"Mommy, mommy I'm done! Come see!"

"That's beautiful, Kadyn," Leah exclaimed, placing a kiss atop her daughter's mass of sandy curls. "Daddy's gonna love it!"

"What about mine, Mama?" River asked, holding up his finished product.

"Oh, now that's just awesome, River!"

"What about mine? Is mine awesome too, Mama?"

"Both of my babies did absolutely fantastic," Leah declared, crouching down in between the space of the two chairs at the kitchen table, one child on either side of her, taking time to marvel at each of their finger painted, cut-out paper plates, that were to be used as ‘Christmas wreaths'.

"Can we hang ‘em up?" River asked, bouncing around his seat.

"Of course, but after we let them dry," Leah replied, standing up, and taking each of their plates, carefully tapping off any excess glitter, and letting it fall onto the news papers that served as a table cloths

"Why don't we set these in one of the window sills, and then get you two cleaned up," Leah suggested. "And then I was thinking we could put in Frozen?"

"Yaaaay!!!" The kids shrieked in sheer excitement, as if they hadn't spent the better half of the year watching the popular Disney animation.

Do you wanna build a snowman!

Or ride our bikes around the hall!

I think some company is overdue,

I've started talking to,

The pictures on the wall.....

As the kids sang along to Frozen in the family room, Leah was busy cleaning up the mess left behind in the kitchen: newspapers, glitter, watercolors, paintbrushes, yarn and a flurry of magazine clippings. Parenting was no easy task, but was by far the best thing that she had ever done in her life. Looking back, she could never imagine her life being the way it was now.

Within the last few years everything had changed dramatically; from touring night after night, and releasing album after album, to starting and indie label alongside her husband. Instead of being front and center, she was now behind the scenes helping to develop up and coming artists and she couldn't be happier. Starting the label had provided them with the stability that they needed to be present in their children's lives. 

"Daddy!" Leah smiled at the sounds of River and Kadyn's excitement over the sound of their father coming home. A few minutes later, he came strolling into the kitchen, a child on each hip.

"Hi, honey," JC's lips curled into a smile at the sight of his wife, still just as beautiful as the day he'd laid eyes on her; Her beautiful brown skin just as luminous, her emerald eyes as bright as ever, and her soul still as captivating.  After all these years, he still felt the same way that had when they first fell in love, only stronger.

"Hey, babe," Leah replied, as JC leaned down to gently place a soft kiss to her lips, and let each of the kids down, to which they raced to the family room to resume watching Frozen. "You know we only come second to Olaf."

"Hurtful," JC faux-winced.

"'Tis true. Our kids love an animated snowman more than their own parents!"

"Ha, well let's see if they remember that the next time they get hungry," JC quipped. "So what happened in here?" He asked, just as Leah finished cleaning up the kitchen.

"Craft project."

"Lemme guess, elves made from toilet paper rolls?"

"Wreaths made from paper plates."

"Pinterest?"

"Precisely."

"So, have you heard back from everybody?"

"I've received the final RSVP this morning," Leah responded. "From your Uncle Phil and his wife."

"So that makes how many?"

"Fifteen guests in total." This year - for the first time- JC and Leah would be hosting Christmas dinner in their home, and inviting their immediate family members. They decided it would be best that everyone gathered in one place rather than choosing either Leah's or JC's family to spend Christmas with, or trying to fly to two places altogether. This way, both sets of parents got to see their grandchildren for the holidays, and everyone was happy.

"That is a lot of cooking," JC gasped.

"I know, which is why I'm getting started tomorrow, and need you to be home with the kids."

"Why so early? Christmas is a week away!"

"Josh, did you hear yourself just now? Christmas is one week from today. I have fifteen guests to cook for, and I haven't even gone shopping yet. Not to mention we have two four-year-olds, who constantly need tending to."

"Well, LA is like what? 80 percent Jewish? Every place in town will be open, why not just order Chinese and call it a day." JC suggested. "My family is pretty low maintenance."

"And mine isn't I don't want my mother, condescendingly putting her hand on my shoulder, and saying ‘That's okay baby, not everybody can do it, you would have been much better calling a caterer,' in that syrupy southern drawl of hers."

"Catering is actually not a bad idea," JC said, reaching into the refrigerator for a can of Coca-Cola.

"Yeah, you are so not helping," Leah sighed, cocking her head to the side, and placing her hands on her hips, leaning her backside against the table.

"All I'm saying is that cooking for fifteen guests, plus us- almost 20 people- is no easy undertaking. No one would blame you if you had the dinner catered; if for anything the sake of your sanity."

"No, what's for the sake of my sanity, is not giving my mother the satisfaction of being right. I will not give her the upper hand yet again in my adult life. She will be amazed by my roast chicken and herb butter rub. She will be wowed by my scalloped potatoes. And she will be awed by my caramel apple pie. There will be no ‘poor babies', or ‘bless her hearts' coming from that woman's mouth this year, Josh. Mark my words."

"You. Are. So. Stubborn." JC said, with every step he took toward her. "And that is why I love you," he said kissing her, slowly, lovingly.

"Well, this stubborn chick is taking a night off," Leah retorted. "Tonight, dinner is your responsibility," she said, stealing his Coke can and walking off towards the family room.

