Chapter 23

December 25^th

"Merry Christmas," Maria said to Mechele as she entered the kitchen. Mechele smiled. Maria looked tired. The last five days had been pleasant and fun, but busy for her. Jacob had dragged Maria everywhere with him. They had gone to the beach a couple of times and they had hung out with Jacob’s friends, who were typical California ‘surfer dudes.’ They had also eaten a lot at In ‘N Out Burger, which was Jacob’s favorite fast food place. It had left little time for Maria to get acquainted with Jacob’s mother, but Mechele had been nothing but friendly toward her since she’d gotten there.

"Merry Christmas to you," Mechele said. "You’re up early."

"I had to wrap a few gifts. It’s always like this. I’m a procrastinator," Maria said as she poured some juice.

"Is your family away?" Mechele asked, curious as to why Maria hadn’t spent Christmas with her own family.

"Well, my Dad lives in San Francisco and I had just spent over a month with him and his fiancé and their new baby, so I thought it’d be best if they had some time to themselves. My Mom, sister and brother are in Connecticut, but Sarah, my sister, has been having some problems lately, mostly with me, so I thought it’d be best that I not go there. Jacob was nice enough to ask me to come here, so…" she said and sipped her juice.

"How long have you been dating Jacob?" Mechele asked. Maria thought about it. They’d never even been on a ‘real’ date before.

"Um…for a couple of months, I guess. It’s hard to calculate since we haven’t gone out on an actual date," she said, laughing.

"How do you feel about him?" Maria almost choked on her juice. Thankfully, Jacob came strolling in. He was just wearing jeans. Seeing the look on Maria’s face, Jacob frowned.

"Good morning. Merry Christmas. What’s going on?" he asked.

"I’m going to go get dressed," Maria said as she made a hasty retreat out of the kitchen. Jacob turned to his mother, still frowning.

"What did you say to her?" he asked.

"All I asked was, ‘How do you feel about him?’ I guess she isn’t quite sure, is she?" Mechele answered.

"Mom!" he said, frustrated.

"I’m sorry, honey. I was just curious," Mechele told him. Jacob held his mother’s arms and looked into her eyes.

"Mom, I love her, okay? Please, try and accept that," he said. Mechele nodded, tears coming to her eyes. She hugged Jacob, praying to God that Maria wouldn’t hurt him.

Orlando

"Merry Christmas! How’s my girl?" Erik asked Alex, who moaned into the phone. "That good, huh?" Alex laughed a little.

"I want to be with you. Are you in Palm Bay?" she asked.

"Yeah. My Mom and Dad are doing well. It’s just the three of us. Really, how is it going? Is Carlos giving you a hard time?" Erik asked her.

"No, he’s been cool. Everyone is at Mass now. I didn’t feel like going," she said, feeling a little guilty, but ever since she had been attacked, she hadn’t felt particularly close to God.

"Well, hang in there, sweetheart," Erik said. "I gotta go. I’ll call and let you know my plans for tomorrow."

"Okay. I love you. Bye." Alex hung up and smiled. Just hearing Erik’s voice made her feel better.

There was a knock at the door. Alex went over and opened it, the smile still on her face. As soon as she opened the door, her smile disappeared. She gasped. Standing at the door was one of the men who had been at her apartment the night that she and Carlos had been attacked.

California

After they had returned from the Christmas service, Jacob’s mother, Bryan, Danielle, Jacob, Maria and Emily sat around the living room admiring the huge, beautifully decorated Christmas tree, exchanging gifts and laughing at Jacob’s stories of life on the road. Maria smiled and laughed, too. She was feeling a lot more comfortable now. She had changed into a light, denim jean skirt with a red, shimmery satin blouse. Jacob had told her that he planned on giving her his gifts in private…on the beach, so she had dressed accordingly. Luckily, it was a bright, sunny, warmer day.

"Mrs. Underwood, I have a gift for you," Maria said as she stood up and ran to get it. Mechele looked surprised and glanced at Jacob, who shrugged. Maria returned with a rectangular package. Jacob smiled, knowing it was a Maria Carpenter original.

Mechele took the picture and ripped off the brown paper. She gasped when she saw Jacob looking back at her from the canvas. "Oh, my. It’s amazing. I’ve never seen a portrait that was so accurate before," she said, holding it up.

"He’s one of my favorite subjects," Maria said as Jacob kissed her cheek.

