Chapter 251 - The Magic of Christmas - mdtres
Luisa
"That was my sister-in-law! They were wearing Christmas hats. The first to arrive was Lupe's family, all dressed in jeans and identical white t-shirts with Santa Claus faces. We watched as the new couple came down. Guadalupe and Arnold looked head over heels in love, both dressed in white; he wore white jeans and a shirt covered in reindeer, while she had on a white dress with a sash made from the same fabric as Arnold's shirt. Both the ruffle on her shoulders and the hem of her dress were adorned with the same reindeer-filled fabric.
Her hair was loose, and her headband also had reindeer. At the same time, the Garcías arrived. Diana wore a red robe with snowman appliqués. I remember she didn't know what to wear because of her belly, we couldn't find anything. The only dress that looked nice on her was a red one, and my mom said she would add the appliqués. The snowmen were the cutest we found. Miguel and Isaac's shirts were red with the same appliqué, and in the end, they looked great.
Verónica brought us even closer together with this. In these twenty-four days, the houses were filled with a different atmosphere. I was on the verge of tears again, and the table was decorated magnificently. The next to arrive were the Bermúdez family. They wore green pants and white shirts and blouses with Christmas fabric collars that formed a hood like a Christmas hat.
After greeting everyone, Simón went to talk with his friends, holding Milena in his arms, my mother was carrying Andrea, Fausto had Liam, and Santiago had Enrique. Victoria was drinking from a bottle in her mother's arms. The Vargas family arrived: Gustavo, Gladis, Enrique, and Gustavo's sisters, Mrs. Josefina; I understood she arrived first because she made the fried coconut rice. They wore jeans and green t-shirts with several painted reindeer that said, "Merry Christmas from the Vargas Vergara family."
The last to arrive, but still before the time suggested by Verónica, was the Grueso family. They looked lovely. Aníbal and his nephews wore jeans. Their shirts were the top part of a Santa Claus suit, complete with a belt; the girls were dressed the same. Dr. Jones was also invited to the gathering, and she arrived with her son, who was a man, not the child we all thought. They wore jeans and white t-shirts that said Merry Christmas. Once everyone was together, Verónica, holding my brother's hand, with their children in the stroller, welcomed us.
"Good evening, thank you all for being here. Maybe for some, this is insignificant, for others, routine, but no one can deny that these days felt different. When you bought those details, the ones overflowing from that tree, I can swear your soul vibrated differently, and that is what Christmas means to my people.
"Christmas is the moment when families come together, being here confirms that family is the one you choose and where you decide to stay. Many are by blood, others by heart. All of you have told me at some point that you see life differently because of me, and I want to say, you have been the ones who taught me.
"Every day you confirm to me that evil does not win, love is stronger, faith works miracles. And above all, family is sacred. Thank you for allowing me to reach you. Here, gathered, there are bonds of blood, bonds of brotherhood, and undoubtedly bonds of friendship.
"Thank you for everything you have given me, some of you have saved me." She looked at my husband and Miguel. "And for loving me." She looked at my brother. "For being an excellent example of a human being." She looked at her father and brother. "Today I don't have my mother, but life gave me two." She looked at Mom and Inés. "To my sisters-in-law, I say, life took my best friend, and God gave me six. It's a shame my best friend couldn't make it because..."
"We're here!" Manolo and Raúl burst in like madmen. They came running with many black bags that they left by the tree. "We made the flight."
We all burst into laughter. They wore jeans, and their shirts were green with red suspenders.
"It's not a shame, my best friend is already here." Raúl hugged and kissed Verónica's forehead, and she returned the gesture. "The Sandoval family wishes you all a Merry Christmas." He looked at my brother.
"I'm a man of few words, and for this..." Vero looked at him, and he fell silent. "It's clear that I'm head over heels for the woman beside me. Now that I see all my friends, I can only say that we have by our sides the women who managed to mess us up and turn us into fools, dressing us all the same."
"Roland, you promised!"
We all burst into laughter. He wouldn't be himself if he didn't say something outrageous. My brother cradled his wife's face and kissed her.
"What did I promise, Beautiful?"
"That you would control your big mouth."
"Then I wouldn't be me. My people, thank you for being here, thank you for looking out for me," he looked at his friends. "Thank you for being who you are, because if I'm ever gone, you'll take care of my family, just as I will take care of all of you. Darling, can we eat now? With all these gifts to exchange, it'll be five in the morning and we'll still be handing out presents."
"You're hopeless!" said Vero.
"I agree with the boss, I'm starving." We all laughed at Aníbal's comment.
......
Shirly
How I love my handsome man and the family we're building. Dinner was delicious. When I saw the huge table Roland had made months ago to seat over fifty people, I thought it was an exaggeration, but now I see it wasn't. When our kids arrive, we might even need a bigger one.
There was so much food on the table, I thought there would be leftovers, but I was wrong again: we're big eaters. We devoured all that food, and now we were halfway through the gift exchange, and I hadn't stopped crying. The reason was my nephews. For them, this was their first Christmas like this. They had never received a gift before; Matías was silent, amazed by all the details.
His little cars, as Gastón told me, were soda bottles. Since then, Aníbal went crazy buying them toys, and who wouldn't? He did tell them, though, that he would give them many things, but they had to be among the best students, or they would meet a very mean uncle.
They received gifts from each family present. Not just them, we all received gifts. Verónica looked radiant handing them out and calling each name. From us, we gave everyone a little something, and we were only halfway through. Arnold and Lupe were off to the side. Poor Lupe, as soon as she got her first gift, she opened it and didn't feel like opening the rest.
It took us a lot to stop laughing. Crazy Arnold gave her a collection of Disney princess panties. She put them away as quickly as she could, but the adults had already seen them, and those men seemed to have eyes everywhere. Even Arnold enjoyed it. I thought my husband was the only joker, but no! They all had the same attitude and standards in certain ways. Aníbal, more than once, made me run out of places with his comments.
Luckily, the kids helped Lupe not be the center of attention. More than one of us told her to punish him tonight by closing her legs, and she turned even redder. Now they were hugging and smiling.
"From the Sandoval family to Gastón!" The boy looked at Vero.
"Another gift?"
It was the second one he received. The happy boy got up, and soon Maricela did too, then Enrique, and so it went. By the tenth gift, the boy couldn't hold back and burst into tears, a gesture that moved us all. He looked at his mom.
"What's wrong, honey? Aren't you happy?"
"Mommy, it's just that I already have ten gifts, and I imagine William doesn't have any."
We all fell silent; no one said a word. It was something so simple yet so important. Diana wiped her tears. Verónica got up, went to Gastón, and knelt down.
"You're right. You just gave me a great idea. Next year, we can give out many gifts in the neighborhood where you used to live." She wiped his tears as he nodded. "What do you think?" At that moment, I saw Vero more clearly. She was undoubtedly a being of light. I exchanged a glance with my man.
"You just realized it. She is the light that Mrs. Josefina predicted; she illuminated us all."