Not Alone For Christmas

Epilogue- 20 Years Later

"Raphael! For the last time, can you please get out of that chair and help me with this dinner? We have five mouths to feed, including us, and I don't think we want to starve on Christmas Eve."

"Pet, calm down. I'm coming!"

"Dad, does Mom need help?"

"No, Julia, I don't think she does. She just needs me right now. Can you get your brothers to sit at the table, please?"

"Ok. Evan! Tyler! Come down for dinner!"

Julia ran up the steps to collect her two little brothers. Ralphie walked into the kitchen to see Petra, scurrying around the kitchen, preparing both dinner and baby food.

"What can I help with?" Ralphie asked.

"Well," Petra handed him a stack of plates, forks, and spoons, "you can start with that."

Ralphie sighed and smiled at his wife. He walked to the dining room to see that his kids were sitting down at their places. He saw Julia, his actual child, and Evan, one of the adopted twins, sitting in a row, smiling at their father.

"Where's Tyler?" Ralphie asked.

"He's in his room," Evan said, "He doesn't want to come down."

"Ah. Maybe Mom could talk to him."

Ralphie placed the dishes on the table.

"Evan, can you pass these out?"

"Yes, sir."

Evan jumped down from his chair and walked to where the plates are.

"What can I help with?" Julia asked sweetly.

"Mom needs someone to get drink cups and what everyone wants."

Ralphie made his way back to the kitchen to collect the turkey and potatoes. He almost knocked over Evan, who was going to go up the staircase.

"Where are you going?" Ralphie asked his son.

"I want to see if Tyler is ok," Evan said, walking up the steps.

"What's going on?" Petra asked, coming out of the kitchen.

"Something's wrong with Tyler and I want to see if he's ok," one half of the twins said.

"Let me go," Petra said, "You guys finish setting the table please."

"Yes, momma," both of the boys said.

Petra walked up the steps and knocked on the twin's room.

"Who is it?" said a voice behind the door.

"Mom. Can I come in?"

"Sure."

Petra opened the door to see Tyler, sitting on his bed and staring out the snowy window.

"What's wrong, Ty?" Petra asked quietly while closing the door.

"Why did it take me so long to get adopted?" Tyler asked, "I thought that my parents were going to come and get me. I sat up in that attic room at the Justice Orphanage for 14 years. No one ever came."

Tyler came toward his mother and cried into her chest.

"Tyler," Petra said, "can I tell you a secret?"

Petra felt a nod from her son. She sat down on one of the beds and told her story.

"I was at that same orphanage, in that same room, for 18 years," Petra told Tyler, "I would walk down the steps for dinner and a family would give me a harsh look and keep walking. I went out on my own and never wanted a child to go throught the same thing as me."