Christmas

Hi readers!  Just like with Thanksgiving, because of my love of bonus posts, we're a little ahead of schedule for Christmas too.  Because of the holiday, I'll probably only be posting twice this week--this post, and the third and final post of Kinsley's current series.  I'm not entirely sure when I'm posting that one, but it will most likely be late Tuesday or early Wednesday. 
 
Also, you might have noticed I'm a little less involved in the comments lately.  I do apologize for that--I really like responding to comments as much as possible.  It's been really crazy at work and with the end of my semester.  I also just got a promotion and everything is moving really quickly so I'm a little stressed and overwhelmed with that.  I'll continue to post regularly and on schedule (except for the one less post this week), so don't worry about that, but you just might not see me around in the comments and such as much.  I'll try to respond when I can though, because I appreciate all the comments so much! 

As always, thanks for reading and commenting!  I hope that everyone has safe and happy holidays, no matter what you celebrate!  
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We flew out the next morning, and the roads and airport were packed with Christmas Eve travelers.  I was tired and in no mood to deal with the crowds, but I tried to keep my tongue in check so I didn't act ungrateful.

I rolled my eyes when the lady in front me in the security line didn't have her I.D. out to give to the TSA agent, and sighed when she approached the scanner with shoes and coat on, and her laptop still in her bag.  She made no move to get out of the way to get her act together so the people behind her that were prepared could go through, and I fidgeted impatiently while I waited.  When I got through, I saw her standing directly in the way of the end of the conveyor belt, struggling to get her shoes and coat back on.  I squeezed my eyes shut and clenched my fists before moving out of the way of the person behind me.  When I could finally get through to the belt, I grabbed my bins and yanked them over to the side, away from everyone else to get my stuff back in order.

Brody watched me with a half smile.  "Fresh out of Christmas spirit today?" he asked as he straightened from pulling his shoe back on.

"Sorry," I said ruefully.  "I hate this part of traveling."  He grabbed my coat and my carry-on and nodded.

"Me too.  Maybe someday I'll have a corporate jet that we can take instead."  Judging by the look in his eyes, I guessed he was only half joking, if that.

"That sounds excellent.  You get to work on that," I joked, standing up.  I reached for my stuff but he shook his head.

"I've got it, let's go."  We made our way to our gate and sat.  We had about 15 minutes before boarding.  "Now, tell me about this grandma of yours," he said, once we were settled.

"I don't even know where to start," I replied.  "Maybe with the time she refused to attend my college graduation because the speaker was the liberal governor at the time?  Or the time that she refused to attend my cousin's wedding because they weren't getting married in a church?"  Brody raised his eyebrows.

"Religion is very important to her, which is great, except she's one of those small percentage of religious people that makes non-religious people dislike religion.  I just said religion a lot."  Brody laughed.  "I love her, obviously, and we are very thankful for her church because they've helped her so much, between being a great community for her, helping her with her garden, checking in on her, etc, but she takes it a bit far sometimes.  Me and my parents aren't really religious at all, so she's usually got something to say about that.  I don't mind, because I'm really glad she's so happy and involved with her church and her beliefs, but it makes my mom kind of crazy sometimes."

"So she's Chris's mom?" Brody clarified.  I nodded.  "Got it.  So, is she going to ask me about church?"

"Probably."

"And what should I say?" Brody also didn't attend church or hold to any particular beliefs.

I considered this.  "Your best bet is to be honest, I think, and I'll try to save you."

"That is...reassuring," he said, looking nervous. 

"It'll be fine, just stay away from talking politics with her at all costs," I instructed.  "And really, compared to your dad, she's like a tame old housecat."

"I hate cats," he joked.

They began boarding for our flight, and since Brody had gotten first class tickets, we got to board right away.  I settled into the roomy (by airplane standards, anyway) seat and stretched my legs out in front of me.  "I could get used to this," I said.

When the flight attendant came around offering free drinks, I was sold.  "I will never fly coach again," I declared, sipping my mimosa. Now that we were through the annoying party, my mood was much better.

