Three little gifts

(By Deyse)

The doorbell rang at Roma’s house and before the maid could come to open it, it was little Reilly who came down the stairs and quickly ran over to the door, opening it a second later, "Uncle Johnny!"

"Hey little one!" he immediately gathered her in his arms.

"I missed you!" she wrapped her little arms around his neck in a tight hug. Smiling, he returned her embrace and gently ruffled her hair, "I missed you too, sweetie!"

"Why don’t you stay here forever and ever?"

"Well, because I have to marry your mom first!" he replied, chuckling as she rolled her eyes impatiently.

"You two are taking too long! And there’s even a baby coming! Don’t you love her?"

"Oh yes, I do, honey. I love her very, very much, with all my heart!"

"That’s a conversation I loved to overhear!"

Both he and Reilly turned their heads and saw Roma climbing down the stairs. A lot had happened in the last two months to the couple and the little girl, but one thing nobody could deny: there was a spark of happiness in their eyes. Roma had found out about her pregnancy, John had proposed her some time after that and now Reilly was eagerly waiting for her mom and the one who had been practically a father to her since the day she was born to finally get married and become a real family.

The actress walked over to them and kissed her daughter’s cheek and John’s lips.

"Uncle Johnny is in love with you, mommy!"

Smiling, the actress wrapped her arm around his waist, "Well, I’m in love with him too, so we have a tie here!"

"So, you guys will marry, right? You didn’t change your mind..."

"Of course not, sweetie! your uncle Johnny is ours now! Forever!" Roma joked, squeezing her hold on him.

Laughing, he kissed the top of their heads and nodded. "I sure am! Forever and ever, I promise! And I got something for you..."

"You mean like a present?" Reilly’s eyes grew wide with his words and she looked at the bag he was carrying with him.

"Yes! In fact, there are 3 presents, for the 3 of you!"

Roma and Reilly exchanged a look of curiosity and John made them sit on the couch. Then, he searched inside the bag and took 2 small square boxes and gave them to Roma and Reilly.

"John, you already gave us so much!" the Irish actress said.

"These are nothing compared to the happiness you two give me everyday!" he replied, and Roma wasted no time in wrapping her arms around his neck in a tight hug, and then placing another kiss on his lips, "I love you so much!"

"I love you too, honey!" he spoke.

"Mom, look!" Reilly intervened, as, being such a curious little girl, she was quick to unpack her present and see what was inside, and now she was holding a sterling silver bracelet with a heart pendant linked to it. And the pendant had the letter "R" engraved on it.

"John!" Roma was even more surprised, "It’s beautiful! But..."

"C’mon, mommy, open yours too!" Reilly interrupted, immediately trying to put it around her arm.

"That’s why I love this little one!" The blond actor joked, as he reached out to put the silver chain around Reilly’s wrist. Smiling, but still shaking her head, Roma opened her box and found another bracelet, equal to the one he had given to her daughter.

Happy to be now wearing hers, Reilly urged her mom to do the same, "C’mon, put it too, mom!"

The actress did as her daughter said with John’s help, and now he smiled pleased that now his two girls were now wearing the gifts he had bought them.

"I love it... Thank you so much, Johnny..." Roma spoke, looking at him with all the love in her heart evident in the spark of her eyes.

He took both her hands and kissed them, "That’s for you to remember that my heart is now yours too; it belongs to you both..." then, he took at Reilly’s tiny hand into both of his, "And I’ll be eternally grateful to you, my little one!"

"To me? Why?"

"Because you’re one of the greatest responsible for your mom and me to get together!"

"I am?" she said, smiling proudly.

"Yes. When your mom was expecting you, they needed another actor to work in the show, so that she didn’t have to appear in all scenes... and then they chose me. It was because of you that I started to work in the show, and then met your mom. And you’ve always played a very important part in my life sweetie!"

Happy to hear those words, the little girl wrapped her tiny arms around his neck in a tight embrace, while Roma wiped away a sudden tear that fell from her eye.

"I love you too, uncle Johnny!"

When they pulled away, he took Roma’s hand, "And you, honey... well, you know you’ve had my heart since from the first moment we’ve met..."

Giggling and shedding more tears, she was the one to hold him tight this time. When they pulled away, John looked for another small box inside the bag and placed it on Reilly’s tiny hand, "And sweetie... I have another present here, for another person, and I want you to keep it with you; can you do it?"

"Sure, but... what’s inside?"

"Another bracelet, like yours and your mom’s. I’d like you to give it to your little brother or sister when he or she is born. It’ll be the first present he or she receives. Would you like to do it?"

"Yes!" she agreed, pleased to receive such an important assignment.

"Thank you!" he said, with a wink. Trying to control herself not to cry even more, Roma turned to her daughter. "Honey, it’s time for you to get ready for school..."

"Oh mom... can’t I stay home today? Let’s make a party for Uncle Johnny!!!"

"Honey, I’m sorry, but you have to go..."

