Layers of snow covered the city and suburban neighborhoods of Wilmington as white flakes continuously fell through the sky led by a chilling cold breeze. It seemed the port town had been transformed into a snowy winter wonderland; Riley made sure to take great advantage over that. Rock and Revy had set up a playdate with her friend Liz and the two had hardly gone back inside the house with how much fun they were having. Riley and Liz were wearing thick jackets and pants better suited for the frosty backyard as they threw snowballs at each other; thankfully the pool wasn't frozen over.
"Hey, I got something else we can do after.", Liz exclaimed as she threw another snowball at Riley. "What is it?", Riley asked before getting hit straight in the face by it then hurling another one back. "How about we make snow angels?", Liz suggested before getting hit by Riley's snowball. "I don't think I've made a snow angel before.", Riley admitted. "Really? It's pretty easy.", Liz replied, "Watch me do it.", she said before laying onto the floor.
"All you gotta do is move your arms up and down while opening and closing your legs.", Liz explained as she demonstrated by doing those exact motions repeatedly. She then got off the floor and stood next to Riley who examined the newly made snow angel in curiosity. "Ooh, that is pretty easy.", Riley commented. "Mhm, now you try.", Liz said. Riley got on the ground next to Liz's angel and began doing the exact same motions albeit more aggressively; bits of snow even got flung all over the place and Riley pounded her hands and feet in the snow a few times. Soon enough though, Riley finished and got back up.
"How did I do?", Riley asked. "Oh, you did…good.", Liz answered as they looked over Riley's messier disproportionate looking snow angel compared to her more cleaner looking one. "Yours looks better though.", Riley commented with slight dismay. "Don't worry, it's like my dad tells me practice makes perfect.", Liz assured. Suddenly, the back door opened and out came Rock. "Hey you two, I just finished making some hot chocolate. Come on inside before it gets cold.", he announced. "Hot cocoa!", Riley exclaimed before rushing inside much to Liz's surprise. "Wait for me!", she said, running behind her friend.
Riley then sat by the dinner table where Revy was sitting across from her, drinking from one of the mugs. "Guess ya couldn't resist your dad's cocoa.", Revy playfully said to her eager daughter. "It's really hot, but also really good!", Riley replied. "Well, you gotta drink it little by little. That's how you don't burn your tongue.", Revy advised before drinking another sip. Soon Rock arrived with Riley's mug of hot chocolate as well as another one for Liz and himself before the four of them sat down together and drank.
"So Liz, are you and your family going to do anything for Christmas?", Rock asked her. "She's gonna go visit her grandma and grandpa.", Riley answered for Liz. "I was talking to her, but that's nice to hear.", Rock replied. "They live in New Mexico.", Liz added. "That's very far.", Riley commented. "Yeah, but we do it every year.", Liz responded. "When do you guys leave?", Revy asked. "Next week.", Riley answered for Liz again, making her glance at her with slight annoyance. "Yeah, next week.", Liz answered for herself this time, "And then we come back after New Years.", she further explained. "That's cool.", Rock nodded, "We've never been to New Mexico." "Or Old Mexico.", Riley added.
"It's got really cool stuff over there!", Liz said, "They got this big balloon you ride on and all these cool arts and stuff.". "That does sound really cool.", Revy agreed. "Yeah.", Liz nodded before drinking her hot chocolate. "We're just gonna hang out here and stuff then we open presents on Christmas!", Riley said with utmost excitement on the last part, "Sometimes Sunglasses Guy comes over after a few days and brings a big cool present!", she added, which Rock and Revy subtly glanced at each other in an awkward manner. "Who's Sunglasses Guy?", Liz innocently asked. "He's a longtime friend of ours.", Rock answered. "Santa always drops off the biggest presents with him.", Riley added.
Soon enough, the four of them managed to finish their hot chocolate before Rock's phone suddenly began to ring. "I'll be getting that..", Rock said before he picked up the phone and started pacing around the kitchen, "Hello, Okajima.", he greeted. "Hey Rock.", Liz's father Calvin greeted in turn. "Oh hey Calvin.", Rock replied. "How's Liz doin'?", Calvin asked. "She's doing good.", Rock answered, "She and Riley have been playing outside all day and we just had some hot cocoa.".
"That's great to hear! Sheryl and I just left Richard's friend's house and we're on our way to pick Liz up.", Calvin informed. "Oh okay, I'll let her know now.", Rock nodded. "Great, we're headin' outta town for the holidays and need to do some more packing.", Calvin replied. "I heard you're going to New Mexico.", Rock recalled. "Yep, in-laws live over there and we're gonna go visit.", Calvin confirmed, "Anyway, see ya guys in a bit.". "See you in a bit.", Rock nodded before the two dads hung up.
"Liz, your dad just called. He said he's gonna be here soon.", Rock notified her. "Aw already?", Riley disappointedly asked. "You girls have been out playing for a long time now, it's time to go.", Rock replied which only made his daughter groan in further disappointment. "Hey Riley, did you give Santa your Christmas list yet?", Liz asked to lighten her mood. "Aw aw.", Riley shook her head, "I know what I want but I gotta write it down.". "Ya should probably do that pretty soon.", Revy chimed in, "Christmas is right around the corner.". "I'll write it in a bit.", Riley responded. "Well, I already know what I want.", Liz said, "A new hairbrush, a new soccer ball, some shoes, and-", before she could list everything she wrote down, the doorbell rang to which Rock answered the door, revealing Liz's parents.
