fourgingerpeople

Author: Liza C.

E-mail address:

liza_cameron@yahoo.c

Title:

Four Ginger People

Chapter 1

"It's 4 a.m."

"I know, Josh."

"Why are we up so early?"

"So we can catch a 7am flight."

"And why are we doing that again?" He's whining. I

don't always love it when he whines, but this particular

morning I find it incredibly endearing. It may be the

way his hair is standing completely on end, or it may be

the way he's rubbing his eyes like he's six years old.

"Because it's Christmas Eve and we are flying to

Wisconsin today in order to spend the holiday with my

family, remember?"

"Yeah, but that was before… last night." He just

wagged my eyebrows and… yup, he's smirking at me. If

he can do that, then he's awake enough to travel.

"Last night didn't change anything." Yesterday was the

23rd of December. My last day working as Senior

Assistant to the Deputy Chief of Staff. As of 5pm Josh

was no longer going to be my boss (sort of) and I was

no longer going to be his assistant (definitely.) Of

course, Josh was completely unable to wait for 5pm so

that we could… you know. He fired me at noon. Drove

like a bat out of hell to get us back to his place and

then proceeded to make love to me until we passed out

at about 4pm. Thankfully, it was a slow pre-holiday

day with a light work load and no one missed us… at

least I don't think they did.

We had to be up and presentable by 7pm so that we

could meet our friends for a happy hour celebrating my

new job. By 9:30pm, Josh was dragging me out of

there and back to his place where we picked up with

the bathtub scenario we'd been putting off since

Thanksgiving weekend, and then continued the

"activities" through the night. Thankfully, I anticipated

such an occurrence and packed bags for Wisconsin for

both of us, the night before. I also sent a UPS package

with all the gifts a week ago.

Now it is indeed 4am on Christmas Eve and neither of

us really has slept a wink since our short nap yesterday

afternoon. I'm utterly exhausted, slightly stiff, and

sore; but without a doubt, I've never felt better in my

life.

"But we're really good at what we did last night. Don't

you want to be able to do that constantly over the next

four days?"

"Josh…" I lean over and press my lips to his forehead.

"That sounds lovely, but frankly, it's impossible… I need

time to recover… no matter where we are. You wore

me out. Might as well recover in Wisconsin where my

family is expecting us."

And don't worry. They are expecting us. The day Josh

left for Japan, I got a call from my mother. That was a

fun conversation. Actually, she was fine. But the

family grapevine had done its job, because she

obviously knew that I was planning on bringing Josh

home for Christmas and was fishing for me to tell her.

So I did. She was annoyed that I told my siblings and I

didn't tell her and Dad. I guess I can't blame her, but I

was a little scared to do so.

Now let me make it clear that I wasn't afraid of my

parents disapproving of Josh for any reasons other than

the fact that he was my boss. I guess I assume they'll

have the same hang-ups I had about me sleeping with

my boss. Besides, this is the boss who makes a fuss

when I want time off to go home and visit my family in

Wisconsin. The boss who's worked me late and on

weekends, a lot, over the last few years. I was worried

that my parents wouldn't be able to separate that guy

from my new boyfriend, Josh.

But after my mom got over the fact that I hadn't told

her about Josh and me, she really seemed to be excited

about the prospect of us coming. So that's good, right?

However, even though I wouldn't trade last night for

anything, I kind of wish that Josh and I weren't going to

be sleep-deprived and bleary-eyed when he meets my

family. I guess that's the price I pay for insisting that I

couldn't sleep with my boss. We had a lot of time to

make up for last night.

I feel arms wrap around me from behind. I lean back

slightly as he presses his cheek flush against mine and

whispers in my ear, "If things get crazy over the next

few days, I just want you to know how honored I am

that you want to take me home to meet your family. It

means everything to me."

I turn around in his arms, unable to keep a cheesy grin

off my face. "You wish we were staying here, in bed,

ordering Chinese for the next four days."

He smirks before taking my hand and lacing it with his.

"This is true, but I'm still honored."

