10.8: Ryelynn's Family

   "Can you say Uncle Felix?"
   "Or Auntie Marianna?" Felix, who was thirty-one, running a successful automotive repair shop,was engaged to Marianna Calypso, a kindergarten teacher, who he met through her ex-boyfriend, Deacon. Apparently Deacon had cheated on her, so she'd slashed his BMW's front tires and carved 'Don't cheat xo, your ex-girlfriend p.s. I'm breaking up with you' onto the hood, consequently he took the car to Felix to fix the paint job. We'd questioned Marianna's sanity at first, but soon realized that she was actually a very sweet woman.
   "Oo! Can you say Shattered Chicago?" Chester cooed, smiling. His band, which relocated to the Windy City after he'd snagged a modeling gig with Hollister three years ago, when he was twenty-five, were aptly renamed Shattered Chicago and since had become fairly popular, especially after Starlight, a gossip show that had lasted a surprisingly lengthy time, featured the band, dubbing them "The Hollister Hottie and Co.". 

   "Guys!" Remy, aka Ms. Kapaldi, exclaimed, crossing her arms on top of her bulging belly. "We want Jillian's first words to be mommy."
   "Or daddy." Zander added. My sister's husband, and ex-boyfriend's brother, had welcomed their first child, Jillian Phoebe Kapaldi, after four years of marriage, now, two years later, they were expecting baby number two.
   "Or mommy." Remy replied, as everyone stood in our parent's living room, fascinated with our first niece.

   "Everyone, shh!" Dad said, hobbling into the room. "I think I hear Phoebe at the door." 

   "Hadley texted me that they were driving back from the spa." I whispered. I had earned my bachelor’s in physics with a minor in robotic engineering from UCLA, had also recently completed my master’s in physics, and turned twenty-four; now I was anxiously waiting to here from other schools and see where I would end up earning my Ph.D.

   We turned off the lights, quietly waiting for them to enter the house. It was mom's sixtieth birthday and, as I surprise, dad had arranged for everyone to fly or drive back home. Remy, Felix, and I were in town, so it wouldn't be a huge surprise that we were her, however Chester, with had very little time to see family, with his band and modeling, and Hadley, who was twenty-five, living in NYC, trying to break her way into the modeling field by dropping Chester's name, and had been assigned to keeping mom busy, were the Crown Jewels of the plan.

   "Surprise!" Shouted when Hadley, followed by mom, who gasped in utterly joyful shock.

   "Chester- You! Everyone!" She began tearing up, as dad held her hands, gazing into her eyes.

   "It's your birthday, mom; I couldn't miss that." He said, hugging her tightly.

   "I have the best family; I love you all." She replied, as Hadley made odd gestures.

   "What are you doing?" I whispered to her.

   "Come with me." I followed her out of the living room, to the kitchen.

   "What's going on?" I asked, befuddled.

   "Ya know how I was gonna get that modeling gig?"

   "Yeah..." I lied, having no idea what she was talking about. She had mellowed with age and was less, for lack of a better term, bitchy, however we still weren't on a daily, or even weekly, phone call basis.

   "Well, they refused to hire me! Outrageous right?"

   "I suppose. Did they give you a reason?"

   "Ya know how I use to bribe people in high school?" She murmured, glancing at her feet. "Some of them appeared online when they tried doing a background check or whatever. They said they didn't want someone who did stuff like that representing them."

   "I'm sorry, Had."

   "I just... And then they said my outfits and dyed eyebrows made me look like a slutty, knock off version of Cara Delevingne!"

   "That's horrid!" I exclaimed, unsure of who the Ms. Cara person was.

   "I just... I dunno. I'm running short on cash and..."

   "I don't know what to tell you; though, right now, it's mom's party, we really should be out there, focusing on her, okay? Maybe I can lend you some money or something."

   "Thanks, Ryelynn." She beamed. "I... I'm sorry for being such a bitch as a kid to you."

   "Thank you for apologizing. Now let's go back to the living room." We walked back to the living room, as dad, who was holding a glass of wine, was in the middle of his toast.
   "I have spent so many marvelous years with her, each year I fall deeper into love with her, in a way I didn't know was possible. To many more years." Everyone clinked their glasses, Felix, Chester, mom, Zander, and dad's filled with wine, Remy's with vitamin water. Everyone took a sip of their beverage, except for Marianna, who nervously glanced at Felix.
   "It's okay if you don't drink, honey." Mom said to her, presuming that was what the nervous glance meant. "Don't feel pressured."
   "Marianna and I- er, uh... We, um, we have an announcement to make." Felix said, blushing. "We, uh, we found out last week and we didn't want to steal the focus from you, mom and we thought, maybe, well we got engaged seven months ago, but we didn't want you to think-"

   "I, we, me, well, I'm pregnant!" She smiled, as Felix kissed her cheek. "We planned the wedding to be five months from now, but considering that then I won't be able to fit into my dress,we've moved it up to next month."
   "Ah! Jillian, you'll have a new sibling and a cousin!" Remy squealed. "This wonderful."
   "Congratulations." Mom beamed. "Three grandchildren! This is a wonderful birthday present."
   Everyone congratulated them, toasted to the fetus' health, as we sat, telling stories of our mundane lives. We may not be a close knit family who sees each other every week or day, however we did cherish the moments we spent together; I love my family, mom, dad, Remy, Zander, Jillian, their baby, Chester, Hadley, Felix, Marianna, their fetus, Uncle Anderson and his wife, Aunt Ellis, Delilah, all of them.