Notes: Mari and Sammy – Thank you for the love and support at all hours of the day and night. It's a gift I NEVER take for granted. And thanks to Sammy for the amazing title!
Readers and REAL McRollers – Thank you for your amazing support and enthusiasm. It's such a gift that you give us, and we are grateful every day.
Hope you enjoy!
Love Is the Main Ingredient (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
December 26th
Rhythmic knocking to the tune of "Jingle Bells" brought Steve to the front door from the kitchen where he had been grabbing several spices. He opened the door and smiled at the Allen family and Jess on the porch.
"Ho Ho Ho!" Jacob cried. "Merry Christmas!"
"Merry Day After Christmas," Dylan said.
"Yeah!"
"Merry Christmas," Steve said with a wide smile. "Come on in."
"I'm sorry we're late . . ." Jenna began, but Steve waved off her apology.
"Not a problem, everyone else just got here. We're set up out back."
They all trooped inside, and Steve clapped Cody on the shoulder warmly as he entered. "Merry Christmas."
Cody smiled. "You, too."
"Merry Christmas, Jess," Steve said, nodding to her.
"Merry Christmas, Command–" She winced and smiled. "Er . . . Steve."
He flashed her a smile and asked, "Your family had a nice Christmas?"
"Yeah, my sister's home on break from UCLA and my grandparents have been here all week."
"That's great."
"Hey, Uncle Steve, look at my new shirt!" Jacob said, holding the bottom edge out to display the green shirt with a minion in a Santa hat on the front.
"Nice, buddy," Steve said.
"Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Joseph sent it. With a I Spy minions book!"
"Oh yeah?"
"And a ornament for the Christmas tree!"
"Let me guess . . . a minion?" Steve asked, quirking an eyebrow.
Jacob gaped. "How'd you know?"
Steve chuckled. "It's part of my job." He folded his arms. "Did you get anything besides minion stuff for Christmas?"
"Yeah, I got pants like yours." He looked at his brother. "What are they called, Cody?"
"Cargo pants," Cody said.
"Yeah. Cargo pants. They got lots of pockets. Dylan got some, too."
Steve glanced at the other boy and nodded approvingly. "Excellent."
"I put all my minion figures in the pockets," Jacob went on. "One in each." He started naming them on his fingers. "Kevin and Stuart and Bob and Carl and Dave–"
Steve chuckled. "Well, that's one use for them."
"Is Aunt Catherine here?" Jacob asked.
"Everyone is here," Steve said. "Come on, let's go out back."
Jenna held up the bags in her hands and nodded at the kids who were similarly laden. "Should we bring these?"
"Yeah," Steve said. "With so many people, outside is the most practical. We're just about ready to eat."
They followed him out the back door and were instantly greeted by the extended ohana. Catherine, Gabby, and Leilani were setting up various side dishes on the table while Chin and Danny manned the grill. Adam and Kono were emptying more ice in the drink coolers. Deb sat with Nonna watching Grace, Mary, Aaron, and Joan in the yard. Joan was following Cammie around, but started for the deck the instant she saw who had come outside.
"Kids!" she cried, running toward them.
Cammie trotted beside her, taking care not to outstrip the toddler.
"Hi, Joan!" Kaitlyn said eagerly. "Merry Christmas!"
"Merry C'is-mas!" Joan echoed. She reached for the bag in Kaitlyn's hand. "I see?"
Mary picked her up from behind. "I don't think that's for you, peanut."
"This one is," Kaitlyn said, holding up her other bag with a wrapped gift inside.
"P'esent, Mama," Joan said. "I open."
Catherine stepped over. "We're gonna eat first, sweetie."
"Yep," Steve said from the corner, having reclaimed the grill. "Almost ready."
"Then after we eat and open presents," Catherine continued, "it'll be time for the big rematch."
Kaitlyn and Aaron grinned at each other.
"Cookies this time," Kaitlyn said.
"Catherine and Mary got ingredients for us this morning," Aaron said. "But I promise I haven't peeked in the bags."
"No matter how much he was tempted," Deb teased.
More greetings were exchanged among the large group as they prepared to eat, and by the time they sat down, conversation was flowing smoothly around the table.
They took their time, enjoying the food and the company, sharing moments from the previous day.
"We had scrambled eggs for Christmas breakfast," Dylan said. He grinned at Catherine. "And I had mine with ketchup."
