I continue to do my best to keep Hazel's hands out of the food while sending daggers in Becky's direction. Becky rolls her eyes and looks away from me.

"James, you know it best. A mother is meant to be in the home with children. That's how I got three wonderful boys that made mostly wonderful choices." What did she mean by that? Martha opens her hands, gesturing towards the rest of the group at the table. I scoff, grabbing the cup of water in front of me that we technically still weren't allowed to touch.

All eyes were on me as I gulp the water down, allowing the cool liquid to soothe my throat before I said something I shouldn't. Everyone had a look of shock on their face. How dare I be so bold to drink some water?

"Mother, it's not like that anymore. If I have the option to work from home, and she doesn't, why can't I stay home with the baby?" James places his hand on my shoulder now, holding it tightly as he supports me with his family.

"That girl needs a mother. A father is meant to be providing, taking care of the mother so the mother can properly do her job." Becky finds the need to respond once again. Sara looks down at her feet, while she and Jared want nothing to do with this conversation. I want to join that side of the table.

"Okay, everyone, that is enough." Stewart, their father, chimes in. Everyone was so busy rattling off insults that no one even noticed he had sat down and already begun eating. "Your food is going to get cold while you are all yapping like dogs."

James' father was a stoic man, seated in his chair like he had confidence about him. He was strong like an oak tree, and dressed like a businessman. His snow white hair showed his age and the stress he'd endure during his life, but his body felt young. Stewart was done playing around, though.

Everyone quietly grabs their forks, looking at the food on their plates. Everyone awkwardly pushes the food around their plates in an attempt to make it look like they had some. The tension in the room was like a weight on the group's shoulders.

"I guess we can move on then. Jimmy, Becky, what's going on with you?" Martha interrupts the awkward silence, pulling everyone back to the table.

"I just got a new promotion, and we will be moving into a new better house here soon, and the best part about it, Mother, it's just down the road from here." Jimmy noticeably felt proud of himself, sitting up in his chair. Becky did the same, following in her husband's footsteps.

"Yes, so the kids can basically walk over here to play whenever you want to see them." Becky adds.

"Or whenever she just needs a break because she's not built to be a mother." I whisper to James. Becky sent daggers in my direction, informing me that I didn't whisper quiet enough. James and I try to hide snickers.

Hazel watches everyone interact, her big bold brown eyes trying so hard to figure everything out. She was so focused she didn't even notice she was shoveling little slivers of ham into her mouth. Chomping away at the food like she was mindlessly watching a movie.

"Why don't you teach that child to use some utensils?" Martha questions, pointing to Hazel.

"Because she's not even a year and a half old? When do you expect her to be so proper? I must not have gotten the memo." I want to run, to get as far away from here as I could. My family would have never been so judgmental. James elbows me lightly, giving me the 'keep your mouth shut' look. But at the other end of the table, Sara was trying to hold herself together.

"Jimmy's kids are using utensils." Martha ignores my sly comment and points towards the twins, who were nearly four, sitting perfectly at a small table tossed to the side. They weren't welcome to eat at the adult table because they couldn't control their manners quite yet, but they expected Hazel to.

"Okay, I'll get right on that." Finally, after what felt like ages, I took a bite of my ‌food. I wanted it to taste bad, I wanted it to be bitter like the woman who cooked it, but the mashed potatoes were delicious, leaving me wanting seconds and thirds. That wouldn't be allowed though, no proper lady eats so much food.

The meal continues on in annoying comments and half insults, but chatter between the siblings was lighter. I didn't mind listening to them talk, but any and every side comment from Martha was like a nail on a chalkboard in my ears. Why did James pick a seat so close to her? Then I remember, I sat down first, putting myself in this awful position.

"Well, if we are all finished eating, we can clear the table quickly and head out to the skating rink for a couple of hours of fun." Martha gestures towards the half-empty plates of food. I wasn't sure they were done eating since James and I were the only ones that really touched our plates.

"Aren't you supposed to wait twenty minutes before any activity after an enormous meal like that?" Jimmy leans back in his chair, trying his best to make it seem like he ate the most food out of all the siblings. A little sibling rivalry was one thing, but overeating yourself for attention was insane. Pretending to overeat but never actually touching your food was absolutely ludicrous.

"Oh Jimmy, you were always such a suck-up." Jared chides, standing from his seat, grabbing him and his wife's plates, and heading back to the kitchen to clean up. We left everything in the sink for Martha to deal with later because she was too particular about how things were cleaned and put away. It made me laugh that she wanted to act like the heiress of the royal family, with fancy dinners, and all these rules and regulations on how you sit, eat and breathe in her house, yet they couldn't afford the one key element that made all of that seem elite to everyday life—the maid.