"The detail is perfect. How did you get it so perfect?" Mechele asked.

"It wasn’t easy since Jacob never stays still, but one night I couldn’t sleep so I sketched him while he slept," she said. Mechele looked up sharply from the picture. Jacob sighed and shook his head. Maria frowned, and then blushed. She had just inadvertently told Jacob’s mother, brother and sister that she’d slept with Jacob. "Excuse me," she said as she quickly got up and left the room. Emily followed her.

"Mom…" Jacob started.

"No, don’t say anything. Bryan and Danielle, I need to speak to Jacob alone," Mechele said. Bryan and Danielle left them alone. "It’s that serious?"

"I told you that I love her," Jacob said, looking at the floor. Mechele sighed.

"Is that what God teaches? You know that the right thing to do is to wait until marriage. I thought I taught you better than that," she said. Jacob looked up at her.

"Mom, it’s not, like, casual or anything. I love her and it’s right," he said, not believing that he was talking to his mother about his sex life on Christmas morning.

"But she was unable to say that she loves you. What kind of a girl would give herself to you if she doesn’t love you?" Mechele asked.

"She’s not like that!" Jacob exclaimed, starting to get angry. "We have a complicated relationship, yes, but she’s not using me or taking advantage of me. I would never let that happen. Besides, what we do behind closed doors is our business!"

"Jacob…"

"No! I’m not discussing this anymore," he said as she stood up and left the room. Mechele sighed. She looked at the picture that she was still holding. She could see the hard work and passion…and love…that Maria had put into it. Mechele just wished that she really ‘knew’ the young woman that her son was so in love with.

Emily found Maria out by the pool, staring into the water. "Maria, are you okay?" she asked.

"Oh, I’m great," Maria said sarcastically. "I just told Jacob’s mother that I’m sleeping with her son. Did you see the look on her face? Did you see the look on Jacob’s face? They were both horrified."

"They were not," Emily said. "Maybe Mrs. Underwood was surprised, but not horrified. Jacob is old enough to make his own decisions and I’m sure he told his mother that."

Maria shook her head. "I don’t know, Emily. I haven’t been getting a good vibe from her. I feel like she’s wishing I were Janie instead," she said, sadly.

"But, you’re not." Maria looked up and saw Jacob walking toward her. He stood next to her and shoved his hands in the pockets of his gray dress pants. He was also wearing a white button-down shirt. Maria couldn’t help but think he’d never looked better. ‘Maybe I am a horny slut,’ she thought.

Emily went inside and left them alone. Jacob looked intently at Maria. "Don’t ever say that you wish you were someone else. My mom doesn’t wish that at all. She was just taken aback by what you said, that’s all. What you and I do together is our business and I told her so."

"Even if she disagrees to a point where she thinks I’m using you for sex? I’ve seen the way that she looks at me every time I touch you. If I hold your hand, she glares at me, Jacob. Now, thanks to me, she knows that we do a hell of a lot more than just hold hands!" Maria exclaimed, with a humorless laugh.

"Look, I don’t know how many times we can have this conversation, but we don’t ‘have sex.’ We ‘make love.’ To me, there’s a difference. I knew that it was love the first time we were together. Now, I don’t know what you think, but to me, it’s love," Jacob said, firmly.

Maria looked at him. He was looking at her with fierce determination and desire in his sky blue eyes. Suddenly, he smiled and grabbed her hand.

"Come on," he said. "We’re going to the beach. I have a couple of gifts that I want to give you."

"But, what about…"

"Don’t worry about anything. For the rest of the day, it’s just you and me," he said, pulling her along behind him. Maria sighed and allowed herself to be led. She had a few gifts to give Jacob, too, and at least one of those gifts could end up changing their whole relationship.

*AN: I just wanted to remind you guys that I don’t know O-Town or their families, so Mrs. Underwood’s beliefs as written are from my imagination. I don’t want to offend anyone’s character here, but her reactions are for storyline purposes only. I just feel better saying this. It’s hard writing real people that you don’t know. One other thing, I’m sorry about the cliffhangers, but because my chapters are so long, I have to stop someplace. I know it drives you guys crazy, but I try and update as quickly as possible, so you’re not hanging for too long. That said, I have a lot planned for this story and I appreciate all the support I’ve gotten. Thank you!

Until the next chapter,

~Maura