Home

25

After Mr. Adams was able to get over what Charlie and I were wearing, the four of us enjoyed breakfast together.

When breakfast had ended, I headed upstairs towards Charlie's room so I could get ready for all the members of the Adams family to arrive. This meant that the next few hours would be spent among cousins, aunts and uncles, as well as grandparents of Charlie.

Most people would have been worried to meet the family but I wasn't. I had known Charlie for so long that it was natural to have already met everyone in the Adams family. They were people that I actually looked forward to seeing, unlike my own family who I never saw.

My mother was always the rebellious type, never following rules and when she was nineteen, she snuck into a bar and caught the attention of my father. She phrased it as a one night stand and that when he found out she was pregnant with me, he didn't want anything to do with me. This was true with my mother's family as well. Once they found out she was going to have me, not one single one of them ever talked to her again.

My mom had always been the reckless type and that really showed through how she raised me. Yes, she worked hard to keep a roof over my head but at a certain point she became tired of me. She busied herself with work or Andrew and I was left in the dust.

I had never resented her for it, I just knew that she was one of those people that weren't meant to be a parent. With her not wanting to even see me this Christmas and me going off to college soon, I think she was trying to break away completely.

It might be upsetting to some to think about it but to me, it wasn't. I had lost Alyssa and my mother was on her way to breaking the connection to me but I knew I had a lot to be grateful for. I had Charlie and his entire family who treated me as one of their own and I couldn't be more grateful for that.

I took my dress out from the bag that I had bought it from and headed to the bathroom. It didn't take me long to get my dress on but I still had to do my makeup and hair. I had to look at least a little presentable right?

A half hour later Charlie's hand was rapping against the bathroom door. "Are you almost done yet? Other people have to get ready too you know." I laughed, making the sound on the other side of the door only increase as Charlie became more frustrated. Why was Charlie bothering me when there were four other bathrooms in the house? Who knows why Charlie does anything he does.

I opened the door as Charlie was mid knock and he froze. "Wow you look amazing." I smiled and my cheeks became tinted with pink.
I was wearing a long sleeved velvet burgundy dress with the back out that hugged my waist and flared out to right above my knees. As soon as I saw it in the store, I knew I had to have it. Burgundy, after all, was my favorite color.

"Thanks Charlie. I would say the same for you except you aren't wearing any pants." Charlie's eyes widened and he looked down to his legs only to look up slightly irritated. I laughed causing him to glare at me. "Thanks for freaking me out AJ." Charlie did have pants on, in fact, he was dressed extremely nice. He had lightly colored khakis on with a long sleeved burgundy sweater. Apparently we were just meant to match today in no matter what we wore.

~

Two hours later, we were sitting on the couch watching movies and waiting for the guests to arrive. The Polar Express was on again as it was the night before and I was grinning like a little kid. Charlie only rolled his eyes before getting up and heading towards the kitchen.

It was about a half hour into the movie which meant my favorite part was about to come. It was the part where the kids on the train get hot chocolate and the cooks sing and dance, jumping from table to table. "Are any of the Polar Express passengers in need of refreshments?" I expected to hear the movie only to hear Charlie's voice instead. I looked to my right to see Charlie smiling down at me and in his hands were two mugs full of a chocolaty liquid topped with whipped cream. My smile grew to the point where you could see my dimples which was a rare sighting unless I was laughing as something truly hilarious.

I tried to go along with the line of the kids in the movie and slightly shouted back at him. "Me! Me! Me!" Charlie replied back along with the movie. "I thought so." As he handed me the mug, Charlie sat down next to me, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me in to him, a wide grin spreading across his face.

~

The first to enter the Adams household was Charlie's favorite aunt, Aunt Charlotte. She was only five years younger than his mom but Charlie always seemed to gravitate towards her over his cousins that were around his age. I always thought it was because their names were so similar but as I hung out with his aunt over the years, I realized that the relationship was much deeper than just having similar names.

I wasn't surprised because Charlie's mom acted just like her younger sister. They may have been in their late forties, but they acted as if the were twenty. They were always full of life as were their spouses. Each couple was perfect for one another.

When Charlie left to talk to his aunt, I understood. They would always at one point throughout every visit, go into another room and talk for a few hours. They were best friends in a sense. She was someone Charlie could always talk to no matter what the situation was and from all the times he has talked about her to me, I knew she was great at advice considering she always seemed to know what was going on before everyone else did and was highly observant. After all, I had come to her for advice on quite a few things from time to time.

Charlie and his aunt eventually joined the party again and just in time for dinner as Mrs. Adams' head poked out of the kitchen to let everyone know it was time to take their seats.

I sat down next to his Aunt Charlotte with Charlie on my other side. They were both smiling but when I looked at Charlie I saw an ounce of fear flicker through his eyes. Before I could question him on it however, that hint of fear disappeared and was replaced with happiness as he looked at me. "I'm really glad you're spending Christmas with me." A small smile came to my lips as I spoke. "Me too." I felt a sense of warmth spread throughout my hand as Charlie's hand grabbed mine.