Everything I do, I do it for you (a/k/a Nowhere Near Six Sentence Sunday)
Tim watches the snow fall from the warmth of the town car speeding through the streets of London. Ok speeding might be a stretch, he thinks - it’s evening rush hour, two Saturdays before Christmas and the roads are packed with locals, tourists, double decker buses, taxis etc. Tim’s cop eyes are wistful as he sees the holiday lights and decorations.
He turns away from the window to look at his wife, to grab her hand and kiss it.
They’ve had a long journey to get to this moment. Not just today - flying from Los Angeles to London via New York - but also after finding each other then losing the love he didn’t think he deserved to knowing and living a life made complete with her and their deep all consuming happiness.
Tim Bradford is 70 years old today and he’s been married to Lucy Chen Bradford for almost half of those years.
He’s sad because up until now they’ve always spent his birthday surrounded by their friends and family- the unofficial start to the Bradford Holidays - created by his wife to celebrate the initial expansion of their family - think holiday family advent calendar full of activities and milestones and celebrations.
But now, his babies were now all out of the house with lives and loves of their own. He is so insanely proud of them and he misses them and worries about them when they are far away. He spoke to all of them throughout the day as they wished him the happiest of birthdays- but it’s not the same.
Lucy pats her husband’s hand as she watches the emotions track across his face - unsurprised he’s taking this birthday separation so hard. He is such a softy for his family. He turned into marshmallow fluff when babygirl bradford #1 had come screaming into existence and never really stopped from that point forward.
She leans into his side, kissing him lightly on the cheek to say, “ We’re here. Let’s go check in.” Tim smiles as they exit the car and enter the hotel lobby holding hands. Lucy tips the porter who takes their heavy coats and bags up to their suite and sends a text to the family group chat, “We’re here!” She then moves to check out the decorated Christmas tree in the Grand Foyer.
When Tim joins her at the tree, he sees her holding a picture ornament in her hand, smiling sweetly with a tear slowly sliding down her face.
“Remember when I gave you our first Christmas ornament? That sonogram went from the fridge to the tree within a week- and a very happy little girl arrived to fill our lives with joy 7 months later.”
Tim: “I remember.” He glances at the ornament then stops short when he realizes she’s holding THAT original ornament. Tim looks from Lucy to the tree and back as he notices another ornament from their history on the tree - this one of Kojo with reindeer horns on his head and a tinsel vine in his mouth….
“Wait…. I gave you this ornament. Didn’t I hang this on our tree before we left home?” Lucy nods and kisses his cheek.
Tim then sees another ornament he recognizes and then another one and realizes that this lovely, sweet smelling live tree is covered in THEIR holiday ornaments.
Tim wanders around the tree, laughing and smiling as the memories wash over him in waves. The first steps, the broken bones, the series of dogs, the laughter and the love. Before he knows it, he’s back to Lucy, and he’s kissing her like it’s their second first date all over again. That first real kiss between them. The way he always kisses her when he’s so overcome with love for her and so grateful to have spent so much of his life being loved by her.
The moment crashes to a halt when someone falls into Tim, breaking the spell.
Tim whirls around, ready to confront/attack and comes face to face with a squirming smiley baby. A baby he knows. Grand baby boy Bradford #1 makes eye contact with his “Pa Pa” and squeals with delight, reaching for the man who loves him almost as much as “ da da.” Lucy reaches out and grabs the baby, “ Nana’s got you!” As she moves away, Tim sees his eldest son who should be in Chicago shaping young minds…. “Hi Dad. Happy Birthday.”
Tim grabs his son and holds on tight, not ending the hug until his sweet boy pulls away.
“Luke, what are you doing here?”
Luke smiles his mom’s smile at his dad and says, “ I’m the only one with both extensive snow and van driving experience. Who else was gonna drive this motley lot of people here from the airport?”
Luke steps away from the tree to reveal the other four Bradford kids with their significant others standing slightly apart and laughing among themselves.
Suddenly Tim is wrapped in a bear hug by those he holds most dear. He can’t believe it - they are all here!
Lucy picks that moment to slide up next to her husband, eyes sparkling with mischief and slides under Tim’s arm. “you have been moping since you found out our travel overlaps with your birthday, so the kids and I arranged for everyone to come to London for the weekend to celebrate you, and then we’ll take the train to port before starting our weeklong cruise.”
“It was their idea, but I helped. You should know by now that everything I do. I do it for you.”
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