Soulmates | Kate & Ana

Chapter 17- Family Time

After having already spent Thanksgiving with Ray it made sense for Kate and I to spend Christmas with him as well. We'll be spending Christmas Eve, Christmas, and the day after Christmas at Ray's home with him. Jose will be there on Christmas for dinner along with his father. It's a bit of an odd grouping, but we're all like family to each other at this point so it works. Kate and I arrive at Ray's in the late evening of Christmas Eve only to see that his house has zero decorations and absolutely no sign of the Christmas spirit anywhere. I complain to Kate about it as we walk up to the doorstep and voice my concern to Ray when he opens the door to let us in. "Dad! Where are the lights? Tree? Anything?" I gasp, searching for some sign of Christmas in the house. This is unacceptable to me. "Uh, well..." He scratches his head. "I sort of misplaced the decorations from last year and I didn't really have the time to decorate anyway." He confesses, looking guilty. "Dad!" I'm in disbelief. He knows how much I love Christmas and all its cliches. "Sorry, Annie. I know this is a disappointment, but I've got all the stuff to make cookies and hot chocolate." He tries to redeem himself by offering snacks, but it does little to ease my disappointment. "No cookies until after we decorate! Kate come help me find the decorations." I turn to Kate, full on authoritarian. She smiles and shrugs at Ray. "Don't worry dad, I'll calm her down." Kate assures him, as I halfway drag her down to the basement. It's musty and dark down in the basement and the smell threatens to choke me. I flick on a light and groan. There's several large plastic boxes, all looking identical in the corner of the basement. One of them has to be the one with last years decorations. "Ana, You really shouldn't be down here. There could be mold and god knows what else. Just go upstairs, I'll find everything." Kate says, giving me a look of concern. I pout. I hate trusting others with jobs I could easily do on my own, but she's right. It's probably best for me and our unborn baby if I wait upstairs where it's cleaner. "Alright, just don't be too long." I kiss her quickly, then head back up to a more habitable space.

When Kate's found the decorations we spend about an hour decorating the home. With Ray's help we put up the tree, lights, ornaments, everything we can find to make the house look festive. Then after Kate and I bake cookies together in the kitchen. Ray's immersed in the tv, watching some kind of football commentary. "Set the timer to twelve minutes." I tell Kate, as I check the instructions one last time to be sure. "Done. What next boss?" Kate smirks at me and I smile. "How about you help me make hot chocolate for the three of us?" I ask and she nods. "I'd love to. Then when the cookies are done we can snuggle up on the couch and watch a Christmas movie." Kate says and I smile wider. Something tells me she wants to do much more than just snuggle and cuddle tonight, but we've got to keep it PG at least while we're still staying with Ray. Kate grabs three mugs and fills them with water as I hold the chocolate packets and wait. She sets the mugs in the microwave and warms them up. Then I pour the chocolate in from the packages and she stirs it. "Marshmallows?" She asks, offering the bag. "Of course!" I giggle, plopping two fluffy marshmallows in each mug. "Can you take this one to Ray?" I ask Kate and she nods. "Thanks!" I call after her as she walks to the living room to give Ray his cup. I take a sip of my hot chocolate just as the oven timer dings for the cookies. I set my mug to the side and retrieve the cookies from the oven, hissing when the warmth from the oven nearly burns me. I set the cookies on the stove top, then lean against the counter to sip on my hot chocolate while they cool. Kate returns to the kitchen to wait with me and leans her head on my shoulder. We finish our hot chocolates, then decorate the cookies with red and green frosting and sprinkles. Then we watch a Christmas movie together in the living room and go to bed.

On Christmas morning we open presents together with Ray. Then Jose and his father show up around five in the evening to have Christmas dinner with us. We exchange gifts with them, then we all hang out in the living room for a while. Ray sits in his chair. Kate, Jose, and I, sit on the couch, and Mr. Rodriguez sits on another of the chairs. We watch Christmas movies on tv and make small talk about our lives. It's peaceful, but a little empty. I wish my mother could be here, but she wanted to go away somewhere warmer for Christmas. She's always preferred warm weather and adventure to staying in and being cozy even for the holidays. I suppose that's just another of the big differences between us. Sometimes it's hard to believe we're even related other than that we have similar features. I can't help but to think that next year will be better. We'll have a new addition to the family. Then my mother will have to come around. She wouldn't want to miss out on being a grandmother to Kate and I's baby, and I'm hopeful that having a baby around will bring our family closer at least for the holidays. When everyone leaves at the end of the night, Kate and I stay out on the couch to watch the rest of the movie still playing on tv while Ray goes to his room to sleep. Kate pulls mistletoe out from behind her back and holds it over us. "Oh, look." She points upwards to the mistletoe. "You have to kiss me." She says and I giggle. Then I pull her in for a passionate Christmas kiss.