Page 11 of Christmas Wish

“You mean like how I got you to work with me?” Holly retorted, causing them to chuckle

Rosey reached out and slapped her across the arm. “You know that I love working with you. This has been my dream job since I can recall. Thank you for not closing this house down, Holly,” she uttered after their laughter died down.

Holly leaned up and pecked her on the right cheek. “Have you seen Charles?” she asked, changing the subject.

"I think he went into the laundry room or something. He was holding a cloth that Mrs. Darwin's dog peed on," Rosey replied.

Holly gathered the laundry she wanted to wash and headed to where her husband was supposed to be. She found Charles there, working on the machine.

“Hi, baby,” she greeted, hugging him from behind.

Charles returned the hug at once. “How’s it going?” he asked as they held onto each other.

“Stressful,” she replied, yawning openly.

Charles broke the contact and stared at her. “Are you okay? You’ve been feeling rather down lately,” he uttered, concerned.

“Right. About that, I need to talk to you about something,” Holly said seriously.

He gave her his full attention. “Is everything alright?” Charles asked.

She smiled genially. “Yes. Everything is perfect, indeed.” Her husband stayed silent, egging her on to talk more.

“Remember when you gave me a glass of eggnog, and I refused to take it. Do you also recall that I didn’t take that glass of wine yesterday?” she asked.

Charles nodded.

“Well, I didn’t want to tell you earlier because, you know, life has been busy around here, and I wanted to confirm it first.”

“Come on, Holly. Can you tell me already?” he said. Charles looked like he wanted to shake her to speak faster.

“We are pregnant!” Holly blurted out. Her eyes were closed, and so were her fists as she said the words. When she opened them, Charles’ eyes were fixed on her.

“What?” he asked, his voice cracked.

Holly nodded in confirmation, her eyes already wet. He lifted her high until her head nearly touched the ceiling. When Charles brought her down, he knelt on one knee to touch her tummy.

“Oh, my God, we have a child in there right now!” Changing his voice, he said, “Hi, little girl.”

Holly laughed, pleased with the sudden change in his attitude. “He’s a boy, I think,” she said, teasingly.

Charles kissed her tummy. “Baby girl, don’t mind your mother. You are going to be my sweet, little girl,” he said. Once he stood up, worry lined his face. “Now, I get why you’ve been so tired lately. You need to rest and stop working so hard,” he added, taking the pile of laundry that Holly had come in with.

“No, I feel fine. I don’t need to take a break,” she insisted, protesting weakly.

He took her hands in his. “I’m going to take a break from work and help out here. I can’t let you continue overworking as if you aren’t pregnant.” Charles held a finger up when she tried to protest. “No, I’m not going to argue about this with you. You aren’t allowed to say no – do you understand me?” she asked.

Holly nodded lightly.

“I’m serious, Holly,” he maintained. Holly leaned against his chest. The laundry machine whirred loudly.

“I know that you are serious, Charles. But this is the most important time of the year, and I need to be on my feet, running this business like my grandmother would’ve liked,” she said.

“Your grandmother wouldn’t have wanted you to collapse from exhaustion. And you don’t have to run the business as long as it is moving. I could run the business. Your mother could run it while you rest,” he said.

Holly knew that he was right. Since she found out she was pregnant, her body had changed tremendously. She was no longer as energetic as she used to be. Tiredness slowed her down. She had recently begun to feel nauseous, too. Vomit threatened to rip through her throat every minute of the day.

“So, will you trust us to do this?” Charles asked.

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