Page 96 of Fourth Heartwarmers Trilogy
Just the thought of all that chaos made her shudder. Unable to sleep, the night passed in fits of dozing and then waking to rehash the worry. Finally, knowing the time difference would make calling home reasonable, she phoned Gigi.
“Merry Christmas again, darling. How were the children? Did they like their presents?”
“Yes. So much. Thank you for having gone to all the trouble of ordering them stockings from the Christmas store and having them delivered. They were ridiculously excited with all the special little surprises. I know Gisele lived on a shoestring, and they aren’t used to being spoiled. I sent you videos of them saying thank you.”
“Yes, I’ve been watching them again today. What little darlings they are! I can’t wait to meet them.”
“That’s why I called.” Jaq explained the text message Colin received from his lawyer the day before.
“What’s his name, the judge you drew?”
As soon as Jaq told her, her Gigi seemed to lose interest. “Not to worry, dear. If your Colin is as wonderful as you’ve described, I’ve no doubt the judge will see it too and give him guardianship. I must run now, I have a group of friends coming for Boxing Day dinner, so I need to get busy. I wish you were here to help me set up as usual, but I guess I’ll manage. I’m just not as good at all the Christmas table arrangements as you are. Guess it’ll just take longer.”
Once Jaq ended the call, she felt a wee bit upset. Gigi didn’t normally put her needs ahead of Jaq’s. Goodness, didn’t she have the rest of the day to prepare for a dinner? It wasn’t like her to fob off Jaqueline’s worries in such a cavalier manner.
Feeling hurt, Jaq tried to shake off the feeling of betrayal. Gradually, realizing how foolish and silly she’d become, she shook off her irritation and headed for the coffee pot in the kitchen.
Though they tried to make the day fun for the kids, spending time outside in the snow and walking along the paths cleaned by the city to head to the garlanded main square by the Chateau Frontenac, Jaq had a hard time keeping a happy face.
Since Colin had promised them a fancy lunch at the hotel, it gave her something to look forward to, and she appreciated his thoughtfulness in arranging it. All dressed in their Christmas finery, Jaq feeling special in her new blue cashmere sweater and beloved bracelet, she surveyed the rest of her group. The light gray shirt she’d picked out for Colin suited him well as did the silk tie she’d bought to wear with it.
What made her swell with pride was that both the kids appeared well dressed in their new finery. Maisie suited her flowing, blue flowered dress with the smocked front and dark leggings. And Charlie strutted in his new navy slacks, dressy shirt, and tie that unsurprisingly looked similar to Colin’s.
Sitting at the fancy table near the window overlooking the frozen lake, they looked like any other family out to celebrate the holiday. She glanced all around the narrow space and saw the sideboards filled with crystal glasses, colored punch bowls, and folded linen napkins.
Colin reached for her hand and whispered, “Let’s not spoil this time worrying. We’ll have to deal with all the stress eventually, but today we need to be happy, right?”
“Right.” She squeezed his fingers. “Look at Maisie and Charlie. They clean up so well. Thank you for letting Maisie bring her babydoll for lunch. She’s very proud of Princess.”
“I know. And thank you for pointing out how much she liked that one doll. I hadn’t been paying attention to her as Charlie had me over at the other end of the store at that time.”
“I watched her touching the doll’s hand as if it were made of spun glass. Her eyes were filled with adoration as she stared into the doll’s face so avidly. I could swear I heard her talking to the toy. Princess, with her embroidered cotton nightie decorated by satin ribbons and wearing that fancy pink crocheted sweater, bonnet, and booties wasn’t the sweetest of the bunch, yet Maisie didn’t seem to care.”
He nodded. “I wonder what made her choose that particular doll?”
“I knew why the toy hadn’t been bought when I held it up and saw the doll’s crooked leg. I even pointed out the defect to Maisie. But she didn’t care. In fact, she seemed to have already seen it. Maybe it was the flaw that made her care so much. Her expression lit up so bright, I had to back off. I wasn’t sure ifyou wanted to spend that much money on a toy, and I’d already blown most of my allowance on their clothes.”
“Of course I bought it for her. She deserves everything she wants.”
Jaq suddenly realized that Colin meant every word. The man was dotty over these kids, and it would take a level-headed person to calm his inclination to splurge on whatever their little hearts desired. Smiling, she reminded herself there were much worse problems to have. After spending so much time one-on-one with the man, she admitted that once he saw something clearly, he would always use common sense as his way forward.
The next few days passed in the same way with the court case approaching on the morning of the twenty-eighth. Cord had spent a fair amount of time preparing them all for the big day and the questions most probably asked by the judge.
He’d also arranged to have Ms. Lather and Nurse Dean appear on their behalf and hoped that would be enough to sway the judge in their favor. But he still seemed worried when they all met at the courthouse.
He approached Colin and Jaq, his expression morose. “The bailiff said Judge Gagnon is in a crappy mood today. Must be his arthritis acting up.”
“Just our luck. Hopefully, he’ll go home and give us someone else to hear our case.”
“No such luck. He’s getting ready.”
Hearing Jaq’s stressful groan, Colin held her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “We’ll deal with whatever happens, right? We’re together on this… you and me.”
“Absolutely.” Yet the sinking feeling of knowing this cranky man held their future in his hands made her feel numb with worry.
As soon as the doors to the courtroom opened, they all marched in, took their seats, and waited for Judge Gagnon toappear before the proceedings could start. After fifteen minutes or so, even the bailiff seemed uneasy and decided to go looking for the missing magistrate. Just as he headed behind the wall of curtains, a woman appeared instead.
When she heard the shock around her, Jaq swung in the direction to see what the fuss was all about.
