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“An excellent job. Your mommy is very talented.”
Morgan hands me a bottle of wine while Callum balances a glazed ham looking oh so mouth-watering on a silver platter. “Thank you. Please come in.”
Jessa lets go as Noah enters the room. She jumps into his arms, kissing his face. “Daddy, is baby Nash here? I want to show Mommy.”
“He’s sleeping, Jessa. But he’ll wake up soon.”
Olivia enters the foyer. Noah turns to me, apprehensive, but I give him a reassuring glance reminding him not to react. It’s the first time Morgan and Olivia have officially met.
“Morgan, this is Olivia, Nash’s mother,” Noah introduces, politely.
Morgan’s stare falls blank as does her silence. Callum extends his hand, introducing himself before Morgan smiles and shakes her hand
as well.
Jessa comes bouncing down the stairs, disappearing during our awkward exchange.
“Nash is awake, Olivia! Can we please show my mommy?”
Noah offers to get him as I settle Morgan and Callum in the dining room with everyone else. Moments later, a happy little boy is sitting in Noah’s arms.
“Hey, Nash, you want to meet your sister’s mommy?”
He brings him closer to Morgan, and I give Olivia a reassuring smile. Through our open conversations, Olivia has always felt to blame for Noah’s and Morgan’s marriage ending. She never admitted that to Noah, but between us girls, I know the truth. I reassured her several times that their marriage had cracks well before Olivia, and that it didn’t matter since a beautiful little boy came into this world, making it a much better place.
“He’s beautiful, Noah.” Morgan touches baby Nash’s face with a soft glance.
“Hold him, Mommy!”
Morgan is resistant, but to please Jessa, she takes Nash from Noah’s arms.
“Hello, little boy,” she coos as Nash smiles infectiously.
She hands him back to Noah as Jessa demands Morgan see the Christmas tree and all the presents.
“The house is beautiful, Kate,” Morgan praises while taking a glass of wine from Callum. “You’ve really done a lot since I last came here.”
“It’s been exhausting with work and the holidays, but it’s slowly coming together.”
“You have an eye for designing. I remember when we first bought our house, I couldn’t even think about paint colors. I ended up calling Scarlett’s interior designer to do it all.”
Noah keeps his smile fixed. When it comes to Morgan, Noah’s temper flares out of control at the drop of a hat. I’ve seen it on several occasions, and to be honest, they are just as bad as each other. I suspect the memory she so fondly shares isn’t pleasant for him, hence his silence.
We gather around the table, all taking a seat as Noah suggests we say grace.
“Thank you for our family, for our blessings, our triumphs, and our health.”
He opens his eyes and looks around until his eyes land on me. “They say it takes a village to raise a child, so thank you, Lord, for connecting our family and bringing us all here tonight.”
“Amen,” we all say in unison.
***
Our night is filled with children’s laughter, the sound of Christmas carols, and the drinking of eggnog plus wine. The food tastes divine if I say so myself, and I don’t think anyone will disagree since everyone helps themselves to seconds.
Gifts are exchanged, and scraps of wrapping paper are strewn around the tree as the kids open their presents in a mad rush.
As the evening wears on, Olivia calls it a night but has the difficult task of leaving Nash with us since she has a shift commencing at dawn.
