A Merry Little Christmas with the Anders

Hello, fellow readers! For this edition of my blog, I thought I’d take you on a brief visit at the Anders for a delightful little Christmas celebration with family and friends… This is not a part of the original story, but perhaps a continuation of it. It is a small gift to you at Christmas.

Meet “The Beast”, a fictional HD model. “This is in no way endorsed by the Harley-Davidson Company.

“Sweetheart, wake up!” Vivienne was already moving around the large bedroom, gathering her clothes and trying to get a leg into the pair of black jeans she had discarded earlier. Logen only grunted in his sleep, oblivious to the urgency of the moment.  Vivienne hopped over to the large bed where her husband lay, trying hard not to lose her balance. “Logen!” she tried again. “Could you please wake up, for Heaven’s sake!”

“What?” groaned Logen, struggling to open his eyes and then quickly shading them with a hand against the bright light from the bedroom ceiling. “What’s going on, honey? What’s all the commotion?” He yawned and ran his fingers through his gray disheveled hair.

“We, my darling, are about to become grandparents!” she smiled, her nervous fingers trying to close the zipper on her jeans. The more than healthy portion of pinnekjøtt, or mutton rib, that her mother-in-law Hanne had prepared along with the mashed potatoes and sausages, she had eagerly consumed just hours earlier made the job extra difficult.  “Ivan just called. Katarina has been in labor for hours.  Since they left the house last night, apparently!”  Vivienne couldn’t believe that Ivan was just now calling them to let them know this. “Ow!” she grimaced, as the zipper caught her finger.

“The baby,” Logen mouthed, his eyes dazed, no sound emanating from his moving lips. Then, suddenly he lurched forward, leaping out of the king-sized bed in a single bound.  He found his glasses on the nightstand and his slippers and headed out of the bedroom, rushing like a madman down the hall toward the front door. “It’s a Christmas baby!” he bellowed as he grabbed his winter jacket from the coat stand by the door and struggled to put it on.  “Where are the car keys?” he practically screamed the words at Vivienne who was right on his tail.

“You do plan on getting dressed before going to the hospital, don’t you, sweetheart?” she asked him, her eyes sparkling with laughter, unfazed by his sudden agitation. Logen grinned as he realized he was still sporting his plaid pajama pants and a white cotton T-shirt. He quickly kissed Vivienne’s welcoming lips, and dashed back into the bedroom shouting, “You’re going to be the sexiest grandma alive!”

“Jeez! Daniel’s car is blocking ours,” Vivienne complained when she noticed the white Tesla parked across the driveway, blocking access to the Mercedes-Benz. There had been the traditional family Christmas gathering the night before and the men had indulged in some merry drinking, especially the younger Anders boys who didn’t miss any occasion to relish their favorite Haitian Barbancourt Rum, courtesy of Vivienne, and the traditional Christmas beer and spicy aquavit. Daniel had been forced to give up his car keys and hitch a ride back home with his girlfriend Marcella to avoid any mishaps.

“Bullocks!” Logen cursed under his breath. He rushed back into the house and minutes later emerged carrying two helmets under his arms. He pressed the clicker and the garage door slowly lifted and there it was, The Beast, in all its glory. The shiny black and silver Harley-Davidson motorcycle had been Vivienne’s most surprising gift to her husband for his 60th birthday a few months earlier, and though, he had repeatedly encouraged her to come out for a ride with him, she had obstinately refused.

“You’re not expecting me to come with you on that thing, are you?” she asked in trepidation.

“Only if you want to get to the hospital on time to see the birth of our first grandbaby,” he smiled mischievously.  Logen knew the day would come when she would not be able to refuse to ride on the bike with him.  He just needed to wait patiently for that miracle to happen.

“I have no intention of winding up in the hospital next to Kat,” exclaimed Vivienne, her imagination conjuring up images of Logen and her and The Beast skidding off the road after hitting a patch of melting ice.

Logen chuckled at his wife and that wicked imagination of hers and reminded her that it hadn’t snowed since the change of season.  It looked like they were going to have quite a mild winter this year.

