A Matthews Christmas
A Matthews Novel
Prologue:
~Phone call~
"Okay, good. Now you'll come over at 4 p.m. with the kids, right?" Destiny asked Jewel.
"Yes, Mom. I will be there at 4; Kallie will be there at 3. Jenna and Jaymi will arrive at 4 also. Everyone else will show up at around 2 or 3. However if we don't get off the phone, I'll be late." Jewel chuckled while assuring her.
"Okay, bye." Destiny sighed and hung up the phone.
~Off Phone~
Chapter 1
Destiny watched as Kallie and Charles sat on the porch with little Savannah on Kallie's lap. They laughed as Dimitri demonstrated how to 'ride' a snow board. She watched as Inez and Nathan run around playing with Sean and Scott. Aubrey and Jean stood off to the side talking and laughing. Destiny laughed when they suddenly screamed and ducked, when Andy threw a snow ball at them.
Of course he missed them and the snowball hit the window. Destiny jumped back and thanked the gods that she had the window closed. Jade and Sam walked up the driveway with Susan kicking the snow. Eventually everyone got bored on the porch and ran into the snow covered yard.
In the process of making snow angels; Jewel, Jenna, and Jaymi arrived. Jenna and Kaleb arrived carrying their daughter Natalee. Followed by Jewel, who was carrying her daughter Turquoise, and Alex, who was holding their sons, Edward, hand. Jaymi soon followed after with Jacob carrying their daughter Samantha.
Destiny still couldn't believe how close the ages of their births were. Inez and Nathan, Destiny's youngest kids, were six years old. Jewel's son, Edward, was five years old. Her daughter, Tor, was the same age as Jenna's daughter, Natalee. Jaymi's daughter, Samantha, was the same age as Kallie's twin kids, Savannah and Dimitri. While Jade's daughter, Susan, was the youngest at the age of two years old.
Chapter 2
Destiny smiled as her daughters walked into the house. They smiled and hugged her. They talked for a few minutes, and then walked to their rooms to get them-selves and their families settled. Destiny served all of the children hot chocolate. She was so consumed in talking to the children she hardly noticed some of them men walk into the house, until she heard a scream coming from Jewel's bedroom. She told the kids to stay at the table and enjoy their hot chocolate. She walked to the door and looked into the open door and started laughing.
"Ew!" Jewel screamed. "Get away from me!"
"Never, your to gorgeous. You can't deny me anyway, I'm your lifemate. Besides I only want a hug." Alex snickered, trapping Jewel between the wall and him.
"Yes, I can. No, you're all wet!" Jewel said, trying to escape. She leaned as far into the wall as she could to get away from the snow dripping off of his hair.
"Well now my feelings are hurt. So I want a kiss and a hug to make it better." Alex laughed, leaning into her and wrapping his arms around her to keep her from scrumming away from him.
"Ahh! Ew! No! Now I'm all wet." Jewel screamed, laughing. She looked for an escape route, and found Destiny about to leave the doorway laughing. "Mom, help!"
Destiny just shook her head, and left with a sigh. When she turned, she pressed her self as close to the wall as she could. Jade was running through the hall, to get away from a dripping and soggy Sam. Who was running after her and shaking his head like a wet dog. Destiny sighed, and thought about how her house was clean.
"No Sam! No!" Jade screamed turning down the hall, and hiding behind the wall.
"Water's good for the soul. Besides I'm cold and could use a hug to warm up." Sam said changing directions to sneak up on her.
"No, don't you touch me while you're wet." Jade screamed to the other side of the wall. She peeked over and couldn't find Sam, and started to relax.
Sam snuck up on her from behind and hugged her tightly. She let out a scream that was followed by laughter. He leaned down and whispered into her ear, "touch." Without another word, he scooped her up and ran toward their bedroom.
Destiny was about to leave the hall, when she heard a shatter. Instead she turned to Kallie's bedroom. With a sigh, she opened the door and looked in. Immediately, she ducked down to lie on the floor. She watched from her perch on the ground, as Kallie continued to throw things and a soaked Charles. She was obviously trying to slow him down, so she could make her exit, and it was working.
"Come on, Kalls. I was only going kiss your cheek." Charles pleaded as he caught a lamp.
"Liar!" Kallie shrieked, throwing a pillow at him.
"I'm not lying."