Watching as Reilly’s meek face fell, John had a rather effective idea, "Why don’t we do the following: after you come back from school, you, your mom and I will go to the movies? It’s Friday and you won’t have classes tomorrow anyway!"

"Hum... Can’t you guys get married on the way? So that when we come back you don’t have to leave anymore, uncle Johnny! And tomorrow is Saturday; you won’t work!"

Laughing, Roma hugged her daughter tightly, "Honey, getting married isn’t that simple, you know, and there are many people who we’d like to invite! Your aunt Della, your uncle Joseph, Johnny’s parents and brothers... oh my lots of people! We can’t just get married all of a sudden, in a secret!"

"You guys are doing everything wrong!" Reilly shook her head in disapproval.

"Well... and according to you, young lady, what’s exactly the right thing to do?" John asked, finding the little girl’s slight annoyance quite funny.

"I’m grown up already and I know that when you get married you have a baby, but you two are so slow that now even my little brother is tired of waiting!"

Hearing that, Roma and John looked at each other trying hard not to laugh at the little girl’s conclusions. And she kept on talking, "So if he is born and you’re still living in separate houses, how are you supposed to take care of him? He’s gonna be really sad, like me! So, you better move and marry soon!"

"Well... that’s good to know, sweetheart..." her mother spoke.

"And I think your suggestions are really good ones... we’ll think about them, I promise..." Seeing Reilly rolling her eyes for the second time, John kept on talking, "... and did you just say ‘brother’?"

"Yes, it’s my little brother here!" she pointed at her mom’s belly, "And soon he’s born and you’re still waiting to get married!" she concluded, and headed upstairs to finish to get ready for school slightly upset.

Chuckling, John sat right beside his beloved girlfriend and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, "I love our little one’s fascinating theory about how you got pregnant, sweetie!" he joked, kissing her cheek.

The Irish actress smiled and rested her head on his shoulder, "Our wee one is very smart..."

"Yes, so smart that now I guess we don’t even need an ultrasound to find out about the baby’s sex!"

"Well... though she’s very clever, I’m afraid Reilly’s observations may be a wee bit inaccurate sometimes, you know... So I’ll have the ultrasound just to confirm her predictions..." she looked deep inside his green eyes, "What would you like it to be?"

John’s smile became twice larger and he placed his hand over her (practically unexistent) 3-month belly and stroked it tenderly, "You’re kidding me! It doesn’t matter, Roma! Having you carrying my child is... God, it’s more than I could ever ask for! You, Reilly and this little baby are the most precious gifts I could ever receive and, right now, I cannot ask anything... just thank..."

The true and deepest love evident on his face was such that she couldn’t avoid shedding one more tear. They inched their faces closer and shared a long, loving kiss. Roma felt one of his arms tightening the embrace around her, while his hand kept on stroking her belly.

"I love you so much..." the blond actor whispered, contemplating her beautiful face when they finally pulled away. With a slight smile upon her face, Roma looked away from him for a few seconds; which caused him to frown with concern. "Roma? What is it?"

She sighed deeply, a little reluctant, "Well... I’ve just receive a call this morning..."

"And?"

Roma finally raised her head and faced him again, "The documents are ready, John... they said we can get married as soon as we want..."

"What?! Really?! Are you serious?" now his happiness was such that he felt like jumping of joy.

"Yes..." she replied, in a low voice. John ran his fingers through his blond hair, hardly believing his dream would soon come true, "Roma this is just... I don’t even know what to say! I can’t believe it was..." he stopped speaking at the moment he noticed the expression on her face, "Roma? What is it?"

Once again, she lowered her eyes, "Nothing... it’s just..."

But the Irish actress didn’t complete her sentence, which caused him to replace his happiness for a sudden sensation of worry. He gently cupped her chin up so that their eyes could meet and was twice scared when he saw some tears forming in the corner of her eyes.

"Roma, sweetie, what’s the matter? Is there something wrong? Are you..." then, he made a brief pause and swallowed hard; loathing his latest thought, "... you still want to go on with this, don’t you?"

Her tears rolled down her cheeks and she started to cry, "I’m sorry, John... I made you worry.... but... it’s just... I was afraid that maybe you wouldn’t want to go on with the marriage now that it’s all settled, that you would want to wait more or even... leave things the way they are... And yes... Yes, I do! I want to spend the rest of my life with you..."

Sighing with a mix of relief and surprise, he gathered the crying actress in his arms and rocked her as if she was a little girl, "Roma... sweetie... I... I was so afraid... For a minute I thought that it was you who wanted to give up!"

"I’m sorry..." her pleading voice nearly broke his heart, "I’m such a fool!"

Now John couldn’t help but chuckling, "Yes, you’re the prettiest, sweetest and most charming fool I’ve ever met in my whole life!" he brushed some tears away from her face with gentle fingers and looked deep inside her eyes, "And I’m madly, hopelessly in love with you... And dying to get married and be able to say you’re mine forever!"

"But I’m already yours!" she replied, with a crying voice, and still with a very serious and guilty expression on her face; and her crying only made him smile even more.

