The Tales of a Future Hockey Wife

Chapter 53: Living Situation

~Ben~

"Merry Christmas, darling," I say as soon as Ella opens her eyes. I woke up two hours ago, to set-up everything Alexander and I planned. We cooked breakfast, pancakes and bacon, before going back to bed with a cup of coffee and the flowers we bought yesterday. My present is in the front pocket of my hoodie, trapped in a simple white envelope with her name on it. My mother was awful at wrapping presents when I was a kid, and she always told Megan and me that the important part wasn't the wrapping, it was what was inside. The three of us still apply this principle even if Eleanor showed my mom how to properly wrap a present. I know that when we enter her parents' house tonight, there will be tons of presents perfectly wrapped in colorful paper. They will have bows on top and a little card with the name of the giver and the receiver on it will be attached to each of them. Her house will look as if it was taken from a magazine, because it was. Every year, the housing magazine El's mother works for photographs the Martins' house to put it on the front page. Every cover is framed on the walls of her office. But, for now, all I have is flowers and an envelope.

"Merry Christmas, darling," she repeats as she sits up to kiss me. I bring the flowers that I had hid behind me in front of my face, and as she focuses on them, telling me how pretty they are, I take the envelope out of my pocket. "You shouldn't have Ben, really. We said no gifts," she scolds me, but the smile on her face tells me she's glad I didn't respect that stupid rule. Plus, I know she bought me something. When she came back from her shopping with her mother, I wanted to help her with her purse, but she grabbed it from my hands so quickly I barely had the chance to feel the material on the skin of my hands.

"You got me tickets to Hamlet? Ben, it must have cost you a fortune! When is it?" The beating in my chest finally slows down. I was pretty sure she would like the tickets, but there's always a part of me who worries if I should have chosen Romeo and Juliet instead.

"June twentieth."

"You're kidding, right?" I shake my head, my heart rate speeding up again.

"You do know that I'm due on the thirtieth, right?" Shit. I completely forgot to check that. I was way so happy when I found out the theater group came to Windsor that I just bought the tickets without really checking the date of the representation.

"Didn't the doctor say that first babies usually come late? I'm sorry, El. I really didn't think about that." I try to get out of the mess I'm in. She rubs her face with her hands before tugging on her hair.

"That doesn't mean ours will come late, Ben. It's a great gift, Ben, really. I just wish it was in like April or something." She adds a laugh to show me that she's not too mad at me. I still find myself really stupid, and I hate that I failed once again.

***

Just like I thought, Thomas and Stephanie Martin, well mostly Stephanie, really went all out with the Christmas decorations. I felt like I had stepped in the movie Deck the Halls the minute we drove on their street. It's beautiful, though, no one can disagree on that. White lights illuminate the entire façade of their house and a set of three trees made with wood planks mark the way the front door. Someone could have said that creating trees with old planks would have looked cheap, but those look sophisticated. Eleanor's mother painted different patterns on each plank with either blue or white paint and added lights all around them.

The enlightenment continues when we set foot inside. From the big illuminated tree in the living room to the long dinner table in the dining room, everything screams wealth. I know most of this stuff was either lent by Stephanie's workplace or rented at a shop in Vancouver, but to someone on the outside, the Martins appear as one of the most prosperous family in this neighborhood. We meet with William and his girlfriend in the living room. I spot various family members on both sides of the family. Another thing that I love about their family is that there are no sides, both Stephanie and Thomas' respective families get together to celebrate this occasion. In my family, we struggled to set the different party dates to allow everyone to see everyone they wanted to see. There was a party on my mother's side, one on my father's side, and one at my dad's brother since he doesn't speak to the rest of the family anymore. Family, for the Johnsons at least, has always been complicated while it always seemed so simple for the Martins. We shake multiple hands and kiss way too many cheeks as we receive the congratulations of everyone.