‘Twas the Love Before Christmas

28. Noah

Chapter twenty-eight

Noah

A fter a quick shower, I returned downstairs to find that my parents weren’t quite ready.

“Mary called while you were out and said they needed to delay the presents and everything,” Mom said. “Vanessa woke up feeling a little ill, and while they’re sure she’s not contagious, they don’t want to spoil the Christmas fun for her. They’ve given her some medicine and sent her back to bed for now. They asked if we could do dinner instead.”

“Dinner works,” I said. “Do you need me to do anything to get us ready to go to Mary’s for dinner, then?”

“No. We’ll take care of it,” Dad said, waving his hand dismissively through the air. “They’ve asked us to make sure we bring mashed potatoes, which we were already going to do. We’ll just start them a little later than normal.”

I nodded slowly.

“Do you think Mary would mind if I invited Catherine to join us?” I asked.

This caused both of my parents to look up in astonishment. Then, Mom just smiled and gave a soft laugh.

“I’m sure she would be thrilled to see Catherine again,” Mom said. “I know she was excited to see you two hanging out at the parade. She missed the dance and the stargazing, bless her little ones’ hearts. If you want to be sure, you could text her.”

I nodded slowly and then headed toward the couch in the living room. Once I sat down, I texted Mary to see what could be done about inviting Catherine to the dinner and presents. Mary didn’t hesitate to reply that there would be a spot for her at the table if she got confirmation that Catherine wanted to come. I smiled. Mary seemed eager to catch up with Catherine. Could it be because we had all been so awkward at the parade?

I didn’t wait a moment to text Catherine.

Change of plans. Want to come to Mary’s for dinner with us?

I then put my phone on the arm of the couch. Dad was reading a book on the other side of the couch while Mom sat knitting on the loveseat on the other side of the room. The television was on and playing soft Christmas music, currently Angels We Have Heard On High. That was, perhaps, one of my favorite Christmas hymns, though I did like the jovial, upbeat songs that were played on the radio this time of year, too.

Instead of trying to engage them in conversation, I simply started to scroll through social media on my phone, mainly awaiting an answer from Catherine. She was with her family, though, and had all of her own reasons to be celebrating with them. Besides, she hadn’t been home in a couple of years. They were probably overjoyed to have her home again this year.

About ten minutes later, my phone vibrated in my hands with a text.

I’d love to go to Mary’s for Christmas dinner. What time do I need to be there, or do you want to ride together?

I smiled widely when she replied. And, of course, she would ride with us. Then, I looked up to find my mom snickering a little.

“I take it that means Catherine’s coming to Christmas dinner at Mary’s?” Mom asked.

I nodded.

“We’ll be leaving at four-thirty sharp. Mary wants to do the presents before dinner and warn Catherine that Vanessa was feeling a little ill,” Mom replied.

I nodded and filled Catherine in on precisely what was going on to make the change in plans. She didn’t seem too bothered and was simply happy to be able to join us. Besides, Mary had also asked that we bring Wally, so I was sure Catherine would be excited to see him. Again.

After all of that was done, I walked up to my room and made a note to call Coach O’Keefe tomorrow to talk about the job opportunity. With that out of the way, I prepared to dive headfirst into helping my parents.

***

A few hours later, with homemade mashed potatoes in a pot to be kept warm, we all piled into my parents’ truck. Wally sat between Catherine and me, giving warm eyes to Catherine and begging her for all of the pets. There were a bunch of wrapped presents in the truck bed for Vanessa and Jess and a couple for Catherine that my parents had wanted to pass on but hadn’t gotten a chance to yet. I wasn’t sure Mary would have something for her, as this was last minute, but I was sure Mary would be happy to see her, anyway.

“Hi Wally,” Catherine said as she petted him. “Hi. Are you excited to go to Mary’s?”

He woofed, which startled everyone and made me laugh.

Then I looked at Catherine.

“Ready?”

“Ready,” she said. “Thank you so much for the invitation.”

“Of course, Catherine!” Mom said. “We wanted to see you join us for something, and when Mary told us that she wanted to postpone our visit so that Vanessa would be able to enjoy it, I thought it’d be sweet to see if you could come.”

“It was Noah’s idea, sweetheart,” Dad said.

A blush started on my cheeks as Catherine looked over at me, her eyebrow raised.

“Was it now? Well, I’m sure he had a reason for that,” Catherine said with a cheeky smile. “It couldn’t possibly be because we’ve been talking about getting back together, could it?”

I could hear the heavy sarcasm in her voice and only managed a soft laugh. I could see Mom giving me a look through the rearview mirror, but Dad simply shook his head. With that, we started towards Mary’s home. It didn’t take us long to get there, and we arrived about ten minutes ahead of schedule.

Dad wasn’t sure how much traffic we might encounter, although most people left in the morning and didn’t go home until late evening for Christmas Day here in Indigo Lake. I was simply glad that we made it safely. There had been some black ice in parts of the route, and we had gone slower to get over that without worrying about the truck spinning out of control.

