Things Are Starting To Look Up

“If you move that sofa a little to the left,” I started instructing Jack on how to make more space for our Christmas tree whilst Bella sat happily on my lap watching as Jack moved the furniture.

I was enjoying this way too much. I had spent the past twenty minutes instructing Jack on where to move the sofa. He hadn’t copped onto the fact that I had just been making him move the sofa back and forth from its original place to the corner.

“Lexy, you know the way you want this to go. Why can’t you do it?” Jack whined as he ran his hands through his hair. “It’s so heavy.”

To try and prove his point, Jack grunted as he pretended he couldn’t push the sofa.

“Jay, don’t complain.” I grinned. “You’re stronger than me. Plus, I cleaned the entire kitchen up after you started a food fight and you got breakfast in bed this morning… amongst other things.”

Jack’s face lit up as he remembered his surprise that he was given this morning after Bella went back to sleep but no sooner had it come onto his face, it was replaced with a sly smirk that I knew oh so well.

“Well, I wasn’t the only one who got something; if my memory serves me correctly, someone got two blowjobs and shower sex last night. Actually, I remember it quite clearly. There’s something unforgettable about someone moaning your name as loud as you do. You can sound like such a whore at times babe, but it’s okay; I love it.”

Jack knew exactly what he was doing but I had one more trick up my sleeve. “Bellabear, what do you say; should I help Daddy move some furniture to make space for the Christmas tree?”

Bella looked up at me and shook her head.

“No, Dada.” She smiled, doing exactly what I guessed she would.

“You heard it from the boss,” I replied. “Why don’t we just leave it at that anyway? I’m sure that we’ll be able to fit it into the space that you’ve made.”

I tried not to laugh at the fact that the couch was back in its original place.

“Good,” Jack said, coming to sit (well, collapse would be a better word) beside Bella and I. “So, are my two favourite people ready to go and do some Christmas shopping?”

~*~*~*~

Jack and I ended up driving to one of the supermalls that were about an hour away from the city. They had everything we needed so it was better than dragging Bella into the city which was going to be packed with people. Things were so much different here. Jack and I could walk around and know that no one was whispering behind our backs.

First, Jack and I went to the Toy Store and got all of Bella’s presents from Santa sorted. It was easy enough now because we could buy them with her around as she wasn’t going to know any different. It’s going to be so much harder in a few years’ time when she gets older. Once we had all of her things bought, we went for lunch before having a proper look around the shops.

This time, I was watching Jack like a hawk to see if there was anything that caught his eye. He wouldn’t tell me what he wanted for Christmas and I was clueless as to what to buy for him. Jack was impossible to buy for. He had everything that he wanted. Any clue that I could get as to what he would like, would be important.

I was thinking about getting him some clothes. Those tight skinny jeans I had made him buy in Chicago were my favourite pair that he owned. He wouldn’t buy them on his own so if I bought them for him, I would at least be able to see his ass looking so good… but that couldn’t be his main present! It was way too simple and small. I needed something that would show him how much I care. It would also have to be something that I could get to Baltimore, seeing as we were spending Christmas there.

I was beginning to think that it would be a lost cause and that I would have to ask him what he wanted. That was the last thing I wanted to do. Luckily, after I had come back from the baby changing room, I caught sight of Jack standing outside of the music shop, eyeing up the guitars on display. It was then that the idea hit me. I would get him a new guitar for Christmas. It was only a week ago that we had been talking about the new Gibson range and I remembered that he had taken a liking to a vintage white one. It was all so easy. I could get him some other presents so that it would look like I was bringing something to Baltimore with me and I could order the guitar off of the website and get it delivered to Baltimore. I’m pretty sure that Jack’s Mom or Matt would be more than happy to look after it until we got there.

“Hey babe,” I announced coming to a stop beside him, taking his free hand in mine. “Are you good to go yet? I just need to get a few things in that clothes shop we passed on the way in, the one near Starbucks. They had some pretty cool shirts. Then I think that a coffee is in order.”

“Sounds like a plan, Lex,” Jack agreed. “I’ll push Bella for you and we can go and check that place out. I think that we need to get Bella a new outfit too. She’ll need something to wear on Christmas Day. Mom was saying that I should try and get a nice dress for her, y’know how my Mom is with tradition. All of her kids got a new outfit to wear on Christmas Day. I think she just wants to be able to show us off when May comes. She hasn’t seen Bella in months and this is the first time that May, her fiancé and his kids will be over since they moved to France. I never once thought that May would end up being a step Mom; she was never one for kids when she was younger.”

