The Christmas Gift

By Judy-Lynne

Posted on Sunday, 16 December 2001

It was to be the third Christmas that William and Lizzy celebrated together, their first as husband and wife. William, therefore, was especially excited about the holidays and his joy was infectious. The entire Darcy household was involved in preparing for the holidays and Lizzy planned a special Christmas morning for her and William alone.

The holidays would be special this year for another reason; there were two new additions to the Fitzwilliam family. On a chilly Sunday afternoon, therefore, William and Lizzy made a trip to FAO Schwartz, the venerable toy emporium on Fifth Avenue. The doorman, dressed as a toy soldier, gave Lizzy a sharp salute and a wink as the couple emerged from the store laughing. William carried two shopping bags and Lizzy's arms were laden with two large teddy bears. Bates met them at the curb and placed the bags in the trunk.

"You do realize that Connor and Douglas are only half the size of those bears," Lizzy said as she watched William carefully strap the two stuffed animals into the front passenger seat.

"They'll grow into them soon enough. I'm sure Connor will, anyway. He seems quite determined to be the bigger of the brothers."

"You're only saying that because he's your favorite," Lizzy teased, as she pulled out her gloves and put them on. Indeed, William seemed to have a particular fondness for the older of Richard and Olivia's twin sons. Lizzy was wildly enamored of both boys, who had their father's fair coloring and their mother's smile. "That's also why you picked out everything for him first."

"I did not!" William laughingly protested. Bates finished packing the trunk and came around to the side to open the door for the couple. He squinted at the bears in the front seat and raised an eyebrow.

"Where to next?" asked the amused chauffeur. Before William could answer, Lizzy tugged on William's arm.

"I want to make a stop at Tiffany's." she said. William looked toward the congested intersection one block south and frowned.

"Are you sure? It's bound to be mobbed!"

"Somehow I find it hard to believe that Tiffany's will be any more crowded than a toy store a week before Christmas," Lizzy said. "Why don't you take the car on home, Bates? William and I will get a cab when we come out." Bates looked to his long-time employer. William reluctantly agreed and Lizzy smiled triumphantly as she led him down the block to Tiffany's.

"May I ask what we're looking for?" William asked as Lizzy waded into the throng at the entrance. He grabbed hold of Lizzy's hand and followed her to the elevators.

"I need to buy a spoon." William gaped at her.

"A spoon," he repeated doubtfully.

"Yes, a baby spoon," Lizzy replied. A tiny smile crept over William's face as he stepped into the elevator.

"I wonder what one serves with baby," he murmured. Lizzy jabbed him in the ribs.

"That's awful!" She stepped off the elevator and took a moment to get her bearings, but William used his height advantage to look around and easily found the right counter.

"Now, are these for the boys?"

"No, Kathleen gave the boys beautiful custom-made spoons when they were born. This is for someone else." William nodded as he scanned the case. A sales associate approached and Lizzy asked to see an austere, simple Sterling silver feeding spoon. Lizzy picked it up to look at it closely, but William frowned.

"Kind of plain, don't you think?"

"I think it's classic, and it's engravable," Lizzy replied. "But if you don't care for it, let's look at another." She proceeded to examine two more feeding spoons. One was an Elsa Peretti design and the second bore the Tiffany 1837 imprint. William wasn't satisfied with either of them, so Lizzy calmly asked for another from the case.

"You don't have to go by my opinion, you know," William said. "I'm not the one who's going to be using the spoon." Lizzy smiled at him and held up choice number four.

"You have impeccable taste," Lizzy said as she showed him a spoon with stars along its length and a profile of the Man in the Moon cut out of the end. William smiled and took hold of the spoon.

"Now, this one I do like," he said. He examined it closely. "It's a bit whimsical and I think it's perfect for a baby."

"I agree," Lizzy replied. She took back the spoon and smiled at the sales associate. "I'll take one of these." Minutes later, the couple was back on the main floor which, unlike the floors above, was crowded with tourists. Lizzy started to aim straight for the 57th Street exit, but William made a detour to a counter.

