"Oh, my God," Helen said. "We can't stay in these clothes, if we have to stay here for a few days."
"Don't worry, Helen. You can borrow some of my clothes, Burt can wear some of Moe's clothes and I think I have some clothes from Katie, when she used to be a teenager. We can get those for Cristina," Bea said.
"Thank you," Helen said. Owen smiled to himself because he could well imagine how the Yangs would look in the Hunts' clothes, since the Hunt family was physically a lot bigger than the small Asian family. Especially, Cristina, he thought, because even when Katie was a teenager, she was not a small girl. His sister Katie was a full grown five foot nine by then.
"Come, Helen," Bea said. "Let's get some clothes for your family. I am sure you all want to freshen up this morning." The two ladies left, leaving the men and Cristina having breakfast. Moe noticed Cristina's plate was full with biscuits, eggs and sausages. He watched her in fascination. Owen noticed his father's gaze and knew exactly what he was thinking.
"For an itty-bitty thing, you sure have the capacity to put away a lot," Moe said. Owen looked at Cristina, knowing that sometimes, she was sensitive about people mentioning the fact that she had a very large appetite. He was relieved when she laughed. He really didn't want his father offending his young assistant because he wanted her to like his family.
"Yes," she said. "My metabolism is high and I get hungry, a lot."
"That is just awesome," Moe said. "I wish I could eat like that but my cholesterol would be out of control. I would have to be at the doctor's office, the next day." Cristina smiled at him before polishing off her plate.
Helen and Bea returned with several pieces of clothing in their hands. The Yangs then departed to the bedrooms to take showers and change into their borrowed clothing. Owen was dying to see how they looked. They started coming out one by one. Owen found it hard to control his laughter. Cristina was the last to come out. Her pants were being held up by an enormous belt, while she had folded the hem of her pants several times to accommodate her short legs. Her shirt was also too big and was falling off her shoulder. In their poorly fitting clothing, they looked like refugees.
"Oh, my," Bea said, shaking her head at how the clothes fitted them. "You are such a tiny family."
"It's okay," Helen said. "We are just grateful for the clean clothes and it will only be for a few days, anyway."
"Yes," Burt said. "Your hospitality has been tremendous. We don't how to repay you."
"Pshaw," Moe said. "It is totally fine. Always nice to have folks over for the holidays. Today is Christmas Eve, so we are having dinner tonight. Plus Katie and her family will come over for lunch, tomorrow. She is having Christmas Eve dinner with her in-laws."
"I can help you with the cooking. I might as well make myself useful," Helen said. "Cristina is not that good but she will help, too."
"Mom!" Cristina said. Why did her mother have to embarrass her like that? "I will gladly help, Mrs. Hunt. I may not be able to cook very well but I can help with the preparations like chopping vegetables."
"That's fine, Cristina," Bea said. "We'll get started after lunch. Why don't you go outside and check out the snow? Maybe you can go sledding or something. Owen can get the old sled out of the garage for you. Isn't that right, son?" Owen knew exactly what his mother was doing. She was forcing them to be together.
"Yeah, mom," Owen said. "Cristina, are you interested?" She nodded. She hadn't gone sledding, since she was a kid. That sounded like fun. Cristina followed Owen into the garage, where he took out his sled. He hadn't been on it, since he was a teenager. It was still in good condition.
"There is a hill near the back of the house. That's where we're going to go. Katie and I used to sled down there, all of the time. I think you will like it," he said. She followed him to the top of the hill, through the pristine snow. She looked around – it was so beautiful there with all of the snow and the trees.
"So this is the hill. Dad cleared away the trees in this area, so we could use this part of the hill as a sledding area. He said he didn't want us crashing into trees and killing ourselves," Owen said. "Can I go on first? It has been so long."
"Sure," she said. "It is your sled." Without much further ado, Owen started pushing the sled, before jumping on and riding the sled down the hill. It was as exhilarating as he remembered. The bad part, as always, was pulling the sled back up the hill to ride it again. When he got to the top, he told Cristina to get on the sled and he was going to give her a push start. She lay on it and he pushed her. She went sledding down the hill, really fast and then the sled hit a bump and threw Cristina into the air and she landed face down on to the snow.
"Cristina!" Owen screamed as he ran down the hill. "Cristina!" He got to her still body. "Oh, baby, please be okay." He gently turned her over and started checking her vitals. He checked her breathing and her pulse. Then, she started giggling.
"Cristina Yang, that is not nice," he said. "Pretending that you were hurt. I was so worried."
"Sorry about that," she said. "Just thought I would give you a little scare. Come on, let's get the sled back up to the top." He held on to the rope and pulled it back up to the top. They then took turns on the sled, having fun like two little kids.
By the time they got back to the farmhouse, it was lunchtime. Bea had prepared grilled chicken sandwiches and fries, along with cups of hot chocolate. Owen and Cristina were very hungry and they each devoured two sandwiches. "I see riding the sled has worked up quite an appetite," Bea said.