“Hi! Do you all need any help getting things inside?” Mary asked as she opened the door for Catherine and me.

“No. Mom and Dad have the potatoes, and we have the gifts,” I said.

“Well, I’m glad to see that you could make it, Catherine,” Mary said as we walked inside. “Noah asked if you could come on such late notice, but I’m glad he did. It’s been a while since we’ve all enjoyed some time together. The girls will be so happy that you’re here. They’ve been waiting all day long for the rest of their presents. They got their Santa presents this morning; we laid them on the couch, unwrapped.”

Catherine smiled.

“I remember my parents doing that for me.”

She didn’t have time to reminisce for long because as soon as Jess and Vanessa realized we were there, they immediately came over to show us what Santa had brought them. They each had gotten some candies (their favorites, of course), some festive socks, and a pair of Christmas pajamas. I was glad to see that they were happy with their presents, but I had to admit that I was ready to see them open the presents from us. Mom, Dad, and I had all coordinated, and I wanted to see how the girls would react.

We dropped all the presents in the living room. Mom and Dad took the potatoes into the kitchen, and Wally made a home by the fireplace because it was warm.

“Before we begin, we always make sure the guests go first,” Thad said. “Vanessa, Jess, why don’t you go get Grandma and Grandpa their presents?”

With that, the two girls ran to their room to get something. Mary passed Catherine a small envelope and then handed me a box.

“We made sure to include both of you, too, and Wally,” Mary said.

Vanessa and Jess returned with two boxes a moment later, and it was time to open presents. Mary and Thad had gotten Mom and Dad – with the help of Jess and Vanessa, as far as wrapping it went – a voucher for a cruise ticket. They just had to pick the dates, and they could go on a cruise anywhere, at any time. It was a sweet gesture, but part of my mind drifted to imaginary white-sand beaches with Catherine.

My gift was baseball-related, of course. It was a new mitt, which I appreciated. Mary had a knack for making sure all her presents were usable in some manner. Mine was simply more practical, and I didn’t mind it. On the other hand, Catherine’s was a gift card to one of the large department stores in Brighton.

“We would have gotten you something a little more personal if we’d had more time to plan,” Mary said softly. “So, go treat yourself on us.”

Catherine smiled. “Thank you, Mary.”

“And for you two,” Mom said. “This is from all of us, Mary, Thad.”

They looked at the small box with a raised eyebrow before opening it. It was a gift card to their favorite restaurant with a home-made childcare coupon to redeem for a night of fun with the grandparents. Mary and Thad laughed because it was a date night on the grandparents’ kit.

Then, it was time for Jess and Vanessa to open their presents. They started with the largest boxes because they were curious children. Inside those boxes were two playsets: a hair salon and a horse stable. Both built for 18-inch dolls. This made them both curious because they didn’t have 18-inch dolls. Not yet.

That was the next present they opened, to a chorus of “ohs” and “ahs” because the dolls were absolutely beautiful. Catherine leaned into me a little to whisper into my ear.

“Those girls are going to have a blast tonight,” she whispered. “I remember playing with those kinds of dolls when I was Jess’s age. They’re so much fun, especially when she gets old enough to start playing with their hair.”

I smiled a little.

The rest of the presents were a couple of extra clothing sets and accessories for their dolls. I had chipped in by buying them both an outfit and a set for the dolls, because it would be the best thing to do. Mary smiled in our direction, shaking her head softly.

“Thank you!” Vanessa and Jess said it at the same time, both as enthusiastically as one could ever hope.

Catherine got down on the floor and helped them unpack the accessories because some of it came in hard-to-open-for-little-fingers plastic bags.

Mary walked over to us.

“That’s a wonderful present,” she said. “Thank you. They’ve wanted dolls like those for a couple of Christmases now, and we could never justify the price, even with the knock-offs to get them all set up. They would have been happy with the dolls from a knock-off brand, too.”

“We know,” Mom said. “But these will last much longer, and they have a doll hospital you can send the dolls to if they need some care. That’s why we chose these.”

Mary smiled widely.

“You think of everything. And the hair salon and stable?”

“Noah’s idea,” Dad said. “We thought it’d be nice to give them two larger playsets to share and their own dolls, clothing, accessories, all of that.”

“You were right.”

With that, Thad went to check on the ham because it was time for dinner. Or almost time for dinner. Catherine remained on the floor as she shared stories of playing with these kinds of dolls with her friends and with Mary. I did vaguely remember Mary having an 18-inch doll, but I didn’t know where it had gone off to.

“Food’s ready! You two can continue playing after dinner,” Thad said as he walked back into the living room. “Let’s eat.”

With that, everyone walked over to the dining room table. I pulled Catherine’s chair out for her, and we had dinner together as a family that night.