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This year will bring an interesting Christmas. Was it really only two years ago when I lost Polly and the boys? So much happened since then, and I do not know where to begin. Polly was my world. I never thought I would recover from her death and only just kept my head above water. At least I had Jennie, Harry, George, and Nancy. I do not know what I would do without them.
I still cannot believe we had bloody geese on the Titanic! I would have never believed the survivors if I had not been there. I can still hear their irritating honks, even if the screams of the dying still fill my ears.
At least the Titanic brought my life back to me, in the form of Rose DeWitt Bukater. She is a young and feisty woman who tried to throw herself off the Titanic! I would do the same if I were engaged to a man like Caledon Hockley. At least my goose led me to her before she could jump.
It seemed like the geese wanted to make everyone on the Titanic romantically involved with someone. I was nowhere near the only one. My father (Captain Smith, not my human father, who was also called Henry Wilde) found two soulmates.
Yes. Two. Sarah Jane Smith and Ruby White. The women who happen to be Emma's parents.
Emma and William found multiple soulmates. Catalina of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Harold Lowe, James Moody, Jane Seymour, Ann Walker, and, to my constant annoyance, Charles Lightoller. What the hell? I thought those geese would have put a limit on the number of soulmates a person could have!
Thinking about the last will not help me solve the current situation. How will I explain to my children that I met someone who could be their stepmother? Rose and I have courted for a while, and I would love to introduce her to the children. Well, it might be a good idea to invite someone they know. I pick up the phone and dial a familiar number. "Hello, operator? I am trying to reach Emma Smith-White."
"I will connect you."
It is some time before the phone on the other end rings. Someone answers. "Hello?" Emma asks.
"Em, great to hear you. How are you?"
"Pregnant." She huffs.
I laugh. "I hope your soulmates are treating you well."
"They are, yes. How are the kids?"
"Children," I growl, "not kids."
I hear laughter and open the door to find Jennie, Harry, George, and Nancy hovering on the other side. "Is Auntie Emma winding you up again?" Jennie asks between laughs.
"Is that my niece?"
"Yes, it is." I look at my children. "Do you want to say hello to your Aunt Emma?"
"Hello, Auntie Emma!" Jennie screams down the phone.
"Hi, Jennie. How are you?"
"Great."
I need to take control of the conversation before my children take up all of Emma's time. I bet her soulmates will make her rest as much as possible. Emma will not be in a position to say no. "Listen, I need to talk to your Aunt about Christmas, and I cannot do that while you are around." My children moan and try to argue with me. The last time they saw Emma was in March before we boarded the Titanic. I told my children what we went through, but we're still mourning our father. No one will ever be able to replace him.
I wait until my children are gone to continue talking to Emma. "Emma!" A new voice on the line yells—Harold. I recognise his Welsh accent. "I thought we told you to rest."
"I am resting!"
"Not when you are standing up. Go and sit down."
Emma groans and passes the phone over. "Who is this?" Harold asks.
"Henry." I sigh. At least I am not talking to Charles Lightoller. The man drives me up the wall!
"What can I do for you?"
"I need some advice. I want to introduce Rose to my children, but I do not know how."
"We will come and visit so we can work out how best to do it." Harold then hangs up on me! I stare at the phone in surprise. Had we been on the Titanic, I would have ensured that Harold received a spanking for that. As it is, there is nothing I can do but curse at the phone for a few minutes and pray that my children do not overhear me.
The group arranges to arrive on the 19th of December. It will give us a few days to talk to the children before Rose arrives on the 22nd. I make sure to leave the house with plenty of time and drop my children off with my sister before I leave.
The station is crowded, which I expected. With Christmas around the corner, everyone is rushing to see their families. A train pulls into the station, and I watch as passengers emerge once the train stops.
I instantly recognise my sister. Her face looks paler than usual, and she hides most of her brown hair under a blue hat with a white ribbon. She looks massive, making me wonder whether she carries twins like Polly did during her last pregnancy. I grin, and she looks over and notices me. She beams back and walks over to me, Will and James noticing and hurrying after her. "Henry!" Emma pulls me into a hug. I hug her back tightly. Thank goodness she is here. I have not seen her since the summer when she and Will announced her pregnancy. "We have a lot to talk about."
I let her go. "What do you mean?"
