After the coffee and dessert was served, Todd and Blair made their goodbyes as they went to their own private Christmas present. They walked into the Metrocourt and headed to the desk. As they approached, Carly looked up and smiled. “How was your Christmas? Get all the presents you wanted?”
Blair smiled. “Not yet, but I will be soon.”
Todd just grabbed the key in one hand and Blair’s hand in the other, heading towards the elevator. He didn’t want to do any small talk with anyone. All he wanted was his Christmas present.
They made their way to the room and walked in. Like all rooms at the Metrocourt, it was luxurious. The furnishings were all tasteful and bespoke that feeling. And yet, off in the corner of the room, there was a tiny, limp Christmas tree. Looking at it almost made Blair laugh. “Are we going to be getting a dog?” she asked.
Todd’s nose crinkled. “Why would you ask that?”
She point to the pathetic tree. “I asked because of Charlie Brown’s tree over there.”
He looked over at, smiling. Carly had managed to do it. He walked over to the tree and fiddled with the sorry excuse for the decoration that were on it. Then he looked back at Blair. “You don’t get it, do you?” Blair gave his a sidelong glance. “I know the accommodations are a little bit better than our first Christmas together. I didn’t want to go all nostalgic and go out to that No Tell motel on the highway, but I would have hoped you’d get it a little bit.”
Realization came to her eyes. “Our first Christmas,” she whispered, a smile tugging her mouth.
“Granted, the Metrocourt is a step up. Back then, I wouldn’t have been allowed within ten feet of the Palace. I was…barely living…just getting back from the damn will reading…”
“I had just had another fight with Cord. He had to go do something for Tina and I got mad at him. Granted, I never wanted to take him away from his kids. But he always had to go after Tina.”
“Then, in the midst of my self-pity, there’s this knock at the door. Some chick looking for a party.” Todd sat down, glancing around the room. He seemed to be avoiding looking at Blair.
She sat down on the other side of the couch doing the same. “A little music, a little dancing.” Then she swept her gaze in his direction. “Very little dancing.”
Todd shrugged his shoulders. “What can I say? At least the night wasn’t a total waste.” He turned to face her. A familiar look was in front of her. It was the one that Todd showed to the world not often enough. “I was just so nervous being with you that night. Even with the dancing, it was…scary to me. I didn’t want to…”
“I know, Todd. I knew it that night.”
“It was a wonderful night,” he admitted.
“Even where it led to?”
Todd knew she meant something specific with that last comment. But he shook his head. “What it led to was the best thing to ever happen to me.” He could see Blair start a counter argument, but he cut her off. “Seriously, think about it. I had just gotten back from Chicago, where my father had cut me out of everything. And then, within three months, I had everything. I had a wife, a baby on the way,” he paused, taking her hand to share the pain of that memory, “a family. And you, coming to my room that night, that was the first domino to fall.” Then he leaned in to kiss her.
After they parted, Blair looked at the tree. “So this is the Christmas present, 2012 edition?”
“Yeah, I figured I owed you a reenactment at a nicer place,” Todd explained. He was about to continue when there was a knock at the door. Room service brought in a tray with strawberries and a bottle chilling in a bucket.
After Todd tipped the guy, Blair came over and looked at the bottle. “Sparkling apple cider?”
“Well, you can’t drink alcohol, so neither will I,” he said as he took it from her. Uncorking the bottle, he poured out two glasses, handing one over to her. Then he raised his. “To the woman who gave me…everything.”
It was something that was usually foreign for Blair’s ears to hear. But coming from Todd Manning, she knew those words were the truth. They did, however, make her blush. “Todd…”
“It’s the truth. And coming from me, someone who has had issues with the truth in the past, I know, but I really don’t know where I’d be if I didn’t have you. And this time, for you and our kids and especially for the newest one, when she comes, I will do better. To you, I vow this.”
She moved closer to him. After she put down the glass, she brought her fingers to his face. He stared into her green eyes, looking like a man adrift in the sea who had found a life raft. When he brought his arms around her back and up to her shoulders, it was as if he was clinging to it. They moved in closer, nose to nose. Blair’s lips grazed over his and, for a minute, she pulled back enough to see his eyes were closed. Then she captured his lips, their tongues exploring familiar territory. The kiss deepened as they, in unison, moved toward the bedroom.
