Julie backward and planted a kiss on her lips. Meg groaned.
“You old people are gross sometimes.”
“They are gross all the time!” Dylan chimed in as he ran back into the kitchen. “Every morning they’re kissing each other. Sometimes it makes me nauseous when I’m eating my pancakes!”
Julie and Dawson laughed. “Good, then we’re doing something right!” Julie said.
“When are we going to decorate the cookies?”
“We’re going to start right now. Come on. I’ll show you what to do.”
* * *
Colleen and Tucker sat at the table with her mother, Dawson and Dylan. She couldn’t even count how many cookies were on the table. Sprinkles were everywhere, and Julie had given up trying to pick them up off the floor. She said the robotic vacuum would figure it out later.
“Look at this one!” Dylan said, holding up the gingerbread cookie he had decorated. “I think this is my best one!” So far, he’d thought every one he decorated was the best one.
“It looks great,” Colleen said, smiling at her new little brother. She had to admit, having a little brother was something she had never imagined for herself, especially at her age. But now she did, and she loved him with her whole heart.
“Can I keep this one instead of taking it to the firefighters?”
Julie smiled. “I suppose so, but you’ve kept about ten of them. Where are you putting them, anyway?”
“On the bookshelf over there,” Dylan said, pointing across the room to Dawson’s grandmother’s antique bookshelf.
Julie’s eyes widened. “Dylan, how about taking them into the kitchen? Put them on a plate and hide them in the laundry room.”
“Yes ma’am,” he said, groaning. He walked over to the bookcase and collected his hidden cookies before disappearing into the kitchen.
“That kid has more energy than ten wild animals put together,” Dawson said, shaking his head.
“He cracks me up,” Colleen said. “But watching you raise a nine-year-old is even more hysterical. I never thought I would see the day that I’d have a little brother.”
“Well, I never thought I’d have a son,” Julie said. She continued icing the cookie in front of her. “But he’s been a wonderful blessing for us. I just can’t wait to see what he does in the future.”
“I can promise you it will be something that requires a lot of energy,” Dawson said, taking a bite out of his cookie.
Julie slapped him on the arm. “You’re supposed to be a good example! What are you doing eating the cookies?”
He stared at her for a moment. “Julie, honey, we have like three-thousand cookies here. There’s a hundred people sitting in our living room decorating them right now. The firefighters will not go hungry if I eat a couple of cookies.”
“I think you are overestimating the number of cookies or people here. Stop eating them! We want to give them all to the fire station.”
“Are you telling me we’re not going to keep any of these cookies for ourselves?”
“We’ll keep a few. But you’re going to be so big you’re going to need to borrow William’s Santa Claus costume.”
Tucker laughed. “Is this what being married is like?”
Colleen elbowed him. “Do you have a problem with that?”
“No, dear,” he said, hanging his head like he was a dominated husband before chuckling under his breath.
“So, I hear congratulations are in order about a new toy line you might work on next Christmas?” Dawson said.
“Yeah. It’s a really exciting opportunity with Jamison O’Malley’s company. I thought it would take me years to accomplish something like that.”
“That’s great, Tucker. I know you’ve worked really hard for this,” Julie said, picking up another plain cookie and beginning the decorating process again.
“We wanted to talk to you guys about something,” Colleen said, looking at Tucker nervously.
“Okay. What’s going on?” Julie asked, putting the cookie back down on the table.
“Well… There’s been a pretty major change in our lives.”
“Did you get engaged?”
“No, Mom. Don’t you think I would’ve told you that?”
“Besides, I’m terrified to ask her again. She broke my heart into pieces the last time,” Tucker said, putting his hand over his chest dramatically.
“You’re not funny,” Colleen whispered.
“What’s this big change?” Julie asked getting impatient.
“We spoke to Jamison O’Malley yesterday, and in order for this opportunity to come to fruition, he’s going to need us to come to New York City for a few months after the first of the year.”
Julie’s face fell a bit. “A few months?”
“Yes. He wants us to work right there in his offices in Manhattan. Really work closely with his team