MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL! AND TO ALL, A GOOD RIDDANCE?
MEL
Christmas Eve was here.
Mel wanted to have a Christmas Eve party at hers and Taylor's house. There was more than enough room for the entire Hanson brood and her own family, but word had gotten back to her that it would be her imminent death if Diana Hanson did not host the party at her own house, as she did every Christmas.
So now here they were, loading up Mel's Jeep with gifts and cookies. Tay had been surprised when he came home the previous night to the aroma of gingerbread and finding her and Fred buried deep under layers of wrapping paper. Mel refused to let him help with the gift-wrapping, so instead he had sat and watched the scene. Gift-wrapping mostly consisted of removing Fred calmly from said gift, taping some paper onto said gift, and then repeating the process. It took her hours. She never once minded it.
"You sure we're not gonna have to take both vehicles?" Tay asked her.
"Nope," she said. "We can get it all in here."
"This is the most I have ever taken to my parents' on Christmas."
Mel turned around and eyed Taylor. "How?"
"What do you mean, how?"
"Well I mean there's..." Mel began counting on her fingers and then gave up. "There's a lot of people that are going to be there."
He shrugged. "We used to just do gift cards and stuff like that."
"Seriously?"
He shrugged again. Then he changed the subject. "You sure you wanna go over there this early? The party isn't for another several hours."
Mel was having a hard time understanding Tay's observations. What family had he grown up in? "Tay--you can't be invited to a family party with this many people and NOT go over there early enough to help. I
wouldn't dare make your mother slave away for this many people without help." Then she narrowed her eyes at him. "What have you BEEN doing?"
"We just went over there when she said be there."
Going back to her business, arranging gifts in the trunk, she muttered, "Unbelievable." The Natalie stories were getting more and more ridiculous. Mel didn't even have siblings. Her family couldn't even dream of being as large as Tay's and for the past ten years he's been buying gift cards and not even showing up a little early to help out? This sounded absolutely insane to her. Changes were about to start happening in Tay's life, including his traditions, or lack thereof. She hoped he was ready for it.
---------------------------------------------------
It was freezing outside. The threat of snow loomed in the air and while, normally, Mel was excited about it, she began to worry about it starting to snow during the party. While a white Christmas would surely be
magical, not being able to get home to baby Fred would not be. She didn't dare express this fear out loud. She knew Tay thought she was silly about the kitten and she gave up days ago trying to explain to him how she felt. It was kinda sad, really, but she wasn't about to let anything ruin her Christmas. Not this year. Not while everything was seemingly falling beautifully into place.
Stepping out of the Jeep at Walker's and Diana's house, Mel wished she had layered up a little more. Leggings, boots, a tunic top, and scarf were good for indoors, but not so much for outdoors. At least not for these
temperatures, anyway. Mel noticed her parents' car already there and turned to Tay as he saw the car, too. "See?" she said, elaborating on their previous conversation. Mel's parents were good friends with Walker and Diana, which is how she and Tay had met as children when they were neighbors. Her parents came to the party every year, even when Mel lived in New York. She loved how the two families were already melded
together before she and Tay had even found each other again. It was so obviously fate.
They gave a quick knock before walking in the house and into the living room to a surprised Walker. "My word! You two sure are early! To what do we owe this honor?"
Mel smiled. "Well we have a car to unload and probably some cooking to do, I'm sure." She hugged her father and then Walker.
"Well, Paul, you know what that means," Walker said to Mel's father.
"Right behind you," her father said. He kissed Mel's forehead as Walker took a firm grip to Tay's shoulder and the three men headed outside.
Smiling, Mel carried a plate of gingerbread men into the kitchen to find her mother, Susan, and Diana standing over the sink with glasses in their hands. Both of their faces lit up when they saw her walk in and Mel called
out happily, "Moms!"
She put the plate down on the table and hugged them both and Diana lifted the cover from the cookies. "What's going on here?"
"A little gingerbread-decorating activity for the kiddos for tonight."
Both Diana and her mother smiled. "I don't know why I never thought of that, it's a fantastic idea!"
Mel's mother kissed her forehead and Mel beamed.
"We've already been hitting the eggnog," Diana said. "It's the only thing getting us through this party prep. You want in?"
