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"I must say Kirsten, I'm shocked that you haven't cut your hair yet. You normally spend so much money on your hair you could feed a third world country. Seems like every time I see you, you have a new hairstyle!" Sophie said dryly as she walked around the kitchen, gathering dinnerware. Kirsten looked up from the garnish she had been adding to the ham.
"I decided that I like my long hair, and with Sophie I don't have much time to do anything. Besides, my hair has been different every time you've seen me because you only come to visit your son every five years or so!" Kirsten smiled smugly as she walked past Sophie, carrying the ham to the dinning room table. Sophie was still for a moment as she glared at Kirsten's back then returned to her task at hand.
"Sandy, close your mouth; it's bad form!" Sophie said, not even turning to look at her son. Sandy quickly closed his mouth, still unsure of how his mother could always tell what he was doing when she was not even looking at him. Then again he could do the same with his children and they all wondered how he did it too.
"Ma, do you have to be so mean to Kirsten? What has she ever done to you?" Sandy asked, a bit more defensively than he had meant to.
"Sandy, she's a spoiled rich girl who's had everything handed to her in life! How can you ask a question like that?" Sophie hissed as she carried plates to the dinning room. Sandy picked up a few wine glasses and followed his mother, knowing that if he left the two women alone for too long a fight would more than likely ensue.
"Ma, can we please not go over this again? Especially tonight, it's the beginning of Chrismukkah!" Sandy pleaded as he sat down the wine glasses. Kirsten quickly took them from where he had placed them and began putting them at each chair.
"Sandy, Chrismukkah isn't even a holiday!" Sophie snapped as she placed the plates around the table.
"Sophie, in our family it is a holiday. Seth, Ryan, and Sophie consider it a holiday, and I'd think you'd be happy since we are incorporating Judaism into our family!" Kirsten said, having just about enough of Sophie's snide remarks.
"Well I'm not happy! You've made a mockery of Hanukkah, a sacred Jewish celebration!" Sophie stormed out of the dinning room and disappeared into the hall. Sandy and Kirsten stood in the middle of the dinning room, giving each other confused looks.
"Sandy, I've never seen your Mother like this before. What's wrong with her?" Kirsten asked, a bit worried about the woman that had made her life a living hell every time she saw her.
"I don't know, I'm gonna go talk to her. Can you finish up in here on your own?"
"Sure, go talk to her!" Kirsten smiled reassuringly. Sandy returned the smile and gave Kirsten a quick peck on the cheek then went to find his mother. Sandy was shocked to find his mother sitting on his daughter's bed, smoothing out the wrinkles in the Disney Princess comforter on Sophie's bed.
"Ma, what's goin' on with you? Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you're here but you never make spur of the moments trip, especially to California. Now please, tell me what is going on!" Sandy said as he entered the room. Sophie let out a long sigh then looked up at Sandy.
"I just regret everything I've missed in Seth's life, in Sophie's, in your's! You, my son, have a family that I've never really gotten to know and I guess I thought spending Hanukkah with all of you would help me bond with you and my grandchildren!" Sophie glanced down at the floor, not wanting Sandy to see the tears that were welling up in her eyes.
"Ma, you don't have anything to regret. You've been helping people and sometimes that takes you away from your family but Seth knows you love him, and Sophie, well, as long as you've brought a present for her she'll love ya! And as for me, I know you love me Ma and I love you. I won't lie, it would've been nice if you'd been around more when I was a kid and it would've been nice if you'd been the doting Grandmother when Seth was little and when Sophie was born, but you are a part of their lives. And if you want, you can be a bigger part of their lives!" Sandy had tried on several occasions to get his mother to be a bigger part of Seth's life when he was younger but once they had moved back to Newport Sophie had distanced herself even more from all of them. The only correspondence she had had with them over the years was when she would send Sandy and Seth birthday cards and when Sandy and Kirsten would send her pictures of Seth.
"Sandy, I do want to be part of their lives. I fought cancer and I kept telling myself once I got better I would get to know my son and grandsons better but I never did. It wasn't until the other day when a young boy's case file came across my desk that I remembered that promise. Now though I have a son, two grandson's, and a granddaughter to get to know. That's why I came here without calling ahead. I wanted to surprise you, and them. But I've instead ruined your holiday which you have a full house for!" Sophie said as she stood to her feet.
"Ma, I'm glad you're here and I want you to spend Chrismukkah with us. We'd like to get to know you better too. You can stay here too, there's always enough room at the manger!" Sandy joked. Sophie narrowed her eyes at the reference to Christmas but let it pass.
"Sandy, where do you think I'm gonna sleep?" Sophie questioned, her hands on her hips.
"Well, I'll let Kirsten help with that one. She's much better at organizing people! C'mon, let's help her finish getting dinner ready!" Sandy said as he began walking out of the room.
"Lord knows she shouldn't be left alone with food for too long!' Sophie said as she followed Sandy out of the bedroom.
"Mom, you've gotta get that off!" Seth whined as he stood in the kitchen, surrounded by Summer, Ryan, Taylor, Sophie, Julie, Kaitlin, and Blake as he looked pleadingly at Kirsten.
"Seth, I don't know how to get that off. What is it?" Kirsten asked, trying to figure out what the stain was.
"Summer, would you care to tell my Mom what that is and how it got there?" Seth asked in a high pitched tone as he turned to Summer.
"It's grape bubble gum. I kinda gave Sophie a piece!" Summer said, dropping her head in shame.