Brody laughed.  "That's what happened to me," he said.  The plane started to taxi and I didn't respond.  I didn't mind flying at all, but takeoff always sort of terrified me.  Brody took my hand and rubbed his thumb across my knuckles while I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to pretend that this giant, loaded hunk of metal actually weighed about 10 pounds and would effortlessly defy the laws of gravity.

He turned to me once we were in the air.  "Okay, run the itinerary by me one more time," he said.

"Sure.  Today my mom will feed us her famous lasagna and we'll go to our traditional Christmas Eve movie and then drive around to see all the lights.  Tomorrow morning we'll open presents, then my mom will boss us all around while she cleans and dad cooks.  Grandma, my cousin, my aunt, and two uncles will come over around 4.  They'll probably be gone by 8."  I looked over at him.  He was nodding intently, but I knew he'd probably ask me at least twice more what the plan was.  "Friday I wanted to go see Lynn during the day, and then a bunch of my college friends are getting together Friday night.  My parents want to have brunch before we leave on Saturday."

"Okay.  Got it this time.  I think."  I looked at him skeptically.  "Yeah, yeah," he said, laughing.  "Can you just tell me every morning what we're doing?"

I dozed with my head against Brody's shoulder for most of the flight.  I woke up fully when they announced the final approach.  Landing didn't freak me out nearly as much as taking off did, but it was my second least favorite part of the flight.  When we were safely on the ground, I pulled out my phone and texted my dad that we had landed.  He texted back right away that he had parked the car and would meet us at baggage claim.  Totally unnecessary, but that's my dad.

We made our way off the plane and down to baggage claim.  I saw my dad right away and threw my arms around him.  "Welcome back, sweetie," he said, hugging me hard.  He turned to Brody and stuck out his hand.  "Good to see you again, and under better circumstances," he said, shaking Brody's hand.  He paused and then said, quietly.  "And thank you for making it possible for our daughter to spend Christmas with us.  We offered to pay for her ticket, but she got mad at us for it."

"I can hear you," I said loudly.

"That's great news!" Dad said.  "That means your hearing isn't going yet."  I rolled my eyes as he and Brody laughed.  They were too busy appreciating their own hilarity that no one even noticed I had my bag until I was standing there with it next to me.  I only checked a bag because I was bringing gifts and couldn't fit everything in my carry-on, so Brody didn't need to wait for anything.

"Are you guys ready?" I huffed.  This was going to be a long weekend if Brody and my dad were going to spend it enjoying jokes at my expense.  But I was glad they seemed to get along, at least.

Brody grinned at me and took my suitcase from my hand.  "Careful," he warned my dad.  "She's cranky today."  I glared at him but had to smile when he leaned down and kissed my forehead softly.

My mom (and the smell of her amazing lasagna) greeted us warmly when we got to the house.  Brody hauled our bags up to my room while I grabbed us something to drink.  The rest of the day passed smoothly.  My parents and Brody got along well and my mom's lasagna was delicious.

On Christmas morning, I woke up to Brody settling an arm around me and pulling me tighter against him.  "Merry Christmas," he said softly.

"Merry Christmas," I murmured back.  The sounds of dishes clinking and footsteps told me that my parents were already up.  We got up and went out to join them.  There were a ton of gifts under the tree, and I couldn't help by feel excited like a little kid.

We spent the next hour and a half opening gifts.  My parents had even gotten a bunch of stuff for Brody, which was awesome, especially with the last minute notice.  After presents, Brody and I made some eggs and French toast while my parents started getting things ready for dinner.  After eating breakfast and cleaning up the gifts, my parents kicked us out of the kitchen. 

We sat in the living room for awhile, but then my mom came in with the vacuum and shooed us out of there too.  We offered to help but were still kicked unceremoniously out.  We decided to just get out of the house and go for a walk.

Brody jammed his hands deep into his pockets as we walked.  "This is awful," he complained.  "It's so cold.  Why is it so cold here?"  I laughed.  It was considerably colder than what we had left behind in Colorado, but not anywhere near the coldest it was sure to get, and I told him as much.  "No wonder you left," he grumbled.

