Mary's POV:
I wake up and remember it's Christmas Day. Looking over at my clock, I realize it's 10 am.
Christmas just isn't as fun anymore, so I don't wake up as early as I used to. I wrap my blanket around me and make my way to the living room. Mom still insists we open a present from her even though we're both adults. The only reason I do it is because I know it makes her happy, and I love seeing her face when she opens the gifts we get her.
"Morning." Ashton mumbles as he walks to the couch, running a hand through his bed head
"Morning."
"Okay, this one is for you." She says, handing a neatly wrapped package to me, "And this one is for Ashton."
"Penguin wrapping paper?"
"Just for you."
I let Ashton open his first. He pulls the glossy red paper back to reveal a box.
"What's in it?"
"You have to open it!"
He does and pulls out some drumsticks and some other things.
"I thought I'd make little care packages and wrap them instead of giving you a bunch of separate gifts. Ash, I thought you would look really nice in this."
"Thanks Mom."
"Now you open yours."
I do and there's a box just like Ashton's. When I open the box there's a sweater I've been saving up for and some smaller things like lip balm and stuff like that.
"Mom, I love it. Thank you."
"I thought you could wear it tonight. When everyone comes over."
"Yeah, I will."
"Luke is coming, isn't he? And his family?"
"Yeah, they are. His brothers are visiting and his cousin is still living with them, so they'll be here too."
"Ashton, is Landyn coming?"
"Landyn?" I ask, looking over at him
"She had to leave town."
"I'm sorry. Oh and your aunts are coming-"
"Why?" I groan
"Please don't say Aunt Sarah is coming."
"No, she says it's too cold. But your aunt Stacey and Jessie are coming."
"Yes!" We both shout
Aunt Sarah is our ninety-something year old great great aunt who always pinches our cheeks and then continues to tell us how awful we are. Aunt Stacey is Mom's younger sister who is really cool and always gives us money for Christmas. Aunt Jessie isn't even our aunt, she's just one of Mom's really good friends from school who also happens to be really cool and relaxed like aunt Stacey. Neither of them has met Luke because they haven't visited in years. I'm a little scared because he's my first boyfriend and my soon to be husband.
"I invited Calum and Michael," Ashton says, "their families weren't going anywhere."
"Oh...more people. Let's see that's one, two, three, four, five..."
"Seven more people," I say, "if Calum and Michael's families come."
"Okay, that's only eighteen people. That isn't so bad."
*
It starts snowing again, so it gets really dark earlier. My aunts arrive two hours early so they can visit us and help Mom.
"Mary!" Jessie screams as she walks through the door, "Look at you!"
She wraps me in a hug.
"I missed you." I say
"I missed you too."
"Hey Jessie." Ashton says, walking in
"Ashton, the last time I saw you, you were about this tall." She says, holding her hand at her chest
"Where is aunt Stacey?"
"Oh, she's coming. She locked her phone in her car."
Stacey comes through the door with snow all over her.
"Damn it's cold out there."
"Stacey!" I didn't realize how much I missed them until they walked through the door
"Kiddo!" She hugs me and squeezes me, "How ya been? It's been what, six years?"
"Yup. I've been great!"
"What's that on your finger?" Jessie asks
I had forgotten I put the ring on. We were planning on telling our parents tonight so I decided to wear it.
"Oh...it's my new ring."
"New ring, huh?" Stacey asks
"Yeah, I got it a few weeks ago."
"I like it."
"Thanks. Speaking of new, have you gotten any new tattoos since I saw you?"
I always thought Stacey and Jessie's tattoos were so cool when I was younger. They both had at least five last time I saw them and Stacey has a lip ring.
"Of course," Jessie says, "you think just because I'm not as young as I used to be I would stop getting tattoos?"
She pulls her sleeve up and shows me her new tattoo on her forearm.
"It goes from my shoulder all the way down to there, but I can't get this damn sleeve all the way up. That's my newest one."
Stacey shows me a tattoo of a semicolon on the inside of her arm.
"Just a daily reminder." She says
"So, Ashton. You're a big musician now?"
"Well, not yet. My band and I are getting there, though. You'll get to meet them tonight."
"I can't wait. From what your mom told me, they sound like some great guys."
"Yeah," I say, "they are."
They go into the kitchen to see Mom and help her. They finish everything with almost an hour to spare and Stacey looks out the window.
"Hey Anne, there's three cute, blond guys walking up your sidewalk."
I hop up off the couch.
"He said they wouldn't be here until six! What time is it?" I ask, looking down at my old tee shirt I put on to help Mom
"5:30. Why?" Jessie says
There's a knock at the door before I can say anything so I run upstairs. As soon as I'm at the top of the stairs I pull my shirt off while running to my room.
I put the sweater Mom got me on and run a comb through my hair. I stop at my mirror to make sure I look okay. When I get downstairs Luke is standing at the bottom, waiting for me with his hands behind his back. His mom walks behind him and then he puts his hands in front of him, which are empty.
"You look nice." He says while fiddling with the sleeves of his black button up shirt
"Thank you," I say, kissing him quickly, "you look nice too."
"Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas."
