new romantics - taylor swift and travis kelce

Sacred new beginnings

-Taylors Pov-

"Okay, we need bulbs for the tree. We need garlands, we need---" I go on a rant in the car about everything we need from the store. I've dragged Travis and Thea with me to go shopping for Christmas decorations. Since we are staying with Travis, I've taken it upon myself to decorate his house early. Apparently, he isn't big on decorating himself, even though he loves the look of it. he just never had the motivation to get it done. Thankfully for him, I'm all into that stuff.

"she is crazy. But we love her" Thea giggles and Travis joins her with a chuckle. "she is."

"she is sitting right here. and I'm not crazy. I'm passionate" I reach back to tickle her making her laugh. "be careful or the tickle monster comes to get you."

There is nothing better than a child's laughter. It lightens up any mood and can't help but put a smile on your own face. Thea's laughter is the addicting kind, I can't get enough of it. I often find myself trying to get that laugh out of her, just to soak up some more of the sound.

Travis parks at the mall and my security parks next to us. I can't go anywhere without them, taking that risk isn't worth it. sure it would be nice, but it's not the reality of my life. fighting it will only make me miserable. They are there for my safety, and for Theas.

Thea skips ahead of us while I hold hands with Travis. "Thea don't go too fast. Wait for us" I call after her when she gets a little too far ahead. I want to keep her close, even though Brian, one of my security guards, and a former Navy SEAL, is keeping up with her. I just feel more comfortable having her closer to me.

"But mommy, we don't have time. you're slowpokes" she giggles as she comes over and takes Travis's free hand. "I know we are slow. We are old."

Before we hit any stores, we stop at Starbucks to get something hot to hold while we walk around. It's cold outside, the snow is settling on the ground. I get a white chocolate mocha; Thea gets a hot chocolate and Travis gets a regular latte.

"if you're going to carry around a drink you need to be careful, be mindful," I tell Thea as I hand her the drink. "yes Mommy. I'm a good girl. I can do it."

The mall has already turned into a winter wonderland. It's a mix of winter theme and Christmas sprinkled into it. Christmas is my favorite holiday, so I'm all for it—the more the merrier.

"Mommy look at that dress. It's so pretty" Thea gasps and points through the glass to some kid's clothing shop. It's a red tulle dress with sparkles all over it. "it's pretty. But we aren't looking for clothes today. I'll remember it for another day" I tell her.

Part of me wants to cave and get her whatever she wishes for at any point in time. but I don't want her to be too spoiled either. She will never have to want for anything in her life, I know that and its security for her future, but I still want to have boundaries. Sure I could afford to buy the damn mall for her, but I won't. it's good to learn that you won't get everything you want all the time.

"Okay, mommy. Another time then maybe" she shrugs. She is such a good girl. She has always been good at taking not well, thankfully. I can tell Travis is itching to go buy it for her, but he won't undermine me. it would only confuse Thea if Travis said yes when I said no.

We step into Macy's and find the Christmas section. Travis doesn't really have much in terms of decorations, so we will need everything. We will need the bulbs for the Christmas tree we will put up at some point too. so we decided to just get everything today.

Travis heads to get a cart, we will definitely need one, and I start to pick out stuff. He comes back with the cart, and I put a red plaid blanket in the basket. "do I need more blankets too" he chuckles, and I poke my tongue out at him. "it will go with the aesthetic I'm going for."

**

We spent a few hours at the mall getting everything, and now we are back home and starting to put things up. I love getting the decorations up early in the month, so I get to enjoy the holiday spirit for longer. It's a shame to wait until closer to Christmas because you will only get a few days of the holiday joy out of your pretty decorations.

"when are we getting the tree Mommy?" Thea asks as she unwraps the Christmas stockings, we are hanging over the fireplace. "next week sweetie. It's a real one so that one we will have to wait a little to get so it doesn't die before Christmas."

She nods like that makes sense to her too.

"the hot chocolate train has arrived," Travis says and comes out with two mugs from the kitchen. It has whipped cream and chocolate sauce on top of it. he puts them on the living room table before going to get his.

"Mommy, Travis makes the best hot chocolate. Even better than yours" Thea announces and as she takes a sip a beard of cream is left on her top lip. "is it? hmmm. Maybe I need to learn from him then."

"where are we celebrating Christmas this year?" Thea asks. I talked with Travis about that last night, and we decided that we would be spending it together. Travis has a game Christmas day, so he wouldn't be able to come home with me. so my parents and Austin are coming to Kansas city to celebrate with us. The last few years my parents and Austin has flown to London and spent it with me there, but plans change when I don't live there anymore. It will be the first time Travis meets my mom and brother, but I'm sure it will go well. They have only heard good things about him. I only sing his praises, and Thea too. She can't shut up about him when we are on the phone with my mom. And I'm sure my dad has sung his praises to my mom after meeting him in Argentina as well. My mother is the hardest one to get on your side though, she has seen how broken I've been in the past and is really protective. Getting her approval is a big deal. But Travis doesn't need to worry, my mom can tell how much I love him.

"what do you think about staying here with Travis?" I ask her and her whole face lights up "Yes! I want that. please, mommy. Can we? Can we not go to London?"

It stings that she might have thought we would go back to London for Christmas because that's far from the truth. I won't go back there until I absolutely have to, that is for tour next year. The city doesn't hold sentiment for me anymore, it's just filled with gray skies and washed-out memories.

"I think that's a great idea. And how about your grandparents and uncle come here too? That would be fun right?" Travis says and Thea's smile grows brighter and brighter.

"and kitty. Grandma doesn't go anywhere without kitty" she announces, and I chuckle. My mom calls Kitty her cancer dog, as she got her when she first got diagnosed. I like to say it was a midlife crisis from when both her kids were out of the house, but she likes the cancer story better. My mom copes with her reality with humor, and I have to respect that.

My phone goes off on the other side of the room, so I go to pick it up. It might be important. I see my lawyer's name and furrow my eyebrow. Mr. Passman doesn't really call me unless it's serious that is. What's going on this time? I don't know how much more I can take of all of this.

"hi Mr., passman," I say when I pick up and wait for him to drop a bomb in my lap.

"hi miss swift. I'm sorry to call you about this, but Mr. Alwyn has sued you for custody of Thea in the state of New York" he says, and I can feel the color drain from my face.