I was in the house as Rose held up a candy cane and a menorah. She was wearing an ugly sweater and black leggings, even though it was like 80 degrees outside. I couldn't help but think that she was probably sweating under it.
"So do you want the menorah or candy cane?" She asked. "Christmas or Chanukah."
Well I didn't really know anything about Chanukah, so I didn't know what to say. Were they really letting decide what holiday to celebrate? That seemed a little weird.
"Don't answer that because in this house we celebrate Chrismukkah." She told me. What?
"How do you spell that?" I asked.
"It's a new holiday that's sweeping the nation." She explained as Sandy and Kirsten brought a tree in. "Or at least the living room. You need to wear this."
She put a Santa hat on my head as I went to help with tree. Apparently, she had decided that she would supervise. I sighed.
"That's perfect. A+." She stated.
"Thanks for the help." Sandy quipped.
"We didn't really know how to raise Rose." Kirsten remarked. "So we let her raise herself."
"And in doing so, I created the greatest holiday of all time drawing on the best that Christianity and Judaism have to offer." Rose boasted with a wide grin.
"But why the fuck do you call it Chrismukkah?" I asked as I noticed Kirsten glaring at me. "Sorry."
"Allow me to elaborate. You see doe my father here, a poor struggling Jew growing up in the Bronx, Christmas meant Chinese food and a movie." She explained as she grabbed Sandy's shoulder. She then moved over to Kirsten. "And for my mom, Waspy McWasp, a meant a tree, presents, and all of the trimmings. You can see how there were a few differences."
"Is there some kind of Santa Rabbi?" I questioned. She glared at me. "I'm not making fun. I really want to know."
"No, but there ate eight days of presents, followed by one day of many presents." She declared. "So what do you think?"
"I think it sounds great for you guys." I replied.
"For you too." Sandy added.
"Yeah, dip a toe in the Chrismukkah pool." Rose urged.
"Isn't there some kind of Atwood family tradition that you could incorporate into Rose's uber-holiday?" Kirsten asked.
"Short answer: no." I answered. "Long answer, the reason I wanted to be part of this family was because my family sucked. The only memories I have are the scars, both literal and emotional."
"Well this year will be different." Sandy promised.
"You'll get new memories and it'll be great." Kirsten added.
"I guess I can see what Chrismukkah has to offer," I replied.
"That's the spirit." Rose replied as she gave me a hug. I squirmed as I tried to escape.
Once I was free, I took out a shower. When I came out, I found that Rose was decorating the pool house. How had she managed to get so much up? I was wearing a black scoop-neck tee and a red leather miniskirt.
"I was in there for 15 minutes. How did you manage to turn this place into Santa's workshop?" I asked.
"I see someone took down the wreath that I put on the door." She stated.
"It fell." I lied. I then noticed that she had something. "What is that?"
"It is a starter pack of Rose Cohen music." She declared as she listed some various indie and hipster bands. "Summer and Vicki will love them both equally."
"Are you seriously getting them the same gift?" I questioned. "Summer hated your music during the trip. You really should get them things that they like."
"I'm crafty." She stated.
"This will not go well." I told her.
"I choose to ignore your negatively." She replied as she began to wrap.
"You have to choose." I responded. "You can't have two girlfriends. It doesn't work."
"I don't have to choose on Chrismukkah. There is no choosing on Chrismukkah." She argued.
"Please tell me that you didn't get me anything." I retorted.
"No." She stated. "Come on, Sis, don't be a Grinch,"
We then walking into the kitchen and found Kirsten was making a list. I couldn't help but wonder if she was checking it twice.
"Hey, Rhiannon, what's your shoe size?" She asked me.
"Seven, why?" I responded. She made it sound like she was getting me heels. "Are you getting me shoes?"
"No, why would you think that?" Kirsten denied flimsily.
"You said no gifts." I reminded her.
"What we meant was no gifts for us." She stated before Sandy walked in with his phone in hand.
"Well Chrismukkah is ruined." He declared.
"No, Chrismukkah is invincible and magical and perfect." Rose babbled. I was pretty sure that she was broken.
"Your father refused the latest settlement and wants to go to trial." Sandy explained.
"That's not what he said yesterday." Kirsten declared. "He said if you met his offer…"
"Well as of this morning, Ebenezer Scrooge decided that he wants to go to court, which means I'm going to have to spend the holidays going through paperwork and preparing for the trial."
