It's Christmas Day!!!
Luigi's concert last night lasted for 2 hours, and I fell asleep right after the intermission number when the kids were given a 20-minute break. After the concert, Callum went to the bathroom. When he wasn't around, Sam came to me just to tease me. She said when I was sleeping, my head was on Callum's shoulder and she caught him smiling. I told her it's not saying much.
We didn't really fight that night when she was "counselling" me about my relationship. I have to admit, she was kind of right, but she was wrong at the same time, or she could be wrong, because she doesn't know Luke at all.
Right now, we're having a Christmas Dinner at the backyard of the Mansion. I saw new faces, like, lots of them! I never thought I had so many relatives here in Ireland!
It reminded me of the dinner we had last October at Uncle Tom's house in Otley, that time when I just met my cousins and Ralph walked out and told me his secret? Yeah, that one!
Uncle Rob was saddened because he knows to himself that this will be the last Christmas Dinner that the McCarthys will have in this Mansion, since it will be sold in a few months. I mean, I do understand Uncle Rob, since he's the one living in this Mansion for years now. Dad admitted that this is the reason why we have all come together just this year, and why he and Uncle Tom have decided to come to Ireland just now. It just so happened that I too came to Great Britain this year.
Instrumental Irish music was playing. I think the first song playing was Docherty's Reel, which is what dad said he plays on his music player every St. Patrick's Day.
Callum and I decided to be isolated from everyone else because we feel awkward around them, since I am meeting them for the first time. While everybody else is celebrating Christmas in the backyard, Callum and I are just chilling out with Toby on the Front Yard, eating some biscuits and beef we stole from the dinner table.
Callum was giving most of his beef to Toby.
I gave a small laugh.
"That's really sweet, but give him all of your food, we're gonna have to go back in there to get you some more." I said, and I'm sure, I do not want to go back in there!
"Toby's a carnivore, Joe, it's alright!" he said, as he was giving more of his beef to the dog "How's your Christmas so far?"
"Christmas in Ireland?" I said.
"Why don't you go to your cousins anyway?" he asked "They don't bite! Besides, they're all English-speakers."
"Really?" I asked.
"All of your cousins are, actually, even Sam and her siblings," Callum explained "You will struggle to find people in Dublin who can speak Irish with a high degree of fluency."
"Dad's fluent in Irish, and he's from Yorkshire," I said "And now, he's trying to get me to learn the language too."
"That's because your dad is special, just like you-"
I turned to him, and he was smiling at me.
"Special, like, a person with a lot of capabilities?" he said "Just like you can speak four languages."
I shook my head.
"I speak four languages?" I asked "Dude, get your facts right! I only speak English and Filipino!"
"You're fluent in French, and you speak a little Mandarin-"
"Who said I'm fluent in French?! I didn't say that!" I said.
"Well," he shrugged "The people at Randolph say so."
"I'm only good in French, because I've been learning it for fun since I was six years old, but I'm not fluent with it!" I said.
Callum had nothing else to say. He just laughed it out afterwards.
"Has Samantha told you all about the leprechauns?" he asked.
"Dad told me once, but the only thing I know about leprechauns is that they're an old Irish folklore." I said "They kind of scare me though."
"Why?" he asked "They're completely harmless, and they're intelligent. Besides, they're these tiny creatures who would do anything to evade capture from humans."
I wanted to listen to Callum, because he sounds like he's quite a good "storyteller", so, I just nod at everything he's trying to tell me.
"You know the music playing right now?" he asked me about the music playing in the backyard.
"It sounds like the same music that's been playing for hours now?" I said "Because of the flutes, banjo and whistles?"
He nodded.
"Scarce O'Tatties, the music that's playing right now" he said "Which reminds me, Leprechauns are very keen musicians who play tin whistles, the fiddle and even the Irish Harp and various other Irish traditional instruments."
"You know so much about Irish culture," I said "You got that all from my dad?"
"Yeah" he said
"I never even knew dad had Irish roots until he told me on the plane from Manila to Leeds." I said.
"It's making me upset though."
"Learning Irish culture?" I asked "I think it's brilliant."
"Steve told me in the ferry that this may be his last time in Ireland." he said.
"Why?" I asked "He can come back if he wanted to!"
"Although he wants to come back someday, he can't." Callum said
"Why no-"
"It's complicated!" Callum said, as he began tearing up "You'll know someday."
***
Walking back to my room, one of my cousins introduced himself...
"Dia dhuit," I said
"Have you been avoiding us all evening?" he said
Yes! I have!
"No, I haven't." I replied
He smiled.