"Mmm, delicious," Catherine said, smiling back at him as Cody made a disgusted face at the mere mention of the dreaded combination.
"We made frittata," Grace said. "It's our tradition, right, Nonna?"
"That's right, bambina," Nonna said, smiling warmly. "And I'm always happy when you help me in the kitchen."
Danny smiled at the proud look on his daughter's face.
"Jess, that's a beautiful necklace," Leilani said, looking across the table at her.
The teen smiled, touching the simple gold music note around her neck. She glanced at Cody beside her. "It was a Christmas present."
Cody ducked his head, smiling. His eyes flashed to Steve who had helped him pick out the necklace. Steve gave him a quick nod and a small, knowing smile.
"We went to Jess' church on Christmas Eve," Kaitlyn said. "She played her flute and sang in the choir."
"Oh, that's lovely," Nonna said and smiled at Jess. "Good for you."
"We got to hold candles and they turned off all the lights and we held them up and sang Silent Night," Jacob said. "Only I couldn't remember most of the words so I hummed instead. And I didn't drop my candle or drip it or anything."
"You did a great job standing still," Jenna said, smiling fondly at her energetic son. She looked at Jess. "It was a wonderful service. We're so glad you and your family invited us."
Jess smiled back at her.
The meal continued with more stories shared from this Christmas and past years. Grace recounted the ice skating adventure from their trip to New Jersey the previous year, including both Steve and Danny's falls.
"It wasn't a fall, really . . ." Steve protested. "I just–"
"You just landed in a heap on the ice," Danny cut in.
"So did you," Steve immediately countered.
"Only because I was laughing at you, babe."
"Babe," Joan echoed from Mary's lap next to Danny.
Steve rolled his eyes, seated across from them. "Oh, that's fantastic. Way to go, Danno."
Danny smirked happily, clearly unrepentant. He lifted Joan and sat her in his own lap. "I think we just found a way to irritate Unca Teeve, munchkin."
"Babe!" Joan repeated with a toothy grin.
Steve groaned, but a smile was threatening to break out on his face.
"Did you fall, too, Aunt Catherine?" Jacob asked, returning to the ice skating story.
"No way," Grace answered for her. "Auntie Cath is amazing."
"Yeah," Kaitlyn said, nodding excitedly. "She told me how she used to do competitions."
"That was a long time ago," Catherine said, smiling.
"Oh!" Kaitlyn said suddenly. "And guess what? Grandma Ang sent us Rummikub! We played lots yesterday. Casey won the most."
Casey grinned. "I think my two-dollar bill was the luckiest."
"We all got two-dollar bills!" Jacob exclaimed. "I put mine in my wallet with the one from my birthday."
"Jess took a nice picture of all of us holding them this morning," Jenna said. "We thought we'd send it to Grandma Ang."
"Oh, she'll love that," Catherine said, smiling warmly.
Steve nodded his agreement.
"Sounds like everyone had a great Christmas," Adam said. "Spending time with family."
Jacob nodded happily. "And now we're here!" he said. "With more family!"
"That's right," Jenna said, smiling around the table. "With family."
Her smile was mirrored by everyone as they finished up the family meal, reflecting on the last year that had brought them so close together.
"I open, Mama?" Joan asked after the food dishes had been cleared away, showing she clearly hadn't forgotten the packages set off in the corner of the deck. She had climbed back into Mary's lap during lunch and now looked up at her mother hopefully.
Mary sighed, shaking her head with a smile. She looked around the table. "She really just likes tearing the wrapping paper. I swear half the time she doesn't even look at what it is. We could probably wrap up empty boxes and she'd be happy."
"Can I get Joan's present, Mom?" Kaitlyn asked. She smiled. "It's not an empty box."
"Are we doing presents now?" Jenna asked, looking around the group.
"Seems like a good time," Steve said.
"Let our food settle before the cookie competition," Deb added.
Kaitlyn and Aaron exchanged a look, and he gave her a little nod of shared understanding.
"Okay, honey," Jenna said to her daughter. "Go ahead." She looked at Mary as Kaitlyn jumped up to get Joan's gift. "It's just a little something."
"You really didn't have to," Mary said.
"I know, but we wanted to. It's maybe for a little bit older kid, but it was always a favorite at our house."
"Here, Joan," Kaitlyn said, setting a thin, square gift in front of her.
