~Chapter Sixteen~

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The end of March finally arrived and with it the week of Spring Break. Melanie was excited and a little nervous about meeting Mary Beth in person. As much as she loved getting to know her future mother-in-law via their weekly FaceTime calls, she knew that nothing beat  face to face interaction. Chris, Melanie, and the kids were leaving Wednesday morning for the trip to Georgia. They were going to make the four hour trip to Valdosta and stop at Wild Adventures for the day. Then they were going to stay at a hotel and make the other two hour trip to Cuthbert to stay with Mary Beth until Sunday. The plan was to be on the road early Sunday morning, like 2:00 in the morning early, so Melanie and the kids wouldn't be too late getting home for school on Monday.  The goal was for the kids and Melanie to sleep as much as possible on the trip home.

Tammy was thrilled that Melanie was going to meet Chris' mom.  Melanie had shared with her how much she enjoyed chatting with her and how kind she was to Thomas and Jessica. She even insisted that the kids call her Nana since Tammy was Grandma. Tammy was thrilled that the woman saw how awesome her grandkids were and was willing to concede that there was another grandparent and didn't want to step on any toes. To Tammy, it explained Chris' character perfectly, he was just raised properly.

The kids were staying with Tammy on Saturday for David's supervised visitation but Melanie agreed to let them stay with her until Monday. She knew that they needed that time together and not having the kids around freed Melanie up to pack and get all her school lessons organized for the month of April.  Chris was working the weekend before they left so she didn't get to see him much. Melanie and the kids met with him for breakfast on Saturday morning before he headed to bed and  they went to Tammy's. Melanie saw him again on Sunday for a quick breakfast and missed him terribly on Monday and Tuesday. The house was just too quite for her.

Monday Chris worked an 18 hour day and was utterly exhausted. Chris and Melanie chatted on the phone just long enough for Chris to tell Melanie he had a few surprises coming. Tuesday Chris worked only a half shift so he could catch some sleep before they left. Wednesday he arrived at Melanie's at 5:30 in the morning. His first big surprise was that he wasn't in his car but in a brand new white Chevrolet Suburban.

"Like it," Chris asked while he was showing Melanie all the bells and whistles it had. From the satellite navigation and the back up camera to the DVD player complete with headphones it had everything. More than that it was an eight passenger vehicle.

"It's beautiful," Melanie said. "But why did you get such a big one?"

"I wanted a family vehicle. And we need room for our four future Melanie's." Chris said grinning. Melanie just chuckled. She also grinned broadly when she saw that Chris had bought two new car seats. She just pointed to the seats and Chris grinned. "It's easier than constantly transferring their seats back and forth. It just made sense." He finished with a shrug. "But, this isn't my car."

"What?" Melanie exclaimed. "Did you rent it?"

"Nope," Chris grinned, "I bought it for you. That Explorer you've been driving is at least 12 years old Mel, you need a safer vehicle."

"I broke down one time," Melanie grumbled.

"Twice," Chris interjected with a grin knowing she was going to react this way.

"Chris, this is too much. I can't take this." Melanie began to protest.

"Sure you can Mel. We are getting married in what, two, two and a half months. We need a better family vehicle," Chris said with a grin placing his hand on her flat belly. "And hopefully a bigger one soon."

"Fine," Melanie relented throwing her hands up in the air. "Fine, lets get everything loaded so we can hit the road. But," she grinned at him shaking her index finger towards him and adopted her best teachers voice, "This isn't over yet." She laughed and ran ahead as Chris chased her into the house.

They were on the road in less than an hour. Once they hit the interstate Chris noticed the car was surprisingly quiet. Glancing back he saw Thomas was a sleep and Jessica had the head phones on watching a movie Melanie had packed. He smiled noticing that she was fighting to stay awake. He then glanced at Melanie who was sound asleep with a pillow snuggled against the window. Chris just grinned at Melanie and picked up her hand to kiss it. She stirred slightly but didn't really respond.

The crew had been on the road for almost three hours when Chris saw Melanie start to stir.

"Hey,"she smiled at him. "How far out are we?"

"Morning sleeping beauty," Chris teased. "We've only got about an hour or so to go. We've made pretty good time. And thanks to my awesome vehicle choice we are only at half a tank."

Melanie chuckled at Chris. "Alright," she said "we will keep the car!"  Chris just smiled and glanced back at the kids.

"Morning guys," he called out to the backseat. "Are y'all ready to stop for some breakfast?"

