Meet the Parents-in-Law Part One: Gifts

When the doorbell rang, Dani followed Spencer to the front door, whispering into his ear "Everything will be fine."

Spencer nodded before answering the door. Dani looked to the jolly bear of the man with a greying beard and his round wife, with short grey hair and glasses. She estimated the two were approaching sixty, if not already there. Both wore matching Christmas sweaters which sport a picture of Santa Claus with a bottle of ****, with the text 'Holiday Spirits' printed below.

After chuckling at their shirts, Spencer said. "Come on in."

Geoff and Abigail entered the house, where Geoff saw Spencer's new partner. "So you must be Danielle?"

"Yes. A pleasure to meet you."

"Geoff, and this is my wife Abigail."

"Hey." Abigail said.

The two shook hands as Dani said "Love the sweaters."

"Yeah, it's our Christmas tradition."

Geoff then waved to Amy who waved back.

"So have you eaten?" Dani asked.

"We have, but thanks for the offer."

"Of course. C'mon, sit down."

As the adults moved to the couch, Spencer said "Amy, how about you show Grandpa and Grandma your present?"

"Sure."

"Oh, we already opened a present up early?" Geoff said.

"Yeah, but hopefully it'll make sense."

Geoff shrugged whilst Abigail stared blankly. Spencer realized that he'd already made his first mistake, not letting the two watch his daughter's delight upon seeing her gift. Amy sat down to show the camera, to which Abigail said "Ohhh. That looks nice."

"It is."

"Hey Amy, how about you show your grandparents the photos you took last night as we get your next gift?" Danielle said.

"Sure."

Spencer followed Danielle to the bedroom to retrieve the print of the deer photo. As he walked back with the print, he took a deep breath, hoping his daughter would have a similar reaction to the camera she received. Once the couple got inside the living room, they saw Amy's jaw drop.

"Merry Christmas Amy." Dani said.

"Oh my God..."

"Did you take that one Amy?" Geoff asked.

"Yeah. Dani's been teaching me photography."

"Oh, very good." Abigail said. "When do you plan on going out to take some more shots?"

"When it's not so cold."

After a chuckle, Spencer said "You'll have to think of where you want to hang it up."

"Sure. Thanks Dad."

"Thank Dani. This was all her idea."

"Thanks Dani."

"No problem." Dani replied. "Glad you liked it."

"How about you go grab someone else's gift from under the tree?" Spencer asked his daughter.

"Sure."

Spencer glanced to his parents-in-law, who to his relief were both smiling. His relief then quickly turned into concern when Abigail started whispering to her husband. That's when Amy then grabbed a present for Spencer, saying "Oof... heavy."

"You right."

"I'm good." Amy and Spencer walked towards each other. When they met, Spencer tried to guess what it was, before sitting down.

"So, this one's from Dani."

Spencer tore the paper open, finding a new block of knives.

"Be careful with those. They're really sharp." Dani added.

"Well that's the idea." Spencer snuck in a quick chuckle."Thanks."

"You finally teaching him how to cook?" Abigail asked.

"Someone has to."

"Well, it's about time."

After her dad chuckled, Amy handed him her present. "This might help too."

"Oh, okay. I won't say no to double dipping."

Spencer took his next present and opened it, revealing his next present to be a recipe book named '101 Easy Recipes'.

"Thank you dear." Once Amy snapped her photo, Spencer said "How about you give your grandparents their gift?"

"Sure."

Amy rushed to grab the two sweaters for her grandparents. They opened them in unison, revealing the Christmas sweaters that had a picture of Jesus wearing a birthday hat that read 'Birthday Boy'. The two shared a laugh whilst Amy took more photos. Once done, she gave them Dani's present, which was two bottles of wine.

"Okay, now I think it might be my turn?" Dani said.

"Sure." Amy grabbed her present for Danielle, who opened it up, finding a photography book.

"Oh, very nice. Thank you Amy."

"Uhh." Amy looked under the tree. "That's uhh it though."

Dani cocked her head. "Really?"

Spencer then stood up and began patting his pocket, before pulling out his gift for Danielle. "Merry Christmas Dani."

"Oh, thank you Spencer." She opened the small jewelry box, seeing the ruby earrings he had bought her. "Oh my God. Thank you so much Spence."

She then gave him a tight hug, to which Spencer said "No problem Dani."

Abigail felt some pain upon seeing Spencer in the arms of another woman. Whilst she was happy for him, she remembered seeing Kirstin hug him just like that. After Dani showed off her gift, Geoff said "Well, I think we left our presents in the car."

"That's fine, we can get them later." Spencer said.

"Fair point. Well, anyway, how about some good old hot chocolate?"

"Sounds like a plan." Dani said.