It was December twenty-first as Sin looked over at Damien to see the bright smile on his face. She tried to match it, but all she could muster up was an anxious smile that told far more than she wanted it to. They were sitting outside his childhood home. A home Sin had just found out was a mansion in the city of whatever part of New York Damien was from, because he never told her when she asked. 

"It’s going to be fine honey, they’re going to love you guys," Damien told me with the brightest smile I had seen in ages. He turned to Lex and smiled at him to eliciting a bought of giggles from the small child. Sin never thought that Damien might be unhappy staying with her in Maryland. But she had just realized how much he missed home. She never would have thought he could light up any more than he usually did when they were together. But here they were, sitting outside of his childhood mansion, waiting to go in, and his smile could light up the night. 

Sin took a deep breath, stilled her expression, turned to Damien and Lex and told them, "I know it will be great. I'm so glad you brought us to meet your family. Even if I wasn’t expecting you to live in the mansion from Wuthering Heights." With that remark and a light laugh he seemed to relax even more. Damien exited the car to get Lex out of his car seat and then went around to open the door for Sin. She didn’t know it, but Damien reserved his chivalry for her and his good moods for only them and the rest of his family. He was determined to make this Christmas memorable and happy for all of them.

The walk from the rounded driveway to the porch wasn't long but with each step Sin felt her anxiety start to build. Something wasn’t necessarily wrong, but everything wasn’t okay either. Opening the door, she was met with the grandest foyer she had ever seen. Damien’s house was like something out of a Christmas movie. Three large golden chandeliers hung from the ceiling and brightened the cream floor. Every raised surface had a large candelabra on it and green tinsel that snaked around all the objects and reminded her of the way her mom used to decorate. Red and gold decorations lined the walls and staircase which was large enough to fit at least a hundred people on it. Damien turned to one of the hallways as she stood in awe at his elegant home. 

“Ma, we’re here!” Damien yelled out into the house. Sin wasn’t convinced anyone would hear him but to her surprise a petite black woman, a few inches shorter than her, immediately darted around a large corner. 

“Ah, amor!” the woman sighed as she hugged Damien. Her accent wasn’t thick, but it sounded practiced to Sin’s ear, like she had been saying it for years. Sin stood to the side as Lex held her hand tightly and they both watched the interaction. The woman began fussing over Damien, complaining how he didn’t visit or call enough. To this Damien just sighed and hung his head. When she was done fretting over him, Damien turned and introduced his mother to them.

“Ma, this is my girlfriend, Sin, and her son, Lex,” he put his hand on Sin’s lower back and she stood Lex in front of her. “Guys, this is my mother Gloria,” Damien told them as Gloria attempted to pull them both in for a hug. Before she could engulf them, Damien quickly pulled Lex out of the way so that his mother only ended up smothering Sin. Turning to him with a grateful look, Sin sheepishly picked Lex up into her arms. She opened her mouth, getting ready to explain the interaction, but Gloria just waved her off and smiled. Sin then noticed how much Damien looked like his mom. They shared the same dark brown skin, nose, and eyes. Her smile, much like his, was easy-going and seem to be genuine. She thought the similarities were so close no one would ever mistake Damien for anyone else’s child. It also made her wonder what his dad looked like. 

“I am sorry for my husband’s absence, he’s still at work with one of my other children. But it is so nice to meet you both. Damien has told me so much about you two, I feel like you are already in the family,” Gloria’s tone started slightly exasperated when she talked about her husband, but turned sweet and comforting as she describing Lex and Sin. Sin smiled at her as they were all ushered into the living room where there was an array of meat, cheese, and fruit. 

*insert line here*

After about two hours of small talk it was time for dinner. Sin had met Damien’s two youngest siblings, twins Dawn and Gavin. The two ten year olds were in awe to meet Lex and immediately wanted to know everything about the young child. Gavin was rambunctious and very outgoing. He told Sin and Lex a million different stories that he never fully finished and he was always moving around. He also talked for Dawn, which Sin later learned was common because Dawn did not talk to anyone but Gavin. She would grunt and shake her head but she had not spoken a word to anyone else in the family since she was seven. Sin understood and empathized with Damien’s family because Lex was a little different too.

Dinner was of course done in their very large dining room. The room was big enough to host a small ball or gala. The same chandeliers that were in the foyer were also in the dining room but this room had a gold marble floor. In the middle of the room sat a long cream dining table that comfortably sat ten, but they could potentially squeeze twelve chairs under. In the corner farthest from where they stood was a fifteen foot Christmas tree decorated in gold, red, and the same cream color as the dining room table. It looked professionally done and Sin wondered how much money Damien’s family really had.

She got close to Damien to whisper, “I knew you had money but it seems you’ve been holding out on me honey,” he knew she was playing but there was the hint of a scowl in her voice that he wasn’t ready to address. Choosing to ignore her comment he walked into the dining room to claim his seat. Sin scurried behind him feeling slight anxiety at the grandeur of it all. 

Without two of the family members present they chose to sit in a way that would be most comfortable for the children. Sin sat at the end of one side next to Lex who was followed by Dawn and then Gavin. Across from her sat Damien and next to him Gloria. They began dinner after a quick prayer and delve into small talk around their meal. They had been eating long enough to get through the appetizer and start the entrée when they heard footsteps approach the door. 

In walked a tall Colombian man with low-cut black hair and olive skin. Sin could see the other parts of Damien on him and thought how wonderfully his parent’s genes had mixed to create her boyfriend. David, Gloria had told her, was her husband’s name. When he walked in all eyes were on him but a figure stood at the same height just behind him. Damien and Sin stood so that they could do introductions when a familiar voice exclaimed, “what the fuck?”. Sin immediately froze like there was a knife to her back when heard that voice. It had been five years since she’d last heard that voice and it ripped through her core distressing her. 

“Dustin, watch your language. Have you lost your mind?” came a response. Hearing Gloria’s voice brought Sin out of her stupor and she sprang into action to shield Lex behind her. No one had seen her movement because their eyes were all turned to Dustin in confusion. Sin’s eyes darted around in panic looking for an exit. She had no idea how she was going to hide her son from his father.