"Yes!" Thomas exclaimed. "I'm starving. We haven't eaten in forever!" 

Chris and Melanie both laughed. After a short debate they agreed to pull off at the next exit and stop at Cracker Barrel.  The restaurant had a 20 minute wait time but the kids enjoyed browsing in the old country store. Melanie saw a few things that would make great gifts for the kids upcoming birthdays and while Chris got everyone seated she snuck out to get them.  After their meal they were back on the road and made it to Wild Adventures in just under 45 minutes.

The kids had a great day.  They rode almost all of the rides, some of them even twice. The highlight for Melanie was when they took a picture together and the photographer commented on what a beautiful family they had. Everyone was happy, sunburnt, and utterly exhausted.  They left the park around 4:30 and stopped at Sonny's Bar-B-Que for a quick supper.  Melanie had argued with Chris about the need for getting a hotel for the night but by 7:00 as she was sinking into one of the queen sized beds, she was so grateful he had ignored her.

"Tired?" Chris asked as he flopped down next to her watching the kids as they jumped on the other bed next to them.

"Exhausted," Melanie moaned as she rolled towards him. "Has anyone told you how smart you are?  I'm so glad you didn't listen to me and booked the room."

Chris grinned and leaned over to kiss her quickly. "Yep, you're marrying a genius."  Melanie just laughed.

"All right you two," She said noticing that the kids were getting too rowdy. "Let's get ready for baths and bed. We get to go see Nana Mary Beth tomorrow so we don't need to get too wound up!"

A short time later the kids were freshly bathed and lying in the bed with the TV on low watching a movie. Melanie was in the shower and Chris was spread out on the other bed asleep. Coming into the room, Melanie grinned as she turned off the lights and kissed the kids goodnight. Sliding in beside Chris she settled down as he pulled her close.

"Night Mel," Chris mumbled into her hair. "I love you."

"Night," Melanie whispered as she got comfortable in Chris' embrace and kissed him. "I love you too." Within 30 minutes the entire room was silent as exhaustion had taken over and everyone was asleep.

Everyone slept in the next morning, not waking up until almost 9:00. After enjoying the continental breakfast provided by the hotel, Melanie, Chris, and the kids set off to Chris' mother's house.

"We're here!" Chris exclaimed pulling up into the driveway of a charming yellow and green cottage style home. Chris turned to Melanie and said, "Watch this, in three, two, one, look." And he pointed to the front door as it flew open. There stood Mary Beth, you could practically see the excitement radiating off of her.

"My Binky-Boo's finally home!" Mary Beth exclaimed and she almost knocked Chris down as she tackled him in a huge bear hug. Melanie stifled a small life as she stood with Thomas and Jessica as they all watched Chris as he hugged her back. Everyone could see just how much they loved each other.

"Mom," Chris whined, "I thought we'd agreed not call me that anymore."

"Pish-posh!" Mary Beth exclaimed. "You'll always be my Binky-Boo! Now," she said turning towards Melanie and the children. "I don't think I know who these little people are." She smiled and winked at Melanie. "I've been waiting and waiting for Thomas to come play cars with me and for Jessica to see the Barbie house, but I don't think these are them! They're too big and."

"No Nana Mary Beth," Jessica cut her off. "It's us, don't you member what we look like?"

"Yeah!" Thomas said jumping up and down. "It's me, I love cars!"

"Hmmm," Mary Beth grinned, "I suppose it is you, but I can only tell by hugs." And with that the kids ran up and each gave her a hug. After shooing Chris and the children into the house with their luggage, Mary Beth turned to Melanie.

"Melanie my dear," she said drawing her into a tight hug, "you don't know how happy I am to finally meet you. I've been waiting and praying for my Chris to find his other half for years. I'd almost given up hope, but here you are. If you love my son half as much as he loves you, we'll get a long fine. Welcome to the family my dear, you'll fit in perfectly and I'm so happy you're finally here."

Melanie didn't know what to say. She felt tears gather in her eyes as she hugged Mary Beth tightly. "Thank you," she whispered.

Mary Beth waved her off. "No thanks needed. I knew you were the one when Chris called me last August about a girl and her two kids he met in the ER. He never mentioned work or women, ever and suddenly you were all he could talk about. It was cute really. Now, let's get inside and eat some lunch. I've been cooking all morning and I've got some things to give you and the kids."

Walking in the front door, Chris came up to Melanie immediately noting that she had lingering tears in her eyes. Grabbing her hand he held her gaze.

