The Family Reunion |The Amazing World of Gumball Short Story|

Part II

The Family Reunion Part II

Nicole let out yet another tired sigh. After spending nearly an entire night trying to bake the perfect cookies for her mother-in-law, she was exhausted, annoyed, and near the end of her rope. Every batch she made, they were either 'too soft', 'too hard', 'too hot, 'too cold', 'too overbaked', 'too underbaked', 'too bright', or 'too dark'. Nicole swore that the old woman was trying to get on her nerves, and waste her ingredients. Richard had to go to the store just to buy more the upcoming morning.

"Don't forget, Nicole," Granny Jojo said from the couch, staring dully at the tv.

Nicole mouthed the words along with her out of mockery, "Bake the cookies at 350 degrees."

"It's too early for this.." Nicole whispered, stirring the batter in the bowl in a fast, frustrated motion. The sun had risen an hour ago and she was already in a bad mood. Her hair was a mess, her eyes had bags under them, her apron was coated in flour, whip cream and frosting. All she wanted to do was sleep and not wake up till January 1st, when the holidays were over. Not like she'd get a good rest anyway, with sleeping on the couch instead of the comfort of her own bed.

Gumball let out a sigh. He, Darwin, and Anais were still in their pajamas-only having woken up a couple minutes ago, just laying in bed. "We sent that email like a week ago, why haven't they come yet?" The blue cat asked with a whine, "it's Christmas Eve, Mom will be so disappointed if they don't show."

"I'm sure they were just out of town or something." Darwin shrugged, standing up out of his fish bowl, "I mean, old people do travel south for the winter."

"That's birds, Darwin." Anais said.

"Birds, old people. Same thing!" The goldfish replied defensively.

Gumball rolled his eyes and sat up, pulling the blankets off his short legs. "It'll suck if they don't show up. This is our present to Mom!"

"You were just too lazy to actually buy her something, weren't you?" Anais asked with a raised brow.

"That's not the point!" He exclaimed, then calmed himself down immediately.

"It's Christmas Eve, maybe they're stuck in traffic or a snow storm or something." Darwin chimed in, "Let's just wait and see. If they don't show up tonight then maybe they'll be here tomorrow morning! Let's not stress over this, okay? It's Christmas, let's be happy like kids are supposed to!"

The two mammals nodded and stood out of bed, deciding to go ahead and get dressed. They changed into their winter clothes, Darwin even taking the liberty of putting on a Santa hat. They walked down the stairs, greeting their grandparents briefly before walking into the kitchen.

"Hey Mom, whats for-" Gumball asked but paused upon seeing his mother slaving away to bake the dang cookies, "-breakfast.."

"As of now, cereal." Nicole replied as calmly as she could. She didn't want to snap at her kids, especially not on their favorite holiday. But she was in such a bad mood that she could lash out at anyone, it didn't matter who.

"Granny Jojo forcing you to bake all the cookies again?" Anais asked as she and her brother walked over to grab a cereal box from the cabinet.

"Yes, and that woman is seriously starting to tick me off." Nicole replied with gritted teeth, nearly snapping the spatula in half as she slammed it in the bowl. "I let her into my home, I let her use my bed, I make her godforsaken desserts and she shows absolutely no appreciation whatsoever. I swear if she doesn't lose the attitude I'm gonna put something worse than coal in her stocking."

"Like rotten eggs?" Darwin asked as he sat at the counter, in between Gumball and Anais.

Nicole bit her lip and nodded, "Sure."

The front door swung open, in coming Richard carrying three bags of groceries, most containing the ingredients Nicole needed to re-stock. But he bought a couple other things, since the stores would be closed the next day and they were running low on many necessities. Plus, he had to buy a couple last-minute Christmas gifts for his parents.

"Hey honey, back with the ingredients like you said." He said, setting the bags on the kitchen counter-where there was space to actually put something.

Nicole let out an exhale and gave him a small, slightly pathetic smile. "Thank you, Richard. But I swear. I'm only making one more batch before I drive out to buy cookies instead."

"Store-bought cookies on Christmas, Mrs. Mom?!" Darwin asked in disbelief. That wasn't a tradition he was used to. In fact, he didn't think anyone actually did that.

"Fine, how about you bake them for Granny Jojo, then?" Nicole suggested, though not literally, considering the last time her kids baked anything, they had to replace every utensil in their house.

"You almost done with those cookies, Nicole?" Granny Jojo called from the couch, still not taking her gaze away from the tv. "And are they actually gonna be good? After all, 17th time's a charm, right?"

"You baked 17 batches?!" Gumball asked confused and surprised.

"At this point, I've lost count." Nicole replied wearily, rubbing her forehead with her index fingers.

The doorbell ringing interrupted the conversation and caught everyone's attention. Nicole breathed out and took off her apron, setting it on a hook. "That must be Frankie. My day just keeps getting better and better." She muttered sarcastically, walking over toward the door.

Gumball gave his siblings a knowing look, then they all turned over to look at the door, holding hands and praying it was someone else.

Nicole sighed and opened the door, expecting to see the large grey rat with the familiar black eyes, hat, and trench coat. But the second she saw who was on her porch, her eyes widened, her ears dropped, and her heart skipped a beat.

"Hello, Nicole."

Everyone in the house looked over and gasped in pure shock, dropping their jaws to the floor.

"Mom..? Dad?"