It was Christmas Eve, and after a long month's preparation, everything was finished. Celia was sleeping peacefully in her crib as we adults sat in front of the fire. The entire house smelt of the gingerbread Violet had baked earlier that day. There were toys under the tree for Celia, including her new rag doll. A small stocking that Violet had filled with treats and hung over the stocking for her. Dean was smoking his pipe while Christmas music played quietly over the radio. It wasn't long before George and Violet headed to bed and left Dean and I alone in the parlor. We sat wrapped in each other's arms, staring at the orange glow of the smoldering embers in the fireplace. I was just about to nod off when Dean said quietly,

"Hey brown eyes, I've got something I want to give you."

I sat up and looked into those laughing blue eyes that I'd always loved and smiled. He reached back behind the tree and pulled out a small package wrapped in plain brown paper. I looked at him curiously as he handed it to me. I gently pulled the string and unwrapped the gift, and there in my hands was a photograph of my father and me that had been taken when I was six years old. He was sitting in the old armchair in the parlor, holding me up on his lap. I put my hand up to my mouth as the warm tears ran down my cheeks.

"Where did you get this?"

I asked Dean. He blushed a bit and said, "I wrote to your mother and asked her to send it. You'd talked about this picture before and I knew it was something you needed to have."

I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him gently.

"Thank you so much."

I whispered.

"Anything for my brown eyes."

He replied softly. I wiped the tears from my eyes and crawled under the tree to get the small package I had placed there earlier. I found it and handed it to Dean. He opened it slowly and was surprised to find the watch his father had given him a few months before he and Dean's mother had passed away. Dean had tears of his own running down his cheeks as he held me tightly in his arms. He had lost this when he was younger, but from talking to Violet, I had found out that she'd had it all along. We sat in front of the fire for a while longer, the feeling of nostalgic jubilation hung gently over us. When the fire was nothing more than a few orange embers glowing in the dark, we got up and went to bed.

The next morning was very festive. I climbed out of bed when it was still very early and went downstairs to help Violet with the holiday breakfast. We made griddle cakes, a side of bacon, fresh scrambled eggs. And for each one of us, there was a special Christmas orange to enjoy. Like a young girl, I kept smelling my orange and savoring its strong citrus aroma. When breakfast was just about finished, I went upstairs and put Celia in her new Christmas dress. She looked precious! Dean and George were downstairs when I came back. Dean was sitting the pitcher of milk down on the table and George and Violet were getting ready to say the blessing. We all sat down and once the blessing was over, we began to eat the delicious meal.

After Violet and I had washed the dishes and the Christmas roast was in the oven, we went into the parlor to open our gifts. Dean and I had given Violet and George a Bing Crosby album. It was delightful to hear his smooth voice on the turntable all that day. The two of them gave Dean a nice new sweater and me a beautiful blue wrap. The four of us sipped the cranberry wine George had brought up from the cellar. After a bit, George and Violet got up and started to dance. I held Celia as she clung to her new doll, staring in wonderment. She wrapped her chubby fingers around the wooly stands of hair. Her cheeks were rosy with delight. I smiled down on her and sat her in her daddy's lap. He bounced her on his knee and she laughed and laughed. Her dark curls bounced in rhythm with her giggles. She was getting so big! I couldnt believe how much she'd grown right before my eyes. The rest of the day was wonderful. We ended the night in front of the fire singing Christmas carols while Celia slept in Dean's strong arms. She was most certainly her daddy's little angel.

We rang in the new year excitedly as a family. It was 1946 and what a long trip it had been to get there! We'd been through some rough times, but what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger. Now the five of us were starting a new chapter in our lives. This year, George and Violet would be celebrating their fortieth wedding anniversary. Dean and I had just celebrated our first anniversary and we were still just as much in love as we were the day we met, if not more. Celia was going to be celebrating her first birthday too. There was so much to look forward to and I couldn't wait to encounter those things. Dean and George were working hard at the store and were succeeding wonderfully. Everything was just perfect. One cold January morning, I crawled out of bed to get the furnace running so that the house would be nice and warm when everyone else got up. Dean was sleeping peacefully on the bed and Celia lay sucking her thumb in her cradle. I crept down the creaky stairs as quietly as I could and stepped barefoot onto the cold tile floor in the kitchen. Once the furnace was humming quietly, I put the kettle on to make a pot of coffee. As I was lighting the stove, I felt Dean's arms wrap around my waist. I smiled and reached back to touch his face. I turned around and we kissed each other. He sat down at the table and lit his pipe as I took a pan out of the cupboard to start breakfast. As I lit the stove I said,

"Dean, I've got something to tell you."

With his pipe hanging out of the corner of his mouth, he turned to me and asked,

"What is it?"

I smiled at him and played with my hands as I quietly blurted out,

"I think I'm pregnant again."

His jaw dropped and he almost spilled his pipe. He sat it on the table and rushed over to me and took me in his arms.

"Oh baby, I can't believe it! That's so wonderful!"

I laughed as he spun me around the kitchen. When we stopped, we saw Violet standing at the bottom of the stairs with her curlers still in her hair and looking puzzled.

"I was wondering what was going on down here."

She laughed. I blushed as Dean put me down and I told her the news. Her face lit up and she came over and hugged me tightly. She didn't say anything because she had already started to cry. We both laughed and cried together as Dean smiled at both of us.

A few days later, I took a trip to the doctor and it was confirmed that I was indeed pregnant again. I was so thrilled! I went straight to the store afterwards to tell Dean the news. George was working the counter and told me that Dean was back in the storage room. I ran back there as fast as I could and saw him stacking boxes on the shelves.

"Dean!"

I panted breathlessly. He looked at me with wide eyes and asked,

"What is it? What's wrong?"

I smiled and replied,

"Oh, nothing's wrong. Nothing at all! I just got back from Dr. Rosen's and he said that I'm pregnant!"

His eyes lit up and danced as he hugged me tightly.

"Oh Doris! I can't believe we have another baby on the way! I'm so happy. So, so happy. I love you, brown eyes."

He kissed me softly and held me for what seemed like hours. I leaned my head against his chest and could smell the new cologne he had bought. I could hear his heart beating. That beautiful rhythmic sound was so comforting and reassuring. I held him tightly until George came in the storage room to ask Dean to help him with a new display. We kissed one more time and I started my way back home.