hailey and I can check around for a safe used car. The van is worth about a dollar ninety-eight so we won’t get much. But I can teach her how to go about buying a car. Chris could come too. And I could chip in the rest.

“But I don’t want to if…well, it’s up to you, Jamie, I don’t want to step in where I shouldn’t.”

“I can’t let you do that, Matt. I mean, you know how I feel about you and we’ve shared a lot, but, you know, you don’t have to feel like you have deal with my family finances and things. I can’t ask you to do that.”

“I understand. But what if I were part of the family?”

All heads swung to Matt. “What?”

“What if I were part of the family?” He got down on one knee, pulled out a small box and held it towards her. “Jamie Logan? I know we haven’t known each other long, but you and the girls just feel like home and I want to spend every Christmas and all the days in between with you. Will you marry me?”

Jamie stared, not moving. Hailey nudged her, “MOM!”

“Oh! Yes! Yes! A thousand times yes. Oh, Matt. This is a dream. I know it is.” She kissed him. “No. That seemed real enough.” She lunged and knocked him over and kissed him some more.

“Geez, Mom. Get a room. There’re kids present.”

She held Matt tightly. “Matt, I will work every day to make you the happiest man I can. Promise.”

“I guess that would be make it a 4 out of three, right, Mom?”

“Yes, Hailey.”

“So, Daddy. About that car…”

“HAILEY!”

Best Christmas ever.