A/N: Whoa. Hi everyone. I am so, so sorry it's taken me so long to update. If you are all still there, thank you for sticking around! December has been a crazy month for me, and long story short, I got sick with the flu and then Christmas snuck up on me and drained all my energy and time.
With that said, here's a few chapters! Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy! I apprecaite every comment and every like.
“I’m so glad you two came.” Emily sweeps her light hair back, over her shoulders. It’s New Years eve. We’re having dinner at Salterns, which is one of Emily’s favorite restaurants and one of the best on the peninsula. It’s just Emily, Mark, Mrs. Hiddleston, Santos and me. The rest of the Hiddlestons and their family have stayed back at the house. It’s good. I needed to get out of the house. Later, we’ll go back to the house and watch fireworks be set off over the water from the backyard.
Though it’s more of a vacation home than a family home, it still seems like Tom is everywhere. A photo of him and Emily on the beach. His name on a glittering Christmas ornament on their tree. Emily sporting an oversized hoodie with the name of his acting college on it—something I’m almost 99% sure she took from him. I wallowed in it for a few days, and then at some point it seemed a little strange and humiliating to be there. What was I doing? Hanging out at Christmas at the house of a one night stand? Of course, I didn’t initially go there to see Tom. A year ago, I hadn’t even known he existed. I tell myself it is different, and not all that sad, since I was friends with Emily way before I knew anything about Tom. Still, a tiny part of me feels a little pathetic. And lonely.
“Where else would I go?” Santos takes a drink of prosecco and then sighs. He doesn’t seem to suffer from the same insecurity as I do. Then again, he never slept with a member of the Hiddleston family. That I know of.
“My mother is in Barcelona with her new boyfriend, or as she calls him her ‘life partner’. My father lives at the hospital.” He shrugs. “Besides, I love all you people. You’re fantastic. You’re my real family.” He looks over at me and smiles, and then winks at Emily. Mrs. Hiddleston makes a soft “aww” noise.
“It’s not a bad family to have.” Emily smiles and lifts her glass to us. We all cheers, and take sips. We’ve had a fantastic meal, and I feel full and a bit buzzy from the wine.
I can feel Mrs. Hiddleston watching me, and I raise my eyes, meeting hers. She smiles warmly. She really is one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met. Kind and caring in an understated sort of way.
I’ve been quiet for most of the dinner. Feeling rather introspective on this new years eve. It’s been over a year since Richard. A year since I met Tom. Many things have changed, and yet I feel strangely the same.
“What about you, Gracie? You never talk about your parents.” Mrs.Hiddleston asks gently. I poke at the chicken on my plate, feeling a lump forming in my throat.
“Gracie hardly talks about her feelings. Or anything having to do with emotions. Not really her thing.” Santos butts in, reaching over and rubbing my shoulder. I give him a quick smile, but we both know he’s right.
“I don’t blame you.” Emily laughs.
“My mom’s sort of a mess. We don’t speak very often. My dad’s the same. I’ve only honestly met him a handful of times, and it’s always terrible when I do. He actually called me a few days ago, asking for money.” I sigh. Santos grunts and shakes his head. Mrs. Hiddleston looks stunned, but then her expression softens.
“I’m sorry to hear that, lovey. It always saddens me when I hear about parents who act more like the child in their relationship.” She says softly. She reaches down and pulls something out of her bag, and then grins at both me and Santos as she leans across the table, handing each of us a small wrapped package.
“What’s this?!” Santos exclaims, his mouth opening slightly. I take the package.
“Just a little something for you two for Christmas. I’m sorry it’s a few days late.” She smiles warmly. Santos grins and tears into his present, and I do the same, but with a little more care. We both gasp softly when we pull back the paper and see that we’ve received Christmas ornaments. Each one has our name hand painted on it.
