Holiday dangers

Chapter 6. Kate

Chapter 6. Kate

After she finished decorating the dining room and setting the table, Kate was satisfied with the work she had done. The room was no longer so cluttered with random decorations, but everything had its place.

"Wow Kate, it is wonderful!" Exclaimed her mother when she entered the room.I don't think we ever had such a lovely decorated dining room. The guests will be thrilled! You did a splendid job here."

Kate blushed. This was maybe the first time her mother praised her so openly. People complimented her looks or designs all the time, but she could never get accustomed to receiving compliments. Even from her parents.

"It is not a big deal." Kate said shyly. "But I had to throw out some of the decorations, so you can put them back in the attic."

"Back in the attic!" Her mother repeated, as if she had been told that some terrible catastrophe had occurred. "You can't just put unused decorations back in the attic. What about their feelings?! They stood there in the dark and covered in the dust for so long, forgotten..." Her mother was always prone to drama and exaggeration. "We shall just put them somewhere else."

Kate wanted to revolt, but her mother's word was final. She just decided that it was better to surrender and go their way. And there goes the good taste, straight through the window.

Those were just holiday decorations. After all, it wasn't worth fighting over. If her mother wants to cover the entire house with those decorations, so be it. Kate will survive those few days surrounded by Santas, and then she will run back to her lovely, not-decorated apartment to rest from all this holiday ruckus.

They still had time before the guests arrived. It was just around five-thirty in the afternoon. So she decided to take a break and help herself with some homemade hot cocoa and marshmallows. They were delicious, just as she remembered from her childhood. The only thing she was missing in the big city was this hot cocoa. They just couldn't make it taste this good, and she looked everywhere. She even visited some fancy shops that worked only with chocolate and cocoa, but even they couldn't re-create this feeling.

As she was enjoying her hot drink, the bell on the door rang. At first, she thought that it was her brother, but why would he ring a bell when he had keys.

"Kate, go open the doors, my hands are full." Her mother yelled again.

Kate got up from the couch and went to see who was at the door at that hour. It turned out that it was their neighbor, Molly. She brought her famous meatloaf to the party.

"Kate, is that you?" The elderly lady screeched.

"It is me Molly. Long time no see." She answered politely, while taking the heavy tray from the woman's hands.

"Oh dear, you grew up so pretty. You are gorgeous just like your mother when she was younger."

"Just don't let her hear you say that. She is still gorgeous." Kate joked. "Do you want to come inside? Mom is in the kitchen."

"Oh no dear I just came to give your parents my famous meatloaf. I will see you tonight and then you can tell me everything that's new in your life." She said while leaving their front porch.

"Who was it?" Mom yelled from the kitchen again.

"It was Molly. She brought us meatloaf for the party " Kate yelled too, in response.

"Ah yes, she said she would drop by earlier. I totally forgot. Put it in the fridge."

"Okey." Kate replied, carrying the meatloaf to the already packed to the brim, double fridge. This much food could feed an entire army. She barely found a place to put in the big tray covered with aluminum foil which Molly brought them.

Just as she finished and closed the fridge. The front doors opened again. And this time another familiar face stepped into living room from the corridor.

"Mom, dad, I am home." David, her brother, announced, entering the house.

"Welcome home son." Mother said. "Come, come see, look who came for the holidays!"

"Hello brother." Kate said shyly.

"Kate! I didn't know you were coming! Why didn't you call!" He exclaimed, bracing her into a hug. He was a hugger too, just like their mother. He picked up more of her personality traits than Kate did. Luckily, they both got their mother's looks.

That sentence was an inside family joke. Even though their father was far from an ugly man, he always joked how relieved he was that his children inherited their mother's good looks.

"Hey, hey you are crushing me." Kate joked, pulling herself from her brother's embrace.

"When did you arrive? " I could have left work earlier to pick you up." David continued.

"No need. I wanted to surprise everyone." She just half lied. Because until this morning, when she found herself in the airport, she wasn't really sure if she would come or not.

"Come kids. Let's not stand in the middle of the room. We should sit down." Their mother suggested.

They sat down on the couch near the big and heavily decorated Christmas tree. Of course, it was a real tree. Her parents would never accept a plastic one. The real thing just smelled much better, like fresh air, or at least it would if it weren't drowned by the decorations. But with the real Christmas tree, it was shedding like crazy, it was absolute hell to clean around it.

"How was your trip? How things are in the big city?" David asked her after they sat comfortably with another hot cocoa in their hands. If they had something in common that would be their love for hot cocoa.

"The flight took awhile because the airport was crowded, and they needed extra time for boarding, but all in all it was okey." She avoided answering his second question. She was never a good liar, and she didn't want them to know what kind of trouble she was in. So it was better to just avoid the topic. "And you, David, how is at work?"

"Oh everything is fine and all. But that is not important now. I want to hear about you and your newest creations." He pressed.

"Yes, and what about Marc? Why didn't you bring him with you so we could finally meet the guy!" Her mother added.

"Maybe some other year," She replied, tightening her lips from just remembering that bastard. "How is your work not important! I want to know everything about the new promotion mother talked about!" She was determined to change the topic and this time it worked.

"Mother!" Exclaimed David. "It is not anything secure yet. It is just a 'maybe'... But a very strong 'maybe' if I can add. You see, we are working on a certain project..." He couldn't stand it without telling her all about the project he was working on. David took great pride in his work, and Kate was proud of him for it.

Time flew by while they were engaged in conversation and soon the first guests started to arrive. Molly and her granddaughter, Lena, were the first to arrive. Soon after, they followed cousin Josh and aunt Milly. And after them there was a constant flood of faces. Some she recognized and some were new. But every one of them wanted to know where she was all those years.

She engaged in polite conversations with the people present but it was all slowly starting to suffocate her. And whenever she tried to move somewhere she would bump into some decorations. Whether it was a Santa or a reindeer, or even fake presents, or a styrofoam smowman... She was slowly going crazy. And she needed some air. If she saw another Santa she would scream.

"Kate." Her mother touched her shoulder, making her jump in surprise.

"What is it?" She asked, still trying to find a place to hide.

"Do you think that it is maybe time for you to go change into something other than a sweatpants?" Her mother asked.

She totally forgot that she was still in her cozy clothes. She didn't mind being the only one in sweatpants and a t-shirt at a party where everyone was dressing up, but changing clothes would give her an excuse to separate herself from the crowd.

"Oh yes, I totally forgot. I will be back in a minute!" She said, happy to run away.

Her mother just shook her head after her and went back to entertaining the guests. While Kate hurried into her room. At first, she didn't know what to wear. She didn't bring much stuff with her, expecting that she would be here for just a few days. But she remembered that she packed that long dark green dress, just in case. It was a bit too much for this occasion but that was the only thing she had.

She struggled a bit with the zipper on the back of her dress. This dress was not meant to be put on alone. She should know, she designed it. It was an off-the-shoulder dress with long sleeves and a slightly open back. Down the torso, it descended along the body, and then it fell freely from the hips in cascades. It was easy to move in it, and the satin material felt so soft on her body.

She never wore a lot of make-up. So she decided to just curl her hair with a couple of quick curls, and put on mascara.

After finishing everything, she looked at herself in the full-length mirror in her room. And she liked what she saw. The dress fit her like a glove.

All that took her forty-five minutes. Enough that she could calm her mind. And she decided that it was time to head downstairs again.

As she descended the stairs she heard her brother's voice calling her.

"Kate!" He shouted. "Come over here, look who I brought to the party!"

She went to look at why he called her, and she was taken aback when she saw who her brother was referring to. It was no one other than her childhood crush and David's best friend, Andrew.