Heartbreak and Hope Ch. 14

MBWA= Management by walking around. Project managers who spend too much time in their office trailer are the ones who tend to miss issues early when they are small and easy to fix.

I encourage everyone to review the burp scene from the movie Elf. Culture in its highest form.

Heartbreak and Hope Ch.14

An overload of Christmas

Wednesday, November 25, 2020

Damn, I love The Cornwall Islands.

I know, I know. I've said it far too much.

Besides the normal everyday which is extraordinary by itself, you could feel the air of excitement in the days preceding Christmas Season. The people here lived their dreams and that air of the upcoming month-long celebration was something I never experienced even before the economy in the US imploded. Even the adults felt it like kids again and though I had been involved with the crews putting up decorations and getting The Christmas Market ready, I felt it too. It was like when I was a small child before my father died and I could not wait for Christmas.

This was bigger, MUCH bigger and it was everywhere!

The decorations around The Central Fountain and West Park were installed though not switched on yet, waiting for the official launch tonight. The Christmas Market was in place though they would not open until half past six that evening. It was all set to go and the electricity in the air made me smile.

The twenty fifth of November was not a holiday for day shift jobs as the official season started at six that evening. I was at work a bit early looking to head out to my project after grabbing my Ipad off my desk when I met Gemma at the base of the stairs carrying a big box and wearing a big smile. She looked at me with a bit of a quizzical expression and asked, "Where are your decorations?"

She saw my confusion then clucked at me, "Today is a work day but it isn't."

She sighed, "Joshua, I love your diligence, but honestly, you are already getting high marks for your one year review. Relax already! Go do whatever you absolutely must get done then get your ass over to St. Ives Marketplace or SOMEPLACE and get yourself some decorations for your cubicle. Today is a celebration and that includes work hours. Best decorating wins prizes and there are a ton of categories!"

Can The Cornwall Islands get any better? It seems unlikely, but somehow I know they will.

My task for the day was pretty easy. Head on over to the West Park and my Tram Station and do my usual MBWA. Well, that turned out to be a waste as it was empty, and yeah, no one in my crew was working today. So much for that, so I decided to walk through The Christmas Market as a favor to my wife just to make sure I didn't see any issues. I stopped by Eric and Shelby's spot just to say hello and saw just about the coolest Christmas ornament I have ever seen. There may not have been many St Ives Island workers, but the booth operators were all preparing for the big rush.

Eric was holding a Christmas ornament and looking at it intently. He hooked a wire to it and smiled. The fucking thing lit up inside!

I walked up and said, "Holy shit that's cool!"

He looked up and smiled at me, "Even better!"

It was clear he was proud of his wife's work, "Shelby came up with some amazing designs. We 3d print the scenes then attach them to 80 millimeter fillable Christmas ornament halves. Wiring up the LEDs is a pain, but we have the assembly down to just under ten minutes each. Turns out, my mom is a wizard at soldering. Shelby does the painting and my dad and I ran the 3D printers and did logistical stuff like boxing."

I was looking at this amazing Christmas ornament. It looked like a standard ornament but part of the front half was missing and in its place was a 3D printed miniature indoor Christmas Tree with presents under it. The Christmas tree had 8 micro LED lights on it and they lit the fuck up! It was attached to a tiny control board and a USB-C connector to a standard cell phone charger pack that was painted Christmas Tree green.

I was happy for them and I knew a winner when I saw it, "This has to be the coolest Christmas ornament I have ever seen. I can't wait to buy one myself."

He smiled and shook his head, "Your wife in particular has been a friend to us. It's hard living on top of my parents since they were evicted and moved in, but it cuts monthly expenses in half and my dad did manage to get a job at a defense contractor in their warehouse. I won't take your money and in fact, have one of each."

There were five scenes; The Christmas Tree, Santa's Sleigh on a rooftop, A big outdoor tree, A flying Santa Sleigh, and lit wreath. No other word fits: EPIC!

He looked at me with a bit of fear, "I sure hope these things sell. We've put everything into this market. We did bring our standard offerings from the summer market just to help cover costs."

I knew damn well that he had nothing to worry about and I reassured him, "I think you have a hit on your hands."

I thanked them both profusely for the decorations then placed the treasures into my car and texted my wife that I was headed to St. Ives Marketplace because today was not much of a workday and I had to decorate my cubicle then get back for some workplace celebrations. She texted back to come pick her up as she had been lectured about Christmas being a big thing and had to do the same. Today's 'work' day had pretty much zero actual work.

We headed straight to St. Ives Marketplace and didn't have a lot of time so got right to it, picking up some of the more mundane things at Walmart and nicer stuff at John Lewis, Lowes, and a place we had never been inside named The Range. St. Ives Marketplace had all that we needed and we were done by half past ten and headed back where I dropped Jennifer off after hoofing her boxes into her workplace for her and giving her three of the five decorations from Eric and Shelby. No one at Jones and Cranston Meats was doing anything particularly useful and people were decorating and bullshitting.

Once back at work, I brought my own boxes in and headed to my cubicle. It was festive as you could feel the happiness in the air as everyone did the same; decorated and talked with people while Christmas music was played on the overhead speaker system. I decorated the front of my cubicle with a shallow arbor then put garlands and lights plus a bunch of typical ornaments and lights all along the edges. I placed one of the green battery packs inside the arbor frame and one each of the lit ornaments on each side at eye level then turned them on.

I kept the best looking ornament for myself. The Christmas Tree one and also kept the wreath one. Yes, I gave my wife three ornaments and kept two. I'm not dumb! I did keep the coolest ornament for my cubicle. I'm not a doormat either.

Lunch was catered from Kroger and yes, they did a nice job on the roast beef, chicken and vegan sandwiches. Two in the afternoon was judging time and I won a ten dollar Bianchi's Pizza gift card for nicest individual decoration. Yeah, the lit Christmas Tree ornament from Eric and Shelby's booth was judged the best.

I could have told you that this morning!

I won the award for best decorated cubicle of the 2020 hires and was pointed to a table to pick my prize from among those on the tabletop. There was a pile of ten dollar gift cards to pick from and I chose Burger Whirled. I won two others for guessing the number of M&Ms in a big glass container and one a pure chance drawing from a punchbowl. I also got to keep the giant container of M&Ms that I had correctly guessed.

We were let out of work an hour early as had my wife who just wanted to hang out around town. That sounded great and most places along The Central Fountain were doing brisk, almost manic trade. It wasn't even official yet and the atmosphere was electric with happiness and laughter everywhere! We just took in the scene and let the happiness overwhelm us.

I looked at my wife as we simply walked around and took in the festive air. Her smile... bliss. This Christmas is the starkest possible contrast to the year before.

No shock that we had dinner at Burger Whirled. I finally got to try the Jamaican Jerk Fries with my burger and the list of things I wanted to try again that was already hopelessly long grew by one. Again.

Afterward, we headed into West Park and saw the stall owners getting ready for the big launch after the opening ceremony. The market was roped off, but both Jennifer and I had market worker passes so we entered and explored. Jennifer's shipping container idea was genius and from the front or any of the covered sides, you would never know they were twenty foot shipping containers with faux wooden fronts and sides which we could then store inside the containers in the off season then stack those containers in a container yard at the freight port.

Damn my wife did an awesome job! OVER THREE HUNDRED STALLS on five separate 'lanes' with eating areas and decorations and Christmas trees scattered about! forty-four of the stalls had handicrafts from abroad representing twenty-one countries. forty-two had exotic foods from abroad and the whole thing of working around food regulations worked perfectly by having the foreign food booths purchase their raw ingredients from our domestic suppliers. Everybody won!

The sights. The smells. Wondrous.

It was getting close to the time of the official launch of the season so we headed to The Central fountain at fifteen until six and the whole Central Fountain area. What a sight! It was packed with people and the scene was one of happy excitement. Young, old, in between... It did not matter and smiles were everywhere.

