Christmas here in Australia was far different from the few I've spent in Northern California with my mum's family. It snowed there and Christmas was always chilly. Sure, all the shops were decorated similarly and Christmas trees were up, but it never felt the same.
Christmas is always portrayed as cold in movies, and the snow is made out to be romantic. As much as I loved the aesthetic of the snow and watching it fall from inside, with a cup of hot chocolate, I overall preferred the warmer weather that we had in Australia. The snow was like a nice little treat I liked to enjoy every so often.
The only downside of the warmer weather here is that it never felt like Christmas. I know I should be used to the seasons being different here, considering I've lived here since I was two. I guess I always expected it to be the way you see it on television and in movies.
We alternated Christmas with my grandmum in Northern California and staying here in Australia. All of my dad's family had passed away when he was younger, so when we spent Christmas here it was always with the Irwins. My mum had her mum, great aunts, and some cousins and we'd all gather at my grandmum's.
Both the smaller Christmas' here in Australia and the bigger ones in California were nice, and I was glad we alternated them. My grandmum and her sisters booked a Christmas cruise this year, which was a typical "old lady" thing for them. But I'll admit, I was slightly jealous of them being able to travel. I've always wanted to see the world, most of the travelling I've done was back and forth between Australia and California, or whatever travelling I did with the Irwins for conservation trips.
I grabbed my phone, squinting at it with my half-awake eyes and checking the time. It was only 8:30. I smiled to myself, knowing that this meant I had some time to myself in bed since my uncle wasn't coming over until 10 to open presents.
I curled up on my side carefully as I could feel Tiger down by my legs. Mum must have let him in when she got up. This made my heart happy, for my cat to want to cuddle up with me. It always made me feel special when he chose to be with me, and I knew that if he wanted to cuddle with me while I was still asleep, he would meow at my mum and sit by my door until she let him in, or until he woke me up and I let him in. He must've done this last night and I didn't hear him.
I looked through my notifications from overnight to see that Robert had already texted me to say good morning. I texted him back.
Tarzan: good morning beautiful :)
Me: well good morning to you too handsome :)
Tarzan: can't wait to see you later! We have a pile of gifts under the tree for you and your family
Me: I think you stole that idea from me lol
Tarzan: you wish ;)
Me: well I'll see you later. I'll let you know how lunch with my uncle goes
I groaned, remembering that that was going to be a big part of my day.
Speaking of lunch, I could smell my mum cooking downstairs. I could tell that she was making traditional American food, which I knew she loved to make every so often to remind her of her family and traditions. I imagined she was making a bit more food with my uncle being here as well.
I know she mentioned doing ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, roasted vegetables, and yams. We had the cookies too. At least I had something good about lunch to look forward to.
I got up and went to my closet, trying to figure out what to wear. Part of me wanted to wear a simple dress, but the other part of me wanted to wear something a bit more practical. I texted Robert.
Me: I don't know what to wear
Tarzan: sometimes you're such a girl lol what are your options?
Me: maybe cause I am a girl? light blue dress with a snowflake pattern or jeans and a Christmas shirt
Tarzan: I mean, you're just seeing you're uncle today and then spending time with my family, no need to really dress up
Me: yeah, you're right. jeans it is. thanks!
I giggled at the fact that Robert was the one that I went to for things like this. Maybe once things get sorted with Cait and our families (well, family?), she and I could be this close too.
I pulled out a pair of light blue mom jeans and a shirt that had a koala with a Santa hat on it.
I took my time getting dressed and doing my hair, which I put in a simple braid. It was nice to be able to get dressed and ready without being in a rush like I seem to be on most days.
I made sure to switch my watch band to a thicker one that would hide my fresh cuts better. I can't imagine my mum finding out that I did it again today. She didn't take it well when she found out that I did it, and I didn't want to deal with a similar situation possibly ruining the day for me. Or her.
It was around 9:30 by the time I was done and I made my way downstairs.
"Good morning, sweetheart," my mum said as I walked into the kitchen. She was chopping vegetables and putting them in a container to put in the fridge until closer to lunch. "I'm just getting things prepped since the ham had to be in the oven early. Your uncle should be here soon, then we're going to do gifts and then you can help me with the rest of the cooking."
"Sounds good. And then after lunch, we're going to the Irwins, right?" I asked, wanting to double-check that that was still the plan. I knew there was no reason that the plan would have changed, but my anxiety and my mum being unpredictable lately wasn't a good mixture.
