December 24th #2
“Yeah, I was just taking Ainsley for a ride.”
“Damn, bro, why isn’t this baby at school?”
“Because you’d want to drive it,” Damon fires back.
“Hell yeah, I would,” he says.
The rest of his family gets out of the car, and I’m introduced to Treyvon’s sister, Tiana; his parents, Marcus and Sophia; and his grandmother, Lavonne.
Damon leads us all into the house and reintroduces everyone to his family.
And the second we arrive, I see what Damon meant about Jennifer’s decorating style. It’s very different from his mother’s. Rather than posh and polished, it’s chaotic, fun, and perfect for a houseful of kids. Lots of red and green and sparkle everywhere.
I love it.
And it makes me love Jennifer even more.
There is food spread out all across the kitchen.
“There’s a lot of food,” she says. “And I know it’s not as elegant, but all the hot stuff is in Crock-Pots so we can just graze all day. It’s my favorite way to eat! Especially during the holidays.”
“I think it’s perfect,” Damon’s grandma, who they call Mimi, says.
“Gotta agree,” her husband says.
We all eat, play holiday charades and board games, and do some fun activities with the little girls.
I’m gushing to Jennifer about how Damon had the cottage decorated for Christmas and how much it meant to me while helping her and Mimi wash up some of the dishes.
“You know,” she says, “Danny and the kids, with the help of the Mackenzie family, gave me a Christmas once.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. On the day before Christmas Eve, I got a call from a hospital because my ex, Troy, had overdosed, and I still had medical power of attorney. He had been resuscitated three times in the ICU before they called me and was on life support. Told me I was going to have to make some difficult decisions regarding his life.”
“I remember reading about that. I shouldn’t be embarrassed to say this, but I was a huge fan of the Sector movies when I was younger. Even had a poster of you on my wall. I always thought you and Troy were the perfect couple, but then that happened.”
“We started out as a great couple, and I loved him very much, but that’s one thing about love. You have to both give it and receive it and respect the other person for it to work. To last. Troy was an addict. And he loved drugs more than me.”
“Sounds like my dad,” I say with a sigh. “I haven’t even heard from him since the fiasco in October with him wanting inside gambling info. But enough of that. Tell me how they gave you a Christmas.”
“I had cooked and planned the holiday for Danny and the kids. Added a bunch of decorations, even had the table set in the dining room. I was so excited to show them what I had done. But I called Danny, explained the situation, and he was so supportive, told me I had to go even though it was our first Christmas together. The crazy thing was that Troy had just finished a successful thirty-day stint in rehab.” She stops talking and looks at her hands in the soap, like she’s lost in thought.
Then she shakes her head and says, “He had so many heart attacks, strokes, and seizures. Every minute felt like a week, and they put him into a medically induced coma.”
Dani sits down at the island and says, “And that’s about when Damon and I came home from our mom’s house.
We saw all the work Jennifer had put in to make our holiday special.
I’ll never forget how the dining room looked.
” She turns to Jennifer. “There was a red-and-white striped tablecloth, and layered on top of it were red metallic chargers, red-and-white polka-dot dinner plates, and Santa salad plates. Little red mittens with pom-pom trim held the silverware, and the napkins were green-and-white check. Centerpieces were made from candy canes and red silk flowers. Hanging from the chandelier was a crazy explosion of ribbons, bows, ornaments, and white boas. I’d never seen anything like it in my life.
Certainly nothing like what my mom’s designer always did.
And it touched us. And was proof of how much she already loved our dad. And us.”
“I can’t believe you remember that,” Jennifer says, looking misty.
“It made an impact,” Dani says, getting up to give her a hug. “Damon and I decided that we couldn’t let her be alone on Christmas, so we went over to the Mackenzies and told them we wanted to load it all up and take it to California to Jennifer’s new house.”
“And you did?” I say, looking surprised.
“Yep. We got Auntie Jay on board by bringing her over to see the decor. See all the work Jennifer had done.” She looks at Jennifer and says, “And we even brought your ring. Dad had planned to propose on Christmas morning.”
Jennifer’s eyes get huge and tears fill them. “He did? Why do I not know this?”
“Because it was supposed to be a surprise,” Dani says simply. “Dad was playing football while we were planning all this, and we all flew to LA together. Dad got a car for Jennifer and told her to go back to her place, just for a little while to get some rest.”
“But when I got there and opened the door, Angel ran to me, barking. Damon and Dani greeted me. They literally took our whole tree on the plane, along with all the food and decor. And I’ll never forget what Danny told me.
To remember that I wasn’t alone anymore.
That him, you kids, the Mackenzies, all our friends were my offensive line.
That their job was to love and protect me. ”
“That’s really sweet,” I say, feeling emotional.
“And it gets better,” Dani says. “Troy woke up the day of the Super Bowl. Jennifer barely made it to the game. And thankfully, Damon and I made sure we took her engagement ring to the championship game, just in case.”