It was that wonderful time of the year where the snow fell, leaving a thick soft blanket on the ground, the windows of homes and shops would be filled with decorations on display, a certain sense of cheer filled the air, and families all came together. Christmas had come around again like it does every year.
Christmas had to be Rose's favorite holiday. There was just something about it that always made her feel so happy. Maybe it was because the snow always looked so pretty around the holidays. Maybe it was because the town looked festive when there were lights strewn about, windows filled to the brim with decorations, and the tree that always went up in the middle of town. Maybe it was because this was the time of year that always brought families together.
No matter what the reason, Rose loved Christmas. All the Buckets did.
Normally, Willy didn't give Christmas a second thought. He used to be alone at Christmas so he didn't bother to celebrate it. But that changed when Rose came into his life. When she told him how much she loved Christmas, he decided to give it a chance and celebrate it.
Turns out that Christmas was a whole lot better when you had a family to celebrate it with. And he loved how happy Rose got around this time of year. He loved coming home one day to find that she had the entire Garden Room covered in decorations, as well as the house. He loved how he found a large Christmas tree already put up and decorated in the living room. He loved hearing Rose break out into Christmas carols.
Christmas quickly became Willy's favorite holiday.
But this Christmas wasn't going to be any ordinary Christmas. This would the first Christmas with the twins. And the Wonkas were going all out with it. Normally, Christmas dinner would be held at the Bucket house, hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Bucket. This year, however, Rose and Willy decided to host dinner for the first time. And their whole family would be coming.
******
Rose and Mrs. Bucket were cooking together in the kitchen. Every once in a while, Rose would look up and peek out the window. Every time she looked out that window, she saw her children playing together with their father and Uncle Charlie. She smiled at the sight.
"Look at them, mum" Rose said. Mrs. Bucket looked up from the vegetables she was cutting. She followed her daughter's line of sight. "He's such a wonderful father. A wonderful husband. He looks at me, and he looks Fleur and Dulce like we're his whole world. You should hear him telling them bedtime stories"
Mrs. Bucket didn't say anything. Instead, she just smiled, stared, and listened as her daughter went on about Willy and the twins. "Mum, why are you looking at me like that?" Rose asked when she caught her mom staring.
"Nothing," Mrs. Bucket chuckled, shaking her head. "It's just, you've been so happy for the past two years. Before Charlie found that ticket, you've worn many smiles on your face but you've never really been happy" Mrs. Bucket placed her hand on her daughter's cheek. "But now when you smile, it's not because you're trying to be strong for us. It's because you have truly found happiness in your life that we alone couldn't give to you"
"I find myself thinking sometimes where I would be right now if Charlie hadn't found that ticket," Rose thought out loud. "I'd probably still be working for Mrs. Mason, barely just getting by. Or, perhaps maybe I'd be stuck in a marriage that I didn't want"
"Or, maybe you'd still have met Willy somehow"
"You really think so, mum?"
"Of course I do, darling. He's your soulmate. If Charlie hadn't found that ticket and hadn't brought you along on that tour, you still would have met Willy one way or another" Mrs. Bucket seemed so sure about that.
Rose giggled. "Is dad your soulmate?"
Mrs. Bucket smiled, pushing a fallen strand of hair out of Rose's face. "Without any doubt"
A new voice called out, making its presence known. "Hello, Rose! Hello, Helen!" It was Priscilla. She had wandered into the kitchen. "Merry Christmas"
"Merry Christmas, dear" Mrs. Bucket smiled at the girl who overtime, started feeling like her own daughter.
"Merry Christmas, Cilla" Rose said. "Did you say hi to Willy and the twins?"
"I did" Priscilla nodded. "I swear, Fleur and Dulce keep getting cuter every time I see them"
Rose eyed the thick bag that Priscilla was carrying. She did not doubt that there were a bunch of toys and other gifts inside. "Cilla, what did we say about spoiling?"
"This isn't all for the twins" Priscilla defended. "There are things for Charlie and Jenny here. And at least one present for everyone else. That reminds me" She reached into the bag and pulled out a couple of presents. She gave the bigger of the presents to Mrs. Bucket, who in turn looked quite surprised.