"California Pizza Kitchen it is, then!" JC called after her.

Two Days Before Christmas

“So how was that?”

“Great! I think we have just what we need.” It was the day before Christmas Eve, and Leah was in the studio with Kaya Mitchell, one of the up and coming artists that she and JC had signed to their label. They had discovered her singing in a bar in West Hollywood one night doing a cover of Ani DiFranco’s 32 Flavor’s, and they had both been blown away by both her sultry voice and folk-pop sound. They knew they had to sign her before a corporate label snatched her up.

“So my ad-libbing towards the end wasn’t too much?” Kaya asked, as she stepped out of the booth, acoustic guitar in hand.

“It was perfect actually.” Leah reassured her. “It gave the song just what it was missing, without the meaning being lost at all.”

“Good,” Kaya breathed a sigh of relief, as she plopped down in the swivel chair next to Leah behind the mixing board.

“The last song of the album just in time for Christmas. We’ll start mixing and editing after New Years. When do you get back from Lansing?”

“I’m actually not going to Lansing this year,” Kaya replied.

“Oh, why not?”

“Because it’s 36 degrees and three feet of snow, and there are no flights out to Lansing right now. So, I can’t go home this year.” Kaya explained, as she fingered through her long golden waves.

“Oh Kaya, I’m so sorry to hear that.” Leah felt bad for her; Kaya was a twenty year old girl, living in Los Angeles alone. She didn’t deserve to be by herself at Christmastime. “Why don’t you spend Christmas with me, JC, and our families’ this year?”

“Uh, Leah, that’s really nice, but I don’t want to be an imposition-“

“Trust me, you will not be an imposition. If anything you can act as a buffer between me and my mother.”

“This is really great, Leah,” Kaya blushed feeling her heart swell. In the four years since she’d moved to California, no one had ever been as nice or embracing as Leah and JC had been to her over the past few months. “I-I don’t know what to say. Should I bring anything?”

“Oh, don’t be silly. You’re our guest. But... can you cook?” Leah asked, the wheels suddenly turning in her head.

“I can make a mean Bruschetta.”

“Then, you’re coming home with me tonight.”

2 hours later, Leah and Kaya were making their way into the Chasez kitchen, their arms full with bags from Ralph’s filled with last minute Christmas dinner items. “Babe, we’re home!” Leah called, sitting the bags on the island.

“Hey, honey,” JC yawned, as he made his way into the kitchen, clad in a gray Hanes t-shirt, and red plaid pajama pants. His hair was slightly tousled, and his blue eyes looked a little hazy. “Oh, hey Kaya,” he said, noticing her standing next to his wife at the island.

“Josh, did you fall asleep on the kids?” Leah asked.

“No.”

Leah eyed him suspiciously.

“Yes.”

“Josh…”

“You try sitting through Brave back to back.”

“Try sitting through, How to Train Your Dragon, and come back to me. Where are they?”

“Planted in front of the television still watching Brave.”

“Lemme go say hi to my babies, I’ll be right back guys.” Leah said, excusing herself.

“So how’s it going Kaya?” JC asked, sitting down at the island.

“Great, we finished the last song today.”

“Oh, that’s awesome, so we’re right on track,” JC replied. It was always good news to hear that everything was happening smoothly and in a timely manner. “So, are you excited for the release of your very first album?”

“Definitely. Excited and nervous.”

“Well, it’s normal to be nervous. But you’re at a really good time in your life. So just try and enjoy every moment.”

“Thanks,” Kaya smiled, grateful for the advice.

“So, did Kaya tell you she’s joining us for Christmas dinner?” Leah asked, as she made her way back into the kitchen.

“Oh, you are?”

“Yes she is. All flights to Lansing are cancelled, so I invited her to spend Christmas with us. And, she makes a mean Bruschetta.”

“Well honey, the more the merrier!”

Christmas Eve

It was Christmas Eve, and so far everything had seem to be falling perfectly into place. The chicken was in the oven, the dressing had been mixed, the sweet potatoes made, the green bean casserole was done, the pecan pie and carrot cake had been made, and family was flying in. Half the dinner, had been prepared and guests had been arriving gradually. Two more days. Just two days, Leah told herself and this would all be over.

JC was outside with his brother Tyler, passing a football back and forth, while the kids were playing ‘hide and go seek’. Meanwhile, the ladies were in the kitchen, chatting over wine and helping Leah prepare for the upcoming event.

“So, when are the parents coming?” Kaya asked, pouring some of the wine into the risotto she was making.

“We’re expecting them sometime tonight.” Leah replied, checking on the chicken in the oven.

“And they’re all staying here?”

“Oh God, no. Hotel reservations at the Four Seasons taken care by me and Josh.”

“I for one can’t imagine all of my in-laws under one roof,” Sarah, Tyler’s wife interjected, taking a sip of Merlot. “Bless you, Leah,” she laughed.

“Geez Sarah, you make it sound like the apocalypse!”

“Stock up on plenty of this-“Sarah said, picking up the bottle of 2010 Chateau Rouget Pomerol- “and you should be good.”

