Chapter 5 #2
When the children were in bed and finally asleep, the adults exchanged gifts in the living room, and Dominique was as generous as she always was.
There was a chic black suede Hermès clutch bag with alligator trim for Marlene, and a handsome Hermès computer case for Tommy to take to meetings, and a heavy black sweater also from Hermès.
The boys opened their presents before they went to bed, and had gotten all the trucks they wanted, and some stuffed animals.
They were going to take two floppy dogs with them on their trip, and she had promised to ship them the rest in L.A.
Dominique had put together a lovely Christmas celebration on short notice.
She was good at making magic and pulling a rabbit out of a hat.
She had no idea when she would see them again, so she made the most of it.
His sisters had given Tommy silly gifts, and they had jointly given Marlene a Saint Laurent tote bag for the beach, which she liked.
Marlene and Tommy had given Dominique a Christmas sweater with a reindeer on it, which she promised to wear on Christmas.
Marlene was wearing jeans, a sparkly red Christmas sweater decorated with tinsel and white fake fur, and a matching Santa hat.
She went to bed after they exchanged gifts, and Tommy and his sisters sat in front of the fire, catching up, while Dominique cleaned up the kitchen, and gave them some time alone.
They had a bottle of wine to share, and Tommy looked at Felicity.
She was as pretty as ever but he thought her eyes looked sad, or maybe just stressed.
“So, you’re engaged,” he said. “I thought you were in no hurry to get married.” He wasn’t crazy about Taylor, who he thought was pompous and uptight and painfully conservative. Tommy was a lot more liberal, working in the entertainment business and living in L.A.
“I’m not, I wasn’t. I’m older than you were when you married Marlene.
You were twenty-nine. I’m thirty-two. Taylor didn’t want to wait anymore.
It means a lot to him to be married. And as long as he doesn’t want kids immediately, I don’t mind.
I’m having a big show of my work in June, two weeks before the wedding.
” Her face brightened when she mentioned the show.
“Mom and I just ordered the dress in Paris, so I guess the wedding is for real.”
“Big wedding?” he asked, but he could guess the answer, having met the groom.
“Yeah.” She nodded. “Three hundred or something like that. I hope it’s as much fun as yours.
” Tommy’s wedding had been a wild, happy affair at the Hotel Bel-Air with a great band and lots of sexy women and handsome men he knew from work.
There had been two hundred and fifty guests, almost as big as hers, and very rowdy.
Tommy admitted afterward that he had never drunk as much champagne and tequila in his life.
Marlene’s wedding dress had left her practically naked, with a slit up one side, a dangerously low back, and it was almost topless, as they all remembered.
It wasn’t one of Dominique’s designs and she found it on her own.
To her credit, Dominique hadn’t fainted when she saw it, and was gracious about it.
Good taste never deterred Marlene from what she had in mind, and Dominique never said a word.
She didn’t want to jeopardize her relationship with her son and daughter-in-law and never criticized her.
“I’m sure your wedding will be fun too,” he reassured Felicity.
“And if it really feels like it’s too soon, and you’re not ready, postpone it.
The invitations aren’t out yet. You can do whatever you want.
” But she couldn’t. Taylor would have a fit if she postponed, although the suggestion didn’t fall on deaf ears and had some appeal to her.
“I think Taylor and his parents would be upset.”
“By what right? Mom is giving the wedding, and if the bride wants more time, so be it. There’s no rush,” he said calmly.
“You always get away with doing what you want,” Felicity said with admiration. “If I try to do something like that, everyone will be pissed at me.”
“So what? Let them be. Just keep it in mind as an option. It’s not a prison sentence, it’s a wedding. And the plan has to suit you too.”
“I’d wait another year or two if I could, but Taylor would be crushed. He takes things very personally.”
“Train him early to make you happy,” her brother said with a grin. “It will serve you well later.” It was good advice.
