Page 8 of Huge Christmas

4

NATHAN

It’s Christmas morning, and Carrie and Ethan are still sleeping soundly. I slide out of bed to check on the twins. They’re earlier risers and have been known to get up to mischief when left unattended. The last thing we need to deal with this morning is a bathroom covered in creams or an entire bag of makeup ruined.

Surprisingly, Abbey, Emma, and Natalie are all still sleeping. I guess they must have stayed up playing and overslept. I don’t think I’ve ever known a kid sleep after seven am on Christmas morning.

In the kitchen, I find Harrison at the table, sipping on a steaming cup of coffee.

“Happy Christmas, dude.”

“Back at you.” He waves his hand in the direction of the coffee pot. “Fix yourself some coffee. We’re going to need it.”

He’s right. With so many kids between us all, today is going to be filled with the best kind of chaos. I search out a mug from a high cupboard and fix myself coffee with cream and sugar. Harrison watches me with a smirk. “Are you not sweet enough already?”

“Don’t knock it until you try it. These days, it’s my only vice.”

“I don’t know.” He rubs the back of his neck. “Sounded like a lot of vice-like behavior coming from your room last night.”

I slump into an oak chair at the kitchen table. “I’ll tell you what. I won’t bring up your sex noises if you don’t bring up mine.”

“Sounds like a good plan, dude.”

We both sip our drinks in companionable silence. It’s been a while since we met up and the unfamiliarity that time brings isn’t welcome. Life is busy, but I miss my friend.

“Tell me what’s big in your life right now,” I say.

Harrison raises his eyebrows, studying me like I just asked for the length and girth of his cock. I guess men don’t talk this way as a rule, but we should.

“You want me to get deep and meaningful?”

“I want to know what’s going on in your life rather than hearing it from Jenna via Carrie.”

He snorts, rubbing his neck again. “I bought Jenna an eternity ring and gave it to her last night.”

“Nice.” I smile at the way sharing even that information seems too much for Harrison.

“It’s nice to finally be in a financial position to give her the ring she deserves.”

“You know Jenna doesn’t care about any of that,” I say. “You give him the man she deserves every day. That’s what counts.”

My friend smiles at me and nods. “I think that might be the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

“Yeah, don’t get fucking used to it.”

“We’ve been trying for another baby,” he says, his eyes focused on the wooden fruit bowl in the middle of the table. “Since Abbey was a year old.”

“Have you seen a doctor?” I ask.

“Nah. Jenna doesn’t want to. She wants to leave it in the hands of fate.”

“And you?”

“I’m happy with our family as it is. But I’m worried Jenna might regret not giving IVF a chance. I’ve been saving a little every month in case she changes her mind.”

I think back to the months after Carrie almost lost her life in childbirth and my worry that she might want to risk having another baby. I dreaded the conversation because there’s no right or wrong option. All I knew was that I didn’t want Carrie to risk her life. I need her. Ethan needs her. Our children need her. Thankfully, Carrie was pragmatic, too. We are, and always will be, a family of five, and I’m alright with that.

“I think that Dr. Phil would tell you that communication is key. Why don’t you tell her what you told me, and at least give her the option?”

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