Joan scrambled her fingers over the paper, looking for a place to tear it.
Mary flipped it over and slid her finger under the edge of the wrapping. "Here, peanut," she said.
Joan grabbed the paper, smiling as she ripped into it. When a piece tore off, she waved it happily in the air.
"See!" she said.
"Keep going," Aaron prompted. "What is it?"
Joan dropped the piece in her hand and went back to the gift, finally getting all the paper off.
"Book!" she cried. "Book, Mama!"
"I see," Mary said. "Let's look at the front." She turned it over and read, "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!"
Jacob nodded, bouncing excitedly in his seat. "It's so funny! The Pigeon goes, 'LET ME DRIVE THE BUS!' " he cried, shaking both arms in the air vigorously.
Kaitlyn continued, "And 'I'll be your best friend,' and 'I bet your mom would let me,' and 'What's the big deal?' "
" 'It's just a bus!' " Jacob, Kaitlyn, Dylan, and Casey all chimed in.
Everyone laughed at the chorus of voices.
"Definitely a favorite at your house," Danny observed with a grin.
"Do you have that one?" Jenna asked Mary. "I have the receipt if–"
"No, we don't," Mary said, smiling. "Thank you. This looks awesome."
"And there are more Pigeon books," Kaitlyn said.
"Yeah!" Jacob said. "With the Duckling and the hot dog and the cookie . . ."
"See, Mama!" Joan said, flipping through the pages. "See bus!"
"I see," Mary said. "Can you tell Jenna and the kids thank you for the book?"
Joan looked around and smiled, lifting the book with two hands. "T'ank you!"
"You're welcome, sweetie," Jenna said. "Enjoy it."
"I think we're gonna have lots of fun reading that one, huh, pumpkin?" Aaron asked.
"Wead now?" Joan asked, looking at him.
"How about we read it later?" Mary said. "There are presents for everyone else to open."
"I open?" Joan asked eagerly.
"Mm, I think we should let everyone open their own gifts."
"I hewp open?" Joan tried again.
Mary chuckled at her persistence. "You helped a lot yesterday, peanut. I think the big kids will do okay on their own."
"Here," Nonna said. "Bring the bambina to me. We'll watch together."
She held her arms out, and Mary stood, walking over to Nonna with Joan.
"Come here, bambina," Nonna said, taking the toddler into her lap and holding her securely.
"Ba'bina!" Joan echoed.
"That's right," Nonna said. "You're the bambina."
"I ba'bina?"
Nonna poked her side playfully. "You!"
Beside her, Grace laughed. "Like me."
"That's right," Nonna said, smiling at her. "You're still my bambina."
"Gwace ba'bina?" Joan asked.
"Grace will always be my bambina," Nonna said.
Joan looked around, her eyes landing on Steve. "Unca Teeve ba'bina?" she asked.
Everyone laughed.
"No," Nonna said, chuckling. "He's my nipote."
" 'pote?"
"Nipote," Nonna repeated. "Grandson." She smiled. "We'll have you fluent in no time, bambina."
"Ba'bina," Joan said happily, settling in Nonna's lap.
Present opening continued with plenty of smiles and thank yous from the Allen kids.
Dylan's eyes widened in excitement when he opened the Star Wars book Before the Awakening from Chin and Leilani.
"Hey, that's right," Steve said. "You guys went and saw that earlier in the week. How was the movie?"
"It was so raw," Dylan started.
Casey nodded vigorously in agreement, looking at Kono. "Totally. Rey is so awesome."
"And Finn," Dylan quickly added. "Oh, and Poe. He's the best pilot, like, ever, and they–"
"Ah, ah, ah, careful," Danny said. "No spoilers. I haven't seen it yet."
"Spoilers?" Dylan asked.
"He means don't give away anything surprising that happens in the movie," Cody said.
Dylan's eyes widen. "Oh, like at the end when–"
Danny threw up his hands to cover his ears. "Ahhhh lalalalala!"
Chin reached over and clapped his hand over Dylan's mouth, laughing.
Danny lowered his hands. "Chin, just tell me, as a fan of the originals, will I like this movie?"
"I think you will," Chin said with a confident nod. "I sure did. In fact, I may go see it again."
Steve looked at Danny doubtfully. "If you're such a big fan, why haven't you seen it yet?"
