Lily nodded. “I could see your mom itching to do it, but I told her that I needed you to be the first one other than me to feed her.”
Michael scrapped his chair on the floor to get closer to his wife. With her face cupped in his hands, he told her, “If you are serious about a night away, then let me arrange it.”
She nodded.
“I promise we’ll be close to home.” He kissed her on the lips.
“Just give me about a week to get Sirena used to bottles and someone else feeding her. Hopefully, after that, we’ll be good to go.”
“I can do that.”
“Don’t you want your breakfast,” Lily asked, knowing he was too distracted with wicked thoughts. “Michael, they’ll be cold.”
“I’ll enjoy them just the same.”
The rest of their breakfast was eaten in a comfortable silence, while they were both lost in their own thoughts about their night away.
A week before Christmas, and two days before her night away with Michael, Lily dashed around town to finish her shopping for the children. It wasn’t often that she had time to herself. She certainly had her hands full, and had since she met Michael. He was the love of her life and she’d be lost without him. Not a day went by without them telling each other what the other meant to them. Which was why she was happy that she asked him for a night away. It would just be the two of them with no one else to consider. She was nervous about leaving Sirena, but she knew that her youngest daughter, and the twins, would be in good hands with Michael’s mom.
If only she knew what to surprise Michael with on Christmas day. He was difficult to buy for and she always struggled. Michael had enough money to buy what he wanted, which was why it made it difficult for Lily to decide. One idea had been to have their children’s first initial engraved onto gold cufflinks. Michael loved to wear his shirts for the office, and he had a mixed-matched selection. She’d have to get a move on though if that was her choice. Everyone would be busy, and she guessed the jewelers would be as well.
As she walked through the Christmas market, she spotted an old bookstall at the end of the section that she currently walked down. But first, she couldn’t help stopping at the display of Christmas ornaments. She loved the old fashioned ones in red and gold. They’d look amazing on their Christmas tree in the living room. Every time she would sit and look at the tree, she would get tearful at all the Christmases she’d missed. She couldn’t imagine not having the family that she loved and cherished around her—it had been so long since she’d had a family that she felt so blessed to have one now.
Michael hadn’t just given her his heart when he married her; he’d also given her a large family, which was worth more than he could ever buy her. He knew that, but he loved spoiling his family, especially his wife.
Lily smiled and handed over the money for her few purchases, and, once she’d put them safely into her purse, she moved on to the bookstall. The man behind the counter sat reading from what looked to be an old book. He glanced up and smiled. “Are you looking for anything in particular?”
“I’m not really sure,” Lily said as she looked through his titles. “I think maybe a Christmas book. Something to keep that we could read to our children every Christmas Eve.” She glanced at the man and shrugged. “It needs to be something special.”
“Hmm. Well, let me look.” He stood and started to root through a box on the counter.
Lily moved over to watch him and smiled when she recognized some of the titles: Heidi, The Gingerbread Man, A Night Before Christmas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and, of course, there had to be, Christmas on Forty-Second Street. In the end, Lily chose an old edition of a Hans Christian Anderson book, The Little Match Girl, for when the children were older, and, for now, she chose, The Snowman by Raymond Briggs.
“I’d like these two, please.” Lily passed her selections over to the man and watched as he wrapped them in old Christmas paper.
“Here you go.” He passed them to Lily who exchanged her money for them.
“Thank you so much.” She smiled as she clutched her purchases closely. They were perfect and she planned on leaving them beneath the tree after the children bathed on Christmas Eve so Michael could read to them.
She had a feeling that her husband would be delighted with the tradition that she wanted to start. Christmas before her parents had died had been a huge affair and all the family knew to just show up, and they did. She hadn’t experienced a big family Christmas again, until she met Michael.
With thoughts of Michael whirling around in her head, she knew it was time to head home to her family.