"Most definitely," Mel responded. "I need a little warming up after being outside in that weather."
"How's it looking out there?" Susan asked.
Mel's eyes darted solemnly at her mother. "Questionable."
"You know they're calling for something tonight."
"Don't remind me."
"Worried about your new fur baby?" Diana asked.
"Yes!" Mel exclaimed, grateful to finally have someone to understand.
"Don't you worry, it'll all work out. You just worry about having a good time tonight," Diana said.
Within minutes, the three women were cackling over eggnog when Tay walked in. "Uh, Mel, there's a...tackle box? In the Jeep? Has it always been there?"
Mel glanced at her mother and the two of them began to giggle. It was instantaneous. They couldn't help it. "Yes," Mel said, attempting to collect herself. "It needs to come in."
He looked at her, confused. "It's--I mean is it--who is it for?"
Mel giggled more. "It's mine. It has all the cookie decorations in it."
He continued to stare at her blankly.
"You know, for the gingerbread men? Frosting and sprinkles and stuff?"
"Oh! In a tackle box? Okay..." With that, he left the room.
Diana looked at Mel and Susan. "You keep your baking decorations in a tackle box?"
"I got it from Mom," Mel said.
"Oh yes," Susan confirmed. "It's so handy, you have no idea. It's just a box I keep frosting tubes in, and sprinkles, and sugars, and birthday candles...and you just carry it around as you need it."
"You know," Diana said in thought. "That is probably the most convenient thing I have ever heard. I just keep mine in the cabinet but that box idea is fantastic! We may be doing a little after-Christmas shopping, ladies. Keep your schedules open."
Minutes later, Tay brought in Mel's box and she was showing him what the purpose was when they heard small voices come through the front door and were growing ever closer, ever faster. "Uncle Tay!" Two mini-Ikes
barreled into the kitchen and wasted no time jumping all over their uncle.
"Whoa, what a greeting!" Tay said to them, happily.
After the boys hugged Mel and, of course, asked if she brought the kitten, Diana covered them in kisses and then shooed them out of the kitchen. "No small people allowed in the kitchen," she commanded. That was followed by a series of protesting moans and groans but the boys did as they were told and left the room.
Within an hour, the children's voices multiplied and the kitchen was full of women. Diana, Zoe, Kate, Nikki, Mel, and Susan all drank (all except for Zoe) and prepped and cooked in preparation for the main event to start in a few hours, all anxiously awaiting the arrival of Avery and Jessica. It wasn't long before it became obvious that the men in the other room were in no shape to wrangle a handful of hyper kids, so Zoe was volunteered by her mother to be on kid-duty for the night.
"You know, this was supposed to be for tonight, but I made gingerbread men and brought decorations if you want to get them settled on an activity for the party. Make them feel like they're helping," Mel suggested to Zoe.
Zoe smiled. "Cool. That'll be fun."
"Please don't let them ruin their clothes," Kate said. "I mean, not to the point of no return, anyway."
"It's okay, I got this," Zoe said, confidently. And with that, she was off, attracting kids like the Pied Piper.
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TAYLOR
By six, the house was full. Joining the party were grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles, family friends, and even a few neighbors. His younger brother Mackenzie brought Jeanette, from the office, along--they'd been conducting a long-distance relationship since Drew's wedding. Taylor was happier than he had been in years. He sipped on his beer and took a moment to observe the scene--and by scene, that meant Mel. The atmosphere was just SO DIFFERENT now than it had been, it all seemed so surreal. Mel made it a point to speak to everyone. She spent a good portion of the first hour introducing herself when she wasn't willing to wait for him to do it for her. In fact, he HAD to kinda sit back and watch her because she was so all over the place, helping his mother play hostess, darting back and forth from the kitchen when she wasn't darting back and forth between guests and family.
It was different with Natalie. There was tension, always tension. Natalie was quiet and stand-offish. She hardly spoke to anyone but Nikki or Kate or Diana. Everyone seemed to walk on eggshells around her and there were always whispers. Taylor tried to find a new excuse for her every year, embarrassing as it was. You'd think that after so much time, she would have been part of the family, but she seemed to fail to realize that it was a two-way street. He couldn't help but think after leaving his parents' house every Christmas Eve, "Hanson is more than a band, we're a family, too." And he hated assuming what everyone else already knew went through her mind.