"Because, Steven, I've been a little busy with my number one houseguest," Danny said, smiling at Nonna and then turning a glare on Steve who smirked back.
"Nonna didn't get here till Tuesday and I'm pretty sure the movie premiered last Friday . . ."
Dylan's eyes widened again. "Just wait'll you see the part when–"
Danny covered his ears again. "Lalalalalalala!"
Kaitlyn opened a gift from Mary, Joan, and Aaron. She gasped when she pulled the wrapping from the cover of handmade book.
" 'Kaitlyn's Recipes'!" she read. She opened the pink cover eagerly and started flipping pages. Her brow furrowed as she turned page after page. "But . . . they're all blank," she said, looking up in confusion.
"Exactly," Mary said. "That's for you to write your own recipes."
"Starting with your delicious cupcakes from last month," Aaron said with a smile. "And one day I bet that book will be on shelves of cookbooks for everyone to try."
Kaitlyn beamed, closing the book and hugging it tightly to her chest. "Thank you," she said sincerely. "Thank you so much."
Mary and Aaron smiled back, and Jenna looked at them gratefully.
Once the kids had opened their gifts, they looked at their mother expectantly, and she nodded to them. All five got up, and Cody gave his siblings four identical boxes to pass out to Steve and Catherine; Danny, Grace and Gabby; Chin and Leilani; and Kono and Adam.
"You didn't have to get us anything, really," Catherine said. "Having you in our lives is the best gift."
Jenna smiled. "We feel the same . . . and that's what our gift is about. Go ahead and open them all at once, they're the same."
When the boxes were opened and the tissue paper removed, gasps and exclamations echoed around the table.
Inside each box was a framed photo of the entire group taken on the day the Allens had moved to their new house. The simple white frame was decorated with thumbprints in six different colors.
"The last year has brought a lot of changes for us, but this is the most important change," Jenna said, tears springing to her eyes. "That we have all of you as family."
"This is . . ." Steve began, his voice trailing off.
"Amazing," Catherine finished, both staring at the gift.
"It really is," Kono agreed.
"And are these your thumbprints on the frame?" Gabby asked.
Jenna nodded. "It was Kaitlyn's idea to decorate the frames, and Dylan came up with idea to do thumbprints."
"You know . . . 'cause of how you use fingerprints to catch bad guys," Dylan said. "Only we're not bad guys."
"Nope," Chin said, putting his arm around Dylan. "You're the best guys."
"This is really special," Danny said sincerely.
"Look, Nonna," Grace said, holding the frame so she could see.
"Beautiful," Nonna said, snuggling a contented and tired Joan close to her. "A beautiful idea to capture a beautiful family moment. La famiglia. It makes my heart happy to see it."
"We were hoping later we could take a picture with you, Nonna," Jenna said. "And one with Mary, Joan, and Aaron. So we can frame those, too."
"If you hadn't asked, I would have insisted," Nonna said. "I have just the spot on my photo wall."
"You have a photo wall, too?" Jacob asked. "Like Aunt Catherine and Uncle Steve's?"
"We got the idea from Nonna," Catherine said. She held up their frame. "And ours is exactly where this is going as well."
Steve nodded. He looked around at the Allens. "Thank you. Not just for this," he said, nodding to the frame in Catherine's hands. "But for this last year." He shook his head. "Hard to believe it's only been a year since we met you." As he spoke, his eyes landed on Cody. "I, for one, am looking forward to many more years of family moments."
Echoes of agreement sounded from every corner of the table, and more than one pair of eyes was wet with tears.
Looking around, Danny lightened the moment, saying, "Well, I, for one, am looking forward to dessert." He rubbed his hands together eagerly. "So let's get to this cookie competition. I'm ready to eat."
Beside him, Grace groaned good-naturedly. "Danno."
"What?" Danny asked, grinning. "Aaron may not have peeked in the grocery bags, but I did. We are in for some world class cookies in this bakeoff."
"Actually," Aaron said, looking at Kaitlyn who nodded to him. "We talked it over during lunch, and we decided instead of another competition . . ." He winked at her. "This time, anyway . . ."
Kaitlyn grinned back.
"Instead," Aaron continued, "we thought we'd bake cookies together."
"Yeah," Kaitlyn agreed. "And we wanted to ask if . . . if Nonna would bake with us?" She looked at Nonna and bit her lip as she waited for an answer.