“Just for that, if I get into with my sister, you are my Switzerland, missy!”

As the women were chatting amongst themselves, suddenly the doorbell rang. “I’ll be right back,” Leah said, jetting off to answer the door. Expecting a member of either her or JC’s family to be on the other end of the door, she got the surprise of her life when she swung open the rustic wrought iron door to reveal not only her sister, Jill, but her boyfriend, David as well as a small child.”Jill.”

“Hey,” Jill smiled, oblivious to her sister’s frustration.

“What I-“

“You’ve met David, and this is his daughter, Annie,” Jill explained, motioning towards the child.

“No.”

“I brought pie!” Jill exclaimed, holding up a Kroger brand pumpkin pie, and making her way into the house along with her uninvited guests.

It had been two years. Two years since Leah had seen her sister. Coincidentally, the last time she had felt a blind fury mixed with a fizzing sensation of frustration whirling around like a tornado at the pit of her stomach was also two years ago. Leah and Jill had always had quite the tumultuous relationship, but she had figured that by their thirties their bond would grow. She figured they’d both be mature enough by now to eye to eye, come to compromise on things, and that they’d both be willing to help make life easier for one another from time to time, because you know, that’s what sister’s do. Unfortunately, Leah was only half right. Not quite there yet.

For the sake of good first impressions, Leah tried her damndest to swallow down her irritation, and somehow manage to utter, “I- uh… Jill can I talk you for just a sec?”

“Sure!”

“Alright, David, Annie, very nice to meet you,” Leah said turning to her unexpected guest. It was as important to her to treat them as she would her own family, considering the fact that they were probably just as clueless to the fact they were uninvited as she was to the fact they were even coming. “If you’ll just make your selves at home, I’ll be right with you shortly,” she said, showing them into the living room.

“And you, are coming with me,” she said, pointing to Jill, as she broke off into the dining room. Once they were in the confines of the dining room, and a safe distance away from everyone else, Leah whipped around on her sister, “Jill, what the hell?!”

“Merry Christmas, sis!” Jill exclaimed, sticking her left hand out and wiggling her finger, to expose the Tiffany princess cut diamond on ring finger. “I’m engaged!”

“Oh. My. God.”

A good twenty seconds passed before either one of them spoke again. “Aren’t you gonna say anything? Aren’t you happy for me?”

Of course Leah was happy for her sister, how could she even ask that? Everything was just such a shock. It all seemed to come at once. She went from being surprised, to angry, and then surprised again. It was a major shock to her system of emotions. “No, yes, of course I’m happy for you,” Leah blinked taking everything in. “I just need a minute to process all of this. Engaged, huh?”

“Yeah, can you believe it? He’s a banker. On Wall Street!”

“Well, you’ve always been ambitious…”

“I can’t believe you just said that,” Jill gasped, turning on her heels to leave.

“No, no, Jill I didn’t meant it, it just slipped out, come back here,” Leah said, grabbing her sister by the wrist.

“You know, you say that like I haven’t been practicing law for fifteen years now.”

You mean barred from practicing law in several states, is what Leah wanted to say, but thought better not to bring up her many legal indiscretions at the moment.

“You can never be happy for me. You treat me like I’m a child.”

“Jill, I’m not treating you like a child,” It was always frustrating, whenever she had to deal with her sister. Growing up, she was incredibly spoiled, and their parents easily gave into her every demand, fed every tantrum, and stroked her ego. She was incredibly vain, paranoid and insecure and needed constant validation from the people around her. She often pulled stunts for attention within the family. Her high school psychiatrist informed her parents that she exhibited Narcissistic tendencies, and referred her to professional help. In short, she was unstable, and quite frankly this is the reason why she was not Godmother of the twins.

“You’re doing it right now; you’re talking down to me!”

“Jill, I think it’s great you’re engaged. Really, I, do.” She figured it was better to talk Jill down than to argue with her. Especially at Christmas.

“You’re really happy for me?”

“Yes, I am. I’m just surprised is all. I just wished you would have told me way ahead of time.” Because I’m cooking for 20 people, not 21, not 22, she decided to leave out.

“I really wanted it to be a surprise.”

“Well, surprise,” Leah tried to laugh, but it came out as more of a gurgle.

“Merry Christmas!”

She was trying to stifle her anger, but it just kept rising like indigestion. She figured if she stopped viewing her sister as the bumbling idiot that she was, and start seeing her for the certifiable person that she is, then maybe, just maybe, she’d be a little more tolerable. Yeah, no. By the time she was done with Jill, she would be convinced that she herself was crazy. “So, now that we have gotten this out of the way, is there anything else that I need to know?” Anymore money laundering schemes? Faked pregnancies? Or unauthorized practices of law?

“From me? No,” Jill shook her head.

Thank, God. This was tame for Jill, this, this could be handled.

“But Dad, however, is bringing his new girlfriend. I bet she’s hideous.”

“Wait, what?” In any minute now, she’d be ass naked in front of Mr. Raymond’s eighth grade class, being asked to give her oral report on Little Women, and then she’d become erotically charged from the sound of him saying the words, oral report, because after all, this was a dream. Because, no. Her father was not bringing his new girlfriend, whom she had never met before, who was not invited to Christmas dinner! She pinched herself. Dammit, he was. “No, no. no. no. no!”