"Chrismukkah is ruined." Kirsten agreed as Rose gasped. "I promise not all holidays are like this around here."
"Stop! Don't give up on the miracle of Chrismukkah!" Rose shouted with her voice cracking. "You'll see. You'll all see. Chrismukkah will not be stopped, not this year, not ever."
I decided that it would be a good idea to see Kaitlin. She must have been thinking the same thing because she was at the door. She was wearing a white dress with a leather jacket.
"I was just coming to see you." I told her before I gave her a kiss.
"Well, here I am." She declared. "So, Marissa wants to skip Christmas. I need your help convincing her not to."
"We can do that at school." I told her as we started to walk to school with Rose. "So, Rose has this alternative holiday if you don't want to do Christmas."
"Please call it Chrismukkah." Rose corrected.
"What the fuck is a Chrismukkah?" Kaitlin asked. "What are you going to do about Summer and Vicki? You need to choose and I think you should pick Summer."
"Well they are both coming to the party and neither is my date, which both of them know," Rose answered. "I am snowflakes and latkes here."
"You know snowflakes are more of a winter thing." I told her.
Suddenly, both Summer and Vicki showed up. They didn't look very happy to see each other.
"Ladies, I think we should meet there at whatever time you so choose." Rose declared. Neither of them seemed too happy about that sentence.
"You're going to need a Chrismukkah miracle." I stated before Kaitlin and I went to get smoothies.
"So, I have a small amount of money that I can use to get a gift for you." She told me. "Are there any movies you would like?"
"Maybe you should get something for your dad." I suggested. "I need to be upfront with you and tell you that I am terrible at picking gifts for people."
"You could give me a check or a gift card." She offered. "I think you'll get better in the future. So, we're not going to have to see your brother again, are we?"
"No. I made it very clear to him that I wasn't coming." I promised her. "Though, there is one gift that I know that I can give you and you'll like."
"That is not an acceptable gift because I can have that anytime." She replied. "It's too bad that I can't do the same to you. So have you thought about when you want to have this surgery?"
"Well, for starters, it's up to Sandy and Kirsten to agree with me whenever I decide." I pointed out. I don't know enough about it right now and I think that it's too soon for any of that."
As we were leaving, we met up with Marissa.
"I hate Christmas." She replied with a big scowl.
"Come on. Don't be a scrooge." Kaitlin replied. "You used to love Christmas."
"That was before Mom and Dad broke up." Marissa argued. "Now we have two Christmases and no fun."
"There's a holiday party that we can go to and have a good time." I offered.
"Yeah, Marissa, if Rhiannon can get into the holiday spirit without having any good memories, so can you." Kaitlin declared. "How about you two go shopping because she doesn't know what to get me?"
That led to the two of us going to the mall together. It was probably the first time that we had been alone together since I first got here. We tried on some makeup and I noticed a woman with a dog wearing antlers. I couldn't help but wonder if his name was Max or it was an even a male.
"So what should I get her?" I asked.
"It doesn't have to be anything spectacular." She replied.
"Are you upset about Christmas because you don't have anyone to share it with?" I inquired.
"No," She said. "I'm fine with being single. Everyone just cheats anyway."
"Everyone was does not cheat." I declared as I noticed something peculiar. She then stopped in front of a window and saw a mannequin wearing a royal blue lace dress with a fringe hem.
"That's what you should get her." She said.
"I saw you put that Apple Watch in your bag." I replied. She had grabbed the display model. I wasn't sure how no one else noticed. "Stealing things will only get you into trouble. Give it to me."
She handed me the watch and I went to the counter.
"Excuse me. My friend wanted to try this on, but there was no one here so she took it off and then she forgot about it. I'm sorry for the confusion. Please don't call security on us." I replied. It felt good being good. I probably also had the advantage of being cute and petite. "I'd also like to buy one in the blue."
I also bought the dress and something to wear to the party. I still couldn't help but be concerned about Marissa shoplifting.
That night, I was wearing the black sweater dress that I had bought. However, Rose came in before I could zip it up. She was wearing an emerald velvet long-sleeved dress herself. She looked good.
"Good, you can zip me." I declared as put my back towards her. I couldn't help but notice that Trey got me a gift. How did he get me something from prison?
"So did you get any gifts while you were out?" She asked.
