One Year Later — Christmas Eve
Their house had never looked more chaotic.
Fairy lights covered the walls, red and gold ornaments decorated the Christmas tree, and the smell of freshly prepared food filled the air. Somewhere in the living room,Layan attempted to pull a ribbon off the nearest gift after Rudy took the toy she and Olivia were playing with.
" You can't be an asshole even to children" Nara said, but her attention quickly shifted to the ring of the door bell, she gasped "I'll get it" She ran towards the door
Rosaline knew she was hoping it was Davon, but it wasn't.
"Oh, it's you guys. Hi" She walked away with slumped shoulders.
Catherine came in with a bags , she was followed by her boyfriend Mark and his grandmother Momo.
"Momo!" Everyone cheered.
Momo was the family's favorite after the kids. She gave biting and funny remarks.
"My heart skipped a beat there" she placed a hand on her chest ..." Wait..no that's three beats. Is it time,Lord?. I am nay ready"
They laughed.
Nolan came in soon after with a bag of groceries. He handed the bag fo Shaan.
"Thank you so much" Shaan said.
" Happy to help, you need anything else?"
" I could use some help...need to arrange these"
Rosaline watched them go into the kitchen, she was happy they were at each other's throats anymore.
Olivia was beside Layan, watching as she struggled with the ribbon. Rudy cackled, he only made the attempt tiring for the two little girls.
"Someone please rescue my daughter!" Rosaline called
"Your daughter?" Shaan asked, appearing beside her with a glass of juice. "She's been following me around all morning. She's clearly my child."
"She's following you because you keep giving her biscuits!"
"That's called parenting, darling."
"That's called spoiling her."
"You eat more biscuits than she does"
He kissed her cheek before she could argue further.
"I know i know, it's because of the little one inside you" he said and handed her the juice.
"Thank you" She said matter of factly...like her pregnancy was something Shaan always forgot about.
Rosaline's eye caught Noah and Renee beside the Christmas tree, it hadn't been an easy year for her sister and Noah. There had been difficult conversations, uncomfortable silences, and wounds that took time to heal. But they'd chosen to try again, slowly rebuilding what had been broken.
Now, as Renee stood beside Noah near the Christmas tree, laughing at something he whispered, Rosaline couldn't help but smile at how naturally they gravitated towards each other.
Noah caught her staring....he raised an eyebrow.
Rosaline immediately turned away, pretending to be fascinated by a bowl of sweets.
"Subtle," Shaan murmured.
"Be quiet."
He chuckled, wrapping an arm around her waist.
Across the room, Beatrice and Gina were attempting to organise a family photograph while Noura fed them stories of her adventure in foreign land with her "NoMad". Abeer was also with them, she was visibly annoyed at everything her mother said about Uncle Primm.
Sean was at the dining blowing balloons with Jonathan and Uncle Primm, he insisted that nobody ever listened to him, obviously the only person he could tell that to was his Jonathan and Uncle Primm.
Majed was also with them ,dreading every second of "balloning blowing and bond"
Kenneth was trying to stop Kayid and David from climbing onto the sofa....Rosaline felt bad for asking him to handle the boys but she and Shaan had had enough of trying to teach them Joy to the world hymn for the church carol that was comig up, and Jordan was laughing so hard at something Richie had said that she repeatedly slapped Zoe's arm.
Keisha, proudly displayed photos of her documented pregnancy journey, she had explained to Jessica why the baby had kicked precisely three times one evening at a broadcast of "Oasis" during dinner.
"She knew her mommy was a star" were the words she always ended the story with.
Rosaline shook her head.
Some things never changed.
Jamari , obviously couldn't get enough of his baby girl. A smile was spread across his face as he bottle-fed her.
"Everyone! Picture time!" Beatrice announced.
The room erupted into protests.
Kayid and David flew off the sofa, the angel costume they had on made the jump a lot more comical.
Everyone erupted in laughter.
After several minutes of arguing, rearranging children, and threatening to cancel dessert, they finally gathered around the Christmas tree.
Shaan stood behind Rosaline with Layan in his arms, while Kayid squeezed himself between them. Her siblings crowded around, their partners beside them, and her parents took the middle.
Renee stood next to Noah.
Just before the camera flashed, Noah reached for her hand....she looked at him, surprised,he gave her a small smile....She returned the smile.
Click.
For a moment, everyone remained still.
Then Layan began crying, Olivia joined in, Kayid demanded to see the picture, and David announced that he was hungry.
An evil quad.
The chaos resumed.
Rosaline laughed, resting her head against Shaan's shoulder.
A year ago, her life fell apart, she'd thought she'd go through it all alone.But she'd never imagined the unity they all had now.
She had gained so much and lost so much, too. But somewhere between the heartbreak, the laughter, the new beginnings, and the endless family gatherings, she'd learned that life didn't have to be perfect to be beautiful.
Sometimes, it was enough to have a home filled with people who loved you.
People who stayed.
People who found their way back.
"Merry Christmas, Mrs Moore Al'Din"
Shaan whispered, kissing her forehead.
Rosaline smiled up at him.
"Merry Christmas."
Outside, snowflakes drifted past the windows, settling over the garden like a soft blanket. Inside, the Al'Din-Moore-Campbell-Greenwood(Momo's)family carried on with their noise, laughter, arguments, and love.
And Rosaline wouldn't have traded it for anything.
~The End~