"Tis the season to be jolly!" Sumaya exclaimed sarcastically as we unpacked boxes in our new apartment.
By the end of November my dad and our mothers had so kindly purchased an apartment leaving Sumaya and I one fifth of the total price each to pay. They called it our Christmas gift.
I was excited not only to be a homeowner but also because I was no longer under my parents' roof. Yay! Independence!
However I had to agree with Sumaya's sarcasm. My boyfriend was going to spend the holidays in South Africa with his dad. Our first real holiday apart.
We had come far since the signing of the Work Couple agreement after that eventful weekend. We were going out in public and it was weird at first having other women look at me with such envy. Dom of course was oblivious to the deadly glares I was getting as well as the women who so blatantly flirted with him in front of me.
It was even weirder at the office because we were maintaining strictly professional interactions as everyone else watched our every move. Like that one time the intern came to the top floor and Dom was by my desk simply asking where Paba was. The poor girl hopped back on the elevator and apologized profusely for interrupting. Interrupting what?
We had one big mouthed HR guy to thank for that. He had put two and two together after seeing Dom and I with our respective lawyers emerge from the HR manager's office. He then caught a glimpse of the contract with both our signatures and that of our lawyers. The next day I was greeted with stares, people huddled together whispering and then suddenly stop when I got close enough and the worse part of it all, I got the 'boss' girlfriend' treatment from colleagues.
It got better in time for the holidays. I was conveniently distracted by Sumaya's divorce proceedings. Stupid Kobby originally refused to cooperate out of court and sign the divorce papers. In his words, he still loved Sumaya and was willing to make their marriage work that he would even, here is my favorite part, 'dump the girl he was currently seeing for Sumaya in a heartbeat'.
My frustrated sister almost reached across the table to strangle him. My dad was the one holding her back. I thought it would be the other way around. The next time dad advised aunt Jamila be present for 'hand holding'. We both knew he meant he needed her there to help him restrain their daughter.
Aside that divorce drama November went by smoothly and here we were a week from Christmas moving into our new apartment. Dom kindly helped with carrying our plenty boxes into the apartment and even dragged Chris along to help.
We had spent the beginning of December painting and decorating the apartment. My room's interior decor was inspired by my designer boyfriend. Dom was a genius. Light blue and white chevron walls, peach curtains and a touch of bronze. And what did he get me for a housewarming gift? Only the most comfortable leather arm chair which was currently sitting in the corner of my bedroom. Great gift to encourage my obsession with cuddling with Dom.
Almara of course had come up with the interior decor of Sumaya's bedroom and since she had good taste I agreed when Sumaya suggested we let her do our living room too. Almara and I had been trying to get along since we kept bumping into each other at Dom's house. We regretted being civil to each other when the guys decided we go on a double date. According to Dom, both our responses were still pending. When hell freezes over.
"Kerry, your mother is blowing up your phone and in a few minutes she will be calling me to reach you" Sumaya just as I heard her ringtone blasting from the living room where she was.
"Hold on, aunt Seli" Sumaya said as she approached my room and handed me her phone.
"Mum, I left my phone in the living room. I'm still organizing my clothes into my wardrobe" I explained before she could even demand for me to do so.
"Well I just called to say I've missed you terribly. Come visit me next weekend" she said.
"Next weekend is Christmas, mum. Just say you want me to spend Christmas with you" I rolled my eyes heavenward and hoped she could hear my eyes roll.
"Oh how sweet of you to suggest it. Christmas Day with me then you can have Boxing Day with your father" she said cheerfully. I didn't suggest it, I wanted to say.
"And what about this weekend, don't you want to see your mother this weekend?" This was a trap and I knew it.
"Ha. You need someone to do some paperwork. Get your own administrative assistant else I'd ask Dom to start charging you for working me over the weekend"
"He can't charge me for what I originally gave to you. My genes are the reason you even have this skill set"
"Mum, it takes two people to make a baby. Give dad some credit. Anyway, now that you mention it if I inherited your skill set, why aren't you doing this work yourself?"
"Bloody lawyer question. I blame your father for making you question me like this"
I could not help but laugh. "See you on Christmas Eve, mum"
I hang up the phone and went to Sumaya who had opened up a bottle of red wine. I grabbed a wine glass and joined her at our cute round dining table that could seat four people.