"Priscilla, sweetheart, that's very kind of you, but you didn't--"
"I wanted to, Mrs. Bucket"
Mrs. Bucket smiled and accepted the present. She opened it up, revealing a small antique display case. But it wasn't the display case that made her eyes light up. It was what was inside it. "Priscilla, this china is beautiful" There were beautifully designed plates, bowls, and cups.
"I actually made it" Priscilla explained. "I have a knack for pottery"
"I never knew you liked pottery," Rose said. She was surprised that Priscilla never mentioned her talent.
All Priscilla did was shrug. "It's nothing serious, really. More of a hobby" She presented the other present in hand to Rose. "This one for you"
Rose smiled, taking the small present in her hand. She unwrapped it, revealing a velvet red box. Then, she opened up the box to reveal a piece of jewelry. It was a pendant of a terrarium with a tiny rose inside of it. "Oh, it's beautiful"
"I immediately thought of you when I saw that, and not just because of the rose," Priscilla said.
"Wait right here!" Rose said in sudden excitement. She ran off, disappearing behind the curtain that led to hers and Willy's bedroom. When she came back, she was wearing the pendant and had a gift in her hand. "Here," She handed the gift to Priscilla.
Priscilla grinned and she ripped the wrapping paper off. She gasped in delight when she found a sweater, made in her favorite color with her name stitched in cursive gold along the front of it. "Rose, did you make this?"
"Yeah" She bit her lip, waiting to hear Priscilla's thoughts on it. "Do you like it?"
"Like it? I love it!" Priscilla gave Rose a great big hug. "Rose, you're amazing, you know that? You're the best sister anyone could ask for"
"Sister?" Rose asked. Sure, she and Priscilla have been close for a long time, but she's never heard her call her sister before.
"Well, yeah. You're not just my best friend, Rose. You're my sister. You, Willy, and the twins? My family. Charlie and the rest of the Buckets? My family. Danny, Eleanor, Felix, Lucy, Jenny, and Harry? My family. Mrs. Mason and Dr. Wonka? My family. We're all one big family, Rose"
Rose smiled. She thought back to some wise words Charlie once said long ago.
You don't have to be related to someone for them to be your family. People who care about each other can be considered a family, whether you're related or not.
For a boy of thirteen, Charlie was quite wise for his age.
"Darling, why don't you go out there and say hi to your friends?" Mrs. Bucket suggested. "I've got it in here"
Rose kissed her mother before walking out of the house with Priscilla. All of their friends were crowding together with Willy and Charlie. The twins were now being held by Lucy and Harry respectively. Of course, Willy was the first one to see his wife. "Hello, starshine!" He beamed at her.
"Cocoa bean" She greeted back, wrapping her arms around him in a secure hug. Rose's eyes wandered to Fleur, who was being held by Lucy. But it wasn't her daughter's infectious grin that caught her eye. It was the sparkling diamond that was wrapped around Lucy's ring finger. "Lu?"
Lucy looked at Rose. "Yes?"
"On your finger, is that what I think it is?"
Eleanor went wide-eyed. "Wait, you and Harry are engaged!?"
Lucy shrugged, smirked, and made an attempt at a joke. "Who said it was Harry I was engaged to?"
"Sis, you're not fooling anyone" Jenny laughed. "We all know you two are googly-eyed in love with each other"
"Let me see," Priscilla said. She took Lucy's hand and inspected the diamond on her finger. Priscilla let out an impressed whistle. "That's quite the stone you gave her, Harry"
Lucy grinned and then eyed her fiance. "Even if I told him a simple plain ring would do"
"And I'm only getting truly engaged once" Harry quipped. He and Rose shared a knowing look. The two of them were never really engaged. It was more of an...agreement... of sorts. Luckily, it was one that was never carried out. Harry looked back at Lucy. "I wanted to make it special for both of us"
Lucy very well knew of what had transpired between Rose and Harry. They were both very honest with her about that. But, she was just glad to see that they had made amends and that they were now friends.
"Where are those little angels?" A happy sing-song voice called out. "Nana's here! And she wants to see all her angels!"
Mrs. Mason came running with Dr. Wonka not far behind her. The two of them were married now. The ceremony had been small and private, taking place at a courthouse with only Rose, Willy, and Charlie in attendance.
