Chapter 56

December 24th, Christmas Eve. The mere mention of the day will cause some to rejoice and other to crawl into a hole and wish for death. Well for Ashlee, Brenda, mom, dad and me, we chose the first one and not the last.

Ashlee woke up with me, we were not cuddling, but right next to each other so when I got out of bed, I woke her up and she joined me for the bathroom. "Why don't you put on your robe and come downstairs with me."

"That is just what I was thinking sweet heart."

Ashlee looked wonderful in her robe. It hung on her in places, but clung to her in others. It really showed off her femininity.

Mom on had on her robe and flannel jammies just like she has for all of the years that I lived at home. She was mixing eggs and other things together in her mixing bowl. Looks like we are having quiche for breakfast. "What are you cooking mom?"

"Breakfast quiche with bacon and all the fixings."

"Yum. Thanks mom." I said.

Then Ashlee came over and said the same thing. "Mom, I'll need the recipe for this as well if I can have them."

"Oh, yes. I'll make sure that you get this one and all of the other ones that I have served over the years." She gave her one arm hug since her hands were dirty. "I'll make sure you get all of the recipes from our family."

"Thanks mom."

I went to the coffee pot and poured two mugs for Ash and I. Once we got our first sip of liquid life I asked the big question of the day. "Mom, what are going to do today?"

She turned toward me wiping her hands on a towel. "Well, in case you hadn't noticed, there is not tree put up. I was planning on doing that today as a family instead of me doing it alone like I used to do it. How does that sound?"

I looked at Ashlee, she agreed with me. "That sounds like a great idea mom. What can we do to help?"

"Oh nothing. Eat first then we all can get dressed and once that is done we can start to put up the tree."

Ashlee and I went to the family room and relaxed while the quiche was in the oven. Mom came in and took her seat in her big blue recliner. "So what are you two going to do for a wedding?"

"Didn't we tell you?" I looked at Ashlee. She was thinking the same thing.

"No honey, you never told me."

"We are so sorry." Ashlee said for us. "We both thought that we told you." Mom was shaking her head. "Well, Paul and I are going to get married at the botanical gardens out east of town. They have a wedding chapel that overlooks the entire garden and the valley and during the spring, it is beautiful. We are going to get the preacher from Paul's old church to perform the ceremony. I think you will love it."

"How much is this going to cost?"

"Mom," I started. "Money is not something we are going to worry about. It won't even be noticed. We are doing this for ourselves and our families so who cares how much it costs."

"Ok honey. I forget your winnings and all. So forgive an old lady holding onto the past."

"We will mom. We love you." I squeezed Ashlee's hand and we were both nodding our heads.

We watched TV, the news, the weather and other updates from the world. The weather channel was giving updates from NORAD about Santa Clause's position on the planet which made for some interesting TV.

Dad came down found us sitting in the family room and came to mom and gave her a kiss. "Good morning honey."

"Good morning. Come sit, we were just talking about their wedding. Did you know that they are going to have it at botanical near Kansas City instead of in a church?"

"Yes I did."

"Well, Ashlee and Brenda don't have a church home and I have already done the big church thing. I wanted to do something different."

"Mom please don't be mad at us. We aren't a 'normal' family anyway." Ashlee used her fingers in the air to emphasis the word normal. "He is a widower, I'm a single mom and Brenda has no father living, we are not traditional in any sense of the word."

"Which reminds me, what happened to Brenda's father?" Dad asked.

"He was killed in a car accident when she was really young. He stuck around after I got pregnant and was very supportive, but I lost him in an accident just like Paul lost his family."

Mom - Well, I am sad to hear that. I am happy that you kept Brenda and not up her up for adoption as so many teenage mothers do. You know I used to work with girls in here in town who get pregnant as students and most of them put the baby up for adoption. If you had done that, I wouldn't have a granddaughter to spoil.

We laughed at that.

Ashlee - My parents really supported me as I went back to school, finished high school and then help me as I went to college and got a degree. My parents raised her just as much as I did. It was a real group effort to be sure.

Dad - I'm impressed more and more as I hear things about your folks. I can't wait to meet them.

Me - Yes, they are pretty cool people. They sure welcomed me into the family. I went as far as to ask her father if I could marry her. Well that scored me some brownie points.

Dad - As it would for any father. It shows respect in the best way.