Waking up the next morning in Blair’s arm was better than their first time together. He closed his eyes again and moved his hand to her stomach. Even though it was still early in the pregnancy, he thought he could feel Meredith moving around in there.
“I feel her too,” Blair said sleepily. She opened her eyes and smiled at him.
“She’s what, the size of a pea? You can feel that?”
“Call it mother’s intuition. But I have always felt our children, even when I didn’t know I was carrying them at first,” Blair informed him. “And both Starr and Jack were anxious to get into the world. I have no doubt this one will be the same.”
Jack’s birth flashed through Todd’s memories. At the time, his timing wasn’t as surprising to Todd, because he had believed the baby was Max’s. As Todd thought about it more, a wave of shame, one that would never leave him, washed over him.
Blair noticed the change in his demeanor. She knew just what he was thinking about. “We both made a lot of mistakes there. I don’t want you…I don’t want you going there. Not with a wedding to put together in less than a week.”
Todd grinned. She really did know him well. “Yeah, I guess we should get rolling on that,” he said.
Before another word was spoken, there was a knocking at the door. Todd pulled on his slacks and puttered out to the entrance to the room. Opening it, he found a room service waiter. “Compliments of the hotel,” the man informed him as he wheeled the cart in.
After the waiter left, Blair came out. “Carly seems to know what you like,” she commented.
“Well, I did live here for a few months and I did basically order the same things every morning,” Todd explained as he opened the covers on the plates. “Although, I know I never ordered this.”
A plate of chocolate chip pancakes lay before Blair. “Well, somebody told the kitchen staff about this,” she replied. They ate the breakfast before them and were about to head back into the bedroom when another knock was heard at the door. This time, when Todd went to open it, Starr, Jack and Sam barreled in.
“You’re not dressed yet?” Starr asked. “We have so much to do and so little time to do it. Come on, let’s move!”
“Hey, Shorty, we just finished up breakfast, okay?” Todd said to her, giving Jack a bewildered look.
Jack shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t look at me. She had us up at an ungodly hour because she said we needed to get stuff ready for the wedding. Christmas break, and I’m up at seven am. Not fair.”
“Well, we’ve got a ton of things to do. Mom and I need to go find dresses, which Sarah will meet us for and you three, CJ and Uncle Victor have to go get tuxes.”
“The only way Victor will definitely be in the wedding party, Starr,” Todd told her, “is if Cassie is in it.”
“Aunt Dorian called Cassie last night and said Cassie will be delighted to be there for Mom,” Starr replied, a smile on her face.
“Did you actually hear Cassie say that, or are you just taking Dorian’s word for it?” came her father’s incredulous question.
“I spoke to Cassie myself. Remember, she has barely as much trust in Aunt Dorian as you do, Dad,” Starr said. Turning back to Blair, Starr went on. “Now, come on, we have things to do, dresses to see. She waved both of her parents towards the bedroom.
Once in there, Todd turned back to the hotel’s main room. “She’s up to something.”
“You think?” Blair asked sarcastically. “She’s got that look in her eyes that I haven’t seen since she was a little girl.”
“The one she kept giving me when I was trying to propose to you that Halloween?” Blair nodded to him. “She looks like you when she does that, you know.”
“Actually, I think she looks like you when she does that,” Blair retorted playfully.
“Last time I checked, we were the parents. We should just shove them out the door and tell them that Mommy and Daddy need alone time,” Todd said.
“You don’t have time for alone time,” Starr’s raised voice informed them.
Todd gave Blair another look and she could only reply with a shrug of her shoulders. “Let’s just humor her. I know she’s excited about this. She always has been and you don’t outgrow it.” She stepped closer to Todd and kissed him deeply. “Then, when we finish all the running, we’ll send the kids out for dinner and we can continue with this Christmas tradition, okay?”
Todd’s eyebrows rose into his hairline as he deepened the kiss. When they parted, he offered her a crooked smile. “Sounds like a plan. Let’s get the show on the road. I just finalized the rest of the plans for our day.”
They headed out of the bedroom and herded the three kids out of the room. They had a wedding plan to put into motion.
*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
Your comments are 'payment' for the work of the authors. Our writers like to hear your feedback. Please leave a comment when you read.
Cute. Cannot wait for Cassie. Can we see River too?
ReplyDelete