"I'm Conor, by the way." he said "Your father and my mother are cousins!!!"
I nodded.
"I know," I said, and then I shook his hand "Pleased to meet you!!!"
"You haven't been staying in Dublin for quite a while, have you?" he asked.
"Well, I'm only here for the Holidays," I replied.
"Exactly!" he said "Join us then!!!"
I shrugged.
"Where?" I asked.
***
My cousins and I were all inside the Game Room down the basement. I didn't realize I had so many cousins here. There are like seventeen kids in this room right now, and all of them are my cousins.
The younger ones, such as Luigi, are watching Home Alone 2: Lost in New York on the gigantic flat screen TV mounted on the wall, Hattie and the other girls are watching Love Actually on her laptop, JL, Simon and Ralph are playing Foosball, and I get to hang out with my cousins Sam, Conor, and another cousin of mine, Florence. We were sitting on the floor. The rest were playing ping-pong, video games, and some were just on their phones.
"Where's that kid Uncle Steve usually takes with him?" Florence asked.
"Ohh, you mean the one with grayish-green eyes and curly hair?" Conor asked.
"Yeah," Florence replied.
"Ohh, Callum?" Sam said
"Invite him in!!!" Florence said.
"I'll go fetch him then-" I said, and then I stood up, but Conor dragged me down...
"Don't!" he said.
"Why not?" Sam asked.
"Callum's not part of the family," Conor said, as he drank his coke.
Sam, Florence and I looked at him in shock.
How could he say that?!
"What?" Conor turned to us "It's true!"
"He's a nice guy," Florence said.
"I didn't say he was a bad guy!" Conor argued "I'm just saying he's not part of the family-"
"Oh yeah, well then, who's been looking after Uncle Steve all these years?!" Florence was getting furious.
"It's not my fault Uncle Tom and Uncle Steve's parents decided to move to England ages ago!" Conor's voice must've been quite loud, because JL, Simon and Ralph turned to him after they heard Conor mention their dad's name.
I didn't want to go against my cousin, but he was getting on my nerve, so, I had to say something.
"I'm actually glad they decided to move to England," I said.
"Why?" Conor asked.
"If they haven't, I wouldn't have met all of the people I treasure so much right now." I said, then people like Helena, Luke, JL, Ralph, Simon, and all of my friends in Randolph, even Hines, suddenly popped in my head.
"And you don't treasure us?!" Conor said.
"We just met!" I said "What do you expect me to say?!"
"I don't see anything wrong with Callum though," Florence said, as she drank her coke.
"Well, I do," Conor said "He's an orphan!"
Oh shit!
I turned to Ralph...
"What's wrong with being an orphan?!" Ralph yelled.
I think I'm the only one who knows that secret of his...
"Nothing, it's just that-"
"Ralph, calm down!" Simon said to his brother...or, adoptive brother? I really don't wanna go there!
"It's Christmas," Florence said "Why can't we all just be nice to each other?"
"And you, why can't you just shut up?!" Ralph said to Conor.
"Ralph, you need to shut up too!" JL said.
Ralph could be spiteful and shallow at times, but I never knew he was so straight-forward until now.
"Let's just get out of here," JL said, as he and his brothers stepped out of the room.
Conor scoffed.
"Can you even believe those three?" Conor turned to me "No offense to you, but honestly, our relatives living here in Dublin were never close to your family living in Yorkshire-"
"Conor!" Florence yelled.
I was slowly tearing up, because I felt bullied by this "cousin" or "family member" of mine.
"The last time your uncle and your dad came here was eleven years ago," Conor won't stop talking.
"That's it, you need to go somewhere else," Sam said.
"But, I was just-"
"GO!" Sam said.
"Alright!" Conor stood up and then he stepped out.
"You should know Conor," Florence said "You get used to it!"
"Conor's quite selfish in terms of family," Sam said
"We all got used to it, really." Florence said.
"That's okay," I said "I know some people back in the Philippines who's been through that."
I thought of Jenna. When she and her family moved to Australia, her grandfather died, and they couldn't come home. Since then, Jenna and her family had been coined "selfish" and "unconcern" by the rest of their family members in the Philippines, since they did not come home when her grandfather died.
***
We were all asked to come to the backyard by our parents, and then some of us (just some) were given these things, I don't know what they're called actually. They're like these huge candies? Or, maybe they just look like candies.
"Everyone, grab a partner!!!" Uncle Rob said.