At two minutes to six, the largest central fountain pump shot a big column of water into the air and at a minute until six a laser projected an image onto the surface of the water: 1:00, :59, :58... You get the idea. At six... FUCK the whole damn place lit up with lights and decorations and magic and the masses cheered the start of The Christmas Season.

The center stage lit up and Charles Hall spoke, "WELCOME TO CHRISTMAS SEASON!"

The cheering was loud, VERY loud.

Charles waited then continued, "This will be my last year with my privilege of launching our annual festival. Anna Clarke will be Prime Minister as of March fifteenth. I want to thank everyone involved as both times I got to start this have been special to me."

"I won't bore you with a long windy speech. Just some thanks before our brief Christmas Season Launch mini concert. First I want to thank Ed Williamson, the Tourism Minister who works hard every year to make the Christmas Season the most enjoyable it can be. I also want to thank Barbara Billing who is the Director of Tourism in charge of the celebrations near the Central Fountain. Barbara, the decorations this year are even better than last. I can't wait for the nightly Christmas laser and music shows! That being said, Barbara has a sad announcement. Barbara..."

Barbara is a fiftyish red haired woman who walked up to the podium and said, "We have the end of an era this year. This is the last year that Ellen Montgomery organized the Christmas Market and she left with a bang and the biggest market ever! I want to thank her with a plaque and sincere thanks for her twenty nine years organizing the markets."

Ellen was prepared and waiting at the side of the stage as she walked up the stairs with some help from Charles Hall. Ellen smiled and started, "I'll keep this brief. First, thank you. I love my country and this was simply my way of giving back to the place I grew up in, had a life I loved and raised a family here. I look back and have no regrets. A life well lived is the best life story one can have and I certainly have had such a life."

There was cheering and she waited then continued, "That being said. Yes this is the biggest and I would dare say best ever market by a mile. More than doubling the size of the largest markets perhaps about fifteen years ago and I thank you for all the cheers."

There was more cheering and she waited.

"I had almost nothing to do with it."

There was now stunned silence.

"It would be a gross injustice if I were to take credit for this market. Let's not deny reality. I am eighty and I am tired and the last few markets have been underwhelming. I was so tired and no one was brave enough to tell me that, trying to spare my feelings. Last Christmas I realized it when it was the smallest market since the early 1980s and I asked Charles to look around and replace me when he saw the opportunity. Perhaps it is fate as he found someone who took the role then crushed it."

She smiled, "I had the absolute privilege to meet a young woman with extraordinary intelligence and that was combined with a heart as big as the islands and creativity I haven't seen in a very long time. This market isn't mine. I only advised her and made sure she followed the laws about transparency and keeping things legal. This market is hers and hers alone and it easily eclipses the best market I ever arranged. Jennifer, I know you are out there somewhere in this crowd. Honey. Come up to the stage and take your bow. You deserve it."

Jennifer just stood there. I took her hand and started walking toward the stage. She had worked like a dog to make it the smash success it was going to be and Damnit! she was going to get her due.

She didn't resist though she trailed me a bit. Shy? I dunno, but she was getting her due. I was so proud of her and the market was magnificent!

Ellen saw us approaching though Jennifer still trailed and she smiled, "Come on Jennifer! This is your market. Take your bow."

Jennifer almost trudged up the stairs and stood next to Ellen then Ellen aimed the microphone at Jennifer. Jennifer just shrugged, "I'm just... me. I'm no one special. I mean. I had help. All the women in our group helped me. Cara created the ads for the webpage. Stephanie helped lay out everything and figure out how big the lanes should be so we could have the utilities behind the booths and not the lanes, Sara and Sophia helped sort out suppliers and made a ton of calls. Jessica and Anna organized the innumerable samples and packages that arrived out of our storage unit. Brianna, Hannah and Lauren did research for me."

I loved that about her, I knew the truth that despite her giving credit, the results were hers. She was good to those who were good to her.

Ellen smiled then took the microphone, shaking her head in disbelief at Jennifer's refusal to take credit for her effort, "Smart, creative, sweet, and humble."

She looked up to the crowd, "And THAT is exactly why the market is a huge success. She lived this project for months and was full of fresh ideas."

There was a lot of cheering. Jennifer smiled, but was quite overwhelmed and simply said, "Thank you and thank you to all those who helped me. It wasn't just me."

Jennifer looked uncomfortable with the accolades so they ended the speeches and walked off the stage as they brought up Trans Siberian Orchestra for a two song launch mini concert as a preview for the one the next day. It was pretty basic as they did not have the full stage setup and almost immediately launched into Faith Noel and then Christmas Canon.

Once at the bottom of the stairs, Charles Hall looked at her and said, "Yeah. It really was pretty much you. And I must pat myself on the back for pushing you into the role."

He smiled in a fatherly manner, "Jennifer. You have no idea how brightly you are shining right now."

Jennifer only shrugged then Charles said. "Jennifer, the hotels and even the campgrounds are full. Three cruise ships are anchored in the Harbor using tenders and ferries to bring passengers in because the Cruise ship piers in town have all four berths filled and normally today have two or three docked. Most of the people are going to your market and more importantly the whole idea of having extra cruises arrive tonight was yours. You try to deflect, but I was at the meeting where you suggested it. Barbara and I were just taking notes as fast as we could write as all those ideas came spilling out of your head.

"Yes, others arranged the logistics and details, but this is going to be our biggest Christmas Market yet by far and it is because of you. Stand tall because we have around eighty thousand guests on St Ives Island when the normal number today was perhaps around forty to fifty. The cruise ship idea and the campground idea were both brilliant. Normally, we would have only filled the hotels. We have two extra container ships landing next week alone bringing extra food and supplies and just... stuff for our guests that we are going to need."

He shook his head then smiled, "And still humble. Over the next 30 days, a million people, both islanders and guests, are going to have the time of their lives between today and Christmas and you created part of it. A million people are going to see your market. Think about that. A million."

He smiled at her fondly then chuckled and said, "I'm meeting my family to wander. Have a great evening, you earned it."

He took two steps and turned with a mischievous smile, "Oh, Jennifer."

She nodded, "Yeah?"

Charles teased, or maybe not, "I expect you will top this one, next year. We need at least six lanes in The Christmas Market and there are room for up to eight" He smirked, turned and walked away with his family.

The mini concert started and Jennifer finally let go, smiled, and admitted to herself she had crushed it. SHE had crushed it. MY wife... had been given a huge project and crushed it!

It was a mass of people either listening to the two song mini concert or heading to the Christmas market right at half past six. We headed to Christmas Tree Lane where Eric and Shelby already had a two deep line of people with items in their hands and their wallets out! I just stopped dead and took it in and Jennifer looked at me quizzically until I said, "Would you just look at this! You did this Jennifer! YOU... did this!"

The lights, the booths, smiles everywhere. One side had several booths that had mulled wine while one from Germany had real German sausages in types that were not normally available on the islands. On the other side was a place selling handicraft Christmas Pyramids and another was run by Jamaicans doing a brisk trade in Jamaican Jerk Chicken. She smiled and yes, this was me feeding her ego. Her work was nothing short of magnificent. Her Christmas Market.... HER Christmas Market was an overwhelming success.

And it was still filling up!

She smiled then kissed me and hugged me close, "Thank you Joshua. Your support means a lot."

I hugged her, "Love you!"

She relaxed in my embrace then backed away, smiled and repeated the words, "Love you. You have no idea how much right now."

We were walking through the growing crowd when Shelby called out to us as we neared her and her husband's booth, "Jennifer!"

Shelby came out with the biggest happy smile and handed her a Christmas card, "I know it's not much, but we don't have much. Eric will be heading back on Monday as he has run out of vacation time and I will be staying the duration and his mom is taking his place. Still. Thank you. I want you to know this is making all the difference for us."