"Why are we drinking?" I asked as I placed her phone by her side.
"Because this is my first Christmas without my husband who by the way is an idiot. Now because of me, you're not going to South Africa to be with Dom during the holidays"
"You're my sister, dummy. I'm happy spending Christmas with you. You need me"
"Kerry, do you still feel like you owe me?"
"Everyday, Sumaya, everyday. You saved my life"
"I don't want you sacrificing your own happiness just because you feel indebted to me. Besides I keep reminding you that I was part of the problem"
"Okay, you've had enough to drink" I took the glass from her and emptied it into the sink. I leaned against the counter that held the sink. "My addiction was my way of dealing with a bad situation. You didn't force me to take those pills. I could have gone to Alexa, Damien, dad or even your mum for help but I chose to take pills instead. Can we not continue talking about this?"
"Okay. Almara is passing by. Just wanted to give you a heads up"
"I see her there, I see her here. I'm going to go Christmas shopping with Alexa" I waved my hands in annoyance.
"One more thing, Kerry. Promise you won't freak out" Sumaya started to say stopping me in my tracks.
"Yaya? What is it?"
"Almara may have mentioned that Chris may have mentioned that Dom may have mentioned that... you two have not yet... Eherm" Sumaya said watching me as my back tensed and I spun around to face her, eyes widened.
"Dom is dead" I grabbed my purse.
"Kerry, we're just talking. Come on sister to sister, tell me what's going on"
"Right after I kill Dom" I said and raced down to the parking lot. I got into car and drove straight to his house. Chris opened the door, I said a curt hello and marched to Dom's bedroom. He was fast asleep.
I set my alarm to ring just seconds later and held the phone to his ear. It blasted and I watched him jump out of his slumber. He almost cussed at me before seeing who rudely woke him up and before I got a chance to scold him, he pulled me onto the bed and held me against him.
"There are much much more civil ways of waking me" he said, his voice still groggy from sleep. I released myself from his embrace, got up from the bed and faced him,still rubbing sleep out of his eyes.
"How dare you?" I was standing above him now.
"Okay, what did I do?" He sat at the edge of his bed facing me.
"You told Chris about our sex life" I said and whispered the last bit of my sentence.
"Our non-existent sex life. Yes I did. Lucas and Tim are also in the know" he said casually.
"Oh my goodness, Dom. You're going to give me a stroke. Why would you go telling them such details?"
"They sort of guessed. These guys know me pretty well so I didn't deny it. I just told them we were waiting. Chris said something about girls now doing a ninety-day-wait-thing, that's not what you're doing right?"
"Why didn't you just lie like normal guys do?"
"It's no big deal. They may not get it but they will respect our wishes and not make a big deal out of it. I promise"
"Chris told Almara and Almara told Sumaya and now Sumaya is waiting at home to have a sisterly talk with me about it"
"Okay so you're mad Almara knows?"
"No. I just don't like private details about our relationship being shared so easily" I explained.
"Listen" he stood up and wrapped his arms around me in an embrace, "It's just different. I'm used to girls throwing themselves at me and giving it up so easily. Same for my friends. It's a little hard to grasp we've been together this while and we haven't been intimate. I know why you need to wait and that's all that matters"
"I guess I was just embarrassed but please less sharing in the future, okay?"
"Our first disagreement. We handled it like pros" he pulled back and smiled at me.
"I never asked if you were really okay waiting like this?" I said to him.
"I'm not going to lie. It's been rough" he looked up at the ceiling then locked gazes with me.
"If I haven't said it before, thank you for being such a gentleman" I brushed my lips against his.
"You have no idea what goes on in my head. My mind is not a gentleman" he said then pulled away.
"So now that we've dealt with that, what are you getting me for Christmas?" I laughed and sat on his bed.
"Something" he chuckled and sat in the arm chair across from me.
"Why are you sitting all the way over there?" I pouted.
"All that talk about our non existent sex life has my hormones on a high. Give me a minute to restrain myself from taking you right here and now"
"Dom!"
"Honesty is the best policy" he said with that wicked grin of his and a twinkle in his eye.
