“Gage? Sweetie? Are you okay? You’ve gone pale.” Rebecca felt his head and cheeks. “Let me see if I have some ginger ale. Maybe…” She went to open the bedroom door, but he stopped her.
“I’m fine, Mom. Really. I don’t need any ginger ale.”
“Then what’s the matter?”
“I love her,” he said, the words coming out naturally.
“Well of course you do. She’s wonderful!”
“No, I mean it. It’s barely been a month, but…she’s it for me.”
Her eyes narrowed. “And this is a problem…why?”
Right now, the list seemed endless and not something he wanted to discuss. Off in the distance, he heard one of the twins start to cry and when he focused on his mother, she looked like she might too.
“You know I love all my grandbabies,” she said with a weary smile. “But two eight-month-olds have been a lot to handle.”
Rather than argue with her, he simply hugged her. “You’re the best grandma and there are lots of extra hands here tonight and for the next few days to help out so you can maybe sneak out and check on…anything.” He kissed her forehead. “Go. Take an hour and maybe go watch a movie down in the theater or see if anyone’s playing cards down in the rec room.”
“I feel bad leaving…”
“And you’ll feel even worse staying. Trust me. Go.”
It took almost ten minutes to get her out the door and by the time she left, it wasn’t a secret. Sarah felt awful that the babies were being fussy, but with four adults still present, they took the divide and conquer approach to get them down for the night.
When things were quiet and the babies were asleep, Gage swore he’d never been more exhausted in his life. “How do you do that every night?” he asked his sister.
“Normally we have a good system down. This is just more difficult because they’re not sleeping in their own beds and their routine has been disrupted.” Frowning, she added, “It wouldn’t have been quite so big of a struggle and Mom wouldn’t have had to escape if we had gotten the guest suite instead of you.”
And yeah, he didn’t miss the snark or the hint of hostility.
“We didn’t ask for the guest suite,” he argued lightly. “It was sort of gifted to us after everything Hannah did to help with the decorations for the lobby and Christmas party. If you had asked…”
It looked like she was about to argue, but her husband gently cut her off. “I think we’re all just cranky because we’re stuck,” Dave said diplomatically. “It didn’t seem like a big deal when it was only going to be for two nights, but now with the snow…”
“Do you guys want to swap?” Hannah chimed in. “I mean…our stuff is everywhere because I’m a bit of a slob, but if you want to take the suite…”
Again, it looked like Sarah was going to comment, but Dave quickly jumped in. “Thanks, Hannah, but the kids are settled and we’ll be fine. It’s just been a long few days so…” He stood and looked down at his wife. “Why don’t we turn in early too? I’m sure tomorrow will be better.”
No one had to tell Gage twice that it was time to go. He and Hannah said their goodnights to them and let themselves out. At the elevator, he let out a long breath. “I get why you made the offer,” he said, glancing at her, “but I’m really glad they didn’t take us up on it. It would have taken way more energy than I currently have to make that happen.”
Hooking her arm through his, Hannah leaned in close, snuggling up to him. “I know, but I kind of got the feeling we should at least make the offer.”
The elevator doors opened and Gage was relieved to find themselves alone. “I just hope my mom is sitting someplace right now enjoying the quiet.”
“Me too.”
“I was going to suggest watching a movie when we get upstairs, but…I think I’d just like to read or something. I have a feeling I’m going to be asleep before I even comprehend any words, but…”
“You’re not going to get any arguments from me. Today was a lot considering there weren’t nearly as many people around. So the thought of a little peace and quiet sounds heavenly. I thought about taking a bath, but I’m afraid I’ll fall asleep in the tub.” As if on cue, she yawned. The elevator doors opened on their floor and they slowly made their way to the suite. Inside, they quietly moved around getting ready for bed and once they were both under the blankets–each with their tablets–Gage finally felt himself relax.
So many nights they’d climbed into bed and reached for each other, and every time they made love seemed better than the time before. But there was a deeper contentment to simply being able lie in bed together in companionable silence.
He thought about the conversation with his mother earlier and wondered if maybe he should take advantage of the moment and talk to Hannah about it–well, about his feelings, not his mother’s. But when he glanced over at her and saw how peaceful she looked and how much she seemed to be concentrating on whatever it was she was reading, he wasn’t so sure. After all, it was almost Christmas Eve and they were basically snowed in. Did he really want to do anything that would potentially make things awkward or make Hannah uncomfortable?
Ultimately, the answer to that was no.
But deep in his heart, Gage knew he couldn’t keep this sort of thing to himself for much longer. He just needed to get through Christmas Eve and Christmas Day because Hannah deserved to enjoy it.
As if sensing his stare, she turned her head and gave him a sleepy smile before returning her attention to her tablet.
This was good.
Right.
And in a few days, he’d tell her everything and hope that she felt the same way. The thought of it put a small smile on his face, and he was pretty sure he was still smiling when he fell asleep a few minutes later.
Chapter Ten
“I miss you too, Mom,” Hannah said on Christmas Eve.
“I hate to think of you at home by yourself in all that snow.”
Smiling, Hannah looked around at the suite she and Gage had been calling home for almost two weeks. All their silly, makeshift decorations looked adorable and more festive than she would have imagined. “I’m not alone. I’m spending it with friends, but it does feel weird not being with all of you.”
“Sadly, you’re not missing much,” her mother said wearily. “Ellen got called in for some emergency surgery and won’t be here tonight and Angela announced that she didn’t want our traditional Christmas Eve meal–or new pajamas–and felt since it’s just the three of us, we should just get some takeout. I’m telling you; it’s depressing.”
“Oh, Mom, I’m sorry. I had no idea!”
“Well, I didn’t want to say anything. You were so excited about your promotion that I didn’t want to bum you out with my tale of woe.” Then she sighed. “I never thought I’d be that mom who would lament over how she wished her kids would get married and have babies, but...I think that’s going to be my new thing. I don’t want another Christmas like this one. It’s awful.”