"Yes. You're uncle is going to go back to where he's staying when we leave for the Irwins', he doesn't want to impose too much and I figure he could come to the zoo and meet them sometime in the next week, probably after we get things sorted with Cait's mum and her and all that."
I nodded, going to the fridge and grabbing some juice.
"Speaking of your uncle, I offered for him to stay with us. He's been at a hotel and it gets expensive after a while, so I said he could take over your dad's old office that Elaine stayed in, the other spare room is a bit too girly for him."
I stopped what I was doing and looked up. Of course, she was wanting to make a big drastic change.
"Sure," I said, not bothering to hide any hint of an attitude in my voice.
"Ashley, come on. I know I hid the fact that you had a whole uncle from you, but you're going to have to get over it. Plus, you and he might get on better than you think. Maybe he'll be your Funcle." She laughed at the last part. Robert came up with that term when Bindi was pregnant with Grace. It was a mash-up of "fun" and "uncle", and he was determined to be Grace's Funcle.
I sighed. I knew she was probably right, and that I should get over my resentment about her lying. It wasn't like I was mad at her, I know that adults sometimes do things to protect their kids as well as they can, but I couldn't help being angry or frustrated. I also knew that having an uncle and a cousin would probably be nice and that it would be better if I just made an equal effort to get to know my uncle.
It wasn't good to be so angry, especially about something that I had no way of changing. Plus it was the holidays, which were supposed to be about family anyway.
"You're right, mum. I'm sorry. I'll try to be better about it and make an effort. I know you just did what was best for me," I said.
She came over and gave me a little side hug while I poured my juice.
"There's some fruit you can snack on in there, but per usual we starve until the food is ready," she said, laughing. I laughed too.
I decided against snacking on anything, figuring there was going to be plenty to eat once everything was ready.
I heard the sliding door open and looked up to see my Uncle James walking through the door.
"Well, good morning you two, and Merry Christmas," he said, carefully closing the door behind him.
"Merry Christmas, James," my mum said, stopping what she was doing to drink some water from her metal water bottle. She and my Uncle both turned to look at me.
"Uh, Merry Christmas," I said awkwardly. My mum gave me a half-pleased smile.
Uncle James sat down at the table, and I noticed he had a couple of packages wrapped in candy cane-striped wrapping paper. He gently set them down on the table, looking up at me as he did.
"Why don't we go open presents? What do you say, Laurie?" He gave me a subtle wink before looking over at my mum.
They looked very similar, they had the same facial structure and cheekbones that they got from my grandmum. My mum favoured her more though, and she had the same coloured hair and eyes, dirty blonde and green, which I also inherited. My uncle looked more like my grandfather and had rusty-coloured hair and brown eyes.
Cait did resemble him, with the shape of her face. And their hair matched, I could tell Elaine had died hers red and it was naturally dark brown. Cait definitely got Elaine's eyes. Or was the green from my grandmum's side?
Who knew, but she definitely resembled my Uncle, more than she resembled her "dad". It would be crazy for Elaine to think James wasn't Cait's dad.
After a few moments of hesitation, my mum sighed, saying "Oh, all right. We were waiting for you to get here anyway." She turned and headed towards the living room and motioned for us to follow her.
My uncle got up first and followed my mum, and I trailed behind slowly. The presents scattered around the tree looked pretty, and I hated the idea of how big of a mess opening everything was going to be. My mum must have sensed this because she held up a rubbish bag as she sat down on the couch. I sat down on the floor in front of the tree, as it was a tradition in my family for me to read the names written on the gifts and pass them out.
I started off by giving one that was from me to my mum, and one from her to my uncle. I opened one from her, which turned out to be a pair of handmade clay earrings from another Australian artist, which featured a Christmas pattern with koalas and kangaroos.
We opened presents, me handing them out and us taking turns opening them- mum, Uncle James, and me. There weren't that many gifts, as they were mostly from me, mum, Cait, Elaine, and a few from my mum's family. Poor Uncle James had even less to open, as I didn't get him anything, and I was sure my mum's family weren't betting on him being here either.
I got the earrings and a matching bath and body set from my mum, gouache paints and watercolour notebooks from my Uncle, a koala squishmallow from Cait and her mum, and various other art supplies from my grandmum and great aunts.
Some timer in the kitchen went off, and my mum quickly got up to get it. I figured that now that our presents were opened, my mum was probably wanting to get lunch made and eaten soon. She wasn't the type to freak out over schedules and deadlines as I did, but she didn't like being late either, and I'm sure she knew how important today was for me with releasing Noosa so she didn't want to get too off schedule.