"Well, I had my suspicions but it’s good to hear it from you!" John spoke, placing a tiny kiss on her lips.

"I guess my hormones are kind of affecting my brain activity, you know..." she said, sniffling and with her face completely red.

Still with an amused expression on his face, he put some strands of hair behind her ears, "Yes, it may be... but you’re still adorable!"

Roma stared at him slightly upset, "... and this is not funny!"

She was even more irritated when he started to laugh; but, before she could complain again, he gathered her in his arms and placed lots of kisses on her face and lips. "You know you look amazingly pretty when you get mad at me?"

"I wonder if you’ll think the same when I’m all big and swollen!"

"God... I can hardly wait for that!" he exclaimed, contemplating her beautiful features, "Have you forgotten that you were like this when I first met you and, consequently, when I started loving you?"

She looked at him questioningly, "Are you serious?"

"I am, honey..." all his sincerity and true love was evident on his face, and the Irish actress relaxed a little. "Do you think we could set the date now?" he started to stroke her hair.

Roma nodded and, finally, a tiny smile appeared on her face, "Yes..."

"Ok... what about... today, as Reilly suggested?"

Now her smile became wider, "John..."

"What? I like our little one’s idea, and, as you said, she’s a smart little girl, we’d better follow her advises!"

"And what about our guests? And who will marry us?"

Pretending to be a little impatient, he sighed deeply, "Ok, ok... What about tomorrow?"

"No! We can’t! Della is travelling and Joseph is in the other side of the ocean!"

He gave her a totally mock threatening look, "You know what, Ms Downey? I’ll kidnap you and put an end to this controversy!"

Now she finally let out a giggle, which sounded like music to his ears, "Sorry to disappoint you, ‘Mr Kidnapper’, but I’d be so sick and with my hormones so messed up during the trip that you wouldn’t bear to carry me along for so long!"

"To be with you I’d do anything, honey..." he kissed her lips tenderly and slowly, gently caressing the soft skin on her face, "How long do you think I should wait to become ‘Mr Downey’ then?"

Smiling, she reached out and stroked his cheek, "What about 3 weeks? I don’t want to wait either but we need to send the invitations and I need to have my dress finished and everything for the ceremony set..."

"I’d say it’s perfect but as I’ll have 3 whole weeks more to wait, then I’ll say it’s ok with me, honey!"

"Mom! Uncle Johnny! I’m ready!" Reilly shouted, climbing down the stairs wearing her school uniform, which Julie had helped her to dress, and of course, her new bracelet, which probably she would refuse to take off. Roma reached for her hand and made her sit between her and John. "Honey, your Uncle Johnny and I have something to tell you..."

"What is it?" she asked, a curious expression on her meek face.

John took her other tiny hand, "Well, while you were getting ready for school, your mom and I were discussing about what you told us..."

"And?" her attentive hazel eyes went from him back to her mom.

"Well, and we set the wedding within 3 weeks."

"That long?!" she exclaimed, causing John to stare at Roma somewhat accusingly, and as if saying ‘I told you it was too long!’

Amused by Reilly’s annoyance, Roma explained her why it was necessary to wait a bit more an, at the end, the little girl seemed to have accepted the explanations. With a self assured pose, Reilly stood up, crossed her arms in front of her chest and smiled, "I know why you finally picked the date!"

"And why did we?"

"Because you were afraid that a bunch of more babies would appear if you didn’t!"

*

John parked his car in front of Reilly’s school building and, hand in hand with the little girl, he and Roma took her until the entrance.

"Bye, mommy, bye uncle Johnny." She said, hugging both of them.

"Bye sweetie, we’ll be back to catch ya at the end of the day, right?"

"Right, and we’ll go to the movies!"

"Yes, we will, honey. Now go, your teacher is waiting for you." Roma said, kissing her cheek.

The couple watched as Reilly climbed up the steps and the girl turned to wave them goodbye for one last time, disappearing through the building entrance afterwards.

Then, John held Roma’s hand and they started to walk back to the car, "Well... where are we heading now?" he asked.

"Hum... I gave Julie the rest of the day off... the maid will only come tomorrow morning... and my hormones are back to normal again..." Roma said, almost with an innocent face. "I’m under the impression that the house will be empty all afternoon and I’ll be all alone there... Unless you decide to make me some company..."

Chuckling, with a mix of surprise and mischief, he stared at her, "Are you insinuating that we should anticipate hour honeymoon?"

With a smile upon her face, she looked up at him, "We’ve already anticipated it, remember? This wee one is here to prove it..." she placed her hand over her belly, "Or did you adopt Reilly’s theory and totally forgot about how he came here?

"Well... I’m having a bit of trouble with my memory right now... I guess my hormones are affecting my brain activity, you know..." he let go of her hand and held her, "Would you mind helping me to remember?"

"Well, I think we’ll see about it..."

Smiling, he brushed a tender kiss on her cheek and they got into the car, heading back to Roma’s house.

The end