Can't Love Christmas

Thirty Four

Ash's parents rang the doorbell just after eleven o'clock, looking refreshed.

"Good morning, Ash!"

"Morning Mom. Dad." She gave them each a hug as they stepped through the door. "So what is the plan for today?"

"I don't know. Are there any boxing day sales around here to check out?"

"That's a great question. I have no idea. The closest mall is in Bardsville, which is about 45 minutes away. Besides, how would you get all the stuff back home?"

"That's a good point. Well, what else is there to do?"

"I mean, all the stuff Ryan mentioned yesterday. What did you want to have for lunch or dinner?"

"Well, your father and I just had a lovely brunch at the hotel, so we aren't hungry at this point. What have you got for dinner? Now that we have a table we don't have to go out."

"True. What would you like? I don't have that much food since I didn't know you were coming."

Reese looked up from his phone. "I want to go skating today. And see the Christmas lights. And eat more food."

Ryan disagreed. "No. Tobogganing! And food!"

Tana immediately looked concerned about her children going hungry. "What have you eaten today?"

"Bacon, eggs and toast."

Tana clapped. "Great! What do you have for lunch?"

"Mom, once again, I did not know you were coming and I was not prepared to feed anyone else. We really need to go to a grocery store."

"Alright, do you have enough food for lunch for you three?"

"I can make white cheddar mac and cheese."

"Hell yeah!" Ryan yelled from the couch. Reese nodded his agreement.

It took three more hours to finish lunch, get the groceries, and get everyone ready for tobogganing. After more bickering from the twins and fighting over the brand new toboggans from Canadian Tire, the whole family lined up at the top of the hill, sleds at the ready.

"Alright," Ryan was the youngest but always took charge in situations like this, "everyone hold hands. We are going down together. If one of us wipes out, we all wipe out."

"Absolutely not." Reese immediately contradicted Ryan. "We race. Last one down the hill gets to carry all the toboggans back up."

"Not to mention," Ash interjected, "I have absolutely no desire to go to the hospital today if we all crash together."

Ryan despaired, "Oh come on, where's your sense of adventure and family bonding!"

"It's staying safe and warm in the car. If you're so determined we all go down together, we're racing." Ash crossed her arms and stared down Ryan.

Ryan kicked the snow. "Fine."

They all lined up their toboggans and sat down. After a count of three, they pushed off and careened down the hill. Reese caught an edge and bailed out halfway down. Ryan swerved into Ash's path and both of them ended up rolling down the hill together. Safely at the bottom were Tana and Darren, celebrating their win together. When Ash and Ryan finally untangled from each other and joined them at the bottom, they refused to acknowledge which one of them was the true winner, preferring to share the win.

One after the other, they grabbed their toboggans and began the trek back up the hill. Sadiq greeted them at the top.

"Ash! That was you! I thought I recognized your coat, but I didn't recognize the rest of you."