This makes me kiss him. Which leads to other stuff,

which makes us miss our planned transportation to

Reagan. Josh is not as disappointed by this as he

should be. And he's not as happy as he should be when

the problem is easily solved by calling a taxi.

***

We're at baggage claim and Donna has just finished

hugging her mother and introducing me, which wasn't

as painful as I had feared it would be. She gave me a

quick hug and welcomed me to Madison. There were no

nasty looks or veiled comments. Perhaps Donna did a

better job than I thought at making sure her mother

knew it was not my fault that she didn't make it home

for Thanksgiving this year… or numerous other times.

But she doesn't seem to be holding that against me, so

I take a moment to study her. Marjorie Moss is about

Donna's height, but with light brown hair and eyes.

Other than that, you can definitely tell they are mother

and daughter.

"So Josh, are you ready for Christmas in Wisconsin?"

She smiles kindly at me. Donna has her smile. I

suddenly find that very comforting. Donna's genuinely

nice, so the woman who gave her that smile must also

be genuinely nice. Or at least that's what I'm choosing

to believe, in order to calm my nerves, until she proves

me wrong. Besides, how mean can someone be who's

sporting a red sweater with reindeer on it?

"Yes, I'm very excited to be here." That was a lie. I'm

terrified, I'm exhausted, and all I really want to do is go

somewhere where I can make love to her baby

daughter. Excited to be here doesn't enter into any of

those emotions. "Thank you very much for having me."

Now that was genuine.

"I know it can be overwhelming… being with a bunch of

strange people you don't know. So if you need

anything don't hesitate to ask." She pats my arm.

"Where's Daddy?" Donna asks looking around. "I

thought he was coming with you to pick us up?"

"Oh…his mother wanted to go see her friend in-"

"That would be my grandmother?" Donna interjects

with a laugh.

"Yes, I suppose it would. Anyway, her friend, you

remember Mabel Fitzgerald? She's in the hospital over

in Sun Prairie, bad hip. We thought it was best to get

that visit out of the way this morning before you got

here. So he took her, they should be back by lunch.

Anyway, I had someone else to keep me company on

the ride to the airport."

"Who?" Donna knits her eyebrows together in

confusion. I have a feeling we're both too tired for

games.

Marjorie points off to the side, and we both look to find

a surprise waving to us from just ten feet away.

"Mom!" I'm too stunned to even move. My mother is

here. In an airport in Madison, Wisconsin. What the…

"Judith!" Donna jumps up and down, drops her bag,

and then runs over and hugs her. Apparently, she's

less shocked than I am, because she's actually able to

move. I haven't moved yet.

"How? Why? What are you doing… how did you get…" I

stumble over the words, still unable to move.

"Donna, you are lovelier than the last time I saw you,"

she says as she steps back and gets a good look at

Donna. "And Josh, dear, pick your jaw up from the

floor and come give your mother a hug."

"But?" I shake my head. "How?" As I speak, my feet

finally receive the orders from my brain to walk.

"It's nice to see you, too, dear."

"It's wonderful to see you, Mom,” I whisper as I

squeeze her tighter. Several seconds later, I let go and

ask again, "But seriously… how?"

"I was invited." Judith smiles over at Marjorie.

"I called and invited her." Marjorie looks pleased with

herself. "Actually…" She shoots a reproving look at

Donna. "Since I knew you were planning on bringing

Josh home with you for a full week before you actually

told me, I figured one of the reasons you hadn't told us

was that you were worried about our reactions. So I

thought Josh would be more comfortable if he had

family here, too. Besides, this is a time for family."

My breath catches in my throat and I feel something

calming wash over me, a familiar feeling of home that

can only be accounted for by the presence of my own

mother.

"Thank you," I whisper and before I know what's

happening, I'm hugging Donna's mother. Again. And

I'm the one who instigated it. This was not foreseeable,

me initiating a hug with anyone who is not Donna or

my mother, but I suddenly can't help myself. Because

it's now readily apparent to me where Donna gets her

thoughtfulness from.

"You’re welcome." She pats my back and when I let go,

I see Donna biting her lip and blinking rapidly. Uh oh,

can't look at her. If I do, I might follow her lead and

get emotional.

