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Chapter 2: Anniversary Despite the sadness that had recently plagued the town of Colorado Springs, the Christmas spirit was alive in the air. It was Christmas morning, and the children in town were running around with new toys, wearing new clothes, which their parents knew they so desperately needed. Horace wanted little Mary to have a good Christmas, and so did the other people of the town. He had put all of Mary’s gifts under the Christmas tree after she went to bed. It was going to be a rough Christmas, but they had each other. They were going to spend the day together as father and daughter. While the townsfolk celebrated Christmas in their homes together, the Sully family was still sleeping warmly in their beds. Sully and Michaela had snuck downstairs in the middle of the night to put new presents from Josef, Michaela’s sisters, the townsfolk, and of course, from the both of them as well. Sully had made Brian a new sled, and Michaela had bought Colleen a beautiful gown she could wear to the Christmas party in town that evening. There were several gifts for everyone, and it was sure to be a very exciting morning. The door the Michaela and Sully’s room swung open, and Brian ran in. “It’s Christmas!” he exclaimed. Luckily Michaela and Sully were dressed, or that would have been quite an embarrassing scene. The two sat up in bed as if they’d been shot, and stared sleepily at their son. It was seven in the morning, and they were amazed the boy had waited that long. Colleen hurried in after him, followed by Matthew who was a bit less excited about Christmas. Of course the two older children knew that Santa Claus wasn’t real, so it took a bit of the magic away, but they still enjoyed Christmas anyway. “Santa came! Can we go open presents?” Brian pleaded. “He’s been waitin’ since five,” Matthew said with a laugh. Michaela and Sully grinned at each other and looked at their children. “Go on down,” Sully replied. “You can start openin’ presents. We’ll be down in a few minutes.” “Okay!” The children hurried out of the room. Michaela and Sully turned to one another. “Merry Christmas,” Michaela whispered, kissing Sully’s lips. “Mmm, Merry Christmas. Happy anniversary.” “Happy anniversary,” Michaela chuckled. “Can you believe it, Sully? We’ve been married for a whole year now.” “Seems like it’s gone by so fast.” “Yes,” Michaela agreed. “I got ya somethin’.” “I thought we weren’t exchanging Christmas presents.” “We’re not,” Sully replied. “This is for our anniversary.” Sully walked over to the closet and dug around inside for a few moments before pulling out a small package. He walked over to sit next to Michaela on the bed. Michael sighed and smiled a little. “Oh Sully,” she whispered. “I’m sorry. The thought never crossed my mind to . . . I don’t have a gift for you.” She looked down. Sully tilted her chin up with his fingertips and kissed her lips. “You’re already a gift to me.” Michaela’s heart melted, and she wrapped her arms around her husband’s neck, kissing him hungrily, loving how amazing his words were; how they could affect her so much. Sully chuckled softly and pulled away from his wife. “What?” “Aren’t ya gonna open it?” “Oh! Of course!” Michaela exclaimed. She hadn’t felt this happy in weeks, and for a few minutes, she was grateful to not have to be sad or bogged down in grief over the loss of her friend. She slowly unwrapped the gift, and she was awestruck when she held a small wooden ebony box. On the lid were several different colored stones. “Sully?” she asked. “They’re the kids’ birth stones. One for all five of ‘em.” “Oh Sully,” she whispered. “It’s beautiful.” “When we add to our family, we’ll have to add to the box.” He bit his bottom lip and nodded toward the box. “Open it up.” She slowly lifted the lid of the box, and a soft melody began to play. Michaela’s eyes lit up. “You recognize it?” “Of course I do! This is the first song we ever danced to! We were in the park in Boston.” “Yup,” Sully replied with a proud grin. “I can’t believe you remembered.” “’Course I remembered. That was the first time I realized I couldn’t be without you.” “But you did leave.” “I couldn’t admit it to myself at the time, but I knew it my heart that you and I were supposed to be together.” “Oh,” Michaela whispered with a smile upon her lips. “You really are the most wonderful man I’ve ever met.” “Oh you’re just sayin’ that ‘cause I got ya a gift.” Michaela laughed and playfully smacked his arm. Sully chuckled and pulled Michaela into his arms. “I’m serious. This is a beautiful gift.” “I’m glad ya like it.” “Ma! Pa!” came