Christmas from L.A.

chapter one: christmas flights from l.a.

"Well, all families start to come together. We always get together at Christmas. Yeah, life would just pass in a blur if it wasn't for times like this."

~A Muppet Family Christmas

~~~~~~

 "Ethan," Kelsey said measuredly, "please tell me you're joking."

Ethan clacked a pair of tongs from the other side of the kitchen. "Look, I'm a crab."

"I said the blue rubber ones," she explained, clamoring down from the cabinet, glass pie pan cradled in her arm.

Ethan looked down at the utensil in his hand. "They're exactly the same, this one is just red."

"But I said the blue ones!"

"Okay, okay!" Ethan put the red tongs back into the drawer and pulled out the blue ones. "Since when did you become the kitchen dictator?"

Kelsey huffed in frustration. Her mind was a whirl of planning. To-do's crowded her thoughts to the point where they were getting congested in their flow.

Ethan's family had won three tickets to go on a Disney cruise for Christmas, so Ethan was accompanying Kelsey to her family's Christmas in Idaho.

Becca hadn't done anything for Christmas for the five years that she and Jordan Mack had been married and she'd been at a loss deciding what to do, so she was coming as well.

Thus, Kelsey was now committed to taking her two mega-famous best friends from L.A. to her Filipino family's Christmas...and was in charge of dinner. The Christmas feast was the biggest meal of the year for the Mendoza's, which was her mom's side of the family.

Kelsey tossed a package of Cajun seasoning into her suitcase.

"Are we having ham on the bayou?" Ethan asked, nodding towards the seasoning.

"It's just in case," Kelsey muttered. She suddenly straightened, her eyes darting wildly around the kitchen. "Where's my rolling pin?! Grandma Rosamie gave it to me when I was twelve, if I don't have it, she'll string me up by my hair."

She whirled around the kitchen, throwing open drawers and cabinets in search of the rolling pin.

Ethan crossed over the floor and put his hands on Kelsey's shoulders to make her stay still. "Hey, talk to me," he said. "You've practically packed up your entire kitchen, and there's no signs of you stopping. We're going to go have fun with your family. We have a plane to catch. It's Christmas. Remember?" His eyebrows quirked in pity. "Kelsey, you may not realize this, but Becca is already on her way to the airport. Becca. Who thinks being late is a virtue. And I'm pretty sure she packed her whole closet."

Kelsey sighed and buried her head into his chest. "I'm sorry. I've just never been in charge of Christmas dinner and I'm super stressed about seeing Mom."

"You guys have talked almost every week since your accident," Ethan said, wrapping his arms around her.

"I know, it's just..." she bit her lip. "She and Dad got divorced and this is our first year apart. We always spend Christmas together and it's going to be so awkward if things don't go perfectly."