It was unfortunate that this year, with Mel, he found himself automatically on the defensive. It was a reflex. He knew Mel. He knew that this year would be different--better. Mel had been a family member, even in the ten years she wasn't around. But he couldn't help but tense up every time the front door opened and someone new showed up. Between being gun shy after years of having to back Natalie and her jealousy, and now with his recent divorce and new engagement happening so fast within the same year, he had no idea what to expect. As he watched Mel interact with family and friends, he was no doubt comforted and relaxed, knowing she would be loved and the people she interacted with would be loved in return. But now he worried about the other side of the fence--what were they thinking? What were they whispering?
He knew what Paul was whispering, because he whispered it right in Tay's ear. "I know what you're thinking."
Startled, Tay found himself standing up a little straighter. "Sir?"
Paul smiled and Tay was instantly a little more comfortable. "You've been through a lot, Taylor. What with your divorce and your engagement to my daughter--which was a long-time coming, might I add. It's easy to
wonder how it's all going to go over with the family."
Tay wasn't sure where he was going with this, but he was surprised by the accurate observation. "Um, I didn't realize it was that obvious."
"It wasn't. Just a logical guess on my part. I'm assuming I was right."
Tay nodded in response.
"I thought so. You gotta admit, it all happened a bit fast."
Tay swallowed hard, his nerves returning in full force. Where was Mel's father going with this?
Then Paul smiled and gave Tay's shoulder a friendly pat. "But, son, if it had happened to any other couple, we'd be having a completely different conversation right now. You have my blessing and you always have.
Wasn't sure if I'd told you that or not, but tonight seemed appropriate."
Tay was almost dizzied with relief. "Uh, wow. Thank you, sir. That means a lot."
Paul hugged Tay briefly. "Stop calling me 'sir.' The name's Paul, you know that! Just because you're marrying my daughter, doesn't mean my name has changed."
Tay laughed. "You're right. You're absolutely right."
Minutes later, the loud tapping of a glass was heard amongst the talking and everyone turned to see Diana, loudly clanging a fork against her glass as she called for attention. "I just wanted to say that I am happy to see
each and every one of you here tonight and am so glad you could all make it to our little party. It's been quite a year for this family. We've had tours, a new baby, an engagement, new significant others (she nodded and winked at Mac and Jeanette), and countless other events, both good and stressful. Tonight is a time for us to be together and to eat, drink, and be merry, and to leave all of our stressors and negativity at the door and take time to just have fun and relax. And most importantly, let us all never forget the real reason for the season. So cheers and Merry Christmas to you all!"
Taylor smiled at his mother's speech. He always loved coming home for Christmas and he was beginning to be overwhelmed with the relief and change this particular Christmas seemed to be bringing him. He didn't know what to do with himself, feeling relaxed and carefree all of a sudden. Turning to Paul, who still stood next to him, Tay said, "I think maybe it's time we rescue our women from the dark depths of the kitchen. I don't think we've hardly seen them all night."
Paul laughed. "At the rate they started, we'll probably be peeling them off the floor out of a pool of eggnog."
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The scene in the kitchen was just as chaotic as the rest of the house. They found Zac and Mac in the kitchen, picking off the food on the island. Diana, Susan, and both grandmothers huddled around a fruit display, and Mel, Avery, and a couple of aunts crowded around Kate as she held the new baby.
Tay's and Paul's mission was aborted when they got side-tracked by the food and joined Tay's younger brothers in the plundering of the kitchen island. Everyone around was blissfully happy. Around you, all you heard was eating, drinking, talking and laughing. For a moment, it was pure Christmas bliss.
And then the entire house fell eerily silent. Complete silence, not a word spoken or a breath breathed.
Tay quickly swallowed the bite of food he had in his mouth and his darted directly at Mel, who looked at him and shrugged her shoulders. Everyone looked around at each other, seemingly scared to make a move to see what caused the sudden silence, when Ike popped his head in the doorway. "Uh, we have a situation out here that needs to be taken care of pretty quickly."
"What is it?" Diana asked, alarmed.