Nonna smiled warmly. "Of course I will, angel. I would love to. I told you I wanted to bake with you before I left, and I think this is the perfect time."
"Now you're talkin'," Danny said, hitting the table for emphasis. "With Nonna, Kaitlyn, and Aaron in the kitchen, we really are in for some world class treats."
"I have a new apron," Kaitlyn said, getting up and going to her bag. She pulled on a pink apron with her name embroidered on the front. "Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Joseph sent it. With oven mitts that match!"
"Lookin' good!" Kono said, smiling broadly.
Kaitlyn held up the other item from her bag. "So I brought my gold apron from the cupcake wars for Aaron to wear . . ."
"Oh, that was very nice of you, Kaitlyn," Aaron said.
"But now I think Nonna should wear it," Kaitlyn finished.
Aaron nodded. "As the true master of the kitchen."
Nonna put a hand to her heart. "I would be honored," she said sincerely.
Mary came over to take Joan back. "And while they're baking, you can take a little snooze, peanut."
"No, Mama, I 'tay heaw," the toddler protested, even as she rubbed a sleepy eye with her fist. "I pway."
"You can play after your nap," Mary said, balancing her daughter on her hip. "The kids will still be here. And then we can have yummy cookies."
"Nummy cookies?"
"That's right. But you gotta nap first. So say, 'See you after my snooze,' " she prompted, walking toward the door.
"See you a'ter 'nooze," Joan repeated.
"Have a good sleep, sweetie," Catherine said, and other similar statements followed.
Once Mary had disappeared inside with Joan, the three bakers stood.
"Shall we?" Aaron asked, holding an elbow out for each of them.
Giggling, Kaitlyn bounced over and took his arm, waiting for Nonna to stand and do the same.
"Have fun, honey," Jenna told her.
"We will," Kaitlyn said. "Because we're gonna bake together!"
The bakers went into the kitchen with Catherine who wanted to make sure they had everything they needed for their cookies.
Most of the rest of the group moved into the yard, but Cody stepped over by Steve as he was flattening boxes from some of the gifts. Steve stopped to look at him questioningly.
"Hey . . . um . . . I have . . . something for you," Cody said quietly. "I kinda wanted to give it to you alone . . ."
Steve nodded. "Okay. Same here." He looked toward the yard and seeing that everyone was doing okay, motioned toward the house. "Let's go in the den."
Cody, a small, unwrapped box in hand, followed Steve into the house. Once they reached the den, he held out the gift to Steve.
"Here . . . um . . . you first."
"Okay," Steve said, taking the box. He glanced at Cody. "You know you didn't have to get me anything."
"I know," Cody said and bit his lip as he watched Steve open the top of the thin box and slide a simple wooden frame out.
Steve turned it over and looked at the photo inside. It was a close-up picture of Steve and Cody at the library after Cody won the essay contest. Steve's arm was around Cody's shoulder, and both wore nearly identical smiles.
"This is from–" Steve began.
"The library, yeah."
"I had asked your mom for a copy of this . . ."
"Yeah, she realized when we were getting the photos for everybody ready that she hadn't ever had a copy made of it. She felt so bad, but I asked her if I could do it instead. The library sent me the file and I cropped out the laptop 'cause I thought . . . you know . . . that wasn't the important part of the picture . . ."
Steve was silent, staring at the photo.
Cody watched him, shifting uncertainly. "You don't have to put it on the wall or anything . . . I just thought . . ."
"No, I'm not gonna put it on the wall," Steve said.
Cody nodded, looking down, avoiding Steve's eyes. "Yeah, okay . . . I mean–"
"I'm gonna put it on my desk at work."
Cody lifted his head, surprised. "In your office?"
"Yes," Steve said simply. "Everything in there . . . is important to me. And so that's where this belongs. Because you're important to me."
Cody stared at him in amazement.
Steve gestured with the frame, putting his other hand on Cody's shoulder. "Thank you for this, Cody," he said sincerely.
Cody blinked and swallowed. "You're welcome."
Steve turned to the desk, setting the frame down carefully. He opened a drawer and took out a small black box.
"Here you go," he said, holding it out the teen.
"But you already got me that shirt and tie–"
"That was from me and Catherine. This is just from me." He nodded at the box to indicate Cody should take it and open it.
Taking a deep breath, Cody opened the lid. Inside was a silver watch.