Hazel jumps up and down as we grab her coat to get her ready to go outside. She was a ball of energy ready to explode as soon as we allow her to. James gathers her shoes, sitting down on the bench so he can help her put them on, while I finish getting ready myself.

"I used to love going ice skating when I was younger, so I'm pretty excited to do it with my own family finally." James smiles, putting on his own shoes. He held Hazel's hand as we walk out the front door, to not track mud through the house. Walking around the edge of the house until we reach the backyard. A large garden of bushes all trimmed to the perfect height, with flowers evenly spaced was just another reason Martha was insane. James loved his childhood, but the stark differences between my family and his were always so apparent when we came to these family gatherings.

Hazel runs down the pathway, getting further away from us than we would normally allow. I quicken my pace, trying my best to catch up with her before she messes anything up. Wouldn't want poor Martha to have a heart attack over something so silly. Hazel locks eye contact with one of the roses on the bushes, and before we know it, she's at a full sprint ready to rip one-off. How did James' mother have roses at this time of year, anyway? It was wintertime, there was snow on the ground, it was cold enough they were able to freeze water for an ice rink, and yet there were perfect flowers scattered across green bushes. There wasn't even a drop of snow on the top of them.

"I know what you are thinking. They are real bushes. The flowers are decorations she puts out when the real ones die off. The bushes are heated, so the snow melts off of them. It's weird. I know, but my mother is very proud of her shrubs." James rolls his eyes, grabbing Hazel before she could do any damage.

"You really did know what I was thinking, apparently." I chuckle.

"It was one of those things that my friends used to judge me about growing up. They always wanted to come over because we had the fun stuff. Like in the summer this area becomes a pool, I mean you know all of that, but they would always try to get me in trouble by messing with her shrubs. She'd come out on the back porch and watch us like hawks to make sure we weren't getting into anything. Eventually, I stopped inviting friends over and just hung out with my brothers. Jared was too little to keep up with us. It was a struggle between keeping Jimmy happy and keeping Jared involved." James kicks at the snow-covered ground, breaking the rules by stepping off the perfectly shoveled pathway.

"So that's why you are so weird." I poke him, pushing him just enough for him to teeter.

"I guess you could say that. I had a good childhood. It was just a little different from others." James looks around at the house. The beautiful Italian architecture stood out against the woodland trees next to it. Like a wine villa placed in the middle of a farm. It didn't seem to fit, but it looked good anyway. "They've worked really hard to make sure we grew up somewhere nice and I really appreciate that. But now that we have our own family and do things a little differently, I'm starting to realize where my family has some toxic attributes."

"Are you guys coming or what?" Jimmy shouts, tumbling slightly as he first steps onto the ice. Everyone else already had their skates on, leaving us behind in their dust. Hazel was standing on the edge, watching as everyone glides around the rink. A small fence lines the outside of the ice, keeping people from damaging the grass if they got going too fast and couldn't stop.

"Yeah, we are coming." James waves, grabbing my hand and leading me down to the rink. We each grab our own pair of skates, putting them on tightly and quickly. James picks Hazel up, putting her on his shoulders as he enters the rink. She giggles, laughing just a little bit louder every time he glides faster on the ice. My heart jumps into my throat. Every time he turns, or moves, the fear of him falling and dropping her, or worse, crashing and throwing her, leaves me too anxious to do anything but watch.

"Can we put Hazel down?" I mutter, one of the times he skates past me. James shakes his head, getting into the groove of things, now gliding around the ice like a professional.

"I just had to get my balance. We are good now." He smiles, holding his daughter's hands with her feet to keep her steady. "This is what I've always wanted." He stops for a moment, pulling her off his shoulders, moving her to his hip, and then putting her feet on the ground. She didn't have any skates on, but he treated her as if she did. Skating slowly with her shoes dragging on the ice. She laughs, kicking her legs in excitement.

"Mo daddy, mo" she shouts, waving her arms in the air. James picks up speed, taking her around the rink faster than ever, weaving through his siblings and their kids, nearly hitting someone at every turn.

Even though dinner was a disaster, this was starting to feel like what Christmas was all about. Family, and being together. Hazel was having the time of her life. James couldn't smile any bigger if he tried, and honestly, I felt warm all over, watching my family enjoy themselves. No side comment of Martha's could ruin this moment for anyone.