She immediately went back to taking sales as her line started growing. Their regular ornaments were a hit, but their lit LED ornaments were a smash hit, even at twenty dollars each and many people were buying complete sets of five. After buying our own home set of five in addition to the ones Eric had given me, and a few other more mundane ornaments, we took our leave and left them to their line of eager customers.

The mix of booths was made for a festive air and the smell of the food did nothing but make me hungry. The biggest problem was overwhelming choice and not wanting to eat overwhelming calories. We ended up renting one of the dock lockers normally used for cross harbor shipping as we bought nine hundred dollars worth of handicraft Christmas stuff and perhaps after some mulled wine and a beer and... nevermind... driving back was a bad idea and we left our cars in the lot overnight.

Yeah, it was a lot of money, but Jennifer desperately wanted a happy big Christmas and I believe in the adage of happy wife, happy life.

We got home and just... crashed.

Thursday, November 26, 2020

Happy Jennifer means horny Jennifer and yeah, we started with a nice outdoor shower session then went for a harder repeat with me pounding her bent over the half wall. It was a nice moment afterward and after cleaning up, she hugged me so close and with such meaning, "Joshua. Just... Thank you for everything. I can't think of any way to make my life better but somehow, you will figure one out."

She just stood there after that, just hugging me and just being together. Call me a softy and yeah, I loved it.

She had a sudden thought, let go and headed inside to our Balsam Hill tree box that had been delivered a few days previous. That delight in her eyes and she smiled and said, "Help me set the tree up!"

We decorated... and decorated... AND DECORATED, garlands and wreaths and one five foot tall oversize nutcracker standing guard at each side of our door. An overload of Christmas. Inside and outside. She sent me out to the Tesco express to bring back lunch and dinner and never stopped decorating. She sent me out three times to fetch more Command hooks and more garlands and she never stopped decorating. The whole time, she had the happiest smile.

Jennifer's smile. We had spent a lot of money on our overflow of Christmas and Jennifer's smile made it all worth it.

That night for the big Trans Siberian Orchestra Concert... Yep! Movie Max came through and we were in the VIP area in row three like the summer concerts. The set list included most of the album "The Lost Christmas Eve," then an intermission and a second half of greatest hits from other albums. Two and a half hours of amazing music accompanied by lasers and lights for an evening of a lifetime!

Sex? No. I was out like a light when my head hit the pillow.

Friday, November 27, 2020

Friday was a workday so after my 'Friday four' I met Jennifer at the door of The Interior Department and headed to The Fountain. Usually, it would be Squatch or Cal that would greet us first, but today it was different. We were barely in the door when Ems saw Jennifer and called across the room, "Jennifer!"

Ems came up to her and said excitedly, "Your market! I LOVE your market!" A dozen women soon surrounded her and she was pulled away from me as they gushed how awesome she was for such a wonderful market and how much larger it was than previous years. She just looked at me as she was pulled away. Yeah, I caught her smile and she deserved it. She had been given a project and tens of thousands of people had already enjoyed it.

Cal ambled over and greeted me with a mug of some special Christmas brew and a clap on the back, "Your wife has really gone and done it! Arra can't get enough of the market though it may end up putting us in bankruptcy!"

He was clearly kidding about the bankruptcy part and ended with, "Happy Arra is well..." He raised his brows then smirked, "She damn near wore my willy right off!"

He looked around, "Keep it quiet, but make sure you and your missus are here around five in the evening next Friday." He said quietly, "I bought a ring. I'm going to make an honest woman out of Arra."

I was about to say 'congratulations' when he shook his head, "Keep it quiet. Only you and Squatch know. Keep it under wraps, okay? It's just. Shit, I sound like a fucking woman, but I want our best friends here for when she says 'yes'."

I nodded then asked, "You know she will say yes?"

He laughed quietly with only a slight bit of nervousness, "Pretty sure. She's been dropping some pretty obvious hints."

As I took the news in, I saw the women herd Jennifer out the opposite side door that faced West Park and The Christmas Market and that was the last I saw her for four hours. She came back and had dinner from the buffet with me then another group of women including Joyce, Cara, and Sophia, dragged her off into the market again.

I became concerned and was about to text her when I saw her come back as it was almost ten in the evening and she had been gone for another five hours. Both my wife and the others had definitely had more than one mulled wine.

I helped her walk home and she was not stumbling so the hangover should be moderate at worst. She was all smiles and talked about how all of the women paid her compliments the entire day about how much they loved the market. They had filled her ego to overflowing and make no mistake, I was happy for her.

Saturday, November 28, 2020

This day was unusual as at eight that morning, two shuttle buses were waiting for us. The women were headed to The Canal District in Devon while Cara joined the men on a Fishing day to the West. Jay explained that the women in the St. Austell group were coming to The Christmas Market while the men headed to a fishing day to the East. Movie Max had done a very good job at keeping the two groups apart.

I ended up with the second biggest fish caught for the day, a two hundred pound Atlantic Swordfish and was pretty sure I was taking home the one hundred dollar Walmart gift card when... Yeah, Cara brought in a two hundred ten pounder. I donated my fish to be sold at the fish market with the proceeds to be given to the recreation charity for workers seriously injured on the job. It hasn't happened on my site, but it does happen on rare occasions and I just don't like eating fish. It was a win-win for me and a cause I care deeply about.

Zach gave me shit about being beaten by a girl until I pointed out he had caught nothing.

Jennifer arrived home at ten that night and firmly told me that I had to go to our bedroom and shut the door and that her office was officially off limits to me until after Christmas. I figured it would be a few minutes, but over twenty passed before she said I could come out. She looked at me sternly, "DO NOT! Go into my office!"

I guess I better get shopping. I don't like shopping, but for my awesome wife... I will become a temporary fanatic.

Sunday, November 29, 2020

The shuttle bus picked us at half past eight and we were taken to IHOP again. Claire greeted us, "Good morning couples!. Today, we are helping the men not mess up Christmas!"

Jennifer gave me a wry smile.

I'll give Movie Max credit, they saved our skins. Turns out during the shopping trip, they had the women start by making 'Santa Lists'. I was given Jennifer's wish list which included sizes and descriptions of what to buy and more importantly, what not to buy. It did not include any clothes except shoes. She loves strappy and comfy sandals. Why do women need so many shoes? I know, who cares, and guess what she is getting a lot of.

It hit me that it took 20 minutes just to bring in her Christmas gifts for me and it was only the first trip! I have some serious shopping time to figure out and how much more was she going to give me? The day, yeah a lot of time at St. Ives Marketplace.

Armed with her list, I hit quite a few stores, figuring many areas outside of shoes were fairly safe for me to choose her gifts. I did pick up a nice sapphire necklace. She had cautioned me against a lot of jewelry, but I wanted to give her a piece or two for her to treasure and remember our first Christmas.

As for the rest of the day. It was shopping so I'll save you more description. Those upcoming smiles from my wife would make the whole day worth it.

Monday, November 30, 2020

My wife texted me, 'You are on your own for dinner. I'm on my way to St. Ives Marketplace. DO NOT GO THERE!"

The Christmas Season was in full swing. I love her, but shit, she is pouring herself into getting me gifts and I can't fuck it up. I pulled my phone out and looked on our banking app to see how much was in the general account and saw a bunch of charges from The Canal District the day before. Budgets. What budgets?

Needing solid advice, I called Joyce and she said she could not betray Jennifer's trust, but perhaps she could point me in the right direction. I mentioned Jennifer's list had comfy sandals so she suggested I head to Cloddy's so that is where I headed. Not Walmart cheap, but Cloddy's was staffed by women who cared about their customers and Jennifer loved the place. They looked at my list and pictures then brought out seven pairs in her size then told me to pick three then realized I was an idiot to not get all seven. We could afford it and I had faith in the Cloddy's staff to do right for both of us.

A trip to a women's shoe store. Yay. Sigh.