“Come on,” he motioned her towards the bike. “Let’s not make a fuss.” As they came up to the bike, Logen lay his dark red helmet on the seat and went to fasten Vivienne’s helmet securely on her head. He had gotten it made especially for her, sky blue with puffs of white clouds.  Very whimsical. Another facet of his lovely wife that had emerged during their marriage and that he adored. He still couldn’t get over how blessed he was to have found the woman of his dreams.  Literally.  Perhaps soon he would share with her that long-held secret…

They couldn’t have gotten to the hospital sooner, thought Vivienne as Logen and she ran into the hospital lobby, though she had to admit that the ride to Oslo Universitetssykehus, Aker on The Beast was more thrilling than she had ever imagined. And very cold.  There wasn’t much traffic at all, so they arrived at the hospital fairly quickly. The city was still in relative darkness as they rode across town though it was almost 8:00 AM.  A fact that took some getting used to as the nights in December lasted about 18 hours in this part of Norway. It was even crazier further north. When Logen and Vivienne burst into the maternity wing, Katarina was already in active labor and the already gathered family expected news about the baby at any minute. Neither Katarina nor her husband Ivan had wanted to know the baby’s sex beforehand, and the entire family, from the soon-to-be great-grandparents to the youngest of the aunties, and of course, Thérèse, Katarina’s mom, was waiting in nervous anticipation for the big reveal. Jason and Daniel had massive headaches from the excessive drinking a few hours before and it was a miracle that they were even there, standing on their own two feet. Marcella and Corina, Jason’s new girlfriend, were the unsung heroines of the night.

It seemed like hours before one of the nurses finally came out and invited Logen and Thérèse to join Ivan by Katarina’s side in the delivery room. Logen extended a hand to Vivienne, and she gratefully took it and went in with them. Vivienne had not been in a maternity ward since her last C-section in Miami 23 years ago, and her eyes strained to see the tiny little babies at the nursery on their way to Katarina’s room.

Katarina looked beautiful even though she was exhausted from the delivery process. She had a glow about her that made her even more attractive than usual.  Her eyes had softened and her smile gentler. In her arms lay the tiniest bundle of joy with the blackest shock of hair she had ever seen on a tiny creature. Ivan couldn’t tear his eyes away from his wife and his new baby.

“Let us introduce you to Anna Theresa,” beamed Katarina as she gently handed the baby to Ivan so he could bring her to her parents and Vivienne.

“It’s a girl,” whispered Thérèse, tears of joy in her eyes as she lovingly took her granddaughter into her arms. “Thank you for such a gift, kjære deg,” she told her daughter, half-way between tears and laughter. After a minute of gentle cooing with little Anna Theresa, Thérèse turned and handed her over to Logen whose face had turned red from the emotions he’d been experiencing from the second he laid eyes on his grandchild. Tears flowed freely from his emerald green eyes and he rocked the baby gently, unable to utter a word.  His heart had swollen so big and all he could do was to hold her tight.  He never wanted to let go of that little girl. He wanted to wrap her in his love and protect her from the world. He turned and looked at Vivienne and silently invited her to stand by him and gently stroke the baby’s soft hair.

A few minutes later, the nurse returned to the room to usher them out to allow the rest of the family to meet their newest tiny member.

“I never thought I could feel so much,” Logen told his family later that evening as they gathered in the familierom in Logen’s and Vivienne’s home.  “It made me realize just how important it is to acknowledge the miracles in our lives. All of them.”  He turned to Vivienne and held out his hands to her. “My love, there is something I’ve been keeping from you, and in honor of the miracle we all just shared today, I think it’s time for a full disclosure.”

Vivienne was intrigued, as was everyone else. She stepped into his arms and listened in awe as Logen recounted that dream he had of her decades ago when the band was still trying to make it in Germany. He explained how they were destined for each other and how they just needed to bide their time until they finally found each other.  And that, they did, in that overcrowded hall at the Sammfuns Salen.  He had believed in miracles the minute he recognized her standing across the hall.  Her dark brown hair pulled up in a flowing ponytail and that lost look upon her beautiful caramel-colored face brought his world to a standstill.  She looked like a goddess.

Emotions ran high in the room as Logen finished his story.

“So, if I am to understand you correctly, I am responsible for Eureka toughing it out and making it big,” Vivienne teased, a huge lump in her throat.  The truth of the matter was that her love for Logen grew exponentially as she listened to his words of wonder and magic.

Logen chuckled softly as he held her even closer to his heart. “You are life, Vivi. My all, my everything. Merry Christmas, darling.”

Discreetly, members of the family exited the room to allow Logen and Vivienne the space and the privacy they needed to process and to love each other.

And so, the magic continues…

Let us not forget the true meaning of Christmas and the greatest gift

the world received on this wondrous day…

May there always be kindness, generosity, compassion, faith, warmth, love,

understanding, peace, and unity in your hearts and in your homes.

Merry Christmas to all!