Then there was Kayleigh. She was small, like her mom, which made Rocket smile every time he looked at her. She had gorgeous thick hair, which was in a tangle on her head more often than not. Her blue eyes could sway him as easily as her mom’s too. Jayme accused him of spoiling her, but Rocket didn’t care. That was his job as a father.
But Kayleigh was no shrinking violet. She was as rough and tumble as her older brother. Surprisingly, it was Connor who loved to spend hours in the kitchen with his mom, learning how to chop, stir, and bake, while Kayleigh would rather spend her time out in the garage with her daddy, learning the names of the tools he used and getting oil all over her hands.
“Kids!” Rocket yelled. “Come here!”
His son and daughter came running toward him, leaping into his lap and fighting over which knee they sat on.
“Calm down and I’ll tell you a story,” Rocket told them.
“Tell us about your wedding!” Connor insisted.
Rocket sighed. “Are you sure? You’ve heard that one a million times,” Rocket said.
“Hush up and tell them,” Winnie retorted from her chair.
They’d moved Jayme’s grandmother in with them a year and a half ago. She hadn’t wanted to leave her pretty little house, but it was time. She’d been having a hard time taking care of herself and needed some help. And neither Rocket nor Jayme could bear to put her in a nursing home or assisted living center. So Memaw was spending the last years of her life in their home. Surrounded by the craziness that was a house with two little kids and two working adults.
“Right, so your mom and I got engaged on Christmas Day. I gave her the beautiful ring she still wears today, and we immediately went to get the proper paperwork so we could tie the knot as soon as possible.”
Connor and Kayleigh were enthralled, which amused Rocket, since they’d heard this story so many times before.
“When the big day came, we went down to the courthouse with your memaw. She wanted to walk your mom down the aisle, since she was the one who’d introduced me to her. When we got there, though, things were crazy. Apparently a lot of other couples had the same idea as us, and it was getting later and later. The courthouse was going to close, and we were afraid we wouldn’t be able to get married that day, which would’ve been a huge bummer because we’d been looking forward to it so much.
“Just when we didn’t think it was going to happen, our names were called. So the three of us got up and went into the room. But instead of a beautifully decorated room, as we’d envisioned, we were led to a cubicle. There was no aisle, but your memaw was determined. She grabbed your mom’s hand and pulled her away from me. She pushed me about three feet in front of them and ordered me to turn around.
“I was trying to keep my laughter to myself, but it was impossible. So I took a step away from your mom and Memaw lifted her chin and she and Jayme took one step toward me. Then Memaw put your mom’s hand in mine and said, ‘There. Done.’
“Both your mom and I were trying so hard not to laugh, but when the clerk started talking, it was impossible not to. He was going on about how ‘we were gathered here today’ when there was no ‘we.’ It was just us, your memaw, and two people peeking into the cubicle from the hall, who were the witnesses. And once we started giggling, we couldn’t stop. The clerk didn’t stop though, he kept talking over our giggles. By the time he got to the part where we were supposed to say our vows, all we could get out was, ‘I do.’ We couldn’t say the beautiful vows we’d practiced!”
Both Connor and Kayleigh were laughing by then, and Rocket saw Jayme standing in the kitchen looking over at them with a huge smile on her face.
“But you guys had a do-over!” Connor said confidently.
“We did. We were officially married that day, December twenty-ninth, but three months later we had a party, right here in our own backyard, and we got to say the vows we’d made up for each other, and Memaw got to walk your mom down a more proper aisle.”
“It was a big party!” Kayleigh piped in. “You invited all your friends from the Navy base and Mom made all the cookies!”
“That’s right. Nana and Papa were there, as well as Grams and Grandpa.”
Rocket loved that his kids wanted to hear the story about their parents’ wedding over and over. He shared a look with Jayme from across the room. Their wedding hadn’t turned out as they’d expected, but the story from that day never failed to make them smile, and as far as he was concerned, that was a gift.
“Dinner’s ready,” Jayme called out.
Connor and Kayleigh bounded from his lap and ran to the table. They all didn’t eat together every night, but did so as often as they could.
Rocket stood and helped Winnie to her feet. When he got her settled at the table, he went into the kitchen. He took a quick second to kiss his wife. “Thanks for dinner.”
He never took her for granted. She always did her best to get home at a reasonable time, never forgetting what he’d told her once upon a time, that he loved coming home to the smell of dinner cooking.
“You’re welcome,” Jayme said.
Then Rocket leaned down and nuzzled the side of her neck, never getting tired of his wife’s soft moans and how she always grabbed on to him as if she couldn’t help herself. “I’ll show you how appreciative I am tonight.”
Her swift intake of breath made him smile.
“Mom! I’m hungry!” Kayleigh exclaimed from the table.
“Your offspring is hungry,” Jayme said, as she reached for a plate she’d already made up and shoved it into Rocket’s hands.
Grinning, Rocket took it. But before he headed to the table to feed his monsters, he took the time to kiss Jayme’s forehead gently. They’d been married for over six years, and he loved her even more than he did when he’d first put his ring on her finger.
He didn’t know what was in store for the next six years, but he couldn’t wait to find out.
Twenty years later
“Merry Christmas,” Rocket told Jayme as he handed her a small box. This was their tradition, had been ever since that first Christmas together. They’d wake up Christmas morning and he’d give her a present.
“You spoil me,” she told him softly.
“Yup,” Rocket agreed.
He watched as she opened the long box and exclaimed in delight at the knife that was inside.
“You got me that knife set I wanted!” she exclaimed.
“Nope. Just one. Those things were expensive,” Rocket teased.
But Jayme shook her head and laughed. “Whatever. You wouldn’t get me just one knife. I know you.”
She did. Rocket kissed her. “The rest are downstairs waiting to be opened. And you should know, you’re the only woman I’d ever consider giving a set of wicked sharp knives to.”
Jayme chuckled. “Yeah, well, if I haven’t killed you yet, I think you’re safe.” She put the knife back in the box and snuggled into his side. “Remember when the kids were young and you’d have to set the alarm for like three in the morning so we could have our special moment without being interrupted?”
Rocket nodded. “Yeah. Our kids had a knack for waking up at the butt crack of dawn and pouncing on us.”