“And I love you.”43WestonI put my arm around Scarlet, smiling as we watch Jackson tear into his Christmas presents. The three of us are wearing matching pajamas, which was Scarlet’s idea, not mine. She said she bought them as a joke, but as rather insistent on all of us wearing them and taking a picture together last night on Christmas Eve.
No sooner than Scarlet gets comfortable against me, she jumps up.
“Salsa, get out of the tree.” She grabs the black kitten and brings him to the couch with. He stays for half a second and jumps down, pouncing on the pile of discarded wrapping paper.
Midnight, the mother cat to all the kittens, curiously walks over, batting a plastic bow across the living room. We were only going to take the kitten, but the mama cat really likes me for some reason. She’s a bit annoying, really, and rubs her head all over me while purring almost every night when I go to sleep.
Scarlet laughs, watching the cats have almost as much fun as Jackson with the presents. I take her in my arms again, stealing a kiss before Jackson moves onto the next present.
“I love you,” she whispers, running her hands through my hair.
“I love you too,” I tell her, and we settle back against the couch as Jackson finishes opening his presents. It doesn’t take long. That kid could win an award for fastest present opening.
Once he’s done, I deal with the aftermath of the wrapping paper, torn boxes, and toys scattered throughout the living room. Jackson plays with a new remote control dump truck, ‘helping’ me clean up the mess.
The smell of cinnamon rolls fill the air, and Scarlet turns on Christmas music. She comes back into the living room with a cup of tea in her hand, stopping in the threshold of the room with a smile on her face.
“Breakfast will be ready soon,” she says, taking a drink of tea. She sets her cup down and pulls Salsa from the tree again. I stashed all our breakable ornaments when Jackson was a baby, replacing the pretty glass balls with shatterproof plastic ones that actually look just as good as the others. I almost dug them out of the basement this Christmas and I’m glad we didn’t.
“Then I need to shower so we can get ready to leave.”
I scoop up another armload of wrapping paper and add it to the big gift bag a toy came in. We have a lot of stops to make on the way to my parents’ for their big Christmas party.
The first stop is to Eastwood’s Senior Care Center, where Mr. Cooper now lives. We were able to get him a room there around the first of the month, and it’s been a big weight off Scarlet’s shoulders. The old nursing home was a dump. I didn’t want to say anything and make Scarlet feel worse, but I was shocked when I walked in, and not in a good way.
The second stop we have to make won’t be fun. It’ll be awkward and uncomfortable, but it’s something I couldn’t rightfully refuse to do.
Daisy’s parents want to see Jackson on Christmas. They got him presents and asked if he could come over for lunch. Scarlet and I are going with, and I’m not sure if Daisy will be there or not. The judge let her off easy, and she’s going to court-ordered therapy. I haven’t seen her since she left the last time, and now all the paperwork is official and filed.
I’m not married to her anymore. I’m free to remarry anyone I want, and that person is standing in the living room with a squirming kitten in her hands. Quinn suggested I propose while we’re all at Disney World together after her wedding. Scarlet’s never been and is just as excited as Jackson to go.
It’s a damn good idea and would be magical and fitting for Scarlet, but I don’t know if I can wait that long. I love her, and I know there will never be another who fits with us as well as she does.
Things were awkward for a while after we told the rest of my family the truth. I was good with not ever bringing it up, but Scarlet insisted she come clean and start with no secrets. Dean and Archer had the hardest time with it, convinced she wasn’t trustworthy. Owen already knew, of course, and told Logan later that day after I left the bar. Dad didn’t understand how I could be so understanding and forgiving, and when I tell the whole story, it surprises me too.
But Scarlet isn’t that person anymore. I don’t think that’s ever who she really was in the first place. She’s a good person, and I know one day soon she’ll make a good wife.