So instead I turn back to my mother and ask

incredulously, "You were already planning on coming

here… when we called during Chanukah to tell you we

were together?"

My mother giggles. Seventy-year-old Judith Lyman is

actually giggling. "Yes."

"You were a good actress,” Donna says thoughtfully and

then turns to her own mother. "As were you. I had no

idea…"

"Oh, good. I was afraid Nikki was going to spill the

beans."

"Nikki knew! She told you I was bringing Josh, but then

she didn't tell me-"

"Actually…" Marjorie interrupts her. "Your cousin Carrie

told her mother and Aunt Connie told me. Nikki just

verified it."

"How did you even get the number?" Donna still

sounds as flabbergasted as I feel.

"Is her number a secret?"

"No-o…" Donna stutters.

"I called information. Only one Judith Lyman was listed

in Boca. Now let's get out of this madhouse and go

home." Her mother picks up one of the bags and heads

for the terminal door. We all quickly follow after her.

With my mom here, this strange holiday in a strange

place might not turn out to be so strange after all…

***

I give Donna a lot of crap about either being from a

farm or growing up in a condo. Apparently, they did

live in a condo until Donna was about seven. But then

John Moss' company took off and they bought this

house. It looks like a very nice place to grow up. As

we enter, the door to my right is obviously the dining

room with an open door to the kitchen, and to my left is

the living room. It's quite large with extremely high

ceilings and an elaborate staircase that crosses the

room and leads to a balcony on the second floor.

And the whole place is decorated to the nines. It's as if

the North Pole exploded in the living room, but in a

very elegant and homey way. There are bows and

wreaths on every door and window, and Santas and

snowmen are displayed strategically in all corners of

the room. But the centerpiece of it all is set in the

slight curve of the staircase.

"It's fake!" Donna exclaims after we drop the luggage

in the middle of the room and come to stand in front of

their monstrosity of a Christmas tree. The sucker must

be a mile tall if it's an inch. I must admit it's pretty

impressive.

"Donna, honey, we decided it was too much trouble to

get a tree that large, so we invested in this very nice,

very expensive artifi-"

"It's fake! We always had real trees, always. I told

Josh how it was a tradition when we'd go pick out the

tree and we always had to look for the perfect Frasier

fir…"

"Well, this is a replica of a fir…"

I see Donna scowl. She's really upset by this…. she's

incredibly sexy when she's upset about a fake

Christmas tree. I wonder if anyone would notice if we

slipped away to one of the bedrooms? Probably. Just

as well, I'm far too tired to do anything but pass out

once we got there…

"A replica! He's going to think I was lying about the

trips to the Christmas tree lot…"

"I'm just thinking I got yanked around a freezing

Christmas tree lot for an hour, when I could have been

in a warm store, picking out a perfectly good plastic…"

I shut up when I see the glare Donna is shooting me.

Even if I'm not capable of doing anything in the

bedroom right now, I'm smart enough to know that I

will once we've both had some sleep, and I’m going to

need her to be in the same mood I am.

"But don't you like how it's sixteen feet tall? Even

since we moved to this house, you always wanted us to

get a huge tree to go with the Cathedral ceilings."

Marjorie gestures to the ceiling. It certainly does go

with the Cathedral ceiling. "Besides, I've never been

excited about cutting down a big beautiful tree just to

stick the top of it in my living room for a month until it

dies."

"Hmph." That was Donna. I think this attitude might be

my fault. I wore her out and now she's cranky. "Since

when did you become an environmentalist?" Yup, she's

cranky.

"Since always," her mother replies a tad tersely.

"Well, Marjorie, I think it's enchanting. I have to admit

I've always found something very magical about a

Christmas tree," my mom adds, obviously trying to

diffuse the argument. I should probably help, too.

"Magical right up until one bites you," I interject and

several pairs of eyes stop and look at me. I hold out my

hand to demonstrate. "They can be sharp… with the

needles and the pokey pinecone thingies."

"That's one of the benefits of the fake tree, Josh, and

thank you, Judith. I assure you that my daughter is

not usually this hard to please. I wouldn't want you to

get the wrong idea and think she's a spoiled brat."