"And where did she put it? She couldn't be like any other two year old and swallow it or throw it on the ground! No, she has to take it and stick it in his tail. Sophie, why? What has Captain Oats ever done to you?" Seth babbled.
"Dude, it's just a plastic horse!" Ryan said rolling his eyes.
"It is not just a pastic howse!" Sophie piped up quickly, looking lovingly at the horse. "And I hut him!" Sophie cried as tears filled her big blue eyes and ran down her cheeks.
"Seth!" Summer and Kirsten scolded in unison. Summer punched him in the arm while Kirsten picked Sophie up.
"Sophie, it's ok sweetie!" Kirsten cooed as she patted the little girl's back.
"This is so funny!" Kaitlin laughed as everyone stood watching.
"I'm so thankful Blake doesn't have a favorite toy!" Julie smirked as she held Blake.
"Mom, can you get it out?" Seth asked, more worried about Captain Oats than his sister.
"SETH!" That time everyone standing in the kitchen yelled at him. Seth rolled his eyes and took Sophie from his Mom, knowing what he had to do.
"Hey, Soph, I'm sorry I kinda went a little crazy but you can't do that to Captain Oats. He's old and c'mon, he's survived me so he has to survive you too!" Seth said as he patted his little sister's back. Sophie looked Seth in the face and gave him a small smile.
"Can you save him Mommy?" Sophie asked turning to her mother. Kirsten stood there a moment looking at the matted mess of gum in the horse's tail and the grass and twigs that were tangled into it.
"Sweetie, I don't know! We might have to cut his tail!" Kirsten answered honestly, not seeing any other way to get the sticky mess out of the horse's tail.
"OH MY GOD!" Seth groaned dramatically, falling to his knees, making sure Sophie did not get hurt as he did so.
"Mommy, no!" Sophie pleaded. Kirsten looked to Julie, hoping she knew what to do. Julie shrugged, never having dealt with gum tangled in a plastic horse's tail.
"Well, when Kaitlin was little we had to cut her hair because she had gum in it. She cried for three days because she didn't have Rapunzel hair anymore. Jimmy and I thought we'd never get her to stop. Then Marissa cut her hair exactly like Kaitlin's and she finally stopped crying!" Julie smiled as a tear ran down her face. Kaitlin placed her hand on Julie's arm and Julie pulled her into a hug. Kirsten smiled sympathetically at her friend, unable to imagine how painful it must be to lose a child.
"When I was in the third grade Luke put gum in my hair and my Mom brushed it out. It hurt!" Summer said, cringing at the memory.
"Luke put gum in my hair too!" Taylor exclaimed.
"Yeah, he was weird!" Summer said, nodding seriously. Taylor nodded in agreement.
"Well, how'd you get the gum out?" Ryan asked.
"My Mom cut it out. She was so mad, I thought she was going to kill Luke!" Taylor laughed.
"Is that the day she came to school and demanded to talk to Luke?" Summer asked.
"Yes, Oh My God, I was so embarrassed!" Taylor blushed. Both girls laughed at the memory.
"It's really great that you guys share memories but could please focus on the task at hand. How are we going to get the gum out of Captain Oat's tail?" Seth asked, loosing his temper.
"Seth, I think we're going to have to cut his tail. I don't know what else to do!" Kirsten said as she placed the horse down on the counter. Just then Sandy and Sophie entered the kitchen.
"What's going on in here?" Sophie asked, not expecting to find the kitchen full of people.
"Wow, this reminds me of Ryan's second Chrismukkah!" Sandy chuckled.
"Sandy!" Kirsten warned. Sandy held up his hands.
"Sorry! What's going on though?" Sandy asked walking over to Kirsten.
"Sophie put gum in Captain Oat's tail and we're gonna have to cut it out!" Kirsten answered, closing her eyes as Seth and Sophie both shrieked in horror.
"You don't have to cut it out! Here give it to me, I think I can get the gum out!" Sophie said as she walked over to the refrigerator and pushed the ice button. Two cubes of ice fell into Sophie's hand and she took Captain Oats from Kirsten. Seth and Sophie held their breath as they watched The Nana rub the ice over the grass covered gum and pulled the stick wad out of the horse's tail, only taking a few black strands with it. Sophie then disposed of the ice cubes and gum and walked over to the sink where she began washing the tail.
"Is Capon Oaps O.K.?" Sophie asked, walking over to her grandmother.
"He just needs to dry!" Sophie said as she placed Captain Oats on a dish towel to dry. "Now you Sophie, don't put gum in his tail again. All right?" Sophie said to her granddaughter as she picked the little girl up.
"Ok! Thanks The Nana!" Sophie smiled and rapped her arms around her Grandmother's neck.
"You're welcome sweetheart!" Sophie said as she kissed the girl's cheek gently.
"That is so sweet!" Taylor exclaimed as she placed her hands over her heart.
"Yeah, but it's rare that you get to see The Nana being so nice!" Ryan whispered into Taylor's ear. Taylor nodded then turned to Ryan, knowing that she had something to do.
"Ryan, I need to talk to you!" Taylor said abruptly. Ryan stood there a moment shocked by her sudden need to talk to him then nodded. Just as Ryan opened his mouth Kirsten called them all to dinner.
"After dinner?" Ryan asked.
"Sure!" Taylor nodded and took his hand as he led her into the dinning room for Chrismukkah dinner.