"I got something for Kaitlin and Marissa." I replied. "Just give me a list of new comics and I'll make sure to get you at least one of them."
"How was shopping with Marissa?" She asked me.
"I caught her trying to shoplift." I answered. I still wasn't sure what to do about it.
"That is weird." She commented. "Have you told Kaitlin?"
"I kind of want to tell her mom, but only because I'm worried about her." I replied. "What do you think?"
"I think telling Kaitlin first would be a better idea." She responded. "I got you something,."
She then produced a stocking with my name on it. I couldn't believe it.
"I…I've never had one of these before." I replied with a tear in my eye. "Thank you. I just need to finish my makeup and then I'll be ready."
"Well, if you're going to be doing any more of that, you might want to forego mascara." She quipped. I rolled my eyes. Now that was the Rose I knew.
I went into the living room and both Summer and Vicki were there.
"Hi, Summer, Vicki." I greeted them. There were both wearing some nice dresses.
"Hey, Rhiannon." They reciprocated simultaneously. It was a little bit creepy to be honest.
"I think you two need to let Rose choose." I remarked before adding something. "And she doesn't have to choose tonight."
When we got to the party, I met up with Kaitlin and hugged her. She was wearing the dress I got her. I knew it was a bit early, but tonight was the best night. She looked so sexy in it.
"I have something that I need to tell you." I declared. "Did Marissa happen to say anything about what happened on our shopping trip today?"
"No." She replied. She was probably wondering where I was going with it.
"Well I have something that you need to know." I said. "Marissa tried to steal an Apple watch. I think we need to tell your mom because I'm concerned about her."
"I think I might be the only normal one in this family." Kaitlin replied with a sigh. "Marissa's going to hate us if we tell my mom."
"Well we can't just let her get away with it." I pointed out. "I know that she stole it because you don't have money, I even bought it for her, but this is too much."
"Okay, we'll tell my mom." She agreed. I couldn't help but notice Santa at the party. I hoped he wouldn't get drunk. I also noticed that Rose was trying to hide from Summer and Vicki.
"Hide me." She told us.
"Okay, maybe you should choose tonight." I replied. "I think it should be Vicki."
"I think it should be Summer." Kaitlin retorted.
"Okay, not helping you two." Rose cut us off.
"I think we should dance." I declared as I grabbed her hand and took her to the dancefloor. I got into waltz position.
"I can't believe you remembered that." She replied. She then sighed romantically. "We've never danced before."
"We've never had the chance." I declared as we moved to the music.
"Maybe we should talk to Marissa first before we squeal to my mom." Kaitlin suggested as she moved her feet. She almost stepped on mine. "Sorry, I'm not very good of a dancer. Let's go find Marissa now."
She was over standing by the balcony.
"Hey, how are you doing?' I asked.
"I'm fine." Marissa answered. I couldn't help but think she looked drunk. "I feel better now that you're here."
"Marissa, I know about the mall." Kaitlin replied. However, before we could say more, Julie showed up.
"Marissa, you haven't said hello to Caleb yet." She stated.
"That's because he was talking to other people and I didn't want to interrupt." Marissa replied.
"Well he's ready now." Julie declared. At that point, the two of them started arguing. If that was her without knowing, I could only wonder what things would be like once she did know.
"I'm going to the bathroom." Marissa announced.
"I need to tell you something." I told Julie. She looked at me with interest. "Normally, I wouldn't do this, but I caught her trying to steal from the mall. I think she needs help. I just ask that you don't make a scene."
"I'll talk to her father and we will deal with this." Julie promised. "Thank you for telling me."
She then walked away and I looked at Kaitlin.
"You know being good doesn't feel so good anymore." I commented. "I hope I made the right move."
"I don't think there was another one." She retorted. "I think I might move back next door so Marissa doesn't decided to kill me in my sleep."
"Hey, have you guys seen Rose?" Vicki asked.
"We can help you look for her." I offered.
We then went upstairs and to our shock, Rose was making out with Summer. Rose had her dress half-open and Summer was dressed like Wonder Woman.
"Vicki, I can explain." Rose remarked.
"You're Wonder Woman?" Vicki asked in surprise.
"Yeah, so." Summer replied with a blush.
"You look smashing." Vicki replied before she left.
I couldn't believe how hot Summer looked myself. It was turning me on a little. I thought that I should leave with Kaitlin, but couldn't look away from the drama that was unfolding.