I snort and Donna hits me on the arm. Hard. "Ow."

My mom shakes her head with a laugh. "Marjorie,

please, I know what an angel you raised. She'd have to

be to put up with Joshua." My own mother is selling me

out, to impress Donna's mother. Traitor!

"I'm not sure about that. She can be a handful-"

"I'm standing right here," Donna asserts. Loudly.

"So am I," I add in order to show solidarity with Donna.

"Then stop being so missish in front of Josh's mother."

Marjorie gives Donna a motherly glare.

Donna takes a deep breath and smiles. "I'm sorry. It's

a beautiful tree, Mom. The house looks wonderful, as

always."

"That's better." Marjorie pats her arm. "Now. Why

don't we get your bags up to your old room and then

you kids can come decorate the gingerbread people that

Judith and I got up early to bake."

Kids? Nobody has called me a kid in, well… I guess it's

only been a week since the ancient senior Republican

Senator from Tennessee called me one. But he did it to

be condescending. If I didn't have such a one-track

mind, I'd be pondering the fact that I'm expected to

decorate gingerbread men. Because I have no idea

what that entails. But right now I'm more focused on

the sleeping arrangements. Will we be sharing a room?

Different rooms? Or will they put me in the garage?

Nah, since they invited my mom, they probably won't

stick me in the garage.

Donna and I pick up her bags and follow her mom up

the stairs. It's a little hard to cart the luggage and not

bump into the elaborate garland that adorns the

banister. I know I'm going to accidentally knock some

prized heirloom off of something before this visit is

over. But I'd prefer if didn't happen until I've been

here at least an hour.

"You two are in here." She motions to a room at the

top of the stairs. I'm anxious to see what a teenage

Donna's room looked like. But when I enter, I'm

disappointed. Apparently, Marjorie has redecorated,

because it looks like any regular old guest room. Which

actually might be for the best. Perhaps since it no

longer looks like her teenage bedroom, Donna won't

feel guilty about doing… stuff… once we're rested and,

you know, ready to go again.

"And Josh, your mother is right next door in Nikki's old

room."

Oh… great. Donna and I get to share a room… but also

a wall with my mother. That should be convenient and

conducive to a lot of nothing.

***

"Merry Christmas! Anyone home!" A voice calls out

from the living room.

"In the kitchen," my mom calls back. But I'd recognize

that voice anywhere, and in a flash, am out of my seat

and hugging my sister as soon as she enters the

room.

When we part, she takes a good look at me. "You're

beautiful, but skinny. I remember when I used to be

this skinny." Her eyes shift to Josh, who I can tell is

fidgeting behind me. "And you must be Josh."

Josh holds out his hand to shake hers. "And you must

be Donna's sister Nikki." But my sister, true to her

nature, ignores his outstretched hand and gives him a

bear hug. I see Josh's eyes go wide in surprise, but I

also see the corners of his mouth quirk upwards. My

sister looks a lot like me, except with brown hair like

my mom and a definite "soccer mom" air about her.

As they part, Josh notices the two girls who have

attached themselves to my hips. As I hug them both,

Josh smiles and looks back to Nikki. "Are these the

artists that sent me Chanukah presents?"

"They are." Nikki smiles as she points to her daughters.

"Shana, age 8, what grade?"

"Second!" Shana squeals proudly.

"And that's Kelly, age six, and she's in…?"

"Kindergarten," Kelly replies dutifully.

"Girls, this is Aunt Donna's… boyfriend, Josh.

Remember when we learned about Chanukah and then

made him those special stars?"

Josh leans down towards them. "Well, thank you very

much for the presents. They sure meant a lot to me.

We hung them on Aunt Donna's tree in very special

places. Didn't we, Aunt Donna?" Josh looks back up

me.

"We did…" My voice dies out as both Shana and Kelly

fling themselves from me onto Josh, each of them

hugging him tightly, knocking him on his butt.

I smile broadly at the surprised look on his face as he's

sprawled on the kitchen floor with two giggling girls on

top of him.

Nikki laughs at the scene. "That means 'you’re

welcome' in our family."

