Chapter Twenty-One - Aurora
Aurora
Life was bliss.
There wasn’t any other way to describe how the last few months had been.
Summer had turned to fall. And with that came two more camping trips, endless walks to the park, my personal storytimes with Liam and Winnie, and countless evenings spent wrapped up in Liam’s bedsheets.
The fall festival and apple festival hit differently this year, and I knew it was because I had gone to them with Liam and Winnie.
I could see how happy it made Liam to watch his daughter get to enjoy the same things he had growing up in Moose Village.
“No need to ask you what you’re thinking about,” Harper said as she placed a bowl of mashed potatoes on the table.
I felt my cheeks heat, and I placed my palms over them to cool my face. “That obvious, huh?”
Harper winked. “With the way the two of you can’t keep your eyes off each other.”
“Or their hands,” Brystol commented, putting the bowl of gravy next to the potatoes.
“Will the two of you hush!”
Both of them laughed as Cadie walked up and set the green bean casserole on the table. “I have to say, I love your house, Harper. I’m so glad you’re hosting Friendsgiving here this year! Who is going to host next year?”
“I don’t think my small apartment above the bookstore will hold very many of us.”
“Kian and you should host, and you should make a murder mystery Friendsgiving!” I suggested.
Brystol gasped. “That is a great idea!”
“What is a great idea?” Kian asked as he walked into the formal dining room of Harper and Declan’s lakeside house, carrying the large turkey.
Cadie replied, “If we host a murder mystery Friendsgiving next year.”
After he carefully placed the platter with what was the largest turkey I’d ever seen on the table, he turned to his wife and grinned. “That is a great idea!”
“Credit goes to Aurora!”
Kian faced me. “Great idea, Aurora.”
“Okay!” Harper called out. “The turkey is served. Everyone, make your way into the dining room!”
All of our friends piled in, and as each one came into view, my heart felt like it grew tenfold. Mary and James walked in, holding hands and completely besotted with one another. So much so, Mary nearly ran into Kian.
Declan walked up and pulled out Harper’s chair, causing Gavin to do the same for Brystol.
“Copycat,” Declan stated as Gavin shot him the finger.
Kian gave Cadie a quick kiss before they both took their seats.
Liam scooped Winnie up and placed her in her big girl seat, which was next to James and sandwiched between Liam and James.
Over the last few months, with James coming over to visit Mary, our little Winnie has found herself a new best friend in James.
Of course, my brother Nathan, who was currently with my mother, father, and Lou in Canada skiing, acted as if he wasn’t bothered by Winnie’s undying attention now on James and not him. Liam and I knew better.
Harper stood and picked up her glass. “I think it should be the writer in the group who speaks, but Kian is exhausted from carrying out the bird…or so he claims.”
Everyone laughed.
“I just wanted to thank you all for coming to this year’s Friendsgiving. After this, everyone is going to help me clean up, and then it’s off to The Muddled Moose for an evening of trivia!”
Everyone cheered, including Winnie.
“In all seriousness, I’m so blessed to be able to call every one of you friend. This past year has brought sadness and loss, but also happiness and new beginnings.”
Liam and I exchanged smiles.
“To keep it short and sweet, thank you for being here, and may we each have a blessed and healthy new year!”
Glasses clinked amid the sounds of cheers.
Before Harper sat down, she added, “Oh, and I’m pregnant.”
Everyone paused.
“Wait, what?” I said as I looked around the table to make sure I wasn’t the only one who had heard her.
Blushing, Harper looked at Declan and they both smiled.
Everyone jumped up and started making their congratulations to Harper and Declan before Harper finally said, “Everyone, sit down! Our food is getting cold!”
After the last dish was dried and put away, I leaned against the counter, a dish towel tossed over my shoulder.
“Man, I love all the prep work and the eating, but the cleaning up is the worst part.”
This year, the unlucky ones who drew the short straws for kitchen cleanup were me, Harper, Mary, and Gavin. Mary and I had begged Harper to just sit and relax, but she had informed us that she was pregnant, not injured.
“I don’t know, I kind of like doing dishes,” Mary said as she handed Gavin the last of the pots to put up.
Gavin snatched it from her hand and said, “Freak!”
“At least you didn’t have to deal with the blowout from Lily,” I stated with raised brows.
His body shuddered, and Gavin said, “That was a blessing, indeed. That little girl can have some pretty powerful blowouts. I don’t know how something so small can expel such…vile shit.”
Laughter filled the kitchen.