"Hey guys.", Rock greeted as he shook their hands. "Hiya Rock.", Liz's mother Sheryl waved back. "Liz is in the kitchen with Revy and Riley, we just had some hot chocolate.", Rock informed. "I heard.", Sheryl replied, "We had some back at Richard's friend's house too.". "Where is he?", Rock asked, peaking around his front doorstep. "Oh he's in the car waitin'.", Calvin answered, "Mind if we step inside?". "Oh no, go ahead.", Rock said as he got out of the way and led Liz's parents inside to meet up with their daughter.
"Mom, Dad!", Liz called out to them as they approached her. "Hi Liz's mom and dad!", Riley waved as they approached closer. "Hey you two.", Revy greeted. "We're not gonna be here for too long cuz we have to go back home and continue packin' for our trip, but just thought we'd say hello.", Calvin said as he shook Revy's hand. "Did you two have fun in the snow today?", Sheryl asked the two little girls. "Yeah! We threw snowballs and made snow angels!", Riley excitedly answered. "We were out for a long time.", Liz added. "Honestly, I thought they'd probably be at it till it dusk with how much fun they were having.", Revy commented.
"Are you doing anything for the holidays?", Sheryl asked again. "Just the usual open gifts and stuff under the tree.", Revy answered, "Someone here needs to give Santa her Christmas lists soon.", she added as she teasingly glanced at her daughter. "I'll…I'll get right to it!", Riley said before running off to get a paper and pencil to write down what she wants much to the amusement of the adults. Riley searched her father's office for a paper and a pencil until finally seizing both items. "Things I want, things I want…", Riley pondered for a moment before the imaginary lightbulb glowed in her head, "Oh!", she exclaimed before she began writing. The list ended up having five things on both sides, mainly because Riley had big handwriting before she eventually heard a knock on the office door.
"Riley, Liz is leaving now.", Rock informed, "Come say bye to her and her parents.". "In a little bit!", Riley replied before hastily finishing up the list by adding the title and running out the room to say bye to her friend. The Arnetts were heading out the door before Riley suddenly ran up to Liz. "Liz! Liz! Bye!", Riley shouted as she charged towards her. "Bye Riley-OOF!", Liz replied before Riley suddenly hugged her. She gave a hug in turn before ultimately parting ways. "Have fun in New Mexico!", Riley waved as Liz and her parents walked to the car. "Thanks, I will!", Liz waved back. With all said and done, the Arnetts left the Okajima residence and went back home to continue packing for their trip. Rock and Revy then sat on the couch and went to look over Riley's list.
"Alright, let's see what ya want from Santa…", Revy said before reading the list. "There's a back too.", Riley notified her mother. Revy turned the list over briefly and she and Rock did indeed peek at the back for a split second before turning it back around. "Okay, it says here you want a pet snake…", Rock listed, "Laser guns…a LEGO set…a SpongeBob DVD…and a 'free forever' McDonald's coupon…Riley, you don't even pay for it.". "Well it's for when I do have to pay for it.", Riley retorted.
Rock stayed silent on that remark as Revy turned the list around. "This side says…poop in Burnt Face Lady's stocking..", Revy said with a slight snicker, "A bike, a 'Can't Call on Me Forever coupon against that old guy from school', a rocket ship…and a tambourine.", she finished. "So can Santa bring all of that for me?", Riley enthusiastically asked, making her parents' eyes glance at each other for a moment before looking back at her. "I don't know about everything on the list, but…he'll definitely try gettin' most of it.", Revy assured with a slight hint of hesitation.
"But he's Santa! He has magic elves and a workshop where they make all kinds of presents for all the nice people!", Riley argued. "We'll just see about that.", Rock replied. "Did you guys tell Santa what you want?", Riley asked. "Yeah, of course we did.", Rock answered. "What's Santa gonna get you and Mommy?", Riley further asked. "Oh, well that-", Rock was about to answer before Revy interrupted him, "I know for a fact Santa's gotcha a very nice present.", she said, giving her husband a playful smirk as she put an arm around him. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure Santa got something pretty great for you too.", Rock replied with a warm smile towards his wife.
"But what is it you two asked Santa?", Riley asked again with slight impatience in her voice. "That's a secret between grownups.", Rock answered, making his daughter let out a disappointed groan, "But anyway, we all know what we want for Christmas.". "Okay then…", Riley shrugged before she started heading upstairs to her room.
"You're done with the snow for today?", Revy asked. "Yeah, there's not much to do left.", Riley answered. "Ya could build a snowman.", Revy suggested. "Oh yeah, I didn't do that today!", Riley brightly replied before immediately running back down and heading outside with her mother about to follow suit. "Wait, Revy.", Rock called out to her before gesturing to her to walk back to the couch. Revy went to where Rock was sitting with the latter making sure Riley wasn't in earshot. "Now that we know what Riley wants, we have to start shopping like now before everything gets sold out.", Rock said. "Well one of us has to stay here and watch Riley while she makes a snowman.", Revy responded, pointing to the backyard.
"Now that you mention it… I kinda want to make a snowman too.", Rock muttered. "Do that when ya get back from shopping then.", Revy replied. "Why am I the one who has to do the shopping?", Rock questioned. Revy slightly groaned, "Fine. Rock, paper, scissors on who has to do the shopping.". Rock and Revy got their hands out to play a quick game of rock, paper, scissors and quickly jerked their respective fists three times before drawing out their 'weapon' of choice. Revy chose 'rock' while Rock, ironically enough, chose 'paper'. "Guess it's your turn to do the shopping this year.", Rock commented. Revy sighed, "Alright fine. I'll be back.", she said before heading upstairs to get her things. Meanwhile, Rock grabbed his green sweatshirt and went outside to meet with Riley.
