Page 83 of Christmas Chaos
BAX: Always.
I’ve never been in a helicopter. It’s loud and I’m grateful for his tiny headphones that somehow Sal found. He’s sleeping fine. Good to know in case Bax and I are ever rested enough to have loud dirty sex again. I’m going to hold onto the headphones and if the baby can’t sleep, we’ll just put him in a helicopter.
I can’t take my eyes off him. He’s doing nothing, but I need to make sure he keeps breathing. Sal’s just staring at him as well. Then we start to descend, and Poppy begins clapping as she looks out the window. I think there’s going to be a helipad, but I look down and our regulation basketball court at Prohibition is bright as anything with a giant red and white circle of Christmas lights.
They made a helipad. The barn at Pro/Ho, our offices et cetera, are a beacon in the dark. My head whips between the three of them and they start laughing. The barn is draped in Christmas lights. I mean covered. They even decorated our condemned collapsed house.
I’m going home. They created a home at my home. As we land, I see every tree is lit up and my eyes scan for the one thing I need to see to feel centered, grounded and ready to be a fucking mother. I scan the crowd—it’s all of them. It’s everyone in my life. It’s the 5 Families all holding those orange cone things and waving. My mom is being held back by Will Whittier, Josh’s dad. And Elle waves and points to something over to the side.
We land and Sal hands me my son and slides the door open. There’s music. There’s Christmas carols playing by a band headed by Sam. There are people everywhere. There’s love and joy, and I can’t even focus and breathe until he’s in my face kissing me quickly, then pulling the baby to his chest. Someone helps me out and then I’m in his arms, the baby between us. He kisses me again, and I push the tears away. There’s yelling and screaming but all of it fades as he pulls the little blanket back, and two deep brown eyes blink up at us.
“Hi, Nick. I’m your dad.”
My eyes meet his. “Nick? Like Yia Yia’s Nick?” He nods. I can’t believe he remembered my grandfather, who he never met. But we’re Greek, it was a pretty safe bet that I’d be related to a Nick.
“Or St. Nick, whichever you prefer.”
I grin. “Nicholas Harris,” I say.
Bax kisses me quickly when I tell him our baby’s middle name is his mother’s maiden name. As much as I’d love to saddle him with the name Bellamy, I figure this is enough tribute to the woman we’ll always wish he could have met.
I look up and Goldie is yelling. “That’s my baby. That is one of my babies. My life is so full tonight. You darling brave girl. I could bust open a pineapple with my teeth I’m so happy.” My mother is babbling. I turn and Costas is a blubbering mess.
“Pops, you gotta pull it together.”
I take the baby from Bax and place him in my father’s arms. And he sobs even harder.
“Ok. Let’s all calm the hell down. It’s just a baby.”
My father says, “No. It’s a family for a girl who tried hardest to have one. And now you do.” The word washes over me, and I feel like laser beams are shooting out of me. Costas turns and holds Nick up like he’s in the fuckingLion King. And all my extended family cheer.
Bax pulls me to the side and holds me. Then he turns me back toward the crazy lit-up barn. He says in my ear, “Elle outfitted the barn with a living room, bedrooms, and there’s even a new fridge just for us. We can live there until we figure it out. There’s space for all of us.”
I pull his arms around me tighter. “So, we’re living in a manger?”
“Yup. But there’s one more thing I need to tell you.”
“Is it how you fucked up today and weren’t with me? And my phone got run over by traffic and we don’t have our new pretty car, and it’s all your fault?”
“Yes. Exactly that.”
He turns me towards the corner of the crowd and my eyes drift over to David and Natalie. She leans down and my jaw goes slack. This is a mirage. Natalie nudges two of the most amazing things I’ll ever see, and they all-out sprint towards us.
Bax kisses my cheek and says, “Merry Christmas. Am I forgiven?”
“MOM!! MOM!!”
I look to Becca, and she has her hands over her heart. She squeezes my shoulder and says, “These are yours again. For keeps. No take backs.”
I’m frozen in time and space as Joaquin and Jay swallow me whole in a flurry of hugs and joyous yells. Jay is crying.
“I missed you fuckers.”
Joaquin looks at Bax. “I told you, Dad. She’s never going to keep her mouth under control.” Then he pauses. “Is it ok that I call you Dad?”
I answer, “Did you just call me Mom?”
Jay says, “That’s what you are. You’re not sending us back, ever. That’s what Bax, I mean, Dad said. We get to stay. And that you love us and we love you. Or I do. I don’t know about Joaquin.”
Baxter steps to us. I look up at everyone all around us and that’s when I remember I have a secret too.
“Did you idiots meet your brother?”
