Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

The wintry air was cold and crisp as Nora and Aiden walked out of Rockridge Grill Sunday evening after going out for dinner, just the two of them and Madison. Nora smiled to herself as she tucked Madison into the stroller with her coat and fuzzy hat, and blanket, thinking of the first date Aiden took her on, to Marie’s. She hadn’t even been sure that it was a date, back then, but as it turned out, it had been. Rockridge Grill was nowhere near as fancy as Marie’s, and very far removed from the kind of fancy restaurants she used to go out to in Boston, but she didn’t care. It was a perfect night out for the three of them.

It had been one of those nights where everything just seemed to fall into place too. The special had been Aiden’s favorite—Jonathan’s signature venison burgers with blue cheese crust and onion jam—and dessert had been Nora’s favorite, toffee bread pudding with maple whipped topping. Madison had been perfect through it all, eating the mac and cheese that they’d gotten for her and tearing apart her fries, and she hadn’t cried a bit. Now she was cooing in her stroller, playing with her reindeer in her mittened hands, and everything felt just right to Nora.

She honestly couldn’t remember ever having been happier.

“Let’s go for a nice evening walk,” Aiden suggested, as he tugged on his leather gloves. “We can stop for hot chocolate at The Mellow Mug before Melanie closes up, and look at all the houses. Most of them should be decorated for Christmas by now.”

“That sounds wonderful.” Nora pushed the stroller as they started to walk a few storefronts down to The Mellow Mug. Melanie would be open for another thirty minutes or so, and she beamed as she saw Nora and Aiden walk in with Madison.

“Hey there!” she exclaimed, coming around the corner to lean down and wave to Madison. “I have a cookie for you. And the two of you want coffee this late?” she grinned as Nora shook her head.

“Hot chocolate? We were going to go on a little winter walk. Peppermint hot chocolate sounds amazing, actually.”

“I’ll take just normal hot cocoa,” Aiden said with a grin, as Melanie got out a ginger cookie for Madison to gnaw on, while she started fixing their hot cocoa.

It was warm and pleasantly sugar scented in the coffee shop as they waited, and Nora looked around at the festive decorations, breathing in a deep lungful of the sweet air and feeling whatever remaining tension she might have had drain away. This was her favorite time of year for so many reasons. She’d loved it for a long time because of her job as an event planner. Every year, people threw parties and got married and had all kinds of big events surrounding the holiday.

She always loved seeing them come to life. But now it had taken on new meaning. Christmas was also the time of year when she’d come back home because she thought her life was falling apart, only to discover that it was starting over in a new way. It was the time of year that she’d fallen in love with Aiden. It was the time of year when she’d found herself adjusting to being a new parent, and when her family had finally been entirely reunited, and when she’d found out she was going to have a little niece to dote on. Every year, she was reminded of how her home had always been waiting for her, and how much love had been there when she’d finally come back.

Melanie handed her and Aiden their hot chocolates, and they headed back out into the winter evening. Main Street was fully decked out, with lights strung across the shops and arched over the streets, all of the lampposts decorated with wreaths and ribbons. They kept walking, sipping their hot cocoa as they walked out of the business part of town and into the residential area, where it was exploding with the lights and festivity of the holiday.

Aiden reached down, wrapping one gloved hand around hers as she pushed the stroller, side by side as their warm breaths puffed out in the air.

“I’ve always liked the holidays,” he said as they walked. “But they really have become more special ever since you moved back home. Christmas became something much more to me, after that. Just like you became so much more to me that first Christmas you came home.”

Nora smiled up at him, touching the compass necklace that she always wore reflexively. “I was just thinking the same thing,” she said softly. “This time of year really does bring us something new and special every year. I wonder what it will be this time.”

“Another baby?” Aiden grinned at her, and Nora swatted him teasingly.

“Not yet. We’ve only just gotten this one sleeping. Remember last Christmas?”

“I’ll never forget. That’s how I know I really do want another one,” he said with a grin. “Because I do remember, and I still want more babies with you. An even bigger family.”

“I do too,” Nora admitted. “Just maybe not yet. Although Margo told me that she thought I was really rocking the mom thing the other day, and I think she was right. We are really rocking this parenting thing. So maybe we can think about baby number two sooner rather than later.” She grinned at him. “Seriously though, I’m so proud of how we figured out a rhythm. It was challenging, but we didn’t let it get us down, and we pushed through it. And we came out so much stronger on the other side.”