At that moment, Walker walked through the doorway past his son and said to his wife, "Natalie's here. I had to leave the room before anything came out of my mouth."
Everyone's eyes said it. There was an especially alarmed exchange between Diana, Taylor, Mel, and Kate. Diana looked at Kate, sternly. "Did you know about any of this?"
Looking like a deer in headlights, Kate shook her head. "No. I didn't even know she was in town." Kate started to hand the baby to Avery. "Here, I'll go take care of it."
"No," Diana said suddenly. "You stay here. I'll go and straighten this out."
"Mom, should I--?"
"No," she said, cutting Tay off. "Everyone just stay where they are and I will handle it. It'll be okay."
When Diana walked out of the room, everyone looked at each other once again. And then all at once, everyone but the older adults couldn't help but crowd in the doorway. You couldn't see the Diana nor Natalie, seeing
as the front door was out of sight from the kitchen and they assumed Natalie never made it that far into the house. But they could most certainly hear the exchange over the deafening silence.
"Hello, Natalie," Diana greeted her curtly.
"Hi, Merry Christmas!" Natalie's sing-song voice rang out. Tay observed Mel next to him, looking up at Kate on the other side of her. Kate looked back at both of them, her eyes pained. Tay's heart went out to
his sister-in-law, but only to her, realizing her position.
"You have a lot of nerve showing up here like this," Diana continued.
"I came to spend Christmas with my family," Natalie said, sounding hurt. "I've been here every year for ten years."
"You no longer have family here," Diana said. "You made sure of that yourself."
Suddenly, Tay felt a hard jab in his ribs and he followed Mel's horrified gaze to the doorway off to the left of them. Apparently the change in atmosphere had drawn the kids out of the other room and they were now standing in the doorway, checking out the scene. Without another word, Mel grabbed Kate's hand firmly and pulled her through the kitchen doorway and went immediately for the kids. "Hey, let's go check out those cookies you guys are decorating," Mel said to them quietly. He watched the kids and the two women disappear back down the hall and then turned his attention back to the sound of his mother's voice.
"I'm not the one who left the family," Natalie was saying. "I was pushed away."
"You kept a heinous lie that not only betrayed and devastated my son, but also the rest of this family. A family who loved you and treated you as one of their own. You threw all that away on your own account. I will not have you come in like this and ruin Christmas for us this year. He is happy now, with his family and his fiancée--"
"Fiancee? He's--he's engaged? To Mel? Already? Where is he? I need to talk to him."
"You'll do nothing of the sort. I'm sorry you had to find out this way, but since you chose to barge in here uninvited, I guess an unwelcome bit of information was what was coming to you. Now I am not about to call the police out to my house on Christmas Eve. It's tacky and unnecessary and they have families of their own. But I'm not above it, either. You are not welcome here and I am going to ask you one time to leave this property or I will have you escorted. I don't know where you're staying or how your mother approved of you flying here but I suggest you leave here and go straight to the airport."
"Well, my mother doesn't know I'm here. I just flew in an hour or so ago and there isn't another flight for hours--"
"You should have thought this through. And believe you me, your mother will know you've been here."
"Please don't call--"
"You may leave now. Next time this exchange won't be as nice."
The few moments it took for Diana to come back into sight seemed like an eternity. All eyes were on her. She looked around and clapped her hands. "Well, then, don't just stand there, everyone! Food's in the kitchen and drinks are on the bar! Eat, drink, and have fun, and there won't be another word spoken about this!"
Slowly but surely, the party was underway once more as Diana headed back in the kitchen and picked up a tray of food to carry to the living room. "Prepare for the backlash," Walker said to Tay.
As she walked out of the kitchen with the food tray, she patted Tay on the arm with her free hand. "Honey, why don't you grab your brothers and sing a couple songs for everyone. They would love that. Mac, too, the
four of you sound so wonderful together."
"Uh, Mom--" Tay protested shyly, feeling his face begin to burn.
"Chop, chop!" And with that, she was gone again.
There was no arguing with his mother. Once she had her mind set on something, you did what you were told. Tay looked helplessly at his brothers, their faces full of food once again as they stared after their mother,
as well. Tay sighed at them. "I'll get Ike. And the guitar."