"Yeah, mom. Haven't been on that sled in ages. We had so much fun," he said. Cristina nodded, as her mouth was full and she couldn't speak. "Well, glad that I suggested it," Bea said. She had never seen her son so happy, not even when he was winning tournaments. He clearly loved being with the girl. He had said that he liked the girl but Bea was sure that he loved Cristina.
After lunch, Owen, his dad and Mr. Yang went to get a tree. It was a tradition in the Hunt family that they didn't cut a tree until Christmas Eve. Moe already had a tree in mind and he led them directly to it. The tree was placed in a large sledge and they dragged it down to the house with a tractor. Cristina was helping in the kitchen, when she saw them bring the tree into the house. She was so excited, since that was the reason that they had come to the Hunt farm.
"It is beautiful," Cristina said as Moe and Owen set up the tree in the living room.
"Yes, it is," Moe said. "Every time, someone asked about buying that particular tree, I would say that it was not for sale. I was saving it for us."
"Can I help to decorate? I am much better with this than in the kitchen," Cristina asked.
"Sure, little lady. Owen will get the decorations out of the attic and you and he can decorate it before we have Christmas Eve dinner tonight," Moe said. "Owen?" He looked around for his son. "Well, it seems that Owen has already gone to the attic." Owen returned from the attic, balancing two large boxes in his arms.
"Okay, Cristina, we have decorations and in here, from since I was a little kid," Owen said. "Some of these have been passed down from several generations of Hunts. Many of them were hand-made."
He opened the box to reveal lots of beautiful decorations and ornaments. "Ooh, they are lovely, Mr. Hunt." She picked up a dark-haired angel. "I love this one." Owen noted how much the angel looked like Cristina with its long dark hair.
"That one belonged to my grandma," Owen said. "Every time I see it, it always reminded me of her. Come, Cristina, help me unravel the lights so we can string the tree first." They both got to work, unraveling the lights and then, putting up the decorations. The finishing touch was putting the star at the top of the tree. Owen lifted Cristina so she could put it at the top. "Done," she said, triumphantly and he gently placed her on to the floor.
"Now, let's just get this tree lighted. Mom, Dad, everyone, we are going plug in the tree," Owen said. The women came out of the kitchen, while the men, who were watching television, also joined them. Owen plugged it in and the whole tree became alit, giving the entire room a warm, soft glow. "Ooooh, lovely," said Helen.
"Now that is a tree, Dad," Cristina said. "Not like those scrawny ones you wanted to buy from the Christmas tree lot." Burt agreed. "It is a beautiful tree, Cristina. Better than any we have ever had."
"Well, dinner will be ready in a bit," Bea said. "Let's all freshen up for dinner and then we can eat."
Forty five minutes later, everyone was in the dining room. The food was already laid out on the table. At the center of the table was a delicious glazed ham with lots of delectable side dishes. "You ladies did really well," Moe said, admiringly.
"Yes, we did," Bea said. "Even though we were abandoned by our little helper, who decided decorating the tree was more interesting." Cristina whimpered a bit.
"It's okay, honey," Moe said. "You and Owen did a wonderful job with the tree."
"Thank you," Cristina said, softly.
"So, let's all enjoy this wonderful meal," Moe said. The Hunts and the Yangs chatted as they ate. It was such an easygoing conversation that it sounded like they were friends for years, even though they only met the day before. Owen was glad that they were getting along. It boded well if he and Cristina ever became more than just employer and employee.
"Owen, honey, could you go to the kitchen and get the dessert?" his mother asked. "There are four different pies, so maybe you and Cristina can bring them in." Owen and Cristina got up from their chairs and headed to the kitchen, where the pies were sitting on the counter.
"What kind of pies are these?" Cristina asked.
"If I know my mother well, they should be peach, apple, cherry and blueberry," Owen said. "She likes to give us variety. Don't worry, they all taste great but I am partial to the cherry pie, myself. Oh hell, I am partial to all. You will like them."
"How do we know which one is which?" she asked.
"Only when we cut it, that is the surprise," Owen said, laughing. He gave Cristina two pies, while he picked up two.
They headed back to the dining room and as they reached the doorway, Bea suddenly shouted, "Stop." Cristina and Owen stopped dead in their tracks. "What, Mom?" Owen said. "Is there more?"
"No, honey, just look up," she said. Owen and Cristina looked up and noticed that they were standing under the mistletoe. The thought flashed through both their minds at the same time. "Now you know what that means," Bea said. The four parents looked interestedly in their offspring's direction.
"Mom," Owen said, a little unsure. "Oh, come on, son," Bea said. "Don't be shy. Give the girl a little kiss."
Was Mr. Hunt really going to kiss her? The thought ran through Cristina's terrified mind. Owen gave her an enquiring look. He then put down his pies and took the pies from her and put those down, too. He took her face into his hands and kissed her.
A/N Please leave your comments and reviews. I do appreciate when you take the time to leave a review.
