Therapy is Good for the Soul

“Bailey you’ve outdone yourself again. That was delicious!” Freddy pushed back his chair from the table and patted his full belly.

“Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it. There’s more in the kitchen if you’d like seconds.” Bailey pointed to the remaining servings of Rosemary- Garlic baked chicken, sautéed spinach, and carrots cooked with butter, parsley, salt, pepper, and arugula.

“Thanks, but I’m stuffed and couldn’t eat another bite right now.”

“Anyone else want seconds?” Everyone shook their heads or said no. “I guess that means y’all want to wait a bit for dessert, right?”

Tyler stood up and walked over the help Bailey out of her chair. “As hard as it’s been for me to resist sneaking a taste of your dessert all day; I couldn’t eat more than a bite right now and that just won’t do.” He smiled as he bent down to give Bailey a quick peck on her lips.

“Woo Hoo! That means it’s time for PRESENTS!!” Emily squealed with joy as she hopped out of her seat pulling her fiancé Stephen up with her.

The gang all headed into Tyler’s living room and took a seat on his large sectional couch.

“How should we do this? Alphabetically?” Christina asked.

“Whoever gets a gift should give their gift next.” Freddy walked over to the Christmas tree and picked up a box with red wrapping paper with ice-skating polar bears on it and a white ribbon tied around it. “Since Bailey cooked up a fabulous dinner, I think she should get to go first.” He said as he handed Bailey the gift. “Merry Christmas!”

Bailey gently shook the box that was the size that’s typically used for clothes. She wasted no time ripping the ribbon and paper off. When she opened the box, she found another wrapped box inside. She unwrapped that box just as quickly only to find yet another wrapped box causing Bailey to scrunch her nose and lip in slight frustration while everyone else looked on and laughed. After all was said and done she unwrapped a total of 5 boxes before she found an envelope inside the last box. Bailey opened the envelope to find two front row tickets to the John Legend concert at the TD Garden in February. “Thank you Freddy! You have no idea how much I wanted to go to this concert.” She got up and gave Freddy a hug.

“Glad you like it! Unfortunately for me, the Bruins won’t be on a roady so I can’t step in for Tyler again.”

“Damn straight!” Tyler hollered back as he pulled Bailey into his lap. “I’m not about to miss another concert with my girl. I nearly had a heart attack the last time.” He gave Bailey a few gentle kisses on her cheeks and lips causing her to giggle.

“Can you two love birds wait until we at least finish exchanging gifts?” Christina interrupted the moment Tyler and Bailey were having causing Bailey’s cheeks to flush.

“Sorry!” Bailey replied as she got out of Tyler’s lap to get her gift for Stephen from under the tree. “Here you go Stephen.”

Stephen unwrapped the perfectly wrapped gift to reveal a Red Sox jersey signed by David Ortiz.

“I hope it fits because it can’t be returned.” Bailey told him.

“I won’t be wearing this, it’s going to be framed and hang in my office. Thank you Bailey! How on Earth did you get it signed?”

“I had a little help from Tyler. Keep looking in the box, there should be something else in there.”

“Thanks Tyler.” Stephen got excited, and found an envelope underneath the tissue paper in the box. “Are you fucking kidding me? You got me season tickets! How? I, I don’t know what to say. Bailey, thank you so much!” Stephen picked Bailey up and spun her around as he hugged her.

“I’m so glad you like it!” After Stephen calmed down a bit and put Bailey down, she went and sat down next to Tyler giving him a quizzical look. She leaned in very close and whispered in his ear. “Season tickets? I only gave you enough money to get tickets for a couple of games.”

Tyler turned to face Bailey with a devilish grin, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and whispered back. “Did I forget to tell you there was a special when I went to get the tickets?”

“Special my ass! You really shouldn’t have, but after seein his reaction I can’t be mad at you. Thank you!” Bailey gave him a quick kiss before resting her head on his chest.

“This is for you Christina.” Stephen gave Christina a blue gift bag decorated in snowflakes.

“Whoa! Thank you Stephen! I love it!!” Christina exclaimed as she admired the Coach purse he gave her.

“You got her a Coach purse? When I asked for one, you told me no way.” Emily questioned her fiancé and gave him her best pouty face.

“That’s because you don’t need one. We have more important things to spend our money on right now, like the wedding and saving up for a house.” He explained before giving her a kiss.

“Fine. Christina, I hope you know I’ll be borrowing that.”

“No problem. But it will be a while before I’m willing to let it go.” Christina went over to the tree, picked up a card in a green envelope and handed it to Tyler. “You are one damn hard person to shop for Tyler!”

Tyler opened the card, which had a print out from the Winchester Country Club golf course for a round of golf for him and three of his friends. “Thanks Christina! This is awesome!” He hugged her and gave her a peck on her cheek before he headed over to the Christmas tree to get Emily’s gift. “Here you go Em. I hope you like it.”

