Naughty Elf: Twinkle (Santa’s Naughty Elf Mates)

12. Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

Monty

“Monty?”

“Yes, my whiney princess?”

“If our cookie is your princess wouldn’t that make me your Queen?” He huffed. That belly of his stuck out so far he could no longer see his shoes.

I bowed. “Yes, my Queen, what is thy bidding?”

“Did you hear that, Princess Cookie? Papa made me a queen! ”

Grace told Twinkle and I that it was good to talk to the baby once Twinkle passed the five-month mark and that they could actually hear us then. Didn’t have to tell him twice, Twinkle did it every chance he got, and it was freaking adorable.

“Don’t be like your Daddy, you want to be on the nice list.” Twinkle’s eyes widened and he froze. “Twinkle, are you all right? What’s wrong?” I grabbed my phone and prepared to call Grace.

“Feel this.” Twinkle grabbed my hand and placed it on his belly.

“Whoa, is that?” It happened again. “Is that Papa’s princess kicking?”

“It is!” Twinkle spun around and nearly tipped over, but I caught him. “Thank you, Monty bear. Guess spinning is out of the question for a couple months."

“Yes, it is, my love. Does the baby kick a lot?”

“It just started a couple days ago. At first I thought it was gas, but nothing came out and then it happened again. I called Grace and she laughed and told me it was the baby kicking.”

I tried to hug Twinkle, but it proved challenging given his belly, so I settled for a kiss. “That was one of the most wonderful things I’ve ever felt.” Shit, even to my ears that didn’t sound right .

“What if we keep calling the baby princess and it’s actually a prince? Will that be bad?”

“My love, I think gender is irrelevant, but our love is what matters and clearly our cookie is happy.” At least, I hoped kicking equated to happiness.

Twinkle tried to stand on his tip toes as he had many times before to kiss my cheek though this time the poor guy couldn’t manage. “You’re gonna have to lean down so I can kiss you, Monty bear.” Kiss complete, he waddled down the hall and into the baby’s room.

He was so enamored with the room after my brothers and I completed it, that I’d often find him fast asleep in the rocking chair beside the crib. Our baby’s dreams would be filled with happy thoughts as it fell asleep each night in its cow jumped over the moon themed room.

Grace had come up with the idea and my brothers and I hand painted the scenes and clouds on the walls. I found clear LED twinkle lights we hung from the ceiling that lit the room like shiny stars in the night sky. The pale, baby blue walls were the perfect backdrop that made the room warm and inviting.

My sister Jolie found this adorable white, cloud-shaped rug we put in the center of the floor. The LeClaire kids’ crib was in need of a facelift and took a bit more time to complete than I’d planned but turned out great. The white clouds and moon I painted on the footboard popped against the dark wood of the crib.

Jolie found the perfect crib sheet and blanket set online that she ordered for me. My father made the dresser and painted it white as well. With the crib and the rocker in dark wood, the white served to brighten the room.

Momma went a bit overboard, which Twinkle would see at his shower this weekend. Currently the drawers and changing table were empty but that would be short lived. My family was a bit overzealous given it was my first child.

A quick glance at my watch warned me it was about time for Twinkle to run for the bathroom. I got the crackers and soda ready and set it up on his nightstand. Warm wash cloths awaited him on the vanity.

I waited.

And waited.

Thirty minutes later when he didn’t tear across the hall I feared the worst, that he’d gotten sick in the baby’s room. Twinkle would never forgive himself for that.

I burst into the room, expecting to find a mess and instead startled my poor pregnant mate who had been asleep in the rocking chair.

“Twinkle, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” I kneeled in front of him, his fist still tightly clenched in his shirt as he caught his breath .

“Why did you do that?” His breath was heavy and ragged and not in a good way.

“I was afraid you got sick in here. It’s that time.”

He started at me, blinked a few times, then it sunk in. “I-I, I don’t feel sick.”

Dare I hope for the best? Was the morning-afternoon sickness behind us?

“Isn’t this room dreamy?” The way Twinkle swooned over the finished product. It was like he was seeing for the first time again though he’d been in here a million times already.

“It is and so are you. Feel like braving supper tonight?” Grace wasn’t worried about his weight loss, but I was, and I knew from this point on the baby required more sustenance.

“I could go for a hamburger. Ohhh and fries. Too bad we don’t have chocolate shakes. And pickles. Lots and lots of pickles.”

My turn for the blink-blink.

“Actually, I believe we do.” Should I have pointed out that burgers were meat? He’d never forgive me if I didn’t. “Um, you do realize that hamburgers are meat? Cow meat, specifically.”

“Nooo!” Twinkle burst into tears. “No cows!” He pointed to the one on the wall jumping over the moon. “ Cows are friends, not food. Is there, is there,” he stuttered and wiped his eyes. “Veggie burgers?”

“Okay, okay,” I’d do anything to stop this. “Let me see what I can do.”

Me: Momma, Twinkle wants a burger but a veggie burger. How do I get that? Need to stop the tears.