I picked some prints up in The Art District. That one was easier as I just picked ones reasonably similar to the ones she had framed and hung on the wall. It didn't hurt that her taste in art was close enough to mine that I could figure out what she would like.

More shopping. Yay. Sigh. But for Jennifer...

Tuesday. December 1, 2020

When I got home Jennifer told me she missed me from last night, and yeah, that felt good. We made an evening of it, having dinner at Somerset Bull again then heading for a little bit of light shopping around The Christmas Market. We browsed until we caught our first Christmas music and laser light show at The Central Fountain. I remember thinking we should see them all as there is a different one each night... and there is no way with our crazy schedules to do it.

Still, the air of the crowd as the show started with the big column of water erupting into the air as a countdown is projected onto the water with lasers... 1:00 :50 :58... The Christmas Specials Music Show... featuring all the music and images of all those Christmas specials from the 1960s to 1980s. Rudolph, Frosty, Peanuts... you get the idea.

The show was an hour and fifteen minutes and a wonderfully low stress way to end the evening with my wife. Even on a Tuesday, the crowd numbered in the thousands of happy attendees. Afterward she walked with her hand latched possessively to my arm as we walked along the promenade and back to our condo.

After the previous Christmas had been so bleak, it struck me how Christmas sure felt like Christmas again...

And that was a gift unto itself.

Wednesday, December 2, 2020

Jennifer was still full of Christmas spirit when I came home to her finishing a call on her cell. Her smile... yeah she could have asked for anything at that point and I would have just nodded, "We're having dinner with my parents. We need to figure out where to eat."

I told her we would head on over and to trust me on my idea for dinner. She smiled, "Okay. I know you are up to something. Just mind my father's ego as they cannot begin to compete against our incomes."

I nodded. Good point, but we were headed to someplace special. We arrived at my in-laws place, getting my bro hug from dad and the boob squish hug from mom. I addressed it to mom as Jennifer's advice had been sound, "Mom. You have no idea how much I love having parents again after my own biological mom rejected me. I love having parents again. I want to take you and dad to a special dinner. I know you loved when we went, so... What do you say we head to Kitakyushu Teppanyaki?"

Mom jumped at it, "Yes!" Dad smiled. I was not going to get away with taking them to expensive places a bunch of times, making it as if I was showing off our higher income, but this one was a go and I am deeply thankful for my in-laws. THEY CHOSE ME!

Being early, we were seated immediately, taking up all four seats of their U shaped tables with our chef in front of us. Like the previous times I had been there, the chef was a master of showmanship and cooking skill. Among other things, mom ordered the onion ring volcano, not because she was big on onions, but because it was so cool. Much of what we ordered was similar to the other times I had been there so I will spare you the long descriptions.

It worked. Dad thanked me and I suggested we head to Burger Whirled next time that 'The women wanted to go shopping'. He nodded and smiled and understood the message underneath that I won't be burying them in expensive dinners as if I am flaunting our higher income. Simply, this was me being grateful for them loving me as one of their own.

After dinner, we headed to the laser light show. The theme was 'A Christmas Carol' set to 1940s Christmas music. Another night and another memory of a lifetime.

Thursday, December 3, 2020

Once again, Jennifer wanted to spend the evening with her parents. She kissed me on the cheek, gave me a squeeze hug then we walked out the door, "My parents loved last night and Dad is okay. You did good in making sure he knew you were showing them love and not showing off."

This night's dinner was Nando's Peri Peri chicken which was located several blocks to the East of The Central Fountain. Nice and relatively cheap, just as we intended. Dad paid for Mom's dinner as he quickly swiped his Visa Card after they ordered. It was important to him though a bit of a stretch. Their seventy thousand income is okay, but certainly not extravagant. They still did not have a car and that helped with keeping their budget low and I was not going to start stepping all over his ego.

Jennifer had her own, after dinner activity in mind. We walked to The Art District to make ornaments, the first to a glass blower shop and another to a ceramics place. Kitschy? Probably, but we made several including a 'Joshua and Jennifer', 'Christmas 2020' and another with all four of our names and 'Christmas 2020.' Those among others were proudly hung on our tree that night.

That night's musical laser light show was Holiday Pop Hits, Christmas songs from the last forty or so years from artists such as Mariah Carey, Band Aid, and Wham! This happens EVERY night and we will not be able to catch all of the shows, much less the ones across the harbor in Devon.

The Cornwall Islands ARE Christmas every year!

Friday, December 4, 2020

As usual, after my Friday Four, Jennifer was waiting at the door for me at eleven. We walked toward The Fountain with too many great smells coming from the Christmas Market nearby as Jennifer said, "By the way, Arra knows."

Cal had given me orders to be discreet so carefully asked, "Exactly, what does she know?"

Jennifer giggled, "You are a good friend, but Cal is ridiculously obvious. Relax. She is going to say yes and put on a big show. I need to know when. Arra wants to make sure she makes it easy for him and has been wanting this for months."

Jennifer sighed, "Joshua. Arra is working to make it good for Cal, too. You aren't betraying anything. She knows he is going to propose. She just wants to make sure she isn't in the bathroom or at The Christmas Market or anything when he wants to do it."

I sighed, hoping I was doing the right thing, "Sometime around five, more or less."

She texted something, presumably to Arra, then kissed me on the cheek, "Relax. She knows and you did nothing wrong."

I paid for us and Joyce and we went inside and greeted all our friends. Arra smiled at me then took Jennifer's hand and led them toward a group of women.

Cal came up and clapped me on the back, "Hi friend!" He was all smiles. We sat at a table, each of us with a beer and a plate of chicken chunks. He looked over at the women then at me, then sighed and chuckled, "She knows, doesn't she?"

I nodded and he laughed, "Relax. It's all good. The women keep looking at us funny like they have something on us."

He paused, "She IS going to say yes?"

I nodded, "Very much so.", reassuring my friend who seemed a bit nervous.

He laughed, "Then it's all good. Shit, I sound like a girl, but I love her."

I laughed, "I love Jennifer and love being married to her. I wish you the same." Cal smiled. He was clearly at peace with his decision to marry Arra.

Squatch walked in with Ems and they split up, Ems toward the women and Squatch toward us after he got a beer. Squatch came over and sat down and looked at Cal, "Lisa the bartender knows so everyone in The Fountain pretty much knows. Sorry bud, your cover is blown."

Cal laughed, "It's all good and I already figured."

Arra kept looking over at us then looked around at the entire pub.

Squatch laughed, "All of the women are looking at us. Something is up."

There was commotion among the women then I heard Ems say, "Wait!"

Arra walked straight toward us with a determined look in her eyes and stood in front of Cal, presented her left hand and said, "Cal. Yes. Please. I need it to be official now and I cannot wait for evening."

Cal sat there shocked, "But..."

Arra pushed her hand closer, "Cal. I need it to be official now. I'm not waiting until this evening."

I hadn't noticed the extra Arsenal tumbler sitting at our table. He opened the top and pulled out a ring box then got on one knee, "Arra will you do me..."

"Ye..."

He laughed then continued. It was easy now that he knew the answer before he finished the question, "Do me the great honor of becoming my wife?"

"YES!" There were a lot of cheers and clinking of glances as she enthusiastically threw herself into his arms and repeated various versions of 'Yes'.

They disappeared ten minutes later, only to reappear a half hour after that. Arra's lady parts were a blush pink and she was unsubtle in occasionally taking a wet wipe from her purse to clean them as the mess occasionally made its presence known. That is one thing still hard to get used to. No one hides the fact they had just been intimate. She would wipe, head to the lady's room to wash her hands and dispose of the wipe only to take her place back at Cal's side. No one had any form of modesty short of not screwing in the middle of the room.

My father-in-law Robert arrived shortly after four as usual and took his place with us as Joyce was off with the women, probably at The Christmas Market again. Jennifer came back right before the nightly laser light show which we watched with our family and friends. Just a great night watching the show which had a Mannheim Steamroller feel to classic Christmas Carols.