MEL
Christmas Eve was here.
Mel wanted to have a Christmas Eve party at hers and Taylor's house. There was more than enough room for the entire Hanson brood and her own family, but word had gotten back to her that it would be her imminent death if Diana Hanson did not host the party at her own house, as she did every Christmas.
So now here they were, loading up Mel's Jeep with gifts and cookies. Tay had been surprised when he came home the previous night to the aroma of gingerbread and finding her and Fred buried deep under layers of wrapping paper. Mel refused to let him help with the gift-wrapping, so instead he had sat and watched the scene. Gift-wrapping mostly consisted of removing Fred calmly from said gift, taping some paper onto said gift, and then repeating the process. It took her hours. She never once minded it.
"You sure we're not gonna have to take both vehicles?" Tay asked her.
"Nope," she said. "We can get it all in here."
"This is the most I have ever taken to my parents' on Christmas."
Mel turned around and eyed Taylor. "How?"
"What do you mean, how?"
"Well I mean there's..." Mel began counting on her fingers and then gave up. "There's a lot of people that are going to be there."
He shrugged. "We used to just do gift cards and stuff like that."
"Seriously?"
He shrugged again. Then he changed the subject. "You sure you wanna go over there this early? The party isn't for another several hours."
Mel was having a hard time understanding Tay's observations. What family had he grown up in? "Tay--you can't be invited to a family party with this many people and NOT go over there early enough to help. I
wouldn't dare make your mother slave away for this many people without help." Then she narrowed her eyes at him. "What have you BEEN doing?"
"We just went over there when she said be there."
Going back to her business, arranging gifts in the trunk, she muttered, "Unbelievable." The Natalie stories were getting more and more ridiculous. Mel didn't even have siblings. Her family couldn't even dream of being as large as Tay's and for the past ten years he's been buying gift cards and not even showing up a little early to help out? This sounded absolutely insane to her. Changes were about to start happening in Tay's life, including his traditions, or lack thereof. She hoped he was ready for it.
---------------------------------------------------
It was freezing outside. The threat of snow loomed in the air and while, normally, Mel was excited about it, she began to worry about it starting to snow during the party. While a white Christmas would surely be
magical, not being able to get home to baby Fred would not be. She didn't dare express this fear out loud. She knew Tay thought she was silly about the kitten and she gave up days ago trying to explain to him how she felt. It was kinda sad, really, but she wasn't about to let anything ruin her Christmas. Not this year. Not while everything was seemingly falling beautifully into place.
Stepping out of the Jeep at Walker's and Diana's house, Mel wished she had layered up a little more. Leggings, boots, a tunic top, and scarf were good for indoors, but not so much for outdoors. At least not for these
temperatures, anyway. Mel noticed her parents' car already there and turned to Tay as he saw the car, too. "See?" she said, elaborating on their previous conversation. Mel's parents were good friends with Walker and Diana, which is how she and Tay had met as children when they were neighbors. Her parents came to the party every year, even when Mel lived in New York. She loved how the two families were already melded
together before she and Tay had even found each other again. It was so obviously fate.
They gave a quick knock before walking in the house and into the living room to a surprised Walker. "My word! You two sure are early! To what do we owe this honor?"
Mel smiled. "Well we have a car to unload and probably some cooking to do, I'm sure." She hugged her father and then Walker.
"Well, Paul, you know what that means," Walker said to Mel's father.
"Right behind you," her father said. He kissed Mel's forehead as Walker took a firm grip to Tay's shoulder and the three men headed outside.
Smiling, Mel carried a plate of gingerbread men into the kitchen to find her mother, Susan, and Diana standing over the sink with glasses in their hands. Both of their faces lit up when they saw her walk in and Mel called
out happily, "Moms!"
She put the plate down on the table and hugged them both and Diana lifted the cover from the cookies. "What's going on here?"
"A little gingerbread-decorating activity for the kiddos for tonight."
Both Diana and her mother smiled. "I don't know why I never thought of that, it's a fantastic idea!"
Mel's mother kissed her forehead and Mel beamed.
"We've already been hitting the eggnog," Diana said. "It's the only thing getting us through this party prep. You want in?"
