Page 25 of Reindeer in the Headlights
“What have you been up to?”
“Nesting,” Ambrose and I said in unison.
With the new extension and having to decorate our bedroom and the nursery, I’d been sitting up late staring at the laptop comparing swatches, furniture, and paint samples.
Iris opened the front door and yelled, “Surprise.” That one word was echoed by a chorus of voices inside.
Ambrose and I shared a glance. It wasn’t either of our birthdays, and the kittens’ guesstimated birthday was months away. As we strolled into the living room bedecked with blue and pink streamers, I got a hint as to what was happening.
There was a huge banner over the fireplace where the Christmas one had been, but this one read, “Baby Shower.”
Not that there were any rules about baby showers, but I kinda thought they were much later in the pregnancy. But Ambrose had mentioned his folks and uncles took a long spring/summer vacation and joined the wild reindeer herds migrating for the warmer months.
All the family was present, including Jeffrey and Cecil, the uncles, and Tilda, and I was enveloped in hugs. Tilda, whowas training to be a veterinarian, greeted the kittens, and they responded by snuggling into her. They’d spent a lot of time at her place during the day while Ambrose and Jeffrey were building the extension.
Rodney appeared with sparkling apple cider, which was just a fancy name for apple juice with bubbles. He made a toast, saying how excited they were to be grandparents, uncles, and a second cousin, and we were going to be amazing parents.
I sat in the most comfortable armchair, and Iris insisted I put my feet up on an ottoman.
“Before we start the games, we want to give you something.” Iris smiled and beckoned Rodney forward.
Games? We’d been coming here for afternoon tea.
My father-in-law strolled to the front of the group holding something that was covered in a blanket. I hoped it wasn’t another kitten because we’d have to build a second house extension.
He pulled off the blanket with a loud, “Ta-da.”
It took me a moment to focus on what he’d revealed. It was a carved wooden cradle, but this was no store-bought item because there were reindeer motifs on either side. A reindeer family of two adults and a fawn was featured on the headboard. I bent over and examined the details on the antlers and hooves and wiped away a tear and another one.
“This is so beautiful.” I turned to Ambrose, whose eyes were also glossy with tears. “Did you know about this?”
He shook his head as more tears rolled down his cheeks.
“It was a family effort,” Rodney told us. “Charles did most of the carving, but we all contributed.” He explained the design was a traditional one that had been passed down through the generations.
This wasn’t just a gift. Rather, it was history, and though I’d been welcomed into the family months ago, this signaled that both me, and our little one, belonged here and were part of the herd.
Ambrose took my hand, and we thanked everyone.
“Every baby in our family for the last hundred years has slept in a cradle like this,” Iris explained. “And your baby will too.”
I couldn’t keep the tears from falling, and the kittens rushed over to comfort me as my mate sat on the arm of the chair and hugged me. Tinsel and Mistletoe sniffed at it but decided it wasn’t as interesting as a ball of wool left on the sofa.
“Hormones,” I choked out.
“I think it’s love and family,” my mate whispered in my ear, which had me crying even more, and that set everyone else off. Tilda brought out a box of tissues, which the kittens attacked, and proceeded to decorate the room in shredded paper.
Rodney was the games master, and he had us guessing the baby food flavor, but they were all so bland and awful we named them “Terrible,” “Worse than the last one,” and “Something we wouldn’t feed to our pets.”
I vowed to make our own baby food, and the kittens turned their noses up when we gave them a taste.
Next, we decorated onesies with fabric markers, and mine looked like the kittens had done it, though Ambrose claimed tolove it. The last game was a diaper-changing race, which Charles won because he’d been practicing on his nieces and nephews.
Between games, we were presented with gifts, and they piled up around us. There were practical items such as diapers and diaper rash cream, but there was also a gift certificate for a night away at a lodge, the same one where the office Christmas party was held.
After the games, we enjoyed sandwiches, cupcakes, scones, and endless cups of tea. I was going to miss coming here in the months the family would be away, but Iris said they’d be cutting the vacation short to make sure they were here for the birth.
The kittens had depleted their energy supply and bounded onto the couch for a nap. I wished I could curl up too, and when I tried to hide a yawn, Ambrose caught me and suggested it was time to leave.
