“Well I couldn’t have done it all without you, Danielle. You’ve changed my life, showed me what I’m truly capable of. And you’ve given me three beautiful kids and a herd of animals. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
Ooo000ooo
“Aww look at her! She’s smiling at me,” Skyler said.
I didn’t have the heart to tell her that her baby sister was just pooping. Skyler was already smitten with both of her siblings, doting on them and checking on them every five minutes. She even made sure they had equal numbers of gifts under the tree.
“Elli bear loves her big sister, doesn’t she?” Skyler said, grinning down at the infant.
The babies were still very small, but they had grown quickly in the NICU. MJ was still bigger, coming in at just under seven pounds. Elianna was just over six pounds. As far as the doctors could tell, there were no problems and could be released just in time for Christmas. Neither had any infections, and they took to eating within a few days of being in the NICU.
Skyler had picked out their outfits for Christmas Eve, and she wore a matching one herself. They were all dressed as little elves. She even tried to put the hats on the twins, but they were having none of it - fussing until we took them off. But she wore an adorable little elf hat and the pointed shoes and everything.
Elli was in a little red outfit to match hers, while MJ was in green. Skyler kept saying, “Aren’t they the cutest little elves you ever saw?” I’d say, “All three of you are.” Because it was true. I had the three cutest kids, and my heart was so full.
The Harvey brothers and their families stopped by to drop off gifts for us and to meet the babies. At one point, there were eight babies all under the age of one under the roof, Sam and Penelope’s quadruplets and Graham and Emmy’s little one too.
I’d always wanted a big family and having such a full home was nice. They eventually went their way, however, and it was nice to be surrounded by my own little family.
Grizzly sat on the floor at my feet, while Zeus continued following Skyler around wherever she went. Griz was curious about the babies, while Zeus wanted nothing to do with them. Even when Skyler walked up to one of them, he stayed back. He didn’t bark, however, because he was finally trained not to. I knew to keep an eye on them around the little ones, however, and because of this, they were not allowed in the nursery or the master bedroom, just to be safe. Same with the cats, who seemed mostly indifferent toward them. Only the youngest one, Cinder, seemed slightly curious, but as soon as one of the babies cried, Cinder was gone. She would take off and hide, afraid of the loud noises they made.
Mason had helped Skyler bake some cookies for Santa, which were sitting out near the fireplace. Our stockings were hung, one for each of us. Even the pets had stockings, so they were hung all over the room, wherever Skyler had felt them appropriate. Some were up high, others down low. She was a little interior designer with strong opinions, and we let her decorate the way she liked - even if it was a bit Avant Garde.
The tree was sparkling and mostly traditional with blue lights that flickered on and off to Christmas music. Presents were piled under the tree. I hadn’t had much time to shop, what with dealing with the twins and everything, but Mason and his brothers had really stepped up. The space beneath our tree was filled with presents.
“Can I open a present tonight, pretty please?” Skyler begged as we settled in for the evening.
I glanced at Mason since he bought most of the gifts. “Okay, just one,” he said. “And I know which one it’ll be too.”
He went over to the tree and sat on the floor. Skyler sat down beside him, wiggling in place from the excitement. “Which one?”
“Here you go,” he said.
Skyler ripped through the paper, her eyes wild and hungry. She pulled open the box and squealed. “I love it! I love it! Look at this, Mommy!” She pulled out a pair of Frozen pajamas with Elsa on the front. “Can I sleep in them tonight? Pretty please?”
“Of course honey,” I said. “They’re yours. You can wear them whenever you’d like.”
“Yay! But now I feel bad because Elianna doesn’t have Elsa pajamas.”
Mason pulled two packages from under the tree. “Oh, they have pajamas of their own. They get presents for Christmas Eve too, just like your mom.”
“I’m getting something too?”
“Of course. It was always a tradition in our family,” Mason said, standing up with the three packages. “Everyone gets new pajamas for Christmas Eve that they’d wear that night.”
“I didn’t know that. I didn’t get you any pajamas,” I said.