“Oh, yeah,” Jill replied.

“Why doesn’t anyone bother to tell me anything, when it’s my damn house, they’re?!” Just as Leah began to process the enormity of the dysfunction that was her family, a migraine began to set in, and the pain was singed by the sound of the doorbell.

“That must be them now,” Jill said, heading for the front door.

“No,” Leah huffed, following behind.

Happily waltzing through the hallway as if she were at home, Jill made her way to the foyer and opened up the door. Both she and Leah were very surprised to see their Mother, Gabrielle, along with Meredith, her assistant, and Richard- her ex-lover.

“Joooooosh!!!!”

“So, what am I gonna do now?” Leah asked, frantically racking her brain for answers, but coming up with nothing.

“It might be cutting it a little close, but it’s not too late to hire somebody,” JC replied, watching his wife nervously pace back and forth. They were shut in the kitchen, mulling over their options, while their guests were mingling amongst themselves in the living room, filling up on hors d’oeuvres and wine and dry champagne. Kaya, providing the entertainment, sang and played Christmas songs on the piano.

 “Josh…”

“C’mon, Leah don’t give me that look.”

“You know how I feel about hiring someone.”

“Well what else is there? We have too many guests, not enough food, and not enough time.” JC, much like his wife, was at his wits end. What they had planned to be a nice quiet, intimate Christmas with family, had quickly turned into an utter chaos.

“You’re right,” Leah conceded. “It’s just… you know how my mom is,” she sighed. “And I really wanted to prove to her that I could do something on my own. I don’t want her to have yet another thing to hang over my head.” She hated this. She hated this feeling of losing complete and total control. This was her home. This was supposed to be her holiday party, and her family had hijacked it like they hijacked it everything else. Her neurotic sister with her engagement, her vain mother with her ex, or apparently current “lover”, and her mid-life crisis-dealing father with his girlfriend twenty years his junior. They couldn’t let her have this one thing, just this one day.

“C’mere honey,” JC said, holding his arms open to his wife. Leah stepped into them, and tucked her face into the crook of his neck, taking him in. For the next few moments, they stood there, while he provided her with the comfort that she needed; Him gently running his fingers through her hair, the way she liked, and softly rubbing her back. As the moment passed by, Leah could slowly feel her tension slightly ease up.

“Mmm,” she hummed softly against his lips. “Thank you,” she said before reaching up for a quick kiss. This one moment, alone with her husband was what she needed to compose herself and get her thoughts together.

“So, what are we gonna do?” JC asked.

“We?”

“Yes, we. We are a team aren’t we?” JC smiled, interlocking his fingers with Leah’s as she smiled backed.

“But you don’t cook,” Leah grimaced. “I mean, you do cook, but you can’t cook.”

“But I do other things,” JC pointed out.  “I’ll be your back up. Your total system of support. Whatever you need me to do to make things easier, I’ll do.”

Leah’s heart swelled at his words. She knew that this could all potentially go wrong, but with her husband standing by her side, she felt completely invincible. “Okay, um… I need you to go to Ralph’s and pick up as many party platters as they have left,” she said, circling around the island and walking over to the counter. She reached into one of the drawers and pulled out a pen and note pad and quickly made a list. “Pick these things up,” she said, handing him the list, “and hurry back.”

“Aye, aye, Captain!” He joked, before quickly pecking her on the lips. He grabbed his set of keys off the key hook on the wall and jetted off through the back door.

After JC left, Leah went about checking on the food; the chicken in the oven, refrigerating the pasta salads, mixing up the dressing, starting the sweet potatoes and boiling the water to start the green bean casserole. After all of that was set, she began making another list of the things that still needed to be prepared for the upcoming day, and rearranging the seating in the dining room to accommodate the extra guests.

Even though these things needed taken care of, truth be told, she was stalling. She didn’t want to face what was on the other side of the door; her father had arrived with his much younger girlfriend, which had caused tension between him and her mother, and her much younger boyfriend, whose ex happened to be her father’s current girlfriend. So it was all a big mess. She couldn’t tell if her dad was trying to get back at her mom, or if her mom was trying to get back at her dad, either way they were both too old to be that messy.

The rest of JC’s family still hadn’t arrived, and Leah’s stomach had been twisted in knots over the anticipation of their arrival. JC’s family was normal. As normal as a family could get. And quite frankly, Leah was embarrassed for anyone to witness the dysfunction that was her family. She was almost as nervous now, as she was when she was planning her wedding.

Her wedding to JC seven years ago came close to being ruined by her family. In short, her mother got drunk after meeting her father’s girlfriend, butchered her speech at the rehearsal dinner, and banged a cater waiter. Her sister, jealous that Leah was the first girl to get married, was a horrible maid of honor and seemed hell-bent on ruining her big day. She had a complete meltdown at the bridal shower and completely ditched the rehearsal dinner altogether. Her father, not ready to give away his baby girl used every intimidation tactic in the book to convince JC to leave her at the altar. In all honesty, had it not been for her mother-in-law, Karen, she wouldn’t have survived that weekend.

