The awkward time spent under the tree at the bonfire was quickly forgotten by the pair thanks to their high alcohol intakes and even a little bit of cross fading. With help of the induced amnesia the pair was completely back to normal. No attempts of kissing. No awkward stares. Nothing.
They survived all the way to the holiday season. Christmas was fast approaching, in one day, in fact. The house had been buzzing with anxiety as they had to emotionally prep for the hurricane coming under the name of Amora. Better known as Pandora and Liz's mom.
Pandora was especially struggling as Zac had been trying to convince her that Christmas was the "perfect" time for her to introduce him to her family. She thought his pleas were the "perfect" time for her to avoid any conversation even pertaining to the holiday.
Pandora was reluctantly waken up from her peaceful sleep to a call from Zac. She blindly grabbed for her phone, knocking over a throw pillow in the process. When she finally grabbed it, she instantly silenced it, not without silently ranting to herself how dumb it was to not have her phone on vibrate like she usually does. She blindly trusts that she answered the call and moved it to her ear without even knowing who it was.
"Mmmm," she practically whined with an unpleasant crack in her voice.
"Sorry about waking you at 12 o'clock in the afternoon," Zac apologized, but Pandora could hear his smile.
"Did you call me to insult my sleep schedule?" she grumbled, finger already hovering over the bottom of the phone she knows where the trusty red button resides.
"I called to ask if I could come over, or we could go out," Zac told and she groaned as she flopped to lay on her back. She laid her arm over her eye, still trying to block the sun.
"Nah... I gotta clean up and cook and shit..." she sleepily droned and then huffed a loud yawn. "My parents're coming for the holidays and the house has been a cluster fuck." She was too tired to realize the land mine she stepped on.
"Speaking of-"
"Zac," she groaned.
"I'm letting you meet my parents," he knowingly interrupted Pandora slow coming rant.
"Zac, trust me when I say: it's different when it comes to my mom," she lowly urged, "We've only been together for like a month and change, my mom wouldn't understand that," she tried to tell Zac in another way he could possibly understand better. Pandora couldn't imagine the anxiety associated with even attempting to introduce a boy to her family so soon. When Liz announced she was going to live with Jay to the family after a solid six years of dating everyone still acted like it was the most outlandish thing they've ever heard of.
"Alright, you're probably right," he finally agreed, "I'll call you back whenever you get enough sleep, Baby Girl," he said softly.
"Okay, I'll talk to you later," she mumbled, her tiredness overshadowing her relief, before quickly ended the call. She sighed and flipped onto her stomach to go back to sleep to prolong her anxiety a little longer.
🌻
Pandora abruptly got woken up by a slam to her side with her throw pillow she had left abandoned on the floor.
"Get up, we gotta clean the house up," Liz dryly demanded as her voice went into a decrescendo. Pandora lazily hummed, barely moving. "Get up or you'll get another hit," Liz warned and Pandora finally moved to flip her sister off.
She opened her eyes to a squint and looked at the time on her phone. The screen burned her eyes as the time shone 12:46 p.m. She groaned and lazily sat up easily resembling a mummy. She went to shuffle on to the bathroom to fulfill her usual morning routine.
She could already hear Liz and Jay making plans for the day as she started on her way downstairs.
"How much longer?" she asked as she joined the couple leaning on their breakfast table, facing her.
"Mom called a hour ago saying that they were going to be on their way after making sure her, dad, and grandma have everything prepared," Liz distantly told as she tapped her pen on a paper laid in front of her.
"So that's about five more hours," Jay added considerably, not wanting to hear Pandora's impending struggle with the simple math.
"What are you guys doing now?" Pandora asked as she rounded the table. The list was titled LAST MINUTE THINGS in Liz's short bubbly writing. Under it listed things like NEW THROW PILLOWS, THROW BLANKETS and other things for the betterment of the house.
"Last minute shopping," Jay told as he gestured to the list under him.
"Jay's gonna run to Pier 1 and wherever else he needs to go to get more stuff for the house and I'm gonna stay back and cook while you clean your room and then the living room and basement," Liz told the plans as she lifted the pen up and tapped her lip. Pandora groaned as she as she leaned on her own elbows.
"Why am I stuck with cleaning duty?" she whined as she draped herself over her arms.
"Because you're the one making the messes," Jay accused and she scoffed as she sat back up. She placed her hand to her heart.
"Very rude," she countered. He smirked as he reached past Liz to pinch Pandora's cheek.
"You know I love you, brat," he teased as she fought him off.
"Fuck off, weirdo," she grumbled as she leaned over the counter.
"Okay, anyway," Liz interrupted with her arms out separating the pair. "When mom and dad get here I'm going food shopping with mom to make sure I have everything for Christmas," she began rambling to herself as she continued her glare on the paper below her. "We're gonna start cooking and Aunt Vivian, her husbands and kids should be here by then. Then, Uncle Lionel..." Pandora left her to continue her rambling to find food.
This year was Liz's first time hosting Christmas dinner. Thanksgiving and Christmas was a big deal to the Joyner family and close friends. Christmas always had a special spot in the host family's heart though. The holiday dinners had been traditionally held at the girls' old house with their mom as host ever since she came to America. Their mom decided this was the year to pass the torch to them, but more specifically Liz. As co-head of the house, she has to prove that she and Jay are competent enough to host a dinner despite their "hasty" move in together. Even Jay's family was going to come because it was given that it was his first year hosting too. Both Joyner and Tremont families had a lot to look forward to from the young couple.
Liz was taking it as well as one can expect.
"I still don't understand why we need all of that shot for the living room," Pandora commented as she pulled out pancakes that she and Jay made the day before.