Emily opened the small gift bag to find small bottles of her favorite perfume and lotion. When she opened the card, she found a gift card to a spa on Newberry Street for a massage, manicure and pedicure for her and two friends. “Thank you Tyler!” She gave him a hug.

“I thought you could use it before your wedding.”

“It’s perfect! Well ladies, thanks to Tyler we’re going to have a day of beauty!” Emily skipped over to the tree and picked up a red envelope and gave it to Freddy. “And last but not least, Merry Christmas Freddy!” Emily kissed his cheek before sitting down next to Stephen.

Freddy started laughing when he opened the card. “Well, it looks like it doesn’t matter that the Bruins will be in town. Thanks to Emily I’m going to the concert too. And if I’m not mistaken it looks like we’ll be sitting together.”

“Really? That’s fantastic!” Bailey laughed.

“You can thank Tyler for that.” Emily explained.

Bailey looked up at Tyler and smiled. “You’re too much!” Tyler kissed Bailey’s cheek. "I know this was our Secret Santa exchange, but do y'all mind if I give Tyler his gift now since I'm leavin tomorrow?"

"What gift? I thought you said you didn't want to exchange gifts." Tyler questioned Bailey.

"Well, I had a change of heart!” She gave him a quick peck on the lips as she got up from the couch. “Besides you already gave me a jersey and a beautiful necklace."

"Those were from Santa." Tyler retorted with grin.

"Whatever." Bailey said as she skipped off to retrieve Tyler's gift from Freddy's room. When she returned she had a green gift bag and a large brown basket with red bows tied to the side handles. She handed Tyler the gift bag first. "Technically this is for Marshall, but since you’re his dad you can open it."

Tyler smiled as he pulled out the red and white tissue paper from the bag. Next came a large bag of bacon strip treats and Snausages. Then there were three new toys for Marshall to play with. Marshall was now sitting in front of Tyler begging for a treat. Bailey grabbed the bag of Snausages, opened it and gave him four of the little treats. "Four? You're spoiling my boy!"

"Aww come on it's Christmas, a few treats never hurt anybody! Besides, how can you say no to this face?" Bailey rubbed Marshall's head between his ears and pet him down his back.

"You're not the one who has to deal with him and his expectations after you've been around to spoil him! He gets real whiney and clingy after you leave." Freddy replied.

"I'm always happy to take him off your hands for a while."

"You're not stealing my boy!!" Tyler pulled Marshall close to him as if protecting him from Bailey. Then he threw the new stuffed dog toy and Marshall ran off in the corner and played. "Let's see what else you got for him." He pulled out a large bag of Greenies dental bones. "I've read about these, hope they really work! Marshall could use some help to freshen his breath. No you didn't!" Tyler exclaimed as he pulled out a Bruins doggie sweater with the number 19 and Seguin written across the back.

"I had too! He out grew his other one and this one allows him to truly root for his daddy." Bailey was grinning from ear to ear as she faced Tyler now sitting on her knees.

Tyler leaned down and gave Bailey a kiss. "Thank you!"

"Now this one is for you." She said as she handed Tyler the basket that was now sitting behind her. "I double checked your collection to make sure you didn't have any of these."

"Wow Bay, there are so many!" Tyler started looking through all the DVDs in the basket.

"Like Christina said, you're hard to shop for and you said you wanted some new movies. I got the kind with digital copies so you can download them in advance and watch them on your road trips if you want.”

“I’m assuming these are definitely for roadies.” Tyler held up a few of the horror movies in the basket.

“Not necessarily.” Bailey scooted in close to Tyler’s side and leaned on his shoulder. “I’ll watch them with you as long as you promise to hold me tight and let me spend the night afterwards.” Bailey’s cheeks flushed as she spoke.

“It’s a deal! But you do know that you don’t have to watch horror movies with me for an invitation to stay the night, right? You’re always welcome in my bed.” Tyler whispered the last few words in her ear and kissed the top of her head as he pulled her in closer to his body. Bailey’s rosy cheeks of course gave away any discretion Tyler tried to have with that statement and the rest of the group immediately started teasing them.

In an attempt to quickly change the subject Bailey told Tyler to finish looking through his basket. “I know it’s kind of cheesy, but I wanted to give you something a little more personal. I hope you like it.”

“Bay, I love it! Thank you!!” He turned to Bailey for a hug and sweetly kissed her on the lips. Tyler then returned to look through the small photo book Bailey had made of the two of them. There were pictures and captions that dated back all the way to the Summer Games when they first met. “Can’t wait to cash in some of these!” Tyler said while browsing through the little coupon book Bailey made. It included special things she would do for him, like baking him a dessert of his choice, giving him a back massage, or one of his personal favorites an evening of making out on his couch. “Ok, now it’s my turn. You said you had a change of heart, but I just out right lied to you. I have a gift for you too.” Tyler walked over to the Christmas tree and pulled a royal purple box tied with a green ribbon out from under it.

“Tyler, you didn’t need to do this.” Bailey said as she took the box from Tyler staring at him admiringly.