"Whoa . . ." he whispered.
"I know your generation isn't huge on wearing watches, but . . . I think it's good to have a nice one. For special occasions."
Cody looked up at him. "This is . . . I never had anything like . . ." His gaze drifted back down to the watch.
"Here," Steve said, reaching over and taking it out of the box. "Read the engraving."
Cody read the words on the back of the watch face. " 'Heroes come in all ages. Steve.' " He looked back up, his eyes wide. "You mean . . . me?" he asked quietly.
Steve nodded. "You." He shifted, holding Cody's gaze. "Cody, I've been impressed with you since the day we met. You've taken a lot on your shoulders from a young age and you don't complain. You do what needs to be done. In my book, that's a hero. And that's you." He put his hand back on Cody's shoulder. "I hope when you look at that watch, you remember that."
Cody nodded slowly. "I will."
Steve smiled. "Good." Stepping closer, he hugged him. "Merry Christmas, Cody."
"Thanks, Steve," Cody said, his voice quiet but steady. "Merry Christmas."
Steve and Cody went back outside, and Cody stowed his gift carefully with his things before joining the group in the yard where a lightsaber battle had broken out with empty wrapping paper tubes Deb and Catherine had retrieved from the house.
Steve stepped over to Catherine who looked at him questioningly. He nodded to her with a small smile, and she touched his back gently.
He motioned to where Jenna was standing a few feet away, watching Chin and Dylan whack paper tubes together.
"Do you wanna–" Steve began.
"Yeah," Catherine agreed and called Jenna over.
As the three stepped back onto the deck, Danny watched them go with a knowing smile.
"Jenna, there's something my parents wanted to do," Catherine said. She nodded to Steve. "Actually, it's something we were thinking about as well, all of us . . ." she added, motioning to the group in the yard. "And we wanted to talk to you because we wouldn't do anything like this for the kids without your okay."
Jenna looked between the two, confused but still trusting. "What are you . . ."
"We wondered if you had college funds set up for the kids and, if not," Steve said, "we'd like to help you start them."
Jenna gasped, her hand going to her mouth. "You . . . I . . ." She shook her head slowly. "That's . . . I couldn't possibly . . . that's too much . . . you . . ."
"We're family," Catherine said. "Nothing's too much between family."
"I . . ." Jenna said, tears in her eyes. "It's something I worry so much about . . . what we'll do as they start to graduate. Cody's only a year and a half away. We're doing okay, but with five . . ." Her eyes drift to her kids in the yard. "It's so hard to save with all the other bills," she admitted. "But I do want them to go to college . . ."
"We just want to help you make sure they have the best chance in the future," Steve said. "In whatever way we can."
Jenna covered her mouth again, tears rolling down her cheeks.
Catherine, tears in her own eyes, smiled encouragingly. "What do you say?"
Jenna hugged her. "I say thank you," she whispered. "That's exactly what I want for my kids. For them to have the best chance in the future." She hugged Steve. "Thank you."
She sniffed and looked over to see that Danny, Chin, and Kono had come over to the deck stairs and were waiting expectantly.
Jenna smiled, stepping toward them. "Thank you all."
"La famiglia," Danny said, wrapping her in a tight hug. "We do for family."
"What if we take these pretzels and break them in half?" Aaron said, demonstrating. "Then they'll look like reindeer antlers."
"And we can put a red M&M for the nose!" Kaitlyn suggested, smiling eagerly as she picked up one of the small candies.
"Perfect!" he agreed. "Rudolph!"
"You two really are creative," Nonna said. "No wonder your cupcake competition was so close."
Kaitlyn beamed at her.
"So we've got the melting snowman cookies," Aaron said. "And the candy canes . . . now the reindeer cookies . . . and, of course, the Santa Clauses."
"With the marshmallow beards," Kaitlyn put in.
"Right."
"Jacob will love those because of the marshmallows. And all the red," Kaitlyn said. "That's his favorite color."
Nonna smiled, putting a hand on her shoulder and squeezing gently. "I knew it, you bake with love. Like Grace. And Catherine."
"And you?" Kaitlyn asked with hopeful eyes.
Nonna's smile grew even warmer. "And me." She motioned to the ingredients around them at the table. "For you, it's a joy. A chance to be creative and make something special for the people you love."
"Like Jacob's birthday cupcakes," Aaron said.