“Sounds like you guys are having too much fun,” Declan said as he walked in and surveyed the sparkling clean kitchen. “Wow, I’ve got to say, you wouldn’t even know a Thanksgiving dinner had been made and served in this kitchen. Well done, troops!”
Harper laughed, then reached up and kissed her husband.”
As a former Marine, his assessment of our clean kitchen felt like a reward.
“It’s snowing!”
The sound of Winnie’s excited voice had us all piling out of the kitchen and into the living room.
“Oh my gosh,” Brystol said, tears in her eyes. “It’s Lily’s first snowfall!”
“We need pictures!” I shouted, reaching into my back pocket to pull out my phone.
“I don’t have her in a coat, Aurora!” Brystol cried out as I grabbed her hand and pulled her to the door.
“Wrap her in the wool blanket! Just a couple with the snow falling around her. I swear, you will thank me later!”
Gavin wrapped Lily up snug as a bug in a red and white wool blanket, and we all rushed outside.
I snapped photos of Brystol and Gavin with Lily, a few with just Brystol and Lily, and some with Gavin and Lily.
When they headed back inside, I turned the video on and filmed Liam and Winnie running around Harper and Declan’s front yard, trying to catch snowflakes on their tongues.
“It’s freezing out here, you two! Get back into the house!”
About that time, Jake and Opal drove up the driveway and parked. When Winnie saw them get out of the car, she ran to them. Jake bent down and picked her up, hugging her.
“Jake! Opal!” I cried out as I quickly made my way over there. After Liam and I hugged each of them, I asked, “I thought you weren’t coming back until the week before Christmas.”
Opal let out a long sigh. “We needed a rest. All this traveling is wearing these two old people out.”
“Come inside, it’s so cold!” I stated, motioning for them to go to the front door.
Jake pointed to Liam, who had left without me noticing. He was carrying Winnie’s bag and her coat.
“We just swung by to pick up the little one. She’ll be staying with us tonight,” Jake said with a wide grin.
Winnie jumped in excitement.
“Let’s get you into your car seat,” Opal said to Winnie, who quickly made her way to the back passenger door and crawled into her car seat.
“She is going to be so happy to get to spend time with you guys,” I said as Liam draped my white coat over me.
“We’ve missed her, that’s for sure. Now you get back in the house before you catch a cold!”
Giving them each one more hug before they slipped into the car, Liam took my hand in his and walked back toward Harper and Declan’s house.
“I meant to tell you that Jake called and said they were in town. They’d like to keep Winnie for the weekend, and I told them she would love that.”
“First, Winnie is your daughter, and you don’t owe me any explanation. Second, do we need to pack a bag and bring it over?” I asked.
He shook his head. “I packed a few things in Winnie’s bag, and Opal has some clothes and things at their house for Winnie.”
Smiling, I said, “We can go to trivia night tonight.”
Liam stopped walking just before we reached the front door. “May I take you somewhere else first? It’s close by and a surprise.”
My chest fluttered with excitement. “I love surprises!”
He laughed softly. “I know.”
“Do you want to leave now?”
“Let me go grab your purse and hat. I’ll let everyone know we’ll meet them at The Muddled Moose.”
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his truck keys. Pointed them at the truck and it started. “Wait in the truck for me?”
I nodded. “Of course.”
Quickly making my way through the fresh coat of powdered snow, I slipped into the truck and put my hands in front of the heater. My white sweater was thick, but it felt like the temperature had dropped twenty degrees.
Liam came jogging out of the house carrying my purse and the black hat I had paired with my black boots and jeans. I also wore a black, white, and red scarf to match Winnie and Liam’s red shirts, which they had worn for Friendsgiving.
Once in the truck, he turned the heater up. “It’s freezing outside! Is the temperature falling at a rapid pace or is it just me?”
I laughed. “Well, it will be dark in about an hour or so. I imagine that’s why it’s getting colder.”
He nodded, put his truck in reverse, and backed into the pullout where he turned around and slowly headed down Declan and Harper’s driveway.
“Where are we going?”
Shooting me a smirk, he answered, “If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise, Aurora.”
My head dropped back against the headrest, and I sighed. “I love a good secret, but I’m impatient.”
With a chuckle, he said. “Tell me about it.”
We drove in silence for a couple of minutes when I turned and asked, “What do you want for Christmas? I’m asking for Winnie.”
He gave me a quick glance, then focused back on the road, shaking his head slightly. “Winnie wants to know, huh?”
“Yes. As a matter of fact, during bath time last night, she looked up at me and said she had no idea what to get you for Christmas.”