Christmas was upon us before we knew it. Cassie’s growing belly was still small but somewhat noticeable. She was sick and vomited more often than not, but we were still excited about our impending arrival.
We’d decided to host Christmas at my house, so Cassie and Nat went all out, buying everything off the damn shelves. My grandma, Adriana, and Abel would be coming up. This would be the first Christmas without my mom, and we wanted the family to be one. Grandma still wasn’t as warm and receptive to Cassie as I would have liked for her to be, but I resigned myself to the fact that it would take time and whether she ever came around or not, it would change nothing for me. Cassie was my future, and I had done enough fucking up with her to last a lifetime. Nothing was going to tear us apart ever again.
Nat taught Cassie how to make pineapple upside down cake and coconut cream pie. It was the first time I had seen Cassie get truly domestic, and it was quite the entertaining sight. She looked every bit as flustered as I thought she would, but Nat, ever the big mouth, whipped Cassie into shape like a hat out on the drill field. She finally settled, and actually made pretty decent dessert, but I wasn’t banking on her taking this up every year.
Riley wore some ugly fucking sweater that Nat bought for him, walking around drinking egg nog and singing Bing Crosby Christmas songs. I hated everything about him at the moment, from that hideous fucking sweater, to the songs he couldn’t seem to get enough of. I doubled the shots in my egg nog just to get through it, then finally had enough and changed that shit to something a little more tolerable.
The doorbell rang, and before I could open the door, little Abel came bounding in, jumping into my arms and yelling, “Merry Christmas, Nino.”
I laughed as I caught him and tried to steady the drink in my hand all at the same time.
“Abel, you need to be careful. Nino could have spilled.”
“He’s fine, Adriana,” I responded. “Merry Christmas. Feliz Navidad, Abuelita,” I greeted my grandmother, wrapping her in my arms and kissing her cheek. She smiled and greeted back, then looked around.
“Donde esta Cassie?”
“She’s in the back changing. She’s been baking all day with Nat.”
My grandmother looked impressed, but didn’t say anything to confirm it. Adriana sat a bunch of presents down under the tree, and Cassie finally walked out, looking comfortable in a pair of yoga pants and a Victoria’s Secret sweater. She was uncomfortable most of the day because she was so sick. She’d sworn that if I bought her yoga pants all of her complaining would go away. That was a lie. She had a million fucking pairs of yoga pants, and she still complained all damn day long, but after watching her puke in the bathroom all night, I decided her complaining was warranted.
“Hola, Guadalupe. Feliz Navidad.”
Cassie had been working on her Spanish so she could try and communicate with my grandmother in the language she was most comfortable with. She walked over and wrapped my grandmother in a warm hug, drawing surprising looks from almost everyone in the room.
“Alrighty then!” Nat exclaimed, breaking the stale air swirling around us. “Let’s get to opening presents.”
We shoveled present after present to Abel, which he quickly opened, then pushed aside to open up the next one. I wasn’t sure he had actually seen what he’d gotten, but it didn’t matter because the excitement lighting up his face was all we really cared about. He’d had a bit of a rough time with my mom not around, so seeing him smile was exactly what we’d needed.
“Where’s Dalton?” Nat asked.
“He went home to be with his family and Ben. I guess they’re trying to work things out.”
“That fucker is a glutton for punishment, isn’t he?” I asked, sipping my egg nog again.
“Um, I guess you could say the same about me, couldn’t you?” Cassie sarcastically replied.
I gave her a warning look, which she shot right back at me. If our kid had half her attitude, I was going to be in trouble.
“You going to see your boy, Adriana?” Nat was on a fucking roll with her questions.
Adriana shot a look over to me. “At some point. Alex won’t allow him here.”
“You’ve got that right. I don’t want any headache on Christmas day. You are free to go to his place, Adriana.”
“Alex…” Cassie pleaded.
“End of discussion. We’ve got more presents to open up. Here, Abuelita, this one is for you.”
She opened a box with a framed picture of her, my mom, Adriana and me from Adriana’s baby shower a few years back. We were all so happy then, and I thought it was a great reminder for her of one of our good times. The tears spilled from her eyes as she kissed the picture repeatedly, thanking me over and over again for such a beautiful gift.
I handed Adriana a box and got the same reaction. Her picture was from the hospital after she’d had Abel. My mom laid in the bed with her, holding Abel in her arms and beaming like a proud grandmother. I had to admit that I thought twice about the gifts since they made me an emotional bitch just looking at them, but that reaction told me they were perfect. Keeping Imelda alive in our hearts was a necessary component to moving forward with our lives.
“Here you go, Cassie. It’s not much, but it has a lot of thought behind it.” Adriana handed Cassie a small box, then sat on her hands as she watched her open it.
Cassie tore into the box, ripping the paper to reveal a small Nike box. “Baby’s first shoes. Thanks, Adriana.”
“You’re welcome. Open them up. I thought they were the cutest little things ever, and I remember those tiny shoes on Abel. You’ll grow addicted to them.”
Cassie smiled as she pulled the top cover off the box, then her mouth dropped and her hand quickly moved to cover it. She picked the shoes up out of the box as tears fell from her eyes. I dropped to one knee directly in front of her.
“Cassie Bennett, I knew from the second I got you that you were it for me. We’ve been through so much together, and I know for certain that you are it. You are the one. I’m done looking. You mean the world to me, and there is no one else that I would rather have carry my child or my last name. So please, say yes. Say you’ll be my wife.”
I waited patiently as she continued to cry, fanning herself as the tears continued to pour from her eyes.
“The tag on the shoes says please marry my daddy before I’m old enough to walk in these, Cassie. Time is ticking!” Adriana blurted out, drawing laughter from the room.
“Yes, Alex. Yes a million times over. I can’t wait to be your wife.”
I quickly untied the laces to retrieve the ring, then slipped it on Cassie’s finger. We kissed long and hard, her tears sandwiching between our faces.
“I love you more than the fucking air I breathe, Cassie Cruz.“ I grinned. “I have to get used to saying that.”
“It has a nice ring to it,” she whispered, kissing me again.
My grandmother stood and walked over to us, looking at me and then to Cassie. Her face showed no emotion, her body language just as dull. I really hoped she wasn’t about to turn a beautiful moment into shit because with the high that I was on, I wouldn’t allow anyone to ruin it.
She took Cassie’s hand and looked long and hard at the ring, then looked to me. “Good job, Alejandro.” She hugged me then pinched my cheek. “He love you so much, Cassie. And I am okay with it. I love you, too,” she said, wrapping Cassie in her arms.
“Let me have a look at that ring, Cassie!” Nat shouted, strolling over to where we stood. She took Cassie’s hand in hers, staring at the ring from all angles before again shouting, “Damn, Alex! You went all out, didn’t you? You see this shit, Chris? I want something equivalent.”
Riley’s eyebrows furrowed, but he said nothing as he took a glass of champagne from the tray that Nat had earlier sat down. He walked it over to me, then handed out the others, giving Cassie a glass of sparkling cider in lieu of the alcohol.