"Exactly," Nonna agreed.
Kaitlyn's eyes widened. "You know about those?"
"Of course," Aaron said. "Catherine and Steve sent me pictures. They were amazing."
Kaitlyn flushed with pride.
"And you, young man," Nonna said, patting his cheek. "Such a big heart. I'm very happy you've joined our family."
Aaron smiled in surprise at her words.
"Mm, I know these things," Nonna said, nodding. "I can tell. Mary and Joan are lucky to have you in their lives."
He shook his head. "I'm the lucky one," he said sincerely.
Nonna smiled approvingly at his answer. "Yes, you are." She looked back at Kaitlyn and motioned to the oven behind them. "The first batch of cookies are almost done. Are you ready to decorate?"
Kaitlyn smoothed her apron down and smiled, nodding eagerly. She picked up the white frosting. "I'm ready," she said definitively.
Aaron opened the oven door, taking the tray of sugar cookies out with oven mitts. "Then let's make some snowmen melt."
Later, everyone gathered on the deck to ooh and ahh over the elaborately decorated cookies. The melting snowmen were created with white frosting on a round cookie, a single marshmallow for a head with a surprised expression made of black and orange icing, and mini M&Ms for the buttons on the "melted snow."
"That's what a snowman would look like in Hawaii," Kaitlyn said with a huge smile when they presented them.
"If you could even get enough snow to make one in the first place," Aaron added, laughing.
" 'nowman!" Joan cried, clapping happily.
"I love how they all look a little different," Leilani said. "Some have little scarves, some have icing for their stick arms."
"Each one is unique," Kono agreed.
"We made candy cane sugar cookies," Nonna said, showing them the next tray with candy-cane shapes decorated with white icing and crumbled peppermint pieces.
"Excellent," Deb said. "I love candy canes."
"And here are our Santa cookies," Aaron said, lifting the paper towel off another tray to show the cookies cut into diamonds and decorated with red, white, and black frosting to look like a Santa face, complete with mini marshmallow beards.
"Santa!" Joan squealed, even more excited.
"Those look great!" Chin said. "I like how you used the shape of the cookie to make the hat and beard pointed."
"That was Aaron's idea," Kaitlyn said graciously.
"But the marshmallow beard was all you, partner," he returned with a smile.
She grinned, holding her hands in front of her and twisting from side to side happily.
"Marshmallows!" Jacob cried, pumping his fist excitedly, and Kaitlyn, Aaron, and Nonna shared a knowing smile.
"And what's Santa without his reindeer?" Aaron said, revealing the last tray with peanut butter cookies, white icing and brown M&Ms for eyes, two halves of a pretzel pressed to the top for antlers, and a red M&M nose.
"Cool," Dylan said with a grin. "Rudolph!"
"These look so incredible I almost don't want to eat them," Danny said.
"You feeling okay?" Steve asked incredulously.
"I said 'almost,' " Danny reiterated, and everyone laughed.
"Eat dem now, Mama?" Joan asked hopefully.
"Yes, bambina," Nonna said. "Because the best part of cooking and baking is sharing the food with the people you love."
"And love is the main ingredient, right, Nonna?" Kaitlyn said.
"That's right, angel," Nonna said, hugging her as Jenna looked on, glowing with happiness and love. "That's exactly right."
Hope you enjoyed!
Note: Huge thanks to my family for understanding I had to write after the Christmas festivities yesterday. And a special thanks to my mom who came up with the idea for Cody's gift to Steve!
Danny's "We do for family" is a reference to Sammy's wonderful story of the same name.
Books mentioned:
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems (Disney-Hyperion, 2003)
Star Wars: Before the Awakening by Greg Rucka and illustrated by Phil Noto (Disney Lucasfilm Press, 2015)
Today's REAL World Ask the Authors Q&A question:
alharpole asks, Are you girls planning any more flashback stories? Romantic flashbacks?
Why, yes, yes we do . . . stay tuned during the marathon and you just might learn more about Steve and Catherine's first Christmas after they got together. ;-)
I love writing the flashback stories because they allow us to explore the deep history between these two characters. We're so thrilled you enjoy them, too! ~Ilna
You can submit questions to the REAL World writing team via reviews, email (realmcroll at yahoo dot com), on our Tumblr (mcrollintherealworld dot tumblr dot com), and to Mari on Twitter (at Mari21763).