Another Chance Book I of III

Book III-Chapter 107, Christmas Day, 2215

Prince woke up slowly to find himself still laying half on his Bella. He rolled off of her and moved up next to her and pulled the covers up over them both. With his head propped up on one elbow, he looked lovingly at the hauntingly beautiful woman laying beside him. She still slept, her breaths deep and slow. She was laying on her stomach with her face turned toward him. Her beautiful thick hair slightly loosened from the plait she had put it in last night. There was a slight smile on her face. Leaning forward a little he kissed her forehead and said in a whisper" woman you have no idea how much I love you". Bella's eyes fluttered and opened slowly and as she focused she saw her Prince's eyes staring into her own. She smiled and said "yes I do. Almost as much as I love you baby". Now Prince smiled. He would never know how she did that. She could hear him even in her sleep. He leaned over and kissed her earnestly. "Let's shower mama", he said. He got up and went into the bathroom to start the water. Bella followed and joined him in the shower moments later after donning her shower cap. As she got in and under the heavenly water, Prince began to cleanse her with his Lavender Bath Gel. "Merry Christmas Bella. I loved my present this morning; thank you, he added. Bella smiled and said, "Merry Christmas Prince". As he continued to cleanse her, she masked her thoughts and said to herself...'mission accomplished'. They finished their shower, dressed and went downstairs in search of some breakfast . It was 9:15 AM.

Gretchen's POV

Across town, in the suburb of Troy, Gretchen Johansen was putting the finishing touches on wrapping a present. The paper was a green shiny foil and the ribbon and bow a bright red. She tied the name tag on it with the little red string that ran through the hole of the tag. She had already written the name on it on the to line. The from line read Your Secret Santa. The other gift was already wrapped, but she would deliver it in person tomorrow. She was already dressed in some jeans and a bright red Christmas sweater. She was invited to dinner by one of her neighbors in the complex where she lived. The neighbor, Katie Nilsson, was also of Norwegian stock but was the third generation of her family to live in America. She was married to a immigrant Swede. He had come to America to attend college some years back and had decided to stay. His name was Jakob Nilsson and he was a successful sales executive for Volvo America. He and his wife had bought the town house in the complex when they first married. Now that they were ready to have kids they were looking for a house. They would have Katie's parents over along with her sister, brother and their spouses and Gretchen. They had invited a friend, also from Scandinavia, Finland, as a date for Gretchen. His name was Elias Korhonen and he had just earned a masters in accounting from University of Michigan was preparing for the CPA exam. He was smart, relatively tall at 5' 10" and good looking with dirty blond colored hair and a well maintained short beard. He was well liked by the ladies but had not settled on any one woman yet. Katie thought him ideal for Gretchen. Jakob, however, did not think so. There was something weird about Gretchen...and he really didn't think his friend would like her. But, as Katie had said, it was just dinner. Gretchen heard the door bell to her apartment ring and grabbing her coat and keys, went downstairs and opening the door, handed the gift to the Uber driver who would deliver it. She paid him reminding him to deliver it at around 4 to 4:30 and then returning to her apartment pulled out the Krumkake which were Norwegian holiday cookies she had made to take to Katie's. Katie was quite the cook and had made a traditional Norwegian dinner of Ribbe which was pork ribs and had sweet and sour sauerkraut a type of red cabbage dish, potatoes and sausages. She had also made a traditional Norwegian Cake and some Kringles for dessert. The cookies would be a nice addition. She wondered what Prince was doing for dinner today. She knew it would be something with his and Bella's families and probably Carlos and Elaine's too. Those 4 seemed to be joined to the hip. She would not allow Carlos and Elaine around so much once she was with Prince.