****************************************************************************************************************
"Don't open it till tomorrow" I said then handed him a wrapped box as we sat at the airport car park. It was Christmas Eve and he was leaving for South Africa.
"Airport security is gonna love this" he smirked.
"Dom, be serious. Promise you won't open it till tomorrow"
"Okay I won't"
"Two weeks" I sighed.
"I'll be back before you know it. The old man doesn't want to be alone this holiday. He wants me and his girl friend over at his place."
"I'll survive. I managed a week without you while you were in Japan and those three days you spent in Morocco"
"Yeah I got back from Japan and you almost left me with one hand"
"Will you ever forget about that?!"
"Oh Noooo. It's not wise to forget that"
He got out of the car to grab his bag in the back. I stood by him as he put his gift into the suitcase and then lifted it out.
"This is where we say goodbye"
"Are you sure you don't want me to come in with you and see you off properly?" I pleaded.
"No. We talked about this. We say goodbye here. It's easier on you, okay?"
I nodded and hugged him, "We should Skype often"
"As often as we can. Bye Kerry. See you in two weeks" he pulled me in for a kiss then hesitated before letting go. He made me get in the car and drive off as he walked up the pedestrian walkway to the departure lounge.
I drove straight to my mother's place, trying not to think of our first time apart. Then my favorite radio station started to play country songs, I switched off the radio quickly. The trip was too long to endure love songs.
The hour drive was horrible. There was the Christmas traffic to deal with before finally getting out of the city. I got to my house, called out for my mum and realizing she was out settled down in front of the television. The reality show my mum had told me about was showing. Sumaya and I enjoyed binge-watching it on Saturday afternoons.
I heard cars pull up and went to the window to see my mum, Nii and two of his sons get out with bags and all. Then I realized what was going on. It was going to be a family Christmas alright. My new family Christmas. I began to feel like a child of divorce all over again.
I sucked it up and opened the door wearing my best smile, "Merry Christmas!"
They chorused, "Merry Christmas" right back to me.
"Kerry, you made it! Much earlier than I thought" she said implying she was hoping I would arrive after the guys had settled in.
"I dropped Dom off and came straight here" I said as I stood aside as they walked in.
"Kevin and Eric you can choose whichever guest room you want" she instructed them as they walked up to the guest rooms like they came over every weekend to sleepover.
Nii needed no instruction, he just awkwardly side-stepped and took his stuff to my mum's room. Once we were alone, my mum spoke up, "I should have told you. I was scared you would say no. All of us spending Christmas together...it's going to be fun, I promise. I've briefed them on all your pet peeves so you won't have to worry about-"
"Mum, relax. I'm okay with it... Not at first but I'm easing into it now. I wouldn't make them feel unwelcome and they should feel at home"
"I'm sorry you couldn't go with Dominic to South Africa" she surprised me with a hug.
"There will be other holidays. I need to be here for Sumaya and you. You need me here so we bond with Nii and the guys, I'm here"
"You are your grandmother's daughter. She always knew the right thing to say. She was so selfless too" my mum choked up.
"No mum. Happy holiday, only happy tears allowed" I warned her and wiped away a rogue tear.
"Here" she pulled out a brown envelope from her bag.
"Oh my goodness, you got me working on Christmas Eve?" I held the envelope and did not look at it.
"No look in it, silly"
I pulled the papers out of the envelope and flipped it over. I gasped when I saw what the documents were.
"Mum?" I was almost in tears.
"Your grandmother left this house to you. It's in your name. I'm moving into Nii's house after we get married and your grandmother made me promise to give this to you if I eventually do get married or die"
"Wait, so how long have I owned it?"
"Since you were thirteen. Your dad has been keeping this for me, I felt now would be a good time to give it to you"
I hugged my mother and then felt people staring. I turned to see the three guys standing in the door feeling like they were intruding.
"Oh come on in. I just found out I've been letting my mum live here and not the other way around" I laughed through my tears.
Christmas Day started out the way it always did in the Kerington household, breakfast then church service. I had not been to my old church in ages. I felt good seeing familiar faces and waving. Just like old times Ada had saved me a seat in the row my mum and her mum usually sat in. We, my new family and Ada's family, took over two pews.
After service, Ada pulled me aside and handed me a wedding invitation before I noticed the ring on her finger.
