Starting over chapter 21

Chapter twenty one

Meg excused herself and went to Ben’s office to pick her purse up. She had a little early Christmas present for Ben in it. Ben on the other hand was busy with his last minute preparations for their Christmas Eve dinner in the wine cellar. Meg came back to the bar which now was empty expect from Roger who came towards Meg with a glass of wine “Ben said to give this to you, let you know he’s downstairs and then get out of here” Meg smiled “Well then, thank you for the wine and Merry Christmas to you and your family” she said “Merry Christmas to you too” Roger said and then he left. Meg went towards the wine cellar. She found a white rose tied to the handle and as she opened the door there were a white rose on every step for the first set of stairs. She opened the second door and the roses continued to decorate the steps, but now there was a little box attached to each and everyone. Meg opened the first one and found a pearl, she looked up and saw Ben standing at the end of the stairs “A few extra this week because it’s Christmas” he smiled. Meg slowly picked them all up “You spoil me Ben Evans” she said before she kissed him. When they parted Ben showed Meg to the table where he pulled the chair out for her before he sat down himself “It’s nice to finally be able to be alone” he took her hand and kissed her fingers “I’ve missed you a lot lately” Meg smiled back at him “I’ve missed you too, but tomorrow we got the whole day together” “It will really be strange” Ben admitted “It’s only been me and Derek for a lot of years now” “Not any girlfriends?” Meg asked “No, somehow it’s not turned out that way” “Well, then I maybe should prepare you, we’re pretty strong in our wills when it comes to Christmas. No one touches mom’s turkey and God help the one that even goes near dad’s eggnog” Ben laughed “Sounds like a perfect way to spend Christmas, not doing anything” Meg shook her head “No way, the dishes is always the children’s bit and you and Derek are children too now” Meg sipped her wine “Mmm this was nice” “You think?” Ben asked “It’s a new one and I thought maybe we could have it with dinner tomorrow” “That sounds great, I think it will go well with the turkey”

Meg opened her purse “I’ve got something for you too” she said and handed Ben a box “You didn’t have to” Ben kissed her softly “Thank you” “Go ahead, open it” she told him as she put her pearls into the purse. Ben unwrapped the gift and lifted the top of the box off and inside he found a watch “Thank you Meg, it’s lovely” “I noticed that you’ve left the watch behind quite a bit or just put it in the pocket so I took a look at it and saw the buckle was broken so I thought this was something you’d need” Ben smiled “You sure notice the small details don’t you?” “Try it on” she urged him and Ben took it out of the box and put it on “It looks great” Meg got up and sat down in Ben’s lap. She put her arms around his neck and leant in for a kiss “Merry Christmas Ben” she said. “Merry Christmas to you too” Ben said when they pulled apart “Are you ready to go home?” “Yes I am” Meg said and stood up.
Early the next morning Meg woke up when she heard the doorbell. She looked at the alarm clock and it was already 8.30. She pulled on her robe and went downstairs. When she arrived there Ben had already opened the door and let the guests in “Mom, Dad you’re here” Meg rushed over to hug first her father “Merry Christmas Meggie” Hank kissed her on the cheek. “Merry Christmas” Meg said back and hugged her mother too. Ben was in his jogging clothes “Have you already been out?” she asked “No, I was on my way when the doorbell rang” he kissed her cheek “Good morning my love” “Good morning and Merry Christmas” Meg said back “I should go get dressed” “You do that and then you can show me where everything is and I will get started on the turkey” Joan said. Ben excused himself and went for his morning jog along the beach. When Meg returned downstairs she followed the smell of coffee to the kitchen. “So, how was the flight?” she asked her parents as she poured herself a cup and offered them refills. “It was good, when we finally took off” her father said “I’m so happy it stopped snowing” Joan filled in “I don’t know what a Christmas without my girls would be like” “Well you didn’t have to find out this year at least” Meg smiled. She showed her mom where everything was and then she went to check things out at the hotel. Christmas or not they still had guests and it made her happy.

Meg returned home just in time to set the table. She took out a tablecloth she had gotten from her grandmother a few years back and Joan got tears in her eyes when she saw it “We’ve had many happy Christmas dinners with tablecloth” she sighed “Too bad she didn’t feel like traveling” Meg said “Well you know how she is, she likes to be close to home” Meg hugged her mother “I hope she will come for the wedding though, and to meet Sarah’s baby” she paused “And the weather back in Kansas is better then too” “That’s true Meg. It’s really lovely that you want to use this tablecloth” Meg smiled “Now I just have to see where Ben keeps his good china, that I’ve never looked for” Ben came down the stairs “Did I hear my name?” he walked over and kissed Meg on the cheek “You sure did, we need to set the table” “And…” Ben teased her “Well I don’t think grandma would appreciate if we eat directly off the table cloth, don’t think she intended that to happen when she gave it to me” Meg said sarcastically and went on “So where do you keep the good china?” “You’re sure I’ve got any?” “Ben don’t scare me like that” Meg looked at him with fear in her eyes. “Sorry to say Meg, but I don’t have any. I only have glasses” Meg almost panicked and started to think about getting to the hotel and get some plates there, or using the everyday china “Our mother had some old china and glasses and since I’ve got the glasses Derek’s got the china” Meg realized she had been holding her breath “Then get over there and borrow it” she gently pushed him towards the door.

The china story was one of the topics around the dinner table “Well Meg, now you know what you can register for” Joan said “Yes” she agreed and looked at Ben “And I think I will drag Ben with me to all the shops to look at patterns” she teased and leant over and rested her head on his shoulder. Ben took her hand “Really? I’m not that particular, it can be your choice” Meg looked at him but couldn’t hide the smile “Oh it will be my choice, but you still have to come along” everyone started laughing and Meg turned to her sister “I think I’ll bring you along Sarah, that way you can go wish for presents for your baby shower” she said “Oh, a baby shower” Joan sighed “My big girl is getting married and my little one is having a baby, what great gifts we’ll get next year” Hank patted her hand in support as Ben stood up at the table “Since we’ve all finished and the ladies cooked all this great food I only think it’s fair that we” he looked at Hank and Derek “at least clear the table” Meg, Sarah and Joan went to sit in the sofa as they did and when they came back it was time for presents. It was a mix of bought and homemade gifts and when all gifts from under the tree was shared Ben walked over to the mantelpiece of the fireplace “Now, Derek and I got one more gift” he said and turned towards Joan and Hank “I know you both have worked hard all your life and you are proud of it and so you shall be. Your farm is a great place to come and relax and I hope we can do that for many years more” he moved over and stood just behind Meg “Meg and Sarah’s made a fantastic renovation to their hotel and they’ve both settled in here in Sunset Beach quickly in the short time they’ve been here” he nodded towards his brother “Derek and I have been both lucky and successfully with what we’ve done in our lives and got more than our fair share of money” he again looked at Hank and Joan “Considering my wedding to Meg and the birth of Derek and Sarah’s baby I know that, especially you Joan, will like to be able to come here more often so” he handed them the envelope “This is from me and Derek and I hope you will use them all” Hank opened the envelope “It’s 10 open tickets to use whenever you feel like flying out here, they’re not personalized so you can use them as you like” he put a hand on Meg’s shoulders “And when it’s time for the Christening and then for the wedding we’d like to help out with bringing the girl’s grandmother here too” Hank stood up and shook hands with both guys and Joan hugged and kissed them both “Thank you so much” she said and Hank looked at them “Thank you, I’m not going to be that proud that I’m not going to accept this more than generous gift” Meg got up and kissed Ben on the cheek “Thank you Ben, this was so thoughtful of you” still in his arms she turned and faced Derek “You too”
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