"Well you're dripping wet and very cold. I don't need to be inside your head to see what you're thinking." She said throwing a towel at him.
With a sigh, Destiny closed the door. She crawled to safety which she found near the end of the hall. She stood up and walked further down the hall.
Chapter 3
Destiny slowly walked further down the hall, until she entered her living room. She walked up to the window and watched her other kids. She saw Jacob chasing after Jaymi around and Jaymi continuously falling over in the snow, but Jacob never caught up with her. She also spotted, Jean throwing snowballs at Scott to keep him away from her. She chuckled when she saw, Sean tackle Aubrey in the snow. She nearly fell over with laughter however, when she saw Jenna slip on a small icy puddle. Kaleb chuckled while helping her up. With a yet another sigh, she sat down on her couch. She looked up at the sound of the front door opening. She shrieked and threw her hands toward the door.
"Hold it right there Mister!" Destiny screamed at her husband Andy. The sudden shout caused all of her children in the house to quietly rush in behind her, and her other kids to fill the porch behind Andy.
"D, hon. I'm cold. Mind unfreezing me so I can change." Andy pleaded.
"Not as soaked as you are."
"But I'm freezing, love." Andy pleaded and gave her puppy dog eyes.
With what seemed like the fifth sigh today, she unfroze him and went straight to her bedroom. When the door closed everyone decided to come in and talk.
"Guys, what's up with Mom?" Sean asked.
"Yeah, she feels depressed and lonely; even though we're all here." Jean stated.
"She keeps thinking about how she wants to do something together as a family." Kallie stated confused.
"Oh, no." Jaymi sighed. When everyone looked at her confused, she continued with her explanation. "Well together for the holidays….and what have we been doing?"
"We've all been in our own worlds." Jenna sighed depressed. "No wonder she's upset."
"I've got an idea, and it will work." Jewel said snapping out of her vision.
Chapter 4
"So all I have to do is make sure she shows up?" Andy asked after Jewel explained her plan.
"Correct. And I'm sure you can handle that." Jewel smiled and then her face turned serious. "Just remember if you screw up…we'll have to get our revenge."
While Andy went upstairs, the others took the little kids to town square. Once there, the kids took their roles in the Christmas play. The re-enactment of the birth of Jesus. Everyone wondered what Jewel was up to, but she never explain what she meant by 'performing'.
Natalee, was casted as the angel, Tor was the Virgin Mary. Nathan, Edward, and Dimitri were the three wise men. While Savannah, Samantha, and Inez were casted as three wives of villagers that witnessed the birth of Jesus.
While the children practiced their play, Jewel handed everyone else songs sheets, and costumes. Everyone agreed with a grumble and started to memorize the songs. She simply reminded them it was for Destiny. With a little more cheer everyone left to memorize their songs and see their costumes.
Chapter 5
~back at Destiny's house~
"Really, Andy, why do I have to get dressed?" Destiny asked, while she tied up her sliver lace up heels. She stood up and dusted off her white dress that Andy demanded she wore. She didn't know why. However she did like it, she and all of the other girls had the same one, just different colors. She looked at Andy and smiled at him. He was definitely a handsome man in his while shirt and black jeans.
"Well, you can't go in your pajamas." Andy laughed taking her arm in his. He led her to his car.
After driving for twenty minutes, Destiny relaxed. Although she still had no idea where they were going. She tried to be patient, but that didn't work out to well.
"Where are we going?" She asked looking out of the window.
"Out to enjoy some family bonding time." Andy smiled and parked. He got out of the car, and opened the door for Destiny.
"Ummm…sweetie." Destiny chuckled, letting him help her out. "Why are we at town square?"
"Family bonding. Trust me, ok." He smiled and led her to a seat in the front row.
As people started to fill seats, the curtains opened. Destiny gasped, when she saw her twins and her grandkids performing in the play. She thought they did a wonderful job. She looked around and felt a wave of sadness. None of her older children were here to witness and share the moment. She sighed and told her-self that they were just running late.
Chapter 6
When the curtains closed and a new song replaced the play music, Destiny looked at the stage. She listened and recognized the singing immediately. When the curtains opened, she smiled at the site of a girl standing in the middle of the stage. Jade stood wearing the same dress as Destiny, but in pink.
