Waking up today, I could immediately feel Chris’s absence. Looking over, I could see that it was only 5 AM. Last night we had set the alarm for 6 AM and planned to be on the road by 8 AM. Reaching over, I could feel that his side of the bed was cold, so it was likely that he hadn’t been in bed for a while. Getting up, I walked through the house and realized that I could hear sounds coming from the kitchen. As I walked into the kitchen, I found him standing at the counter in my apron with a number of ingredients out on the counter. To my surprise, he hadn’t even noticed me walking into the kitchen. Making sure he didn’t have anything sharp in his hands, I said, “Hey, do you need any help?”

It was obvious I had startled him and after I saw him jump, he turned to look at me before replying, “I didn’t even notice that you woke up. I can handle everything in here, if you’d like to go back to bed.” he said looking at me.

“What are you doing in the kitchen this early?” I ask before looking at the paper he had on the counter. Reading through it quickly, I could see that he planned to make various desserts which is likely the fantastic smell that is coming from the oven as well as breakfast he was making for us to eat this morning. I also realized that he was planning to make one of the desserts we had eaten together when we first met.

“I wanted to make you breakfast and make some food to take for your family. I’m hoping to at least get on their good side.” he replied with a shy smile. 

Unable to resist, I walk over to him and give him a quick kiss before grabbing another apron and washing my hands. “What do you need to get done next?” I ask. As he directs me, we make a number of different desserts including cookies, a cake, and cinnamon rolls as well as a wonderful breakfast for us to enjoy this morning. As we get the last of the desserts in the oven, he turns to me before saying, “You might want to hop in the shower, it is already 6:30 and we need to leave in an hour and a half. I know you like to take longer showers, so…”

“Thanks for the reminder,” I say. “I'll be back in a bit.” Taking my time in the shower, I get dressed in a cute outfit and curl my hair before pulling our suitcases into the living room with me. 

“I’ve finished up the last of the desserts and almost everything is already packed away, I’m just waiting for the cookies to finish cooling, but I’m going to hop in the shower really quick and then I’ll be back.” he says.

Heading into the kitchen, I work on getting us some coffee ready and pull out two travel mugs so that we can bring some with us as we travel. After his shower, we quickly eat breakfast and start the car as we begin to load all of the baked goods we made as well as the gifts and our suitcases. After double checking everything is loaded into the car, we are ready to head out. Looking at the time, I could see that it was actually already closer to 9 AM already, but I wasn’t too worried about making it to my parents house early anyway. Getting into the car, the two of us set off to my parents house. Knowing that we had a long drive ahead of us, I had already made sure to buy some snacks for the ride. My parents lived a 4 hour drive away from me, but with holiday traffic, I knew that it was likely that the trip would take us much longer, which is why we left so early. I also planned for us to take some time to eat lunch before heading to my parents so I estimated that we would probably arrive at their house around 2 PM. 

Chris and I spent the ride getting to know more random facts about each other. We also played games like eye spy, especially when we were stuck in traffic. After a few hours, we got bored and started switching stations on the radio until we found something to sing along to. Before long, we were having our own little concert in the car. Before I knew it, it was time to stop for lunch and we decided to stop at a small diner on the way there. I hadn’t expected the level of traffic that we encountered, especially as we had been stuck in stopped traffic for around thirty minutes earlier. After a quick lunch, we continued on our way to my parents house and made it there a little before 3 PM. 

As I pull into the driveway, I could see my parents rush out of the door and then a few of my aunts, uncles and cousins make their way to the front porch. As I open my door, my parents quickly engulf me in a tight hug as they tell me how much they miss me. Pulling away, I look for Chris to find that he had already made his way to my side, “Mom and Dad this is Chris, my boyfriend.” To my surprise, both of my parents greeted him warmly without being too overbearing. 

“It’s nice to meet you two,” Chris says as he shakes my Dad’s hand. Turning to look at me, he gives me a loving smile. 

“Do you need any help bringing anything in?” Dad asks Chris. 

“I can grab it, most of it isn’t too heavy, we just have a lot of things.” Chris answers with a smile. 

“You mean, my daughter has a bunch of stuff.” Dad says with a chuckle. “It runs in the family. Let me help you.” he added as he walked toward the back of my car.

Shooting me a quick smile and lightly squeezing my hand, Chris follows my Dad to help him bring everything in. As I step onto the porch, I greet the rest of my family before we hurry inside. After Chris and Dad finished bringing everything in, I watched as the cousins eagerly looked at their gifts before everyone turned to see Mom in the kitchen sampling Chris’s desserts. She exclaims, “These are fantastic! And you say you made them at home.” Looking over at me and Chris, then turning to the rest of the family, she says, “You all better come try these. They taste better than store bought.” 

With the distraction, I quickly lead him upstairs as he carries our suitcases up to my room. My childhood room wasn’t very big and we would definitely be squished in my old bed as it is much smaller than my current one. It probably didn’t matter too much though because we sleep essentially glued together anyway. Turning to him, I say, “Are you okay? I know that they can be a lot sometimes. I’ll try to introduce you to everyone later, but I don’t expect you to memorize everyone's names. For the most part, my uncles and aunts go by uncle or auntie so that helps for dealing with them. And the younger kids should leave you alone for the most part because they all have to go to bed early on Christmas Eve.” Realizing that I was nervous rambling, I looked up at him to see him struggling to contain his laughter.

“I’m just fine,” he says. “And there is no need to be so nervous, your family isn’t going to scare me away. If you can handle mine, I should have no problem dealing with yours. Besides, they seem to genuinely care for you, even if they are a little overbearing sometimes.”

Just as he’d wrapped his arms around me, I could hear someone at the door, saying that they were coming in. Pulling apart, we both turn to look at the door as my dad enters. “I was wondering where the two of you went. Come on, I wouldn’t want you guys to miss the festivities. Besides, all of your deserts will be gone before you even get to try them.”

Heading back downstairs, I introduce Chris to each of my family members, and watch as he fits in with everyone seamlessly. He has no problem starting conversations about his carvings, his cooking and even his workout routine and everyone seems to love him. As the evening goes on, he seems to get along with my family members even better than I do. In addition to the treats we spent the early morning baking, we also had some hot chocolate. As everyone arrives, I continue to introduce him to everyone until he meets everyone who came for the party.

Before long, it was time for dinner and the two of us sat down for a wonderful meal. My parents had prepared a small feast for dinner and the rest of the desserts we bought were served afterward. After the late dinner, the kids were sent to bed, and the adults went to the living room to drink and catch up. 

However, considering our early morning and exhaustion from being surrounded by so many people, I could feel myself getting tired. Fortunately for me Chris noticed how tired I was, and excused us from the festivities downstairs with the promise that we would be helping with the cooking tomorrow. 

Making it upstairs, the two of us quickly get changed into our pajamas and cuddle up together to fit into my tiny bed. As soon as the two of us got comfortable, I felt my eyelids grow heavier before I fell asleep.