Page 45 of Safer Together
~ Chapter Seventeen ~
Angela
We re-enter the living room together, hand in hand. Elliot’s family are all sitting on the couches surrounding the Christmas tree, Jack and Nikki playing with their iPads.
“Let’s get to opening presents. Shall we?” Elliot’s voice rings out across the room and they all look up at us, he doesn’t release my hand until we are in front of the tree. “Help me hand them out, baby?”
I smile at him. “Absolutely.” We start reaching around and grabbing presents. We pass them out until there are no presents remaining under the tree.
Maggie stands up and retrieves two presents and gives them both to Elliot. I’m not the least bit offended to not get a present. Instead I wander away back to the kitchen and retrieve the ring box and two house keys Elliot gave me this morning from the top drawer of the island counter and place them into my handbag.
“Angie, don’t worry about cleaning up, come over and sit with everyone. We need to see their reactions to our presents.” Elliot’s voice is so warm and welcoming; he is so true all the time. I have to stop myself from running into his arms. He sits down on the large single chair and pulls me down into his lap, encircling me in his arms and pulling me close to kiss me. We hear someone clearing their throats, so he releases me.
“Let’s get to it,” Beth speaks, already ripping into one of her small presents which we know is a piece of Tiffany and Co. jewelry. Once the paper is peeled away to reveal the light blue box that is so well known, she looks up at us with a smile, looking back down she opens the box to reveal the earrings. “Well, Angela, I know you must have chosen these.” I’m about to ask why when she continues “It’s the first time he has given me Tiffany.” I smile.
“We chose them together and we are so glad that you like them” I smile at Beth, she seems to be accepting of our relationship.
“Did you pick your engagement ring?”
Elliot beats me to the punch by replying first. “I chose it by myself, thanks, Beth. A complete surprise for Angela.”
She nods, “It’s a gorgeous ring.” I blush and look at my ring for a moment.
“It’s completely over the top, but he chose well, and I love it.”
Elliot snorts at my comment. “What do you mean ‘over the top’?” he asks.
“It’s over the top because it’s so big. I mean how many carats is this anyway. Two?”
He shakes his head. “It’s two and a half carats, actually, and it’s perfect. Just like my future wife.” Before I can reply, he plants his lips on mine and silences me with a kiss.
When we pull apart, we see several other presents being unwrapped, a coffee machine, handbag, camera, season tickets to the baseball. I see that Elliot’s parents are looking at each other and whispering words. “So, Mom, do you like your bag?”
Maggie looks up to meet Elliot’s eyes, “Thank you, sweetheart, it’s beautiful. You didn’t need to spend so much of your money on me.”
“Actually Mom, Angela and I bought this together” we wait to see if she will say anything else. She doesn’t, just nods. I’m not going to say anything, I wasn’t expecting anyone to thank me for a present, let alone Elliot’s parents who called me a gold digger less than half an hour ago. I look at my watch and see that it’s heading towards midday.
I lean back to whisper in Elliot’s ear, “I’m going to get lunch ready and set the table.” I kiss his ear and hop up and make my way to the kitchen. I pull the ham, garden salad, pasta salad and Caesar salad from the fridge and place them on the table. I select the two largest wooden chopping boards from the pantry and place them in the center of the table ready for the turkey and roast vegetables that I’m about to pull out of the oven. Once they are safely in place, I select the condiments, salt and pepper and put them next to the turkey.
The plates and cutlery are already on the table, set and ready. I select two bottles of wine from the fridge and place them on the breakfast bar, easily spotted by those who would like a glass or two with lunch. Once I am satisfied with everything, I make my way back to Elliot’s side. “Sands family, lunch is on the table.”
Elliot stands up immediately. “Great, I’m starving.” He grabs my hand and walks me over to take our position at the table. He pulls out the chair right hand side of the head of the table and offers me a seat. Once I’m sitting, he pushes me in and takes the seat next to me.
Jack and Nikki come bouncing over next, Jack doesn’t hesitate to pull the chair out next to me and sit down. “I’m going to sit next to you, Auntie. Is that all right?”
I beam down at my soon-to-be nephew. “Of course it is, buddy.” Nikki sits next to her brother. Beth and David approach the table next, Beth sitting next to her brother and David takes the spot next to her. Maggie and Arthur are the last to approach the table and take up their spots Arthur at the end of the table and Maggie beside David.
Once we are all seated Elliot stands. “This Christmas is one Angie and I will never forget. Thank you everyone for joining us here today. So, without having to wait any longer, let’s dig in.” Speech complete, he picks up the carving knife and fork and begins to carve the turkey.
“Angela, can you help Jack and me with our plates?” Nikki asks.
“Of course, I can sweetheart. Would you like a bit of everything?” They both nod excitedly, bouncing in their seats. I select a small amount of everything and place it onto the plates in front of them.
Once finished, they both speak in unison: “Thank you.”
I smile at them both. “You’re welcome. Enjoy!”
We eat our meals in relative quiet. David and Arthur are talking about sports, Maggie is talking to Nikki about school, Elliot and Beth are talking about his proposal which I try not to eavesdrop on, Jack seems content to talk to me. He asks where I met his uncle. After I answer, he then begins to tell me about himself and how happy he is to have an iPad. Now he can watch cartoons anytime he wants.
