Noel. - EPILOGUE
Noel.
EPILOGUE—TWO YEARS LATER. CHRISTMAS MORNING.
“I F I GET down there and our daughter is wearing something velvet paired with patent leather Mary Janes, I won’t be happy.”
Kanton placed his hands on my hips and yanked me forward until our bodies were flush against each other. His head lowered enough to force mine back so his face was angled over mine.
“If our daughter were in Mary Janes, they wouldn’t be patent leather. My mother would rather land comfortably in an early grave than have anything to do with patent leather. Now, it’s very possible she had some custom made with Italian leather and had them flown in.”
“Kanton . . .”
“I’m kidding. A little .” He kissed me, and I swear this man’s mouth felt like home. Everything good and naughty began and ended with those lips, and his tongue, and his . . .
“My mother knows the rules and promised to adhere to them.”
Matching pajamas, only thoughtful gifts, and most of all, no outside cameras. Only our phones or personal ones if that was what we chose to capture the moment.
“She knows but has been fighting this the entire time.”
“This is new for her. She’s adjusting.”
“I know,” I huffed.
Lauren Joseph was a brazen woman who was just as stubborn. I wasn’t sure which one of us would remain standing when we first met because she was determined to prove that I wasn’t worthy of her son, and I was determined to prove to her that I was, something Kanton had made clear wasn’t necessary.
He loved me, and if she couldn’t accept that he and I were happy, she would have to remain outside our happy little bubble. I thought she would surely accept her fate, but a year ago, Kanton and I married on Christmas Day.
She wouldn’t dare be outside of that, so she called a truce and decided I wasn’t a fight she would win with her son. She didn’t. We learned to coexist, but then the pregnancy announcement came, and she was overjoyed.
They said babies made the world a better place. Well, they indeed made Lauren a better mother-in-law. It wasn’t that she was terrible. She was nice, and I liked her, but she never really warmed up to me . . . until I was pregnant with McKenzie.
Kanton also noticed it and put his mother in her place more than a few times about our relationship, but I always urged him to leave it alone. I would be fine as long as she loved him and embraced our daughter.
My parents loved me enough, and Lord knows they loved Kanton, but now, Lauren and I were close. Something shifted in her when Kenzie was born, something I could relate to because the same happened to her father and me.
She was so perfect, and she was a combination of all things good from Kanton and me. Maybe Lauren also saw that, but either way, she and I were closer. I wasn’t upset that it happened because of Kenzie. I learned a long time ago to meet people where they were, and, well, meeting Lauren where she was meant accepting that she was who she was.
“Are you ready?”
“Are you?” I glanced his way, lowering my eyes to the T-shirt he wore that read, “ This is as jolly as I get ” while mine read, “ OCD Obsessive Christmas Disorder .”
He kissed me again. “I’m ready for anything that involves you, Noel.”
“Good. If this doesn’t go as planned, you’re on my side, not hers.”
Kanton chuckled and brushed his lips over mine. “If a choice has to be made, it will always be you, but she promised me to behave, so we don’t have to worry about that.”
“Did she promise to wear the pajamas?”
“She did, and as much as it’s going to kill her to do so, she will for you.”
“For Kenzie,” I corrected.
“For you, Noel. She loves you. You know that, right?”
I huffed a sigh. “I do.”
“Good. Let’s go.”
As soon as we descended the spiral staircase, I stopped in front of the massive tree that stood dead center. It was at least fifteen feet tall and beautiful. Although professionally decorated, I wouldn’t dare frown at how much I loved the decorations.
The theme was a winter wonderland, so the tree was draped in clear and gold crystal ornaments of all shapes and sizes. There were strategically placed basketball-sized ones that mimicked snow globes with green trees inside them to give a subtle hit of color to the decorations. Everything else was gold and crystal—simply breathtaking.
“As much as I hate to admit that I love this tree, I really do.”
