My sister-in-law had always hated me, but this time she took it to a new level and RUINED my Christmas. While no one noticed, she raised the oven temperature, leaving my precious turkey burnt beyond recognition. I was shattered.
But as she laughed, karma delivered her a blow no one expected. I never thought I’d find myself in the middle of a Christmas Day drama, but here I am. Josh and I had been married for six months, and I knew holiday gatherings with his family were a big deal.
Huge, actually. Every decoration had to be perfect, every dish had to be traditional, and every detail had to be just so. “Sam, stop fidgeting with the tablecloth,” Josh said, placing his hands on my shoulders.
“Everything looks perfect.”
I smoothed my apron for the hundredth time. “I just want it to be right. It’s our first time hosting Christmas dinner.”
“And it will be!” he kissed my temple.
“Remember how we first met at the office Christmas party? You organized the whole thing and it was amazing.”
I smiled at the memory. Two years ago, I was the new marketing director, and he was the CFO who couldn’t take his eyes off me all evening.
Our courtship had been a whirlwind — two years of dating, a romantic proposal at sunset, and a beautiful summer wedding that even his sister couldn’t find fault with. “Your sister hates me,” I muttered, arranging the silverware one more time. Josh sighed.
“Alice doesn’t hate you. She’s just… intense about family traditions.”
“Intense is putting it mildly,” I said as I checked my phone.
“They’ll be here in an hour. The turkey’s in the oven, and everything’s on schedule. God, I’m so nervous.”
“You know what I love about you, Samantha?” Josh wrapped his arms around my waist.
“You always make things work. Remember last month’s presentation when the projector died?”
I laughed. “And I did the whole thing from memory while the IT team scrambled to fix it!”
“Exactly.
You’ve got this, babe. Besides, what’s the worst that could happen?”
The doorbell chimed, and my heart jumped. Josh’s parents arrived first, his mother fussing over the garland I’d hung on the staircase while his father made a beeline for the eggnog.
Then came the cousins with their kids, turning our usually quiet home into a cheerful chaos of children’s laughter and adult chatter. “Did you hear about Grandma’s announcement?” Josh’s cousin Maria whispered as she helped me arrange appetizers. “Alice has been calling her every day for weeks.”
“Really?”
“Oh yes.
The story doesn’t end here –
it continues on the next page.
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