Riane Gerard's Story

Riane stood in front of her wardrobe, clueless as to what to wear. It was not only Christmas Eve, but maybe one of the biggest days of her life. She had to announce to her fiancee's children that they were getting married. She'd barely even met any of them, and she sure as hell didn't know any of them on a personal level. She finally pulled out a fuchsia high-low dress and some white heels and sat down next to John on their California king bed. None of the guests had arrived yet, but they would be here soon enough, and she wasn't even dressed yet. She slid on her dress, strapped up her heels, and took the stairs down to the first floor two at a time.

In the kitchen, there wasn't one countertop not covered in food. Their chef, Marc, had done a beautiful job. Baked ham, salmon, mashed potatoes, rolls, all the common Christmas dishes. She straightened a few of the plates and sat on the counter, waiting for the doorbell to ring. John walked in the room, tying his tie. "Here," Riane said, standing up, "let me do that for you." She tied a perfect knot. "You look wonderful," she stated right as the doorbell rang. And so the night begins, she thought.

Riane absorbed the kiss, and patted John's back as he walked towards the door. "I'll see if I can find her," she said. She could hear little footsteps in the kitchen, so she traveled that way. In the hallway, she caught her reflection in the small mirror. Her dark hair was up in a ballerina bun. She pulled out the three bobby pins holding it in place, and it fell down her back like rolling waves. I'm not old enough to wear a bun like this to a family gathering, she thought.

Walking through the kitchen doorway, she nearly ran into Katy, stuffed with the gingerbread cookies that Marc supposedly makes every Christmas Eve. "Oh Katy," Riane said. "You're dad said no sugar before breakfast." She crossed her arms and pursed her lips. "But I'll let this one slide. Your dress looks great, honey. I think your siblings are arriving." She slipped her arm around Katy's shoulders and led her out to the front corridor.

John was greeting a blonde woman that Riane had never seen before. She'd seen plenty of pictures of the children, and she knew this wasn't one of them. She slowly walked up behind John, taking his hand. "Good morning," she said to the blonde. "I'm Riane. I don't recognize you?"

Celeste Doyle

Essie had happened to see the doors open. Her and Aidan had a safe trip to say the least and she was excited and she could get the Christmas vibes from the house. The scents of baking was flooding in and she smiled. She soon walked in with Aidan and they were greeted by John. Even though she has been over to visit Aidan's family over countless times, she still felt like she had any challenges to face to fit the idea of what John had wanted.

Soon another woman came in. Essie watched as she slipped her hand into John's and then she could tell by their body behaviour. She heard the woman ask her who she was. Obviously Essie wasn't one of the Essex children but she had been dating Aidan for quite some time now and she didn't intend to leave him if his father didn't like her, she just hoped that Aidan would be the same way. She gave a small smile to the two of them. "Evening, John and your companion." She said. She wasn't one to judge, it was a bit too soon but who knew, maybe they were happy. She left the opinion for hers to be settled upon knowing them better. "I'm Celeste." She said to the woman and gave a small smile.

Eventually she nodded to both of them, "I'll help Aidan with our bags, so if you'll please excuse me." She said softly and then she turned to go upstairs and into Aidan's room. "Hey babe, figured I'd help, not sure if your dad likes me yet or not." She said speaking the last part a bit quietly. She did feel like she was on the edge waiting for an approval or not. Essie sighed softly and helped him set the bags down and then wrapped her arms around him and gave him a small peck on the lips. "So, any bets on who arrives first out of your other two siblings?" She asked with a small smirk on her face.

Riane shook Celeste's hand with both of her own. "It's nice to meet you, Celeste." She let go, and watched Celeste walk up the stairs. She figured she was Aidan's girlfriend. She'd never met either of them, but they didn't seem to want to get to know Riane. They'll like me, she thought to herself. I'll make them. I don't think I'm too hard to like. She turned to John and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Where are my presents?! Aidan always brings me toys when he comes home," Katy said. Riane decided this wouldn't be a good time to intervene, because Katy may throw a fit if, god forbid, Aidan brought no presents along.

Celeste Doyle

There was mutual silence between her and Aidan and she knew that his father being the way he was and his mother being gone, was difficult to cope with. That was part of the reason she had decided to switch the conversation in the first place. She knew eventually he'd get heated up in the process. She knew Rose long enough to have some sort of a conversation with her, she was a lovely women and she seemed to have been the glue that kept the family together and it had been sad with her passing. She couldn't imagine what it'd be like to lose your mother, it was much different than losing a sibling.

When she had mentioned the early Christmas present to Aidan, he seemed to have a bit of doubt about giving his sister one early. There was two parts to the Christmas present she had picked out for Katy and she was looking forward to seeing Katy open them. She knew that it probably wouldn't compare to the presents that John had probably gotten Katy but she still tried and had the little girls best interest in mind. "Well I got her two gifts because I remember last Christmas she was excited to get one early when you first came in the door, and she's a little kid, they love having presents early." She smiled and then she had been going over to her one bag by the window and she had heard him ask what she even got Katy and she turned and was about to answer him when she heard the knock at his door.

Soon came a voice that she had just heard downstairs, it was an older and feminine voice so she knew it was Riane since she didn't see either one of Aidan's siblings show up with their other halves yet. She sighed softly and then the watched as Aidan got up to answer the door. He had been mentioning that they were just going to go down stairs. While he spoke to Riane, and she knew it wasn't going to be in the best manner, she rummaged through the gifts she had and she pulled Katy's out just in time to look out the window and see a car pull up. She watched as Jax got out and she smiled. She heard Aidan's question and came up to him. "Well your brother Jax is here now." She said smiling and then turned to Riane and gave her a polite smile. "Greetings again, Riane." She said politely, since she had to see this through and not judge Riane just yet. There was almost more to a story than the cover after all. Not that she agreed with the match up but if it made them both truly happy, then she wouldn't say anything. "Ready to go down stairs?" She asked the two clearing her throat a bit.

[sizeRiane walked down the stairs ahead of Celeste and Aidan. Holding on to the banister, she turned her head back and asked, "Do you have any idea who else may show up soon?" Facing the front door, she saw many different people, all conversing with John. She recognized Jax and Vivian from picture, but that was about it. Not wanting to interrupt, she decided she would put the smaller gifts that would be opened tonight under the tree.

The gifts from John were always hidden in John's office. No one ever went in there without his permission. Riane quickly walked over to John and whispered, "Can I put tonight's presents under the tree?" She didn't really want to interrupt the greetings.