Beside You

It didn’t take Caoimhe long to rip open all of her presents. She had a bunch from Santa and a few gifts from her Gigi. She didn’t have any presents to open from Tom and I because we are going to give them to her when the band gets back together after Christmas and exchanges gifts.

We ate a very big breakfast with homemade food galore. Gram spent that time getting to know Tom better via interrogation while I sat there and tried to shield Tom from the worst of it.

“Gram, come on, everybody is going to be showing up soon and there’s a lot of food that needs to be made” I say after she asks Tom an extremely awkward question.

“Oh I guess you’re right” she says standing. I quickly get Tom out of there as soon as I can.

Once we get out to the living room Tom turns to me and wraps his arms around me. “I don’t know who that was worse for, you or me?” I ask tilting my head up at him.

“It wasn’t that bad, actually I kind of liked it” he kissed me on the forehead.

“You liked it?”

“Yeah, it was nice that for once someone doesn’t know everything about me and it was refreshing to get asked questions that are different from the ones I get asked all the time.” He kissed me on the forehead again and pulled my body closer to his. He slowly backed up to the couch and sat down, pulling me into his lap as he did so. And we just sat there for a few minutes listening to the background noise of Gram and Keevie in the kitchen.

Tom rested his head on my shoulder and buried his face in my hair. I was expecting him to say something but he just sat the in silence, holding me tightly.

“Why are you so lovey dovey lately?” I whisper in his ear sense his face was still buried against my neck.

“I love you” he states the obvious.

“I know that” I push him farther for an answer, “but you’ve been extra since we got here.”

“I don’t know, I guess because here I feel normal. I feel that I’m just Tom, you’re just Avy, the mother of my children and my fiancé, and that Keevie is just my daughter not some secret that we have to hide for her protection. I don’t have to hide how much I love you and our little family here and I know that once we get back to New York that I won’t be able to kiss you whenever, where ever I want.”

He explains all of this while barely lifting his head off my shoulder. Once he’s done though I feel him lightly cover my neck in kisses, his actions hidden by my hair so no one looking would notice.
“Ahhhh!!!!”

We snap our heads up and see Keevie sprinting full out for the two of us. Once she gets to the couch she jumps and lands right on top of my lap. She wiggles herself right in between us and curls up like right in the middle of us is the safest, most comfortable place in the world.

“What do you want?” I smile at her.

“To cuddle with my mommy and daddy” she wraps her arms around our necks and hugs us as tight as she can.

“Keevie!!!” a little voice rings through the house. Ivan, my second cousin and Caoimhe’s closest friend comes roaring from the kitchen and through the door. As soon as Keevie sees him she jumps from our laps and the cute family moment is over.