Everything I've Never Had (COMPLETE)

EINH chapter 23*

*Chapter 23*

{Christmas Time}

"O'Reilly Graclyn!" my grandma called from the front steps of my aunt's house.

"Grandma! Grandpa!" I shouted back, stepping out of the passenger seat of the car. I unbuckled the baby carrier from the back seat before I jogged up to the door to meet my grandparents. I set Brook down before I threw my arms around the both of them. I hadn't seen them since my birthday, so it had been over a half a year since we had been together.

"Oh, sweetheart, how are you and my precious great grand-babies?" Grandma asked, putting her hand on my cheek.

"We've been great," I said, with a smile. "Everything's been amazing recently."

"That's great, honey. How about you, Preston, sweetie? How have you been?" Grandma asked, the same loving tone she used with me still in her voice. My grandparents had met and been around Preston so much as we were growing up that they treated him as their own grandchild now.

"I've been great, Maryland," he responded coming up behind me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pressed a kiss to the side of my head, earning a sigh from my grandma. I rolled my eyes knowing she was a huge romantic. She swooned at acts of romance like sixteen year olds swoon over One Direction.... Okay, nineteen year olds too, but that's beside the point.

 "That's great, sweetie," she said, smiling. "Why don't you all come inside, it's freezing out here." She was right, it was about twenty degrees outside in Boston and it was two o' clock in the afternoon. "Both you're parents are already here. We were just waiting on you two."

"Sorry," I sighed, "there's lots of pit stops for two nine month olds." It was true. We had stopped so many times on the way here, it was ridiculous. We weren't on the road for more than two hours before one of them got fussy and needed to be goaded into napping or taken out to get their diaper changed. You'd think it would be easier since they'd be a year old in March, but it wasn't.

"That's quite alright, my dear," Grandma said, a smile still on her face. She bent down slightly and picked up Brook, who was fast asleep in her carrier. "We all know what it's like raising children." She turned and stepped into the house, escorting us into the warmth and cinnamon scent of my aunt's home. My grandpa smiled at me and laid a hand on my shoulder, guiding Preston and I into the house.

"They're here," I heard my grandma announce to my family.

I was suddenly mobbed by several people, all of which were directly related to me. There was always a large number of us and it was only ever my mom's parents, her siblings and the grandchildren and now great grandchildren. It was even crazier when we got together every other year for an actual family reuinion and there was hundreds of us. I usually only actually knew one-third of the people there.

Once we were done being attacked, we were led into the living room while some of the guys went out to my car to get our bags out of the trunk. Meanwhile, inside, my aunt was taking my scarve and multiple jackets and sweaters and taking them to the room Preston, the babies and I would be staying in for the week.

I learned later, as we were getting our luggage into the room and setting up the play pens for the babies that Ridley and Amelia, my Aunt Rosa and Uncle Erik's two girls, had to share a room to let us have Amelia's. And Amelia, being the sweet little five year old she is, had no problem giving it up and rooming with her older sister, who had just turned fourteen the week before. Needless to say, Ridley wasn't as thrilled as her sister was at the arrangement.

After we were finished setting up, it was time for us to relax. Everyone else in the house wanted a chance to hold and coo over our children, so Preston and I got our first chance in a very long time to just relax and not worry as much. The majority of the family sat in the family room while David, my dad, my grandpa and my Uncle Mike were outside and in the kitchen preparing for dinner.