Riley sat by the snow and saw her father approach her. "Daddy, you're gonna build a snowman too?", Riley asked with a surprised yet still ecstatic tone. "Yep!", Rock happily answered. "What about Mommy? Is she gonna build one too?", Riley further asked. "Well, she-", before Rock could finish answering those followup questions, Riley suddenly spotted her walking out the front door, wearing a black turtleneck, matching black sweatpants, black gloves, cowboy boots, a brown coat, and a red skirt; she also wore a small red hat as well. "Hey, where's she going?", Riley asked, making Rock's eyes slightly widen. "Oh, she has stuff to do…grownup stuff.", Rock answered with slight nervousness that their plan could've potentially been exposed.
Riley obliviously blinked at Rock's answer before the latter went to gather some snow. "Anyway…y'know how to make one?", he asked in hopes of changing the subject. Riley shook her head in response. "Well, I'm gonna help you make one.", Rock replied "First you have to scoop a lot of snow and roll it into a ball.", he instructed as he did exactly that. Riley quietly obeyed her father's instruction and gathered all the snow she could find before morphing it into a ball.
"That's the bottom part.", Rock replied, "Now for the middle part, you do the same thing but make the snowballs a little smaller. Be careful stacking it or it could fall apart.", he then proceeded to demonstrate and make a relatively medium-sized snowball to stack on top of the bottom part. Riley followed suit, but when she tried stacking it on top of her snowman's bottom part, it crumbled upon accidentally squeezing it too hard. "Hey, it fell apart!", she whined. "Hey hey, it's okay.", Rock assured her, "Just try and be careful, don't hold it too hard.", he advised as he helped Riley scoop up more snow before forming it into a medium-sized ball and stacking it on top of the large one.
"And now, make a small ball and stack it on top.", Rock said as he demonstrated in front of Riley and put a relatively small snowball on top of his medium-sized ball. Riley did exactly what her father said and stacked a small snowball on top of her medium-sized ball. Father and daughter then looked forward and saw the two trios of stacked snowballs next to each other, Riley in particular was beaming with pride. "We did it! We stacked them all!", Riley cheered. "Yep, we sure did.", Rock smiled and nodded, "But we still have a few things left to do.", he added. "The arms and the face?", Riley guessed. "Exactly.", Rock confirmed, "Now let's go find some sticks and rocks.".
Meanwhile, Revy had driven away to Walmart with the list Riley had provided. With the holidays closing in, the stores were bound to be packed. "Fuckin' Christ and I thought parking for gettin' the tree was bad.", Revy muttered as she got out of the car and walked into the store. "Kay, first things first: laser guns.", she thought to herself before letting out a slight snort and smirk. The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree…thankfully, said apple isn't rotten. Revy then grabbed a cart and began searching the toy section.
Thankfully when she checked, there were still quite a few laser guns in stock. Revy grabbed two of them to give to her daughter. Next up was the LEGO set which had its own distinct and varied section…a little too distinct and varied though. "Shit, doesn't say here what kinda set she wants…", Revy said to herself as she checked the list and searched the shelves. She wanted to find something cool and also easy for Riley to build before stumbling upon two sets: one for a helicopter and one for a boat.
"Now which one to get.", she thought to herself as she grabbed the two boxes, "Maybe I oughta ask Rock what he thinks.". Revy then grabbed her cell phone and immediately dialed her husband. Unfortunately, Rock had left his cell phone inside leading her to voicemail. "Hello, you've reached the number of Rock Okajima. If you're a client, please state your name and reason for calling and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Goodbye.", the message said as Revy groaned in annoyance and she hung up. "Guess I'm on my own then!", Revy said in an exasperated tone.
"Hey Miss, can I get the helicopter set you have?", a small boy innocently asked behind Revy. "Y'know what…why not? Here ya go.", Revy shrugged before giving the small boy the LEGO set for the helicopter, leaving her with the LEGO set of the boat. "Thanks Miss! Now I got everything in the City set!", the boy cheerfully said. "Robert! Where are you? We have more groceries to buy!", a woman called out to presumably, her son. "Coming Mommy!", the boy replied before running off. "Seems I made that kid's day…", Revy mumbled before walking off to find the next thing on the list: a SpongeBob DVD.
She made her way to the movie section where things were running low, but thankfully a SpongeBob DVD was in sight. Revy immediately went to seize it, but suddenly another woman grabbed it as well. "Um, I believe you have your hand on the last SpongeBob DVD here in the store.", the woman told Revy. "Well tough shit, I saw it first.", Revy snidely replied.
"Well, I've been searching all across town for this DVD so hand it over!", the woman retorted, trying to snatch the DVD out of Revy's tight grip. "Hey lady, you probably don't know this but there's a Blockbuster a couple blocks away. Just go there!", Revy informed with rising anger in her voice before pulling the DVD in her direction. "Why don't you go there then, huh?!", the woman snapped back in a somewhat mocking tone.
"Let go of the fucking SpongeBob DVD!", Revy demanded through gritted teeth and barely concealed rage. "You're making this much more difficult than it needs to be.", the woman belittled, "I just want to get a nice present for my kids to watch this Christmas-". "Well newsflash bitch: I'm a mom too.", Revy interrupted in a threatening tone, "And I'm not lettin' you get in the way of buying my kid's Christmas presents.". "Well I'm afraid my kids' times are far more valuable than yours then.", the woman argued back. Revy finally lost it.
