No Kisses "Angela, are you ready to go?" Mother called upstairs. "Almost, I'm putting on my shoes," Angela answered excitedly. In less the five minutes Angela, her parents and her two brothers were in the car on the way to Aunt Agnes' house. The ride to Aunt Agnes' house normally took about thirty minutes. Tonight Angela didn't mind having to sit in the middle of her two big brothers, even though it meant she could not look out of the windows and see the Christmas decorations of the houses and stores they would pass. All of her mother's family was meeting at Aunt Agnes' house. The actual count was 4 great aunties, 3 great uncles, 6 uncles with their wives, 4 aunties with their husbands and more cousins than a five year old wished to count. The most important thing was there were more girls than boys, so her pesky brothers would be less pesky. Well maybe that was second most important because the cousins would get to open one present early. The parents said it was a way for everyone to share the holidays together. Angela would have jumped out of the car as soon as her Father pulled to the curb if her brother hadn't grabbed the door handle first. He just stared at her until Angela sat back down and waited for him to exit the car first. Mother led the parade of the little family up the walk toward the front door, which suddenly flung open as a crush of cousins ran toward the arriving family. In the midst of the hugging and rough housing fest, Mother called out, "Angela, come and meet your great aunts, Hannah and Margaret." The cousins parted silently like the Red Sea. Angela raced up the cleared path toward the porch and stopped dead in her tracks at the bottom step. "Come on baby, give your aunties a kiss," Mother encouraged. All of the adults were gathered on the porch, surrounding the visiting great aunts. Angela answered not believing the she had said that to her Mother. "Don't be shy, kiss your aunties." Mother said it in a tone of voice that promised there would be problems and repercussions later tonight if Angles didn't hurry up and kiss her aunties and do it with a smile. Still Angela stood in the same place refusing to budge. In front of her just past her Mother stood identical sea-haggies. They were about four feet two inches tall, maybe five feet if they could stand up straight. The bandanas covering their hair were black. Although Angela's mother and her sister wore the latest high heels, the great aunts wore black steel toe boots, just like the ones her Father wore when he worked on the car or in the garden. The coup de grace was that bulbous, hairy mole on the chin. "Did you here me? Stop acting up and give your aunties a kiss," Mother said in what was coming close to anger. Angela knew her Mother was getting ready to blow. Angela"s Grandmother shot her a look that said obey your Mother. She looked through the crowd for a sympathetic face and found none. Still, there was no way Angela was going to kiss the witch from Hansel and Gretel relative or not. Besides there were two of them. Angela decided right then to take the punishment, whatever it turned out to be rather than risk being in the clutches of the sea-haggy witches. "Angela, do it now!" Mother commanded as she took Angela's hand and led her toward her aunts. Angela tried not to move, but she was no match for her determined and embarrassed Mother. Mother picked Angela up and placed her within striking distance of the first sea-haggy. At that same instance, the sea-haggy pushed her dentures out of her mouth. Before the cobra could strike, Angela jumped from her mother's arms, ran down the path and took off in the direction from which she had come. At the corner she turned right running as fast as she could. It took Angela's father three blocks to finally catch her. He led her to a bus bench where they both sat down to catch their breath. After a while Father asked, "Where were you going?" "Home," Angela answered. "Do you even know the way back?" "Yes. This street straight to the Jack in the Box, turn right. Go straight to the corner with the library and the church, turn left. Go pass the junior high school and then I could see my house. I was going to wait on the porch until you came home or go next door and stay with Mrs. McKnight." "You do know the way," Father said with a little too much pride in his voice. "You know we have to go back." "Daddy, I really don't want to go back." "Neither do I, but we have to. I'll make you a deal. You don't have to kiss anyone you don't want to kiss. "Not even the sea-haggies?" Angela asked. She could see her father wanted to laugh but he was being parental. His eyes laughed anyway. "You don't have to kiss any one you don't want to kiss ever again in life. Father reassured Angela. "What do I have to do for my part of the deal?" "Stay close to me so I don't have to kiss them either." Inspired by an actual event. 910 words