12:00 PM PST
As Rita Winterson was sitting in the passenger seat next to her husband, Bobby, she felt rather nervous. Their two young children were sitting in the back seat. Their son, Jeff, was six years old - while their daughter, Holly, was four years old. She felt very nervous about actually spending Christmas Eve with the extended Unger family.
Her grandmother, Lillian Unger, was organizing the party. Her twin sister, Rose, would also be there - as well as their older brothers, Rex and Ron. They've all had families of their own. Her husband's stepsisters, Clara and Carla would quite be there - as well as their half-sister, Tina Marie. She was a real sweet girl, and she was thirteen years old.
She thought of how strange it was, that she and her husband were both technically part of the Unger family. Bobby wasn't actually a blood relation, though. It was just after his father, Ian, married Betty - that he ended up becoming part of the family.
There were times when she feared that her union with Bobby would be quite frowned on. Even if Bobby was a blood relation, though - they would just be first cousins once removed. He figured that the union would really be okay in most, if not all, US states.
The one member of her extended family that she actually feared most, though, was young Rafe Unger. He was ten years old, and was rather a holy terror. He was also the best friend of Griff Tannen. They were rather good friends with Chester Nogura and Leslie O'Malley, both of whom actually shared a half brother in Bruce Nogura.
"What's on your mind, honey?" Bobby asked, gently. "I guess you're worried about the kids, eh?" When Rita nodded, he added, "I'm positive they'll be all right. I really believe that Rafe is a holy terror, but I really do think he'll be relatively harmless."
"Well, I hope you're right," Rita replied, sighing. "Even looking back nine years ago, when Rafe was only nine years old, he had this tendancy to bite everyone. He just was a terror, even before he said his first word. Rachel and Ronny have also really taken it upon themselves to constantly chastize us about our union to each other."
"Aw, I wouldn't worry about," Bobby suggested, as he gave Rita's arm a very gentle squeeze. "You know, I was just thinking about Marty McFly Sr. It's sure hard to think that he used to be picked on by Douglas Needles' gang. Ray was in that gang."
"Being called a 'chicken' used to be such a problem for him," suggested Rita. "It was good of him to retire from touring last year, so that he could really spend more time with his family. He's always been a decent man, and he's never acted arrogantly."
"According to my older brother," Bobby replied, "you could be right. It was really his idea to disband The Pinheads, and Marty wasn't real happy about that. We sure did have to tend to our dying mother. I rather miss her badly. The thing is, on the night that Marty's father punched out Biff Tannen, she was rather impressed with him..."
"... that she suggested him running for class president, right?" Rita asked. "It's quite ironic that your stepmother was one of Lorraine McFly's best friends. They really are doing their part to put this city on the map. You simply have to admire the McFlys."
"Yeah, George McFly became a sci-fi writer," Bobby replied, nodding, "and Marty has gained moderate success as a rock star. I think Marty Jr is also so cute. He's just the spitting image of his father. For that matter, Marlene also really looks a lot like him."
"It's sure nice that Verne managed to secure his first record contact last month," Rita was just quick to comment. "Soon, Dr. Emmett Brown really won't be the only famous Brown in this town. Even though, granted, he did actually play a very vital role in the technology that we have nowadays - that people only dreamed about in the 1980s."
"Yeah, back in the '80s," Bobby agreed, as he steered into the alley, "this could've really looked like something out of a sci-fi movie." As he began to descend the car, Bobby announced, "All right, children, we're at Grandma's house! Let's head in."
"I'm very scared, Mommy," Holly commented, as Rita lifted her out of the car seat. As Rita held her daughter close to her, Holly added "I'm sure scared that Rafe is going to hit me. He's just so much bigger than me, and I'm just very afraid that he'll hurt me."
"I'll be there to protect you, little sis," offered Jeff, as Bobby lifted him up. "It's true that he might be bigger than us, but I ain't scared of no bully. Anyway, we'll also be surrounded by friends. Come on, Holly! It's a party! We could have a lot of fun."
"Now that's the right kind of attitude to have," commented Rita. She looked behind her, as she added, "See, there's Uncle Ron and Aunt Bethany just pulling up! I see that Uncle Rex and Aunt Bridget are arriving, as well. That should rather make you kids feel excited. See, kids, that means four of your friends are here right away."
"I see you folks came here before us," commented Ron, as he and Bethany carried the five-year-old twins out of the car. "Rhett and Rhonda were both rather scared about coming here. I gather your kids must've felt pretty much the same way?"