Mama Karen, as Leah affectionately called her, swooped in and saved the day. Distracting Gabrielle, from her ex-husbands new love, deescalated Jill’s crises and got her back on her meds, and calmed Leah’s nerves, while Roy Chasez handled her dad. All in all because of the Chasezs’, their wedding had gone off without a hitch and what could have gone horribly wrong turned out to be the best day of their lives only second to the birth of Kadyn and River.

And after that day, Karen had become her role model. She wanted to be like Karen. She admired everything about her; the magnitude of her strength, love, and compassion. That’s why she wouldn’t let this dinner fall to shit, no matter what her family did to destroy it. Tonight she wouldn’t fold. She would put on her big girl panties, and prove herself worthy of being a Chasez woman. She’d be like Karen, grace under pressure.

Pushing her nerves, aside she untied her apron, carefully folded it, and placed it over the counter top. She took a deep breath, smoothed down her black cocktail dress and pulled down her sleeves. She steadied herself and pushed her way through the swinging door that gave way to the party going on in the living room.

“There you are!” Sarah, Tyler’s wife, exclaimed, throwing an arm around her shoulder. “You didn’t tell me your family was this interesting,” she whispered into Leah’s ear, which made Leah instantly nauseous.

Oh, God, she thought. “Interesting, how?”

“Well your dad’s quite the cutup, and such a flirt.”

“Oh my God.”

“No, he’s charming,” Sarah smiled. “Really. Your family’s really not bad. If you call this crazy you should meet my family.”

Taking a deep breath, Leah blinked a few times. Maybe, just maybe this would be bearable after all.

“You can do this,” Sarah reminded her.

“Thanks. Your right, I can do this.” Leah repeated.

“Remember, after tomorrow this will all be over with.”

“Yeah… yeah after tomorrow none of this will matter,” Leah breathed a sudden sigh of relief.

“Here, take this,” Sarah said, handing Leah her champagne flute. “You need it a lot more than I do right now.”

“Thanks,” Leah said, taking a swig of the extra dry champagne.

“Now go get ‘em, Tiger!” Sarah cheered, and playfully squeezing her butt cheeks.

 “Alright,” Leah laughed, walking away. Seriously, sister-in-laws were the best.

Taking in her surroundings, Leah examined everything. The fire from the fire place was going strong, and Kaya’s melodious voice carried throughout the house as she played Santa Baby. The drinks were flowing and everyone seemed to be having a good time enjoying the food and each other’s company. On the other end of the living room Leah spotted her mother playing with Annie, David’s daughter, and the twins with their new train set near the Christmas tree. The sight made her smile. Okay. Maybe this wasn’t so bad after all.

Breaking her from her train of thought, suddenly, the bell rang, striking up her nerves all over again. As Leah made her way to the door, she could feel the heat begin to prickle all over her body. Like ripping off a band-aid, she pulled open the door before she could give herself anymore time to think about it. At this point, nothing else worse could happen.

“Ahhh!” Leah couldn’t help but to shriek in excitement when she saw her older brother, Aiden, his wife Aleesa, and their six-year-old son Jordan. Throwing her arms around her brother, she couldn’t help but to feel a wave of excitement rush over her. “Come in, come in,” she urged, embracing Aleesa in a hug, and then crouching down to hug her nephew.

“How was your guys’ flight? Did you find the hotel okay?”

“The trip was great,” Aleesa replied. “Sorry we’re a little late, we got a little tied up in traffic.”

“No worries, all that matters is you’re here now.” And that was all that mattered. Aiden and his wife always made things more tolerable. Aiden had always been the other sane one. Very level-headed and even tempered. He always knew how to deal with things. Leah was so excited to have her brother there, she didn’t know what to do.

“Can I go play with Kadyn and River?” Jordan piped up.

“Sure, honey, they’re right in there playing with the train set with Mimi,” Leah said, directing the child towards the living room with everyone else.

“Are we the last ones from our family to arrive?” Aiden asked. 

“Uhhh… yeah. About that.”

“Uh-oh,” Aiden furrowed, giving a knowing look. “They’ve already started.”

“Oh, no” Aleesa chimed in, knowing her in-laws all too well. “What happened?”

“Well for starters. Jill’s engaged, and she brought her fiancé’ and his child.”

“Hmmm, that’s pretty tame for Jill,” Aiden assessed.

“Yeah, I can’t complain. It wouldn’t be such an issue if she had told me before hand that they were coming.”

“Oh, so you didn’t know they were coming?” Aleesa asked.

“No, just like I didn’t know that Mom was bringing Richard and Meredith, and that dad was bringing Melania.”

“No,” Aiden gasped.

“Yes. And that Richard and Melania used to…” Leah crossed her index and middle finger in the implication that they had dated in the pass.

 “You’re kidding.”

“Nope.”

“Wow…”

“And they’re all here?” Aleesa asked, pointing towards the living room.

“Yep,” Leah replied, leading them into the party. “And this would all be quite funny if it weren’t happening to me.”

“Geez, Mom and Dad strike again,” Aiden sighed. He felt sorry for his little sister. If anyone knew what she was going through right now, it was him. Aiden had definitely been on the receiving end of their parent’s bullshit quite a few times himself, and that was no easy position to be in.

