House Divided (25 page)

Well, after all that, I kept waiting for
Brady to propose properly, but he didn’t. Sure, he still wanted to get married,
he was pushing me to set a date, but call me old fashioned, I was waiting for a
ring and for him to ask me. He didn’t even need to get down on one knee. Heck,
I would even forgo the ring. I just wanted him to say the words, “Ellie, will
you marry me?” I kept hinting that he should ask, but he wasn’t getting it.
Maybe I shouldn’t have bought him bedroom furniture. I guess nothing says we’re
getting married like buying a bed you plan to sleep in together. Oh well.

No matter, my aunt had me looking at
bridal magazines and Pinterest boards during the day while Brady wasn’t around.
She, too, felt like he should ask properly, so we didn’t do any planning in
front of him. I can say, though, that she seemed very happy to be planning a
wedding. She thought we should get married in the spring and have the reception
in her gardens. I liked the sound of that, but I didn’t know if Brady would
want to wait that long. I don’t think men knew how long it takes to plan a
wedding, or at least the kind of wedding my aunt was envisioning.

While I wasn’t planning my wedding to my
unofficial fiancé, I was worrying about Christmas Eve. My aunt wasn’t pleased I
would be spending that evening at the Jackson’s, but we promised her all of
Christmas day. I knew it was hard, but this was the reality of melding two
families together. Of course, this wasn’t a normal melding. This particular
union had lots of extenuating circumstances. We were all just going to have to
learn to at least grin and bear it. I had to say, my aunt was really trying with
Brady. I think she had just been waiting for him to man up, for lack of a
better term. I think she respected him for being forthright. Now if she could
just get the man to propose.

I also made my way back to the shopping
center with Kendra to purchase gifts for Brady’s family. Apparently they opened
gifts on Christmas Eve. I couldn’t believe I was buying gifts for people that
hated my very existence, but I was grinning and bearing it. I was never going
to let them say that I hadn’t tried. At least Kendra and I had a great time
together. I was glad she came with the package, and of course Benjamin and
Caroline.

Christmas Eve dawned cloudy and rainy. It
rains in the south in the winter, and sometimes a lot. This was one of those
days. I woke up with mixed emotions. On one hand, I was so happy that I was
finally getting my Christmas with Brady, but on the other, I just wished we
didn’t have to share it with his whole family. Oh, well.
Grin and bear it
,
I thought. It was a few hours of my life, I could deal with it. I didn’t know
if it was the weather or my misgivings about some of his family, but I just had
this unsettled feeling as the day progressed. I tried to shake it off. I even
spent an hour at the piano playing Christmas music to my heart’s content, but
unfortunately it didn’t act as the antidote to my ill feelings. My aunt didn’t
help either. She was still making it known how unhappy she was about where I
would be. I never told her who had invited me.

As evening approached, I went upstairs to
change. I dressed more conservatively this time. I chose a plaid pencil skirt
and black tight sweater, with black high-heeled boots. I let my hair down and
put loose curls in it. The whole time I was getting ready, I kept feeling like
maybe I shouldn’t go. I worried about my aunt being by herself. I knew it was
just for a few hours, but I hadn’t left her alone yet. Of course she brushed
off that concern, but I also just hated thinking about her alone on Christmas
Eve, period. Normally we would be somewhere sunny and warm and drinking virgin
margaritas.

When Brady showed up, he looked so happy,
I knew I couldn’t disappoint him. My aunt stayed in her room. She wouldn’t even
come out and see Brady. It was her way of saying she wasn’t happy about where
he was taking me. I kept thinking we would make up for it tomorrow.

Brady walked me out to the truck first,
with the umbrella protecting me, then he went back in for the bags of gifts.

“Merry Christmas, darlin’,” he said once
he was settled by my side in the truck.

“Merry Christmas, Brady.”

He tugged on my hair. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know. I don’t like leaving my
aunt, and I’m nervous about going to your parents’.”