Momma: Ah, hormones. Be gentle with him and FYI, there’s a box of them in your freezer.

Me: You’re a genius.

Momma: Tell me something I don’t know. Now go feed my future son in law and grand baby.

“Baby, it’s okay. Momma already hooked us up.”

He burst into tears again. “I have to pee.”

“Okay,” I gave him a hug. “You um, you take care of that, and I’ll take care of dinner.”

“’Kay.” He wobbled off toward the bathroom but at least this time it wasn’t to vomit.

I was happy to report, dinner stayed down and my pregnant mate soundly slept beside me .

Thank fuck that was behind us. Now, onto uncontrollable hormones.

“Are you nervous?” Momma whispered as Twinkle mingled with the rest of the family that were here for the baby shower.

“Yeah, a bit. Remind me again why I chose today to do this?”

“You’ve got this, Monty. That man is head over heels for you.”

“Before or after presents?” Timing was everything today.

“During.”

Like that made it any easier…

Kody and his wife Grizelda and their three kids, Kaleb, Kora, and Kolton were here. The kids were outside playing in the fenced area with Tina. Glad I’d had the foresight to set up a slip and slide and some outdoor toys for them.

Seth and his wife Emmy got here first. Emmy brought enough food to feed an army or in this case an army of hungry LeClaire’s. I was glad my family had taken the reins on setting this shin dig up because I hadn’t the first clue how or what to do.

Joe and Anna’s two kids, Kadence and Kam, yes, my family seemed to have something going on with K names for some odd reason. Their boys were outside as well. Meanwhile Jolie and Tanner, who took after my parents and kicked out four tic-taks had just arrived. I had a hell of a time remembering their names and they were so close in age I’d had yet to find any characteristics to associate with them to pin the correct name to the child.

Grace and Aiden came with Momma and Dad, Twinkle was sitting with Kaleb on his lap. He was sad when he could no longer crawl around with Kaleb when he watched him, but he’d never be able to get up on his own if he had.

“Wow, that is one huge pile of presents.” Tanner said as he walked up.

“Yeah, I don’t even know what to say.” We’d have fun later washing everything and putting it away. I knew Twinkle was looking forward to that part.

Grace took Kaleb from Twinkle as Momma walked up to him. “Thank you everyone for being here for this momentous occasion.” She winked at me and my hand immediately shot to my pocket. “I know for many of us, we never thought Monty would find his mate. He’d likely have slept through their visit and missed then all together. Then along came Twinkle. So full of life and such a happy man. He is a welcome addition to this family.” The crowd riled and whistles rang out. “Fill your plates and grab a seat and Twinkle will start opening his gifts. While he eats too, of course. Can’t have the pregnant one not eat.”

“I’ll fix his plate.”

“Love you Monty bear.”

“Love you too, sweetheart.”

“Awe,” rang out but I couldn’t care less. I wore love well, no matter what my siblings thought.

There was a special bag with a special empty tiny box in it buried in the pile of presents. Only me and Momma knew which one it was but when she handed it to him that was my cue.

“Oh my gosh, Monty, look at the tiny flannels. The baby will look just like Papa.”

“Hopefully it’s better looking,” Joe called out and the brothers laughed and I fought the urge to shoot them the bird.

Tiny hangers, reuseable diapers, biodegradable wipes, lotions, shampoos and a baby monitor. I swear we’d have enough to last until our child graduated. Hell, at this point I needed to build a storage shed to keep it all in. Twinkle and I purchased the pumping kit on our own, he felt it was too personal to have someone else buy it for us.

“Sandy,” Twinkle teared up. “Did you make this?” He held up the blanket he’d just opened.

“Each panel is a piece of Monty’s baby clothes, and the backside is his baby blanket.” She’d worked on that for weeks and it turned out great.

Twinkle was a ball of tears. Momma winked at me, and I knew I was up. I watched as she handed Twinkle the bag. He took the little box out and opened it. “It’s empty.” When he turned toward me, I’d dropped to one knee in front of him. I heard a faint, “Oh my Goddess,” come from one of my sisters but my focus was on Twinkle.

“Twinkle. You came into my life, a whirlwind of sugar filled energy and turned it upside down. In the best of ways. You loved me even when I didn’t love myself. You’ve dealt with my grumpy butt and showed me what it’s like to fall in love. Twinkle, the love of my life, the father of my child. Will you do me the honor of adding the word husband to that list?”

The room was silent. My heart madly raced as Twinkle’s tears spilled over. “Yes. Goddess, yes Monty. I love you so much.”

I slid the ring on his swollen finger and shot out a silent thanks to Momma for talking me out of sizing it before the baby came. Damn woman was insanely smart, though I’d never tell her that.

Cheers rang out as we kissed.

“Little snowflakes all the way around it. Oh Monty, I can’t believe how perfect it is.”

“It’s a one of a kind, designed and created just for you. The sapphires match your beautiful eyes that I’ll never grow tired of staring into.”