"Who are these people? If you don't mind me asking."
"They're my aunts. Well, she is," I say, pointing at Stacey, "Jessie is just a really good friend of Mom's. My actual aunt's name is Stacey."
He looks at me and I know what he wants to ask.
"Yes, Stacey's mom has got it going on."
"One of them was watching us walk up the sidewalk."
"Yeah, I know. Do you want to know what she said?"
He nods and I start laughing.
"I'll tell you later."
"They seem pretty cool though."
"Yeah, they are."
*
Michael and Calum arrive an hour later with their families.
"Aunt Stacey, aunt Jessie, these are the guys." Ashton says, rounding the guys up
"Nice."
"I heard you guys are pretty good."
"Eh, we're okay."
"So you're Luke. You're Michael. And you're Calum. Right?" Stacey asks, pointing at them
"Yeah, that's right." Michael says
"I like your hair."
"Thanks."
"Hey, I need your help." Mom says to both of them
Calum turns around to Ashton.
"Your aunt is hot and cool."
"Dude!"
"Did you see all her tattoos? Tattoos are hot on girls."
"She could be your mom."
"I don't care."
"Do they know who I am? That I'm your boyfriend?" Luke asks me
"Not yet." I say
"You haven't told them yet?"
"It hasn't come up."
He looks down at my hand and holds it in both his hands, fiddling with my fingers.
"I'm nervous."
"Me too."
"What did your aunt say about me?" He asks, bringing up the subject from an hour ago
"Oh. She was standing there and out of the blue she said, 'Hey Anne, there's three cute, blond guys walking up your sidewalk.'"
He smiles shyly and looks down at his feet.
"At least she thinks I'm cute." He says, shrugging
"We can go meet them now, if you want."
"Do you think they will like me?"
"Trust me, they will love you."
I grab his hand and pull him to the dining room, where all the parents have congregated.
"Hi Mom."
"Hi. Everything is almost ready," she says, spreading the wrinkles out of the table cloth, "Hi Luke."
"Hi."
She goes to the kitchen as soon as he says 'Hi.'
"Don't worry about her," I say so only he can hear me, "she always gets like this when she has a lot of people over."
"Okay. Where are your aunts?"
I look around the dining room, but don't see them.
"I don't know, they might be in the kitchen."
But they aren't.
"Wherever one is, the other one is probably there too."
We go upstairs, looking in every room, until we find them in my room.
"What are you guys doing in here?" I say, dropping Luke's hand for a second and then holding it again
"We were just looking around the house. We were about to leave." Stacey says in the dark, "Who is this?"
"That's Luke, Stacey." Jessie says
"Well I just get a little curious when my niece is upstairs alone with a boy I just met."
"This is Luke," I say, even though she already knows that, "we were just looking for you guys. I haven't introduced him to you. Luke, these are my aunts Jessie and Stacey. This is Luke, my boyfriend."
"Boyfriend?"
"Yes, my boyfriend."
"We thought you were never going to mess with relationships."
I walk over and flip the light in so we aren't just standing in the dark.
"Well, he made me change my mind."
We stand there with them looking at us and I squeeze his hand.
"I'm happy you found someone," Stacey says, "hey, do you think you could introduce me to one of your brothers?"
"Stacey." Jessie says
"What? I was just kidding."
"But yeah, this is Luke." I say, looking over at him and smiling
"We're going to go help your mom."
"Okay, tell her we'll be down in a minute."
Luke's POV:
"See? That wasn't so bad, was it? I told you they would like you."
"It wasn't nearly as awkward as I thought it would be."
"I feel sorry for Ashton, though." She sighs, sitting down on her bed
"What do you mean?" I sit down next to her and start playing with her hair
"He asked this girl to come but she had to go out of town to visit some family members or something."
"No one can help that."
"I know. It just, he never really brought any girls around. Landyn is the first girl he's told us about for a while. I feel kind of guilty that I'm in a relationship and my big brother isn't."
"Maybe that's just not what he is looking for right now."
"Maybe. But I think about it a lot."
"Come on," I say, kissing her cheek, "your mom will be waiting."
We have dinner and the house is filled with the sounds of different conversations crossing each other and laughter.
"Luke, did Mary ever tell you about the time she cut her own hair?" Stacey asks
The whole room goes quiet for some reason.
"No," I say, looking over at her, "she never mentioned it."
"Anne, you tell it."
"Okay, it's been a while. When Mary was about...I don't know...three she had gotten a pair of scissors while I wasn't looking. She must have grabbed them out of a drawer or had some stashed away somewhere. Anyway, she takes the scissors and chop! Cuts it. I didn't know at first and I hadn't heard her playing or singing for a while, so I went into her room. I found her hiding underneath her bed with the scissors in one hand and her hair in the other!" Anne says, laughing
I start laughing too because it's a cute story.
"Don't laugh." She says, ducking her head so I can't see her cheeks grow red
"Why not? It's a cute story!" I say
"I had to wear a hat every time we went out somewhere for about three months."
"I had forgotten about that." Ashton says
"Hey Mom, can I talk to you in the kitchen?" Mary says
"Sure."
