Henrietta grinned at our daughter, “How do you know?”
Tatiana pointed excitedly at the footprints made of flour, and then held up a cookie, saying, “Santa ate this! Santa!”
I chuckled at her excitement.
“Can I have the rest?” Tatiana asked.
Henrietta and I exchanged a look. We usually didn't’ allow sweets so early, but she was going to have a sugar buzz as soon as we got to Griffen Farms, so I shrugged.
Henrietta brushed back T’s hair and said, “Go ahead, baby.”
Grinning, Tatiana shoved the whole thing in her mouth, leaving crumbs and frosting falling down her chin.
“Oh my,” Hen said, looking horrified.
I chuckled as I shook my head. “She doesn’t do anything halfway, does she?”
“Not at all,” Hen agreed.
Tatianna picked up one of the presents, shaking it wildly. “Can I open it? Please, please, please?”
I looked at Hen to make sure. We hadn't exactly discussed a timeline for opening presents. But she nodded, so I said, “Go ahead, hon.”
Hen rubbed her back, saying, “We'll sit on the couch and watch you.”
While she sat down, I stood behind her, rubbing her shoulders while Tati tore through the first present. Then she tugged my hand, guiding me around the couch to sit by her. As soon as I sat down, she tugged my arm over her shoulders, and I smiled over at her.
Her dark eyes shone with happiness.
I could feel it too.
It was hard to believe that all those years ago, we had been newly in love, making decisions about how our relationship would affect our careers, our families. Now I had everything that had been too outlandish to hope for back then.
A beautiful wife who was the best mother to our child.
A daughter just as incredible as her mom.
A son on the way.
A home.
A life that was better than I could have ever imagined.
FARRAH & GAGE’S STROLL DOWN MEMORY LANE
1
GAGE
I had spentmost of my life being the responsible one, the driven one, because if my life was good or bad, I wanted it to be on me. It's who I am, and I liked being able to take care of myself and the people who mattered most to me. It was rare that someone surprised me.
Someone other than my wife.
We pulled up to Barry and Jenna’s place to drop off the kids. They were Christmas shopping with their grandparents while Farrah and I went on a date.
But when the kids got out of the car and inside their grandparents’ place, Farrah said, “I have a surprise for you.”
I looked over at her, intrigued. “A surprise?”