I picked up the last few pieces of wrapping paper, shoving them in the trash bag. My Uncle James sat on the couch, flipping through a book my mum had got him.
"Thank you," I said, "for the paints. I've been wanting to try them."
I felt awkward, but I wanted it to be known both to him and my mum that I was making an effort.
I got up and walked over to the stairs, setting my Christmas gifts in a basket at the bottom that Mum and I used for transporting things up and down stairs. It really came in handy sometimes, as it made it easier for either of us to bring a lot of stuff upstairs or back down. There were even a few times when I was sick that I rigged it up like a pulley system on the top steps so Robert could bring me cough drops and whatnot when I've been sick.
I smiled at the memory as I organised my little pile of gifts, before walking into the kitchen where my mum was.
"Okay, sweetheart, you ready to start cooking?" Mum said after noticing that I walked in.
"Yes, I'm starving," I said, laughing. Mum put some Christmas music on her phone, connecting it to the speakers we had in the living room and putting it at a lower volume so it was more just like background music.
Mum put the tray of vegetables in the oven, checking on the ham at the same time. I started peeling potatoes while Mum ran around the kitchen doing other odds and ends.
"Oh, you know what would've been great to have today?" Mum said as I put the peeled and chopped potatoes in a large pot so they could be boiled.
"What's that?" I asked.
"The cherry trifle your dad would make," she said, turning the stove on. I could hear a tinge of sadness in her voice. It never got easier not having my dad around for the holidays or birthdays, even though it's been 8 years now since he passed in 2013. I knew that with time it'll get better, but I guess it was going to take a lot of time.
"Yeah, that would've been great," I said.
I thought about how weird it was that my Uncle never even got to meet my dad, yet here is he spending Christmas with us and going to take over my dad's old office as his bedroom.
I shook my head, almost as if I was trying to shake the anger away. I went and got my cup off of the table and rinsed it out so I could refill it with water.
The food was smelling amazing so far, and Mum and I were standing in the kitchen snacking on some meat, cheese, fruit, and crackers that she pulled out while everything cooks. James was standing in the kitchen with us, but I could tell he was standing a bit more off to the side, and I appreciated that he was giving Mum and me some space, and respecting my boundaries so far.
"So, are you excited about releasing Noosa?" Mum asked, bending slightly so her elbows were sort of resting on the counter as she snacked.
"Well of course! It's going to be so special, especially with Robert and me swimming with her," I said excitedly. I could see my uncle smiling out of the corner of my eye.
"She is so much like you when you were young," he said to my mum. I smiled slightly.
"I think she's more like her dad," Mum said, smiling at me.
"I like to think I'm an equal mix of both," I said, smiling proudly.
"Well, I wish I could be there to see the turtle release, that seems like quite the adventure," my uncle said. I was trying to work out if he was like my mum and I, in love with animals, or if he had a different passion in life.
"Yeah, it's always an adventure around here. But I wouldn't have it any other way," Mum said. I nodded in agreement, helping myself to some of the snacks.
"So, what is your plan here?" I asked my Uncle. "As in like, a career?"
"Well, I do like animals, but nowhere near as much as you and your mom. I wouldn't mind working at the zoo, but I don't see myself being anywhere near as hands-on as you two," he said.
"Well, if that is what you decide to do, I'm sure Terri can find something for you. We're always needing help in any and every department," Mum said.
I nodded, but I couldn't figure out how I felt about working with my Uncle, or if he was even cut out for any of the jobs offered at Australia Zoo.
Mum turned around and started doing things with the food again, mashing the potatoes, making gravy, and pulling the ham out.
Once everything was done, she set it all on little placemats on the kitchen island. I grabbed plates and silverware, setting them on one end of the island. This is how we did our holiday meals, everything was set up on the island and it was like a buffet situation.
We loaded our plates with food and sat down at the dinner table. My mum wasn't religious, and neither was my dad when he was alive, so we never really prayed before eating. That didn't change today, and I was glad. I wasn't a fan of religion, and it never made sense to me that a god who loved everyone and everything would let so many bad things happen in the world he created.
The food was amazing, and there were a few times when I had to stop and slow down, as I knew I was eating quickly because I was so excited to go see Robert and release Noosa, and I thought that the quicker I ate, the quicker we could head over to their house.
A/N: Hey guys! I'm considering making a Spotify playlist for some of the songs that sum up the book, songs that they listen to, or songs that describe them/their relationship and whatnot. Would anyone be interested in that? Let me know in the comments!