"There they are!" Mrs. Mason cooed once she saw her grandchildren. She squished their cheeks and kissed their foreheads, causing the babies to smile and giggle. Once she greeted the twins, she greeted the rest of her angels the same way, starting with Priscilla.
"Uh, Mrs. Mason" Priscilla mumbled through her squished cheeks. "What are you doing?"
"I did say I wanted to see all my angels, now didn't I?"
Mrs. Mason got through with greeting Priscilla, Eleanor, Lucy, Danny, Felix, and Harry all the same way. With squished cheeks and wet kisses on the forehead. She still saw all of them as her children, even if they weren't related to her the way Rose, Charlie, and Willy were.
"And where's my youngest son?" Mrs. Mason turned on her heel until she spotted Charlie. "Charlie, my dear boy! Come here!" She hugged Charlie as tight as she could. "I swear you're getting bigger every day I see you"
"And you keep getting kinder" Charlie said to her.
Mrs. Mason grinned wildly. "How does a boy get so sweet and polite?" She let go of Charlie, and then there was no saving Jenny from the inevitable hug. "And here's my sweet girl! Oh, Jenny, you just keep getting prettier"
Jenny blushed and giggled. "Thank you, Mrs. Mason"
"Charlie, you've got quite the girlfriend here. Don't ever let her go" Mrs. Mason advised, winking at the young boy.
Both Charlie and Jenny blushed deeply and glanced at each other. "We're not boyfriend and girlfriend" Charlie defended.
"Yeah. We're just friends" Jenny added. "Best friends"
"And that means in exactly ten years time, you two will be married" Mrs. Mason joked but at the same time, there was a hint of seriousness in her voice. Charlie and Jenny both muttered something about Mrs. Mason being embarrassing before the two of them ran off.
Mrs. Mason chuckled, shaking her head. She caught Rose in her sight and smiled at her. "And last but certainly not least, my beautiful daughter" She grasped Rose's face with a gentle grip and kissed her on both of the cheeks. "And my wonderful son" Mrs. Mason hugged Willy and pressed a kiss to his cheek.
"Hi mom" Willy greeted her, giving her a kiss and a hug back. He then let go of Mrs. Mason and walked over to his father. "Hi dad" He greeted before hugging him.
"Hello son," Dr. Wonka said, a grin coming over him. After hugging his son, he stepped closer to Rose and hugged her as well. "Hello daughter"
Rose smiled at that. It always warmed her heart when she heard Dr. Wonka calling her daughter. "Hi, dad. Merry Christmas"
"Merry Christmas"
Mrs. Bucket stepped out onto the porch of the house. "Rose and Willy, dears" Mrs. Bucket called out for her daughter and her son-in-law. "I need your help with something!" She flashed an almost mischievous smile at them, before disappearing inside the house again.
"Hmm," Willy hummed curiously. "I wonder what that's about" He wasn't blind to see the way she had smiled at both of them.
"I suppose we should go find out" Rose said. She and Willy joined hands and made their way to the house.
******
"That's weird," Willy said as soon as he and Rose entered the house. They found it empty except for all the furniture and the finished food that was sitting on the counters in the kitchen. "Moms not here"
"Mum!" Rose called out. There was no reply. "Come on, mum. Where are you? Are you playing some kind of joke?"
Willy looked around the room as his wife continued to call for Mrs. Bucket's attention. It wasn't until he looked up that he noticed something hanging off of the ceiling. It was a green plant with white berries and a red bow wrapped around it.
"Cocoa bean," Rose finally noticed her husband staring upwards. "What are you looking at?"
"Have you gotten any new flowers or plants recently?"
"No" Rose finally looked up to see what Willy was looking at. She recognized what it was right away. A smirk danced across her lips. "Oh, I see what you're looking at"
"What is it?" Rose didn't answer him right away. Instead, she started giggling. Willy's eyebrows furrowed and he looked back at his wife. "What's so funny, starshine?"
"You've never seen mistletoe before?"
"No" He looked back up at it. "I wonder why it's there"
"I'm thinking mum probably put it there"
"Now, why would she do that?" Wow, he really didn't know. "I'm sorry but it's just a poor choice for decoration. It doesn't do anything to tie this room together at all"
"Cocoa bean, it's not for decoration"
"No? Then what's it for?"
