Lennon didn't notice her fingers twisted into a stressed knot until Kade reached over. The weight of his hand stopped their motion. She looked up at him, surprised.

"Sorry," he said, removing his hand. "It was stressing me out."

She gave a small nod, returning her attention out the window, without seeing any part of downtown Tulsa as it passed by. Her stomach was a knot and the few crackers she had been able to swallow on the plane were threatening to come up.

Kade gave a small cough and she turned to him. She felt a little guilty for her distracted state.

"You would think, by the way you are acting, that you're meeting my parents for the first time. But instead, I'm the one meeting your dad and stepmom," Kade said.

He had tried to keep his tone light, but she could hear the worry.

"Sorry," she said, taking a quick breath. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine," he reassured her. "Are you?"

"Yeah. Yeah, it will be great," she said, nodding her head.

She realized she was still nodding her head a moment later and stiffened her neck to stop herself from looking crazy. She let out a big breath and her shoulders deflated.

"Here's the thing," she said. "You shouldn't take it personally. The way Julie treats you. It's just the way it is. I mean, I've been at every Christmas since they got engaged and she still acts like I'm a guest. Which is kind of silly because technically I was celebrating Christmas with my dad way before she was but..."

Lennon stopped herself and clamped her mouth shut. She was rambling.

"What I'm trying to say," she said. "Is it might feel awkward but it has nothing to do with you. It's just the way it is. It will be fine though."

"It will be," Kade said.

He moved his hand to cover her's which grasped the seat. She relaxed her grip, reassured by his touch.

"You take the lead and I'll follow," he said. "Whatever you need."

She took in her hundredth deep breath since landing in Oklahoma. For the first time it seemed to fill her lung enough. She relaxed her shoulders.

"Thanks," she said.

The taxi pulled into the parking lot of a fancy steak house and Lennon could feel her nerves tighten.

"You can pull up by the front," she told the driver.

Kade gave her a curious look.

"We're meeting them here," she told him.

The air was chilly and heavy with the scent of recent rain as Lennon stepped from the taxi. The front door of the restaurant opened, allowing the noise from inside to seep out as her father emerged. He gave her a big smile, the wrinkles around his eyes deepening.

"Dad," Lennon said.

He pulled her into his arms. She rested against his worn, sheep lined jean jacket, he had worn since college.

"Merry Christmas," she said.

"Merry Christmas Len," he said   

There was a subtle thunk behind them and Lennon turned to see Kade depositing their bags onto the sidewalk. He straightened under their gaze and Lennon could see the nerves he had kept well hidden in the car.

"Dad, I want you to meet Kade," she said, extending her hand out to Kade. He took it and stepped closer.

"It's nice to meet you sir," Kade said, their handshake firm.

"It's nice to meet you too. And please, call me Daniel. Julie and Benjamin are inside. Should we put your bags in the car and go meet them?"

"Sounds good," Lennon said.

Lennon turned to grab her bag but Kade beat her to it, picking up both suitcases.

"How was your flight?" her dad asked as they walked to his car.

"It was fine," Lennon said. 

The bags loaded up in her dad's car, the three of them headed into the restaurant. Deep country music swirled through the air, adding to the ambience of the low lit atmosphere. The clatter of cutlery and conversations competed with the music. Kade slipped his arm around Lennon's shoulders. She gave his side a reassuring squeeze. She felt calmer with him by her side.

Lennon spotted Benjamin's excited face as they approached the table. Upon seeing Lennon, Benjamin broke free from Julie's grasp and raced towards her.

"Lennon!" he said, his arms open wide.

She sank low and opened her arms.

"Benny!" she said, as his small frame crashed into her.

Lennon pulled him back and devoured his face with kisses until she elicited a warm belly laugh. Julie was standing stiffly by the table, looking awkward and unsure.

"Lennon, we are so happy you are here," she said, rigidly moving forward.

Lennon wasn't sure what Julie intended to do and they ended up doing a half hug with a cold kiss on the cheek. She felt thrown off and reached for Kade to assure her balance.

"Julie, Benjamin, I would like you to meet Kade," Lennon said.

He stepped forward and smoothly took Julie's hand. He gave her a warm smile.

"It's so nice to meet both of you," he said.

"We feel the same. We have heard so much about you," Julie said.

"It's nice to meet you Benjamin," Kade said.

He got down on Benjamin's level and shook his hand. Lennon held back a laugh as Benny gave Kade a serious, appraising look.

