“Mom,” Janna finds me in the kitchen around seven o’clock in the evening.
“Hmm?”
“I don’t think Lyric should drive home in this storm. I’d be worried about him.”
I turn to glance her way. “Looking for another sleepover buddy, huh?”
“Mom!” She knows I’m teasing, but her cheeks flood with color anyway. “No!”
I grin at her. “I know. I’ve already talked to Kookie about letting him bunk with him. And don’t worry; I’m going to camp out in the hallway overnight, so you’ll be safe.”
“Mahmmmm.”
Our eyes collide. “What? You think I’m kidding? How old is Lyric? Seventeen? Eighteen?”
Raging hormones either way.
“He’ll be eighteen at the end of December.”
This information draws me up short. “What? When?”
No way. There’s no way she’s going to say…
“December thirtieth.”
“WHAT???!”
Her eyes careen into mine again. “I know. It’s weird. He and Tae share a birthday. Strange, huh?”
Not any stranger than Jungkook being my son.
“Come on,” I cross the room towards her and throw my arm over her shoulder. “Let’s go tell everyone the bad news…”
“Bad news?”
“That they are all snowed in with us.”
“How is that bad news?”
“Well, it’s bad news for their parents who won’t have the joy of their company.” I flash my teeth at her. They’re not as white as Kookie’s, but my smile is pretty straight, at least.
“Lyric, Emmie, Noel, I have some bad news,” I begin as we enter the living room.
That gets their attention. Three heads snap up.
“What is it, Mrs. Franklin?” Lyric asks with concern.
Such a polite boy.
I stare into his wide, chocolate eyes for a moment and think of Tae.
“Your parents are going to have to do without your delightful presence tonight. I’m not about to let any of you out on the roads now.”
I glance out the window at a white sky. The sun went to bed over an hour ago, but the pale dome is illuminated by the reflection of the snow blanketing everything we can see. Even the branches of the trees are clinging to a pile of the powdery crystals.
“We get to stay the night again?” Emmie asks with glee.
“Yay!” Noel rejoices.
I nod at them both. “I already spoke to your mom.”
“You’re going to let me sleep over?” Lyric asks in surprise as his eyes slide over to kiss Janna’s. That better be the only part of his body that kisses hers tonight.
“As long as you follow some ground rules.”
“What ground rules?” my daughter asks suspiciously.
“For one, girls may share a room with only each other tonight. The same goes for the boys.” I give them all my best steely glare. “And no boy and girl are allowed alone together in any bedroom in my house.”
Perhaps I’m going overboard. But I feel a responsibility towards them all. None of them has even finished high school yet!
“So, I can’t be alone with Banana?” Alastair asks me a moment later.
“Siblings don’t count,” I answer succinctly. “You can be alone with your sister. That’s okay.”
All the older kids are chuckling because they understand my absurd rules. But the younger boys are in a world of confusion.
“What’s the next rule?” Alastair, my law-follower asks me.
“Everyone must eat at least two Christmas cookies.”
“What?” Befuddled, he stares at me. “That’s not a rule!”
“It is in my house,” I grin.
“I think I want to stay the night here every night,” Lyric murmurs.
We all laugh.
But privately I’m reflecting on the fact that there is only one way I would ever allow that. And Janna is a tad young to be getting married now. Though, given what I’ve seen of Lyric so far, someday I might just be delighted if she chooses to marry this sweet boy.
––
Keeping an eye on the kids will actually be fairly easy to accomplish tonight. I have one last project to finish before I can head to bed. Tomorrow is the beginning of Advent, so I must have the kids’ calendars ready to go.
I bought a Lego Advent calendar for Everett. But for the little twins, who are avid BTS fans – my own little ARMYs – I am creating a special Bon Voyage Lego calendar. I need to finish assembling the Bangtan boys’ outfits tonight. I purchased a couple different Lego sets to create this particular one. The first set was a camping compilation including a tent. The second was over twenty Lego people doing outdoor activities. I can hardly wait for my boys to open this special advent calendar!
I sort through the Lego outfits and find a red and white jacket for Hobi to wear. There are matching black pants. I even find a guy with sunglasses on. I add some floppy brown hair, and Hobi is complete. He is the Lego character who most closely resembles his counterpart on the TV show. It’s like this Lego guy was designed to be Hobi on Bon Voyage.
Jungkook is next. He’s pretty easy to create too. Of course, he’s wearing black pants. And I found a jacket that’s mostly black. It has a green and gray design across part of its front. But the best part is that there’s even long, black hair for Jungkook to wear, and the face I find has a toothy grin. Just like my favorite maknae. It’s only as I finish creating this little Jungkook doll that I remember he’s no longer part of BTS. I feel a tiny wave of sadness wash over me, but then I remind myself that as much as I loved him in the band, I love him more as my eldest son. Perhaps I’ll give Kookie this doll as his mini-me.
Jimin ends up with gray hair, a burgundy shirt with a gray jacket, and dark gray pants. Classic Jimin. Namjoon is almost revisiting his hairdo from the Dark and Wild era. He’s wearing dark sunglasses too. A baby blue jacket covers his purple basketball jersey. Everett is sure to like his tiny bias.
Yoongi has adorable, brown hair and is sporting a mahogany coat over his slate blue polo shirt. He’s wearing khaki slacks. My options are growing limited by the time I create him. Still, my youngest is going to adore this tiny doll. Jin still has suave midnight hair. He’s wearing black pants and a brown coat over an olive-green shirt.
Finally, Tae is the pièce de résistance. I find a face with glasses and a smirky smile. He’s wearing a Hawaiian shirt picturing a sunset and palm trees in shades of orange and blue. The palm trees match his navy-blue pants. But the best thing about this Tae is his hair. It’s longish and flops adorably over his brow, falling so far down his forehead that his bangs brush his eyes. It’s absolute perfection. Nana is going to love him! Alastair will also thoroughly enjoy this tiny rendition of the bias he shares with his big sister.
As I finish creating my little Lego Bangtan Boys, I line up the rest of the set in front of me. My special Bon Voyage Lego calendar comes complete with a big red tent, a rock-climbing wall, a set of skis, a boat with oars, and a mountain bike. And, of course, a camera for Tae!
I open all the doors on the plastic container of individual boxes that I’m going to fill with twenty-five presents for my little sweeties. I place Yoongi in the first tiny box. Tae goes into the second. On the first day of December, I will let Abner and Alastair each open a door. On all succeeding days, they will open one door together. This is a joint gift, and they must share their bounty. On Christmas Eve, they’ll open the final door to unveil their big surprise. I can hardly wait to see them open these little gifts. This is definitely my favorite Advent calendar ever!
Tomorrow is sure to be fun.