Rose grabbed Willy's face and tilted his head down so that he was looking at her rather than the plant on the ceiling. "Do you really not know the tradition for people who stand together under the mistletoe?" Her voice had softened into an almost sultry purr. Her thumb was stroking his soft and plump bottom lip, and she was giving him that look with hooded and glossy eyes that made him weak in the knees.
Willy blushed deeply as he looked her right in the eye. "No"
"When two people find themselves standing under the mistletoe, they're supposed to kiss, otherwise they'll have bad luck"
"Oh. So is it like walking under a ladder, or opening an umbrella indoors, or breaking a mirror--" Willy was cut off when Rose's lips were pressed against his in a passionate kiss. It didn't take long for him to ease into the kiss, closing his eyes and wrapping his arms around her waist. What they didn't see was Mrs. Bucket standing in the doorway of the nursery, watching both of them with a smile on her face.
She knew that her daughter and son-in-law had yet to kiss under the mistletoe. So, she set up the mistletoe and lured them inside the house.
Rose and Willy pulled away from the kiss, both of them with a dazed look in their eyes. No matter how many times they kissed, sometimes certain kisses still felt like their first one. "Wow," Willy muttered, breathless from the kiss.
Rose giggled. "Yeah, wow"
Willy smiled at the sound of her heavenly giggle. "I like that tradition. Can it only be done at Christmas?"
"I don't think so"
"Good, because I'm going to set up mistletoe all throughout the factory so you'll have to kiss me wherever we are, or else we'll both end up with bad luck"
******
It finally came time for Christmas dinner. Everyone was seated at the long table that was set up just outside the house and underneath a fluffy, pink cotton candy tree. Rose helped her mum and dad bring out all the food.
"Mum, all of this looks wonderful" Rose mentioned.
"Well, I did have some help" Mrs. Bucket smiled, winking at Rose. Once all the food was set out and she was back in her seat, Mrs. Bucket announced. "Everyone dig in and enjoy"
Everyone served amongst themselves and quickly got into feasting. Rose and Willy fed their children when they weren't feeding themselves. Everyone chatted, joked, laughed, and told stories with each other. It truly was like they were all one extended family.
'That's because we are a family' Willy thought to himself.
Family. He really was beginning to like that word a lot.
"Mr. Bucket and I would like to say something," Mrs. Bucket said as she stood up. Mr. Bucket stood up as well and joined hands with his wife. "If we may?"
Rose nodded and gave an encouraging smile. "Please!"
Mrs. Bucket nodded and then looked at her husband, urging him to start. "We've celebrated many Christmases in the past. For us, it was never about the gifts or even the food we ate. It was about spending this special time of the year as a family"
"But no Christmas has never felt more like Christmas than it does now" Mrs. Bucket continued. "And it all has to do with our special family. Look at us. We went from being a family of six to a family of eighteen"
"And we couldn't have asked for a better one" Mr. Bucket finished off. He and Mrs. Bucket sat back down, indicating that they had said all they wanted to say.
Dinner continued. Rose noticed that Willy had fallen awfully quiet beside her. He had been talkative all night, especially to his children. When she looked at him, she noticed that he was in a dazed look, like when he used to get his flashbacks. But there was something different about this dazed look. It was the smile on his face.
"Cocoa bean?" Rose piped, placing her hand over his. "Is everything okay?"
Willy looked over to her, blinking as he broke out of his daze. "Oh, starshine. I feel absolutely wonderful"
"Yeah?" Rose smiled.
"I was just thinking about something"
"And what would that be?"
"Before I met you, I never realized just how lonely I was" Willy was looking right at Rose when he spoke, but his words weren't just directed to her. "Looking back, maybe I was a little miserable because I was lonely, but my success made me blind to that. Now, I can't imagine a life without you, starshine" He looked to everyone else, realizing their stares were on him. "Or any of you, really. If there's a family out there better than this one, then I don't want to meet them because we're already a perfect family. You're all my family"
Everyone smiled in agreement and nodded to Willy's words.
"I say we make a toast" Priscilla announced. She reached over and grabbed her cup. She held it up high in the air. "To our great, big, and happy family"
Everyone else grabbed their drinks and joined in the toast. "To family!"
In the end, Charlie Bucket won a chocolate factory.
But Willy Wonka got something even better.
A family.
And one thing was absolutely certain.
Life had never been sweeter.
THE END