When we arrive at the house, I just know I am going to hear it from Aiden: how he told me from the beginning to take Anthony with me. I just have to accept that he was right this time. But the Steffan men haven’t returned from getting a tree yet. Papa said it takes time finding the perfect tree, and there have been years when they walked for hours looking for just the right one. Shannon, Brandy, and Ysabel help me get the dress to the guest bedroom where it will be kept until the day of the wedding. We safely put it away, then each take a breath and let out a sigh of relief.
It’s still early in the afternoon, so we go to our rooms to change into something comfortable. We can start cooking our Christmas Eve dinner and desserts. Once downstairs, I find Anthony. “Thank you for always being there to protect me and the rest of the family.”
“I will always protect you and Aiden. As long as I am here, nobody will hurt either of you.”
“You know what time to leave for the airport to pick up Brandy’s family, right?” He gives me a full smile. “Okay, okay, of course you know. I just want everything to go smoothly.”
“Not to worry, everything will be fine.”
“Everything would have been fine this morning too, if you had listened to me in the first place.”
I roll my eyes as I hear my husband’s angry voice, then let out a breath and turn to face the music. “I know, Aiden. I’m sorry that I didn’t listen to you. You were right, I should have let Anthony drive us to town, but I honestly didn’t think anything could go wrong just going to the dress shop.”
“Alexis, you are going to have to start believing that when it comes to the paparazzi, I know them better than you do. I’ve been dealing with them for years.”
“I know, I’m sorry. It won’t happen again. I will listen to you from now on, I promise. Now please don’t be mad at me. Not today—it’s our first Christmas together.”
Wrapping his arms around me, he kisses the top of my head. “Baby, I’m not mad at you, but you can’t put yourself in harm’s way like that again. You never know with the paparazzi. If they start chasing you for a picture or story, anything could happen. If anything happens to you, it would make me crazy. I can’t lose you. You are my whole world.”
“You are never going to lose me. I am yours forever and ever. Now, I need to go help in the kitchen.”
Before releasing me, he places kisses on my forehead and nose and rubs my lips with his own. “I love you, Mrs. Steffan.” Then he turns me around, patting me on the ass. “Go on, I’m sure they are all waiting for you.”
***
Everybody is busy in the kitchen as I enter. Mama tells me to grab an apron and start cutting the potatoes. We all have our part to do if the feast is to be ready in time for dinner this evening.
Searching for the peeler, I ask Ysabel where it would be. Mama tells me not to peel the skin off the potatoes, as it is what gives them more flavor and nutrients. There isn’t much cutting to do, as they are the small baby red potatoes. I wash them and cut them in half, then lay them in the pan and sprinkle the herbs on them. Looking over Mama’s shoulders as she stirs the sauce that will be poured over the parmesan chicken once it’s baked in the oven, I breathe in the aroma.
“Yum, it all smells so good.”
Suddenly I feel lightheaded. I run for the bathroom, barely making it in time to flip the toilet seat and empty my stomach.
Shannon walks in behind me. “Are you okay, Lexie?”
“Huh? Yeah. I guess it’s because I haven’t eaten today. Plus all the excitement from this morning.”
“Not eating isn’t going to make you throw up. It might make you lightheaded, but not throw up.” She hands me a glass of water, wets a towel, and places it on my forehead.
“I’m fine, really. We need to get back out there and help prep the food.”
“Okay, if you’re sure.”
Mama asks if I am fine—
“Or is there a little bit of news you would want to share with us, Alexis?”
Giving her a confused look, I shake my head. “No, there is nothing to tell.”
She pats her stomach, smiling. “Are you sure?”
I burst out laughing. “No, no, nope.” As I continue to help with the cooking, in the back of my head I start to count the days since my last period.
“Oh shit.” Dropping the spoon, I turn, and with widened eyes I look at each one. One by one they give me huge smiles.
Mama walks over to me and places a hand on my belly. “Ysabel, go call the doctor. We need to get Alexis examined before tonight.”
I look down, then back at her. “Is there a doctor’s office that is open on Christmas Eve?”
“We are going to call our private doctor to come here. It will only take a few minutes. I am more than sure he will not mind in the least.”
My heart is speeding; I can actually hear it.
“Oh, what a wonderful Christmas gift this will be for all of us! To have a baby in the house. Papa and I are ready to be grandparents.”