Mason winked. “I know you didn’t know about it. I wanted to surprise you. I bought my own.” He plopped down on the couch next to me with a grin.
“I never really had any family traditions growing up,” I said softly.
“Well you have one now,” Mason said. “And we’ll have many, many years together to create our own.”
My heart really couldn’t get much fuller than that.
Epilogue
Danielle
ONE YEAR LATER
Who knew that Christmas would be my favorite time of year? Growing up, I had always dreaded the holiday. My parents would get drunk and the kids at school would flash their expensive new toys in my face. I was lucky to get one present, and it was usually something I needed like school supplies or clothes from the Goodwill.
But now, Christmas had taken on an entirely new meaning for me and my family.
That’s why I decided that getting married between Christmas and New Year’s would be a perfect way to celebrate my new favorite holiday.
When I’d married Greg, he had chosen every aspect of the wedding, including my dress. And I thought that had been my only chance to get married. I had given up on the idea. Until Mason came along.
I stared into the mirror and swirled around in my princess ball gown. Skyler told me that I had to wear a ballgown, and I agreed with her. It was the one chance a grown woman like me could feel like a princess. How could I not jump at the chance? I had always been so down to earth in every other way, but not for my wedding day.
A faux fur shrug wrapped around my shoulders, sheltering me from the cold. My blonde hair was pulled back into a soft updo, tendrils curled around my face. My makeup really drew out the blue in my eyes, and I knew that Skyler would tell me I reminded her of Elsa when she saw me, a compliment I would most gladly take.
“Ready to show everyone?” Penelope asked, smiling from behind me.
I hadn’t really had many female friends before, but since joining the Harvey family, I got really close to both Emmy and Penelope. Both were strong, beautiful women that I was proud to call sisters.
Speaking of Emmy, she was to the other side, wiping her eyes with a napkin. “Weddings always make me emotional,” she said, her hand resting on her growing belly.
“Sure it isn’t the pregnancy hormones kicking in again?”
She was already working on baby number two, and I couldn’t be happier for her and Graham.
Our family was continuing to grow, and Skyler had so many cousins and aunts and uncles… She was one happy girl. Especially since Mason was able to legally adopt her. She asked him one day out of the blue if she could call him dad, and he agreed. We were still in therapy, dealing with the problems her own father had caused. There was so much I hadn’t known about Greg, about how he had tried to control her when she was with him. He didn’t want to sign over his rights initially, but once he got his sentence - fifty years, as we suspected he would - he likely realized there was no way he’d be able to be her father. He wasn’t happy about it, but he signed his rights over, which allowed Mason to be her legal father.
And soon, I will be his wife, I thought.
The door to the room opened, and I heard Skyler’s voice. “Wow, you look beautiful,” she gushed as I turned to face. “Just like Elsa.”
I knew my daughter so well. Her love for Disney princesses was something I hoped she never fully grew out of.
My daughter was in her flower girl dress, which was like a mini version of mine. She had always wanted to look like a princess, and we found a ball gown that was fitting for her with a poofy skirt that she loved spinning around in.
I hugged my little girl and asked her, “Are you ready?”
“I am, and so is Oscar. He seems to know something is going on.”
I chuckled, imagining the sweet Great Dane dressed in his suit. Yes, we dressed a Great Dane as a ring bearer, one of Skyler’s requests. Calvin was okay with us borrowing his dog for the day, and Oscar was well-behaved enough to make it work.
“Look who also came to see you before you walked down the aisle,” Graham’s voice came from the hallway. He stepped into the room, MJ in his arms. Sam followed him with Elianna.
I covered my mouth as I saw my adorable twins dressed in their wedding best. They were walking fairly well now, even if a bit wobbly. And they had grown so much in the last year. Elianna was a little small for her age still, and she might always be, but her big smile more than made up for it.
They placed the twins down and they wobbled over to me. I hugged them both tightly as Elianna tugged at my skirt. MJ pulled at my necklace with his grabby little hands, curious about what Momma was wearing around her neck.