"Oh, don't you DARE SHIT ABOUT MY DAUGHTER!", Revy screamed as she gained extra strength to snatch the DVD out of the opposing woman's hand then delivered a nasty left jab to her face, slamming her to the floor and knocking her out. Revy huffed at the sight before her before walking away at a rapid pace, lowkey hoping no one spotted her but still somewhat seething over the brief scuffle; to say that other woman fucked with the wrong mom would be an understatement.
Back at the Okajima residence, Rock and Riley gathered some sticks and rocks to make their snowmen's arms and faces. "Alright, this part is super easy.", Rock said, "For the arms, we just have to stick the branches in the snowman's sides. Like this.", he instructed and demonstrated by shoving one branch into each of his snowman's sides. Riley grabbed two branches she found and stuck them in her snowman's sides. "Now for the face.", Rock said as he grabbed some small rocks off the ground, "You want to put them very carefully into the snowman's head.", he advised. "What about the nose? Don't they have carrots for noses?", Riley asked. "Well yes, but we're doing that in a little bit.", Rock answered, "Now watch me put the eyes and mouth in.".
Riley watched her father as he carefully placed the rocks into his snowman's head. First two served as the eyes and placed a nice distance away from each other before he went and grabbed four of the somewhat bigger rocks and arranged them into a smile. To finish it off, two more rocks were put in the midsection as the buttons. "Okay, now let's try it with yours.", Rock said as he knelt down to watch Riley make her snowman's face.
Riley grabbed two rocks for the eyes and carefully placed them on the head before she grabbed three others to make the mouth. "My snowman's mouth looks small but I'm all outta rocks.", Riley commented. "Here's a few more.", Rock said before handing his daughter four extra ones. With one of the extra pairs, Riley made her snowman's mouth a little wider. "I want mine to look different so no buttons.", Riley told Rock. "Fair enough.", he responded before putting the rocks back on the ground, "I'll grab some carrots for the noses.". Rock quickly went back inside the house and grabbed some carrots out of the fridge before rushing back out.
"Alright, here are the noses.", Rock said before handing Riley a carrot, "Remember, it's the pointy end that has to stick out.", he reminded her before sticking the carrot into the middle of his snowman's head. Riley looked over her snowman and raised her right arm back as if she was about to stab it before her father gently grabbed her wrist. "Gently, Riley, remember.", Rock said. "What if it just falls out though?", Riley asked. "Okay, I'll try helping you out with this one then.", Rock replied before leading Riley's hand to the center of her snowman's face. With a careful amount of pressure, Rock and Riley shoved the carrot nose into the snowman's face until it was properly lodged inside.
"There we go.", Rock exclaimed before he and Riley took a few steps back, "Don't they look great?", he asked. "I think your snowman should wear a tie, Daddy.", Riley answered. Rock playfully smirked, "Why a tie?", he asked. "Because you always wear one, so the snowman should wear one too!", Riley replied. Rock simply chuckled in return, "Okay, maybe I'll give him one of my spare ties then.", he said. Rock went back inside the house and searched his closet for any spare ties he had. Thankfully, he did and he went back outside to put it around his snowman's head.
"Okay, what about your snowman?", Rock asked Riley. "What about it?", Riley asked. "What do you want to decorate it with?", Rock clarified. "Give it a hat!", Riley answered. "Okay, let's do that then.", Rock nodded and smiled. Riley went inside the house and searched for a hat to give her snowman. After looking through her closet for a moment, Riley grabbed the fishing hat she got from Dutch before heading back outside. "Here's the hat!", Riley exclaimed as she placed it on top of her snowman's head. "It looks really good, sweetie.", Rock complimented, "Can't go wrong with a hat like that.".
"I wish Mommy was here to see this.", Riley sighed with slight dismay in her voice, "It would've been super fun for her to make one too.". "Yeah it would…", Rock nodded sympathetically, "But at least you're still having fun with me, right?", he additionally asked. "Yeah.", Riley nodded, "Thanks for teaching me how to make a snowman, Daddy.". "Of course sweetie.", Rock replied, "I had a lotta fun doing this too.". Suddenly, a pretty cold breeze hit, making Riley visibly shiver before huttling to Rock's leg for warmth in which Rock wrapped his arms around her in turn. "It's getting a little colder, you wanna head back inside?", Rock asked. "Yeah…", Riley nodded. "Alright, let's head back inside then.", Rock replied before leading Riley inside the house.
Rock and Riley took their coats off before sitting on the couch together. "Hey Daddy.", Riley called out to her father. "Yeah?", Rock asked. "Did it snow where you came from?", Riley asked. "All the way back in Japan, yeah, it snowed. Where your mother and I lived and worked with your two uncles. No, it just got kinda cold but that's about it.", Rock answered. "What about where Mommy lived before she met Uncle Dutch?", Riley further asked. "Oh there…yeah, it snowed there too.", Rock reluctantly answered. "Did you also play in the snow a lot too?", Riley asked again. "I sure did, had a few snowball fights with other kids at school and at the playground.", Rock answered, "I didn't exactly win a whole lot though…".
"I bet Mommy got into a lot of snowball fights and won!", Riley excitedly proclaimed which dawned a somber look on Rock. "Look Riley, try not to bring up or ask about your mother's childhood. She's a lot happier now, but it was still a really rough time for her.", he urged. "She grew up without a family, right? Not even any friends?", Riley asked which Rock shook his head to. "Again, I don't want you bringing it up to her.", Rock said, "She's not gonna get mad at you, but still please don't do it.", he pleaded.
"What about your childhood, Daddy?", Riley asked, "Was it pretty sad too?". Rock took a deep breath and sighed, "Like I said, I grew up in Japan. I had my parents and my older brother, but they didn't really talk to me a whole lot.", he informed her. "Why not?", Riley asked. "Well…", Rock hesitated to answer, "My brother, he always ends up doing some…pretty amazing things which always got my parents' attention like getting that perfect A plus in school or that big new job. I…I just didn't. And then you already know the story of my boring old job which…eventually led me on the cruise I met your mother and two uncles on.".