Ysabel walks back into the kitchen. “Dr. Verdi said he could be here in twenty minutes.”
I say to all of them, “Aiden or any of the men can’t know what is going on here. If I’m pregnant, if I am carrying a child, I want to tell my husband just at the right time. Is everyone clear on that?” They nod, but have the biggest grins on their faces.
“I’m going to be an aunt. She’ll call me Tía Ysabel.”
Shannon says, “What if it’s a boy?”
“Well, he will also call me Tía Ysabel.”
“I don’t care what the sex of the baby is, as long as it is healthy and calls me Nonna.”
“Wait just wait a minute. We don’t even know if I am pregnant yet.”
“What? You’re pregnant?” We all turn to see Johnny standing in the doorway. Shannon and I look at each other. She runs over, but he sidesteps her and comes to me. “Did I just hear you right? Am I going to be an uncle?”
“I don’t know yet, but please, you can’t say anything to anybody, especially Aiden. Please, Johnny, I want to be the one to tell him if I am. The doctor is on the way to give me a checkup and tests. We need to sneak him in without anybody seeing him.”
Shannon joins us and tells Johnny, “You need to distract the other men so we can get him in to examine Lexie.”
He agrees to help. Before walking out, he picks me up and swings me around. “This is the best present you could give my brother.”
We continue to cook, trying to keep ourselves busy till the doctor arrives. Brandy is at the front of the house, acting as a lookout. Johnny tells Papa and Aiden that he can’t find the tree stand in the barn, so they all have to go in search for it.
“Alexis, this is Dr. Verdi.” I turn to see an older, kind-looking gentleman. I reach my hand out and greet him.
“Good afternoon, my dear. Since I know this is time sensitive, let us see what is going on with you, shall we?” He faces Mama. “Where can I examine her?”
***
We go into one of the guest rooms. I ask Shannon to be with me since I am so nervous. Once in the room, Dr. Verdi starts asking how I’m feeling as he listens to my heart and lungs. He looks into my ears, nose, and throat. Am I eating right? I tell him that I’ve actually been eating a lot more than usual. I let him know about the dizzy spells I’ve been having, adding that they stem from lack of sleep. “Or from the dreams I’ve been having lately.”
When he shines the light in my eyes, I pull away, grabbing my head in pain. Taking a step back, he studies my face. “How long has the light bothered your eyes?”
“For a few months now. Why, do you think there is something wrong with me?”
“Alexis, it is hard for me to even try to answer that question. I don’t have my equipment here. I would need to examine you in my office or run some tests at the hospital.”
“They ran all kinds of tests back in New York before we came here.”
“Did they find anything? Did the tests show something that I need to know about?”
“No, they all came back clear.”
“Okay, I need you to undress from the bottom so I can examine you, please. First I need you to go into the bathroom and urinate in this cup for me.” He turns to Shannon. “Is there a sheet that I can place on her?”
In the bathroom, I fill the cup, then walk out and hand it to him. Instructing me to lie on the edge of the bed, he takes the cup and dips a strip in it. “While we wait for the changing of the color, I will examine you.” As he presses on my belly, I let him know there is tenderness. The whole time he examines me, he keeps looking out the window and making the same noise over and over again. “Huh.” Finally, he stands straight up. “You can put your pants back on now.”
Shannon holds the sheet up in front of me as I quickly dress. He walks over to the window, moving the sheer curtain aside.
He turns back around. “What were you planning on giving your husband for Christmas?”
Tilting my head to the side in confusion, I answer, “A watch that I got engraved. Why?”
“Well, now you can give him two gifts. The gift of the watch, and the gift of a child.”
“But you haven’t even checked the test!”
“My dear, I have been doing this for over forty years. I do not need to see what the test says to know you are with child. Just so you can be sure, let us take a look.” The three of us go to the table where the cup is. He brings the strip up, and there is a pink color to it. “The test is positive, Alexis, just as I said.”
Shannon and I look at each other. She pulls me in for a hug. “Oh my god, Lexie, I am so happy for you and Aiden.”
As she releases me, I start to tear up. “I’m going to be a mother. Aiden is going to be a father. We are having a baby.”
“I still want to see you in my office as soon as the holidays are over. I want to run my own tests to see why you are so sensitive to light.”