“I agree.” Aiden leaned over, kissing her temple as they walked, and Nora smiled. She really did feel that their marriage was stronger than ever. Last year, as she and her sisters had worked to put together an anniversary surprise for their parents, she’d thought a lot about what made a truly successful marriage. About what made love last for years and years, the way her parents’ had. And she’d come to the conclusion that she and Aiden had that. They had what it took to have the kind of marriage that would last, for their children growing up and their grandchildren too.

“Oh, look at that,” Aiden commented as they rounded a corner toward another group of houses. “There’s Bethany. I think she still has that puppy you mentioned.”

Nora turned the stroller, walking closer. Bethany was standing in the front yard, a puppy on a leash as it relieved itself near one of the shrubs. As they walked into the lights coming from the lit-up snowmen in the yard, she could see that it was definitely the same puppy, fluffy and white with brown speckles, the floppy ears almost dragging in the snow.

“No luck finding the owner yet?” Nora asked as the three of them stopped, and Bethany looked up, shaking her head ruefully.

“No, unfortunately not.”

“Going to keep her yourself?” Aiden asked with a chuckle, and Bethany shook her head quickly.

“I love her to bits,” she said. “She’s adorable and full of energy, but that’s the thing. It’s too much energy. And especially this time of year, with everyone wanting their pets groomed before the holidays even if they’re not on their usual schedule, for Christmas card pictures, I just don’t have enough time to give her the attention she needs. I’m working too much these days for a new baby in the house.” She leaned down, petting the puppy, and the puppy let out a series of yipping barks as she tugged on the leash, trying to get to Madison.

Madison had fallen asleep as they’d walked, the remains of her ginger cookie in her lap, but she woke up immediately at the sound of the yipping. She clapped her mittened hands together, grinning widely and babbling to the puppy as she leaned forward in her stroller, reaching for it.

Bethany’s face lit up as she looked at the baby and puppy trying to get to one another, and she looked up at Nora and Aiden. “I’ve just had a wonderful idea,” she said with a grin. “What if you two took the puppy until I can find the owner, or someone who wants to adopt her long-term? It’s clear that she and Madison have really taken to one another. I’ve never seen a dog get so excited over a baby. And Madison seems thrilled.”

Nora took one look at Madison’s wide grin and eager, grabbing hands, and knew she couldn’t say no. “Okay,” she said quickly, before she could over-think it. “We’ll do it.”

“Are you sure?” Aiden asked cautiously, looking down at the puppy bouncing in the snow. “We were just talking about how we’d gotten our stride with Madison. Won’t a puppy be too much? You’ve just started getting your business running again, and you’re planning Margo’s wedding. A puppy this small will take a lot of time. Trips outside, training, and she’s going to make messes and get into things. A lot of your decorations are going to have to be put up where she can’t get to them.”

“That’s fine.” Nora looked down at Madison and the puppy again. “Look how happy she is. It won’t be too much trouble. And besides, we do have this down, remember? What’s the addition of one little puppy?”

Aiden chuckled. “I did just say I wanted another baby. I suppose this is the easier of the two options. And you’re right, Madison does seem to really love her. Anyway, it’s only temporary, right?”

“Only temporary,” Bethany agreed. “If I can’t find her owner soon, I’ll put out some notices for adoption in the salon and around town. Someone will want to adopt her for good, I’m sure. It’s just a matter of finding the right home. And until then, I think she’ll be much better off with you.”

“We’ll have to stop by the general store and get stuff for her,” Aiden said. “Food, puppy pads, that sort of thing. Maybe we should come back tomorrow, if that’s all right? Pick her up then, so we can get ready. And puppy-proof the house tonight,” he added. “It’s already baby-proofed, but maybe another check wouldn’t hurt.”

“I can handle her for one more night,” Bethany said with a laugh. “Tomorrow is fine.”

“Tomorrow it is, then,” Nora said. “Come on, Madison. We’ll come back for the puppy tomorrow.” She turned the stroller away as she said it, preparing for Madison’s frustrated cries as they left the puppy behind, but Madison seemed to understand that they weren’t leaving her forever. She let out another string of babbles as they walked away, and Aiden chuckled.

“Well then. Tomorrow we’re getting a puppy.”

Nora felt a thrill of excitement. She’d just been wondering what new thing this holiday season was going to bring for them. And it looked like she’d just found out.