"Are you Lennon's boyfriend?" Benjamin asked.

"Benjamin," Julie hissed.

"I am. Is that ok?" Kade asked.

Benjamin's serious look stayed in place, still not appeased.

"Do you like Ninjago?"

"Benjamin, let's let them sit," Julie said, her hands coming to rest on his small shoulders, her face pinched.

"I love Ninjago!" Kade said.

A spark lit in Benjamin's eyes. Lennon wasn't surprised Kade knew what Benny was talking about, having seen first hand how he was with his younger cousins.

"Who is your favorite?" Benjamin asked.

"Kai," Kade said. "Who is your favorite?"

Benjamin didn't respond, his pure joy at finding someone who spoke his language left him lost for words. Julie used his momentarily silence to shuffle him into his seat and Lennon, Kade and her father took their seats.

The basic pleasantries were passed back and forth as they waited to place their order. Julie seemed determined to hit them all. If Kade was surprised how little Lennon's father and Julie knew about her career, he didn't show it. His face didn't betray anything when they blindly asked questions about LA and the business that they should already know. He hide his surprise pretty well when he realized they hadn't heard her album yet.

For Lennon, there was no connection between her life in LA and her dad and Julie. She had forgotten to mention this to Kade. She tried not to think about how the situation must look to him.

********************

They had barely set foot into her dad and Julie's house when Julie offered to give them a tour. Lennon agreed out of politeness, even though she had already seen the house several times. While it was a nice house, it looked just like the rest on the street. They had a huge Christmas tree, rising more then seven feet in the air. It was exquisitely decorated, not a single child made ornament in sight. Lennon wondered if the tree had come that way or if Julie had copied it from a magazine.

"We just finished redoing the guest room this past summer. You two will be some of the first guests to stay," Julie said, showing them the room.

There was a large queen size bed situated in the middle of the room. Lennon pursed her lips the second she realized Julie expected them to stay in the same room. She couldn't help but compare her family to Kade's.

"Thanks so much Julie," she said, giving her a small smile.

Julie returned it with a small nod. Lennon's dad joined them in the room a second later, bringing their bags in and Kade moved to help him.

"Well, we know it's been a long day. We will let you get some sleep," Julie said.

Lennon tried not to feel as awkward as her dad and Julie left. Lennon waited a heartbeat before she flopped onto the bed. She let out an exasperated breath. The bed sank under Kade's weight as he sat next to her. Lennon slowly pulled herself.

"They are really nice," Kade said.

The sympathy in his voice came through loud and clear and the room suddenly felt cramped. The last thing Lennon wanted was Kade's sympathy. She stood abruptly.

"The bathroom is next door to the left," she said, grabbing her bag.

She rifled through it, looking for her pajamas. But also to avoid looking at Kade.

"Feel free to do whatever. I have a few emails I need to look over," she said. "I'll be back later. Pick whichever side of the bed you want, I don't care."

She grabbed her phone and went to the door. She caught Kade's eyes, his face revealing confusion. But she left before he could say anything.

As she stepped into the living room, she hoped more space would combat the crushing feeling that had swept over her in the guest room, but she still felt agitated. Eventually she ended up down in the finished basement. Everything was so perfectly neat and tidy. The thick cream carpet didn't have a spot on it and it made Lennon feel guilty as she left footprints.

She tried to let Jordan's emails take her mind off of her location and the current occupants of the house. But, after blindly reading the same email five times she gave up. A chill ran up her arms and she looked around the room for a blanket. She spotted one on the next chair over and she stood up on the couch.

Already feeling guilty about her footprints, she climbed from the couch to the coffee table to the chair and then back. She plopped down back into her spot and wrapped the blanket around her. She sat in the silence, trying to think of absolutely nothing, but thoughts of Christmas's with her mom kept breaking into her mind, until sleep overtook her.

**********************************************************************

Yellow!

(I now feel the need to yell another color. Pink! Okay glad I got that off my chest) People I don't even know what to do with myself right now, outside it feels like summer! The last few days I've been gearing up for a cold Fall and then this gets thrown my way. I'm not complaining just completely surprised! It's kind of how I feel when in winter I look out my window and see that it's a really blue sky and expect it to be 80 degrees when it reality it's 23 degrees. Don't mind me I'm just baffled is all.

Vote, comment, follow, take a stroll. (Question do people even stroll anymore? What is a stroll? Is it between a walk and a meander? Or is it between a wander and jaunt? Let me know what you think, cause once again I'm befuddled!)