Time for an update, with all this craziness that has been going on at my house there has not been time to update but finally I have time so here is the last chapter of this story just to let you know it takes place 5 years later or 2 years after the series ends so I am adding some things from the later years of the show…
Looking Forward/ Epilogue
"Mom we're here." Cheyenne yelled as she came in the door.
"Gamaw Weeba." Cheyenne's son Vic yelled as he ran into the kitchen and clasped onto his grandmother's leg.
"Hi sweetie Grandma needs her leg back if you want your Christmas dinner." Reba said as she tried to coax the little boy off of her.
"What are you making Mrs. H?" Van asked as he came into the kitchen to help with Vic.
"Same thing I make for Christmas every year." Reba said before finally getting Vic off her leg.
"So who else is here?" Cheyenne said coming into the kitchen with Elizabeth trailing behind her.
"Well Jake is always here, Kyra's band dropped her off last night, and Robert and Daphne are supposed to be here any minute now." Reba said before turning back to the counter to continue cooking.
"How far along is she now?" Cheyenne asked as she sat down to talk to her mom.
"About 6 months, I'm so excited for another grandbaby. And we should be able to feel kicking by now." Reba said getting excited about the new edition.
"When are Barbra Jean and Mr. H going to be over?" Van asked as he started tickling both kids.
"About noon is what Barbra Jean told me yesterday, she still wants to help with the cooking and I can't talk her out of it. You know she is going to be bugging me all day." Reba complained to her children.
"You shouldn't have told her she was your best friend, now she won't leave you alone." Cheyenne said as she tried to break up the tickling fight between her husband and kids.
"Just be glad her and Mr. H and Henry go to visit her family on Thanksgiving." Van said in gasps as he had trouble breathing from all the activity.
"Hey noise makers." Kyra said as she came into the kitchen still in her pjs.
"Hi to you to sleepy head." Reba said as she turned to watch her youngest daughter sit grumpily on a stool.
"Have you ever heard no loud noises before eleven am?" Kyra asked Van and the kids.
"It's ten thirty so it's not that far away." Van pointed out.
"Doesn't that only apply at like hotels?" Cheyenne asked confused.
"You need to be up and dressed by the time Robert and Daphne get here." Reba pointed out right before they hear the doorbell ring.
"And that should be them now, wake Jake up while you're up there." Reba said as she went towards the front door, Kyra trailing behind her.
"Oh great and I'm not even dressed yet." Kyra said as she rushed in front of her mother to get up the stairs in time to not be seen.
"Oh my lord, look at you two." Reba said as she opened the door to find her oldest son and his wife of two years.
"Now I know we just drove through four states but I didn't think we looked that bad." Robert said jokingly as he hugged Reba.
"Not bad you both look so darn cute, and you don't come here often enough so I don't get to see you that much." Reba said as she went from hugging her son to his wife.
"Careful there's precious cargo there." Robert said as Reba hugged Daphne.
"And of course he is talking about the munchkin, not me." Daphne said with a smile and a little bit of a New York accent.
"Well I agree, that's my grandbaby in there, but you're precious cargo too." Reba said as she leaned back to look at Daphne's growing stomach again.
"You can touch my stomach." Daphne said so used to people asking that she answered before Reba could ask.
"Thank you." Reba said before carefully placing her hand above the bellybutton to feel three hard kicks.
"Wonderful." Reba said with a sigh.
"Isn't it?" Daphne said with the biggest smile Reba had seen from her.
"Hey." Jake said as he entered the living room from the stairs.
"Hey, you just getting up?" Robert asked as Jake went towards the kitchen.
"Yeah I'm a teenager we typically like to sleep in on days we don't have school." Jake remarked before he went to find breakfast.
"Bright ray of sunshine those teenage years." Reba said with a smile.
"How do you make it smell so good in here all the time?" Daphne asked taking in a deep breath of the cooking food.
"As my mother says 'Cooking food makes every house a home' and it could have something to do with Christmas cookies." Reba said while leading them into the kitchen.
"Yum" Robert said quietly as he snuck one while Reba was turned around facing the table.
"Put that back Robert." Reba said still facing Cheyenne and Daphne at the table.