“Tell me about it. Christmas ’14 will be one for the books,” Leah muttered.

“We’re gonna go say hi to Mom and Dad, you gonna be alright?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine Ade, I’m a big girl,” Leah replied with a half smile. “I’ll be in the kitchen checking on the food if you need me,” she said before walking away.

Back in the kitchen, Leah felt much better  now that her brother and his family had arrived. She felt like things had been balanced out a little. It gave her a much clearer perspective, and motivation to make this Christmas at least somewhat decent. As she cut off the timer on the oven, took out the pan holding the chicken and placed it on top of the stove, JC came in with both arms full of grocery bags.

“Okay, so here’s what I got,” he said, placing all of the bags on the counters. “These were all the platters they had,” JC pulled out five big platters; a Boar’s Head platter, a shrimp platter, two veggie platters, and two roll up sandwich platters.

“Okay, that’s great,” Leah said, evaluating all the items; a prepared rotisserie chicken, and all of the ingredients that she needed to make all the extra side dishes and desserts. Good, Josh had done good. She had everything that she needed to successfully make this happen. The only thing was, having enough time to prepare it all. She’d be up all night in order to get all of the food done in time.

As if reading her mine, JC spoke up, “it’s okay, I’ll be here with you,” he assured her.

“Thanks,” she smiled. It wouldn’t be easy, but she could do it.

“I’m gonna go take these platters out to guests and make an appearance. I’ll be back soon,” JC said.

“Oh, sure,” Leah replied, waving him off, and tying her apron around her.

Swiftly scooping up the platters in one hand, and wrapping his free arm around his wife, JC pulled Leah close and placed a kiss on her cheek. “I have faith in you, Baby!” He said, before unwrapping himself and disappearing into the living room.

I have faith in you… Those words rang in her head, and then she got down to work. She started by storing everything that had already been made into the refrigerator, and then she started to tackle the second wave of food that was waiting to be cooked. She wasted no time getting started on the broccoli casserole, potato soufflé, and the chicken spaghetti. She had been cooking for what seemed like hours, when JC reappeared, this time with his parents.

“Look who I brought back with me!” He announced, with Karen and Roy following behind him, with Karen holding River in her arms, and Roy carrying Kadyn.

“Oh my gosh, hi!” Leah gushed, excited and overwhelmed to see her in-laws. She quickly rushed over to give them hugs.

“How’s our girl?” Roy asked.

“Fine,” was her automated response.

“Now don’t you lie to us,” Karen chided. “Josh told us everything.”

“Well, I’m doing fine considering the circumstances,” Leah responded, throwing JC a pointed look, who shrugged as if to say, What else could I do?

“Oh, honey I just can’t believe this happening,” Karen sighed, putting River down who ran straight to Leah.

Bending down to pick up her son, Leah showered kisses all over his face, which made him burst into a fit of giggles. This made her heart both swell and ache at the same time. The worst part of this whole fiasco by far was the time spent away from her children. This would be their first Christmas where they would be truly aware of everything, and the time that should have been spent making memories with them was instead being spent in the kitchen.

“So, what’s our plan?” Karen asked.

“What do you mean?”

What do you need for me to do?”

“Karen, no, I can’t-“

“No, I don’t want to hear, it. I’m not leaving you here all night to make all of this food by yourself,” Karen said putting her foot down. JC and Leah had been together for over fifteen years now, and over the course of that time Leah had become like a daughter to her. And if there was one thing that she had known about Leah, it was that her family- namely her parents- were her Achilles’ heel. She had been a firsthand witness to it. She knew how much hosting Christmas dinner for the first time meant to Leah as a wife, and new mother. How important it was for her to start traditions of her own. She had been so excited when they had talked about it the phone and through FaceTime. She was not about to let that go to hell in a hand basket.

“No, no. You guys should just go and enjoy the party,” Leah insisted. “Besides, you guys already have hotel reservations and everything, and I don’t wanna get in the way of that.”

“You let us worry about that,” Roy spoke up.

“Thanks you guys,” Leah smiled. She felt like crying. The biggest weight had just been lifted off of her shoulders thanks to the greatest parents in the world. “Thank you guys so much,” she gushed.

“No need to thank us, hon,” Karen said. “We’re family. It’s what we do. Now, you need a break. So shoo, and we’ll take things from here.”

*****

“So, it looks like this Christmas may not be so bad this year, after all, huh?” JC asked. He and Leah were standing in the middle of the twin’s room. They had just put Kadyn and River to sleep, but before they had crashed from their high of cookies and hot chocolate, they were able to set out milk and cookies for Santa, read them the story of the Grinch, and even let them open one present each; a Sofia the First stuffed doll for Kadyn and a Transformers action figure for River.

“Yeah, all thanks to your parents,” Leah replied. She kept playing how everything went over in her head, and she couldn’t believe how lucky she was, not only to have Josh, but that she had married into such an amazing family. “Ya know, if this thing ever ends in divorce, I’m filing for custody of your parents,” she joked, walking towards the door, and grabbing a sugar cookie on her way out.

