The 20th
Start writing here…
Five days till Christmas. I can’t wait.
Today was shopping day. We were going to buy presents.
I was up early hours of the morning baking just because of excitement. I also had ’Deck the Halls” playing in the background.
“Deck the halls with boughs of holly
La la la la la, la la la la
’Tis the season to be jolly
La la la la la, la la la la
Don we now our gay apparel
La la la la la, la la la la
Troll the ancient Yuletide carol
La la la la la, la la la la
See the blazing yule before us
La la la la la, la la la la
Strike the harp and join the chorus
La la la la la, la la la la
Follow me in merry measures
La la la la la, la la la la
While I tell of Yuletide treasure
La la la la la, la la la la
Fast away, the old year passes
La la la la la, la la la la
Hail the new, ye lads and lasses
La la la la la, la la la la
Sing we joyous all together, oh
La la la la la, la la la la
Heedless of the wind and weather
La la la la la, la la la la”
“Well, aren’t you jolly this morning.“, Chris said coming into the room. Chris is my twin brother. Our birthday is complicated. He was born on December 24th by 23:59 while I was born on December 25th by 00:00 which makes us twins in a confusing scenario.
“It is Christmas. Why wouldn’t I be jolly?“, I questioned
“Oh I don’t know, because Cole dumped you yesterday”, he said sarcastically. Cole was my boyfriend of three years. We were sort of friends before we dated.
“Cole smole. I am not letting him ruin my favourite holiday and birthday.
“You mean our birthday”, Chris said
“Nope. I mean my birthday. Your birthday is on the 24th smartass.”
“Baby sis, we’re twins.”
“Firstly, you’re older by one minute and we were born on different days dick.“, I said quickly getting tired of the conversation.
“Christine Esperanza Flores! Apologize this instant.“, my mom shouted from upstairs.
“What? Why?“, I asked
" No foul language allowed in my house.”
My mom is a swear word detector. Literally. She can hear them from anywhere. There was one time when she was was at the backyard and Chris and I were arguing then he called me a bitch. The next thing we heard was “no swearing in my house.” Creepy. Chris was busy trying to contain his laughter while I was trying to suppress a groan. You may be wondering about my dad well, he’s in the hospital battling leukemia. Our Mom is the only parent we celebrate with at home. I still include my father by getting presents and spending Christmas with him. Don’t tell but he is my favorite parent.
“So, when’s the shopping?“, Chris asked. His mouth was full so his statement was a bit muffled and sounded like “fo, vhen zi yopping?”
“They should be here in an hour”, I replied. They meaning our friends.
“Why are you baking?”
“We are gonna branch to the hospital so I can see dad. He asked for some baked goods.” On my last visit, dad asked me to bake his favorite Christmas treats just in case this is his last Christmas with us.
~~~~
“So, what’s the plan for today?”
“Um, we’re meant to go shopping for presents and decorations.”
“You have no decorations?”
“Dad, how can we not have decorations? It’s almost Christmas”, I chided. My dad was a funny character. He always found the awkwardest situation amusing. When we found out about his disease, I was fifteen which makes it five years ago.
“You know, I’ve missed you.“, he said.
“I’ve missed you too. Christmas can’t be the same without you.“, I replied.
“Dad?”
“Hmmm?”
“I have to go. I really wish I could stay but my friends are waiting.”
“It’s OK darling. I understand.”
“Thanks. Bye dad.“, I pecked his cheek and gave him a bear hug before leaving. Outside, my friends voices were at their loudest volumes. Getting there, I heard, ” Soda is way better than Coffee.” This was said by my best friend, Avery.
“Who argues about Soda and Coffee?“, I asked drawing their attention to me.
“We do.“, Avery and Ava replied. They were twins. They were always up to mischief and pranks. They also got into a lot of trouble.
“Anyway, who’s ready to get this show on the road?“, my brother, Miles intervened. Miles is also my brother older than me with two freaking years but we have the same birthday. Spooky. He was my favourite sibling only because he let me use his car and loved driving me. Chris never let me use his stuff but loved fighting my bullies. Miles was the calm one. The only way to get him angry was to mess with his family. Chris on the other hand got angry easily. They were both over protective of mom and I.
“We are!“, we all chorused.
“Then let’s go.“, he said.
→→→→
“This is pretty and it goes great with your eyes.” My friends were trying to get me a gown just in case and it was taking forever for them to pick one. So far, there was a green one with a v neckline, a white mermaid gown and the one best which I was definitely getting was dark blue show back with a deep v neckline and ruffles gown. It was magnificent and stunning. We went to pay for it, well my brother paid.
After paying, we went to check out other stores to see if we wanted anything. On our way to McDonald’s for food, our attention diverted to an advertisement for a Christmas quest. It was pretty intriguing. We chose to partake in this quest so off we went. But I wish we never came upon that quest because it led to unthinkable consequences.
