A Merry Little Christmas (33 page)

“Good morning, Lillian. Something smells wonderful.”

“Good morning to you, Donnie, there’s coffee already made,” she said in a cheerful voice.

“Thanks, but I’m not drinking coffee right now. Angel can’t have it so I drink herbal tea with her. I was just about to put the kettle on for the tea,” he explained.

“Oh.” Lillian was nonplussed that she hadn’t thought of that herself, but she rallied quickly. “Well, I’m making her favorite breakfast, cheese grits, sausage, scrambled eggs and fresh biscuits,” she said proudly. She noticed a flicker on Donnie’s face and asked if there was a problem.

“Well,” Donnie said reluctantly, “she really can’t tolerate too much grease right now. Sausage would really upset her stomach. She can handle a little ham, if it’s really lean. And for some reason s
he can’t stand butter right now,
just the thought of it makes her sick. So she’s been eating a lot of dry toast. She usually has fruit, dry toast and oatmeal with no butter. The thing is
,
she’ll eat anything you give her, so you have to kinda watch what you put on her plate.”

Lillian looked slightly chagrined as she looked up at her handsome son-in-law. “I should have thought of that,” she admitted. “I’ve been so busy trying to prove that I’m a good mother that I didn’t even ask if she had a restricted diet.”

She sat down at the kitchen table, looking so crestfallen that Donnie sat down with her. She looked at him with a hint of tears in her eyes and confessed her fears. “I don’t think I’ve been a very good mother to Angelique,” she said quietly. “I’ve never known
her
as well as I should; we weren’t as close as a mother and daughter should be. I always felt like I failed her as a mother, that I should have been able to get through to her, to communicate with her better. But I never could.” Her sadness was so evident that Donnie felt compelled to give her an awkward hug.

“Lillian, you have to know how much An
gel admires you. She adores you;
she thinks you’re the most perfect woman in the world. All she ever wanted to do was be like you, that’s what she told me. More than once, I might add. Despite what you think, you were a wonderful role model for her and you are the person she respects more than anyone else,” he told her.

“I don’t see how, Donnie. I just wasn’t there for her when she needed me,” Lillian said sadly. Her smooth brown face puckered in distress. “When Angelique’s father died, I went a little bit crazy. I don’t think anyone knew how much his death affected me. I was pregnant, you see, and I lost the baby. It just seemed like the last straw,
him
dying the way he did and then me losing our baby, the last piece of him I would ever have.” She took a long, shuddering sigh and stopped for a moment to compose
herself
.

“Poor Clay, he drove himself crazy trying to keep everything hushed up over the way his father died. It really wasn’t necessary; I knew what his father was like. I knew he had a roving eye, I knew that he had women in different places, so when he died in that hotel room in California, it wasn’t as big a shock to me as Clay believed it would be. I should have told him then, but I was too numb, too wrapped up in myself. I’m very ashamed of how I conducted myself back then.

     “
I should have been stronger, been less selfish, especially when it came to my baby, my only little girl. By the time I was ready to act like a mature woman again, her brothers had taken over and she was an angry, confused little girl. I don’t think she’s ever gotten over it.” She sniffed. “I think I need a tissue.” Donnie obliged by handing her a fistful of paper towels. He flushed at the look of amusement on Lillian’s face.

  
“I’m sorry, Lillian, let me get you some real tissue,” he said apologetically.

Lillian waved her hand as thought it was of no importance. “Oh, don’t worry, this is fine. You’re a very sweet young man, aren’t you? You have good looks, good manners, and a good head on your shoulders, and you love my daughter. I was prepared to not like having you as a son-in-law. I had no idea what made you two go gallivanting off to Las Vegas, of all places, but I was prepared to be very angry with you. And I liked you, I always did. I liked all of Benita’s family, you’re lovely people. But I didn’t think you were what my baby deserved.”