Riley's eyes looked slightly down which Rock noticed, "Look, I'm not telling you this to make you feel bad or anything.", he assured, patting his daughter on the back, "I'm just…telling you how it went down.". "Is that why I don't have a brother or a sister?", Riley asked. "No, that's a totally different story.", Rock quickly answered. "What about friends? Did you have any?", Riley asked. "Yeah, I had some friends.", Rock nodded, "But as we got older, we went our own ways.". Riley quietly nodded at her father's answer.
"Overall, using all that stuff I went through plus that time with your mother…upon meeting you for the first time I thought 'I'm gonna make sure my little girl doesn't have to go through being ignored like I did. I'll give her all the attention and care I didn't get to have.'.", Rock concluded which made Riley smile brightly at him before the latter went in and gave her father a nice big hug. Rock gave Riley a hug in turn and even a small kiss on her head. "I love you Daddy and I hope you get a lotta happy days and Santa gives you the best present ever.", Riley warmly declared. "I love you too, Riley.", Rock replied, "And you best believe me, my days couldn't be any happier with you two in my life.".
Simultaneously, Revy went searching in the music section for a tambourine. "Okay, tambourine should be a piece of cake…barring some other dumb bitch decides to fight me over it.", she thought to herself. Thankfully for the former gunslinger, getting a tambourine was indeed a lot easier than the SpongeBob DVD and she moved onto getting the remaining items: a bike and a rocket ship. The two 'forever coupons', the pet snake, and Balalaika's poop-filled stocking are…gonna have to be off the list for the time being. The rocket ship had Revy go back to the toy section once more and just like the LEGO set, there wasn't any kind of specific rocket ship mentioned.
"Guess one of the bigger ones will do.", she muttered before grabbing a big rocket ship playset that even came with a few small astronaut figures and placed it in the cart. "Now for the bike.", Revy said, "Rock's payin' for that.". Suddenly, her cell phone rang and she went to pick it up. "Yello.", Revy replied.
"Hey Revy, did you call me earlier?", Rock asked. "That was like 20 minutes ago, I'm almost done getting Riley's presents; just need the bike.", Revy answered. "That's great, Riley and I made snowmen together.", Rock replied. "Did she have fun?", Revy warmly asked. "Yeah, we had fun.", Rock nodded, "She wishes you were there though.". "Well…when I get back home and she's still down, I'll go play with her too.", Revy assured. Rock chuckled, "Y'know how Riley is.". "Yeah, probably don't even need to ask.", Revy smirked and shrugged, "Anyway, you're payin' for the bike.", she added. "Need me to send the money through ?", Rock asked. "Nah, I grabbed your credit card before I left.", Revy bluntly answered. "You could've just asked…" Rock annoyedly told his wife.
"Anyway, shopping's been smooth sailing and I should be home in a bit.", Revy informed as she took the cart to the bike section. "Alright, we'll start wrapping later.", Rock said. "Sounds good to me, see ya later.", Revy nodded before the two of them hung up on each other. "Alright, time to find a bike…", Revy mumbled as she looked over the bike section, "Riley doesn't need her training wheels anymore so 'big kid' bikes are what I'm lookin' for.". She then looked at the various amounts of bikes stacked on the shelves to see which ones best suited Riley before eventually finding a small green and black one.
Unfortunately, there wasn't a way to put it in the cart so Revy had to go find an employee to help her out. Thankfully, a Walmart employee was indeed close by and passed by her. "Excuse me, ma'am. Do you need help with anything?", the employee asked. "Yeah.", Revy said, turning around to him, "I'm thinking of buyin' that little green and black bike, how do I get it in the cart?", she asked. "Oh, you don't need to put it in your cart. We can just take it from here.", the employee answered, "Do you need anything else?". "Nope, done all my holiday shopping already. I'm ready to pay.", Revy answered. "How about a warranty? If the bike breaks, we'll be able to fix it for free for the first three years.", the employee offered. "Sure, why not.", Revy shrugged. "Great, I'll lead you to a register then.", the employee said before grabbing the bike and leading Revy to the front of the store.
The lines have thankfully died down at least somewhat, allowing her to enter one of the lanes and pay for Riley's Christmas gifts. Revy paid for most of the items in cash but she did use her husband's credit card to pay for the bike plus the warranty. With all said and done, it was time to go home. Revy put the bike in the trunk of her car and the rest of the presents in the backseat before hopping in the driver's side. She then picked up the phone to call Rock as she began driving away.
"Revy?", Rock asked as he picked up the phone. "Hey, I just left Walmart and headin' back home now.", she announced, "Is Riley downstairs with you?". "No, she's up in her room right now.", Rock answered, "We don't have to start wrapping presents immediately though.". "Yeah I know, but it'd probably be best if we start soon.", Revy replied, "At least take all the stuff down.". "I guess we could do that, only problem is the bike.", Rock replied. "Bike's probably gonna be hidden in the garage or something.", Revy suggested. "Yeah that sounds about right.", Rock nodded, "You want me to start making dinner? I'm planning to make ramen with chicken.". "Sure, I'll take it.", Revy answered, "Anyway, see ya in a bit.". "See you in a bit.", Rock replied before the two of them hung up.