“See? There’s nothing wrong with hiring a team to pull it all together.” Lauren smiled smugly as she approached with Kenzie in her arms. Our baby girl wiggled, extending her arms while opening and closing her tiny fists to summon her father. He, of course, went right to her and lifted Kenzie into his arms while she giggled and squealed from the way he hugged and kissed her.
“I’m not opposed to having a team. I just prefer to do it myself.”
“While wearing these.” She tugged uncomfortably at the T-shirt she was wearing. I almost laughed at how appropriate the saying I’d selected for hers was.
“Well, yeah, every detail counts.”
“So you say.” She smiled and walked to me, throwing her arms around me. “Merry Christmas, Noel.”
“Merry Christmas,” I returned, relaxing into her hug. It was welcoming and friendly, but she rolled her shoulders back the minute she stepped away.
“How long do I have to wear this?”
Kanton chuckled, kissing my cheek as he navigated around me with our daughter in his arms. I looped mine through Lauren’s, and we headed to the living room toward the tree that we all decorated a few nights ago.
“Long enough for Kenzie to open her presents and us to get some pictures and video, and then you’re free to change.”
“Thank God. I can’t believe you’re making me wear this ad. Don’t think I don’t know mine was intentional.” She narrowed her eyes at me and smiled widely.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
She shot me a look and then walked to Kenzie, taking her from her father. “Come on, sweet girl. Let’s open your gifts from Glammie and Pop first.”
When she carried Kenzie to the tree, Kanton’s father walked up beside me to kiss my cheek. “Merry Christmas, Noel.”
I offered him a gentle smile. Our relationship was very different. He was a quiet man who remained in the background. He didn’t challenge his wife but didn’t share her flare for being in the spotlight. But he was kind and embraced me from the moment we met, and I loved him for that.
“Merry Christmas.”
He leaned in and whispered, “The shirt is perfect.”
I grinned as he glanced at his wife and winked, walking over to join Lauren and Kenzie. Kanton moved behind me, wrapping an arm around my waist, which he used to move me closer, nuzzling his face in my neck. “You didn’t want to go with something friendlier?”
“What?” I pushed my head back against his chest, and he lowered his eyes to mine.
“ Resting Grinch Face ,” he said, repeating the saying on his mother’s shirt.
“It’s cute.”
He chuckled. “It’s payback.”
It was.
But still cute.
“Do you have my phone? I want to take a few pictures.” He nodded, and I remembered. “Oh, and yours too. Mom should be calling soon, and I want to make sure they can watch Kenzie open a few presents.”
With my family and his, we had to decide how to navigate the holidays.This year, we spent Thanksgiving with my parents and Christmas with his. Next year, we would switch, and we agreed that everyone would come to Atlanta for Kenzie’s birthday so that we could celebrate with both families, as well as Simone, Lewis, and Cleo. Family was important. We were building our own.
After capturing a few shots of Lauren on the floor with Kenzie, who cooed and smiled, not really understanding the entire unwrapping gifts concept, I held up the phone, swiping through them, smiling bigger before turning the phone to Kanton.
“Perfect, right?”
He peered at the phone. “It’s very Christmassy . . .”
It was. The visuals of the tree we decorated with his mother and father sitting on the floor in snowflake-covered fleece pants and matching holiday shirts were indeed Christmassy. Add in our daughter, who wore a similar outfit with “ Santa’s Little Helper ” printed on the shirt, and you had a perfect holiday movie theme.
“You love Christmassy .”
I shoved him playfully in the side, and he pulled me back into his chest.
“I love the woman who makes it feel like I belong in the Christmas photo.”
“Good, because she loves you more.”
I turned against him, closing my arms around his waist. “Merry Christmas, Mr. Joseph.”
“Merry Christmas to you, Mrs. Joseph.”
This man had done the impossible. He replaced my favorite day of the year with the day I tried to club him with a stuffed elf because that was the day I captured his heart, and I was pretty damn sure it was also the same day he captured mine.
THE END.