Dark coffee

Chapter Twenty

The next morning, I was still sleeping, when I've been brutally awakened by the girls who screamed "Merry Christmas!" 

The next second, I felt them jump on my bed. I said to them half awake while covering my head with my sheets "Girls, I'm sleeping. Get the fuck out!"

"Come on Chula! We have a lot of things to do before tonight!" Estephania said.

"Yes, your brothers, Hakim and Quincy have already left to buy a Christmas tree so that we can decorate it," Soukvilay said.

I said desperately "but, what time are we like that?"

"7 o'clock," answered Kaneasha.

"7 am! You guys are not serious!" I said upset.

"Oh yes, we are! Wake up!" Said Dorcas removing my sheets off my bed

Since it was impossible to go back to sleep, I woke up. I noticed that the sun's rays were lighting up my room. The temperature in my room was a bit cold because I had left my window open. I asked the girls for some privacy, so they left. As soon as they left, I took a shower, put on some casual clothes and went to join them downstairs.

Going down the steps, I saw Kaneasha and Estephania decorating the walls with Christmas garlands, twinkling lights and mistletoe. They were both wearing a Santa Claus hat.

Arriving in the kitchen, I saw several trays of food. There were Jamaican patties, fried plantains that Dorcas calls Makemba in Lingala, a salad of macaroni gratinated with bacon, an Asian stir-fry, spring rolls, Nam Van which is a Laotian dessert with several fruits that are drowned in sweet coconut milk. It was Soukvilay who made me discover this delicious dessert. There were also a yule log, a baked turkey, and many other things. We were going to have a real feast tonight!

I said astonished "Did your parents cooked all this?"

"Yes, Hakim's mom contributed, my parents, Dorcas'one, Kaneasha's mom, Estephania's mom and Quincy's dad," Soukvilay said.

"Wow," I said.

Right after, we started cleaning the house and finishing the decorations. An hour later, the boys arrived with the Christmas tree. They had bought a large tree which was difficult to get in the house through the front door.

"Now that the boys are here, it's time to put on some Christmas music!"  Kaneasha said.

"Hell yes!" Dorcas said.

Estephania turned on our sound system and put on the song It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas by Micheal Bublé. The girls and I began to sing in chorus:

" It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
Everywhere you go!"

Meanwhile, the boys were looking for a suitable place to set up the tree. We saw Quincy takes Soukvilay and they started dancing while singing. Then Jamal leaned his hand towards Estephania while moving his body to the rhythm of the music and she laughed but accepted his request. They also began to dance a sort of waltz.

As I looked at them, I felt someone put his hands on my eyes. Everything had turned black. I then heard a warm, sexy voice "Merry Christmas baby!"

When I heard Darell's voice, I smiled with all my teeth. He removed his hands from my face and I hugged him. He kissed me. Hassan was also there. They brought food and drinks. Dorcas with the help of Hakim took their bags and they went to put them in the kitchen.

While Kaneasha, Malik and Lens decorated the tree, I went up to my room with Darell. He wanted to talk to me in private. When we get in my room, I closed the door and asked him intrigued "So, what did you want to tell me?"