"This is not the bathroom." Holly interrupted.
"How are you doing, Holly?" I asked her.
"Well I just saw Marissa in the hallway, but I'm okay." Holly replied. We looked at her. "Oh, I guess you didn't know about that. She looked super wasted and I'm pretty sure it had nothing to do with me."
Kaitlin and I went to find her, but she ended up finding us first. The first thing that she did was put her mouth on mine. Kaitlin angrily threw her sister off of me. I hoped a fight wasn't about to break out.
"Get off my girlfriend." Kaitlin commanded. "You smell like Russia and you look horrible."
"Well you two told Mom about what happened at the store today." Marissa slurred. "How could you do that to me?"
"Because you need help!" I responded. "You're drunk at an office party. I was going to give you Christmas present here tonight. I bought that watch for you since you wanted it so much. Maybe when you stop being a wreck, we can be friends."
"I'm just having fun." She said.
"Well we don't want to have fun with you." Kaitlin declared. "The last time you had fun was in Mexico."
"I'm outta here." Marissa declared.
"There is no way that you're driving." I told her.
"I have enough people in my life telling me what to do." Marissa remarked. "I don't need it from you two."
We ran after her. We noticed her getting into her car. I couldn't believe that the valet had given her keys considering that she was obviously drunk.
"Marissa, stop." I told her.
She started to move forward and Kaitlin decided to stand in front of her car. It was a risky move but it got her to stop, except it didn't. She tried backing up and instead she backed into someone's car. She then started crying in the front seat.
Kaitlin and I got into her car. Kaitlin was driving, but Marissa did leave insurance info. She reached into her purse and pulled out a bottle of vodka that she had been drinking earlier. It was almost empty.
"You have to be fucking kidding me." Kaitlin remarked.
"You're driving." Marissa pointed out.
"Only because you're too drunk." I argued. At that point, I saw some bright lights and heard a siren. Well, this just got worst.
"What can I do for you officer?" Kaitlin asked nervously.
"Your taillight is broken. I need to see your license and registration." The officer declared.
"Well, here's the thing. I don't have one." Kaitlin admitted. The officer looked at us. "I'm 15. This is my sister's car. She hit a pole at this Christmas party we were at and I realized that she must have drunk the wrong eggnog. I just wanted to get her home."
"Just go straight home and make sure that you get that light fixed." He said before he walked off. I couldn't believe that that worked.
"Thank you God." Kaitlin replied.
"That was scary." Marissa commented.
"Scary?" I retorted. "No, scary is finding you passed in alley barely breathing. Scary is seeing you get behind the wheel drunk. Scary is seeing you throw your life away. This is the life that I left behind and I am not getting involved in it again."
We went to Jimmy's house and Kaitlin went to her room and came down with a bag in her hand.
"What are you doing?" Marissa asked.
"I stood up for you." Kaitlin declared. "But maybe Mom was right. Maybe you do need to be committed. All I wanted from this party was to have a great time and you took that away from me. Tell Dad that I'm moving back in with Mom."
In the morning, we walked into the kitchen where Rose was. Kaitlin had spent the night in the pool house.
"So how was your night? I noticed that you two had a little sleepover." She asked.
"Marissa got drunk and I'm moving back in with my mom." Kaitlin explained. "Not to mention we got pulled over while Marissa had an open bottle of vodka. If I hadn't been able to sweet talk the cop, we'd probably be in jail."
"This is a Chrismukkah miracle." Rose remarked. "Before, you would have gotten busted, but you had Jesus and Moses protecting you."
"Is she drunk too?" Kaitlin asked.
"No, this is her when she's normal." I answered.
"My faith has been restored." Rose said as she walked away.
Later that day, I was in Dr. Carter's office for my appointment. I noticed Marissa across from me. I couldn't believe she was at the same therapist office as me. I wasn't going to talk to her but I was going to tell Dr. Carter all about what happened.
"Hey." The girl next to her declared. "What are you in for?"
"My parents sent me here." Marissa answered. "I'm Marissa."
"Olivia. Olivia Trask." The girl said.
So that was Chrismukkah, things between Kaitlin and Marissa are pretty bad right now. Olivia is played by Chloe Bridges. It was hard to cast because I had to find someone incredibly loathesome. I was originally going to have Oliver played by Logan Paul before I found her and remembered how much I hated her. Please don't forget to review.