Near the end, the float that Michelle and Ashley had been waiting for pulled into view.  Barbie surrounded by her ‘minions’ as Kasey had nicely put it was dressed to kill in her fluffy pink Princess dress.  This time Ashley and Michelle squealed in delight, taking in the sight of the beautiful design and costumes on the float.

Another twenty minutes went by as Winnie the Pooh, Rugrats, and a sizeable amount of celebrities made their parade appearance.  Riley and Michelle remained silent the entire time as the final float made its way closer.  They knew who it was as the crowd cheered excitedly.  Children were flung onto their parents’ shoulders to get a better glance of the big man dressed in red.

Michelle placed her tiny hands on Ashley’s head and propped herself up a little higher.  She smiled broadly as the sleigh came into view.  Riley craned his neck while Santa and Mrs Claus strode closer, side by side in their massive sleigh.

Kasey stood on the tips of her toes wanting the child to see as much of the float as he could.  Waving slowly and warmly, Santa and his wife pulled up near them.  “Santa!”  Both kids flailed in the air hoping that the man in red would spare them a glance.  He did.  Santa and Mrs Claus smiled and continued waving at the crowd when finally their sleigh and reindeer pulled away.

“He looked at me!”  “Me too!”  The young Carlins were obviously pumped.  They were endlessly jittery as the group made their way through the crowd to their awaiting vehicle.  An hour or so later, with Kasey driving, the six of them made it back to the Carlin residence.

Riley and Madison burst through the door, their eyes darting around the room for someone whom they could tell about the entire parade.  They spotted Paula quietly sitting on the couch, watching television with her sister.

“That parade was awesome.”  Kasey never ceased smiling from the minute they arrived.  Ashley snuck around behind Spencer and slipped her pinkies into the girl’s back pockets, pulling her close.

“It was great, wasn’t it?  Thanks for taking my cousins, they really enjoyed themselves.”  Spencer let her body relax into the brunette’s embrace.  The teens stood on the front lawn, still reeling from the parade.

“It’s still pretty early.  Why don’t you guys come over for a bit?”  Ashley placed her chin on Spencer’s shoulder and eyed Kasey.

“Uhm..”  Kasey looked over at Kyla who smiled.  “Of course they’re coming.”  Kyla jumped in slipping her hand into Kasey’s, tugging toward the truck ever so gently.

With that the four teens sped off toward the Davies Mansion.  Ashley had hoped that she had given Kyla a chance for her speak candidly with Kasey tonight about her situation with Eric.  Hopefully Kasey would remain calm about the situation and hopefully Eric would respect the fact that Kyla was in a relationship.

‘Please let this work out…’  Ashley thought as everyone ascended the steps into the Davies’ abode.