" A new member"

Rose and Arthur woke up by the sound of their son crying. He had spent the night with his parents.

He pulled his mother's hair waking her up.

"What wrong love? " she asked as she got up from the bed.

Arthur soon woke up too, placing a kiss on his wife's forehead and one on his noisy son.

"He wants to go out and see the son," Arthur said.

Rose looked out the window and realized it had snowed throughout the night.

Arthur got out of bed and carried little Arthur to the window. Rose joined them admiring the white snow outside.

Sean and Irene arrived during breakfast time. They joined the family of three at the table and had breakfast with them.

Arthur and Sean later placed the gifts around the Christmas tree.

Having been busy with the Christmas party they had not timed for decorating.

Rose, Irene, Dorothy, and the rest of the maids decorated the house.

Arthur and his son then decorated the Christmas tree. By the time Ralph and Alex arrived, the house was full of green, red, and white decorations.

"It looks warm and merry," said Alex.

"All thanks to your brother and his son," Rose said.

The house was full of laughter and family as they all gathered and shared stories.

"I don't want to spoil the fun but I have to tell you guys something important "

"What is it, Rose?" Ralph asked worriedly.

"I want to first apologize to Ralph for keeping it a secret but still to all of you" the room fell silent as they listened to what she wanted to say.

"My father took away a baby just months after he was born to a rich family so he could get money. The child he took was my twin brother " she paused and looked around, taking in the expressions on their faces.

"What do you mean a twin brother, mother never said anything about such a thing?" Ralph asked.

"Ralph first I want to tell you that, father is back and with him, he brought two children. Among them is our brother, my twin brother Justin "

Everybody was surprised at the revelation, Ralph was surprised to hear that his father was back and on top if It they had another sibling. The rest were surprised to hear that Justin was Rose's twin brother.

She told them everything and how he told her he was related to her. And how he wanted to join their family.

"No wonder he looked like you a little " Irene said.

"So we have another member to our family " Ralph chuckled.

"I wanted to invite him today but I wanted to first tell you guys about it " Rose confessed.

Arthur who had been silent for a while finally said, " Let him join us "

Rose was shocked to hear his answer, but the rest agreed too.

"From what you said, it seems they treated him badly and father has never cared for anyone apart from himself " Ralph joined in.

Rose accepted and excused herself to call Justin.

"You can come over to my house if you not busy," she said.

"How did you get my number? " he asked.

"If you are not going to join us then don't waste my time "

"No. am sorry I asked such a silly question. Am on my way " Justin said.

She hung up and went back to the others.

"So tell us more about this man before he arrives, " Alex said.

"I don't know much..." Rose told them everything she had learned about him.

An hour later as they were deep in their conversations, Dorothy led a stranger into the living room. Apart from Arthur, Sean, and Rose who had seen him once the rest were surprised at the resemblance between him and Rose.

Alex got up with her huge baby bump and met him.

"So you're the male version of Rose? " She said.

Ralph got up and pulled her aside. Rose led him to a seat. The rest were all quiet as they gazed at his posture and face.

"He looks like you Rose " Irene commented.

Justin smiled and said his greeting.

"Thank you Rose for having me, never had a Christmas celebration before "

Soon they were asking him questions about his childhood, how his father approached him again, and why he was with him.

He replied to all of their questions and with time they felt they knew him better.

Ralph didn't say much but made him feel comfortable. He soon blended in and was laughing with them.

Arthur and Rose let him enjoy himself and left their questions for later.

Dorothy called them all in for lunch, they all gathered around the table.

Justin says next to little Arthur, Irene next to Sean, the pregnant Alex next to her husband, and the same for Rose and Arthur. The table was full of delicious and different types of food.

The juice was served to Alex and Rose while the rest enjoyed wine.

It was a feast that was filled with family.

Justin, Sean, and Arthur helped with the dishes after the feast while the ladies rested in the living room.

"Are you accepting him in the family, Rose? " asked Alex.

"Am not sure but I feel he does mean good " she said.

"But what if it's your father's plan?" asked Irene.

"We will find out soon "

Changing the topic they talked about baby names for Alex and Ralph's baby.

"I want to be prepared not like my brother and his wife who didn't get him one "

"Hi, our son got a very wonderful name. The family now holds two Arthur's " Rose defended.

"I agree with Alex, you guys were so lazy to get a name for the baby that you had to name him his father's " Irene agreed.

Rose frowned, " We were new to the whole thing but he still got a good name"