“Yeah, not a chance,” JC called, following after her.

******

Later, after all the guests had left for the night, the Chasezs’ started right in on preparing dinner for the upcoming day. Together, they were a team; Karen and Leah cooking, and Roy and JC cleaning. Although, very time consuming, they were able to finish everything in a timely manner, and they enjoyed each other’s company. The process wasn’t nearly as hard or strenuous as Leah had been anticipating it to be. In fact, she enjoyed spending this time alone with JC and his parents. It reminded her of the old days, when they were teenagers in Orlando, and they would spend rainy days cooped up in the house.

“So, are you excited for tomorrow at all?” Karen asked, Leah. She had just finished icing the carrot cake; their final dish for the night.

“I’m excited to spend the morning watching my kids unwrap presents, and see their excitement, my family on the other hand… That’s another story. I don’t know… It’s always the same with them no matter what. I thought that maybe this one time things would be different. But I guess I was foolish to think so.”

“Oh honey, you’re not foolish for hoping that your family gets their act together. And you can’t hold your breath until they do either, because it’s likely not to happen. But I will let you in on something,” Karen offered. “You can’t keep your stomach in knots worried about your family’s every move or you’ll never be able to enjoy yourself. Everyone’s got that one crazy uncle, or eccentric cousin. I say they put the ‘fun’ in ‘dysfunction’. So accept them flaws and all, and let their freak flags fly for all to see, because no matter what, they are your family, and there is no changing that.”

And everything that Karen said made sense. Yes, her mother may have been a little wacky sometimes, and her father was embarrassing, and yes, her sister was neurotic, but so what? They were hers. They had always been this way, so there was no point in trying to fight it. Her family was dysfunctional, that was a fact that would remain true. So, going into Christmas day armed with this sudden wisdom was all she needed to sleep peacefully for at least a few hours that night.

Christmas Day

The long awaited day at Chasez household had finally arrived. It was Christmas day, and members of both Leah and JC’s families had descended upon their Calabasas home to join them for Christmas dinner. Everyone who was important to them was there (and then some). From JC’s family there were his parents, Karen and Roy along with his brother Tyler and his wife Sarah, and JC’s sister Heather, her husband, Tim, and their 10 year-old, Savannah. Then, there was his Uncle Phil and his wife, Melinda.

From Leah’s family, there was her mother Gabrielle, who brought along her boyfriend, Richard, and her assistant, Meredith. Her father, Daniel, brought his girlfriend, Melania, and her sister Jill brought her fiancé, David and his daughter, Annie. Then there was her brother, Aiden and his wife Aleesa, and their six year-old, Jordan.

In addition to their family members, JC and Leah had extended an invitation to Kaya Mitchell, the twenty year-old signed to their independent record label, who had been unable to fly home for Christmas. They had a full house indeed, but Leah was just glad that with the help of Karen and Roy that they were all able to make everything come together.

And indeed, everything did come together. The seating in the dining room had been arranged perfectly to accommodate all twenty-five people, and the food had turned out absolutely impeccable. Everything had been set up to the very last detail, almost as if every little mishap and slip-up had been planned for.

“What are you doing?” JC asked, walking into the kitchen. Leah had strategically positioned her iPhone in front of the island, capturing most of the food within her phone’s view.

“Taking a pic for my Instagram followers,” Leah explained, quickly snapping a few pictures.

“Did you seriously just say that?” JC laughed.

“Yeah, Tricia says I need to connect with the fans more via social media,” Leah said, referring to her publicist. “And plus, I’m hella proud of this feast that your mom and I whipped up, so yeah, I’m gonna share this shit with the world.”

“Muwah,” JC pulled Leah closed, and loudly kissed her temple. “And I’m proud of you too, babe. You work well under pressure.” Their brief moment together, was broken up by the sound of the bell ringing. “Here goes, nothing. You ready, babe?”

“As I’ll ever be….”

*****

After everyone was seated in the dining room; all the kids at the kiddie table and the adults at the main table, JC and Leah had decided to let Kaya bless the table. After the blessing, everyone began to dig in, and conversation ensued.

“So Jill, you’re engaged, I see? Congratulations.”

“Thank you, Karen,” Jill replied sweetly.

“So, how long have you two known each other?” Roy asked.

“I’d like to know the same thing, myself, since I didn’t know that my own daughter was engaged until yesterday,” Daniel said, tightly, and suddenly, the mood shifted.

“Daddy. Like I said, before I wanted it to be a surprise,” Jill said between bites of food. “Now’s not the time to get into this.”

“And for once, I agree with Jill,” Leah chimed in. “Heather, how’s work?” She asked, abruptly switching subjects/

“Oh, uh… Fine. Finished off the semester really strong.” Heather was a teacher at a high school in Winter Park, Florida.

“Great,” Leah replied and just like that the conversation fizzled again. The room was so tense, and no one knew exactly what to say each other. Everyone was walking on egg shells.

“Aiden, how’s the practice going, man?” JC asked, taking a sip of wine.

“It’s going great, new patients have been coming in, and we’re really getting off the ground.”

