Smile

Chapter 8: The Perfect Christmas

For a jolly holiday that gave me migraines every time I think about it, it wasn't that bad of a jolly holiday. John's mother was an angel, Hannah was the sweetest, John's father was a gentleman, and the rest of John's cousins, aunts, and uncles welcomed me with open arms. I excused myself to the bathroom. I was walking up the stairs when one of John's cousins, Benny, stood in my way.

"Hello." Phoenix said.

"You know, I think you're a freak. You don't smile, you didn't tell 1 single joke, and I didn't hear you laugh at all. But you're pretty, so I'll let it slide."

"Let it slide? It's none of your business why I don't smile."

Benny came closer to me.

"If you're gonna be with my cousin, I need to know more about you."

"Here's what you need to know, I'm 22 years old, I work for your cousin, I'm part Swedish and Mexican, I was born in Little Rock and moved to Los Angeles when I was about 10. That's all you need to know."

"What about your parents?"

"Get out of my face, Benny. If I can smell your breath that means you're too close."

"Funny how you avoided the question about your parents. Tell me, Phoenix. What's the deal with your parents?"

"Leave her alone, Benny."

We turned to see John's mother standing with her arms crossed. Benny had a smug look on his face and he soon walked away. I turned to face John's mother.

"Thank you, Mrs. Vera."

"You're welcoming, darling. And please, call me Diana. You're with my son. You're part of the family."

"Oh, John and I aren't dating."

"Oh, I'm sorry! I assumed you 2 were. I'm terribly sorry."

"Don't be sorry. It was an honest mistake."

"My, aren't you a polite young lady? If you don't mind me asking, why don't you smile?"

"That's personal, Diana. And I would like to leave that way until I'm ready to talk about it. Or, at least tell John."

"Of course, dear. Never feel pressured to reveal something personal."

"Thank you."

I took a look around the house and saw a framed photo of a bunch of kids in the front.

"What's this photo?"

"Oh, that. When John was about 6 or 7, I would sometimes bring him to work with me. I used to work as a worker at an orphanage. A child's Dream. This was a framed photo of the new kids that joined in 2008."

I looked closely at the photo some more, and saw 1 kid not smiling. I remembered that face from a mile away.

"Well, we should get back to the party. Shall we?"

I followed Diana back downstairs and saw John standing in the middle of the doorway.

"You were gone for a while. You ok?"

"Yeah. I'm fine."

"Aw! Look!"

We turned to Hannah to see her pointing up. John and I followed where her finger was pointing, and saw John and I standing under a mistletoe.

"Mom, when did you start to put up a mistletoe?"

"I've always been putting up mistletoes."

"You 2 have to kiss." Hannah said.