I'm about to introduce them to Josh's mom when it

becomes apparent that Nikki and the girls are already

fast friends with Judith, having gone with my mom to

pick her up from the airport last night.

"We're ready to decorate gingerbread people," my sister

announces as she shrugs off her coat.

"Good." My mom sighs with relief. "Because Josh and

Donna are not very focused on their work."

"Is her highness coming?" Nikki asks with a sarcastic

tone.

"Don't say things like that," my mom reprimands her.

Good, I don't want to be the only one who gets to be

called a brat. I guess I just wanted Josh to see the

perfect Moss Christmas celebration, and that included a

real tree. But I suppose I shouldn't let myself get

worked up about the details. It's just… I wanted it to be

perfect, so he'd understand why all of this is important

to me.

I glance down to where the girls and Josh are working

at untangling themselves on the floor, but address

Judith. "My sister isn't a huge fan of our sister-in-law."

"She's a control freak," Nikki confides in hushed tones.

"They probably won't come over this afternoon, because

she doesn't allow the kids to eat sugar. At all. They

also aren't allowed to watch TV or pretty much be out

of their mother's sight. I swear, those kids are going to

rebel one day and it is not going to be pretty."

"Amber is perfectly nice, but she does have her own

idea about how to do things." I confide to Judith, who

nods with understanding.

"But tonight they're having dinner with her family and

then they have their program at church… so if they

don't stop by this afternoon, I don't know if we'll really

get to see them before dinner tomorrow." My mom

sighs. I know she would love to have all her

grandchildren over decorating gingerbread people. But

as long as she's not bugging me for grandchildren, I'm

not going to get involved.

"Would you look at those dimples!?" We all turn and

see Grandma Moss and my dad come in the kitchen

door. Josh scrambles to his feet and to my

mortification, my grandmother walks right up to him

and pinches his cheek. Thank goodness it's a cheek on

his face. Seriously, with my grandmother, you never

know. "Marjorie, did you see the boy's dimples. No

wonder Donna couldn’t keep her hands off her boss."

If blushing furiously were an Olympic sport, I would win

a gold medal right now. My only solace is that Josh is

equally as red as I am. I can see my sister and Judith

both biting back laughs as my mother shakes her head

with a smidge of annoyance at her mother-in-law.

My dad had made a beeline for me as soon as he

entered the room. I'm still attached to his hip after our

hug when he steps in and saves the moment. "Mother,

leave the poor man alone. You'll scare him away."

Without letting go of me, he steps forward and offers

Josh his hand. "Josh, John Moss. I'm glad you could be

with us this year." But I feel him grip me even tighter

as he says it.

However, I see Josh visibly relax, which is the

important thing to me. "Thank you sir, it's nice to be

here. Thanks for having me."

"Our pleasure." My dad motions to Grandma. "My

mother."

I can tell Josh is wary after the earlier cheek-pinching,

but he smiles gamely at her. "It's nice to meet you,

Mrs. M-"

"Call me Grandma. Anyone with dimples like that can

call me Grandma."

"How's Mabel?" Nikki asks, redirecting Grandma's

attention.

"Oh, the old goat will be good as new as soon as they

put a pin in the hip. I told her it would be no big deal.

But where's my big shot granddaughter, all the way

from Washington?"

"Here, Grandma." I raise my hand and my dad finally

releases me.

"There she is." Before I know what hit me, Grandma is

crushing me to her, then she pulls back and shakes me

slightly. "Nothing but a bag a bones you are. Hmm… I

need to set to work fattening you up. Marjorie, out of

my way, we're having my world-famous soup for lunch."

Everyone starts bustling around and Josh sidles up to

me. "What's her world famous soup?"

I close my eyes. "Beer… now resist the urge to make

fun… cheese soup."

I see him smirk and a thousand cheese jokes run

through his head, but all he says is, "Sounds delicious."

***

"So what are your gingerbread people's names?" I ask

the girls as I try and finish mine, which is an homage to

John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever. White

pantsuit. Gold necklace. Donna likes John Travolta.

The girls and I are at the dining room table decorating,

Donna's father had to go into his office for an hour, and

the women are all in the kitchen watching soup being

made and chatting.