Soon enough, Revy pulled up on the snowy driveway and began taking down the stuff from Walmart minus the bike. She then went upstairs into her and Rock's bedroom to put everything away in the closet for now as well as hang up her jacket and take off her hat and gloves before heading back out. "Mommy, you're back!", Riley exclaimed, appearing before her. "Yep, I'm back.", Revy playfully said kneeling to Riley's eye level, "I heard you and your dad played in the snow.", she added. "Yeah, he taught me how to make a snowman!", Riley said. "That's awesome!", Revy enthusiastically replied, "Anything else happen?". "It got a little too cold so we just went inside.", Riley answered.
"Well if you're down, we can continue playing in the snow after dinner.", Revy offered, which Riley eagerly nodded to. "I wanna see you make a snowman and maybe do a snowball fight.", Riley said much to her mother's amusement. "Okay but I'm warning ya, I've got a good aim~.", Revy jokingly warned her daughter. "Well…well…so do I!", Riley rebutted, which only made Revy chuckle slightly. Before their banter could continue, however, a voice called out to them. "Revy, Riley! I made dinner!", Rock shouted. "Comin' in a sec!", Revy shouted back before turning back to Riley, "Welp, time for dinner.", she said before walking with Riley downstairs and into the kitchen.
Rock had just finished up three bowls of steaming warm chicken ramen with chopsticks in place and he served some water in three glass cups as his wife and daughter sat down. "Some nice warm ramen for a cold winter day.", Rock muttered before he grabbed his chopsticks and started eating. Revy then grabbed hers as well and started eating before Riley grimaced at her chopsticks as she attempted to pick up her food with them. Unfortunately, most of the noodles and the chicken tend to fall out much to her frustration no matter how many times she tries. "Why do we have to eat with these stupid sticks?", Riley blurted out. "Those are just what we eat ramen with, sweetie.", Rock answered. "But we have forks and spoons and they're a lot easier to use!", Riley argued. "I know it's a little tricky at first, but sooner or later you'll get it.", Rock replied, "Just try to use your fingers to-". "Rock, just give her a fork.", Revy interrupted.
Rock relented and got up from the table to grab Riley a small fork before sitting back down. Now Riley was actually able to grab and eat her food without problems. "So Mommy, what was all the grownup stuff you did?", Riley asked. "Oh well, I just had to drive around to some places and stuff…", Revy answered, "Pretty lame.". "Oh.", Riley replied. "After we're done with dinner, can I see the two snowmen you guys made?", Revy asked. "Yeah sure, they should last quite a while with how the weather's been acting up lately.", Rock answered. "We also put little decorations on them!", Riley added, "So you have to add something on yours too!". "I'll think of something to add. Not gonna lie though, I don't think I've made a snowman either.", Revy admitted. "Daddy can teach you then.", Riley responded. "I mean…it can't be that hard, right?", Revy shrugged. "It's easy, but I can always give pointers.", Rock offered.
"Guess we'll see after dinner.", Revy said before eating more of her noodles. With that said, Rock and Riley also resumed eating their dinner before all three were eventually done. As they put their bowls and cups to wash, Riley wasted almost no time rushing outside to play in the snow again. "Wait Riley, your coat!", Rock called out before handing Riley her coat and putting his back on. Revy grabbed her own jacket as well as her gloves and hat before following her husband and daughter to the backyard.
"Alright, let's try and make a snowman then we can do something very fun.", Revy said as she began forming a snowball then rolling it up until it was big enough to serve as a base. Then she formed another snowball that was somewhat smaller for the midsection. Right when Revy went to form the head though, the second snowball began toppling over which she quickly managed to grab. "Try to add some snow around it, it can be like a sorta glue to stick them together.", Rock advised. "Okay, you hold it then.", Revy replied before grabbing extra snow and 'glued' the two parts together. Rock did as his wife told him before Revy went back to forming the head. Just in case, Rock held the head as well while she stuck it together with snow.
"Now you gotta get the rocks, sticks and the carrot for the arms and face.", Riley instructed. "Yeah I know.", Revy nodded before finding some twigs nearby and shoving them on each side as well as some small rocks to form the face; the carrot nose was placed in shortly after Revy quickly grabbed one from the fridge. "Okay, now add a little accessory if you want.", Rock said. "Well from what I'm seeing, Riley's has the fisher hat and yours has a tie so…", Revy pondered for a moment before an idea flashed in her head, "I know what to put on it!", she exclaimed with a snap of her fingers.
With another quick rush inside the house, Revy searched her closet for whatever small article of clothing she could find before coming across a bandanna from a Halloween party a few years back. She then went back outside and used it to cover the snowman's mouth. "And perfect.", Revy proudly folded her arms, "Went for a more outlaw-ish look.". "It looks cool!", Riley complimented. "Yeah, not bad for your first snowman.", Rock added. "Now the… Snowkajima family's all together.", Revy smiled and nodded. "I'll go get the camera.", Rock said before going inside.
Revy then looked at Riley with a devious smirk on her face, "Okay while your dad's getting the camera, make a snowball. Fast!", she ordered. "He's gonna be in the snowball fight too?", Riley asked. "Yeah, but he doesn't need to know that yet.", Revy playfully replied which earned a mischievous giggle out of her daughter who went ahead and formed the snowball. "Okay, now wait till he's done takin' the picture.", Revy said. "Okay!", Riley nodded as they got into position. Little did Revy know, Riley made a second snowball behind her back.
Soon Rock returned with the camera, "Alright, here are the Snowkajimas!", he exclaimed as he snapped a picture of the three snowmen. "Alright gotta print this later…", Rock muttered looking at his camera, "You gals want a picture with them too-". Before he could finish his question, a snowball crashed on the side of Rock's head with heavy force, sparking laughter from his wife and daughter. "Oh haha. Very funny.", Rock sarcastically remarked but still kept a smile on his face. "And Riley Okajima draws first blood!", Revy announced, still laughing at her husband before suddenly getting a snowball thrown directly at her face.