"Most definitely," Mel responded. "I need a little warming up after being outside in that weather."
"How's it looking out there?" Susan asked.
Mel's eyes darted solemnly at her mother. "Questionable."
"You know they're calling for something tonight."
"Don't remind me."
"Worried about your new fur baby?" Diana asked.
"Yes!" Mel exclaimed, grateful to finally have someone to understand.
"Don't you worry, it'll all work out. You just worry about having a good time tonight," Diana said.
Within minutes, the three women were cackling over eggnog when Tay walked in. "Uh, Mel, there's a...tackle box? In the Jeep? Has it always been there?"
Mel glanced at her mother and the two of them began to giggle. It was instantaneous. They couldn't help it. "Yes," Mel said, attempting to collect herself. "It needs to come in."
He looked at her, confused. "It's--I mean is it--who is it for?"
Mel giggled more. "It's mine. It has all the cookie decorations in it."
He continued to stare at her blankly.
"You know, for the gingerbread men? Frosting and sprinkles and stuff?"
"Oh! In a tackle box? Okay..." With that, he left the room.
Diana looked at Mel and Susan. "You keep your baking decorations in a tackle box?"
"I got it from Mom," Mel said.
"Oh yes," Susan confirmed. "It's so handy, you have no idea. It's just a box I keep frosting tubes in, and sprinkles, and sugars, and birthday candles...and you just carry it around as you need it."
"You know," Diana said in thought. "That is probably the most convenient thing I have ever heard. I just keep mine in the cabinet but that box idea is fantastic! We may be doing a little after-Christmas shopping, ladies. Keep your schedules open."
Minutes later, Tay brought in Mel's box and she was showing him what the purpose was when they heard small voices come through the front door and were growing ever closer, ever faster. "Uncle Tay!" Two mini-Ikes
barreled into the kitchen and wasted no time jumping all over their uncle.
"Whoa, what a greeting!" Tay said to them, happily.
After the boys hugged Mel and, of course, asked if she brought the kitten, Diana covered them in kisses and then shooed them out of the kitchen. "No small people allowed in the kitchen," she commanded. That was followed by a series of protesting moans and groans but the boys did as they were told and left the room.
Within an hour, the children's voices multiplied and the kitchen was full of women. Diana, Zoe, Kate, Nikki, Mel, and Susan all drank (all except for Zoe) and prepped and cooked in preparation for the main event to start in a few hours, all anxiously awaiting the arrival of Avery and Jessica. It wasn't long before it became obvious that the men in the other room were in no shape to wrangle a handful of hyper kids, so Zoe was volunteered by her mother to be on kid-duty for the night.
"You know, this was supposed to be for tonight, but I made gingerbread men and brought decorations if you want to get them settled on an activity for the party. Make them feel like they're helping," Mel suggested to Zoe.
Zoe smiled. "Cool. That'll be fun."
"Please don't let them ruin their clothes," Kate said. "I mean, not to the point of no return, anyway."
"It's okay, I got this," Zoe said, confidently. And with that, she was off, attracting kids like the Pied Piper.
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TAYLOR
By six, the house was full. Joining the party were grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles, family friends, and even a few neighbors. His younger brother Mackenzie brought Jeanette, from the office, along--they'd been conducting a long-distance relationship since Drew's wedding. Taylor was happier than he had been in years. He sipped on his beer and took a moment to observe the scene--and by scene, that meant Mel. The atmosphere was just SO DIFFERENT now than it had been, it all seemed so surreal. Mel made it a point to speak to everyone. She spent a good portion of the first hour introducing herself when she wasn't willing to wait for him to do it for her. In fact, he HAD to kinda sit back and watch her because she was so all over the place, helping his mother play hostess, darting back and forth from the kitchen when she wasn't darting back and forth between guests and family.
It was different with Natalie. There was tension, always tension. Natalie was quiet and stand-offish. She hardly spoke to anyone but Nikki or Kate or Diana. Everyone seemed to walk on eggshells around her and there were always whispers. Taylor tried to find a new excuse for her every year, embarrassing as it was. You'd think that after so much time, she would have been part of the family, but she seemed to fail to realize that it was a two-way street. He couldn't help but think after leaving his parents' house every Christmas Eve, "Hanson is more than a band, we're a family, too." And he hated assuming what everyone else already knew went through her mind.
