One of the Boys...Right?

*JJ*

"Last one." aunt Kelly handed me a large box. I looked at her questioningly before tearing off the wrapping paper. So far, she had given me a new hoodie, shoes, and a blue iPod nano cover. The box began moving and the lid suddenly popped off. I found myself staring into two gorgeous blue eyes. The eyes belonged to the most adorable Siberian Husky puppy I had ever seen.

"Oh my god!" I squealed. I may have loved playing pranks and getting revenge on people and getting into trouble on an hourly basis, but puppies made me melt back into a girl.

"I thought you'd like her." aunt Kelly smiled.

"What's her name?" I lifted her out of the box and she licked my nose.

"That's up to you. The person who sold her to me said she wasnt named yet." she shrugged.

"She looks like Aleu from the second Balto movie." I observed. The puppy barked once.

"Aleu?" I asked her. She barked again.

"Her name is Aleu!" I called into the kitchen.

"You might want to take her outside! Her leash is in the box!" aunt Kelly called back.

"Can I walk her to Bam's? I promised April I would go over there later!" I clipped the leash onto Aleu's collar.

"Be back before two! Elise and Jim are coming over later with the kids and I need help getting things set up!" she said over the running water in the sink.

"Are you kidding me?" I whined. Uncle Jim [my aunt's older brother] and his wife Elise had four kids living with them: Katie, a 2-year old who didnt understand the word 'no', Noah and Devon, 6-year-old twin boys who were like two tornados, destroying everything they touched or went past, and Faith, an 8-year-old who was dying to be the center of everyone's attention, no matter what she interrupted or broke. The four kids constantly fought with each other, and every holiday with them lasted too long.

Christmas was the worst.

First, the arrival: Everyone would pile out of the car. Noah and Devon would come racing through the snow in the front yard, wrecking the 'Christmassy' look, and getting the bottoms of their pants wet. Katie would be in uncle Jim's arms, looking very sweet in a little dress. Aunt Elise would be behind him with an armful of presents that we couldnt open until after dinner. [They always opened their Christmas presents here]. She would go make a second trip to get a plate or a dish of food. Faith was always the last one in the house, in a fancy party dress that looked like it would be worn to a wedding. But, as usual, everyone exclaimed how pretty and beautiful she looked. Aunt Elise would tell me I needed to get more sun while uncle Jim would want to know why I was wearing jeans and a hoodie on Christmas.

And then there was the actual dinner part of the night. Noah, Devon, and Katie would end up playing with their food and trying to eat everyone else's. Faith would eat very carefully as she tried not to get any food on her dress. Aunt Elise, uncle Jim, and aunt Kelly would talk about friends and the economy and things like that, and I would be pushing food around my plate as I tried to blend into the chair.

Next...present time: Katie would open everyone's presents, which would make Faith cry because she loved having her picture taken before and after every present, Noah and Devon would fight over the presents they got, and I would be pushed into the background. I didnt mind being in the background, but I WAS family.

Then: 'playtime': the kids played with their presents, running through the house with their toy planes, or dressing dolls in the new clothes, or playing with the wrapping paper. This was always the loudest time of the night. While the grownups talked, Faith would try to get attention by spinning around so her dress flared, or singing Christmas songs with the radio, missing every note. No matter what she did, the adults would always stop and smile and admire how she would be a star some day.

Gag me.

After what would seem like days, Katie would begin to drop off, falling asleep on the couch in front of the fire. Noah and Devon, full from dinner and desert, would be next. The three of them would be put in another room while the rest of us watched some Christmas movie on TV. I would be in the massive armchair while aunt Kelly sat on the larger couch with Aunt Elise and Uncle Jim. Faith would either be on the floor or right in between her mom and dad. Seeing her sit there always tore at my heart, because I used to like that when I watched movies with my parents: right between them.

Finally, around midnight, Aunt Elise would pick up Katie while Uncle Jim picked up Devon and Noah, and they would carry the sleeping kids out to the car. Aunt Elise would make multiple trips to carry the presents out to the car, and then she would come back in to get any dishes she brought over. Then Faith would shrug back into her coat and pick up whatever present she had deemed as her new favorite, take her mother's hand, and walk out with her. I would help aunt Kelly clean up any messes before I went up to my room to curl in a ball under my blankets, trying to save the good memories of the night and push away the annoying ones.

It was the same thing every year.

Call me a bitch if you want, but if I had the choice between being with them or being locked in the basement for 6 hours, I would gladly take the basement.

"Yes, they're coming over! But since Kelsey's parents are out of town, I invited her, too!" she called back to me, bringing me back to the present.

"SHE IS?" I broke into a smile.

"Yes, Jess, she is! I thought you would want someone close to your age around because I dont know if Leah's coming home or not." she came into the front hallway. Leah was uncle Jim's and aunt Elise's oldest daughter. She was 19, but she went to college in Pittsburg.

"Yes! I might ACTUALLY dress up." I giggled.

"I would appreciate it if you tried to." aunt Kelly smiled gratefully at me.

"Thanks, aunt Kelly. For everything." I said.

"You're my niece, Jessica. That's still family in my book." she said, knowing what I was trying to say.

"I think Aleu wants to go now." she suddenly laughed. I looked down to see that Aleu had wrapped her leash around my feet multiple times.

"She's like me: she cant sit still. I'll be back soon." I said before I walked out into the falling snow.

Maybe this Christmas would be different.