"That's just about the size of it, Ron," Rita replied. "Holly was almost on the verge of tears, so you guys showed up right and time." She then called out, "Hello there, Rex and Bethany. How are Ryan and... Oh, no, it really looks like poor Reba is crying."
"She was very afraid of Rafe," Rex commented, real quietly. "She was running away from us - and then she tried bargaining with us, and she was sure promising that she would do extra chores if we didn't make her come along. It sure wasn't until after we offered to give her two hundred dollars, that we finally managed to placate her."
"I can tell that she was taking it very hard," Ron agreed. "The thing is, I had a harder time with my wife about it - than I did with the kids. Bethany and I had a real big fight over this the other night, in fact - then I quite pointed out to her that my brother and my sisters would be showing up. It was then that she finally agreed to come along."
"Yeah, my hubby managed to twist my arm," Bethany added, smiling weakly. "It feels real nice to be able to see you guys, at least." She looked up, as she added, "It looks like Pierre and Rose are showing up, as well. I really do wonder how they're doing."
"I still remember how Rose met Pierre DuBois in the summer of '98," Rita commented, "and it was love at first site. She always did dream of meeting a real romantic French guy. Do you Marty and Paula felt the same way as the rest of the children did?"
"It could be possible," replied Bridget. "See, I was also rather reluctant about coming along - but I knew how much this actually meant to my husband. I think it was rather sweet of them to name the boy after our very own Marty McFly. Pierre really always was a big fan of him - and I still remember how he actually nearly fainted upon..."
"... meeting Marty McFly," Bethany added, smiling. "I have to admit that I quite was taken aback by that, but I guess that might be because I actually knew Marty McFly before... well, long before he became famous... when he was still an average joe."
"Hi, gang!" called out Rose, as she was carring Paula in her arms. "Why don't we just head inside. It's sure cold outside. Marty was actually quite excited about meeting all of you, but Paula was just so quiet - and she kept clinging onto me for dear life."
"Well, it looks like the freak show has actually arrived," called out a snotty voice. Rita turned around to see that Rachel was quite smirking at them. Her twin sister, Ronny, was also there. "Anyway, Bobby and Rita, I'm not quite sure how you manage to live with yourselves - knowing that the two of you have actually married in the family."
"Whoa, you'd better not say that, Rach," Rajan informed Ronny and Rachel, as he walked up. "They might end up siccing Alex PJ Fox on you, again. Fox J Michael did the same with us nine years ago. If I could just get my hands on Michael J Fox..."
"Yeah, where do all these freaky Michael J Fox relatives come from, anyway?" Ronny added, rolling her eyes. "I just must say, I always quite found the actor to be grossly overrated anyway - you know, a lot like how Marty McFly is quite a grossly overrated musician. I really never understood what other girls saw in those babyfaced sissies."
"You sure must still be bitter about how you didn't get rich off of Haven Brown," Rose was very quick to shoot back, "because it turned out that those collection cards were fake. It really does serve you right for trying to get rich off of one of your victims!"
"Yeah, really," added Tina Marie, as she stepped up. "I'm very proud to be a sister to Bobby, and a cousin to Rita. I think it's so sweet that the two of them quite ended up together. Why don't you snobs leave Rita and Bobby alone? I can't say that I'm quite as proud to have you two for cousins, so much. It's really just such a shame."
"Thank you, Tina Marie," Rita gushed, as she hugged her half-sister-in-law. "It's real hard to believe that you're a teenager, now. It really seems like just yesterday, you were still a little baby. Your brother and I are both very proud of you, sweetheart."
Rita could see that Ronny and Rachel were quite fuming, as Lillian called, "Aren't you folks planning to come inside. The ham is almost done, and I put the dinner rolls on. I think it's pretty cold to really be outside. I'm also baking a bunch of sugar cookies."
"Yeah, Grandma," called out Rita, and she and everyone else made their way to the house, "we're coming!" Turning back to her group, she gushed, "Look at that! I sure think the kids are really starting to have fun. Today might be be so bad, after all."
Bobby just smiled back, as he draped his arm around her shoulders. Rita then caught sight of young Rafe, who she noticed was actually dressed quite nicely - and he sure didn't even stop to harass the little kids. Maybe, just maybe, Rafe would really be on his best behaviour on this special day. One could most certainly hope that, at least.