“That’s cool, there was a really nice kids store beside the one that I wanted to go to. I’m sure that we could find something in there for her.”

~*~*~*~

That’s how the remainder of our shopping trip was spent. We had managed to find the cutest little dress for Bella. It was dark purple and she looked so cute in it. It would definitely pass Mrs Barakat’s high standards. She was still a bit weary of May’s fiancé and wanted to make sure that her family looked just as good as his.

Later on that evening after we had eaten, we had the task of putting the Christmas tree up. Jack and I had settled on an artificial tree mainly because the real ones were a pain in the ass to look after. Plus, our tree looked ten times better than any of the limp trees that were on offer in the city. Jack was eager to take a tonne of pictures of the whole decorating process because as he put it himself, this was our first proper family Christmas and he wanted to remember it.

For two young guys, we managed to make the place look really nice and festive. It was fun, especially lifting Bella up so that she could put the angel on the top, even if she nearly ended up tearing the tree down when she did it. The whole day’s events had taken its toll on her and she was exhausted. This meant that she went to sleep early for us, meaning Jack and I got to relax for the evening.

Jack was in the Christmas mood and wanted to watch Home Alone, not that being in a Christmas mood was an excuse for Jack, he had watched the film a hundred times since the start of November. However, I couldn’t deny him the opportunity to watch what had to be his ultimate favourite film. First though, Jack was going to help me rehearse for my practical exam that was going to be part of my end of semester exams. Most of my solo pieces weren’t an issue, they were mostly originals so I was sorted but my Professor decided to pair me with one of the girls in my class and we were to sing a duet.

We chose Tracey Chapman’s ‘Fast Car’, mainly because I loved this song. It was one of my Mom’s favourite songs and as soon as I could play guitar well enough, I had learnt to play it. I had surprised her by singing it for her one Mother’s Day and after that, it became our thing. I would play guitar and she would sing it with me.

For the exam, we were doing it in two parts and I needed Jack to play the accompaniment so that I could nail my timing and know when to sing and play. It needed to be perfect because the exam was next week. Jack and I worked so well together, music wise, I almost wished that I could perform it with him. Our voices fit together so well but I was about four years too late on doing the course with Jack and being able to duet with him.

Once we were finished there was no stopping Jack, he was in our room like a shot, turning the DVD on, stripping down to his boxers and crawling under the covers. He sat up in the bed, crossing his arms with an impatient scowl on his face, waiting for me to hurry up and come in. Knowing that it would annoy him, I took my time pouring the two glasses of wine and joining him in bed. Jack had a thing where he would not press play until I was beside him and settled. It wasn’t because I might miss something, nope; it was purely because heaven forbid I distracted Jack and he missed a part of the film he had to have seen at least a thousand times before.

“Alex, why must you do this to me every single time…” he whined as he really began to get impatient. “Just come to bed, baby, you don’t need to try and find a t-shirt or sweats to wear. You can cuddle with me; I’ll keep you warm. Come on, we are wasting time that could be spent watching Home Alone.”

I smirked as I gave in, climbing into bed beside him. Jack’s arm wrapped around my waist instantly as he pressed play with his free hand. I couldn’t complain. Jack had a point, Home Alone was a classic and I loved watching the film. Anyway, when I got bored of the film, I could watch Jack instead. He was so cute to watch. He would sit enthralled with the film, it was as if he was watching the film for the first time, except you normally can’t recite the lines word for word when you see it for the first time. Nothing got past him, especially the fact that my mind wandered and I was watching him.

“Stop being a creep. Watch the film, not me.” Jack grinned, pausing the DVD. His grin turned to a frown when his phone began to ring. He looked at the caller ID before picking it up. “Make it quick, Flyzik; we are wasting time, I’m watching Home Alone.”

I couldn’t hear Matt’s side of the conversation but from Jack’s responses, I could tell that it was pretty much a run of the mill conversation between the pair. Matt would insult Home Alone, and then Jack would pass a comment about how disturbing it was for a grown man to have such an obsession with a cartoon character. They acted like children. Jack did his best to speed up their conversation and finish it quickly. When he hung up, he had a grin on his face.

“We have visitors tomorrow night; Matt and Cass are getting the early train up tomorrow and staying the night.” He informed me. “They want to do some shopping so they’ll be arriving at eight."

Notes