Me - Sure 'nough.

Ashlee - Mom, I know we talked quite a bit back during thanksgiving, but I never really asked you. Can I marry your son?

Well, that caught us all by surprise. Mom got all teary eyed and ended up crying as the two women hugged it out standing in the family room.

Mom - Sure you can honey. I would be honored to have you as my daughter in law. Welcome to the family.

They cried some more then mom sat on the couch next to Ashlee instead of her chair.

I hugged them both and went to the kitchen to check on breakfast. While I was pouring a fresh cup of coffee, Brenda came in wearing t-shirt and panties.

"Honey, go put on pants, we aren't home."

She looked down at her bare legs and shrugged her shoulders, took a sip of my coffee and went back upstairs.

"Hey." Dad said in surprise when he came to the kitchen to do the same thing I had done. "That is a sight you don't see very often."

"Sorry grandpa. Forgot where I was. I'll go and put pants on."

She spun around and left back through the dining room and living room to put on pants. Dad came over to me after seeing her go. "Does she do that fairly often?"

"Yes. We're pretty loose when it comes to clothes at home. I mean it's just us there and none of us are shy about it. She doesn't flaunt it or anything. She just goes through life not worrying about what she wears."

"What does she wear to school?" Dad sounded worried.

I turned to him. "Dad, rest assured that Ashlee and I don't let her leave the house in risqué' clothing or something that is going to be seen by others. She dresses in rather modest clothes." I took a sip of my coffee gathering my thoughts. "Don't forget she spent her high school years as cheerleader and remember how short those skirts are."

He thought about that. Took a sip of his coffee. "Yes, I suppose you are right. I just didn't expect to see a half-naked woman in my kitchen. You know your sister didn't ever dress like that."

"Well, not in the kitchen. She did moving between her room and bathroom. I've seen her growing up in her undies more than I can count."

"Really? Where was I during this time?"

"At work." Short simple and the truth.

"Yup, I missed so much of you kids growing up while working." He moved next to me. "Speaking of kids, are you and Ashlee going to try and have kids of your own?"

"Yes dad, we are. I have already broached the subject with her. She wants more and looks forward to having them with me."

"Good. Just promise me that you two will come down more often once the babies arrive. We so loved David and Joshua and seeing them once a year for a week during the summer wasn't enough."

"Not a problem dad. Now that you are retired and I'm choosing not to work, we will come down as often as we can."

I went to the stove and checked on the quiche, it was close to being done. "The only problem is going to be the summer times."

Dad started to get plates out of the cabinets, "Why is that a problem? Brenda won't be in college during the summer so you all could come down anytime you wanted."

"Dad, Brenda isn't going to college. She wants to be a race car driver."

He froze holding the plates in his hand. I came to him in case he dropped them. "What do you mean she isn't going to college?"

Now that I was in front of him, he locked eyes with me in a rather stern manner asked me again. "Explain to me why."

I took the plates and went to the dining room. He followed right behind me. "Dad, Brenda wants to race cars for a living and you can't learn that in a class room. You have to learn that with the seat of your pants outside. I'm forming a racing team and I have agreed that we will take this as far as it goes. Maybe she succeeds and maybe she doesn't"

"Oh I'm going to succeed." came the voice entering the room. "I'm going to kick ass and take names and be the first ever woman to win NASCAR championship."

"You sound pretty confident. Why do you think you are going to win?" Dad asked her giving her the intense gaze that had been focused upon me.

"Because grandpa, I just will. I'm going to learn everything I can from others around me and use it to win. Dad is going to put together a killer team with the best equipment and I am going to drive it into the winner's circle."

He was not convinced. He crossed his arms across his chest and continued with the look. "How fast have ever driven? Those guys aren't driving 55."

That question deflated her a bit. She looked at me and then back to my dad. "Well, I got a ticket for going over a hundred, but that was coming down from the 200 I was going before that cop saw me."

"WHAT!!!!!" I bellowed. "HOW FAST DID YOU SAY?"

Now Brenda was really shrinking under our gazes. "I was just about to 200 when my friend saw the cop car and hit the brakes and that was when the cop zapped me."

"Excuse me, what is going on in here? It is too nice of a day to be yelling at each other." Mom and Ashlee said coming into the dining room.

"Go ahead. Tell your mom what you told us." I said to Brenda with my arms crossed my chest.