Brian’s urgent and excited cries from downstairs. Michaela grinned at Sully. “We should get downstairs and watch them open their presents.” Sully nodded in agreement. Michaela pulled on her robe while Sully pulled on his warmest shirt to keep away the cold. They each took a baby into their arms. “Merry Christmas, little ones,” Michaela whispered. “This is your first Christmas, and there will be many more to come.” “Come on,” Sully whispered. They started down the stairs and found the children ripping the paper away from their gifts. They all seemed pleased with the gifts they had received, though Michaela and Sully couldn’t exactly afford to spend a lot seeing as there were five children, and money was tight since the twins were born. As soon as all of the presents had been opened, Sully and Matthew cleaned up all of the ripped paper. Colleen was making hot cocoa while Brian played with the new train cars that Sully had carved for him. The boy loved trains, so Sully figured that he’d appreciate having his own. The twins were lying in their cradles, kicking around. They had recently learned how to roll onto their bellies, and that was just what Connor was attempting to do. Sully laughed as the boy’s little head bobbed up and down in frustration before he finally built up enough strength to turn over in his cradle. “That’s my boy,” Sully beamed, pulling him up into his arms. Connor giggled as Sully held him up. Once the hot cocoa had been passed around, the family sat around the fire, talking about random things, enjoying being together as a family. “You’re probably wonderin’ why we don’t have nothin’ for ya as a present,” Matthew started, clearing his throat as he looked at his present. “That doesn’t matter,” Sully replied. “We told ya not to get us anything.” “Well, we did get ya somethin’. We didn’t have money, but we came up with somethin’,” Colleen began. “Oh?” Michaela asked curiously. “Today’s your anniversary,” Matthew pointed out. “Well, yes.” “We asked Myra is she’d mind us stayin’ with her and Hank tonight so you and pa could have the house to yourselves for your anniversary.” “What?” Sully asked with a grin. “Hank and Myra?” “Yeah. Hank don’t know about it,” Brian laughed, “but Myra said she’d talk him into it. You and ma can have the house to yourselves. We’ll even take the babies.” “The babies?” Michaela asked. “But . . .” “They’ll be alright for a night, ma,” Colleen promised. “We took care of ‘em, and made ‘em bottles while you were away, remember?” Michaela looked at Sully. “We’ll all spend the day together as a family, and tonight we’ll go stay and Hank and Myra’s.” “You’re serious?” Michaela asked. “Yeah! We figured it’d be a Christmas and anniversary present,” Matthew said with a smile. “And a wonderful present it is! But are you sure you want to spend Christmas evening at Hank and Myra’s?” “We’ve got all this mornin’ and this afternoon with ya. We ain’t gonna be doin’ much after dark anyway ‘cept sleepin’,” Brian pointed out. “And we’ll just have Christmas lunch instead of Christmas dinner. We thought it’d be a nice surprise for ya, so ya have to accept.” Sully and Michaela looked at each other and smiled lovingly. “We accept,” Sully replied. The children grinned happily at one another and the family continued with their morning conversation over cups of hot cocoa. *~* A man with dark hair and a neatly groomed mustache rode his purebred stallion into town. His coat was gray and perfectly clean. Those who saw him could swear he was straight from Washington. But he wasn’t from Washington. No, he was from Georgia. His features were even tanned by the Georgia sun, though his face was a bit red from the biting wind and freezing snow of the Colorado countryside. Cassius Tucker was his name, a former plantation owner who had recently sold his estate to the highest bidder, took all of his cash, and started out in search of his daughter one final time. He had been searching for her since she disappeared, but now that the estate had been sold, he could dedicate the rest of his life to tracking down that woman if he had to. He had heard that his daughter had been seen around these parts, but the little information he had been given wasn’t quite enough to make him positive she was here. Just thinking about why his daughter had run off chilled him to the very core. He had a grandchild out there somewhere, a grandchild of mixed blood. If she had survived infancy, she was sure to be out there, looking like her mother and like a slave he’d killed for getting his little girl in trouble. He spat when he thought of the so-called marriage between Holly and Marcus. Holly had