He took my face in his hands. “Ellie, your
aunt will be just fine, and there’s nothing to be nervous about, in fact I
promise this will be a night we’ll always remember. Our first Christmas Eve
together.”

“Yeah, it’ll be great.”

He still looked concerned, and I still
felt concerned, but he kissed me once before we took off. The weather was
horrible. The rain was coming down in sheets, and at times it was hard to see.
Brady had to concentrate on the road, so we didn’t talk much on the way over. I
just tried to relax. Breathe in, breathe out. It took a little longer than
normal, but we made it safely to the lit up Jackson mansion. I really didn’t
want to go in.

Brady looked over to me. “I think I failed
to mention how beautiful you look tonight.”

“Thanks, Brady.”

“Darlin’, I can’t have you unhappy on
Christmas.”

“I’m not unhappy.”

He raised his eyebrow at me.

“I’m happy we’re together.” I said in
response to his scrutiny.

He leaned toward me so our foreheads met
and he placed his hands behind my head. “Ellie, I love you and I promise I
won’t leave your side tonight. I already warned my momma that if she even looks
at you the wrong way, we’re leaving. And my daddy has told everyone that he
expects you to be treated with kindness and respect.”

“I love you, Brady.”

He kissed me hard, but briefly. He gave me
that country boy smile. “Let’s go, girl.”

I let him lead me out into the protection
of his large umbrella. We hurriedly ran to the cover of the porch. I waited
there while Brady went and retrieved our bags. There was no way I was going in
without him. As I watched him come toward me, I couldn’t help but admire him.
He was the whole package. Kind, loving, considerate, gentlemanly, handsome,
smart … the list could go on and on. I smiled as he approached. He set his
umbrella and the bags down and pulled me to him.

“There’s the smile I’ve been waiting for.”

He kissed me and, in the midst of our
kiss, the door opened. It was Caroline.

“They’re here and they’re kissing,” she
yelled.

We both laughed. Brady let me go, and I
walked in and picked up Caroline. “Merry Christmas, sugar.”

She squeezed my cheeks. “I’m so excited.”

“You are?”

“Yes, silly, Santa’s coming tonight!”

“That
is
very exciting.”

“I hope he brings me a puppy.”

I smiled at her, but I was pretty sure she
wasn’t getting a puppy. I hoped she wasn’t going to be too disappointed.

I let her down so Brady could have his
turn hugging her. We all walked back to the family room and set out the gifts
we had brought. I had never seen so many gifts in my life. It was just me and
Aunt Lu growing up, and though she always bought me very nice gifts, she never
went crazy. Aunt Lu was more about quality than quantity, but this was fun too.

Caroline led us to the dining room where
everyone was already gathered. It looked the same as the last time I was here,
but it felt warmer as it was much more populated. When we walked in, everyone
hushed and turned our way. Caroline broke the ice. “I found them. They were
kissing on the porch.” She had to make sure that bit of information was known.

She got a few laughs. I think some of them
weren’t sure if they should. Like it would mean they were giving their approval
of me and I was sure some of them weren’t ready for that yet.

No matter, Brady kissed me quickly on the
lips. “Guilty as charged.”

“How touching, now get in here so we can
eat,” Benjamin said.

There were a few more laughs. I snuck a
glance at his momma, she sat where she had last time. I could tell she was
having difficulties remaining emotionless. I even noticed Beau squeeze her
hand. I just hoped she could keep it together for the night. I didn’t need her
kind of crazy on Christmas, or ever. Thankfully Brady and I had chairs together
near his daddy and across from Benjamin and Kendra. It was like we were divided
into separate camps. I think there was some neutral territory in the middle
with the teenage kids. From what Kendra and Brady had told me, they were
leaning toward liking me; I guess they thought it was pretty cool that I was a
little famous, and the girls approved of my fashion sense. I could work with
it.

