Tides and Tidings

Chapter 59

Charlie

“D addy! Mommy! Santa came!” Wren yelled, jumping on our bed.

I groaned and lazily glanced at the clock. It was barely seven and the sun wasn’t even up yet. This child is the antithesis of Blythe and me. While we enjoyed our sleep, Wren liked to seize the day—especially on Christmas.

“What time is it?” Blythe didn’t remove the covers from her head.

“The sun isn’t up yet.”

“Wrenny, don’t you want to get a little more sleep?” Blythe encouraged.

“No! I want to see what presents there are!”

Blythe removed the covers from her head and looked at me. “How do you know there are presents? Have you been downstairs?”

Wren’s eyes went wide. “No.”

“Are you lying?”

“No.”

“Wren Elizabeth, are you lying?” Blythe used her middle name, which usually elicited the truth.

“I went downstairs.”

“You know you were supposed to wait for us, right?” I tried to parent.

“You guys were still sleeping, and I was ready to see what Santa had brought me.” Wren rationalized.

“Did you open any of your presents?” Blythe asked.

She shook her head. “No. I only looked over the railing from the bottom of the stairs.”

“Thank you for being honest.” Blythe paused. “We can head downstairs now.”

“Yay!” Wren stood on our bed and jumped off before taking off down the hallway.

“Wait at the bottom of the stairs!” Blythe yelled behind Wren.

“It’s so early.” She turned towards me.

“You’re the one who instigated a late-night last night.” I teased.

“Sue me.” She stuck her tongue out.

“You willingly entered into this.”

Blythe sat up and placed a kiss on my cheek. “I did so happily. I might miss sleeping in, but this is worth it.”

“Guys!” Wren called from the bottom of the stairs.

“We’re being summoned.” I joked.

“Let’s go. I can’t wait to see her face light up when she sees her gifts.”

“The kid is going to lose her mind.”

We finally moved from the warmth of our bed. The cooler air pricked my skin, and I shuddered. Blythe was still very acclimated to the cold, but I was not so much.

We made our way to the bottom of the staircase to meet Wren, who was staring wide-eyed at the tree and the few packages underneath it.

“Are those for me?” She looked up at me.

“All for you, Little Bird. You can go over there.” I encouraged her.

Wren leaped off the bottom step and ran over to the tree. Her head swiveled from left to right, taking it all in.

Blythe knelt next to her and wrapped her arm around Wren’s shoulders. “Why don’t you start with the small boxes and then work your way to the big one?” She motioned towards the one big box. We knew damn well that was going to be the gift Wren liked the most.

“Okay!” Wren opened up the handful of small boxes.

I felt like one of those memes where the dad sits there on Christmas morning, not knowing what is in any of the boxes. This was the first year I didn’t have to think of gift ideas, and I was more than relieved. Blythe happily led the charge for present-buying, and Wren could tell. All the gifts were carefully planned and wrapped.

This year was truly the first year that felt like Christmas. The holidays had lost their luster, but now it’s back.

I watched as Blythe helped Wren unwrap her gifts, explaining each one. They were lost in their little world, and I was happily third-wheeling. Blythe motioned for Wren to sit on the couch while she grabbed the big box.

“Are you ready?”

Wren nodded at her favorite person.

“This is a gift from your Dad and me.”

“Is it a baby brother?” Wren’s smile grew.

I didn’t know she wanted to be a big sister. I made a mental note to talk to Blythe about that later. I’d love to have another kid. It would give Wren someone to grow up with and selfishly, it would allow me to enjoy the newborn stage without the crippling fear I had last time.

“No, it’s not,” Blythe answered. “Open it and find out!”

Wren ripped into the wrapping paper and opened the box. “Oh my gosh!” She pulled out a massive stuffed turtle. “This is so cool!”

“There’s one more thing in the box.” Blythe nodded towards the box on the floor.

Wren reached in and grabbed a photo of a sea turtle. “He’s cute!”

“He’s yours!” I chimed in.

Her eyes went wide. “No way!”

I nodded. “Yes way. He was hurt so a wildlife center took him in. We adopted him and will help make sure he gets better so he can go back to his family in the ocean.”

“Is he okay?” Her tiny brows furrowed.

“He’s getting better.” Blythe chimed in. “You know what’s even cooler?”

Wren beamed. “What?”

“We’re going to go visit him next week.”

The squeal that came out of my daughter’s mouth pierced my eardrums.

She wrapped her arms around both of us. “Thank you! What’s his name?”

“Ruck,” I added.

“Little Rucky! I love him.” The excitement overwhelmed her. “This is the best Christmas ever. I got a sea turtle and a new mommy.”

My heart leaped in my chest. This was the best Christmas.

Wren got off the couch and handed Blythe her phone. “I need to call Grammy and Pops and tell them about Rucky!”

Blythe dialed the number and then handed over the phone so she could talk to her grandparents. We sat back on the couch and watched her excitedly share the news of her new turtle.

“Charlie?” Blythe brought me back to reality.

I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. “Hmm?”

“Did you think this is how everything would pan out when you picked me up from the airport?”

I shook my head. “Not in the slightest. Wells called it, though.”

She cocked her head. “He did?”

“Oh yeah. I called him that night and told him about you. He told me you were the one for me.”

“I knew I liked him for a reason.” She bumped her shoulder into my chest.

“You know what’s funny?” Blythe waited a moment before continuing. “Rose said the same thing about you.”

“It’s weird how that works, isn’t it?”

“What?”

“It’s weird that they could tell, even though we couldn’t.”

“Yeah.” Blythe laced her fingers with mine. “Are you happy? Like, really, truly happy?”

“I’ve never been happier in my life. You’re the sunshine to my cloudy day.”

“I love you.”

“I love you more, Mrs. Hannigan.”

My whole world is sitting right here in this living room.

Want to read Blythe and Charlie’s love story? Check out Climb the Ladder !