Holiday dangers

Chapter 5. Kate

Chapter 5. Kate

Her room was still set up the way she had left it, only it was clean. It can be seen that her mother dusted and vacuumed regularly here. When she moved out, she didn't take that many things with her. Some clothes and her favorite books. She had no room for anything else in the small student room where she lived while attending design school. And later, when she started renting a bigger apartment, she didn't need any of these old things, so she left them all here, in her old house. Her old childhood room was filled with toys and medals and diplomas she had won during her high school days. This room was filled with memories. But memories can not help you in present reality.

Resisting the urge to spend hours going through old memories, she decided to go take a quick shower and change her clothes. She will definitely feel better when she gets out of these dirty travel clothes and puts on something more comfortable.

After taking a quick shower in the bathroom that was attached to her room, she changed into new and more comfortable clothes. She neatly folded the clothes she had been wearing earlier and placed them over the computer chair. The fine cashmere sweater she had worn earlier was light to the touch, she could just snuggle it and fall asleep instantly.

She adored cashmere wool, it was the best material for the winter season. Even though it was very expensive and difficult to maintain. You can't just toss it in the washing machine like synthetic materials. Natural materials, especially high-quality ones, require much more attention and maintenance, but in return provide many more benefits.

Barely separating herself from the soft sweater, she decided that it was finally time to join her parents again. She felt a little better after washing off the dirt and cold from the long journey with warm water.

She found mom and dad in the kitchen preparing one of the many dishes together. Tonight was the obligatory annual party they were hosting. All the cousins and almost the whole neighborhood were invited, as well as some colleagues from her father's work.

They have probably been busy preparing everything since early morning. It was like that every year. Her mother would transform into a general worthy of the great battles of the past, and then she would sprout orders to everyone about what to do and where to be. Everyone would be assigned a task, be it chopping vegetables or cleaning the house. God forbid that your hands be free. On that day, there would always be a feast in their house. Ten different dishes and several types of Christmas sweets are prepared every year.

"Can I help with something?" she asked.

"Oh no sweetie, you must still be tired from the trip. You just sit there and relax and me and your father will do the rest. "We almost finished everything anyway," her mother told her. And her father nodded his head in agreement.

"No, I can't just sit while you two are doing all the work," Kate protested. "Here let me chop that carrot." She said while taking the knife from her father's hands.

She was used to preparing her own meals at home when she was not busy with work. So she is doing a lot better in the kitchen now than when she was younger. Back then, they used to kick her out of the kitchen because she would do more damage than good. Of course, she still didn't know how to make any complicated dishes that both of her parents cooked, but she has gotten a lot better since she started living alone.

Her parents looked at her as if a miracle had happened, and not like she was chopping an ordinary carrot. Although, remembering her previous failures in this field, a miracle was probably taking place for them, right in front of their eyes.

"Look Natalie. She learned how to chop it properly!" Her father exclaimed, proud of her achievement. "Remember how she used to just chop it into four pieces and say that it was perfect that way." He reminisced about the past.

"I did not!" Kate protested.

"Oh yes, yes you did." Said her mother through joyous laughter. "You were terrible in the kitchen. I thought that you would never learn to cook, even to save your life."

"I am not that bad..." Kate wanted to say something in her defense, but she was really terrible in the kitchen back then. One time she tried to make eggs for breakfast, she almost burned the kitchen. But she needed to learn how to manage in the kitchen when she went to live alone.

"They grew so fast." Said her father jokingly.

"Hey, I am grown up. And I can chop my own carrots now." Said Kate, pointing a carrot at his face.

"Yes hunny, you are. And I am glad that you won't die from starvation." He added in the same manner.

After that, their conversation continued in a light and joking tone. They mostly talked about past times and joked. It was pretty fun.

"When are the guests arriving?" Kate asked.

"I told them to come around eight, so we have a few more hours to spare." Her mother answered, looking at her wristwatch. She was always in charge of organizations.

"That is later than usual." Kate noticed.

"Well hunny we are getting older, and there is one life. Why wouldn't we be partying all night!" Her mother responded, laughing.

At first, Kate thought that her mother was going to say that they were getting older and couldn't get everything done on time by themselves. But her parents were luckily still in their best years and they had too much free time.

"What is next?" She asked after chopping all the vegetables.

"There is nothing much to do, everything is pretty much all set. You could maybe arrange the table, but after that we should sit and relax. I will make us some hot cocoa." Natalie told her.

"I can't say no to a hot cocoa." Kate responded and went into the dining room to arrange things.

Their dining room was very spacious, and they had a table which, when stretched, could accommodate up to twenty people. That thing was enormous. She remembered playing underneath it with her brother's best friend when they were little. She could probably still fit in there, but she wasn't so sure about Andrew. He grew pretty tall even in high school. She could only imagine how he looked now. They didn't see each other for more than ten years. He may even be married and having kids by now.

She had a thing for him even before she started high school, but they never dated. He was a peer with her brother, who was two years older than her, and they were best friends. That's why he often comes to their house. When she was younger, she pretended that she didn't know math very well just so he could teach her. He was a geek like her brother, but he had looks and brains and girls loved him, even though he wasn't the most popular guy in school.

He and her brother were inseparable. They liked the same movies and video games. She heard that they even work in the same company now. She wondered if she would see Andrew again during her stay here. All that talk about the past made her feel nostalgic.

She decided to put the past away for now and to focus on the present. What could she do with heavy decorations that her parents just randomly placed around the room. All those glittery Santas and reindeers and fake presents... All that was simply too much. And no matter how big the room was, there was no place for all of that. So she decided to pick the 'least painful to look at' pieces and take out the rest. This room desperately needed some taste.