"As long as we're here," William said with a sheepish shrug. He treated Lizzy to a pair of earrings before they braved the traffic on Fifth Avenue and found a cab.

A week later, Lizzy and William sat in Richard and Olivia's spacious great room and watched their hosts play with their two month old sons. To no one's surprise, Richard was a dedicated and loving father. Lizzy was far more impressed with Olivia's transformation, however. Once she got over the initial shock of learning that she was carrying twins, she took the challenge in stride, deftly managing the two boys, two homes, a business, and a marriage with her usual calm and flair.

William watched the foursome somewhat wistfully, and Lizzy watched William. He wore a smile that clearly evidenced his envy of his cousin. Richard and Olivia, of course, had married some ninth months before Lizzy and William, and Olivia had conceived the twins only five months later. Lizzy and William were still newlyweds, having only married the previous May. Nonetheless, Lizzy suspected that William was eager for fatherhood. Olivia asked Richard to fetch blankets for the babies, and he rose to his feet and walked over to William.

"Here, Douglas. Go suck up to your Uncle Fitz. Who knows? Maybe he'll have a place for you in his business empire one day," Richard said as he put the baby into William's hands. In moments, William was enthralled by the tiny Fitzwilliam writhing in his arms. Lizzy fought back tears as she watched the pair entertain each other.

The following year on Christmas morning, William came downstairs and searched the first floor for Lizzy. He finally found her in her study, where she was wrapping a small package. She started when she heard William's voice.

"Here you are, darling. I was looking all over for you," he said as he closed the distance between them and sat beside her on the loveseat. "Merry Christmas." He kissed Lizzy's hair and she turned to him with a teary smile.

"Merry Christmas to you, too," she said. "Here. This is for you."

"And you're just wrapping it now?" William asked suspiciously. Lizzy opened her mouth to reply, but bit her lip instead. William noticed her tears, then.

"What's wrong, love?"

"Nothing, absolutely nothing," Lizzy replied with a radiant smile. "Open your present." William was not totally convinced that she was okay, but he tore at the paper curiously. He opened the pale blue Tiffany box and frowned when he saw the spoon with the Man in the Moon on the handle.

"This looks vaguely familiar," he said as he pulled it out of the box.

"You were with me when I bought it," Lizzy said as tears began to flow again.

"I'm missing something here," William said, confusion mixed with concern in his features.

"This is for you, and there is a story," Lizzy said. William reached out and wiped the tears from her cheek with his thumb. "You see, I bought this spoon a year ago when I thought...well, I hoped..." Lizzy began to cry in earnest and William drew Lizzy into her arms. "I knew we weren't ready; we'd just gotten married and we said we'd wait. But when I missed my period twice, and you were so taken with Connor and Douglas, I guess I just lost my head. I had taken a pregnancy test that morning before we went shopping, and on impulse I thought I would buy a spoon and give it to you for Christmas, but when we got home--."

"You found out that you weren't," William finished for her as she sobbed into the collar of his bathrobe.

"I felt so stupid getting excited over something before I--." William shushed her and held her tightly. Her disappointment and humiliation were palpable even a year later, and he marveled that Lizzy had managed to hide it so well the previous Christmas. He sighed deeply as he thought about all the time they had spent in the company of Richard and Olivia and their sons. It had to have been extremely painful for Lizzy, and all the while she was too embarrassed about her mistake to share it with him. Then a thought occurred to William and he gently raised Lizzy's face to his.

"You're pregnant," he said simply. Lizzy nodded. William beamed back at her and showered her damp face with kisses.

"I'm one hundred percent sure this time," she managed to say as William pressed his face to her shoulder and let a few tears of his own fall. After a few minutes he was able to look his wife in the eye.

"Merry Christmas, my beloved."

"Merry Christmas, William." Rachel Elizabeth Darcy was born seven months later.

The End

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