"Haha, I tricked you Mommy!", Riley exclaimed with boastful laughter. "Oh you little traitor, c'mere!", Revy playfully said before charging and quickly throwing a snowball at her daughter. Rock gave a smirk of his own before rushing in to play as well, grabbing a snowball aimed at whoever was closest to him. "I'm not letting you get away with hitting me!", he shouted. From there, the Okajimas began a rather intense yet fun snowball fight with the sound of their laughter, taunts, and crashing snowballs echoing through the night. As claimed, Revy had amazingly great aim with her snowballs and managed to hit Rock and Riley more often than not. However, both father and daughter did manage to land a few hits of their own across the 'battlefield'.
Minutes turned to hours as the three continued their fun before Rock and Revy collapsed onto the snow unable to stop laughing from the fun they were having. The couple glanced at each other before Revy noticed Riley curled up on the gazebo chair; the snowball fight and possibly the cold air must've drained her energy. "Must've tuckered her out.", Revy commented as she started getting up.
Rock got up as well and dusted some of the snow off while Revy carried the sleeping Riley over her shoulder, "She got pretty crafty a few times, I'm kinda surprised.", he said while they walked back into the house. "Well yeah, she's not stupid. You should know that.", Revy replied. "Never said she was.", Rock said back, "She just surprises me sometimes, that's all.". They soon headed upstairs and into Riley's room where they took off her jacket and shoes before tucking her into bed with Mr. Hissy. Revy gave Riley a goodnight kiss on her forehead before she turned off the light as she and Rock carefully stepped out of the room. With the dark yet increasingly cold night outside, the Okajima parents head into their room.
"Well, now what?", Revy asked. "I guess we'll start wrapping Riley's presents now.", Rock answered. "Shit, I need to get the bike outta the trunk then!", Revy exasperatedly said facepalming herself. "We can do that tomorrow.", Rock reassured her before she could leave, "For now, we do the little things.", he said, grabbing the Christmas-themed wrapping paper as well as the bags containing the stuff Revy got. Revy grabbed some tape, scissors, bows, and a sharpie to label the stickers with. "I can do the wrapping, you do the labeling.", Rock instructed which Revy nodded to. Thankfully, most of these items were small with the rocket ship playset being the largest among them.
The SpongeBob DVD was the first of the five gifts to get wrapped up in a nice candy cane-patterned wrapping paper. Revy then placed a bow and label on it and wrote 'From: Santa' and 'To: Riley' in surprisingly neat handwriting. Second was the tambourine which was wrapped in gingerbread themed wrapping paper, then came the LEGO boat set which got covered in snowman themed wrapping paper, after that were the dual laser guns in ornament themed wrapping paper, and finally the rocket ship playset which ended up covered in Santa themed wrapping paper; all that remained was the bike in the trunk.
"Alright, that's everything…", Rock said, stacking the presents together deep in the closet, "And then the bike's gonna have to go in the garage.". "Yep.", Revy replied, "Don't forget to wrap my present too by the way.", she added. "Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you. I think you'll like what I got you.", Rock warmly assured. "Is that so?", Revy teasingly asked, "Also, I got something ya might like too, so… I have wrapping to do too.". "Well let me know when you'll start so I won't walk in on you.", Rock said changing into some warm pajamas. "Yeah I will.", Revy nodded, "You do the same with my gift, whatever it is.". "I will.", Rock promised in turn. Revy soon changed into her pajamas as well before the two layed down in bed and covered themselves in thick blankets.
"You wanna watch something Christmas related?", Revy asked, holding the TV remote. "Like what?", Rock asked. "I dunno. A movie, a show, whatever really.", she shrugged. "Yeah, why not.", Rock answered before Revy promptly turned on the TV to see what was on tonight. Ultimately, they ended up watching Elf which was a funny if kinda stupid movie at least according to Revy. Home Alone was another option, but by the time they got to the channel it was playing on, it was already over; it's definitely Revy's favorite. At some point though, both Rock and Revy ended up falling asleep before the movie ended with the TV still airing.
Days passed by as Riley's winter break continued and Christmas drew closer and closer. At some point, Revy grabbed the bike out of her trunk and snuck it into the garage so she and Rock could cover it up in more Christmas-themed wrapping paper. Then finally, they split up to wrap the presents they got for each other; both managed to carefully keep what exactly their gifts are under wraps and before either of the Okajimas knew it, Christmas Day had arrived.
Riley went running from her room and made a mad dash towards her parents' bedroom. Neither Rock nor Revy were even close to awake before their energetic daughter started jumping on the bed repeatedly. "MOMMY, DADDY! WAKE UP! WAKE UP! IT'S CHRISTMAS! IT'S CHRISTMAS!", Riley excitedly shouted. Her parents could only groan, trying to both wake up and process what was going on. "GET UP! GET UP! GET UP-", Riley rapidly shouted as she kept jumping before Revy suddenly grabbed her ankle, making her stop. Revy and Rock slowly shifted and sat up in their bed trying to blink the tiredness from their eyes away.
