Chapter 269:

Thanksgiving was now behind them and the official start of the Christmas season had begun. Stores were completely decked out in every manner of Christmas decorations and gifts and most had elaborate displays in prominent places to show off their hottest items, hoping to entice the shoppers passing by.

Lisa was working out a shopping system to allow for each of the children to have a bit of money to buy gifts for the rest of the family. She wanted them to know the joy of giving and to help them learn to think about the recipient of the gift when they were buying something, to think about the person and try to find them something that they would really like. She was also going to use this adventure as a learning experience for the ones that could understand so that they learned the value of a dollar and how to budget their money so that they would have enough to complete all of their shopping without spending all of their money on the first item they bought.

She arranged it so that she would take Jeremy and Sammy out together and Kayti and Holly another day. Kayti probably wasn't going to retain too much of the learning experience this year but Lisa wanted to include her in the giving of gifts. Kayti could be a bit selfish, thinking that everything was hers to use as she wanted and she needed to learn that not everything revolved around her. Holly was the polar opposite, generally giving things to the other children if she even thought that they might want it.

Lisa wanted to make sure that Holly had things that she knew were hers and that while it was very nice to share, it was also okay to have some things that were yours alone. It was very interesting to try to find the middle ground when teaching these principles to all of the children. She wanted her children to be loving and giving people without being taken advantage of by people who would do that.

When it became apparent that the children were all wanting to buy gifts for all of their friends too, Lisa decided that they would buy gifts for the Fletchers as a family instead of all individually but limited Jeremy and Holly to choosing two friends from school to buy a gift for. While they found it difficult, they did eventually decide on two friends and while they were out on their shopping day, they searched for the perfect gifts for their friends.

In the week since Thanksgiving, Jim had helped Seb and Seb had helped Jim and between the two of them, they had gotten both houses fully decorated, inside and out. This year, Santa and his sleigh with the reindeer, sat upon the roof to the main house where it could be seen better. The waving snowman had been joined by several more of different sizes and they were a big hit with all of the children. Kayti wasn't as entranced by them this year now that she realized they were just blown up ballons and not a person waving at her but she still liked them anyway.

Lighted metal form reindeer dotted the front lawn, looking as if they were grazing on the still green Florida grass and red and white candy canes lined the circular driveway in front of the house. All of the front windows and the front door had big, beautiful wreaths hung on them, completing the scene. All that was missing from the traditional Christmas card scene was the snow and that was highly unlikely to appear.

The house was filled with the sounds of happy children who were getting more excited by the day for Christmas morning to arrive. All of the children had sent their letters to Santa, even Jeremy who said he'd sent it so the other children wouldn't get suspicious and ask too many questions. But Lisa suspected that he was still at the age that he didn't want to take any chances, just in case Santa was in fact a real person.

As well as all of the shopping for gifts, the final preparations had been done for their open house that Lisa had been dreaming of since last Christmas when the house was still very much in the middle of construction but even back then she could imagine what it would be like to invite all of their friends and family to join them to celebrate the season with them in their new home.

It was scheduled for the following Saturday and Lisa checked over her lists for the hundredth time, just to be sure that everything was ready. She felt confident that it was and even though they had decided not to hire a caterer, it seemed like it would go perfectly. With it being a drop in affair, it was unlikely that they would get overwhelmed.

Mary, Debbie, Mom and Alex would be there to help in the kitchen. Dan who had been enlisted to just sit in an area where he could help to keep an eye on the children, would be assisited by Hannah and her friends Jenny and Amanda who was coming on Friday after school let out for Christmas break. The girls were thrilled to help, knowing the money they would make helping out at the party would be extra spending money for Christmas gifts they had in mind to buy.

Lisa and Seb would be free to mingle and be able to float around to check on everything as the day went on.

The invitations had stated that the open house would begin at eleven in the morning and end at midnight. This would allow a sufficient window of time for everyone to find a time that would suit their schedules to pop in for as long as they wanted.