“Everyone in our family has an ornament with their name on it for the tree. I thought it was time you two did as well.” Mrs. Hiddleston says gently, and I’m pretty sure Santos starts crying instantly. It’s just a little bit of watery eyes, but I can tell he’s touched. And so am I. I feel this ache in my chest, and my eyes burn a bit as well.
“Mrs. H.” Santos says, his voice suddenly high and a bit squeaky. We stand up and there are hugs all around.
“I love my kids. It’s nice to have you all here as well. I hope you’ll continue to come for the holidays or whenever you want.” She says as she wraps her arms around me, pulling me into her. I hug her tightly, and my throat tightens. I cannot remember the last time I received a hug like this. Warm, caring, maternal. It has been a very, very long time.
“Thank you.” I manage to whisper. It’s all I can really say. It was a simple gesture, but it means a lot and I can’t quite form the words to say it. Mrs. Hiddleston pulls back, squeezing my arms as she does, her warm, light blue eyes sparkling.
“You’re always welcome in my home.” She says and then turns and holds onto Santos’ hand for a brief moment. Santos grins and then pulls her into a huge bear hug. I smile weakly, and sit back down next to Emily. We both watch Santos weep happily and talk animatedly to Mrs. Hiddleston.
“Your mom is amazing.” I whisper softly to Emily, touching the sides of my eyes. I look down at the glittery ornament in my hand, twirling it slowly. Emily wraps her arm around my shoulders.
“I know. She really is. And she means what she says.” She winks at me.
“It means so much to me.” I nod, swallowing hard. It has been a long time since I felt like I had any sort of family besides Santos.
“Well, welcome to the family. I’ll warn you now—it comes with a lot of drama, family ridiculousness and drunken festivities. You’ve really only seen the tip of the iceberg. You should come around for Easter sometime.” Emily laughs softly, shaking her head.
“Sounds great.” I say. And it really does. Emily turns and looks at me then, her eyes inquisitive.
“Do you talk to my brother much?” She asks, tilting her head a bit. I hesitate, pressing my lips together.
“No, not much.” It’s the truth.
“Oh, that’s too bad. I’ll admit…” She chuckles softly, and takes a sip of her wine. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Mrs. Hiddleston and Santos sit back down. Of course Emily knows about me and Tom, but Mrs. Hiddleston doesn’t. And for whatever reason, I’d rather it stay that way. Thankfully, Emily keeps our conversation quiet.
“I’ll admit. I know I warned you off him, but a part of me hoped you’d be able to tame him. Get him to calm down a bit. You’d be so good for him.” Emily scrunches her nose, smiling as if it was such a silly concept. I laugh, shrugging my shoulders. I feel a sharp tug in my gut, remembering the awkward conversation Tom and I last had.
“I’m not sure even boring little old me could get someone like him to calm down. He’s got a lot going on.” I say diplomatically.
“Please, you’re not boring.” Emily shakes her head, and raises an eyebrow at me. “He does have a lot going on. He’s always going from one girlfriend to another, but I don’t really think he knows what he wants. He wants something monogamous, but he’s sort of frivolous. Always falling ‘in love’ quickly, and then realizing it was just infatuation.” Emily sighs, and then glances at Mark. Her eyes go soft, and a bit far away. She’s so in love with Mark, it’s almost sugary sweet sickening.
“Well, at least he’s finding someone. I can’t remember the last time I went on a date.” I sigh and widen my eyes at Emily. The truth is, I don’t know if I’ve ever gone on a real date. The kind where the dude picks you up at your house, brings flowers and then you go out for some nice dinner. Dates these days consist of hanging out with a group of people or meeting up somewhere for drinks. Really romantic.
“I find that hard to believe.” Emily shakes her head.
“Well, believe it. It’s okay though. I’m so busy with work. I don’t really have time for all of that.” I shrug and pick up my glass, draining the rest of the wine. Emily chuckles and then reaches over, squeezing my arm.
“There’s always time for all of that.” She smiles gently and then for whatever reason, Tom’s smiling face pops into my head.