Beside her on the piano, Sam wore a white shirt with a pink tie. He continued to play, while Jade's beautiful voice sang out the musical notes of 'Silent Night'. Near the end of the song, Jade went to stand by the piano and placed an arm around Sam. He kissed her tummy, and continued to play, smiling up at her.
By the time the curtains closed, Destiny was close to tears. Jade's voice could stop a riot, if she wanted it to or could start one. However tonight, she used her voice to bring out the beauty of Christmas and how special it is. Destiny wiped a tear away, and clapped.
Chapter 7
The curtains reopened, but with a new song playing. Standing in the middle of the stage this time, was Jaymi. She wore a light peach colored dress. Next to her, was Jacob with a peach colored tie and playing the guitar.
"Hark! The Harold the angels sing…" Jaymi started to sing.
After the song, Jacob kissed Jaymi. They bowed and walked off the stage. The curtain closed and Destiny sighed. She had never heard Jaymi sing. For Jaymi to sing for the first time on Christmas was really special. Clapping, she heard a new song playing on the piano and vocals start.
"O Holy Night…" the new voice sang.
Chapter 8
The curtains opened to reveal the source of the voice. Standing near the piano bench was Aubrey. She was a vision in her shimmering, soft, green gown. Next to her was Sean on the piano and wearing a matching tie to her dress. They continued to play and sing the song. Occasionally Sean would look up at her and smile; and she would look at him. Every now and then, Sean would place a kiss on her loosely hanging hand.
Just watching them, reminded her of how lucky her family was to have found their lifemates. She smiled and looked at Andy. He smiled and placed a kiss on her hand, before holding it. Both them turned back to the stage as the song ended.
Chapter 9
After the song was over, neither of them left the stage. Instead, Sean picked up a microphone and walked Aubrey to the middle of the stage. After a few minutes, a new song started to play. They looked at each other, smiled and lifted the microphones to their mouths.
"On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…" They sang.
As they added a day to the song, a couple would walk on to the stage and start singing with the people already on the stage. By the end of the song, Destiny caught on to what was going on. Her kids were performing together, to please her. Immediately she turned to Andy and smiled.
"They did this for me, didn't they?" Destiny asked looking at him.
"Well, yeah. You were upset and they felt bad for it. So they decided to do something for you." Andy smiled at her.
Chapter 10
Destiny smiled and looked at the stage, to see Jenna and Kaleb on the stage. Jenna was wearing her orange dress and matching heels. While Kaleb wore an orange tie to match her. Destiny realized that all of them were wearing their dresses, which was why Andy demanded she wore hers. She also noticed that the guys were wearing matching ties. Destiny smiled as she listened to Jenna and Kaleb sing 'Let it snow'.
Kaleb walked off the left side of the stage and Jenna on the right side, when the song was over. Jean danced onto the stage in her yellow gown and ballet slippers with Scott and his guitar; replacing them. They started to sing 'Walking in a Winter Wonderland.'
Chapter 11
Smiling, Destiny watched as her youngest daughter performed. She couldn't believe that they managed to put this together so last minute. She started to believe that her family was more magical than they seemed. Although people knew they were mythical beings, tonight they seemed just as human as everyone else.
Destiny was close to tears, when Scott leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on Jean's cheek. He scooped her up and walked off the stage, leaving everyone laughing. Everyone started to clap as the curtain closed. Destiny started to wonder where they were going after they performed. She figured they would come and sit out here to watch everyone else perform.
Chapter 12
The curtain reopened to show, Kallie and Charles sitting on a couch. They had a cup of hot chocolate with them in one hand, and a microphone in the other. Kallie's black dress was sprawled around her, and Charles brushed off his matching tie. The music started, and when he leaned in to kiss her, she stood up and started to sing.
"I really can't stay..." Kallie sang into the microphone.
"Baby, its cold outside." Charles sang in response.
Destiny smiled and laughed as Charles continued to make passes at Kallie and she continued to deny him. She was so happy that Kallie sang one of her favorite Christmas carols. They continued to entertain the audience, and sing their song. At the end of the song, Charles finally agreed to take her home. He took off his coat and placed it on her shoulders, and kissed her cheek. He grabbed her hand and they left the stage.
Chapter 13
As the curtains reopened, Destiny realized there was a light snow now falling from the sky. There was a new song starting to play… Destiny smiled when Jewel walked on to the stage hand in hand with Alex. Jewel was wearing her blue dress and Alex had his matching tie on. With his sleeves pushed up to his elbows. They smiled at each other while they lifted their microphones to their mouths. Jewel brushed her bangs off her face, and Alex placed a kiss on her hand.