The shelves of the large walk in freezer were already lined with containers of more than a dozen different treats that would be constantly available throughout the day. Besides the sweets, they had three of each, hams, turkeys and two enormous prime rib of beef which were to be slowly cooked over the rotisserie on the grill.

They would serve some of the ham and turkey cold and some hot so people could have whatever suited them. It would be set up buffet style and with enough choices so that you could either have just a sandwich or a full out meal, complete with all of the side dishes you could fit on your plate.Cold vegetable and fruit trays with several flavors of dip would be available as well as a variety of hot side dishes. They were doing as much prep work ahead of time to allow for a smooth flow of food throughout the day.

Sebastien cornered Lisa in the kitchen, halting her from leaving by circling her waist with both hands. She was always on the move and he wanted to force her to take at least a short break. He had arranged a night out for the two of them with Mary and Hannah's help.

"Ma Cherie, I want you to go and have a nice soak in the tub and then put on something sexy and come out to dinner with me tonight. It's been a while since we had time alone."

"We can't leave Mary with all the children to feed and put to bed on such short notice."

"It has all been arranged. She will have help. No excuses now. Go do whatever you need to do to get ready. We'll leave at six."

"Even without Jessica?"

"Yes, even wthout Jessica. If you feed her right before we go, she'll only need one feeding while we're gone and there's still the extra milk you stored in the freezer. I'll go right now and take it out to thaw. She will be just fine"

She looked at him and saw that he was serious and she could think of no other arguments of why they couldn't go. He was right. They hadn't taken much time for themselves, except for stolen moments here and there and at night once the children were all asleep. So she kissed him, then swatted his behind as she ran out of the kitchen.

"Hey, watch that. You'll get yourself into trouble doing things like that." he hollered after her and could hear her giggle as she hurried up the stairs.

"Is Mama naughty, Papa?" Kayti asked as she came into the kitchen.

"I sure hope so, Ma Petite. I really hope so."

Kayti gave him a funny look and he immediately realized his mistake. He swung her up into his arms and pushed her shirt up with his nose and blew on her belly making her laugh, hoping to distract her from asking questions he wasn't sure how to answer.

*

"Thank you Seb. I didn't realize how much we needed this." she said as they were seated at their table at the Cafe 333 restaurant located in the Hilton Bayfront Hotel in the waterfront district of downtown St. Petersburg, just a short drive from Clearwater.

"Yeah well I did. You need to stop and have some time to relax and I don't just mean once you've gotten into bed at night. I did have a specific reason for taking you out tonight. You cooked for me on this night last year." he said before taking a sip of his wine and waited while she tried to figure out why he was thinking of this particular night.

"Oh my God. It has been a year, hasn't it?"

"Yes and I thought of asking you to make Aunt Jessie's Lasagna for dinner tonight and then I changed my mind. I wanted to have you all to myself for a while. I've been remembering that day all day today. How I felt when I saw your face up on the screen as I watched your submission for the contest. My heart felt like it skipped several beats in that moment. Then Alex coming in the room and then I knew it was real. I had found you after so many years of just those few memories we shared. When she called you and she put you on speakerphone and I heard your voice for the first time in so many years, I almost spoke to you right then. But Alex wanted to surprise you."

"Well, she did that. When I realized that it was you standing in the doorway and not just my overactive imagination playing tricks on me, I thought my legs were going to give out on me."

"I was nervous too, and not just that night. I got so many mixed signals from you, I couldn't tell for so long how you really felt. I was afraid that too much time and circumstances in life had made it impossible for us to be together."

Lisa reached across the table and laced her fingers with his.

"I'm so sorry Seb. I wanted to let myself love you but at the same time, I had the walls that I had built up around myself that wouldn't let me be happy, not until after that night when I broke my ankle anyway. You didn't leave me. Even with all of the pain and ugliness that had been in my life. You still loved me and I could feel it. It wouldn't let me push you away any longer. I love you Seb. I will love you forever."

