Writing's Second Taste

Chapter Twenty-One: Sweet and Precious

Grandma indulgently scooped up more food on my plate that I can manage, making me amused at her satisfied nod when there was practically a mountain on my plate. Whenever she sees me, she complains that I was never eating enough but to be honest, it was just her excuse to feed me more.

I wasn't complaining though.

I shared a look with Emma, who experienced the same treatment, and shared a silent laugh with her as our grandmother spoke, "You young ladies need to plump up, men always want a little more to grab onto."

Nothing more interesting than her giving us love advice. Then again, she'd been married with our grandfather for over fifty-five years so she must have done something right.

"No need to tell Sienna that," Uncle Levi gave a cheeky grin, causing both of his children and Sam to stare at him warningly. He was caught off guard by their judging gazes and I smiled as I forked mashed potatoes into my mouth. I didn't feel that upset anymore since these three were looking out for me.

But it was grandpa's turn to speak, clearly not getting the signals sent by his grandchildren, "You have a boyfriend now, Sienna?"

"A nice young lad, if I say so myself," Aunt Janine responded, ignoring my widening eyes.

Dad's hold on his utensils visibly tightened and the way my mother paused from slicing her roast beef made me want to stand up and leave the table. I've skillfully avoided mentioning Adam ever since I arrived – I told them about my classes, Julia, Meg, and even my old frustrating professors.

But completely nothing about the guy who spun my head around when I was in England.

"It's nothing, just some crush I had, but now it's gone," I muttered in order to diffuse the tension. It was a lie, but I had to say something to cancel out what my aunt and uncle just said. There was a silence that followed and as my grandmother placed down the bowl on the table next to me, I muttered under my breath in barely audible whisper, "Grandma, men are horrible."

She glanced towards her husband before releasing a hearty laugh, effectively lightening the mood, "Yes, they are."

After dinner, we waited for the clock to strike midnight as all of us teenagers sat down on the floor to get our presents from under the Christmas tree. I was awarded with a new laptop by my parents, a thick wooly sweater from Emma, a set of pens from Andy, an engraved necklace from my aunt and uncle, then finally, a stuffed teddy bear from my grandparents – the same with my brother and cousins because we swear, we were still little children in their eyes.

I was pleasantly surprised when I unwrapped the box to reveal the coat that came from Sam because it was an extreme level up from the sweet cake set he got my last year. I was even happier by his reaction when he took out the camera lens I got him.

Christmas wasn't that eventful – the same old thing we did every year. Uncle Levi and his family left on the twenty-sixth to go back to England so they can spend the New Year there with Aunt Janine's side of the family.

"See you next month, Sienna," they bid and I waved them goodbye as they all went inside the yellow taxi.

On the twenty-eighth, four girls came rolling inside our apartment with overnight bags and bright faces to greet my family and I. It was time for our long awaited holiday sleepover and honestly, I needed some girl time in order to clear my mind.

We went for an all-day shopping trip at Bloomingdale's since there was an after Christmas sale. By the time we got home, we were filled with coffee and our feet were tired from walking all around. A big pile of shopping bags rested at the corner of my room while an air mattress was on the floor next to my bed.