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“Go ahead, Ivy,” Jasmine said. “I know you get excited.”
She smiled and stuck her tongue out at Dahlia and then answered her mother’s call. “Merry Christmas,” she yelled when her parents came up on the screen. “Oh my God, is that Mark?”
Everyone ran over to look over her shoulder. “Surprise,” her mother yelled. “We didn’t want to say anything as we didn’t know if he’d make it in time for the call.”
“When did you know he was coming?” Jasmine asked.
Her parents were twelve hours ahead of them in the Philippines. So it was past nine at night there.
“We knew yesterday that he’d made his flight which is why I encouraged Chase to go see you guys,” her father said.
She kept the pout from her face. Again, it was because her father was spending time with Mark and then told Chase. It’s like the girls always got left out.
“So you knew?” she asked Chase.
“Yep,” Chase said. “Surprise.”
She wanted to be ticked that Chase never said a word last night when they were together.
Dahlia beat her to it though by slapping Chase’s arm. “Jerk. You could have told us.”
“Nope,” Mark said. “I asked Mom and Dad not to, but they admitted they told Chase. It’s so good to see you all. And I wanted everyone together for a reason.”
“What’s that?” Jasmine asked.
They watched as Mark held his hand out and then motioned a woman closer to him. “This is Mei Yamada, my fiancée.”
She hadn’t even known Mark was dating anyone, let alone engaged. Her brother always kept to himself.
“Congratulations,” Dahlia said. “Welcome to the family.”
“How did you two meet?” Jasmine asked.
“Mei and I work together. We have for years. You could say we started out more as friends and it turned into something else. I’m going to be transferring in a few months and we had to decide what the future held for us. She’s going with me.”
“Where are you going?” her father asked, looking at his oldest son. Obviously they didn’t know that much. “You’ve been in Japan for years.”
“I’m not sure yet where I’m going. I posted for two positions. Promotions. I know I’ve got one of them but don’t know which one. Either New Zealand or Switzerland.”
“That’s so exciting,” Jasmine said. “Not that you’d see Dahlia or Ivy getting on a plane for that kind of a flight, but I wouldn’t mind visiting either location.”
“Not enough alcohol for me to do it,” Ivy said, laughing. “My over-the-ocean traveling is done.”
“You still haven’t conquered that fear,” her father said. “I thought for sure you outgrew it.”
“I can do it if I need to. But I don’t want to,” she said, lifting her chin.
“He didn’t mean anything by it,” Chase whispered in her ear.
She just shrugged.
They talked some more, everyone asking questions, then her mother said, “Why don’t we open gifts? I know Ivy has to be getting antsy. She always did on Christmas morning.”
Jasmine picked up the computer and moved it over to a coffee table and aimed it at the tree while they passed the gifts around that her parents had sent. They always got something from the region her parents lived in and then gift cards they could use in America.
“Here,” Chase said to Ivy. “This is from Dad.”
“Dad got me something?” she said. Her father never got them individual gifts. It was always from both of her parents.
