Under the First Mistletoe

The Twighlight Zone With Him

To those who are wondering how old Lizzie is, she's eighteen [the youngest of the family] and on her first year of college. So she's been away most of the year but now she's back home. So there, now, on to the story!

"What time are they coming?" Lizzie asked Sally as she looked out the window. On the couch, Sally and Spencer snuggled against each other whispering sweet nothings to each other, and Lizzie turned her face away in disgust. She had finally agreed to be Jordan and Lily's new best friend. But that was because her parents had coaxed her into doing it.

"Around four," was the muffled reply.

Lizzie rolled her eyes. She refused to glance over at her sister and her soon-to-be-husband. She would barf green and yellow food all over the white carpet. She looked at her watch. Twenty more minutes before she would put on her good girl act. "I'll just be up in my room," she said, "Not that you'd care," she mumbled running up the stairs.

"What's up? I thought the cavalry had arrived," Mark, another one of Lizzie's older brother said looking over the banister. Then he recoiled away. "Yuck. They're doing it where everyone can see them," he muttered in disgust.

"I know," Lizzie said sarcastically.

She went to her room then lay quietly in her bed thinking of her four older brothers and her two older sisters, and what a big family she came from.

John, the eldest, already married to Tanya, was expecting his second child. The first was a girl who was named Dina. Luke, the second eldest, was also married, to Stephanie and was expecting his first child. Becky, again married to Robbie, was probably in the process of making the first child.

Enter Sally. Not yet married, but will be to Spencer Ridge. As for the first-born child, they were probably doing some planning already. Next were Mark and Matthew, twins. Both just recently engaged (they proposed on the same night, same restaurant but on a different floor). They were planning on having a double wedding.

Then last and probably the least, Lizzie. Not married. No boyfriend. Status zero love life.

Lizzie sighed. Her life was way to boring. And no matter how hard she tried to please her parents, it didn't matter because her older brothers and sisters had done it first. There was also the pressure on her getting very good grades just like her older siblings. It all boiled down to that - she was always compared to her other siblings.

It had irked Lizzie to no end throughout her high school life, and even now, when she was at college, people had called her John's younger sister or Luke's or Becky's or Sally's or even Mark and Matthew's younger sister.

Yup, she didn't even have an identity except maybe to her close friends who called her by her given name, Lizzie.

Not only her parents compared her to her older siblings, but even teachers. They'd tell her that this older brother was good at Math, and why wasn't she? Or that this older sister was good at drama and why wasn't she?

"Yup, that's me," she said aloud staring at the ceiling. "Always in the shadow of my older siblings." And she rolled over, punching all her self- pity and frustration on her pillows. Just then, she heard the sound of car honking. "Oh great," she muttered against a pillow, "they're here."

"Lizzie! They're here!" Sally called from downstairs. "Nora, please get her!"

Lizzie grinned as a thought occurred to her. She could pretend to be asleep and she wouldn't have to entertain guests for now.

So she lay perfectly still and closed her eyes as she heard Nora's soft footsteps approach from the hallway. They stopped, and Nora knocked lightly against the door. "Miss Lizzie?" she called softly, knocking once more.