"When mom came up for Thanksgiving she made this comment on how it's "interesting" that we hadn't changed our decor since we moved in," Jay told as he ran his hands over his waves. Pandora obnoxiously snorted as she shrugged.
"Damn, we can't escape her," she chuckled as she scratched her head.
"Yeah, she gives me a damn headache," Liz mumbled as she finally stood up. She folded the list up and tucked it in Jay's pocket.
"It's cold as hell too," he complained as he stood up along Liz. He threw a hoodie on and he gathered his other belongings. "Alright, I'll see you guys," he sighed as he wrapped his arm around Liz's waist. He gave her a quick peck on her cheek before leaving the kitchen. Goodbyes from the sisters followed behind.
"Bye baby."
"See you, Jay."
"After you eat, you gotta clean," Liz ordered with a finger in Pandora face. Pandora heavily sighed as she threw her head back.
The cleaning was easy with Pandora being able to blast her music in her earphones. She finished her room and began her journey down to the living room with what appeared to be a decent amount of time to spare.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket interrupting her music as she was halfway done with sweeping the stairs. She pulled her phone out to be faced with her dad's caller ID. It had only been about four hours since their game plan meeting. Her heart sped up as she anticipated the household's dreaded update. Only it was much worse than expected.
"Hey daddy," she greeted, trying make her voice sound as relax as she could.
"Hey, baby," he replied, "We're about ten minutes away now."
Pandora's heart indefinitely dropped. "Oh."
"Yeah, your mom had called when we were about three, four hours in..." her dad continued to casually tell their early morning antics as Pandora threw the broom down to run down the rest of the stairs. She sprinted, slipped, and slid her way to Liz in the kitchen and put the phone on mute.
"They're ten minutes away!" Pandora panted as she slammed her hands on the breakfast counter.
"Who?" Liz questioned back just as panicked. The front door creaked open announcing Jay's return.
"Mom and dad!"
"What happened?" Jay panicked.
"They're ten minutes away!" Liz told and Jay dropped his bags from his hands.
"...But you know your mom, always distracted with the next thing," the girl's dad concluded and Pandora took him off mute put him on speaker.
She forced a chuckle, "Yeah, I know," she agreed. "Are y'all really already ten minutes away?" she nervously inquired as she looked in between Jay and Liz. Liz went back to furiously chopping vegetables and practically chucking it in the blender and Jay began his rush of getting his purchases.
"Yeah, well, she wants to stop by your Aunt Neh..." everyone heard the answer and a simultaneous deflate spread throughout the house, "so that'll add on however many hours you think that would take."
Pandora could actually laugh, "Okay."
He joined in laughter, "I'll see you, baby."
"See you." She ended the call with another sigh. "Okay, that's definitely more time."
"More time for you to help me with the living room," Jay beamed as he placed his bags in hand down.
Pandora groaned as she she trudged over to the living room.
~
Jay and Pandora were just finishing putting the living room together. That didn't mean that when the doorbell rang everyone didn't panic. Pandora ran to the remote to put the news on to establish relaxation as Jay and Liz did the last touches to the kitchen and living. Pandora lifted a throw blanket, letting it unfold and then dropped it casually on the couch. The perfect balance of clean, but lived in. All so their parents can assume it was always like that, of course.
Pandora ran to the door and cleared her throat. "Who is it?" she asked.
"Your parents!" the girls' mom's sing-song voice rang.
"And grandma!" their grandmother feebly added.
Pandora laughed as she opened the door. She rushed to hug her parents, one in each arm. "Hi, mom, dad."
"Hi, my Dora," her mom gushed while her dad heartily groaned in the hug. She then moved to her grandma, having to bend down to tuck her head in the crook of her neck.
"Hey grandma."
She laughed at the silent joke of her short height as Pandora stepped back. "Hey, Panny," her grandma gushed as she pinched her cheeks.
"Hey, y'all!" Liz yelled as she reached the door. She went through the same motions as Pandora and Jay followed only changing the pattern with a firm handshake with the girls' dad.
"Sis Viv isn't here yet?" their mom questioned as she looked around the redecorated living room.
"No, still a hour away," Liz told as she nervously tried to read the judging eyes of her mother.
"Let me go get your guys' bags," Jay offered and went out.
"I'll help," their dad added and left the girls by themselves in the doorway.
"Still no ring huh?" their mom slyly commented as she walked into the house more. Her eyes freely ran over the entire living room and even spared a glimpse at the kitchen. Pandora turned her lips up in a pout as she slowly wandered away from the scene.
"Yes, mom," Liz sighed as she followed her.
"Eight years-"
"Yes, mom, I know."
"Just making sure..."
Jay entered with a grunt and two suitcases, a duffel bag, and a book bag on his person.
"Ms Michelle, you and your husband are in Liz and mine's room and Grandma you'll be in our guest room," Jay told politely before making his dangerous trek upstairs.
"He's a nice boy, Tweety. Give him time," their grandma lowly spoke as she walked to the couch. Their mom sighed as she crossed her arms over her chest. Their dad walked in with a suitcase and two duffel bags. He gave a smile to the girls before following Jay upstairs. Pandora privately sighed to herself already imagining her mom's attitude times ten with her sisters and friends around for what seemed like the biggest Christmas dinner for both the Joyner and Tremont families.
Let the Christmas break begin.
🌻
I am so sorry for the delay. I actually wanted this chapter to be longer and include actual Christmas, but I knew I wouldn't be done anytime soon so hope you like what I could do so far. I promise the next chapter will be better. Hope you enjoyed.
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Temporary Riddance✨