Tyler sat down and Bailey immediately fell into the side of his body. It was as if they were drawn together like magnets. “I wanted too.”

“Enough already, open the damn thing or I will!” Emily shouted breaking Bailey out of her trance.

Bailey pulled the ribbon undone, opened the box, and turned to Tyler with a confused look.

“Don’t leave us hanging, what is it?”

“I’m not really sure.”

“What do you mean?”

“You tell me what it means.” Bailey pulled out each item in the box one by one.

“Hmm, a paper airplane, an apple.” Christina said before Freddy interjected.

“A Big Apple!” Freddy corrected Christina.

“Ok, an airplane, a big apple, musical note pad, a newspaper, a small bible, and a hockey puck. What the hell does it all mean?”

“Just think about it for a minute Bay.”

Bailey stared at the items that were now sitting on Tyler’s coffee table for a few minutes. Then she suddenly snapped her head up and looked at Tyler curiously before she finally blurted out. “Oh my goodness, please tell me you didn’t! Tyler this is way too much, I can’t accept this!”

Tyler was very proud of himself and of Bailey for solving his little puzzle. “You don’t have a choice, there are no refunds.”

“Will someone please fill the rest of us in? What’s too much and can’t be returned?” Emily demanded to know.

Bailey started giggling. “Apparently I’m getting a trip to the Big Apple, a.k.a. New York City to see Newsies and The Book of Mormon with Tyler.”

“Well that explains everything but the hockey puck.” Christina chimed in.

“That represents you, right?” Bailey looked to Tyler.

“Yes and no. You are only partially right. You are getting a trip to New York, but I won’t be going to the musicals with you because I have games. The puck represents tickets to my game against the Rangers.”

“I’m confused, you’re sending me to New York and you won’t be with me? I’m going by myself and only get to see you when you play the Rangers?”

“No, No! I have a roady to New York next month. We are staying in the city even though we will be playing the Flyers, Islanders, and then the Rangers. I’ll have some time in between the games. I thought it would be fun if you tagged a long on this trip so I checked your work schedule and made sure you aren’t on call that weekend. I knew you really wanted to see those shows so I got you tickets for them during the games against the Flyers and Islanders. Bay, I got you three tickets to each show, so you won’t be alone. I got tickets for everyone for the Rangers game and booked a couple of rooms in the same hotel the team is staying in.”

Bailey just stared up at Tyler stunned by everything he just said. She climbed into his lap and pulled his lips to hers giving him a passionate and loving thank you kiss. “Tyler Paul Seguin, you are the most generous man I know. I can’t believe you are sendin all of us on a New York City vacation! Thank you!!” She gave him several more small kisses.

“All right lovebirds break it up before we all lose our dinner. Besides Bailey, you have a tough decision you need to make. Who are you going to take to the musicals with you?” Freddy chirped.
“What are you talkin about?”

“Tyler said he got you 3 tickets to the shows. You’re clearly going to take me, so who gets the other ticket?”

“You really want to go Freddy?”

“Absolutely!”

Bailey bit her lip and started to fidget with her fingers. She didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. She never imagined Freddy would want to go in her wildest dreams. How she was going to make a decision without disappointing a friend was beyond her.

Tyler noticed Bailey was getting upset at the thought of choosing between her friends. He pulled her closer to his chest. “He’s just messing with you Bay. Freddy doesn’t really want to go.”

Bailey looked up at Tyler for reassurance and then towards Freddy. “Is that true?”

“Yea! It was just too easy I couldn’t resist.”

Bailey threw a throw pillow and hollered at him. “That was mean!” She then snuggled back into Tyler’s chest.

“Mmm, I’m going to miss this. Do you have to leave?”

“I’m gonna miss it too, but I haven’t been home since this summer. Besides you’re leaving for a road trip tomorrow night anyways. We’ll both get to spend some time with our families. I’ll be back in two weeks and then we can make up for lost time together.” Bailey gently kissed each of Tyler’s cheeks and then his lips.

“Ugh, Not again! You two need to get a room.” Christina stated as the group watched Tyler and Bailey forget anyone else was in the room again.

“You know what? You’re absolutely right! Good night everyone. Thanks again for a wonderful holiday evening. If I don’t see you before I leave tomorrow, have a Merry Christmas!” Tyler swiftly stood up lifting Bailey with him, carrying her towards his room.

Bailey burst into a fit of giggles at Tyler’s bold move and the fact he started whispering sweet nothings in her ear in between little kisses he gave her. “Good Night! I’ll see y’all when I get back. Merry Christmas!”

Notes

Sorry for another delay. I've been really sick for over a week and haven't been able to do much of anything. Anyways, I hope this chapter is ok. The next couple of chapters will be about Bailey and Tyler finally meeting each other's family and it won't all be smooth sailing. Hopefully I still have readers vested in this story!! I wish I could update more frequently, but it's really hard with school. Summer isn't too far away and I will have more time then so chapters should come faster.

I truly appreciate all you kind words regarding the story!