A good memory of a friend making it official with the woman in his life. I looked back a year into the past and realized just how different times can be. A year ago was hell. Today was damn close to perfect.

Saturday, December 5, 2020

We had the day to ourselves until the evening so we did yet another pool and barbecue party - something that was becoming the norm if Movie Max did not have anything specific for us. The shuttle bus came to get us at five, taking us to the docks just West of The Central Fountain and to an eighty foot long and very intimate dinner cruise boat that had only twelve tables, each with only two chairs. By the time we were all seated, the sun was setting and Claire greeted us, "Good evening couples! Welcome to your Christmas lights dinner cruise!"

Yeah, it sounded completely awesome. Claire continued with a happy air and I noted her husband was seated at the table nearest the bow, "We are going to make a circle around the harbor, including the Devon side."

Everyone was looking forward to the evening. Jennifer and I had the fourth table from the bow and all the seats faced the port side which would always be the landward side as the journey began going West along the shore of Somerset perhaps two hundred feet from the shore so we got to see the cheerful lights up close.

We passed the West condos where the other five St. Ives Island couples lived, their condos and the layout being a twin to ours, but West of The Central Fountain instead of East, all of the units having some lights, and some having more than others, all giving a nice Christmas air. Shortly thereafter we passed the condo towers of the West End including the tower that Squatch lived in and the even larger tower where Ellen Montgomery lived in her lofty perch. I'm not sure how much she paid someone to line those lights along her skybourne palace... I'm sure she can afford it. More lights. Salads arrived... More towers followed by smaller condo towers then mansions of the rich and finally a beach until we came to the West breakwaters and slowly crossed the harbor.

Dinner arrived and Jennifer and I both had filet in wine sauce. An amazing and safe choice as we passed across the harbor heading North toward the other island.

Devon is smaller than Somerset so the undeveloped beach at the West end was longer though looks to be more scenic as it meets hills at the West end of town where sand dunes lead down into the water. The Cornwall Islands bring beautiful surprises every time I see a new area.

The outskirts of Devon began with a mix of mansions and two and three story condo developments blending into larger and larger buildings as we neared downtown. We passed the ferry docks then the fun pier with its giant ferris wheel; the wheel itself was ablaze in even more lights for The Christmas Season. The mid-sized towers of downtown did not disappoint with a giant Christmas tree at the harborfront next to The Central Canal. The park surrounding it is a lively mix with a smaller Christmas market but more of a 'County Fair' atmosphere. In the background, we could see the Christmas laser light show going, theirs this night being Bach themed.

Claire assured us we would get to visit Devon Christmas in the near future.

A little past downtown, Sophia pointed at a group of condos coming up perhaps a quarter mile ahead, her voice sharp, "Look!"

I did not understand why she was interested in them. It was just a group of ten condos shaped in a shallow V pattern. Anthony asked, "What? it's just condos?"

I could not understand why she was so interested and perhaps alarmed? I'm not sure of the right word, but she seemed a bit ill at ease. It was just ten small pastel painted condos. The pool area was fairly well lit up by a combination of the pool light casting a soft blue light upward and several faux gas 'lanterns' on posts also adding to the illumination. All were decorated for Christmas. Some with white lights, some with colored, one with just green alternating with red. There was a string of softly glowing, but larger lights going from one group of five on the left to another group on the right. At the center looked to be a large pool house. It was attractive, but nothing all that out of the ordinary.

We were all giving her blank looks so Sophia said, "Look at how the pool is laid out."

We all shrugged until she repeated, "Look at how the pool is laid out. TEN condos sitting above a common pool... WHERE ELSE have you seen a pool that looks just like it?"

It his me and I said it, "Fuck!"

Sophia looked at me and said, "You think?"

I looked closer and it hit me like a thunderbolt. Each condo had a separate space at the pool level with a half wall. JUST like ours.

Each separate space had 2 loungers. JUST LIKE OURS.

The condos were a different style but sat above the pool about six feet. JUST LIKE OURS.

They were waterfront. JUST LIKE OURS. The only difference is our group has two complexes of five condos and their group is all together at one.

Then I saw it, A laser cut metal wind spinner with butterflies. In the center was 'J+A' and the blades were butterflies. Ashley loved butterflies. The shock hit me and I knew. I just realized that that pale yellow condo was where Ashley lived with her new husband and my vague recollections of that brown haired guy, his name started with J.

I hadn't thought of Ashley in forever. It hit me hard. Jennifer took my hand, "You okay?"

I nodded, "Yeah. You're my world now. It's just shocking."

She squeezed my hand, "It's okay. Aaron lives at the end one on the far right. The gray condo. See the big bag of soccer balls at the back of the patio area?"

I nodded. She squeezed my hand again, "You are my world, but I get it. It was kind of a shock."

Our host, Claire, was furiously texting. Two minutes later she said with a bit of a sour look, "Maybe the cruise was a mistake and maybe it's not. Please. Don't sneak across the harbor and show up at the condos."

That confirmed what we suspected and this was where our ex-spouses were living.

Nick raised his hand, "I think I speak for all of us in that... shit, everyone knows Hannah and I aren't going to last. I loved my ex-wife Emma, and I take my vows to both wives seriously even though Hannah and I don't mesh. I would never ruin Emma's world by showing up. I know everyone thinks I'm an asshole."

He shrugged, "Maybe I am. One thing I am not is evil, so I will not go to the middle condo from the Right side where she lives. She always loved Geraniums and I see four hanging baskets of them in her patio area by the pool. I knew her and loved who she was, and I know that is where she now lives with another man. She always cared well for her plants and I see those are doing well enough to spill over the sides of the baskets."

Claire asked, "Do I have everyone's agreement to not do anything with this knowledge and respect their privacy?"

Everyone nodded, even Nick. Maybe he's not such a huge asshole after all. Everyone had taken a ton of pictures. No doubt we would all know which unit our former spouses lived in. Three of us had already figured out exactly where. It was a given that the women would get together and piece it together.

I looked at Jennifer and offered my hand and repeated, "You are my world now."

She smiled then leaned across to kiss my cheek, "I know." She side hugged me briefly and gave a small squeeze. Till death do us part.

Claire seemed relieved that our attention was now drawn to a castle on a large rock promontory on the water's edge. Holy fuck it was cool, looking a bit like Château de Chillon on Lake Geneva in Switzerland. Roofed towers and a seemingly random layout, I knew it was a concrete recreation, but holy shit it was convincing.

Claire was glad to change subjects, "That is Mulgrave Castle, once owned by one of the descendants of the First Earl Of Mulgrave, a line long since extinct in England, but owned by the descendants from the 1700s until Edward Mulgrave died there in 1897, then given over to the government of The Cornwall Islands. Like most of everything else, it was partially destroyed in the 1946 hurricane, partly razed, and rebuilt as a replica. It serves as a combination multi-use venue with event and commercial spaces. The terrace on the far left is often used for weddings or corporate events while the two away from it on the right have restaurants.

Everyone looked at Claire and she laughed, "Yes, one of the restaurants is in the works. We have to save some of the nicer things for next year."

The cruise continued past the castle were more three to five story condo towers and finally more of the mansions of the rich along the shore, some done up elaborately with Christmas Decor. After that, another beach park inside the harbor and we made our way across to the East end of Somerset. It was the same pattern in reverse; mansions then condo towers then a mix as we got closer to town. We passed our own condos and finally the center of town and The Central Fountain. By then it was half past ten and time to head back once docked.

The shuttle bus took us back to our condos, little conversation happened as we were tired and had all had a shock for the day. All in all a day I did not regret though I now knew where to look across the harbor to where Ashley lived. At five miles away, it was too far to even be a specific point of light in that wondrous view out from our harborfront balcony.