"Callum!" I grabbed Callum immediately, even though I know to myself that none of my cousins will, since according to Conor just earlier tonight, they're not really that close to OUR family, like, with dad and Uncle Tom. So, what more if Callum is not a part of our own family at all?
"What is this anyway?" I asked Callum.
"Christmas crackers," Callum replied.
"In the UK, we call them bon-bons." Hattie said. She was just beside us so, she could clearly hear us.
"So, what do we do with it?" I asked.
"Basically, like, you just try to pull at one tip, and I'll pull the other," Callum explained.
"The person with the larger portion of cracker empties the contents from the tube and keeps them." Rick, my 13 year-old cousin, and Hattie's partner, explained.
I tried to shake the cracker, so that I could hear the contents, or to see if something is really inside.
"What's in this anyway?" I asked.
"Usually, small strips papers with jokes and riddles on them," Hattie said
"And, of course, a present." Rick said.
Callum smiled at me, and he held the cracker at one tip, ready to pull.
"There's always a paper crown in there," Callum said "Do you wanna pull now?"
I wanted someone to go before us so that I could see what happens and stuff...
"Could you guys go first so that I can see?" I asked Hattie.
Without further due, she and Rick pulled the cracker. Hattie got the larger portion of the cracker.
"What'd you get?" Luigi approached Hattie.
"I got-" Hattie pulled out the small gift out of the cracker "A measuring tape?"
Luigi, Rick, Callum and I started laughing.
"What are you gonna do with that?" Luigi was teasing her sister.
"Where's yours then?!" Hattie said to Luigi.
"I didn't get anything!" Luigi replied "I lost to Morgan!"
"At least I got something!" Hattie said, and then she sticked her tongue out.
I turned to Callum.
"Let's pull it?" I asked.
He smiled at me.
"I'll let you keep the contents of it, whether you win or not," he said.
"You don't have to!" I said
"Why not?" he asked.
"Because I'm gonna get the larger part anyway!" I said, and then I started to pull hard. Callum was quite strong. He was pulling hard as well.
It wasn't long enough before some of my cousins and, of course, the adults, started approaching us. Maybe they want to witness my very first "bon-bon pulling".
"Gosh, this is hard!" Callum said, and then...
BOOM!
The cracker snapped!
The people watching started to applaud afterwards.
I looked, and then...
"Oh shoot!" I said.
I was surprised! I got the centre chamber of the cracker! Meaning, I get to keep whatever's inside.
"What did you get, Johanna?" dad asked.
Callum leaned to me as I was trying to get all of the contents out of the tube. I handed him the pieces of paper inside, and there were lots of them! I was only after the small gift.
"I got a-" and then I found it "A plastic crystal ring."
"First bon-bon, isn't it?" Aunt Ava, dad's cousin, asked.
"Yeah," I said.
"And you got a purple crown!!!" Ralph said, as he took the folded purple paper crown from Callum and placed it on my head.
"Oh, yay! My favorite color!!!" I said.
"May I have a look at your jokes?" Sam said, as she took one of the strips of papers from Callum and read it out loud...
"I have keys but no locks and feet but no socks, what am I?" Sam read the paper.
Florence leaned to Sam so that she could see what's written on it...
"That's not a joke, you idiot! That's a riddle!" Florence said.
"Well, Joe," Sam said "Can you answer it?"
"Keys, but no locks..." I mouthed "What is this? I'm confused!"
My relatives were laughing afterwards.
"It's a riddle!!!" Callum said.
"That's the point, you're supposed to be confused!!!" Uncle Tom said.
I'm not gonna waste my time on this.
"I'll pass," I said.
"Here's a clue!" Callum said "Last night, during Luigi's concert, you told me "It's been a while since I played that right there!""
I raised an eyebrow.
"That?" I asked.
"What he meant was you referred something to him," JL said.
I turned to Callum in confusion.
"Did I?" I asked.
I tried to remember...
"I have keys but no locks and feet but no socks, what am I?" Sam kept on repeating the riddle.
It wasn't long enough until everyone else started repeating after her, which is quite unusual for me.
"It's been a while since I played that?! That!" Oh My Gosh! I got it!!! "A piano!!!"
"YES!!!" Sam said.
Everyone was happy afterwards.
And then we all opened presents, talked more, Conor and I reconciled, and he apologized to my cousins and I, and Callum too.
That's when I realized I just had the best Christmas I've ever had my entire life. That moment, the moment when I was trying to figure the riddle out, that's when I realized I have a great family. I somehow wish I've met them years ago. I am very grateful I've met these wonderful people, and, of course, I'm very grateful that they're my family. At least now I know I have tons of people who's got my back all the time.