Married and Bright

"Well, she is just the sweetest thing," Naomi says. "You think she'll be okay in there with all the men?"

I nod. "Oh yes, with her cup of tea and a few cookies and your mom and dad, she'll be great. She's probably happy as a clam right now to be sitting next to the Christmas tree and fire. It's her favorite time of year."

"Oh, ours too," Theresa says. "Our family loves Christmas."

I smile, wondering when would be a good time to let their family know that Andrew and I are getting married. Of course, I'm not going to be the one to make the announcement.

Andrew walks into the kitchen just as I'm thinking that, and I catch his eye. "Hey, can I talk to you for a sec?" he asks, pulling me away.

"Ooh," his sister Mary coos. "You got some secrets?"

"We want to know," Naomi says, putting a hand on her hip as she pours herself another glass of pinot grigio.

Andrew laughs. "No secrets that you need to know about." He pulls me upstairs to his old bedroom. "Hey," he says. "So I think we need to let my parents know about our engagement before your grandma accidentally says something.”

"Right, or before someone says something about this ring on my finger." I look around his bedroom. "Ooh, it's cozy in here," I say.

"Don't get any ideas," he says, kissing me on the nose.

I get on my toes and give him a kiss on the lips. "Yeah, this twin-sized bed might be a little hard to maneuver in."

He squeezes my waist. "Oh, I can make something work." He tickles me and I laugh, squealing as we roll onto his twin-sized bed. Moments later, he's on top of me, kissing me, and I hook my legs around his waist, which is feeling like the beginning of something decadently delicious, until the bedroom door opens and his father Bill walks in.

Andrew pulls away from me really dang quickly, coughing, and I straighten myself out.

"Uh, sorry, Dad," he says. Heat rises to my cheeks and I am mortified to say the least.

"Son," his father says, just as I remember that Andrew's dad is a pastor. Oh my God, this is all kinds of inappropriate. "What is going on up here?"

"Dad," he says, "I'm sorry. This isn't what you think."

"What do I think?" he asks.

"Well, the truth is, Angel and I need to speak with you."

"About what?" Bill frowns.

"Well, we have some really big news and we wanted to tell you and Mom about it before anyone else."

"News?" he asks, just as someone else walks upstairs.

It's his mom, Carol. "What kind of news is happening up here? I heard a bunch of commotion."

"There wasn't a bunch of commotion," Andrew says. "It's just Dad."

"Well?" she says, scooching into the bedroom. "What's going on?"

"The kids said that they had something they wanted to talk to us about."

Andrew runs a hand over his jaw, before taking my hand in his. "The thing is, Angel and I are getting married, and we wanted to tell you before, you know, we told the whole family."

His mom presses a hand to her heart. "Oh my goodness, my little boy getting married. To you? Oh, Angel, what a perfect Christmas gift this is."

I smile, my heart warming at her tenderness. Andrew's father, though, has concern in his eyes. "When was this decided?"

"A few days ago," Andrew tells him. "We didn't want to tell you until we arrived. We wanted to do it face-to-face."

"Well, when are you getting married?" Andrew's mom asks.

"We're not sure," I tell her. "We hadn't really thought about it yet."

"Oh, I have an idea," his mom says. "Why don't you have a Christmas wedding?"

"A Christmas wedding?" I repeat, eyes widening.

Andrew frowns. "I don't know if we want to wait all the way until next year to get married. I mean–"

"Next year," his mom frowns, "well, that's ridiculous. I meant tomorrow. The whole family's here, and your grandma, Angel. And Andrew, you know your sister and her whole family are headed to New Zealand this spring, so they won't be able to come back for a wedding. So–"

"Mom," Andrew says, cutting her off. "We're not getting married tomorrow. That would be ridiculous."

"Actually," Angel says, "we could."

Andrew looks at me. "What do you mean, we could? You want to get married tomorrow?" He laughs some more.

Andrew's father chuckles. "What's going on here? You really want to get married tomorrow?"

Angel smiles. "My grandma and grandpa got married on Christmas Day. My grandma always called it married and bright. And I don't know, I've always wanted a Christmas wedding. And yeah, I don't want to wait until next year. Could you marry us, Bill?"

Carol grins. "Of course he can." She wraps her arm around her husband. "Oh, Bill, just think of it. A Christmas wedding."