wanted Cassius to accept it, and she had even thought that by keeping her maiden name, he would be more accepting. She had another thing coming, and he never would have accepted what she’d done. Killing Marcus was supposed to have ended it all, but once that baby was brought into the world, Cassius knew that Marcus’ spirit was still living on. He couldn’t have that around his plantation; around himself. Cassius spat again and looked at the children who were running around in their new coats and scarves. He saw a few little girls playing with new baby dolls ordered all the way from Denver. He remembered ordering Holly those beautiful little dresses and dolls when she was a child, but he never saw her wear them, probably because he was never around to pay attention to her. He regretted never getting to know her as a child, and he blamed himself for her getting involved with that slave. Marcus had been worthless anyway, and he felt as if he was doing his daughter a great service by taking care of the situation. Cassius dismounted his horse, and his shiny black boots seemed to glow in the sunlight. He noticed a little colored child standing inside of the telegraph office. It had been closed for the holiday, but Cassius needed a place to stay. He knocked on the door of the telegraph office, and Mary opened the door. She looked up at him, and Cassius looked down at her, seeing something familiar about her. “Merry Christmas,” she said with a smile. “Is your father home?” “Papa!” Mary called. Horace appeared a moment later. He pulled Mary inside, and stood protectively in front of her. “She sure doesn’t look like you, mister.” “Can I help ya?” “I’m looking for a room.” His voice was thick with a southern accent, though he had perfect enunciation. He was obviously a wealthy, well-educated man. “Well, there’s a house across the street. The Widow Anderson is rentin’ out rooms. If the doctor was in, she might let ya use a room above the clinic, but I can’t help ya with that.” “Thank you,” Cassius replied. He started off across the street to book a room. Horace looked down at Mary. “Sweetheart, ya shoulda come and got me before you answered the door.” “Sorry pa,” Mary replied. “Can I go play outside?” “Just for a few minutes, alright?” “Kay,” she answered. She hurried out to play in the snow while Horace watched the stranger enter the boarding house. He went back to the telegraph to make sure that he didn’t miss anything, and made a mental note to call Mary in after about five minutes. Horace sighed as he looked at the diamond ring that lay in the box on his desk. Holly loved it so very much, and she never even got to share her happiness with her friends or her little girl. Everything had happened so fast, and Horace wasn’t sure if he could ever move on from the loss he had suffered. Every time he closed his eyes at night, he would see Holly’s beautiful face. The little sleep he did get wasn’t even a temporary relief from the pain. His dreams were filled with visions of his dead fiancée. Little Mary would curl up next to him, not wanting to sleep by herself. She looked so much younger than ten, and now that she didn’t have her mother, she seemed to attach herself to Horace. He was happy that she’d asked to play outside, though he was afraid of her catching a cold. He stood up to look out the window. He was relieved to see that a few children had included her in their snowball fights. He smiled as Mary laughed and played for the first time in two weeks. Everyone in town, for the most part, had grown to love Mary Tucker. She had been in Colorado Springs for a while now, and people had grown to really care of her. She was a sweet child, and now that she was orphaned, she needed lots of attention. Horace was happy to have her with him, and he hoped nobody would ever try to take her away. *~* Hank walked into one of the bedrooms to find Myra making up the bed. He was a little confused, because she didn’t need to worry about it unless company was coming. “What are ya doin’?” “I’m making up the guest rooms.” “We’re havin’ guests?” “Oh did I forget to tell you?” Myra asked innocently. “Apparently.” Myra smiled and walked over to wrap her arms around Hank’s neck. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him softly. She grinned as Hank looked at her curiously. “Well, today is Dr. Mike and Sully’s anniversary, and the children wanted to do somethin’ nice for ‘em. So, they’re spendin’ Christmas day with their folks, and they’ll be stayin’ here this evenin’.” “What? Why didn’t ya tell me, Myra?” Hank complained. “I guess it slipped my mind.” “How long ya been plannin’ this?” “’Bout a week.” “You didn’t forget to tell me. Ya didn’t tell me because ya knew I wouldn’t like it.” “Oh come on, Hank! It’ll be good practice for when we have babies!” “Babies?” Hank asked. “Ya mean all of the kids are stayin’ here?” “Yeah,” Myra replied. “Oh, it’ll be fun.” “I ain’t so sure about that.” “We’ll it’s already done. They’re comin’ over this evenin’, so get used to it.” Hank sighed. “Don’t think I’m changin’ any diapers.” “If ya want our first son to be named after you, ya will.” “Oh come on, you’re usin’ kids we don’t even have yet against me?” “Well, I gotta have somethin’ don’t I? Come on, Hank, just think about it, please? Dr. Mike and Sully’s kids are very well behaved. They ain’t gonna get into trouble. They’ll probably be full from lunch and go right to sleep.” Hank grumbled for a moment, but forgot all about it once Myra began to shower him with kisses. *~* Michaela was upstairs putting on her nicest dress while the children and Sully were downstairs starting Christmas lunch. Thought Michaela was so happy to be able to spend the holiday with her family, she was even more relieved that she and Sully would get some privacy for their first anniversary. She began to blush as she thought of their first night as husband and wife. That was an unforgettable evening, and Michaela would never forget how amazingly patient Sully was with her. That had held up through the past year, and he was still patient, gentle, and loving. One of the twins let out a giggle downstairs and Michaela smiled, thinking about how her family had changed over the past year. She had grown closer to her mother and sisters. She’d married the most amazing man she’d ever met, gained three wonder children, given birth to two very handsome baby boys, lost her mother, and this had all been in the matter of a year. It didn’t seem possible! “Michaela?” Sully asked as he stepped into the room. Michaela turned to see him standing beside the door. She smiled at him as he walked over toward her. “Hmm?” He scooped her up into his arms as if he was going to carry her over the threshold. He surprised her with a tender kiss. Michaela’s arms wrapped snugly around Sully’s neck, and she let out a soft hum against his mouth. “The turkey’s almost done,” he said when he pulled away. Michaela bit back a laugh. “Oh Sully, that’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever said to me.” Sully thought about his words for a moment and they both burst out into fits of laughter. Sully put Michaela down and they hugged one another. Michaela laughed, burying her face in Sully’s chest. “Ma!” Colleen called from downstairs. “Can ya come help me?” “Oh dear,” Michaela replied. She sighed and kissed her husband. “I hope she knows that I’m not the best person to ask to help with food.” “You’re getting better.” Michaela rolled her eyes and took Sully’s hand. They started down the stairs, and when they arrived, they saw that Brian had let Wolf and Pup inside. Pup was about Wolf’s size now, so he took up even more room. A broken bowl lay on the floor with all of the pie dough in it. Pup was licking at the bowl. “Pup!” Michaela exclaimed. “I told you not to let your stupid dog inside!” “He’s not stupid!” Brian defended. “Brian, take Wolf and Pup outside,” Sully ordered. “But . . .” “We’ll bring ‘em in later.” Brian groaned and whistled for the dogs to follow him outside. Michaela helped Colleen clean up the mess. “Boys,” Colleen muttered under her breath. Michaela looked up at Sully and winked at him. “We’ll replace the bowl,” Sully promised. “Colleen, why don’t you finish cleaning this up, and I’ll help by peeling the potatoes?” “Okay ma,” Colleen replied with a nod. Colleen had put Matthew to work by making him make the rolls. He wasn’t the greatest cook, but he could at least make rolls. Sully watched as his family prepared Christmas lunch, and he figured he could do something to help out. He walked over and helped Michaela with the potatoes so she wouldn’t have so much to do. She smiled gratefully at him and everyone worked until lunch was ready, enjoying spending time together as a family. *~* That evening, the Sully children were at Hank and Myra’s homestead, seated around the dinner table. Everyone was quiet, and Myra was holding the twins in her lap. Hank looked a bit nervous, and he saw Brian staring at him. “What?” he asked. “You don’t know a lot about kids, do ya?” Myra had to stifle a giggle as she bounced Connor and Daniel on her lap. “What makes ya think that?” Hank asked sarcastically. “Brian,” Matthew said quietly, “don’t go makin’ trouble.” “I ain’t. It’s just that you and Myra gotta have practice if