It was unfortunate that this year, with Mel, he found himself automatically on the defensive. It was a reflex. He knew Mel. He knew that this year would be different--better. Mel had been a family member, even in the ten years she wasn't around. But he couldn't help but tense up every time the front door opened and someone new showed up. Between being gun shy after years of having to back Natalie and her jealousy, and now with his recent divorce and new engagement happening so fast within the same year, he had no idea what to expect. As he watched Mel interact with family and friends, he was no doubt comforted and relaxed, knowing she would be loved and the people she interacted with would be loved in return. But now he worried about the other side of the fence--what were they thinking? What were they whispering?
He knew what Paul was whispering, because he whispered it right in Tay's ear. "I know what you're thinking."
Startled, Tay found himself standing up a little straighter. "Sir?"
Paul smiled and Tay was instantly a little more comfortable. "You've been through a lot, Taylor. What with your divorce and your engagement to my daughter--which was a long-time coming, might I add. It's easy to
wonder how it's all going to go over with the family."
Tay wasn't sure where he was going with this, but he was surprised by the accurate observation. "Um, I didn't realize it was that obvious."
"It wasn't. Just a logical guess on my part. I'm assuming I was right."
Tay nodded in response.
"I thought so. You gotta admit, it all happened a bit fast."
Tay swallowed hard, his nerves returning in full force. Where was Mel's father going with this?
Then Paul smiled and gave Tay's shoulder a friendly pat. "But, son, if it had happened to any other couple, we'd be having a completely different conversation right now. You have my blessing and you always have.
Wasn't sure if I'd told you that or not, but tonight seemed appropriate."
Tay was almost dizzied with relief. "Uh, wow. Thank you, sir. That means a lot."
Paul hugged Tay briefly. "Stop calling me 'sir.' The name's Paul, you know that! Just because you're marrying my daughter, doesn't mean my name has changed."
Tay laughed. "You're right. You're absolutely right."
Minutes later, the loud tapping of a glass was heard amongst the talking and everyone turned to see Diana, loudly clanging a fork against her glass as she called for attention. "I just wanted to say that I am happy to see
each and every one of you here tonight and am so glad you could all make it to our little party. It's been quite a year for this family. We've had tours, a new baby, an engagement, new significant others (she nodded and winked at Mac and Jeanette), and countless other events, both good and stressful. Tonight is a time for us to be together and to eat, drink, and be merry, and to leave all of our stressors and negativity at the door and take time to just have fun and relax. And most importantly, let us all never forget the real reason for the season. So cheers and Merry Christmas to you all!"
Taylor smiled at his mother's speech. He always loved coming home for Christmas and he was beginning to be overwhelmed with the relief and change this particular Christmas seemed to be bringing him. He didn't know what to do with himself, feeling relaxed and carefree all of a sudden. Turning to Paul, who still stood next to him, Tay said, "I think maybe it's time we rescue our women from the dark depths of the kitchen. I don't think we've hardly seen them all night."
Paul laughed. "At the rate they started, we'll probably be peeling them off the floor out of a pool of eggnog."
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The scene in the kitchen was just as chaotic as the rest of the house. They found Zac and Mac in the kitchen, picking off the food on the island. Diana, Susan, and both grandmothers huddled around a fruit display, and Mel, Avery, and a couple of aunts crowded around Kate as she held the new baby.
Tay's and Paul's mission was aborted when they got side-tracked by the food and joined Tay's younger brothers in the plundering of the kitchen island. Everyone around was blissfully happy. Around you, all you heard was eating, drinking, talking and laughing. For a moment, it was pure Christmas bliss.
And then the entire house fell eerily silent. Complete silence, not a word spoken or a breath breathed.
Tay quickly swallowed the bite of food he had in his mouth and his darted directly at Mel, who looked at him and shrugged her shoulders. Everyone looked around at each other, seemingly scared to make a move to see what caused the sudden silence, when Ike popped his head in the doorway. "Uh, we have a situation out here that needs to be taken care of pretty quickly."
"What is it?" Diana asked, alarmed.
