Harbor Street (Cedar Cove #5)(49)

Maryellen took the ring from its plush bed and slid it onto her finger. It was a perfect fit. She smiled up at him, then kissed him sweetly and whispered how much she loved him. Holding her hand out to admire the ring, she saw the diamond glittering in the light. “I really do love it. But not as much as I love you.”

“I’m glad.”

“Your turn,” she insisted and pulled the box out from behind the tree. A large paper package tumbled out with it.

“Who’s that from?” Jon muttered.

He must have guessed, but still he asked. Maryellen sighed; she didn’t want anything to ruin this Christmas. “It came last week from Oregon,” she finally said.

The package had arrived at the gallery, addressed to the three of them, DON’T OPEN UNTIL CHRISTMAS written in big block letters across the top. Without a word to Jon, Maryellen had brought it home and hidden it behind the tree.

“Open your gift,” she said, hoping to distract him.

“When did that get here?” he asked in a disgusted voice.

“Last week.”

“You didn’t mention it.”

Maryellen sank into the chair. “Jon, please, don’t. Katie is their only grandchild. They love her and want to be part of her life. You’ve made your feelings abundantly clear, but your daughter deserves to know her grandparents.”

He seemed about to argue, but after a moment his shoulders sagged and he nodded.

“Now open your gift,” she said, pushing the package toward him. It wasn’t heavy, but she wanted to give him the impression that it was.

Jon eagerly ripped away the paper, and when he saw the camera box, he froze. Slowly he looked up, his eyes wide with shock. “You didn’t.”

“Yes, I did,” she announced gleefully.

“We can’t afford this.”

“I used my bonus.”

“Maryellen, that money is for you to buy yourself something you want.”

“I did. There’s nothing I wanted more in this world than to give my husband the digital camera he’s been salivating over for the last six months.”

Jon walked to where she sat and knelt down in front of her. Taking her face between his hands, he kissed her. “Thank you.”

Maryellen placed her arms around his neck. “This is the best Christmas of my life,” she said and meant it. She had Jon and Katie, and another life was growing inside her, evidence of the love she and her husband shared.

Katie woke then, and dropping a last kiss on Maryellen’s cheek, Jon ran upstairs to get his daughter. While he was busy with Katie, Maryellen poured the little girl her morning cup of orange juice.

Opening gifts with their daughter was a pleasure like no other. Katie wanted to play with each toy and examine each gift and—like every young child—was equally fascinated with the wrapping paper. Not surprisingly, the process took several hours. It was two in the afternoon and the turkey was in the oven before they reached the last gift—the box mailed from Oregon.

Katie wasn’t sure about this package without festive paper, so Maryellen helped her. Jon stood in the kitchen and watched, as if to stay as far away as possible from the gift his family had sent.

When she’d carefully removed the outer packaging, Maryellen discovered three wrapped presents inside: one for Katie, another for her and the last for Jon. She sat back on her heels and glanced up at her husband.

“What?” he asked.

She didn’t answer right away. “Here, Katie,” she said and handed her daughter the gift. It turned out to be a hand-crocheted white dress with a pink satin bow and it was breathtakingly beautiful. Maryellen could only imagine the time and effort that had gone into creating it.

Katie, being far more interested in her toys, quickly returned to the wooden puzzle Jon and Maryellen had purchased for her. She seemed intent on getting all the pieces back into their proper slots.

“I’ll open mine,” Maryellen said. Her gift was homemade, too—a knit poncho in a soft beige wool. “Oh, Jon, look what Ellen made for me.”

He didn’t comment. When Maryellen tried it on and modeled it for him, he nodded once, then moved away. Apparently something in the kitchen demanded his immediate attention.

Maryellen left his gift sitting on the coffee table. She wouldn’t urge him to open it. That was his choice. The gift sat there through dinner, and it was only as she was readying for bed that she noticed Jon hadn’t come upstairs yet. Katie was asleep and Maryellen had to work in the morning.

Looking down the stairway, she saw her husband sitting on the sofa, staring at the gift. After a while he seized the large package with its red-and-green wrap and tore it open. This was a step forward. So far, every gesture made by his family had been met with brutal rejection. Recognizing the significance of the moment, Maryellen covered her mouth. She didn’t wait to see what Jon’s parents had chosen for him. Afraid of giving herself away, she went quietly to bed and waited for him to join her.

A long time passed before he did. She’d turned off the light and was lying on her side, half-asleep, when Jon climbed into the bed. He moved close to her and draped his arm over her waist, flattening his hand against her stomach.

Maryellen rested her hand on his.

“You awake?” he whispered.

She sighed sleepily in response. Because he was so still, she asked, “Are you all right?”