The feeling in the room was so strained, and quiet, Leah felt like she might scream. The minutes felt like hours and everyone was acting like droids. She let out a frustrated huff, and looked to her  side, at JC, who returned a clueless shrug and continued eating. He seemed to be doing a lot of shrugging lately.

“So, Melania, is it?” Gabrielle spoke up.

“Yes?” Melania was a five-foot-nine, brown-eyed, raven haired Ukrainian beauty. She was an obvious ego booster to middle-age men, and an intimidation tactic used for post-menopausal divorcees.

“Tell me, did you decide to screw my husband before or after he told you about Richard and I?”

There was a collective gasp at the table.

“Mom!” Leah cried, choking on her wine. “There are k-i-d-s in the room.”

“I can spell,” Savannah piped up. “And I’m ten, so I know what screwing means!”

“Savannah Jane!” Heather gasped. “Watch your mouth.”

“She said it, not me!”

“Okay, I have something to say, and it’s weighing just a little heavy on my heart,” this time Karen spoke. Everyone turned their attention to her, and she stood. “Leah and Josh have been nice enough to welcome us into their home on Christmas day, and I just think it’s a shame the level of respect that’s being shown to them.”

The room went completely silent, and when no one said anything, Karen began to speak again. “Daniel and Gabrielle the two of you have taken things way too far. It’s more than obvious by your ridiculously selfish and childish actions that you clearly still have feelings for each other, but that is not for here and now. Your one and only focus should be on your daughter and our beautiful grandchildren. Your daughter is a beautiful and amazing young woman. She is a wife, and mother, and she deserves to be treated in that respect in her own home, which she has so kindly welcomed us into.” And with that, Karen took her seat.

“Thank you, Karen,” Leah said choking back tears. She was touched by her words JC reached under the table, and fingers with her, and she felt so incredibly humbled.

“Well, Karen,” Gabrielle spoke, meekly, her face reddening. “I suppose we might have needed that. I think we’ve all been acting a just a little out of character.”

“Or in character,” Leah muttered.

“Leah, honey, I’m sorry. This has all gotten completely out of hand,” Daniel said, apologetically. A scolding from Karen could make anyone realize the error of their ways.

“Mom, Dad, is it okay if we can just move past this, please?” She couldn’t take one more second of all of this tension. It was triggering her anxiety. Not to mention it was just embarrassing.              

“I’d love nothing more,” Gabrielle said, tossing back the remains of her drink.

And after that momentary outburst, the tension in the room had gradually seemed to dissolve, and Leah was more at ease. The next few moments passed in a somewhat less awkward silence, and everyone continued to eat.

“Uh…So JC, Leah, how far apart are River and Kadyn?” Kaya asked, desperately attempting to break the ice. Kadyn and River perked up at the sound of their names. 

“Two minutes,” JC and Leah replied in unison.  

“Did you know that the longest time between two twins being born is 87 days?”

First there was silence, and then a small ripple of laughter started at one end of the table, before the whole room was engulfed in a fit of laughter.

“Well that’s just the damndest thing I’ve ever heard,” Roy chocked. “You’re real cute, you know that?” He said affectionately.

And that was all it took for the remaining tension of the room to just melt away. Everyone was laughing so hard, that they had forgotten what they were fighting for in the first place. It wasn’t what Kaya said, it was her quirky attempt at a conversation starter that everyone appreciated. The bad vibe that had settled over the room had evaporated into thin air, and finally, everyone could get along and have a good time. And it was over that Christmas dinner, that everyone really got to know each other.

Daniel, Phil and Tyler bonded over their shared profession of the law. Karen and Gabrielle bonded over the children and Aleesa, Heather, Jill, and Sarah all got to know each other really well. They were after all, a family, united by JC and Leah’s undying love for each other.

Later that night, everyone was gathered in the living. JC had put on some old soul records, and everyone was having the time of their lives drinking, dancing, bonding, eating leftovers, and taking plenty of pictures. Leah was in one of the far corners of the room, propped up on one of the couches that had been pushed back to the wall, with her hair tied up, a glass of wine in one hand, and Kadyn nestled comfortably in her lap. She looked on as her family enjoyed themselves. She couldn’t possibly be any happier than she was now.

“Well, this will be a Christmas I’ll never forget!” Karen exclaimed, plopping down on the couch next to her. Her cheeks were flushed and her hair was tousled. She’d been dancing with Roy, before being stolen away by Tyler, then Aiden, and finally JC.

“Are you having fun?”

“Oh, yes!” She smiled.

“Karen, I can’t thank you enough for all that you’ve done for me,” Leah said, gratefully. Karen stepping up and helping her the night before, and standing up to her parents, was so much more than she could ever ask for, and she couldn’t thank her enough for all that she had done for her. More than anything, she’d taught her how to be a real woman; a lesson that couldn’t have come at a better time.

“Stop. I’ve already told you, you don’t have to thank me. We’re family. It’s what we do,” Karen assured her, smiling adoringly at her daughter-in-law.

So this would be a Christmas to remember for sure, but for all the right reasons. What Leah had thought would become a completely catastrophic Christmas had turned into what made for a really wonderful memory. She had finally made peace with her family. They had definitely put the fun in dysfunction, and she had learned to see beauty amongst all the chaos.