Wrapping Up(41)

Ten minutes later, the room was filled with wrapping paper and two very excited children. But, we still had one big surprise for our little girl. Ty cleared his throat and told everyone to put a coat on. Once he got boots on Bella and Noah, he opened the door to show Harvey walking Scotch up to the house. He’d put a red bow around his neck. Conner carried out all of the riding gear from our closet and set it in front of Bella. She ran up to her new pony and waited to be lifted on. Once she was on his back, she leaned forward and hugged her little pony. “Thank you, Mommy and Daddy. This is the best Christmas ever!”

Colt grabbed Noah by the hand and walked him around the house to where his giant plane sat ready to fly. Noah started jumping up and down and screaming in excitement. All of the men huddled over and watched as Colt took it for a spin, showing Noah how to steer it.

When it got too cold for everyone, the whole family went back inside. The rest of the day was filled with more presents, and even more trash. By three in the afternoon we were eating salad and stuffed shells and sitting inside a very full house, not wanting to be anywhere else.

All of our hard work had paid off and we had so much to be thankful for. I looked over at the couch where Colt and Ty were wearing their new jerseys and holding the boys that also had on theirs. Van was taking a picture of them and smiling the whole time. Conner was leaning against the kitchen counter talking to Amy, who sat on the other side. Rick had never come back to pick her up or even called and she didn’t seem too concerned about it. She knew she was welcome at our house.

Noah and Bella were playing with her Barbie’s and his trucks, while the grandparents kept the little ones in check. I still hadn’t opened my present from Ty, but just being here with everyone was all I wanted. It was perfect!

Later that night, after a lot of card games, and a bunch more liquor, I crawled into bed with my husband. Everyone in the house was conked out, except for us.

Ty handed me two boxes and leaned on his arm. “Merry Christmas beautiful.”

The first was a clothing box, and when I opened it, I wasn’t too shocked to find lingerie. I held it up and watched Ty giving me the look. The second gift was much smaller. It was a tiny box, with a little red bow on top. I smiled as I opened the package and pulled out a beautiful necklace with a diamond heart charm. “It’s beautiful, Ty, thank you so much.”

“Thank you for being my wife. I love you, Baby.”

I leaned over and kissed my awesome husband. “I love you too.”

As he pulled away he started to smile. “There’s mistletoe in my boxers.”

“Now you’re talkin’.”