Saturday, December 12, 2020

We met the shuttle bus at half past seven to be taken to the ferry docks for a quick run across the harbor. After a one stop tram ride from the docks into downtown, we entered a restaurant named 'Muldoons' a block from the Western part of the park that lies on both sides of The Central Canal. It had an Irish theme with dark wood and brass in a classic or perhaps stereotypical Irish look. It was decent, but did not make my favorites list then add that it was expensive. Well, Movie Max paid for it so I guess that counts for something.

This morning was different as neither Jay nor Claire was our host. A pretty woman who appeared to be in her very late twenties with shoulder length blonde hair stood at the front and introduced herself, "Good morning couples! Welcome! I'm Charlotte and I am your hostess today. Normally, I work with the St. Austell group, but today I am hosting you. As a native of St. Austell, I am proud of my home. There may be a smaller population, but I assure you there is a lot to do and see here!", her voice happy and infectious.

"Today we are spending the day enjoying The Christmas Fair at The Central Canal Park. This one is very different from The Christmas Market in Somerset. It is much more like a county or state fair in the US with rides and games along with food typical of a fair in the US. In fact, the tradition started with some former US soldiers who decided to stay after World War Two ended. They were homesick for some things and in December of 1945, they held the first Christmas Fair. They even held a diminished one in the aftermath of the 1946 hurricane and from there the fair grew over the years into what it is today."

She had us line up and gave us a wristband. She explained, "This one is for free attractions which includes rides and shows, but does not include free food and games. We have several video crews out and about taking video so enjoy! Meet me at half past twelve at the North end of the park for a special lunch and at six for a special dinner."

We walked into the park that lined both sides of The Central Canal and it was exactly as advertised. The ends toward the harbor had a number of cheesy street carnival rides just like an American state fair. The tilt-a-whirl, roller coaster and 'ferris wheel' were okay and were worth doing only because they were free, however, the swinging boat ride and the swing ride were genuinely good fun.

It was a good morning despite the cheesy rides, mostly because of the happy atmosphere with smiles and laughter surrounding us as we strolled both of the midways on each side of the canal with the usual rigged games with overinflated basketballs and shooting games with BB guns that were two inches from straight.

I bought two bucks of ring toss and won Jennifer a small bear for which I got a cheek kiss and an 'I love you.' WORTH IT! Yeah, I'm a sucker in love with my wife.

Lunch was at the pirate themed, Harr! Ible, again with a great time like the last time and yes, we walked the plank at the end again. Most of us did. Yes, even Nick and Hannah. They seem to get along better now, knowing they are not going to last and just trying to be friends if at least friendly.

So... Just a day at the equivalent of a county fair and everyone had a fun time.

Dinner, however, was as special as advertised. We met up with Charlotte at the appointed time where she led us into Downtown Devon to the thirtieth floor of the Barclays building. Le Sommet Barclay was high end from the entry which had marble tile floors and a mahogany Maitre d' stand where Charlotte talked to a naked but perfectly snooty looking guy in a bowtie and fancy ultra shiny shoes. It was high end perfect, down to the area to the right of the lobby being a softly lit French Wine Cellar themed pub.

We followed the maitre' d' in and we were paired with Andrew and Stephanie at a table for four at a window side table with a view to the East overlooking the Eastward shore of the harbor in the distance and Mulgrave Castle several miles away. Yeah, we all looked at the condos where the other group lived, about a half mile was too far to see any details beyond the basic layout and that it was on a small side street East of the Central Canal Park.

I knew it would be another experience when I was handed a leather bound menu and each page had 'prix fixe 195' at the top of the page. Fortunately 'Steak Frites' is basically a very good strip steak and French Fries. It sounds fancy and was served fancy. I will admit it was done perfectly and the Fries even came with some kind of seasoning that made them a favorite for my too long list. Jennifer had a big smile with her first bite of steak. Perhaps we shall return at an anniversary or maybe her parents' anniversary. A good place for a special occasion.

It was near dark by the time we finished and headed back down into the Christmas Fair then to the park at the harbor front where we were led into a VIP area. You guessed it, Movie Max again where we sat in very nice director style chairs for a big fireworks show. The awesome never ends in The Cornwall Islands.

The trip back after the fireworks... I gave Jennifer the seat next to the water on the ferry ride back across, but we were so tired she leaned into me after kissing my cheek and smiled a sleepy, "I love you." She managed to fall asleep in the short ride back across.

I carried her in from the shuttle bus, 'Carry the bride' style. She smiled and gave me another cheek kiss as I set her in bed.

Sex? You're funny. She rolled over 2 seconds after another cheek kiss. I was asleep a minute later.

Sunday, December 13, 2020

We had the morning to ourselves until we were picked up at eleven and taken to lunch at a Lebanese place called Zaytoun Grove, located four blocks East of The Central Fountain. Jay met us, walking through the elegant arch into the lobby done up in colorful tiles, Jay spoke briefly with the host who led us into a corner area along the left side which would be semi private.

The place was well done. Arabesque panels were backlit in arched enclosures along the walls, giving the room a middle eastern and Mediterranean feel. Our entire group plus Jay were all seated at one long table.

Jay smiled, "Welcome Couples! Another new experience at a local favorite for you today with Lebanese food! As usual, lunch is on me!"

Looking over the menu, there looked to be too many good choices. I chose the lamb skewer and Jennifer chose the chicken skewer.. Once the orders were in, appetizers came to be shared across the table. Bulgur Croquettes, Spiced potato cubes and a Lebanese version of a salad bowl arrived. We both sampled all of them. The salad was pretty typical, but I found I really liked the spiced cubes which are called Batata Harra. Once again, my favorites list grew.

Once we had ordered, Jay explained, "Today is another day to give back. Movie Max is sponsoring a dinner with residents of several retirement homes. Sometimes friends and family can drift away and we want to make The Christmas Season special for our elderly too, especially ones who may or may not have family close by."

After Lunch, the shuttle bus drove us South for several miles until we arrived at Pembroke Park The shuttle van let us out to a nice park of perhaps 50 acres or so. What struck me was the giant Christmas tree in a cobbled circle with a green lawn around it with several dozen picnic tables. Two lunch trucks marked 'Taco Bout It'. Yes, I know, another pun.

What also struck me was there were quite a few elderly there. Probably around fifty, which made me sad that family was not there with them. It was a reminder for us to give back to the islands which were giving us so much.

Jennifer was off talking with Sophia when I heard behind me, "Can we do an exchange?" She held her phone up, smiling hopefully. She had to be eighty or older though she was holding an Iphone 11 Promax much like mine. Holy shit! Grandma did new tech!

I can't exactly say I was all that enthused about sharing nudes with an elderly woman but I was going to play nice.

"I'm Elise." she stuck her hand out. She laughed, noting my forced smile, "Relax, son I have some great pictures... From 1950 when I was twenty two. Kodachrome was a thing I had a glorious set of ta-ta's you should like very much. We all get old, but in my day...."

She smiled thinking back, then flashed her eyebrows then smiled, "Anyway. I borrowed a high end film scanner from the Somerset main library and scanned my entire slide collection."

Holy shit, Grandma, er Elise, was full of surprises and did quite a bit of tech. We did the exchange. She stood expectantly as she waited for me to go to her photos section. I was greeted with a picture of her at a bingo game, yes they do that here, too. She laughed again and said, "Hit the 'Glory Days' folder." She smirked, "Bruce Springsteen was right."

Damn she was cute as hell in 1950 and her ta-ta's were indeed glorious. What surprised me is back then, women trimmed their bushes more like women did in the US in the 1980s.

She smiled with a glint in her eye, "You like?"

I nodded, completely surprised by the much younger version of Elise, "You were stunning!"

THAT made her day and she smiled broadly. She pointed at a nearby picnic table and asked, "I don't get to talk to young people much. I'm old and need to sit, but would love to just have a chat. Could we?"

