“Everything is going to be fine. Right, Mari?” Natalie asked.
Mariana gave her shoulders a squeeze. “Yup. Don’t worry. I’ll help keep an eye on the battlefield and make sure the ceasefire is being honored.”
Mason was brought to one of the tables, and she had to fight through the crowd in order to sit beside him. Obviously, he was being given the royal treatment, but she was his girlfriend and was owed some courtesy. It wasn’t long before a bowl was plopped in front of Mason while the rest of them fought to get their own.
“Hey, gorgeous,” he said as soon as she was able to get settled beside him, and she may have swooned again, her gaze flickering away and her cheeks warming. She had to fight off a girlish giggle. Who had she become? Natalie had no idea, but she didn’t appreciate her sister, Carla, staring at her while leaning her chin against her palm with a smile on her face.
“Shut up, Carla,” she said.
“What? I’m just thinking about Luis.” Her sister pushed her bottom lip in a pout. “I miss him. I should call him back.” She pulled out her phone, which Mariana snatched away.
“Nope. We’re not going through this again.”
“Mari, it’s Christmas! Give it back, you brat!”
Abuelita patted Carla’s hand, whispering something to her, which settled her sister down but didn’t remove the pout from her face.
Mason leaned toward Natalie. “What kind of soup is this?”
“It’s pozole rojo. It’s like a stew with pork and hominy.” She reached toward the colorful pottery bowls one of her relatives had set in the center of each table filled with cheese, chopped cilantro and onions, and sliced radishes, sprinkling them into her soup. He followed her lead. “I’m pretty sure one of my aunts brought roasted turkey breast and some gravy. Our meals are a mix of traditional American holiday and Mexican food. Either way, you’re not going to leave hungry.”
“Oh my God, this is so good. I will happily die right here,” he said. There was a real possibility he would die because of the way her relations kept attempting to push food on him, well past the point of reason. She took charge in fighting them when he whispered to her that he didn’t think he could eat another bite.
“Mamá, seriously, stop. You’re going to make him sick.”
“He’s a big man. He needs a lot,” her mother said. “I will pack some food for you to take home, okay?”
“Sorry,” she said to Mason.
“Why? I’m not. This is one of the best nights of my life.”
As soon as the eating slowed, Enrique snuck out of the house with his sons and they soon returned, wheeling a brand-new dishwasher on a dolly. Mariana and Natalie jumped up to dash to their mother and place their hands over her eyes while Carla hurriedly grabbed the giant red gift ribbon to plop on the front. As soon as the surprise was revealed, with much flourish from the family, Rosa cried out in happiness, tears flowing down her face as she rushed to each daughter, squeezing their cheeks and pressing kisses to them. Natalie couldn’t remember a happier night in her life. Finally, a Christmas that truly felt like magic.
After the gift was properly fawned over, her mother excitedly approached Mason and said, “You like board games, right? We have Monopoly. You want some hot chocolate? I’ll make you some hot chocolate.” She placed an old dusty box with split corners on the table.
“We don’t have to play Monopoly,” she said to Mason, not wanting him to feel obligated.
“Oh, fun! I want to play,” Carla said. Soon a couple of her other cousins joined in.
“Come on, Natalie. It’ll be fun.” Mason removed the lid from the box.
“Okay,” she replied, a smile spreading across her face because her heart was so light that evening. But her good mood also clearly put her off her game, as everyone snatched a playing piece before she had a chance to choose.
“Here, Nat, you get to be the old shoe,” Carla said, plopping it on the table in front of her. “It suits you.”
“Gee, thanks,” she replied flatly.
“Here, I’ll trade you. I was actually looking for the shoe and somehow accidentally grabbed the car.” He swapped pieces with her.
“You guys know this game isn’t a co-op, right,” her sister said. “You guys can’t go into buying Boardwalk together.”
Natalie wasn’t listening to her sister. How could she when she was taken by him? She pulled him to her and kissed him sweetly, partly to irritate her sister but mostly because she wanted to. All her previous nervousness and apprehension from the day flitted away. This was real. What she had with Mason was something substantial, not fleeting. She didn’t understand how, after all her fighting and running away from relationships, she’d gotten so lucky to have a great guy who adored her and fitted in with her family. Natalie couldn’t remember why she’d been so worried in the first place.
This had to be exactly how Mia felt with Ross. Maybe happiness in a relationship was possible after all. She should send her best friend a text to let her know she was right about everything and she was forgiven for all past attempts at manipulation.
“Okay, gross,” Carla said about the kiss, but her eyes crinkled in amusement. “Before we start playing we need to set up a few house rules. First rule, no kissing between players, unless you want to see me vomit all over the game board. Second rule, no teams. It’s everyone for themselves. All those in favor, raise your hands.”
Her sister and cousins raised their hands outvoting her and Mason easily. Natalie didn’t blame them—it wasn’t too long ago she would have voted the same way. She shrugged nonchalantly because she’d sneak her boyfriend away for more proper kissing later. Plus, her sister didn’t make any rules about not touching Mason, which she was planning on doing, both above and below the tabletop.
