Chance Encounter - Jerry Cole Page 0,70

weekend this year. Becca got involved, creating a monster when they both came home, babbling about the latest styles. Mari and I declared that there wouldn’t be themes or major shopping for anything decoration related. It was bad enough with things normal as bad as they got.

We all got trees about three weeks before Christmas after some pushing from the girls. We went with Jackson in his truck, picking out four good ones and paying extra to have them cut down for us. When we got them home, the stands were already set up. We got the trees in and declared the decorating day for the upcoming weekend.

We decorated our trees individually apart from Gram. She always included dinner, along with telling of the stories of various ornaments to the newest member of the family. Amy was with us last year and heard them, so Gram told Ava about each ornament before someone lifted her to hang it on the tree. We all knew it wouldn't register, but it was too cute not to do.

We talked about the year before that night in bed, and the cat we planned to get Gram. It fell through last year when one of the volunteers took her in after finding out that she was sick. “Do you want to do it this year?” I asked, stroking Hayden’s chest with my fingers.

“Does she want that? It’s a big responsibility,” he sleepily replied as I considered his answer.

“She does have Ava to keep her busy and a baby soon enough.” I thought aloud as I pictured her tree. “That tree, too.”

“Let’s talk to her about it down the line. She’s gotta want this.” Hayden turned to me, cuddling into my chest. “I love you.’

Chapter Twenty-Six

Hayden

Despite working days, we all went to see The Grinch play at the theater one night. Mari held Ava on her lap, laughing as the little girl took in everything around her.

The play involved adults and children this year. They were kids who came from the theater down the street that only did children's plays. We liked to include them around the holidays.

The play started, and I reached for Gray’s hand as the lights went out. I still thought back to the night that we met often, thankful every day. Ava made it halfway through before falling asleep, wrapped in Mari’s arms, and I offered to carry her to the car. Ava was a solid kid, particularly when she was sleeping.

Becca kissed both of them at the coffee booth, promising that she’d be home soon. We all headed back, where I carried Ava to bed before telling Mari a good night.

I went home when I was done, finding the house dark apart for our bedroom. Wandering back, I saw that Gray was dressed in pajama pants and trying to find a movie. “Hey.”

“Did she go down, okay?” He asked, smiling at me.

“That kid sleeps hard. I can’t believe that she slept through the songs!” I said, digging for my pants. I changed and dropped to the bed, falling back against my pillow. “I’d never miss a play, but working all day and going back at night is exhausting.”

“I worked a lot on my stuff today. I get it,” Gray told me, turning off the light. Gram cooked an early dinner so nobody would be hungry.

“I have tomorrow off. Let’s sleep in a bit.” I waggled my brows at Gray as he started laughing,

“Do you want to get frisky with me?” He asked, moving closer to me for a kiss. “I’m not that kind of guy. I’m waiting until marriage.”

“A little late for that,” I smirked, kissing him again. We made love tenderly, holding each other close when finished. “I love that I met you at the theater. I love that we’re still together, and attending plays there with our family. I love everything about us.”

“That’s a lot of love, but I agree. Our little family is great.” We talked about Christmas in a week, and how much we had to do before then. We bought gifts that still needed to be wrapped, plus we were waiting for a couple of other things to be delivered. It was always crazy at work this time of year, while Gray got a break with a lot of podcasts talking a holiday break. He helped a lot by cleaning and feeding me, mostly from Gram’s kitchen.

I was the wrapper in the family. I bought tons of paper, taking my time with it. A tree should