“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.