Now, you know damn well I'm not an ogre so we sat down and we talked, or better she talked and it was FASCINATING. She was born in 1928 and talked about her childhood then asked me if I wanted to hear about the 1946 hurricane. I nodded in curiosity and ended up being riveted for an hour. She thought back, "Well, the war ended and most of the GI's and UK soldiers went home. The islands were never seriously attacked and things were rather ordinary. That is until late August 1946."

Mentioning the year caused me to perk up and I said, "The hurricane. You went through that hurricane!"

She nodded, "I did indeed. Well a day before we were to get hit, all of the air raid sirens went off. Everyone was alarmed and word got around to listen to the radio. The news spread fast. A US weather plane had penetrated the hurricane and it was a beast headed directly for us within a day. Everyone was told to head for higher ground. We did and that day's notice saved uncountable lives. The buildings at the upper end of town were almost all wrecked beyond repair, but those within five hundred feet of the harbor were wrecked AND washed away. There was nothing left!"

She talked fondly about the US and the UK sending food and, what did both have a lot of after the war? Tents! The land was expropriated then each family given a plot as I described before. She talked about the transition to naturism, 'Well, all I had, well most people had were the literal clothes on their backs. People were located into tent cities well away from the harbor as the harbor was dredged to raise the height of the land for the towns of Somerset and Devon. Privacy just sort of faded away. What do bored people do? They fuck. I was shocked the first time I heard it in the tent next to mine. I was eighteen and there was a young couple in the tent next to my family's."

She looked at me and smirked, "They fucked a lot."

She laughed and so did I and she continued, "Well clothes wore out. There were shortages. The men started going without shirts and eventually toplessness became more normal in women. As clothes wore out, people stopped caring. I was shocked the first time I came out of our family's tent and some guy with..." She laughed, "The biggest thingy I ever did see. walked by stark ass naked!"

She laughed and held her hands two feet apart. I know. Impossible but it was her story. She continued, "A few weeks later, I walked past a tent with the flap open and a middle aged couple was screwing without caring if anyone looked in. Within months, no one cared. Privacy was non-existent and no one gave a damn."

She laughed, "I was shy at first. Doing the topless thing but got used to it. Eventually I lost my bottoms as many others had done and came to like it. She laughed, I lost my virginity in 1947 in a tent with three other people in it. No one cared or bothered to look and what can I say. That day I learned I liked sex."

She laughed, "I like sex A LOT!"

She smiled then continued, "So things slowly got better as they finished raising the land then rebuilt everything in reinforced concrete, but The Cornwall Islands stayed naturist and is such to this day."

I asked her a ton of questions and she answered them for that hour. Jennifer came up at the end of the hour and teased, "Who is your girlfriend?"

Elise teased right back and latched onto my arm, "I'm Elise and if you ever give this wonderful man up. I'm taking him from you!"

Jennifer laughed, "Not a chance at that."

Elise looked over and saw a generous mobile taco bar had been set up, "Well. I definitely need a taco or two." She smiled at me and kissed my cheek, "Thank you for listening to me. It meant a lot."

Jennifer and I headed to get our own tacos. I did twenty nine exchanges that day, talking to a lot of lonely elderly widows. Jennifer did almost twenty exchanges with the men. A few weeks later, Elise even started to come to The Fountain on occasion and she became a gunner!

It was a great day and I made a friend. Kodachrome really was a thing and there were some very nice photo collections in those CIS profiles.

Whoda Tunkit!?

Sunday was just VIP seats at the laser light show at The Central Fountain, that night's theme was The Night Before Christmas.

Tuesday, December 15, 2020

Mom texted me 'Would love to see my son and daughter tonight. I'm off and Robert is going out with Squatch to a beer fest in the town of Alsace.'

My beloved mother-in-law alone during the Christmas Season? Not on my watch!

I looked over at Jennifer and told her, "Mom needs us." She smiled then came to me and kissed my cheek with a grateful, "You know she loves you as much as if she had given birth to you." That made me happy as I loved being part of my wife's wonderful family.

We took her to Somerset Bull which was epic as usual and I gorged on bacon wrapped filet. Once dinner was complete, we headed to her place where Jennifer and I joined her to watch The Polar Express. Mom made mozzarella sticks as we enjoyed the holiday classic. I'll save you further details as I spent the evening living and loving a fully functional family.

Thursday, December 17, 2020

I had an hour left at the office when I received a text from Jennifer, ' Girls shopping night with mom, Arra, and Ems. Stay away from The Christmas Market and St. Ives Marketplace!'

2 minutes later, I received one from Squatch, 'My place. Poker. Maybe a Christmas movie, but nothing sappy and NOT from The Hallmark Channel.' Within 5 minutes, my father-in-law and Cal were joining us.

Hey, a boys night should involve poker and preferably a lot of beer. Squatch did not disappoint because I was prepared to order Pizza, but Squatch had steaks in the refrigerator and his barbecue heating up!

Steak dinner! No sides. JUST STEAK. Ribeyes, very nice ones. Squatch said he gets it from some premium butcher on London Ave, that road with all the high end retailers. Preston Prime Meat sure lived up to its upscale location. Damn that was a good steak!

Poker and watching Elf. A good evening. It was nickel poker. We all knew my father-in-law was of modest means. He won, anyway. Too bad it wasn't dollar poker, I would have loved to pass on a bit-o-money to him.

The 'highlight of the night came right after the burp scene in Elf. Cal took a swig of beer and burped a bit. Squatch took that as a challenge. Yeah, a belching contest. My father-in-law on that one too. Good guys-being-dudes fun.

I lost four dollars. We can afford it.

Saturday, December 19, 2020

Our final Saturday before Christmas was not about big events or big places. They took us to 'Somerset Dough-jo', a kitchen where amateurs like us could use professional level equipment to bake and instructors to help us not screw things up.

We made Christmas cookies and each of us made 60 cookies, 5 for each of the couples including us plus 10 for any recipients we wanted, my choice being my in-laws. Yes I will be forever grateful for them choosing to love me as their own. Mom gave me one of her patented boob-squish hugs when I presented her my ten awesomely frosted Christmas Tree cookies.

Sunday, December 20, 2020

Once again, the men were separated from the women and we were taken to The Canal District in Devon with an appropriately detailed list made by our wives. Movie Max saved our lives again with the lists, making it clear what my wife wanted. I'll shorten this to the best two items I bought Jennifer was a Moroccan silver picture frame in which I put a framed 8x10 picture from our Wedding day. I found the perfect picture, one taken right after we exchanged rings and before she consented to my little ass squeeze. A wonderful moment that turns out will lead us to 'until death do us part'.

An Italian Murano glass ornament for next year's Christmas tree was my final big purchase for the day.

I actually liked the day shopping for my bride. The Christmas spirit here must be really getting to me. I mean... Shopping. Bleh right? RIGHT!?

Thursday, December 24, 2020

We did a final walk through The Christmas Market after stopping at The Fountain to give all the staff their Christmas gift cards. Tesco gift cards are boring and... a completely safe way to make sure they don't get a gift card they would never use.

After dinner and a nice pre-Christmas lay and some post lay cuddling, Jennifer looked at the clock and said with the happiest of smiles, "Okay, time for you to put your gifts under the tree then I will do the same."

It took me almost an hour to move everything and set it right and even hid a few nice things inside the tree and filled her oversize stocking to the brim. I looked at the tree, the base now covered in presents for my awesome wife and smiled then took a few pics. Good memories were being made.

Once I returned, Jennifer said with a giant smile, but a dead serious look that allowed no argument, "Okay, once I leave this room you are not allowed out of it or our en-suite until tomorrow morning."

I might be in trouble. It took her over an hour and a half for her to put my gifts under the tree!

She came back and kissed me on the cheek, "NO PEEKING!"

