Page 5 of When You're Home for the Holidays
Tori: I know. *winky face*
She had been so engrossed in her conversation with Jake she hadn’t paid attention to any of the aisle markers. She was pretty sure she was still heading toward the front of the store. It wasn’t until she glanced up from her phone that she paused to get her bearings.
When she looked around, she noticed that she was surrounded by soft pinks and baby blues on all sides; she had stumbled into an entire aisle of baby ornaments. A pang of sadness struck her heart as her mind instantly went to Rhett.
She slowed her pace, scrutinizing all the sweet little designs. Baby’s First Christmas. A stork holding a stocking. Our Favorite Christmas Gift. Toward the end of the row was a smaller section of less colorful pieces. She gravitated toward them before she realized what she was even looking at.
Her fingers itched to trace the dime-sized footprints pressed into stainless steel. It was a simple ornament: Just the tiny footprints and the phrase “Sleeping in Heavenly Peace” etched along the bottom. A lump formed in her throat while a tightness squeezed around her heart.
“There you are!” She jerked her hand away from the ornament, pulling herself out of the moment as Fielding approached with a bag and a few receipts in hand.
“Hey,” she greeted him timidly.
“What’d you find now?” he inquired, stepping forward to close the space between them.
“It’s nothing. It’s just…” She tried to brush it off, but his eyes locked in on the ornament she had just been touching. “I just thought Rhett might appreciate it,” she mumbled as she took a step back toward the cart.
Fielding squinted at the ornament she’d been admiring. “It’s beautiful, Tor,” he confirmed, his tone somber as he matched the seriousness of the moment.
She looked up to search his face. For what, she didn’t know. Comfort? Encouragement? She had worked hard to process her own feelings about her husband’s ex-girlfriend’s miscarriage. She had spent months trying to make it make sense, and to accept and forgive herself for the role she had played in the whole situation. How would it affect Rhett if she gave him a reminder like this?
She shook her head, annoyed she let herself fall into the stereotypical grief trap. Talking about the child he lost wouldn’t “remind” her husband of his loss. The memories and thoughts of the baby were with him, always. She knew that from her own experience of losing her mother when she was eleven. Her grief was an integral part of who she was as a person.
“I think I’m going to get it,” she declared, stepping past Fielding with more confidence now that she’d worked through the ache. She selected the ornaments and gently pulled them off the hook.
“Did you mean to grab two?” he questioned as he watched her place them in the cart.
“Yes. One for us, and one for Chandler, if he wants to send it to her. They still talk sometimes. I think it helps them both. I’m sure this Christmas will be hard for her, too.”
Fielding pulled her into a side-hug so fast she almost lost her balance. “You’re a really good person, Victoria Thompson.” He lowered his head and smacked a kiss into her hair, only releasing her after he’d taken an obvious sniff of her shampoo. She didn’t have time to call him out on his weird behavior, though, because he snagged the cart and started jogging toward the front of the store.
“Race you to the checkout!” he called over his shoulder as he gave the cart a running start and hopped on the lower ledge to ride it like a skateboard.
“Don’t break my ornaments!” she hollered before taking off after him.
Chapter three
Tori
“Ohgoodlord.Youboth know I’m happily married, right? Your fuckboy lingerie is wasted on me.”
Jake and Fielding had emerged from their room in the basement just moments earlier wearing light gray sweatpants and fitted black T-shirts. They looked good—and they both had smarmy smiles on their faces that told her they knew it.
Jake glanced down at his attire, then cocked an eyebrow in question. “Would you rather I watch the movie in my usual sleepwear?”
He preferred to sleep just like her husband: in his boxer briefs. Inonlyhis boxer briefs.
“Nope!” she popped thePfor emphasis as Fielding plopped down beside her on the sectional.
“I figured I better bust these puppies out now,” he explained. “Mr. Buzzkill over there said I’m not allowed to wear gray sweatpants once little Wheeler gets here.”
Jake scoffed. “I said wear them at your own risk. I’m just trying to save your ass from getting smacked upside the head when Maddie inevitably flirts with you in front of Rhett.”
Tori burst out laughing. She hadn’t considered that particular dynamic when she invited both Fielding and Maddie to join them at the cabin for Christmas. She was glad Jake had the forethought to lay down some ground rules before Rhett arrived.
“You want in on this?” Fielding asked, spreading his arms wide and surveying the space between them. Tori rolled her eyes at his offer but shifted closer, placing one of the couch pillows between them so she could use his body as a cushion and lean back against him.
Penny promptly hopped off the couch and jumped up into Fielding’s lap, assuming her favorite seat in the house.
