After the hearty meal, the Anderson family sat together to watch a Christmas movie—the latest "Home Alone" installment, featuring a kid who loved drinking lots of sodas.

The living room was filled with laughter as they watched the burglars get caught in the little genius boy’s traps in hilariously inventive ways.

The movie ended, and it was time for Lily to go to bed. “Lily, honey, it’s time for you to go to bed,” Vida told her daughter.

“Mo-o-om, but I’m not tired. Can I stay up a little longer? Pleeease?” she begged.

“You have to go and rest, or you’ll be tired on Christmas, and you wouldn’t want that, would you? You wouldn’t want to spend half of Christmas sleeping,” Vida reasoned.

“Okay, fine, but can I at least open one Christmas present?” Lily said, trying to put on her best puppy-dog face to convince her mom. She knew her mom was tough to persuade, but it was worth a try.

“You know the rules. No opening of presents until Christmas,” Vida said firmly.

“Okay, fine,” Lily grumbled as she got up, dragging herself to her room but not before bidding her parents good night. “Good night, Mom.”

“Good night, sweetheart,” Vida responded.

“Good night, Dad.”

“Good night, angel,” Mr. Anderson said, giving his daughter a kiss on her forehead before giving her a wink.

Lily felt puzzled and wanted to ask her dad what the wink meant, but she knew better. Whatever it was, it promised something good.

Mr. Anderson had a wicked sense of fun; during Halloween, he had secretly bought candies for Lily when Vida had forbidden her to go trick-or-treating that year. Both Lily and her dad had eaten the candies and watched movies while Vida attended to an urgent issue at work.

Lily slowly made her way to her room and got ready for bed. After taking a shower, she heard her parents' door close, signaling they were going to bed too.

Lily put on her pajamas and climbed into bed. She couldn’t shut her eyes, her mind brimming with thoughts of the next day’s events. She wished she could open a few presents and have some midnight snacks to while away the long night. She closed her eyes, trying hard to fall asleep, when she heard a faint "pssst." Lily thought she was dreaming, but the sound came again, jolting her awake. That’s when she heard her dad’s voice.

“Pssst, angel, are you there?”

Lily jumped out of bed and walked to the door. “Dad, is that you?” she asked.

“Yeah, it’s me. I couldn’t sleep, so I thought we could open a few presents and have some snacks. What do you think?”

This was exactly the moment Lily had been waiting for. “I thought you’d never ask,” she remarked.

“We’ll have to be very quiet so your mom doesn’t hear us.” Lily nodded eagerly.

They tiptoed to the living room. “Let’s get some snacks first,” Mr. Anderson suggested.

“Okay, Dad,” Lily agreed.

They went to the kitchen and grabbed cookies and chocolate drinks, then spent the rest of the night opening presents and enjoying their midnight feast in hushed excitement.

When Lily woke up the next day and checked the time on her phone, it was 10:26 a.m. She was surprised that she had almost spent half of her day sleeping on Christmas. Mom was right, she thought. She went to the kitchen to get something to eat and found her mom wiping the kitchen island.

“Good morning, Mom.”

“How did I find you and your dad sleeping on the floor in the living room this morning? I saw you going into your room to sleep last night.”

Lily was thinking of an answer for her mother when her dad’s head popped out of the kitchen door.

“It was my fault. I couldn’t sleep, so I thought maybe we could open some presents and have some snacks to while the night away.”

Whew, Lily thought, that was close.

“You whiled the night away alright, and spent almost half of your day sleeping in on Christmas,” Vida said with a mock sternness.

“Sorry, Mom,” Lily muttered.

“Right,” her mom said in a sarcastic tone. “I made you pancakes and hot chocolate. Have breakfast and get ready. We are spending Christmas at Grandma’s.”

“Really!” Lily's eyes widened with enthusiasm.

Mrs. Evelyn, Lily’s grandmother and Vida’s mother, was a real Christmas enthusiast. Her home was cozy and beautifully adorned with various Christmas lights and decorations, which could easily get anyone into the holiday spirit. She was also a fantastic cook, and her kitchen was always filled with amazing aromas of delicious food. Overall, Lily loved her grandmother very much and was eager to spend the best time of the year with her favorite grandma.

She quickly had her breakfast and went upstairs to get ready. She came down to see her parents already waiting for her in the living room.

“Ready to go?” Mr. Anderson asked with a smile.

“Yes, Dad, I’m ready.”

The trip to Mrs. Evelyn’s house was filled with lively conversations, Christmas carols, and laughter. They were greeted by the lovely Mrs. Evelyn when they arrived.

“There they are!” she said, opening her arms to give her guests hugs as she always did when they came to visit.

She hugged Lily first. “Look at you, you’re all grown up and pretty.”

Lily gave her parents a look that said, “See, at least someone knows I’m growing up.” She proceeded to hug Vida next. “How are you doing, darling?”

“I’m doing great, Mom,” said Vida. “Hope you’re well too.”

“Yes, I’m also doing well,” Mrs. Evelyn said, continuing to Mr. Anderson. “Hello, my dear.”

“Hello, Mom.”

“Oh, please call me by my maiden name. I’m too young to be called ‘Mom’ by men, don’t you think?” Mrs. Evelyn said, giving herself a good laugh, which brought tears to her eyes, which she wiped away with her finger. “Come, come on in. Lunch is ready.”

They all walked into the living room, which was decorated exquisitely. Mrs. Evelyn called Vida on her way to the kitchen. “Vida, could you please help me set the table?”

“Oh sure, Mom,” Vida stated and went into the kitchen to bring the cutlery and crockery.

“Grandma, can I help you bring in the food?”

“Sure dear. That’s why you’re my favorite grandchild,” Mrs. Evelyn whispered into Lily’s ear.

“Grandma, I’m your only grandchild,” Lily said, amused by her grandmother’s words.

“I know, I know,” said Mrs. Evelyn.

“What can I do to help?” Mr. Anderson asked.

“You can play some lovely Christmas songs for us. I can’t seem to use those new speakers you bought me. Old age is really catching up to me,” Mrs. Evelyn said while arranging the food on the dining table.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be blasting Christmas songs here in no time.”

It didn’t take long before the table was set. There were all kinds of sumptuous meals: roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, freshly baked bread, jellies, puddings, and pies. The family had an ebullient meal filled with lovely conversations to catch up on things.

Afterward, they settled down to play games. They played “Guess the Christmas Song,” “Song Association: Christmas Edition,” and then watched Mariah Carey’s Christmas Special performance.It was a truly lovely time at Mrs. Evelyn’s place.

...............................[AFRO PRIDE]..........................