"I love you too, Baby."

Their conversation was interupted while they ordered and they didn't go back to that topic of conversation but they both knew that they had come a long way in a year, both individually and as a couple.

They had a magnificent dinner and just when they were finishing their shared dessert, Seb motioned for the check. He saw the flash of disappointment on Lisa's face.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, the evening just went by so fast. We need to do this more often."

"As often as we can. We need time together to regroup and to be able to have an uninterupted conversation with no children crying or fighting or needing something, not that I mind it most of the time. But we do need to be sure that we don't get lost in the shuffle of the day to day routines."

Lisa nodded in agreement and stood after the waiter had returned Seb's credit card, not noticing the extra card that he gave to Seb. He took her arm and as they left the restaurant and Lisa was turning to head through the lobby to the exit, Seb gently pulled her towards the elevators.

"Seb, what are you doing?"

"You'll see." he said looking quite smug.

He led her into the elevator and they got off on the 12th floor. He looked at the key card he had just pulled from his pocket and checked the number before turning in the right direction.

He unlocked the door and turned on a light before closing the door. They both stood looking out the large windows at the fabulous view of the bay.

"Tonight I would like for you to shut everything but you and I out of that beautiful head of yours and just enjoy this time we have together. The children will be fine. Hannah is spending the night to help. All too soon, the tour will start and I will be missing you like crazy. Love me tonight, Ma Cherie and let me love you."

Lisa had no words, so she just nodded and stood there while he stepped behind her and unzipped her dress and pushed it off of her shoulders to fall in a pool at her feet. He helped her step out of it and picked it up and laid it neatly over the chair, mindful that she would need to put it back on in the morning.

He released the clip that had held the sides of her hair up on the back of her head and let her hair fall. He ran his fingers through it and spread it out over her shoulders, loving the silky feel of it and the fragrance of the strawberry shampoo she'd used this afternoon.

He began dropping feather light kisses over her face and shoulders, coming back to find and tease her lips, not staying there long enough for Lisa's liking when he trailed kisses across her cheeks and just beneath her earlobe.

She reached out and began to loosen his tie and then once it was out of the way, she made short work of the buttons on his shirt. Her fingers were already shaking in anticipation and finally she asked him to help her as she was trying to remove his shirt.

It didn't take them much longer before they had rid themselves of the barriers to being able to touch one another's bare skin.

Seb pulled back the duvet and the sheet and helped her into the bed and joined her, stretching himself out along side of her, his body touching hers along its length.

Lisa ran her fingers through his thick hair and pulled his head down to her so she could kiss him.

Seb took her lips in a hard kiss, passionate and filled with all of the need he felt and as she could feel him asking for more from her, she gave herself freely to him as they showed each other their love long into the night.

In the morning after Lisa called Mary to be sure that everything was alright and that Jessica had enough milk to last her a while longer she stepped into the shower while Seb had left the room, saying he would be right back. When he returned he had a small overnight bag with her makeup and their toothbrushes. It also had her breast pump in it. He was glad that Mary had reminded him to take it. Lisa was already having pain because she had not fed the baby or pumped in more than twelve hours. He set it up for her and she was quite relieved to see it when she came out of the bathroom. Mary had even included the little vials to store the milk in for later use.

Seb ordered room service and asked for a late check out and they ate breakfast and lounged around in the bed making love again before they finally decided they should be heading back home.

"That was a wonderful surprise Seb. Thank you."

"It was a terrific night and morning he added with a chuckle, getting a poke in the ribs."

They arrived home after lunch time to a bunch of eager children, wanting to know where they had gone and why they didn't sleep at home. Lisa told them that Mama and Papa went on a date, that this is what Mama's and Papa's do sometimes. She told them that she was glad that they had all behaved and let them all head back out to the playground.

Once they were alone, Lisa told him that she would be looking forward to more dates like that and as often as possible.