“But I told you, the tests the doctors took already came back clear.”
“Please, child, indulge this old man. Let me run my own tests, si?”
I agree to see him after the holidays. After walking him out and making sure that he leaves without being seen, Shannon and I walk back into the kitchen. Brandy, Ysabel, and Mama are all staring at me. I put the apron back on and pick up a spoon to taste the sauce that is cooking. “This is so good.”
Finally, Ysabel speaks up. “We are going crazy here waiting for an answer. All you can say is it tastes good?”
I turn and give them a huge smile, patting my belly. “Well, it’s just that the baby is hungry.”
They start jumping and screaming. Everyone takes turns hugging me. The men rush in. Papa asks what’s wrong. I signal them to be quiet.
Brandy screams. “There was a big spider!”
The men start walking around and looking down. All of them but Johnny, who looks at me. I smile and nod. Putting my finger to my mouth, I give him the look that says, Do not say anything. Winking at me, he goes to Shannon, gives her a kiss on the cheek, and whispers something into her ear that causes her to slap his chest. “I don’t think so.”
Aiden comes over. “Did it bite any of you? Are you okay?”
Taking him by surprise, I cover his lips with mine and kiss him tenderly.
“Well, maybe I should put another spider in here if it’s going to get you to kiss me like that in front of everybody.”
We all laugh. Up until now I have been shy about showing affection in front of his parents. I would always ask what they’re going to think. Not anymore.
We set up the table with all the different snacks and desserts, but Mama tells all the men not to touch anything until after we eat dinner.
***
I ask Aiden if he wants to join me in the shower. Giving me a grin, he says, “Do you really have to ask?”
I giggle. “No.”
Stepping into the shower, I hold out my hand to him. He takes it and pulls me into his chest, then brings his mouth to take mine. Releasing the hold I have on him, I look into his eyes. “I love you so much. Make love to me.” He picks me up and I wrap my legs around his waist. Again, he kisses me with such passion that I know it is not the warm water steaming up the walls. He slides himself in me, never letting my mouth go. We make slow, sweet love to each other. As we dress and make our way downstairs, I tell Aiden they’re going to make fun of us for being late to the dinner table yet again.
***
At the bottom of the stairs, Anthony comes up to us. “The present is in the library waiting for you two.”
We stop at the dining room to inform everyone that we need to attend to something very important and we’ll be right back. They all look at us, then at each other. Johnny’s eyes widen as if he knows what the urgent matter is. I shake my head at him slightly.
Entering the library, we greet Brandy’s family. I hold out my hand to her mother while Aiden takes her father’s hand. Mr. and Mrs. Castro introduce us to her two sisters and brother. “Mr. and Mrs. Steffan, these are our other children, Bella, Belinda, and Adam.”
Aiden speaks up, “Brandy has no idea that my wife and I have invited you to spend the holidays with us. We know she will be pleasantly surprised.”
“Mr. Steffan, Mrs. Steffan, we appreciate everything you do for our daughter. It gives us great comfort to know you include her in family events.”
Mrs. Castro says, “Our Brandy speaks very highly of the two of you.”
I place a hand on her upper arm. “My husband and I think of her as part of our family. She will always have a place in our hearts.”
We walk back to the dining room and stop at the door. Aiden says, “Can we have everyone’s attention?” As they all look up, he nudges me to speak up.
“No, you say it.”
“Okay. Um, Brandy, we are grateful for everything you do for us. Alexis and I both know that you miss your family very much, so we thought this would be the perfect Christmas gift from us to you.”
We both move aside and let her family walk in. The expression on her face is priceless. She jumps up and runs to her parents. They embrace. She keeps kissing their cheeks. Finally letting go, she hugs her sisters and brother. She turns back to us with tears rolling down her face. “Thank you both so much. You don’t know how much this means to me.”
She gives me a hug and whispers in my ear, “Thank you, Lexie. I know you miss your family, and for you to do this for me…I can’t even express how happy I am right now.”
After more tears and hugs, we all sit at the table. We’re still there when it’s almost midnight and Papa announces that we should go into the family room to decorate the tree.
Aiden has already asked me twice why I’m not touching my wine. I’ve told him that I’m just not in the mood for it. He laughed, but Shannon said that she only drank one glass as well. When Johnny started to contradict it, she quickly hushed him.