Gifted Connections 3

I looked around at my new family and smiled to myself. We were all busy at work, unwrapping the lights, hooking the ornaments, and opening up the boxes. I loved all these new memories we were making.

“Okay everyone, look my way,” Jemmy yelled out as she stood on a chair with her selfie stick extended out. “On the count of three, everyone say Christmas cookies,” she demanded. “One, two, three… Christmas Cookies!” she yelled.

I smiled up at the camera and wondered if she got all of us in the picture, and if I looked as crappy as I felt. I shrugged self-deprecatingly, not all memories had to be staged.

Sierra popped up. “I forgot the stockings,” she loudly whispered to me. “I should decorate them to since I have a gazillion of them.”

“Do you want us to pause it?” Jace asked as he moved towards the remote.

She waved at him. “It’s okay, I’ve watched this a thousand times. I’ll be right back.”

“Do you need a hand?” Jemmy asked.

She smiled and nodded. “Sure!”

They both left, and I was happy to see how well they were getting along. Not too long ago, Jemmy nearly despised her. I looked over and saw the same bemused happy expression on Gavin’s face.

“Are you okay?” Sierra whispered as I tried to sprinkle the glue on the stocking.

On our shopping trip weeks ago, we had gotten red and white jumbo stockings. They were over three feet tall. We got one for everyone in our immediate circle. Sierra had suggested that we put the names on them with glue and glitter. The checkout person at the arts and crafts store had teased us about the amount of glitter and glue we got. We might have went slightly overboard with the color selections.

“Fine,” I said breezily. “I think I’m going to get a drink. Want anything?”

“No thanks,” she smiled.

The Christmas tree was decorated. The living room lights were off, and only the small overhead light was on in the kitchen for Drake and Ella. It was beginning to look, taste, and smell a lot like Christmas.

Jemmy, Sierra, and I were stretched out on the floor decorating the stockings. Drake was currently waiting for the first batch of cookies to come out of the oven, with Ella in his lap at the dining room table with a view of the television. Everyone else had found seating in the living room. Will had given Micah and Kade permission to run and get the oversized bean bags that they had purchased for the kids.

I found out that they had the apartment beside us with a room for each of the children. Alex was the only one not excited by the new room situation, but Micah still let him sleep on his bottom bunk every night, rectifying the situation.

Will had finally convinced Paul to let us use the unutilized space more effectively. Especially with their plans on continuing to recruit the gifted to the base. He knew most of the gifted wouldn’t want to come if they were forced to sleep and live in cramped conditions. He asked Paul to take over the housing situation and even had plans on revamping the living conditions for everyone else. He believed all the men and women here should have some level of privacy. The dorms didn’t give that to over half of the people residing here.

I opened the fridge with shaking hands and attempted to grab a water bottle several times in vain. My fingertips barely moved. I tried my other hand and the results weren’t any better. I pushed the door closed with my hip.

“Are you okay?” Jace asked with narrowed eyes.

I jumped and couldn’t even bring my hands up to my chest in fright. “Jace,” I yelped. “Can you warn a girl next time?” I tried to laugh flippantly.

“Sorry I was just trying to get a drink. Are you okay?” he asked with intensity.

I could feel him wanting to probe but I raised my barriers. “Yeah I’m good.”

“Why did you go in the fridge and not grab anything?” he asked suspiciously.

“I was hoping we had Dr. Pepper, but we don’t,” I lied glibly.

He still didn’t look like he believed me, but he kissed my nose before reaching for the handle of the refrigerator. I took another silent breath in. I couldn’t go back to decorating the stockings, no matter how much I desired to.

I walked back out to the living room. I leaned down to whisper to Jemmy and Sierra. “I’m going to take a break.”

“Okay,” Jemmy said cheerily while Sierra looked at me contemplatively. All these eagle eye people were making it increasing difficult to recover without being coddled.

Jaxson was sitting in one of the recliners, so I made my way over to him and climbed into his lap. I knew he was too absorbed into the movie to notice my withdrawn behavior. He barely spared me glance as he smiled. Than he folded me into his arms and pulled me close into his lap. I tried to find his heartbeat before I laid my head down on his chest. I felt like I needed to feel his heart beat to remind my heart how to work. I was feeling more and more sluggish. It almost felt like I had tar running through my veins and not blood.

I reached for his hand and weaved my fingers through his. The paralysis wasn’t predictable. It came and went for short and long periods of time. I kept telling myself I just needed a little time to recover and I would be fine.

Chapter 28