you’re gonna have kids someday.” “Brian!” Colleen exclaimed. “That ain’t none of your business.” “It’s getting late,” Myra spoke up. “Brian and Matthew, you can take the room at the end of the hall upstairs. Colleen, I set you up a room with the twins if that’s alright.” “That’ll be fine, Myra. Thanks,” Colleen replied with a smile. “We’ll bring the boys up after they’ve gone to sleep.” The children headed upstairs and Myra looked at Hank. Hank was staring at Connor. Connor’s face was a little red, and he seemed to be concentrating very hard. “Hank?” “What’s wrong with him?” Myra looked at Connor and laughed. “Ready to change his diaper?” “I ain’t changed a diaper since Zack was a baby. I probably only changed a few, so I don’t think I better be doin’ this.” “Like I said before, you need the practice,” Myra warned. Hank groaned but knew he couldn’t get out of this. “Here, I’ll change Connor first, and then you can take Daniel.” They placed the babies upon the table and Myra handed Hank a fresh diaper cloth. Myra had Connor cleaned up before Hank could even remember how to fold a diaper. As soon as he was about to switch Daniel into the clean one, a fresh warm spray hit him square in the chest. “Hey!” he called out. Myra tried not to laugh, but she couldn’t help it. She covered the stream with the soiled diaper, and when all was well again, she pinned the fresh diaper on while Hank changed into a dry shirt. Once the boys were clean and dry, Myra took them upstairs to put down to bed. She retired to the bedroom to find Hank sitting on the edge of the bed. He had a worried look on his face. “Hank?” “Huh?” “What’s botherin’ ya?” “Nothin’.” “Don’t lie to me.” “I ain’t lyin’.” He paused. “Alright, I am.” “Tell me what’s wrong.” Hank took a deep breath and shook his head. “I ain’t sure we should be havin’ kids.” “What?” Myra asked, worry beginning to shine in her eyes. “What are you talkin’ about?” “I’m sayin’ that if I can’t even change a diaper, what kinda pa am I gonna be? I wasn’t a good pa to Zack.” “What was wrong with Zack wasn’t your fault,” Myra whispered. They had returned from Denver a few days ago after having gone to try to bring Zack home. Zack decided to stay on a little longer at the school, and he seemed to have drawn even more within himself. “Zack was always like that, or so you told me, Hank. You couldn’t help the way he was, and our children ain’t gonna be the same.” “How do you know?” “Because we’re strong when we’re together, Hank. Even if something is wrong, we’ll be able to take care of it. You’re gonna be a great pa. You’ll see.” *~* Michaela’s hair was a bit messy as she stood in the middle of the bedroom floor, wrapped in her robe. She and Sully had already started their private evening, but he had to pause to go get more firewood downstairs. She knew he’d be back quickly, however, because he hadn't bothered to put his pants on just to run downstairs to get some firewood. After making love, Michaela felt as if she was floating on a cloud, and she wanted to do something romantic for her husband. What was there to do? She looked over at the music box he had given her for an anniversary present. She smiled, her eyes twinkling, and listened, waiting for Sully’s footsteps. As soon as she heard him coming up the stairs, she held the music box behind her back and watched as he came in with a bundle of firewood in his arms. He smiled seductively at his wife, and crouched down to place the wood into the dying flames. Slowly, they began to build up again, and Michaela made her move. She sat the music box back down on the table and opened the lid, letting the sweet melody of the song they first danced to float throughout the room. Sully slowly stood, the muscles in his bare chest tensing at the thought of what was to come. He turned to face his wife, who slowly let her robe fall to the floor. “Dance with me, Mr. Sully.” Michaela’s magnificent body shimmered in the firelight, her breasts moving with her shallow, passionate breaths. He pulled her into his arms, feeling her nipples grazing against his muscular chest. They began to dance to the music box melody, becoming consumed with one another and the feeling of their hearts beating against each other. “You are so beautiful, Mrs. Sully.” He leaned down and kissed his wife passionately. She arched her neck back and they slowly made their way toward the bed. Sully scooped her up into his arms and gently laid her in the center of the bed. “You’re just as beautiful as the day I first saw you.” He crawled over her, looking deep into her eyes, silently letting her know that he would always think she was beautiful. |