I moved closer to him, sliding my arm around his back.  "You get used to it, kind of," I said.  He looked skeptical.  Needless to say, our walk didn't last long.  We showered when we got back and I sat on the floor in my bedroom to do my hair and makeup while Brody called his parents and siblings and wished them a Merry Christmas.  Brody's mom asked to talk to me, and wished me a Merry Christmas herself, which I thought was sweet.    "She likes you better than she likes me," Brody said when he hung up.

"It's understandable," I said with a smirk.  He poked me with his toe, trying to push me over.  I had just grabbed his foot when the doorbell rang.  Brody looked at me nervously.  "You'll be fine," I assured him.  "My parents love you, they will too."

It was my Aunt Sherry, Uncle Joe, and my 20 year old cousin Celeste, and I quickly introduced them to Brody.  Brody turned on the charm and soon had Sherry and Joe cracking up and it was obvious that Celeste was deep under his spell.  "He is so hot, I hate you," she whispered to me when we walked into the kitchen to get drinks. 

I grinned at her.  "It's so good to see you too, Celeste," I quipped back.  She threw her arms around me.

"I miss you, you should let me come out and visit you this summer," she said.  I told her that we could definitely talk about it.  Celeste was my only cousin, and even though we weren't very close in age, we had been good friends since we were always the only kids at family gatherings.  The doorbell rang again while we were in the kitchen, and I knew it would be my Uncle Nick and my grandma.  I hurried back into the living room to get the door.

I pulled it open and Uncle Nick hugged me.  "What a surprise!  Your dad said you weren't going to make it!" he exclaimed.

"Merry Christmas, Uncle Nick!" I said.  "We weren't going to, but we managed."

"We?" he asked.  I motioned Brody over and introduced him.

"Ah, yes, you're the young man that flew up from work to be with Olivia when her friend was injured in that accident," he said.  Brody looked surprised, and I imagined my face mirrored his. 

"Small towns, word gets around," Nick said with a wink.

"Just leave an old lady standing in the foyer with her coat and purse, why don't you?" my grandma's crisp voice rang out behind us. 

"Sorry, Grandma!" I called, slipping past Nick.  I took her coat and purse and hung them in the closet before hugging her.  "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas, dear.  It's so nice to see you," she replied, holding me at arm's length and examining me from head to foot.  She sniffed.  "Unfortunately, it seems that Colorado agrees with you.  Have you found a church out there?"

"It does, Grandma.  It's wonderful out there.  And no, not yet.  But I'd like to introduce you to my boyfriend."

She looked past me and her gaze landed on Brody.  She eyed him appraisingly.  "Hello, son," she said evenly.  Then she turned and looked at me.  "Surely you could join him at his church," she said, in her passive aggressive way.

"Yes, Grandma, I certainly could, if he attended one.  Do you want something to drink?"  She dropped it for the time being, and accepted my offer to get her a drink.  Brody came with me.

"That wasn't so bad," he said.

"Nope, not yet!" I replied.  "And Celeste thinks you're god's gift to the world," I said with a small chuckle.

"Is she wrong?" he asked, grinning at me.  I rolled my eyes but laughed.

The rest of the evening went surprisingly well.  After a couple of well-avoided politically-themed questions, my Grandma was on her best behavior.   The rest of my family seemed to love Brody, just like everyone else who ever met him.

After everyone was gone and my parents were in bed, I turned to him.  "My family loves you," I said.  "Celeste wants to marry you, and I'm pretty sure my Aunt Sherry does too.  Joe and Nick are ready to take you fishing and hunting.  And Grandma behaved herself, which is high praise in our world."

"Your family is so normal," he said, almost wistfully.  "It was easy."  He hugged me.  "Did you have a good Christmas?" he asked.

"The best I've ever had," I replied, burrowing against his chest.  "Thanks for making it happen, and for being here with me."

"I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else," he said, kissing me.