She gets up from beside me and walks into the kitchen. I'm kind of nervous because I don't want to be around her aunts by myself. Not yet anyway.
"So, Luke." Jessie says
"How long have you two been dating?" Stacey finishes
"We didn't officially start dating until our Junior year."
"That's a mighty long time." Stacey says, propping her elbow up on the table and resting her chin on her hand
"That's a long time for young kids like you. I guess you will be thinking about getting married soon." Jessie says
The whole table goes quiet and I see Ashton stop mid-chew. I look down the table and see everyone looking at me.
"Um," I take a drink, "it has come up."
"So, you have considered it." Stacey asks
"I've considered it everyday for the past three years."
"Do you think you will actually ask her?"
It starts feeling really hot in here, but I can't look nervous.
"Well-"
Mary and Anne walk back in and the attention goes to Anne.
"Mary has informed me that she has a surprise for us."
"Wait," I say, "I have a surprise too."
"Luke, I'm pretty sure your surprise is the same as mine."
"Eh...kind of. But this surprise is for you."
I pull the box that was sitting on my chair in between my legs out from under the table.
"You knew this was coming. It was just a matter of when."
She looks at me, shocked and confused.
"Go ahead, open it."
Mary's POV:
"Luke, what is this?"
"Just open it." He seems really excited for me to open it
I hold the box in my hands, wondering what it could be. I take the lid off to reveal a smaller box.
"I swear, if this is like a Russian nesting doll-"
"It isn't."
I open the smaller box and the light catches what's inside.
"Luke..." I gasp
"What is it?" Stacey asks, leaning to see
I hold it to my chest so no one can see it yet.
"How?"
"I got some help."
"I love it...it's beautiful."
"I thought you would like it. When I saw it, it made me think of you."
Don't cry. Don't be a baby.
But I can't help it, it all hits me. I'm actually going to marry this boy. This is tangible proof that it is finally happening.
"Mary," Mom says, "what is it?"
I show her and she claps a hand to her mouth.
"No!"
"Yes." Luke says, the smile on his face growing more and more each second
"Liz?"
"I'm fine with it if you are." She chuckles
"What happened?" Calum asks, craning his neck to see
"The surprise."
"What?" Ashton asks
"Do I- do I put it on?"
"That's what you're supposed to do with it, last time I checked."
"What's going on?" Michael whines
I put the ring on and show Mom.
"You're getting married?" Michael gasps
"He just asked you to marry him?" Jessie yells
"What?"
"What?"
"What?"
"What?!" Ashton yells
"Well, actually he asked me last week..."
"Why didn't you tell us?" Ashton asks
"We didn't want anyone to know yet."
"Where?"
"Um...Dairy Queen." Luke says
Everyone sits in silence, despite what just happened.
"We have to go back to L.A. in the middle of January and we don't know when we will be touring yet. But after that I'm all yours. You pick the day and I'll be there. I promise."
*
Luke wanted to hang out, so I said he could come over.
"Luke, how did you really afford this?"
I lay down on my bed on my stomach and he lays down beside me.
"Don't worry."
"Seriously, I want to know."
"I had some money saved up."
I look at him because I know that isn't true.
"Okay, I had some money in my savings account. It was put there by my parents a while back so I would have money for college and stuff. But I didn't go to college, so I had the money. Just, don't worry."
"I know this sounds stupid but I feel like I should repay you."
"You can. By being you and marrying me. That's enough for me." he says, kissing my temple
"Was that another attempt to be romantic?"
"Yes. Did it work?"
"I think you need to practice some more."
He tries to look offended but he just starts to laugh.
"Maybe I could practice on you instead of talking to my mirror."
"You're lame." I say, bumping him with my shoulder
"You're lame too." He says, bumping me back
"But you love me." I say, kicking my feet
He looks over at me.
"I fucking love you."
"I fucking love you too."
"No, you don't understand. I love you. So. Fucking. Much."
"Yes, I understand. And I love you. So. Fucking. Much."
"See? I'm getting better at being romantic."
"Eh..."
"But I'm a good kisser."
"I'll give you that."
"Thank you. And I'm very good at cuddling."
"Yes, you are."
He lays and stares at the ceiling while I stare at him.
"You know that story your mom told me the other day?"
I nod.
"Do you want to hear a story about me?"
"Is it as embarrassing as that story?"
"Believe me, it's worse. The night you stayed at my house, you fell asleep on me. One minute you were fine and the next you were passed out. You hadn't changed your clothes, so I did that for you."
"You dressed me?"
"Yeah. I had your shirt off and I was about to take your pants off when Jack walked in."
"Oh my gosh. No."
"Yup. But I covered you up. It was so embarrassing because he walked in while I was in the middle of unbuttoning your jeans."
I cover my face, embarrassed but I can't help but laugh.
"I think that is a bit more embarrassing."
"Yeah, it was horrible. I don't think he told anyone though."
"That's why I'm always nervous when we start...you know. I'm afraid someone will walk in."
"Well, you won't have to worry about that for long."
"What do you mean?"
He starts to braid a lock of my hair.
"Because I bought us an apartment."