"I'm so sorry. Congratulations! How did I miss that ring?" I hugged my old friend.
"It's okay. You were not expecting it to be so soon. You can bring a date and from what your mum has told me, I think a certain designer would be that date?" She laughed.
"Yes. I'm dating Dominic Chase. Yes I hope he can make it to the wedding. I will clear his calendar if I have to"
"Office romance? You're so full of surprises" she patted my arm.
"We tried to fight it but hey...the heart wants what the heart wants"
We left church with me driving the two brothers home. My dad called me and I picked up and put him on speaker.
"Hello dad. You're on speaker"
"Merry Christmas Kerry. We miss you over here. Who would eat all this chocolate cake Jamila baked?"
"Merry Christmas, dad. You guys better save me a chunk"
"We will try but you know just how moist and delicious that cake is"
"Dad, I know what you're doing. Be patient. You will see me tomorrow"
"Fine. I tried. Sumaya wants to speak with you"
I spent most of the car ride speaking to aunt Jamila and Sumaya as they talked about me not being there and my dad lying about not saving me all my favorite Christmas food including the chocolate cake.
When we got home, everyone got to work preparing lunch. It was crazy having so many bodies in that space at once. Eric stuck to making salad. I was making lasagna like aunt Jamila taught me, Nii was grilling chicken outside and Kevin was cooking rice with chicken broth that Nii had previously used to marinate the chicken pieces. My mum was making cream of mushroom soup and now a tomato sauce to eat with the rice Kevin was making.
We finally sat down to eat and had some leftover which my mum insisted the guys take with them home knowing aunt Jamila would definitely have me covered.
My mum was trying to make the most of the holiday because she brought out the monopoly board for us to play, I suggested we play charades instead. Everyone was game but we were an odd number for teams. Then Kevin seized the opportunity to go Skype his girlfriend and promise to substitute Eric when he was done.
My mum and I against Nii and Eric was a lot of fun. They were really good and my mum was terrible at acting out some of the words or phrases. My phone pinged and I shot up with the speed of light to it. I saw Dom had texted, 'can you get on skype now?'
"Kevin, it's you turn to play!" I called and took off to my room. I pulled open my laptop and connected to Skype. The minute I was confirmed online, he called. The Skype video popped up on my screen and I squealed in delight.
"Merry Christmas, Kerry" he smiled and waved at me.
"Merry Christmas Dom" I replied and laughed as he pressed his lips to the camera.
"How is Christmas with your mum?" He asked. I noticed his background. He was at the beach?
"Her boyfriend and his sons are here. We were playing charades. Are you at the beach?"
"Yes. I'm spending Christmas Day at the beach with my dad, his girlfriend and a bunch of their friends. Lucas came to my rescue"
"Lucas flew down to spend Christmas with you?"
"With my dad too but mostly with me. He was my boo before you came around"
"That sounds so wrong. I'm sure Lucas will not appreciate that comment"
"Oh really?" He laughed then flipped the laptop to Lucas lounging in the chair next to his. "Hey boo"
"Hey boo" Lucas replied and even blew a kiss.
"Merry Christmas, Kerry" Lucas said as Dom turned the laptop back to face himself.
"Merry Christmas" I said loud enough so he could hear.
"You obviously haven't got my gift yet" he said, looking off into a distance.
"Yes, where is my gift anyway?"
"I ask Tim to do one thing. One thing. He owes me big for all those other times I helped him out" Dom said and I could tell he was speaking to both Lucas and me at this point.
"It's Christmas Day. I'm sure he will get on it tomorrow"
"So Lucas ruined your surprise. He told me about the shoulder bag before I got a chance to unwrap it. Alexa let it slip and well you know the rest. I love it though and I took the hint, my laptop bag looks as ugly as hell"
I laughed then told him, "Well it can fit your laptop, your sketches, tablet and other stuff. It will make you look more like fashion designer rather than one of those IT guys on the first floor"
"You don't hold back, do you?"
I heard my mum calling my name and I knew boyfriend time was over.
"I better get back to my mum. She is really bent on us all bonding. So I'm off to go bond"
"I've got a bonfire beach party tonight hosted by my dad so I'll try and call you later if you're not asleep by then"
We said our goodbyes and I grinned like an idiot for the rest of the afternoon.