"Can you believe how much time has passed?" I asked Rosie, as we sat on a bench, in the same park that we got married in.
"I know." She said, smiling, glancing around. Our three children, Basil, Wren, and Harbor, had all grown up so quickly... Basil had announced that she wanted to be a nature photographer; she was turning twenty-one soon. Wren and Harbor, who were also eighteen and legal adults, had recently graduated high school. Harbor, who had always loved nature and the beach, was thinking of maybe buying a boat and sailing around the world; the ocean was a perfect place for him. Wren had become more skittish and was frequently running off to who knows where. "They're all grown up."
"It feel like just yesterday we were standing here, saying I do."
"It does." Rosie agreed, holding onto my hand. "I love you Hazel."
"I love you, too Rosie." I kissed her cheek, as I heard the familiar sounds off the children. I felt a pang of sadness; I couldn't call them children anymore, they were grown up. "I wonder what Harbor's doing." I said, glancing over at him.
"I don't know." Rosie shrugged, also looking at our only son, who was climbing up the ladder of the play set.
Harbor's Point of View...
"Hey, Wren." I said, glancing up at my twin sister, who was sitting on the playground set. "Whatcha doing?"
"Not much." I heard her say, as she sighed. "You know how I feel about family time."
"You think it blows?" I asked.
"Yeah." I heard her chuckle a little, as I began climbing up the ladder.
"What's funny?" I asked, as I sat down next to her, almost hitting my head on the low roof.
"Oh... I mean, everyone knows that I hate family time. I-" She took a deep breath and glanced at me, as if she was going to say something important. "I care about you guys, though. Ya know? It's stupid, but... family is family, right?"
"It isn't stupid." I reassured her. "I care about you guys, my family, too."
"Yeah, but you like hanging about with our parents and Basil and stuff."
"Nothing wrong with that." I shrugged, feeling a little offended. I liked my family and why bother insulting that? "They're actually kinda cool."
"Harbor. You think our parents are cool?"
"I mean, you know. They aren't super lame and give us a lot of freedom. They don't mind taking me on weekend boating trips or Basil to LA for photo ops and contests."
"Hey, guys! Smile!" I heard Basil shout, down on the ground.
"Speaking of Basil, looks like she's got the camera." Wren sighed. She hated have her photo taken, even though Basil did it all the time. "She's gonna be the crazy camera lady we see at events, telling her kids to pose and stuff."
"At least we'll get some freaking awesome holiday cards." I tried to be optimistic; why bother being upset or looking at the bad side when life was so great?
"Yeah... at least she actually knows how to use a camera and isn't someone who takes crappy iPhone pics and Photoshops the hell out of them."
"I got the perfect shot!" Our sister shouted, waving her camera in the air.
"Delete it!" Wren called out, standing up. "Delete it, please."
"Only if you can catch me." She teased, turning to run.
"I gotta go catch the blonde who's being a bit bitchy." Wren said to me, as she told a hold of the pole and slide down it.
Basil's Point of View...
"Catch me if you can." I shouted, as Wren began sprinting after me. I felt like a five year of again, playing silly games with my sister.
"Caught you." Wren said, as she grabbed onto my arm. She could always run faster then me.
"Do I have to delete the picture? It's a nice one. The lighting reflects off of-"
"Yes, yeah ya do." She said, interrupting my photography babble. "I hate my photo being taken, you know that."
"But you're so photogenic. Isn't it a tiny bit ironic?" Flattery usually worked on the subjects who were reluctant to let me capture their image; why shouldn't the trick work on Wren?
"No. Come one, you said if I could catch you, you'd delete it and I did."
"Fine. But it's a really pretty shot."
"I'm naturally really pretty, so it makes sense that my photos would be too." She smirked, playing the flattery game with me, as she grabbed for my camera.
"Here." I sighed, as I handed her my camera I'd received for my birthday a little over half a decade ago. "Be careful, that thing may be old, but it's still worth a couple hundred bucks."The camera was my prize possession and if Wren hurt it, I would probably have to hurt her... not that I actually would, considering my lack of physical strength.