Dinner was already on the table, and it
smelled delicious. There was prime rib, herb roasted potatoes, rolls, salads, and
fruit trays; it all looked wonderful. Brady placed me next to his daddy’s side.
I didn’t even bother looking at his momma, I knew that wasn’t going to win me
any points with her. Once we sat down, Isaac blessed the food. I could tell he
was having a hard time catching his breath. He didn’t sound good at all, but it
was a sweet prayer. He thanked God for his children and grandchildren and for new
additions to his family. Brady reached over and gently touched me when his
daddy said that. I was touched, but confused. All my life I thought this man
hated me, and to be honest, I harbored very ill feelings for him. Not only had
he kept me away from Brady, but he had hurt my aunt, yet I found myself wanting
to like him and get to know him. I mean, he was going to be my father-in-law
after all. I had always wondered what it would be like to have a father, but I
felt guilty about it, like I was betraying my Aunt Lu by having such feelings
about Isaac Jackson.

When the blessing was over, Isaac looked
over his family as they began to fill their plates. Then he looked at me and
touched my hand where it lay on the table. “Thank you for coming tonight,” he
said.

I just smiled. “Merry Christmas.”

“I think it will be,” he replied.

I tried to relax enough to eat. Kendra
teasingly asked if I wanted any apple slices off the fruit tray. We both
laughed at our inside joke. Benjamin and Brady obviously didn’t get it, and we
weren’t explaining, at least not there.

The first time I came here, I hated eating
at such a large table, but tonight I liked it. I was really too far away to
converse politely with the older brothers, the beauty queens and the wicked
witch, but I noticed they looked my way quite a bit. The beauty queens had aged
well, as had Brady’s brothers. Beau and Booker looked more like their momma.
They had been blonde like her. The beauty queens were definitely dying their
hair, which I had nothing against. I could see myself doing it when I got older
too. I just hoped they would at least give me a chance.

We made it through dinner and dessert with
no incidents. Brady and I kept smiling at each other; we were both relieved. I
was beginning to think that maybe I had worried for nothing.

As the meal ended, there were calls for
Isaac to play the piano. I guess it was one of their traditions. My aunt and I
used to play the piano, too, for Christmas, so this was nice for me. He
struggled to get up and to make his way over with his cane. It was painful to
watch him, but no one helped. I had the feeling no one was supposed to, that it
would be unwelcome for Isaac. I wondered if he would be able to play; it looked
like the walk had taken all of his energy, but then he started a beautiful
medley of favorite Christmas carols from ‘Silent Night’ to ‘The First Noel.’ I
wasn’t sure who had done the arrangement, but it was beautiful, and Isaac
played it from memory.

During the song, I kept looking over at
Brady, as we were now turned toward the piano. I could tell he loved his daddy
and admired him, but I could see the worry in his eyes as he watched him. I was
worried about him too. When he finished playing, everyone clapped. Isaac then
asked me to join him. I wasn’t expecting that at all. I don’t think anyone was,
well except Brady. The way he looked at me made me think this was planned.

“Go on, darlin’,” Brady said.

I was also given encouragement by my
favorite five-year-old. She was excitedly telling them how I had helped her
play ‘Jingle Bells’.

I walked over slowly to the piano and sat
down on the bench next to Isaac. I admit I was shaking a little as I looked out
across his family. His momma’s looks made me tremble even more. This was close
to the last straw for her. It wasn’t going to take much more for her to blow.
The beauty queens looked like they were daring me to impress them. So, through
my nerves, I did. I played and sang ‘O Holy Night’ as requested by Mr. Jackson.

No one but Caroline clapped, but I knew by
their looks they were impressed, and maybe even stunned. I only really cared
about one person anyway, and he was walking toward me with the smile I loved
the most. When he reached me, he bent down and kissed me softly.” Daddy will
you please hand me the gift next to you.”

I hadn’t noticed it before, but his daddy
eagerly reached down and handed the prettily wrapped box to his son.