River Barron. In a relationship with the the youngest of Matthews, Joshua Matthews. Has four younger siblings.
Joshua Matthews. In a relationship with the oldest of Barron's, River Barron. Has three older siblings.
I walk to the driver's seat of my car after buying my groceries for the week as my phone starts vibrating in my jacket pocket. I climb into the vehicle and quickly pull out my phone. I see an unread message from Josh and quickly open it.
'Josh 💖💋😙~ Hope you don't mind that I'm bringing Cory, Topanga, Riley and Auggie back to the house with me along with a few of their friends. You Remember Ava, Maya, Lucas, Farkle, Smackle and Zay, right?'
'Me~ Of course I remember them. You're lucky that I bought plenty of food today. My parents and siblings are coming from Philadelphia with your parents. Eric arrived this morning and I have to make sure he didn't destroy the house while I was out.'
'Josh 💖💋😙~ He wouldn't destroy the house... I hope... We'll be about leaving in a few hours after everyone arrives so you have most of the day to get things ready for tonight. So I'll see you soon. Love you! 😍😚😘😙'
'Me~ Love you too! 😘😙😚'
I pull up outside the house to see two cars parked in the driveway. I quickly pull up and send Eric a message for him to help me with the groceries. A few seconds later, Eric, Caitlin, Cecelia, Marc and Natalie run out the front door and over to me. I open the boot and they quickly begin grabbing bags from inside. I grab the bags containing my baking items and quickly lock up the car. I head into the house and wave to the adults in the living room before heading into the kitchen. Mom and Mrs Matthews walk in after and few minutes and we put everything away in the right place before grabbing all the main meal items. "Cory, Topanga, the kids and their friends are coming with Josh here in a few hours," I say. They nod in understanding and keep focused on their work.
The door opens and chatter starts up again but louder as I stand off to the side of the kitchen working on decorating the cupcakes and cookies for dessert while Mom and Mrs Matthews start dishing foods up on plates. Heels click as a person walks into the kitchen and I look up to see Topanga looking around in amazement. "This smells wonderful." She praises. "You can thank our family's Culinary Chef Student over there. We just followed the recipes and made sure everything wasn't burning," Mrs Matthews states, pointing over to me. I look up and wave at her. Arms wrap around me from behind and a chin rests on my shoulder. "Are those the little icing designs that make everything you make wonderful?" Josh questions. I turn to him and smile. "You'll have to wait and see young man. These aren't finished yet," I say, putting a bit of icing on the tip of his nose. He pulls away and runs away to find the others.
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I place the cupcakes in different areas on cake stands as Mom, Mrs Matthews and Topanga start taking plates to the dining room. I quickly pull off my apron and grab a couple of plates to help out.
I take a seat beside Josh as everyone receives their plates. "This looks wonderful! Thank you grandma and Mrs Barron!" Riley gasps with joy. "Thanks Riley. But we weren't the ones who organized this meal," Mrs Matthews says as Mom shakes her head. "Who did then?" Lucas and Farkle ask. "My daughter did," Dad states. I lean forward slightly and wave to the teens. "I made sure before I went shopping for the ingredients that I knew the things people couldn't have in case there was in allergic reaction. So I can safely say, you will be safe with this meal and dessert," I explain. They nod and everyone digs in.
I walk into with a tray full of plated up cupcakes and begin passing them out. "You did!" Josh cheers loudly as I pass him a rainbow themed cupcake. I shake my head at him before passing Riley the same design. "Don't forget Josh. Tomorrow I have to go pick up more ingredients so I have the right ingredients for handing out cupcakes on New Year's Day to the neighborhoods." I state, passing Lucas the last cupcake. "Mom? Dad? Can I stay with Uncle Josh and River for longer?" Riley asks. "If it's alright with them, Riley. You don't want to intrude," Cory states. "Oh it's fine. Nat and Marc stay here until the weekend before the Christmas break finishes so we learnt to have a room or two ready," Josh says. Farkle, Lucas, Maya, Riley, Smackle and Zay all look at me with big, pleading eyes. "You'll have to contact your parents, Maya, Lucas, Farkle, Smackle and Zay," I state, taking my seat again. They all nod and pull out their phones, tapping away quickly. "Mom and Shawn said yes," Maya states. The others give similar answers and focus on their cupcakes.
I wave goodbye to the adults, Caitlin, Cecelia, Auggie and Ava as the cars drive away from the house and turn around to look at the remaining people in the house. "I should get started on lunch. I'll call you when it's finished." I state, kissing Josh on the cheek and heading back inside.
I sit beside Josh in our study room writing down the answers for our University homework when someone knocks on the door. "It's open." Josh calls. The door swings open to reveal Maya and Riley. As they step in, Maya glares at me, seeing my presence in the room. "What's up?" Josh questions as I continue writing things down. "We're going for a walk around the neighborhood." Riley states. I check the clock and sigh as I see it was nearly 8pm. "No. It's getting late and it's meant to snow tonight." Josh says. Maya scoffs and Riley looks to me with big eyes. "What do you think, River?" She questions. "I agree with Josh on this. I doesn't how many of you go, it's dark out and the snow is due to start soon." I state. They frown and storm out of the study, slamming the door after them. Josh and I look at each other and smile. "I'm finished for the night. Wanna watch a movie in bed?" He says. I nod and quickly get out of my chair. I take Josh's hand and he leads me to the bedroom. I flop onto the bed and watch as he looks through our selection of films. He pulls out 'Love, Rosie' and points to it with a questioning look. I nod and he quickly sets things up.
I walk to the girls' room halfway through the movie and look around to see only Natalie laying in her bed in the spacious room. I quickly turn the light off and move quickly to the boys' room. I spot Marc laying in his bed and my stomach drops. I quickly leave the room and rush to the window showing the street. I sigh in annoyance as I see the snow falling already. I walk quickly to the bedroom and quickly pull on my snow boots as Josh watches in confusion. "They went for their walk so only Nat and Marc are in the house. Can you stay here while I look for the others?" I say, pulling on my coat. Josh quickly walks over and hugs me close. "Be safe and keep in contact at all times." He says, kissing my forehead. I nod and quickly run downstairs and out the front door.