She reached over to touch his arm. “I was wrong.
Very, very wrong.
You love my daughter with all your heart; I can see it every time you look at her, every time you touch her. When you came galloping down the street to give her your coat because you thought she might be cold, I knew. That Vegas wedding may not have been my choice for my child, but she couldn’t have chosen a better man.”

Wiping away the rest of her tears, she stood up with her usual aplomb. “Now that I’ve made a total fool of myself, I need to make a breakfast my child can actually eat.”

“Umm, Lillian, I don’t have any restrictions, so I’ll be more than happy to take care of this delicious repast,” Donnie said innocently.

They laughed and hugged each other tightly, a hug that lasted until they realized that Angelique was standing in the doorway watching.

“So where’s this breakfast, Mama? I’m starving,” was all she said.

Chapter Twenty

The oppressive heat of summer began to fade away and the cool of fall was comforting to Angelique. She had decided that she was just hot-blooded by nature, because she found that she thrived on the cooler temperatures of Michigan. She and Donnie had been to Atlanta to visit her family and the damp heat had made her quite miserable. She had enjoyed being with her mother and her brothers but it was a relief when she could come back to lower temperatures. Everything seemed to annoy her, especially the heat. Her sisters-in-law tried to tell her that part of her sensitivity was due to her pregnancy, but she didn’t believe it.

“None of you acted like this,” she said sadly. “I’m very happy and blessed to be having this baby and I should be in a good mood all the time, like you were,” she protested.

Vera laughed out loud at that. “Oh, sweetie, nobody’s in a good mood for nine months. As thrilled as I was to be pregnant, as happy as I was to be giving birth to Marcus’s baby, there were times when I was a total shrew, believe me. Girl, I gave your poor brother hell, just ask him if you don’t believe me.”

Selena confirmed what Vera told her. “Honey, your hormones are running amok right now. Nobody expects you to be little Mary Sunshine the whole nine months. With the last baby, I made poor Malcolm sleep in the guest room because I couldn’t stand the sound of his breathing,” she said with a laugh. “Of course, I was extra, extra sweet to him after the baby came and I’m still making it up to him, but I was a mean heifer
for a few months
.”

Now in the cool breezes of October, Angelique still had trouble believing that her serene, sophisticated sisters-in-law were as petty and horrible as she was. There were days when everything seemed to irritate her from the way Donnie chewed to the way he walked. Jordan and Pippen escaped her wrath only because they were so adorable. They seemed to sense that something wonderful was happening to their mistress and they were always extra gentle with her.

Andrew, Donnie’s oldest brother, also recognized her angst for what it was. “
Look, cutie
, don’t be so hard on yourself.
No one can control
these thing
;
it’s just part of being pregnant, part of your body getting ready to bring forth another life. That’s an awesome power, a huge responsibility. You can’t control your hormones. I’ll tell you a secret: my wife put a gun in my back after she delivered the triplets and said I was never getting in a bed with her again.”

They were at Renee and Andrew’s house for dinner, and she and Andrew were chatting on the big deck that extended off the back of the Indian Village house. Angelique’s eyes were enormous when Andrew made his confession, but Renee heard him as she was bringing out vegetables on skewers to grill.

“It was a blow-dryer, not a gun, as he is well aware. But at that point in time I meant every word. Sex with him was the last thing on my mind, giving
me
three babies at once. Of course,” she said with a smile, “I got over it.” She gave her handsome husband a big kiss and went back into the house.

In spite of Angelique’s mood swings and general hypersensitivity, Donnie was being the most attentive and caring husband he could be. He took an interest in every aspect of the birth, attended every doctor’s appointment with her, went to Lamaze classes with eager anticipation and did everything he could to make her comfortable. That night after they got home from Renee and Andrew’s, he ran a bubble bath for her and not only scrubbed her back, but when she emerged from the bathroom had her lie down on the bed on top of a big fluffy bath sheet.

“I have a surprise for you,” he crooned.

