Defending Parker

[Chapter 14]

Chapter 14

It turned out however, that their answer was yes.

All it took was one quick call to Saige the following afternoon, inviting her to Christmas dinner, and suddenly we were need of three extra place settings. With this suggestion now a reality, I wasn’t sure whether to be nervous or excited that I didn’t have to sit through an entire night of family time alone.

The days suddenly started to fly by, leaving me wondering where the time had gone as Christmas quickly approached. The weather outside continued to spiral as cold winds and snowflakes started to make an appearance leading up to the holidays. School let out on the 21st of December, presenting kids with the promise of two and a half weeks full of freedom, along with dreams of the lazy days and nights to come.

It all happened so quickly that before I knew it, I was waking up on the 25th of December with a content smile on my face.

Through the windows I could see the light snow falling gracefully from the sky, piling to give the illusion of a magically white Christmas, and although the weather was cold, it turned out to be a pretty relaxing morning. My dad and I spent time making breakfast together, and just enjoying the day before exchanging presents just before noon.

By the time the clock on the wall hit two, the bottom of the Christmas tree was full of opened presents shoved towards the back and even more wrapped gifts for our family that would be arriving soon. Due to the fact that I was still in my pajamas, I snuck upstairs to shower, get ready and slip into my Christmas dress. It wasn’t anything fancy, but as I slipped on the short black and red dress and looked in the mirror, I couldn’t help but smile at the girl staring back at me.

When the doorbell started ringing just after three thirty, I had curled my hair slightly and applied a bit of makeup, looking presentable as I opened the door. The first people to arrive just happened to be my cousin Fiona, who was twenty-seven years old, along with her husband Ryan and their two years old son.

“Hey Jillian,” she greeted with a smile, balancing the tray of desserts she had in her hands on one arm as she stepped forward to give me a quick hug. “Don’t you look cute.”

 

I laughed lightly as she pulled back and stepped inside. “Thanks Fi, and you don’t look too bad yourself.” I replied honestly. Fiona, despite still being relatively young, had already built quite a life for herself. On top of being a loving mother and wife, she had recently been promoted to vice-president of the marketing corporation she worked for a couple hours away, and as far as I knew, she was the youngest VP the company had had in decades.

“So, this is the new house?” she asked, slipping off her shoes before turning around to help Matthew out of his.

“Yea,” I replied, bending down to grab Matthew once Fiona was done with his shoes, “It’s a little different than our old one, but I’m adjusting.”

As Ryan, whom I’d learnt over the years was more of a strong and silent type when it came to family events, took the dessert platter from his wife and headed in the direction of the kitchen, I switched my attention to the toddler in my arms.