A SPECIAL CHRISTMAS GIFT

That Christmas surely would be different. Roma knew it. She had the perfect gift for her now husband. John’s family would be there as well as their beloved friends Della and Franklin. Despite their rocky beginning, the Irish actress and John’s mother get along very well by now, something the blond actor as eternally grateful for.

John had noticed Roma acting strange the last days, she looked really happy, her eyes seemed brighter, she was constantly humming songs and even during their lovemaking she seemed to be much more loving, something he had considered impossible. Yet, when he had asked her, she had just smiled, kissed him and hugged him, saying he’d find out at the right time.

On Christmas eve, they were all gathered in Roma’s house at Santa Monica, where they had moved when they had decided to live together and afterwards, when they had gotten married. Roma, Della and Eleanor, John’s mother, had already prepared the dinner and were carrying the bowls and the plates full of food to the table. The young actress had a bowl full of smashed potatoes on her hands when she found John looking for something in the living room with the worried expression of a little boy that has lost his favorite toy. "Did you lose something, Johnnie?" she asked on her way to the dinning room.

"I can’t find the mistletoe I had earlier..." he replied moving the cushions of the sofa.

She smiled tenderly at him. "You don’t need mistletoe to get a kiss," she said wrapping an arm wound his neck and pulling him down.

"You can’t deny it was a good pretext," he murmured before kissing her back.

"Hey, you two!" Della teased them when she saw them. "Save it for the night! The potatoes are getting cold!" Both John and Roma chuckled and followed her.

The dinner was delicious and everybody congratulated the three women that had prepared it. Still, John noticed something strange: Roma refused to drink any wine or even champagne for the toast. "I was having a little headache and I took a pill," she explained to a worried John. "I didn’t want to feel bad at all, I thought not having wine today was worth the night." He covered the small hand that was stroking his cheek and Roma felt tears stinging in her eyes at the unending love and worry she saw in his green eyes. She leaned to give him a light peck on the lips. "I’m all right I promise," she murmured.

John kept an attentive eye on her during the rest of the dinner, and when they moved to the living room for the exchange of presents, they took the loveseat and cuddled together. Reilly was the "officer" in charge to give each one their presents, and she was certainly the one to get the best part as she gathered a big, big pile of presents for her, from clothes and chocolates to a new set of skates and three dolls.

When everyone had opened their presents and were fawning at what they had gotten, Roma announced she had another present left. "This is for John and Reilly," she said handling them a box.

Reilly immediately grabbed it and shook it to try to guess what was inside. She moved to the loveseat to the place her mother had left and took a seat beside John, while Roma was standing in front of them. She and John were smiling at seeing the little girl quickly shedding the paper to reveal in the inside a photo frame with some kind of picture in black and white that meant nothing for Reilly. With a rather disappointed expression, the little girl passed it to John.

Roma was unable to fight the tears that were already rolling down her cheeks at the face of John. When he had seen the picture, color had drained form his face, his mouth had dropped open and he had seemed unable to take his eyes away of the picture for a long minute. When he finally lifted his face to meet Roma’s sight, the Irish actress had covered her mouth with her hands to stop the nervous laughing.

"Roma, are you...?" he managed to ask.

"Yes, Johnnie," she whispered unable to speak any louder.

The blond actor jumped immediately and hugged her tightly, almost breaking her bones. "God, thank you!!!!!!!!" he shouted and then cupped Roma’s face and kissed her on the cheeks, the lips, the forehead, everywhere.

While that happened, Della had taken the frame John had dropped and had understood at once. "Oh, Father, that’s wonderful news!" and she passed it to the others.

"What is it?" Reilly asked not understanding all those happy faces because of an unclear picture.

John released Roma and they turned to see the girl. They felt a wave of tenderness in their hearts and Roma knelt in front of her. "Reilly, that picture is the inside of my belly," she said placing a hand on it. "It means you’re going to have a baby brother or sister."

The little girl jumped and wrapped her arms around her mother’s neck so enthusiastically that the young actress almost fell. "When, mommy?!" she asked jumping excitedly.

"The baby will arrive some day in the middle of June, sweetie."

"That long?!" Everybody laughed at the girl’s pouting. "Can’t it be sooner, mommy?" she still asked.

John knelt too and wrapped an arm around Roma’s shoulder. "Believe me, sweetie, we’ll hardly have time to get everything ready for that day! We’ll have to get the nursery ready and..."

"It has to be in the room by mine!" she ordered. "I will take care of him or her!"

"Oh, I hope you stick to your word, little missy!" John said taking her in his arms and kissing her cheek.

When finally all the guests had either went out or bed, John and Roma retired to their bedroom. He had changed his clothes and was waiting for her in bed, still wondering if it was a dream... When Roma came to bed in a beautiful white nightgown and leaned by his side, he thought he was seeing a real angel. Somehow she looked more beautiful to his eyes since that night and he propped himself on his elbow and stroked her cheek adoringly. "When did you know?" he asked in a very low voice.

"I had my suspicions last month but I confirmed it last week," she replied stroking his cheek too.

"Why didn’t you tell me?"

Roma chuckled slightly. "I thought to give you a surprise today. Your face was worth the many times I wanted to shout and tell you!"

John joined her chuckling and then kept silently stroking her face and looking at her with eyes full of love. He then leaned down and kissed her long mesmerizing in telling her how much he loved her. "I can’t put in words all the things I’m feeling right now. It’s love, the love I’ve felt from you from the very first moment, but right now... everything is so wonderful and I am so, so happy."

"You’ll see me all fat again as when we first met," she joked.

"I’ll see you as beautiful as I saw you then," he said running a hand along her stomach and resting it on her belly lovingly. "A baby... our baby..."

"Your baby, John, a baby of the incredible love I feel for you. I never thought I could get such a beautiful present... the father himself was one of the best things I could ever get..." she reached to kiss him again. "I wonder if I deserve so much..." A tear was running along her cheek and he leaned down to kiss it away.

"You do, honey," he whispered his face barely a couple inches away from hers. "This baby is a big blessing as you and Reilly are already. I’m the one that is not sure to deserve so many gifts..."

"You do too, Mr. Dye. This baby is a proof God loves you and we belong together," she said covering with her small hand the one of his that was over her belly. John leaned down and started to kiss her again. He intended it to be a tender kiss but soon Roma parted his lips and moved her hands to under his T-shirt stroking his bare skin purposefully making him to move to lay over her.

"Roma, are you sure?" he asked hesitatingly. "Won’t I hurt the baby?"

She smiled at his sincere concern and ran her hands to wrap them around his neck and to tangle them in his hair. "No, you won’t. You wouldn’t do it... Just love me the way you’ve always done since the first time, tenderly, passionately, the way only John Dye could do it, the way we created this baby... our love..."

John wanted to speak, to tell his wife how much he loved her, but all he could do was to kiss her again and show her all she meant for him.