"Don't worry. Even if I do drop it, I've got the money."
"How do you- never mind." Wren shot me a look, as if to tell me not to ask. She fumbled around with the buttons for a few seconds, then handed me back my pride and joy.
"Thank you." She said, just as her phone began beeping.
"I think you have a message."
"Yeah, I probably should check it." She said, pulling out her phone, walking away from me. She was so secretive; what was going on?
Hazel's Point of View (Again)...
"Hazel, I think we should tell them now." Rosie said, adoringly looking into my eyes. I looked back into hers. They were a pool of melted chocolate and I wanted nothing more than to be able to go swimming in them, all night long.
"You're right." I agreed, as we stood up off the bench.
"Harbor, Basil, Wren!" Rosie exclaimed, walking over towards the picnic tables. I followed her, hoping everything would go well. We hadn't just gathered in the park for family time to have fun, we had news. Basil and Harbor gathered around us, as Wren stood off to the side of the park, playing on her phone.
"We, mum and I, have something to tell you."
"What is it?" Harbor asked, worry spreading across his delicate face. "Is everything okay?"
"Yes." Rosie nodded, "We- what's Wren doing?"
"She got a text." Basil told us, gently placing her camera on a picnic table; she was preparing to be shocked and didn't want to drop the possession she loved so dearly. "Please, tell us. She'll come over in a second."
"Hazel." Rosie softly nudged my arm, prompting me to announce the plan.
"We've decided to move to France. I'm officially retiring from the science facility; we've done all the research needed, so I'd be losing my job soon anyway."
"Mother, you're too young to retire." Basil said, looking confused. "You're not even fifty."
"I know, honey. I'm not officially retiring retiring, but that's what I'm calling it."
"Why France, then? Why not stay here? I know they have beautiful scenic views and I would love to take a vacation there to capture them, but I have a life in America."
"What about us?" Harbor asked. "What will we do?"
"We're giving you your inheritance money early." Rosie said. "Instead of waiting another thirty or forty years. Hopefully you don't mind."
"Of course not!" Basil and Harbor articulated unamiously.
"We're selling the house. I bought it for a fairly high price; we'll be able to sell it for a decent price and split the money evenly between you three."
"Mother..." Basil said, looking at me with wide eyes. "You're leaving to go live in a foreign country and giving us a large sum of money. Are you sure everything's alright?"
"Nothing is wrong... There's just so many memories concerning the past here. My father was pretty infamous, so there's still things named after him here. We want to help you all out with something you love doing; the money we're splitting between you three should be used to support a passion, such as boating, or photography, or college, not just to buy front row tickets to some concert or a luxurious car or mansion."
"We love you all and want to help your future." Rosie said. "What's keeping Wren? She should be hearing this."
"Sweetie, calm down. What's going on?"
"I just... feel... off? Yeah. I feel off. We need to go. Now."
"I suppose it is getting dark and if you feel bad, we can talk more about the news at home."
"Yeah, yeah. We need to get home." She said, out of breath. I shook my head, sighing. Wren was always mysterious. I began walking to our car, holding hands with my wife. The children slowly followed us. I had a wife and children; after everything we'd gone through, life was wonderful. I had my family and my garden and was about to move to Paris, as soon as the realtor could find someone to buy the home. Wasn't life fabulous?
NOTE: This is the last chapter of Hazel's generation and the heir poll will be out soon. Hopefully switching from Hazel's to Harbor's to Basil's and then back to Hazel's POV wasn't too confusing for anyone; I wanted to cover a bit of everything.
I guess Wren's good at her job considering she's still doing it... don't worry your switching perspectives was fine, I didn't get confused at all. :)
ReplyDeleteWren has continued to be in the world of drug dealing after six months; it's turning her into a bit of a mess, though. Glad that the POV changing didn't get confusing; I was worried it might. Thanks for commenting! :)
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