Prince's POV

Prince and Bella had arrived just in time for breakfast. Carlos and Elaine were already seated and David and Kendra walked in right after Prince and Bella did. Ross announced on the intercom that breakfast was ready and David's Security team had quickly come into the kitchen. Ross had made waffles with hot syrup, eggs, and turkey sausage patties. Bella poured coffee for herself and Prince, her Parents and the Security team. Everyone else already had cups of the aromatic brew. The rest of the family would be over in time for dinner. Royal Sr. and Savannah had stayed with Andy and Linda last night as had Alejandro and Nita. David said grace and they then dug into the delicious meal. Once breakfast was over Elaine and Bella cleaned the kitchen and asked what they could do to help get dinner ready. They were told to relax, that Granny was on her way over to help and that she and Kendra and Ross would handle things. They would be on the road in a couple of days and needed to enjoy some downtime. So the girls went into the family room and joined their men who were fighting over football as usual. Royal Sr. and Savannah had left Andy's a little early so they could pick up Granny and bring her over. She came in kissed her grandson and his Bella, said hi to everyone else and then pulling her apron out of her purse went into the kitchen and washed her hands and started heating up the food for dinner with Ross and Kendra. As the morning turned to afternoon, Andy, Linda, Alejandro and Nita arrived and now that the whole gang was there, the trash talking about their favorite football teams continued with gusto! Royal and Alejandro had moved the heated but fun discussions to bets on today's game. Bella called a cease fire so that they could all open the the gifts that they hadn't last night. They all gathered in the family room and there were oohs and ahhs over all of the gifts. All were pleased with them. Kendra, Savannah, Granny and Ross returned to finish dinner prep while Prince got up to go get some snacks and Bella and Elaine helped by bringing paper plates and some cups for the Apple Cider they heated up. The game came on and the trash talking continued. Prince called his grandparents in Atlanta to say Merry Christmas and he and his gramps talked for awhile. He then called Christian to wish him happy holidays too. At about 2:45 PM Kendra told everyone to prepare to come and eat as they would serve in about 15 minutes. Prince turned on the Cloud Stream recorder to film the rest of the game as he knew his mother would kill him if the game was played during Christmas dinner. Both Savannah and Kendra believed that holiday dinners were a time to chat and laugh and enjoy family over the meal...not football. They would watch the rest of the game after dinner. Once they were all gathered at the table including Jermaine and his team, they joined hands and David asked Prince to say the blessing. That was an honor to be asked to do so for Christmas and Prince was really happy to be asked. After the Amen's the food was served and all remarked how good everything was. Prince really liked the dressing and gravy that Bella's mom had made. Everyone had seconds and Prince and Carlos had 3rds on some items. Kendra then served dessert and she automatically cut a slice of Sweet Potato pie that was actually two slices for Prince. He grinned broadly. He also tried some of the Rum cake which he liked a lot too. Just as Kendra began serving the dessert, the doorbell rang. Prince had told everyone that Ray and his family would be joining them for dessert and while he went to welcome them at the door, Carlos and David pulled up 5 more chairs to the oversize table. Prince took their coats and hung them up while Bella and Elaine put the booster seats in for Barry and Roger and each of them picked up one of the boys and got them into their seats. There were warm greetings all around as Ray and Jeannette sat down and Ray handed Prince two well wrapped bottles of something. Jeannette had a lovely Poinsettia for Kendra who was delighted with it. Prince set the gifts on the buffet saying they would open them after dessert. The laughter continued with much of it being centered around Roger and his antics. He had very quickly let Bella know that he needed to change chairs with her because he was "supposed" to sit between her and "Pwince". Needless to say he was as serious as a heart attack and dessert was suspended until after the seating change. After dessert, Prince and Carlos were just starting to help Bella and Elaine to clear the table when the doorbell rang. Since they were not expecting anyone, Jermaine answered the door and was trailed by Ray. It was an Uber driver with a gift for Bella. He took the gift to the dining room and told Bella about the it. She wiped her hands on a tea towel and took it from Jermaine. Looking at the card she saw that it said from Your Secret Santa. That got Prince's attention which meant it also got Ray's. Bella took the paper off of the gift and saw that it was a box of Christmas Chocolates. She opened the box and Ray got a whiff of sulfur...very old sulfur. The odor was so strong that his eyes started to water. "What is that smell" Prince said? Ray grabbed the chocolates out of her hand and said don't eat that. The girls and Carlos smelled it too. It smelled like it did the night of the Battle in Key West. Ray took the box of candy, put the lid back on it and going into the kitchen asked the ladies for a freezer bag. He put the box into the freezer bag and set it in the garage. He would take it to a lab to be tested tomorrow. "Who the hell had sent that", Carlos said out loud. But in his spirit, Prince already knew.

After the table was cleared and all of the dirty dishes taken to the kitchen, the 4 joined Ray, in the study and Prince told him of the strange appearance of Gretchen Johansen at the Church and how she had behaved. Ray listened intently and said "she is trouble man. She is either a very old demon or possessed by one. That is the strongest sulfur I have experienced this incarnation. I want to be with you when you are next in her presence". Well that will be tomorrow as she offices at The Stork with Andy", Prince said. "Okay here is what we are going to do" Ray said laying out his plan of action. Once all were clear on the plan, they rejoined their families in the family room. Prince and Carlos took their gifts from Ray with them and opened them. They were shocked to see two bottles of Moet and Chandon Imperial Brut under the wrappings. Andy said "wow"! He knew the Champagne well having a very limited supply on hand at The Stork Club at any given time. It was a rare and very expensive Champagne and ran just under $1000,00 per bottle. Without disclosing the price, Andy said "that is a very nice gift man"! "Thank you" Ray said. "It was often served at the gatherings of the Generals held by my former Air Force outfit. I got some before I returned home". Prince loved Moet, and had seen this one on menus but never had any. He got up thanked Ray and man hugged him...so did Carlos. Bella and Elaine handed him his box. He opened it and said he loved Cashmere as he admired the sweaters. It was his turn to give out hugs. Prince then said" Carlos and I have something for you and Jeannette too". Prince reached into the pocket on his shirt and pulled out an envelope that said Ray and Jeannette on the outside. He handed it to Jeannette. She smiled and looking at Ray who nodded his head, opened it. "Holy Father" she said looking at the amount on the check. She handed it, still in the envelope to Ray. He looked inside and then a huge grin covered his face. That is the Christmas bonus that all of the team received Carlos said. "But I have just come on board", Ray said. "Yes you have", Prince said..."and you have already earned it". Ray embraced his two employers and said" thank you" very quietly. " It is an honor to do the work I have been given for you" he said in almost a whisper. The rest of the family knew something well above gifts had just been referenced although they had no idea what. But they knew it had something to do with Prince, the band, and their mission and that made it all good as far as they were concerned. Ray handed the envelop back to his wife and said "put that in the bank tomorrow please". She nodded and put it in her purse. She pulled a bottle out of the baby bag and began to feed Anna Elizabeth. Roger climbed up into Prince's lap and Barry and Ray Jr. sat on the floor as the family began to watch the game and the trash talk started up again.

Some miles away in Troy, Gretchen looked at her watch and smiled in a very odd way. It was almost 6:00 PM. Bella had received her gift and if she was like most women, she had eaten one of the chocolates by now. It would only take one. She knew others, maybe even kids would probably taste some of the candies. But that couldn't be helped. It would just be collateral damage on the way to accomplish her mission of becoming Mrs. Royal Prince Anderson! She couldn't wait until tomorrow...she would see Prince, and he would be alone. If he too had eaten a chocolate, she would give him a drink that would make him feel better right away. He would not be collateral damage in this scenario!