"Ginger Aunt Donna… ginger Uncle-"

"Huh?" That gets my attention. I look up from ginger

Travolta.

"See…" Shana points to the first one. "This is you.

Ginger Uncle Josh." I don't know whether to be

incredibly touched or extremely offended. Touched

because Donna's little nieces would actually create a

ginger person in my likeness in the first place, or

offended because ginger Josh has bright red curly hair

and is wearing a green polka dotted tie. He resembles

a performing circus clown much more than a

distinguished politician.

"I see. That's very good." But I choke a little as I say it.

"Who's this?"

"That's ginger Aunt Donna." Ginger Donna has yellow

hair and is wearing a red dress. How did they know I

love Donna in a red dress?

"Excellent work." I nod approvingly. "Now, who are

these two mini-ginger people?" I point at the last two.

"Your family." Shana looks up innocently at me and

suddenly I'm having trouble breathing.

"My family?"

Donna picks this moment to walk up behind us. She

puts her hand on my shoulder and peers over at the

table. "What's going on?"

"I'm showing Josh the ginger family I made. See,

here's ginger Uncle Josh-"

"Nice job, that looks just like him, especially the hair…"

Donna interjects and I can hear the humor in her

voice. She's going to get it later.

"Here's you… ginger Aunt Donna."

"Hmm… I like that dress. Can I borrow it?" That was

Nikki, because now she, Marjorie and my mother have

all come over to see what's going on. Thankfully

Grandma is apparently still hovering over the stove.

"And these are your ginger children!" Shana

announces triumphantly, pointing at the two mini-

ginger people-- one little ginger girl with long red hair

and one ginger boy with curly yellow hair.

"Cody and Bailey," Kelly adds from the corner.

Apparently, they've not only given us children, they've

also named them, too.

I hear Nikki whisper, "Those are the names of our

neighbor's cocker spaniels. She loves them."

Shana nods. "Good! Ginger cousin Cody and ginger

cousin Bailey."

I think I might hyperventilate. This was all fun and

games when I was just decorating a cookie in the

likeness of a 70's disco icon, now it has seemingly

morphed into a life-altering activity. Kids! Donna and I

haven't even discussed marriage. And while I know I

want to marry her, I hadn't really thought about what

that meant in terms of having… a whole family of little

people… who will look like us.

Nikki, who is clearly enjoying this, eggs her daughter

on by pointing to me. "So this is Josh?" The two girls

nod. "But that's ginger Uncle Josh?" Again they nod.

"How come that's not just ginger Josh?"

"Because the ginger people have children. So that

means they have to be married. So if they're married,

that means Josh would be our uncle," Shana finishes

matter-of-factly. Then she looks inquiringly at her

mom. "Right?"

I hear Nikki snort, then mutter, "I wish they could stay

this innocent forever."

Marjorie responds for her. "Yes, that's right, honey."

Donna clears her throat and I can tell her voice is a

little… not right. "I think you guys are getting a little

ahead of Josh and me…" I feel her hand begin to slip

off my shoulder and then I realize that I haven't moved

since Donna came over to the table. She's obviously

been able to feel how tense I am. It dawns on me what

it must look like to her. I must seem absolutely

terrified at the prospect of having a family with her.

And while part of me is, I glance down at the table and

realize that these four ginger people really don't scare

me. Maybe at one point they really would have, but

not so much anymore. Immediately, I reach up and

grab Donna's hand, keeping it on my shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm afraid there won't be any ginger cousins." I

glance behind me to catch Donna's eye. "At least not

for a year or two."

"Really?" She whispers as I see a watery glint in her

eye. But I hear a little squeal and I remember we have

an audience, so all I'm able to do is squeeze her hand.

I shouldn't be surprised when I look around and realize

that the squeal came from my mother. Marjorie is

clinging to her arm and they both look like they are

about to cry as well. Oh boy, I hadn't thought about

how happy the prospect of ginger grandchildren would

make my mother… or Donna's. Good thing I meant

what I said. And good thing for Grandma Moss, who

breaks up the moment by announcing that the soup, i

ready.