Unpredictable Change

Part 21- Christmas Eve

Chapter 21

Christmas Eve! The night before my birthday and the birth of Jesus Christ. Back in Ghana, not many people really care about the night before Christmas, but out here, people are incredibly interested in it. The loud music in every corner of London, the decorations in every restaurant, and the fireworks ready to go off are all signs of how eagerly people await midnight. Grandma Lisa has assisted in preparing all the delicious American food imaginable. I've tasted a few dishes, but this will be my first time eating them in large quantities. She made sure to engage every woman in the house in the kitchen, while the boys took care of finding the perfect Christmas tree and decorating it. My back aches from all the rolling, kneading, and baking. I feel like I might have a heart attack.

"Justin... I think your wife might have a heart attack. Hahaha." Christine screams with laughter from the kitchen, and they all join in. I excuse myself to use the bathroom, and that's when I sneak out through the back door. I rest my hand on my knee, trying to catch my breath.

"You're so dramatic! Acting like someone who has been running a 300m race," Justin chuckles and pulls me away from the house. We take a stroll down the streets of Golders Green, admiring all the London versions of mariachis on the street. We grab coffee at a place that Justin explains is his usual spot whenever he visited London.

"Where have you two been?" Grace, Jenny's mother, asks as soon as we enter the house.

"She needed to relax her back," Justin replies, and I snort.

"I tried calling you, but you didn't answer. Sophie has arrived." Christine approaches and drops her voice to a whisper.

"What? Did she come alone? What..."

"What's up folks?" Justin and Alex exchange a bro hug, but all I can think of is Sophie. I haven't seen her around.

"She's in one of the rooms, neatly unpacking her bag," Christine answers before I can ask the question at the forefront of my mind. It's fortunate that Grandma Lisa and the rest are busy preparing for the evening because no one is around to prevent us from addressing this issue.

"What happened? Why are you here? I mean, you guys are supposed to be with your respective families." I fire off questions at her. Christine firmly closes the door behind her to ensure no one eavesdrops on us.

"Nothing happened! We just decided to ditch our families and come to support you."

"Come support me on what? I'm not having a baby?" She smiles and walks out without any explanation. Christine and I are left standing there like idiots.

We all gather in the garden for dinner. I usually have my dinner as early as 5:30 pm, and if I don't make it on time, I just have something light. But I don't think it will be possible this time around. It's almost 9:30 pm, and we are just now sitting down to eat dinner. I don't know if it's a tradition they follow to jump right into Christmas Day, but I definitely want to run. There are so many foreign dishes: Fried green tomatoes, reindeer sausage, enchiladas, etc., and the most important food of the day: the roasted chicken.