Friday, December 25, 2020

Jennifer woke me up at six in the morning almost as if she were a kid again, shaking me, "Joshua! It's Christmas! Get up!"

I looked at her in amusement. She had one brief serious comment, "Joshua. I need this. Last Christmas was so grim because we already had our eviction date." She shut her eyes to the painful memory then said, "I don't want to think about it any more."

She winced a bit at the unwanted memory then forced it away, "I just need to think about THIS Christmas."

I understood and there was no way in hell I was going to fuck up her Christmas. Her giddy smile returned, "COME ON!"

Our tree was almost lost in the veritable mountain of gifts, well a bit of exaggeration, but Jennifer was all grins and I looked at the mass of gifts where I did not recognize the box so it must be for me. Her office must have been full. No, I never took a peek.

She pointed at the biggest box and yeah, it was obvious that it was a TV and it was a big one. I opened the box and sure enough an 85 inch LG flat screen and not the base model. I looked at her and thanked her and started to protest about it being too much. She shook her head and her eyes bore into mine, "Joshua. One. You know damn well as much as I do that our marriage is until death do us part and that we are living here the rest of our lives so don't whine about our moving day in a little over a year and TWO! We make very good money and seriously don't fuck this up for me!"

She approached me then held my face in her hands and said forcefully,

"I!"

"NEED!"

"THIS!"

I shut up and hugged her, "Thank you for an amazing TV."

She smiled that I understood her message and her smile widened, "OK open that one next!" She loved giving me gifts as getting them.

I asked if she wanted to open a gift and she shook her head and replied, "Go open that one!"

I did as instructed until I had unwrapped an entire home theatre box by box. She had even wrapped every small accessory separately. She clearly loved playing Santa Claus. Her smile never faded as I unwrapped item after item.

It wasn't until the whole home theatre was unboxed when Jennifer smirked and said, "Maybe Santa got a little tired last night."

She pointed at the front door and smirked, "I thought I heard some bumping by the front door last night."

I walked to the front door to find a big and I mean BIG TV stand cabinet wrapped only in a Christmas bow waiting outside the door. Who did she get to deliver a piece of furniture at ten in the evening on Christmas Eve? I won't press her on it.

I started by handing her the box with the two carat Sapphire necklace, and that won the day for me. I did not get only jewelry as she had cautioned me she wouldn't mind a piece or three, but she liked more practical or fun things that she could use every day.

I did well on a number of practical things. She loved the sandals from Cloddy's and she even put one pair on immediately. I'm sure glad that her Santa list had included pictures of what was 'good' an what was 'ugly' and what was 'ugly as fuck'. Cloddy's had helped me get through that minefield and I was a seven for seven winner on them.

Another expensive item from her was more charters with Captain Matt. When I opened it Jennifer gave me a serious look, "Joshua, my dad won't say it so I will for him. He told my mom a hundred times how much he enjoyed that fishing day with you. My dad needs this. I know he loves me, but please understand that I was an only child and every man wants a son even though he will never admit it to his sole child who happens to be a girl. I'm good with it because he always made time for me and spent time with me. This is two charters, not one and yes, they are twelve hundred each, but the gift is for my dad as much as you. Spread them out but I expect you to take one in the first few months of the year."

She looked at me seriously, "I want another gift that can't be put under a Christmas tree and it's for my dad. Just take him regularly fishing in the rivers and lakes on the island. He loves fishing and loves having a son, and yes, he considers you to be his son."

I nodded and smiled, her dad is an awesome guy.

There was a long tube that I will admit is a mystery and yes it is obvious to everyone except clueless me. She made me guess and I was not even close after eight guesses or so. It was a fishing rod and I'm sensing a pattern here. It was then I noticed five more tubes. Six reels, two tackle boxes, over hundred individually wrapped lures and hooks and... you get the idea. Whatever type of fishing it was short of great white shark, I had gear for it.

Jennifer just smiled at me the whole time as I unwrapped item after item. She had a system of having boxes within a group together and all of the fishing stuff was wrapped in the same paper. The final two were two books; 'Saltwater Fishing In The Cornwall Islands' and 'Freshwater Fishing In The Cornwall Islands'.

Turns out freshwater fishing in The Cornwall Islands was a lot like South Carolina in the US. That does not make sense until you remember Some US personnel were stationed here in World War Two and there was more than one supply depot and likely more than one corporal who could make requisitions... Imagine a requisition for Catfish, Panfish and Bass fingerlings being shipped to The Cornwall Islands. Somehow that happened in the middle of a war and they did very well in the decade or so old lakes that had been created by the dams in the 1930s.

Jennifer smiled at me, "My dad is getting similar fishing gear. It means a lot to him."

She gave me a meaningful look and I took it to heart. It was the price of being part of a functional family and the price I happily paid. I liked fishing. I just hate eating most fish. I loved my father-in-law as the father who accepted and chose me, so I was good with the gift.

We were just eating our Christmas lunch when I received a call from my father-in-law, "Joshua! Thanks for the fishing charter with Captain Matt!..."

He gushed on and on and then I mentioned that Jennifer had given me three more charters with Captain Matt. Yes, I lied about how many and Jennifer gave me the most loving smile as she caught me giving even more to her father. She loved her dad and saw I was going over and above for him and that earned me another smile.

As Jennifer said, Robert also received a bunch of fishing gear and a book on the freshwater fishing here on the islands. I'll shorten this overlong tale by saying the next week, I had an evening date with Robert to go to a lake near his quarry that he said was not well known and had a ton of bass in it. First we would definitely need to go order for Burger Whirled for a father-son lunch.

FUCK YEAH!

Jennifer was giving me the eye and a big smile as I told him how much I was looking forward to fishing with him. That paid off with a nice under-tree Christmas lay an hour or so later.

It took four hours to open all the gifts and I thanked and hugged Jennifer for each and every gift. I had almost matched her gift for gift. Almost. I had planned on giving more than receiving, but she had made it her mission...

Good thing we both had good jobs on top of our stipend. This Christmas was already expensive and destined to get even more so. The final thing I opened was Jennifer's nudoir book. Several hundred pages of my beloved wife in her birthday suit. The vast majority of images were rather tame by today's hardcore porn soaked internet or for that matter the video Movie Max had of us screwing. The front page is the most memorable. A simple image of her standing bare facing the camera with a loving smile on her face and The Central Fountain in the background and a simple message in fancy cursive lettering across the top;

To Joshua

My Love

Til Death Do Us Part

Jennifer

We headed to my in-laws place and the first thing I noticed was two full trash bags that looked to be full of wrapping paper sitting outside their door. Christmas looks like it had been a big thing here also. Her father answered the door, saw me and gave me a huge enthusiastic bro hug, "Joshua! Great to see you!"

I had interrupted his loading line onto the third of his new fishing rods. He gushed on and on about going fishing the following week and we settled on New Year's day as a holiday for both of us. Robert's smile and when Joyce and Jennifer saw him looking like a kid who had won a hundred pounds of candy from a candy store, they gave me the biggest happy smiles. Jennifer and her mother were going to go to Cloddy's with the gift certificates they had both received.

Dinner was great as it turns out Jennifer had bought fifteen pounds of tenderloin. Yes, I was relieved we had paid for it as my in-laws were of modest means.

Dinner... wonderful.

The company... better.

The Christmas Season... I have to say I am a believer. Christmas was every bit as commercial in the states, but somehow, everyone or nearly so was involved. Everyone was an excited kid during The Christmas Season on The Cornwall Islands.

Me included.

We watched the final Christmas laser music show from my in-laws balcony. Bach is 'just a little' before my time, but his music and the show and being with family...

Christmas Magic.

*******

Author's note: The guess the number of M&Ms thing actually happened to me. I got a 25 dollar gift card for Home Depot and twenty plus pounds of M&Ms. I've won three of those guess the number of pieces things and twice lost because I was over. One time I was over by two on a count of over six thousand. Weird ability I know.