"I'm dreaming of a white Christmas…" They sang.
Destiny smiled as they sang. When the song was over, everyone returned to the stage and started to sing 'We wish you a Merry Christmas'.
Chapter 14
After the concert, Destiny looked around for everyone, but couldn't find them. So with a sigh she went to the car. In the car ride home, Destiny just couldn't find any reason to smile. All she wanted for Christmas was for them to spend some time together. When she asked Andy if he saw any of them, he simply smiled. He said 'come on D, we'll meet them at home.'
When she opened the door to her, house she wasn't in a better mood, as she remember she had a soggy house to clean. She frowned and looked up. She couldn't believe her eyes. ~Is this really my house? ~ She thought to her self. Her house was clean and dry, after the 'snow' incident from earlier. The tree was decorated with beautifully wrapped presents underneath. The house was decorated also. Ribbons hung from the ceiling. Christmas lights wrapped around the ribbon, hung from the ceiling, and clung to banisters and just about any other surface that lights could hang from. However it didn't look like it was over done. Mistletoe and garland hung all over the house. Snow sat on the window stills and a fire blazed in the fireplace. The house had a nice, warm, Christmas feel to it.
Destiny walked in and sat on the couch speechless. In the background she could hear a recording of Christmas songs play that were sung by Jade. She smiled as all of the younger children walked in and sat on the floor by her feet. Inez and Natalee took off her heels, while Nathan and Edward replaced them with her bunny slippers. Turquoise brushed her hair out, so it fell loosely around her shoulders. Savannah laid a blanket on her lap, while Dimitri hand her a plate with a cookie on it and Samantha handed her a cup of tea.
Smiling, Destiny thanked the kids as they sat back down on the living room. She realized it was as if they were waiting for something. Eventually their parents walked into the room, in different attire. They wore jeans, and simple white shirts with different styles. Some had vests on over the shirts, some just wore a regular white shirt, but all were long sleeve shirts.
Charles placed a chair in front of the fire before joining Kallie on the floor. Jewel placed Tor in her lap, while Alex sat beside her. Jean had Edward in her lap, and Dimitri sat in Aubrey's. Kallie had Savannah in hers, and Charles sat with her in between his legs and his arms wrapped around them. Natalee sat in Jenna's lap, and Samantha sat in Jaymi's lap, while Nathan cuddled into Destiny's side. Inez and Susan walked up to Andy, who joined them by sitting in the chair. Susan handed him a book and Inez crawled into his lap, while Susan sat in Jade's lap.
Quietly everyone listened to the sound of the fire place. After the kids nibbled on some cookies and milk, they started to fall asleep to the sound of Andy's voice.
"Tis was the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature…" Andy read from the book.
Chapter 15
After opening presents, the younger kids went to play outside in the snow. The men went to go 'supervise', but Destiny knew better. She knew within minutes, there would be forts and a snowball fight. She smiled as she joined her girls at the table.
"Kallie, I noticed all your presents were wrapped beautifully. Did you have the store wrap them again?" Destiny chuckled as everyone remembered that Kallie hated to wrap presents and the lack of luck she had in the matter.
"Actually, no. I tried and gave up. Charles did a worse job. So I called Jewels." Kallie said laughing along with everyone.
"Good times. How was the Christmas shopping, Jenna?" Destiny asked reminding everyone of Jenna's distaste for shopping. She hated it so when it was packed, that she called it her arch enemy now a days.
"It was horrible. It was super packed and the kids were every where! Never take all the kids shopping during the holidays. I mean I was so busy looking for them I ran into someone and nearly killed them." Jenna said laughing.
"Wow. How was the baking, Jewels?" Destiny asked laughing.
"Umm…it was ok. I mean the food turned out right. It was the process though that killed me. I mean, Alex walked in to check on me and I was covered in floor, and frustrated. The entire room was soaked and covered in floor too, but hey, we have good pies." Jewel smiled and laughed with everyone at her distaste for baking.
Things continued that way. Stories were told and laughter filled the room. Eventually the smells of hot chocolate, coffee, and tea soon joined the atmosphere. Destiny sighed in contentment and smiled. ~Now this is what Christmas is supposed to be like. ~ She thought happily with a smile.