At that moment, Walker walked through the doorway past his son and said to his wife, "Natalie's here. I had to leave the room before anything came out of my mouth."
Everyone's eyes said it. There was an especially alarmed exchange between Diana, Taylor, Mel, and Kate. Diana looked at Kate, sternly. "Did you know about any of this?"
Looking like a deer in headlights, Kate shook her head. "No. I didn't even know she was in town." Kate started to hand the baby to Avery. "Here, I'll go take care of it."
"No," Diana said suddenly. "You stay here. I'll go and straighten this out."
"Mom, should I--?"
"No," she said, cutting Tay off. "Everyone just stay where they are and I will handle it. It'll be okay."
When Diana walked out of the room, everyone looked at each other once again. And then all at once, everyone but the older adults couldn't help but crowd in the doorway. You couldn't see the Diana nor Natalie, seeing
as the front door was out of sight from the kitchen and they assumed Natalie never made it that far into the house. But they could most certainly hear the exchange over the deafening silence.
"Hello, Natalie," Diana greeted her curtly.
"Hi, Merry Christmas!" Natalie's sing-song voice rang out. Tay observed Mel next to him, looking up at Kate on the other side of her. Kate looked back at both of them, her eyes pained. Tay's heart went out to
his sister-in-law, but only to her, realizing her position.
"You have a lot of nerve showing up here like this," Diana continued.
"I came to spend Christmas with my family," Natalie said, sounding hurt. "I've been here every year for ten years."
"You no longer have family here," Diana said. "You made sure of that yourself."
Suddenly, Tay felt a hard jab in his ribs and he followed Mel's horrified gaze to the doorway off to the left of them. Apparently the change in atmosphere had drawn the kids out of the other room and they were now standing in the doorway, checking out the scene. Without another word, Mel grabbed Kate's hand firmly and pulled her through the kitchen doorway and went immediately for the kids. "Hey, let's go check out those cookies you guys are decorating," Mel said to them quietly. He watched the kids and the two women disappear back down the hall and then turned his attention back to the sound of his mother's voice.
"I'm not the one who left the family," Natalie was saying. "I was pushed away."
"You kept a heinous lie that not only betrayed and devastated my son, but also the rest of this family. A family who loved you and treated you as one of their own. You threw all that away on your own account. I will not have you come in like this and ruin Christmas for us this year. He is happy now, with his family and his fiancée--"
"Fiancee? He's--he's engaged? To Mel? Already? Where is he? I need to talk to him."
"You'll do nothing of the sort. I'm sorry you had to find out this way, but since you chose to barge in here uninvited, I guess an unwelcome bit of information was what was coming to you. Now I am not about to call the police out to my house on Christmas Eve. It's tacky and unnecessary and they have families of their own. But I'm not above it, either. You are not welcome here and I am going to ask you one time to leave this property or I will have you escorted. I don't know where you're staying or how your mother approved of you flying here but I suggest you leave here and go straight to the airport."
"Well, my mother doesn't know I'm here. I just flew in an hour or so ago and there isn't another flight for hours--"
"You should have thought this through. And believe you me, your mother will know you've been here."
"Please don't call--"
"You may leave now. Next time this exchange won't be as nice."
The few moments it took for Diana to come back into sight seemed like an eternity. All eyes were on her. She looked around and clapped her hands. "Well, then, don't just stand there, everyone! Food's in the kitchen and drinks are on the bar! Eat, drink, and have fun, and there won't be another word spoken about this!"
Slowly but surely, the party was underway once more as Diana headed back in the kitchen and picked up a tray of food to carry to the living room. "Prepare for the backlash," Walker said to Tay.
As she walked out of the kitchen with the food tray, she patted Tay on the arm with her free hand. "Honey, why don't you grab your brothers and sing a couple songs for everyone. They would love that. Mac, too, the
four of you sound so wonderful together."
"Uh, Mom--" Tay protested shyly, feeling his face begin to burn.
"Chop, chop!" And with that, she was gone again.
There was no arguing with his mother. Once she had her mind set on something, you did what you were told. Tay looked helplessly at his brothers, their faces full of food once again as they stared after their mother,
as well. Tay sighed at them. "I'll get Ike. And the guitar."