"Harry will not tell me why we are here. I mean, it is great to see you, but that does not mean he can keep the reason why we're here a secret!"
I growl. I called Emma because I wanted her advice. Why did Harold Godfrey Lowe keep it from her?
"Henry, calm down." Will gives me a warning look. "We are in a public place."
I look around, but no one notices my outburst. The people here might know I am half-human, but I rarely show my Qetesh side. It will be best to keep it that way. My gaze drops to the ground.
"We all make mistakes like that," James says, "do not beat yourself up about it."
It sounds like the sort of thing Father would say.
I look back at the train and realise it is not just Will, Emma, Harry, James, Catalina, Anne, and Ann here. Emma brought her parents along. "Henry!" Sarah Jane pulls me into a hug. "It's so good to see you."
Now I see what Emma means about Sarah Jane's scent being comforting. I never interacted with the woman much, but it is clear that she has a lot of love to give. Could her scent be linked to her personality? "It is good to see you, too." I pull away from her as Ruby walks over and hugs me. Good grief, are all the women related to Emma going to hug me?
I lead them out of the station once they collect their luggage, and we start walking back to the house. "It might be a squeeze with Rose coming in a few days, but we can manage."
We have to stop walking a few times as Emma needs to sit down. "I cannot walk long distances anymore," she says, "even walking along the deck of a ship is problematic now." She gives Will, Harold, and James a look. "And these men and Charles insist I join them for each voyage because they want to be there for the birth!"
James grins. "It would not be fair if Catalina, Anne, Ann, and William get to be there, and we are not!"
"We talked about this plenty of times. The midwife will not let you in."
"Speaking of which," I say, "where is Lightoller? I thought the man would have made the journey with you."
Anne laughs. "We had to talk Lights out of it. He was planning on bringing whoopee cushions and fart machines. He and Jane are travelling up to Scotland to meet Will's family early."
Thank goodness for small mercies! I would rather throw myself into the River Mersey than deal with Lightoller at Christmas!
Jennie, Harry, George and Nancy ambush us on the way home. And by ambush, I mean they were dragging my sister towards the train station. They run over as soon as they see us and gather around Emma. "Come on, children," I call, "Aunty Emma needs her rest." I doubt the children will let her rest, but it is worth a shot. We continue walking and make it back to the house. I lead Emma to the living room while Will, Harold, and James take their luggage upstairs. The children follow us and start pestering Emma the second she sits down.
"Are you pregnant?" Jennie asks.
"Are you still working on ships?" George asks. "What is it like? Father won't tell us anything."
I scowl at the informal use of language. "George, remember what I said about informal language?"
Emma shoots me a look. "Really, Henry? Of all the things to complain about, it's his use of informal language? Be thankful he isn't swearing."
I shut my eyes and sigh. They pick up their informal language from Emma. Why can she not talk like a normal person?
Emma talks to my children for some time and hugs Nancy. She will make a great mother. The thought surprises me; she told me what happened with Ruane. She vowed to never grow close to the child because she knew Ruane would disappear during her sixth year. Emma never discovered what happened to her firstborn child. If she had, would that change how she views Ruane? I may never know the answer. Ruane died in 1550. How can we find information about what happened to a six-year-old hundreds of years after their death?
"So, what do you want to talk to me about?" She asks when the children leave the room.
"I want to introduce Rose to my children."
Emma hums and leans back. "Have you told the children about Rose? Have you talked about her in front of them?"
I shake my head. "No, is that important?"
"That is the most critical step! You need to tell them why she is important to you and that she will not replace their mother."
I blink. There is so much I did not consider. "I never want Rose to feel like she is replacing Polly."
"You might have made it clear to Rose, but you must make it clear to your children. It is not just you in this family. The kids are critical, too."
"Children. They are children."
Emma waves her hand. "Either way, you must explain to them that Rose is not replacing their mother. What are you going to do when Rose arrives? What activities are you doing?"
I open my mouth, but no sound comes out. I never thought of what activities Rose and the kids should do. That is when another thought occurs to me. "How do you know so much about introducing someone's children to a new partner?"
"I did some research." Emma shrugs. "When you introduced Rose to me, I thought it was only a matter of time, especially if the geese had any say in it." She leans forward again. "This will be on you, Henry Tingle Wilde. I cannot step in to help you, nor can anyone else. If you mess this up, your children will blame you. If they do not get on with Rose, they will blame you for forcing her into their lives. If I must step in at that point, I will."