“Thank God it’s a problem I don’t have,” Violet said with a broad smile. “I don’t ever want to get married,” she added with a self-satisfied look. “I’d walk out if Jamie asked me. He doesn’t want to get married either, so I have no worries on that score.”
They talked about other things then, Tommy’s job, their work, a vacation house he was building in Cabo, in Baja California, the shows he’d been working on.
Violet said she was playing with the idea of opening a second store, in Paris, and her brother gave her good advice about expanding her business.
They were rarely together now, and they had grown up to be very different from each other, but there was an undeniable family bond that held them together and was always there when they needed each other.
They were trustworthy people who loved one another and geography hadn’t changed that, with Tommy in California and the girls in New York.
Outside influences had had some effect, but the foundation of their relationship was solid and had withstood the winds of time so far.
Their father had never been there for them, but their mother was, and they were there for each other.
If everything went wrong, they would be there, faithful to the end.
They hugged one another before they went to bed, and went to the rooms they had grown up in.
Rooms full of memories of when they lived together every day, and teased and battled.
It was the place they had set sail from, to establish their own lives, taking with them everything they had learned from their mother and each other.
It was something they all knew would stay with them forever.
They cherished the memory of the years they had lived at home.
It was happy chaos in the morning when the boys woke up early to play with their new toys.
Dominique made them breakfast, and Marlene appeared in tight white jeans and a big sweater, ready for their flight to the Caribbean.
Tommy hugged his mother when they left, and she thanked him for making the stop in New York to see her.
It was the best Christmas gift of all. They took their Christmas presents with them, and the boys each took one truck with their floppy dogs, put their arms around Dominique’s neck, and kissed her.
“Bye, Bonnie!” They waved when they left the house in little red duffle coats, with Marlene in a fake white fur and Tommy in a black ski parka.
The boys had come up with “Bonnie,” which was short for Bonne Mamie, which was what Dominique’s children had all called Marie-Aurélie growing up and still did.
So Dominique was Bonnie. She waved to them from the front door, as the van waited to take them to Teterboro Airport in New Jersey for their chartered flight to Turks and Caicos.
It was a short visit, but it was enough to feed her soul.
Then she went to dress for the office. She still had work to do, and sketches to work on for special orders, including three Christmas brides with important weddings, and the dresses had to be finished on time. She had a lot to do before Christmas.
Felicity and Violet were going to spend Christmas Eve and Day with her, as they always did, and sleep at the house.
The day after Christmas, they were all leaving on their trips, Dominique and Bill to Courchevel in the French Alps, Violet and Jamie to St. Barth for a week, and Felicity to Vermont to stay with Taylor and his parents.
Her vacation was going to be less fun than her mother’s and sister’s trips, but it was another Whitfield command performance, especially now before the wedding they were planning.
Taylor enjoyed spending time with his parents more than she did.
But at least the skiing was always good there, and the snow reports had been great so far.
Dominique left late for her office in a cab, and got there as it started snowing. She looked up at the sky and smiled. It was going to be a white Christmas in New York!
* * *
Christmas Eve was as warm and cozy as it always was.
The three women had a delicious dinner catered by their favorite French restaurant, and sat by the fire talking afterward.
Tommy, Marlene, and the children called from Turks and Caicos.
Dominique and her daughters called Marie-Aurélie before their dinner.
She had just gotten back from midnight mass when they did, and she sounded peaceful and wished them all a Merry Christmas.
It always pained Dominique that her mother was alone on Christmas.
But she had been for many years. When she was younger, she had come to New York to spend it with Dominique and the children, but not in many years, and she said that she didn’t mind being alone in Paris.
She said that there was snow on the ground and it looked beautiful.
Felicity and Dominique would be in the snow soon, and Violet would be in St. Barth with Jamie.
They were all looking forward to their trips, though Felicity a little less.
Violet loved the sea and the beach and the heat.
And she and Jamie were thinking of chartering a small sailboat and floating around the area near St. Barth.
* * *