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"No, but I don't share identical DNA with you, either," she replied, hugging him back before ushering them into the dining room. "Get a drink and some cookies, and come sit down so we can do the exchange! I've been waiting all day!" she said, all but pushing Teagan toward the crockpot of steaming hot apple cider.
"Oh goodness, this smells so good!" Teagan said.
"Fresh pressed, organic apples from the orchards," Ro replied.
"Naturally." Evie rolled her eyes.
"Of course, they're natural," Ro said without missing a beat. Everyone laughed. Teagan placed six giant iced sugar cookies on her plate. Luca removed four. Teagan put another two on her plate. Luca removed one. Teagan reached for the fourth again, and Luca swatted her hand. Sighing dramatically, she surrendered and went to the table.
"Do you have your white elephant gifts?" Ro tapped the table impatiently.
"Oh! Mine is by the front door." Teagan stood to get it.
Luca placed his hand on her shoulder. "I'll grab them. Enjoy your cookies, and don't sneak any more."
"You know me too well," she muttered in reply.
Luca came back and added their presents to the four on the table. Teagan took one look at the pile and burst into laughter.
"What's so funny?" Jason asked.
"Well, I can tell who each gift is from. The one wrapped in burlap is from Ro. The one wrapped perfectly in silver is from Evie. The one wrapped in brown, umm, is that a paper lunch sack? That is obviously from Jason," Teagan stated. They all joined in her laughter.
"We are pretty predictable, aren't we?" Ro asked.
"You are the most predictable person I know, sunshine," Octavius confirmed.
"I am not!" Ro argued. "I can be quite spontaneous."
"Sure, keep telling yourself that," he teased, scooting his chair closer to hers. Octavius wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her into him.
"Are we going to do this thing or what?" Jason asked.
"You're pretty predictable, too," Evie said.
"What? Me?" Jason asked.
"I can confirm that." Luca nodded toward Evie. "He is the most predictable of all of us. Routine means a lot to him."
"He routinely wears ugly clothes," Evie muttered.
Teagan, who was in the middle of taking a drink of her apple cider, choked on it, spitting it everywhere. Luca pounded her back while Ro roared in laughter.
Jason narrowed his eyes at Evie, who at least had the grace to blush before bringing their attention back to the game. "How does this work anyway?"
"We will all draw a number from this coffee cup of papers. The first person picks a gift, and then they open it. The next person picks a gift and opens it, and they can either keep their gift or take someone else's," Ro explained.
"So, you want the prettiest elephant. Got it," Evie said.
"The prettiest elephant?" Teagan asked, confused.
"Yeah?" Evie said, as if it was obvious.
She must mean it as a metaphor for the gifts, Teagan assumed. She quickly realized that her assumption was wrong.
Luca drew number one and opened Octavius' gift. "An emoji poop pillow. How classy."
"Maybe Trident would like it as a toy?" Teagan suggested helpfully.