I stare at Emma in surprise. "You will take my children away?"
"Only as a last resort, and if it is best for everyone." She sighs and looks towards the door. "I want what is best for them, Henry, but I can't always be there. Especially when my own child comes along." Her hands rest on her stomach. "Or children. I think I'm carrying twins."
"Congratulations." I put my head in my hands. "If things go wrong, you will take my children in?"
Emma growls. "Your children must come first, soulmate or no soulmate. Do you understand? If you abandon your children so you can be with Rose, I will never forgive you."
It is not only Emma who will never forgive me. Neither Father nor Polly will forgive me if I mess things up. More importantly, none of my children will forgive me. They are the lights of my life, and I cannot live without them. "What should I do?" I ask Emma. "What can I do to make sure this works?"
"Tell your children about Rose. Tell them why she is special to you and that she is not replacing Polly. Keep images of Polly up. If Rose has an issue with that, leave her. She will not be the right person for you."
Thank goodness for Emma. Had it not been for her, I would not have told my children about Rose until the day she arrived. There would have been no activities they could do, meaning it would force conversations or make everyone feel awkward. "What activities should we do?"
"Something most of the family can do, and it must encourage conversation, but not force it." Emma looks around the room. "Do a collaborative art project. The children will enjoy it."
"What sort of art project?"
Emma smiles. "Leave that to me."
That evening, I call my children into the living room and tell them about Rose. I talk about how we met and the geese that forced us together. I am glad to see the story amused them. "I had asked Rose to stay with us over Christmas," I tell them, "and your Aunt Emma has arranged for us to do an art project together. How does that sound?"
Jennie pouts and folds her arms. "Why did you not talk about her before? Why bring her up now when you had months to talk about her and introduce us?"
Words fail me when I look at my eldest. "I was a coward," I finally say, "I was scared you would all react badly if I talked about another woman."
I do not need my slight empath abilities to know how Jennie and Harry feel. Jennie stands up and almost knocks the table forward. "It would have been better if you told us months before!" She screams. "How could you dump this on us just before Christmas? You promised us we would have a family Christmas!" She storms out of the room, and Harry follows her. Nancy also pushes herself up and hurries after them. Only George remains sitting down.
I bury my head in my hands. I have been a fool. I should have talked about Rose long before now. What have I done?
Rose arrives the day before Emma and the others leave for Scotland. Jennie clings to Emma as Rose arrives at the station. I walk over to Rose and kiss her. "Hello, sweetheart. Are you all right? How was the journey?"
"It was long, but knowing I got to see you at the end kept my spirits high."
I smile and help her with her luggage before walking to the group. Jennie cowers behind Emma. Emma glares at me, the look in her eyes saying, 'don't mess this up'. "Everyone," I say, "this is Rose, the woman I was telling you about."
None of my children approach Rose. Instead, they look at Emma. "Remember what I told you," she says, "you only need to act civil. No one will require anything else from you yet."
Harry walks forward. "Hello, Miss Dewitt Bukater." He takes Rose's hand and kisses it.
Rose smiles. "Hello, young man. You must be Harold."
Harold blushes. "I go by Harry."
George and Nancy also approach Rose and introduce themselves, but Jennie stays behind Emma. Emma turns and makes eye contact with her. "Are you going to say hello?"
Jennie shakes her head and shrinks away. "She's not Mother."
"No, she isn't. Remember what I said. Rose will never try to replace your mother. And you can always call me if things get too much, okay? You have my number."
Jennie nods and closes her eyes. "I can do this."
"Yes, you can. You are the bravest girl I know. Even braver than I was at your age!"
Jennie laughs. "No way! You faced Yeti when you were two. I could never do that."
"But I had to be brave to do that. You are also brave, but you are facing another woman who is just as nervous as you are."
Jennie looks at Rose. "She does not look nervous."
"Rose is being brave. This is a new situation for her as well. Her previous fiance didn't have children; she will have to adjust to something she never considered before."
Jennie looks thoughtful. "I guess I can give her a chance."
"That's the spirit. Do you want me to walk over with you?"
Jennie shakes her head. "I can do this." She walks over to Rose and holds her hand out. "Hello, Rose, I'm Jennie."