Serendipity

Chapter 8

Christmas morning at 8 a.m. -

Last night my cousins and I ended up sleeping in the living room on the floor on piles of blankets and pillows while watching movies. Aunt Harper ordered pizzas and sodas - a Christmas Eve/my birthday tradition. Aunt Harper was with us for our movie marathon until she went to bed at 11 p.m., and Harry, Hannah, and I fell asleep around 3 a.m. with Harley falling asleep around midnight.

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Santa came last night!" Harley hollers excitedly, and effectively waking us up.

Softly groaning as I sit up while rubbing the sleep from my eyes before noticing aunt Harper sitting on the recliner while drinking her coffee. Stumbling into the bathroom to relieve my aching bladder before pouring myself a cup of coffee and returning to the living room. Hannah and Harry do the same before I hand aunt Harper a manila envelope with a shaky smile.

She takes the envelope curiously with a fond smile at us kids. Man, I hope she likes her gift from the four of us - it is a gift certificate for a mani-pedi, and two tickets to the ballet to see Swan Lake. We got her two tickets so she can take a friend with her instead of going alone, we figure she deserves these.

"It's from all four of us," I softly tell her as she opens the envelope Harley decorated to see what's inside.

"I love this, thank you!" she grins excitidly at us.

For tonights dinner, which happens every Christmas night, nana and papa come over for dinner. Nana and papa are aunt Harper and mum's parents, and their names are Shelby and Steve. They live about two hours away from us, and we usually see them once a month, and on major holiday's. They should be here at 4 p.m., and dinner will be ready at 5 p.m., they will spend the night, and sleep in my room.

My phone dings with an email notifictation, so I open the app, curious as to who or what it's from;

'Hi. I recieved a notification from Ancestry DNA that we are a familal match. My name is Rory Stone, I'm 34, and I live in Los Angles, Cali. I'm a surfer, and I own a coffee cafe. I was wondering if we could meet after the holiday's, at your earliest convience as it's Christmas day, and I don't expect to hear from you until the holiday's are over.'

'Hi Rory. My name is Ethan, and I met with another two other familial matches yesterday! I've just turned 18, I'm looking for my biological father, and I'm sure I met him and my half siblings, the man who I belive is my dad is named Kennedy, so I wonder how we're related. I would love to meet you to figure out how we're related, so I can know my dad's side of the family. I'll have to speak with my aunt to figure out when it's the best to meet with you. Enjoy your holiday!'

Closing the app, I don't say a word to my family about this email since I don't want to ruin the day for any of them. Slipping my phone into my front left pocket of my sleep pants after silencing it, and pretend that nothing has happened. Nana and papa arrive at 4 p.m.

"What do granparents need to do to get a hug?" papa jokes as Harry lets them inside the house.

The four of us instantly surround our granparents to take turns hugging them.

"How did the meeting with Kennedy and Kent go, Ethan?" papa asks once he and nana are settled on the couch.

"Um, not well, Kennedy and his wife thought I was after their money, and not for the simple fact of getting to know him, and his side of the family," I whisper with blurry eyes. "But you know what? It's his loss, and not mine, and he can keep his damn money cuz I'm not about that."

"Oh honey, I'm so sorry," nana replies with a frown upon her lips. "You're right though, it is their loss and not your's, Ethy."

Ugh, that damn nickname again, but I don't say anything about it since she's my nana, and that would be disrespectful to do so.

We enjoy the evening and the next day with nana and papa while they're here, and once they have left for home the next day, I tell aunt Harper about Rory's email. I left it up to her if we meet him or not, after what happeened with Kennedy and them, and she says we should meet him to figure out how he and I are related, and perhaps he will be better. So, I email Rory back, and after several emails, we set up a meet up at Russo's Cafe in a week.

Last night when it was time for bed, nana and papa slept in my room, despite their attempts to sleep in the living room. They do this every time, and I won't budge as it's better for them to sleep on my bed than on the couch and recliner chair. Harley decided to sleep on the recliner chair with me when it was bedtime as he thought it was fun to have another sleep over in the living room with me. I love his enthusiasm and thinking.

When nana and papa stay in my room, I make sure the room is clean, right down to fresh, clean sheets on the bed, and after they leave, I change the sheets again. I'm glad when we can visit them, or when they visit us as they always tell me stories about mum when she was little, and they share stories about aunt Harper, too. It's always something new, or yes, sometimes the same stories, but I love hearing stories about her, and them as many times as they want to tell us.

I feel connected with mum all over again when we see nana and papa, and I know they miss her, too.