December 2018
"Nana!" Mia and Daniel both screamed when they walked into Diana's house in London.
"Merry Christmas my darlings!" she said as she pulled them both into a hug. They stepped aside to give her a chance to greet the rest of them. "There's my beautiful daughter in law!" she said when she saw Melissa step forward.
"Merry Christmas mum," Melissa loved that Diana treated her like one of her daughters. She had been without a parent figure for what felt like so long now and now she had Diana, who was the absolute loveliest woman in the world.
Tom moved forward to kiss his mother on the cheek and greet her. It had been a few months since he had seen her and he missed her deeply.
They eventually all moved to the dining room where Tom's sisters and their husbands were already sitting. They all greeted each other before settling around the table. They didn't see Tom's family often. The only time they were really able to visit was during the kid's winter break and their summer break if they had time. His mom and sister's had visited once during the summer and promised they would try to visit at least once a year. They were all in conversation, catching up with what's happened in the past year.
"Dad can you pass the potatoes?" Mia asked from her seat next to Tom.
"Here you go love," Tom said as he handed them to her.
Tom's family looked at the pair in shock. They had never heard Mia or Daniel refer to Tom as dad and it took them all by surprise. Tom and Mia hadn't noticed that they were looking at them. "Did she just?" Emma started to ask.
"What?" Tom asked once he finally looked up and saw them staring at them.
"Did she just call you dad?" Sarah finished her sister's question.
Tom couldn't help but smile. "When did that start happening?" Diana smirked.
"About a month ago," Tom smiled at the memory.
"Well tell us how it happened!" Diana said excitingly.
"Oh uh I don't think you guys wanna hear that story," Mia said nervously.
"Of course we do!"' Diana insisted.
"Mum not now," Tom said. He knew that Mia was embarrassed about what happened that night. While the four of them were all happy that they were now calling Tom dad, it wasn't pleasant how it came about. After receiving her punishment, Mia told Daniel everything that happened. She told him what happened with Jacob, that she called Tom dad, and that she got grounded for a month. Daniel was furious. He was very protective of his little sister and was ready to go to Jacob's house and beat him up for what he did to Mia. The only reason he didn't do it was because Mia begged him not to, saying she wanted to move past it and not have anyone find out about it. He reluctantly agreed and decided to move on to the happier part of the evening. Mia finally calling Tom dad. They had talked about it before and Daniel agreed to wait until Mia was ready. Now that she finally called him dad, he finally took the leap and did it as well. Tom couldn't have been happier when Daniel uttered the word at breakfast the next day. Tom of course cried some more but had never felt happier.
"Anyways," Emma said trying to cut the tension. "How's wedding planning going?"
"It's going great. We're on track with everything. But I'm so glad that we hired a wedding planner cause I wouldn't have been able to do it while also planning Mia's quinceañera," Melissa said.
"Oh yeah it's like right after the wedding right?" Sarah asked.
"Yes. The wedding is in July and her party is in September," Tom said.
"Can you fill us in on what a quinceañera is? We've never been to one before," Diana asked.
"Well it is a tradition in Latin America where we throw big party when someone turns fifteen. So typically they choose a whole court to do an entrance and dance with. There's also a whole bunch of other traditions but we won't be doing a lot of them," Melissa said.
"Yeah Mia says they're all rooted in misogyny so all she wants is a party," Daniel teased.
"Well it's true! I don't need a man to change my shoes from flats to heels to symbolize my transition to womanhood. It's stupid!"
"I know, I know. You don't have to do any part you don't want to," Melissa reassured her.
"As long as I get to wear a big, poofy dress," Mia smirked.
They all continued to talk about the wedding and quinceañera while they ate. Once they finished, they all moved to the living room to open gifts.
Melissa had to have a talk with Tom about his gifts for the kids. Last Christmas he had gone all out. Buying expensive, extravagant gifts for them. She appreciated his thoughtfulness but she had to remind him that they didn't grow up with expensive things in life. She didn't want them to all of a sudden expect a lavish lifestyle now that they had Tom as a father. Tom was extremely wealthy compared to Melissa and she knew it. She knew that Tom wanted to give them all a good life and she didn't want to stop him from doing that but there had to be limits. She let him buy the house and let him spend whatever he wanted to let them decorate it however they wanted. She also let him spoil them on their birthdays but every other day they needed limits. They also agreed to raise their allowance, but only a little bit and they of course still had to do chores to earn it. And they both had to get jobs when they were old enough, even if it was just part time at the bakery.
"Thank you for the gifts!" Daniel said genuinely.
"We love you guys," Mia smiled. This was their family and they couldn't be happier.
***
Melissa Flores posted a photo
melissaflores nothing like christmas morning in london con mi amor
tagged: @twhiddleston
username her using spanglish makes me feel seen
miaflores I would appreciate photo credits mother
⤷melissaflores the only good thing that comes from my kids constantly being on their phones is that they get random shots like this of tom and I
⤷miaflores not what I meant but thanks