“What is it?” she asked sleepily. Those long bubble baths always made her sleepy.

“Something you’ll like. Something we’ll both like, baby.” Suddenly her body was treated to a warm gush of sensation and his long, clever fingers were massaging her growing belly. He rubbed her gently and lovingly, talking to her as he did. “I love this belly. I love it. I love you for giving me this baby, Angel. This will help you relax and it will also keep that pretty belly from getting too many stretch marks,” he said softly. “Not that I care, I think they’re sexy. It makes a woman look like a real woman, in my opinion.”

Angelique sighed with pleasure and the sighs turned into moans as he continued his massage to include her entire body, even her ultrasensitive breasts. Somehow, even though they were tender and easily irritated, Donnie always knew just how to touch them. They were so sensitive by this point in her pregnancy that the feel of the warm oil and his big hands caressing her brought her near orgasm in minutes. “Adonis ... Adonis,” she whispered.

He continued to caress her, bringing his hands down her sides to stroke her hips and down her outer thighs and kissing her velvety inner thighs. “Adonis,” she cried with more urgency.

“I’m right here, my love, what is it?”

She opened her eyes to glare at him. “You know what it is, don’t tease me!”

He wiped his hands on the towels, smiling dow
n at her. He removed his shirt and
then stood up to take off the rest of his clothing. “I’d never do that, my Angel.” He lay down next to her and rose up on one elbow so he could continue to stroke her. “Kiss me, sweetheart.”

She was more than happy to oblige; she loved the feel of his lips. They were kissing wildly and sweetly and his questing hand went farther than the rounded belly he found so enticing. He explored the silky hair and went lower, finding her wet and waiting for him.

“Open for me, sweetheart,” he whispered, but his words were unnecessary as her response to his touch was immediate and passionate. She was shaking with desire, trembling on the brink of fulfillment and she was incredibly beautiful to Donnie. He loved watching her come to completion, loved the way her expressions changed as he brought her higher and higher to peak after peak of ecstasy. Her long lashes lifted and she stared deeply into his eyes as the waves of pleasure washed over her, as his fingers delved into her womanhood and brought her even more pleasure. She kept their eyes locked as long as she could but the sensation was too much and her eyes squeezed shut as she
moaned his name
. He relented, but only as long as it took for him to enter her body; in minutes they were throbbing as one, lost in the delirium of their bliss.

When they could resume normal speech, Donnie raised an eyebrow and smiled down at his supremely satisfied wife. “I may have to keep you pregnant from now on if this is the response I get.”

She stretched and smiled back, a sweet and sexy smile that only he could elicit from her lips. “I may have to let you.
I think
we might need another bath, Adonis. And this time, I’ll scrub your back.”

“That sounds like a plan,” he agreed.

“But first, let’s try something else.” And in a little while it was his turn to cry her name aloud.

***

The Halloween decorations had just been taken down and Angelique was thinking about Christmas. She was looking forward to the holiday with an anticipation she hadn’t felt since she was a young girl. In less than two months she would be holding her baby in her arms, she would be able to see the joy on her husband’s face and be able to bask in his love. She felt the joy of die impending holiday more fiercely after her doctor confirmed that her due date was December twenty-fifth. She felt like a Madonna, more closely connected to her family and her spirituality. She wanted to truly celebrate the holiday this year in a big way. And she reminded Donnie of this often.

“When can we get our tree? I want a live tree, I want a really big one that’ll smell up the whole house,” she told him.

Donnie laughed affectionately at her enthusiasm. “Angel, we can get anything you want, you know that. But can’t we wait until Thanksgiving at least? Do you know what a live tree does if you get it too early? It dries out, that’s what it does. I’ll be sweeping up needles until the Fourth of July.”

They were getting dressed to go to church and she was enjoying the sight of her man doing a reverse striptease as he put on his crisp shirt, then his pleated midnight-navy slacks. He tucked the shirt in and zipped the pants, then realized he had an audience.