"Everything okay?" He questioned watching her closely.

"Your mother is an incredibly loving woman Binky-Boo." Melanie replied with a smirk.

Chris let out a loud groan. "Oh no!" He sighed, "not you too!"

Melanie couldn't stop the laughter that bubbled out. "Oh come on," she said still laughing. "You had to know I wasn't going to let that one pass by. Why Binky-Boo anyway?"

"It's a long story," Chris replied. "One I don't plan on sharing, ever."

"Don't worry Melanie", Mary Beth said as she set the food in the table. "I'll tell you the stories and show you all his baby pictures too."

With that the lighthearted banter and an afternoon of fun and laughter filled Chris' childhood home. Mary Beth, true to her word did share the Binky-Boo story and a hundred more. She also shared pictures and even had Jessica and Thomas laughing at some of Chris' childhood antics.

After lunch, Mary Beth gave Melanie and the kids a tour of the home, which Chris tagged along for. Starting with the playroom that also had bunk beds in it for all her grandchildren to sleep over. There on the top bunk was a wrapped gift for Jessica and the bottom held a wrapped gift for Thomas. Chris just smiled at Melanie and pointed to the wall over the toy box. There among the name plaques of Chris' brother's children were Jessica and Thomas' names. All the children's names were under a sign that said Nana's Angels. The gestures that Mary Beth had made toward Thomas and Jessica made Melanie's heart full.

Leaving the kids to play, Chris brought their suitcases out of the living room and showed Melanie to the guest room. Melanie loved the fresh airiness of the room and complimented Mary Beth on it at supper that evening. After the delicious meal, Mary Beth got out a few board games and the adults and children laughed and played for a while.

Finally it was bedtime and the children requested that Nana tuck them in. Melanie just grinned as she hugged and kissed her little ones good night and got up to do the dishes while Chris watched some TV. Mary Beth came back to a clean kitchen and chastised Melanie for cleaning up.

"You're my guest," she said shaking a finger at Melanie. "Guests don't clean up in my home. Chris should've done them instead."

"Hey," Chris exclaimed. "The basketball game is on!" And with that there adults fell into a fun evening of teasing and laughter.

"Your mom is amazing," Melanie said to Chris while they were getting ready for bed that night. "She really blew me away with her acceptance of Thomas and Jessica. I really wasn't expecting that."

"I told you she'd do that," Chris said smiling down at Melanie as he pulled her into his arms. "She thinks your pretty amazing too, Mel. She pulled me aside while you were bathing the kids and gave me a lecture on being the husband you deserve. I think you've wrapped her around your little finger already. I know you've got me there."

Melanie stood up on her tip toes and kissed him. Chris, not wanting to let her go and having missed holding her close for almost a week immediately deepened the kiss.

"I love you Mel. You're my everything. Watching you tonight, in the house I grew up in, it amazed at how right it felt to have you here." Chris kissed her again.

"I love you too," she whispered melting into his embrace. "You're my world Binky-Boo." Melanie erupted in laughter at the look on Chris' face.

"Oh, you think that's funny?" He asked backing her up into the wall. Pinning Melanie there he leaned down like he was going to kiss her only to tickle her instead. Melanie was laughing so hard there were tears in her eyes. They both froze at the sound of a knock on their door.

"Come in," Melanie called out in between giggles.

"Everything okay in here?" Mary Beth said peeking in. "You don't need anything else do you? Blankets, pillows, anything?"

"No thanks Mom," Chris replied grinning at Melanie. "We are good."

"Okay you two, goodnight. And no making babies on my watch okay?" Mary Beth said and shut the door.

Melanie took one look at Chris' red face and burst into another round of laughter.

"I can't believe she said that to me!" He exclaimed burying his face in his hands. "I'm 32 years old and my mom still loves to embarrass me." He moaned. Melanie pecked his cheek.

"She loves you Binky-Boo!" Melanie said with a huge grin. Chris grinned back and the two made their way into bed. As Chris leaned over to kiss her goodnight Melanie couldn't help herself.

"No, no, no," she tutted shaking her finger at him. "You heard your mom, no baby making on her watch." Chris just groaned and grabbed her kissing her soundly leaving her breathless.

"Still want to say that," he whispered in her ear as he trailed kisses down her neck.

Melanie gave him a hooded look. "What was I saying again?" She whispered and just like that the playfulness was gone and their need to be close took over.

Melanie and Chris didn't talk anymore that night. There wasn't any need to. They were happy and in love and at that moment that was all that mattered.

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