A New Life

-Charlie-
The beautiful smell of cinnamon buns wake me up, and my stomach growls. I roll over slightly to find that I’m alone in the bed. I shift so I’m sitting up and reach for the remote so I can turn on A Christmas Story. But I can’t find the remote. I look around the room and spot it sitting on Sean’s table, too far away for me to get to.

Why would he do something like that? He knows I can’t reach that far. He knows I like to watch the marathon on Christmas. Who would put the remote that far away from me?

Angry, I grab my phone and send him a nasty text.

Charlie: Thanks for moving the remote out of my reach. Merry fucking Christmas to you too.

Within a minute, Sean is coming through the door.

“Good morning, love.” He says with a smile.
I scowl at him.
“Don’t you fucking ‘good morning, love’ me Sean Couturier.” I growl.
His face drops.
“What’s wrong?”
“You moved the remote out of my reach! You probably did it on purpose too. Am I being punished for something? Like a little kid in timeout?”

His eyes go wide in surprise.

“Babe, I didn’t move it on purpose. I’m sorry!” He reaches for it and hands it to me. “I was watching something last night and just put it down.”
“Like hell! You did it on purpose!”

I start crying, and Sean sits on the bed and leans into me.

“Charlie, I think this is the hormones talking. You know very well I would never do anything like that to you. Actually, I would do the opposite. I would do anything for you, Charlie. I love you too much.”

His words make sense, but I’m still angry. I still feel like he did it on purpose. I frown at him.

“Are you hungry? Mom is making cinnamon buns.”
I think about it for a second.
“I’m starving.” I admit quietly.
“Well let’s get you dressed and we can go eat.”
“Okay.”

Sean picks out a pair of yoga pants and a long sleeved gray sweater with snowflakes on it. He also grabs my slipper boot, which surprises me. I haven’t had a reason to wear that since I got put on bed rest.

“What are you doing?” I ask when he puts it on over my foot.
“Gotta keep your toes warm.”
“That’s what the blankets are for.”
He smiles.
“I talked to Dr. Roberts. She said that since it’s Christmas we can break the rules a little and you can move out to the couch to be with us all. As long as I carry you and you don’t try to move or anything. You have to stay in the same position you would be in here. But you can come join us.”

I’m taken back by the gesture, and tears start to pool in my eyes. He notices right away and starts to wipe them before they even have the chance to fall.

“Wow, you’re really emotional today.” He chuckles.
“Blame your daughters.” I whisper.
Instead of responding, he leans down to capture my lips with his.
“Let’s get you ready for the day.”

He carries me into the bathroom and helps me brush my teeth before moving me to the toilet. When I’m done, we wash my hands and he picks me up again, carrying me out to the living room for the first time in weeks.

“Good morning, Charlie!” Sean’s mom says from the kitchen.
“Good morning.” I respond.
“Sylvain and Drew will be back in a minute. But I made breakfast for us all. Are you hungry?”
“I’m starving. It smells wonderful.”

She brings over a plate for me and pulls me into a big hug.
“Merry Christmas, dear.” She says.
“Merry Christmas.” I respond.

I dig in to the food in front of me, oblivious to the rest of the world. When I’m done, I realize I was a lot hungrier than I thought. And my hunger had been clouding my judgement.

“I’m sorry.” I blurt, turning to my husband.
“For what?” He asks.
“For getting mad at you....”
To my surprise, he starts to laugh.
“Let me guess. You were hungrier than you thought. That made you cranky and hormonal, which made something in your silly brain tell you that I did it on purpose.”

I blush, embarrassed that he knew exactly what happened before I did.

“Yeah, I think so.” I admit.
“It’s okay, love. I kinda figured that was what was going on.”
I snuggle my head into his chest and take a deep breath.
“Don’t let me ruin Christmas anymore, okay?”
“You’re not ruining Christmas, Charlie.”
“Okay.”

Sean reaches for the remote and turns on the television, changing the channel to ABC Family right away. It’s at the part where they’re going to get their tree, so I know it just started. I can’t help but chuckle when Sean starts laughing. He makes me so happy, I feel like a million dollars.

“Wait, we never got a tree.” I say, suddenly realizing one of the biggest parts of Christmas is missing from our home.
Sean and his mom share a look.
“Don’t worry about it, hun.” She says.

I look at Sean. His face usually gives his secrets away to me. But he knows that, and turns away so I can’t read him.

“Sean.” I say firmly.
“Yeah?” He asks, still turned away from me.
“Look at me.”
“No thanks.”
“Sean, look at me.”

“I’m good.”

I know I have to do something to make him look, so I start to fake cry. As soon as he hears me sniffle, his head whips around to face me.

“No, baby. Don’t cry please. I’m sorry. I just don’t want to spill the surprise before it gets here. Please don’t be upset.” He says in a rush.

I instantly drop the act and smirk at him.

“So there’s a surprise?” I ask.
His face drops.
“You bitch.” He laughs. “You totally played me.”
“You’re whipped, son.” His mom says, laughing.
“Damn it!”
I laugh at his red face. He’s too easy.
“If I’m going to be whipped though, I’m glad it’s you.”

I smile at his declaration, my heart swelling.
“You’re such a sap.” I laugh.
He blushes, but presses a kiss to my forehead.

At that moment, Sylvain and Drew come through the front door carrying a large Christmas tree. My mouth drops open and Sean’s smile grows big.

“I know it’s a little late to be putting this up... I mean, it’s Christmas morning already.” He chuckles. “And we’re not going to bother with all the decorations and everything. But I wanted us to still have a tree this year.”

“Sean...” I’m at a loss for words.
“I love you, baby. And like I said before, I’ll do anything for you.”
“Thank you.” I whisper, pressing my forehead against his. “Thank you.”
He kisses me sweetly, rubbing my hand with his.
“Thank my dad and your brother, really. They’re the ones who went out and got it.”
“Thank you.” I say, turning to the two men setting up the tree.
“Charlie, dear. You’re more than welcome.” Sylvain says.
“Yeah. This is Christmas and we’re a family.” My brother adds.
“If I could stand up, I’d come give you both hugs right now.”

They smile at me and make their way over to the couch, each pulling me into a hug of their own. Sylvain drops a kiss on the top of my head and Drew plants one on my cheek.

“I’m going to go get our presents.” Sylvain says, heading for the stairs.
“And I’ll get mine.” Drew announces.
Sean silently agrees with them and gets up, heading for our room.

“You have such an amazing son.” I say quietly.
“Oh honey, don’t give me all of the credit.” His mom responds. “He only became like this after he started dating you.”
I shake my head.
“He’s always been this way. Even before we were together. It’s what made me fall in love with him.”
She reaches over and grabs my hand.
“I know we’ve never talked about the women he dated before you. But I’ll tell you this, Charlie. I know my son. He was always a sweet boy. But he was never like this before he met you. This is the man that you helped shape.”

I think about her words for a second.
“He’s going to be an amazing father.” I finally say. “If I changed him this much, think about how it’s going to be once he’s got two daughters.”
She smiles.

“He’s terrified. I can tell.” I nod in agreement. “But you’re right. He’s going to be a wonderful father.”