"How did you do that?" Robert asked as he reluctantly put the cookie back on the plate.
"Just a little something us mother's can do." Reba said smiling at Daphne.
"Reba." Barbra Jean called as she entered the front door with Brock and Henry right behind her.
"In the kitchen." Reba called in response.
"Hey Brock." Robert said from the couch with Daphne's feet in his lap as he massaged them.
"Hey Robert, Hi Daphne." Brock said as he took Barbra Jean's coat and hung it up.
"Is the food almost done Mrs. H?" Van asked from his seat in the living room.
"The ham has thirty more minutes and everything else should be done a little bit before that." Reba said from her assigned spot behind the counter in the kitchen.
"Good I'll come and help." Barbra Jean said as she made her way into the kitchen.
"Don't bother Barbra Jean, I'm just finishing up." Reba yelled from the kitchen.
"Mom you won't let any of us kids help why don't you let Barbra Jean?" Kyra said from her seat at the table by Cheyenne.
"Because she would be more of a hindrance then help." Reba whispered harshly before Barbra Jean walked into the kitchen.
"Wow how much food are you making Reba?" Barbra Jean asked after seeing the piles of casserole dishes lined up on the counter waiting to be cooked and moved to the table.
"Enough to feed seven adults, two teenagers, two kids, and a toddler, or twelve people total." Reba said counting all the people as she listed them.
"Wow I never realize how big our family is till the holidays." Cheyenne said at the amount.
"Why don't you make that number smaller and go eat at home?" Kyra asked as nicely as she could.
"Kyra be nice." Reba scolded as she turned to check the oven.
"Yeah Kyra." Cheyenne said tauntingly.
"Don't egg her on Cheyenne." Reba said bending back up from the oven.
"Food done yet?" Van yelled from the living room.
"Stop asking or your not getting any food today." Reba said with a dead serious look.
"Red's in a mood?" Brock asked quietly to the group in the living room.
"Not till Barbra Jean got here." Daphne pointed out quietly.
"Hey mom can you please tell me how long it will be till the food is done?" Robert asked politely.
"Why do you want to know?" Reba asked with a glare.
"Well you see I have a pregnant wife who takes about ten minutes longer to get to places like the table and I want to know if we should start heading there now or in a few minutes." Robert said condescendingly.
"Five more minutes OK, now all of ya'll please leave me alone to cook in peace." Reba said while shooing the three girls out of her kitchen.
"She kicked us out." Cheyenne stated unhappily while sitting on her husband's lap.
"You shouldn't be in there unless you are helping with the cooking anyway." Kyra pointed out.
"You know she wouldn't have any of us help, and I did offer." Cheyenne said to her sister.
"She likes it when I help her cook." Robert and Kyra both said at the same time.
"Because you two got her cooking skills." Brock pointed out making Cheyenne frown.
"Stop talking about me." Reba said from the kitchen.
"Sorry mom." Robert, Cheyenne, and Kyra said at the same time.
"Dinner is ready go wash up, with soap, and Brock can you tell the kids upstairs to wash up and come down for dinner." Reba asked while taking off her apron.
"Sure one teen and three munchkins coming right up, or down." Brock said with a smile.
Gathered around the dining room table the family filled their plates and laughed and talked until Reba had them quiet for the prayer.
"Dear Lord, Thank you for all that you have given us this year, a new edition to the family is on its way," Reba said looking at Robert and Daphne "Kyra's safety while touring, and everyone in good health," she continued looking from Kyra to the younger kids "good grades for Jake, a college graduate," she added looking at Jake then Cheyenne "peaceful times, and friendship," Reba said looking between Barbra Jean and Brock before finishing "but most importantly thank you for family, no matter how long they have been with us or how they came into our family we thank you for them everyday, Amen." Reba finished
"Amen." The family echoed with smiles and some with tears in their eyes.
"Now let's dig in." Reba said with a smile.
The family continued with their evening, having a fun time eating, singing, and playing around. They had accepted each other with all of each others faults and that made their crazy wacky dysfunctional family one of the most functional families ever.
Hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I know it is not Christmas but I had to think of a good reason for everyone to come together and at my house that time is Christmas. Remember to review and tell me what you think of the ending. Till the next story…