"Merry Christmas, Riley…", Rock tiredly mumbled as he opened his arms which Riley immediately dived into for a hug; Revy joined in as well. "Merry Christmas!", Riley enthusiastically replied. "Merry Christmas…", Revy yawned. Riley then immediately got off the bed before her parents followed suit, "Let's go! I wanna see what Santa's got me!", she shouted in an eager yet demanding tone. Rock and Revy slowly got up and stretched their arms with the latter briefly scratching her midriff before Riley folded her arms with an annoyed look. "Hurry up already! Stop being sleepy!", Riley impatiently shouted. "Hey, the presents aren't going anywhere so just relax a bit!", Revy snapped back in a more firm tone. "I'll make breakfast after we open the presents.", Rock said. "I need coffee…", Revy muttered.
Riley then ran downstairs and towards the Christmas tree while Rock and Revy slowly followed her before Revy sat down with her and Rock went to make coffee to wake themselves up. The presents were divided into three different sections: Riley's gifts which easily had the most going on, Revy's gifts which consisted of a gift bag and two other presents, and Rock's three gifts which were more…crudely wrapped to say the least. Riley was about to start opening her presents before her mother stopped her. "Let's wait for your dad first.", Revy said. "Fine but I wanna open mine first!", Riley replied which Revy responded by silently placing Riley on her lap and gently wrapping her arms around her.
Rock shortly returned with two cups of coffee as he started taking a sip from his mug before handing the other to Revy which she started drinking as well. "Alright, let's start opening presents now.", Rock said, now with a glimmer of energy inside him. "Riley sweetie, you're up.", Revy happily said before Riley went for the first gift in her sight: the bike.
Without hesitation, she ripped the wrapping paper like it wasn't even there before she gasped as her eyes widened in excitement. "A BIKE! I GOTTA BIKE!", Riley excitedly jumped and shouted which melted her parents' hearts. "Open the other ones!", Revy said and Riley immediately did just that. "SpongeBob!", Riley said as she held the DVD up before going for the next present, "A LEGO boat!". Riley's excitement levels were reaching all new heights as she continued opening gifts. "Laser guns!", Riley exclaimed, "A rocket ship!", she yelled again before reaching the final gift. "A tambourine!", she cried before she started playing it much to Rock and Revy's delight. "Santa did good this year?", Rock rhetorically asked in a playful tone. "YEAH!", Riley promptly answered. "Mrs. Claus helped out too cuz you're that special.", Revy chimed in as she hugged her daughter from behind and gave her an additional kiss on the back of her head.
"Open your gifts, Revy!", Rock happily said. Revy put Riley on the floor and went to her pile to open her gifts. They weren't as big as Riley's, but they were still worth seeing. Revy went for the gift bag first and pulled out all the tissue paper before seeing what her gift was: fingerless shark gloves which she warmly smiled at before putting them on. "Got new gloves.", Revy commented as she examined them. "That's not all~!", Rock replied, "Open the other ones.". Revy smiled at her husband before going for the two other boxes in hand. The first box was small enough to fit in her hand so she opened that one first, "Ooh, an iPod! Fancy.", Revy said. "Now you can listen to any song you want by just looking it up.", Rock said which made Revy smile even more. Finally, the other box was long and flat which she opened to see what it was: a pink sweatshirt with the text 'Purrfect Fit' and some gym attire. "Wow…Santa really knows how to warm a girl's heart, doesn't he?", she flirtingly asked Rock. "Yep, he's quite the charmer!", Rock smirked back in a similarly flirtatious expression.
"Now that leaves you, Rocky Baby.", Revy sighed happily, "Open up!". Rock went for the first gift Revy had for him and it was quite heavy. That didn't discourage him from opening it though and once he did, Rock's eyes nearly bulged out of his skull with surprise and excitement. "An…an Xbox 360!", Rock breathlessly exclaimed, "B-but…where are the-". "Open the rest of the gifts.", Revy interrupted, prompting Rock to immediately do so. What he got were four games, some from the original Xbox: GTA: San Andreas, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, Tetris: The Grand Master Ace, and Shadow the Hedgehog. All Rock could do was silently look over these games in complete awe like he found rare gold. "Well…Santa did good this year?", Revy rhetorically asked. "Yes…yes he did.", Rock smiled bright at his wife and nodded.
"There's also a Sonic game comin' out next year, not sure ya knew that.", Revy commented. "Yeah I know, can't wait to play it.", Rock replied. Suddenly, Riley's stomach growled. "I'm hungry now!", she told her parents. "Well…how do pancakes sound?", Rock happily asked. "Yeah, pancakes!", Riley excitedly raised her arms before she ran off to the kitchen table and sat down. "Yeah, pancakes sound good.", Revy answered, leaning herself on Rock's shoulder.
Rock wrapped an arm around her as their faces drew closer to each other. "We're not under the mistletoe.", Rock teasingly muttered. "We don't need it.", Revy replied, making her husband slightly chuckle. "Just trying to follow Christmas tradition.", he shrugged. Rolling her eyes but still in a very good mood, Revy played along with Rock and snatched a nearby mistletoe and put it above their heads. "There, happy?", Revy softly asked. "Yeah…", Rock replied before the two of them locked lips then parted ways. "Merry Christmas, Rock.", Revy softly whispered. "Merry Christmas, Revy.", Rock whispered back.
From there, the two got up with Rock on breakfast duty and Revy sitting at the dining table with Riley. In addition to pancakes, there were scrambled eggs, bacon, and chocolate milk all of which were pretty scrumptious. The rest of Christmas revolved around the Okajimas trying out their new gifts with the Xbox 360 set up in the living room. At some point, they also received postcards from Liz and her family as well as from their friends back in Roanapur wishing them a Happy Holidays.
Next holiday on the list was New Years, a mere six days away which Rock and Revy have to prepare to make plans for if they want to celebrate it…
Perhaps a vacation of their own would suffice. If not, a trip to see the fireworks outside would work too.