“I think this is my sister and her family,” Cynthia said as she pulled herself away from the car.
The blending of First Families felt different, and confusing. Trevor greeted a tall man with round glasses, a gut that hung in his Nike track suit and a gold tooth on the side while two women were lagging behind yelling behind children. There were three car loads full of family, some related, some not just by the lack of bloodlust in their eyes. I watched my mother hug and greet the women before leaning down to hug a little girl. She couldn’t have been no bigger than a nine-year-old with her white hair pulled back and a large black ribbon tied on the end. She wore pearl earrings, black lace socks, and black buckled shoes with a red purse crossed over her hip. She couldn’t have been no more than nine or ten years old.
“Alright, you already met my wife and daughter. Himora and baby Dawn…” Trevor exclaimed before pointing at Cynthia. “You already know this is our sister, Cyn.”
“It’s so good to finally meet in person,” the little girl said as she clasped my mother’s hands and looked up at her with a bright smile. Lovely gasped before bending down to the height of the little girl.
“Ohhh! You’re Marvin’s youngest daughter!? How–––”
“Baby, back up off me now,” the girl warned with a flared nose as she held her hand out in Lovely’s face. “I’m twice your age.”
“Oh I’m a lot older than I choose to be,” Lovely laughed freely as if all was right in the world. “I’ve decided to age through experience and culture, not with my face and body…”
“Still, I don’t take kindly to people being that close to my face. I bite.”
“Lil lady you ain’t finna bite shiaat,” another voice said as a man with a gray beard came walking up with a red cup in his hand. He wore a t-shirt with some jeans and sneakers, brown eyes and mature features that made him look like he could be in his early 60s.
“That would be Mr. Clarence.” Trevor continued to point with a grin on his face. “His two daughters, Bree, and Leslie. This is their brother Tony…”
“How y'all good people doing?” He grinned, showing off the side gold tooth.
“This is my son, Bellamy,” Cynthia said as the little girl’s eyes widened with surprise.
“You have a boy and a girl?”
“I do,” she nodded.
“This is Lovely, Carmilla, Dorian, and Draco Holmes…cousins and lovers in the family I guess,” Trevor said with a proud nod as if remembering everyone’s names was some sortof achievement. The little girl with the black ribbon bow walked right up to me with a smile.
“I’m your Auntie…Auntie Raven,” she said with a dignified tone.
“You’re Marvin’s daughter–––”
“Aht aht!” She snapped. “I don’t like that rat bastard of a man. I ain’t nobody’s daughter now but look at you! Handsome! You look like you got a little bit of money on you! Don’t he?!” She laughed while looking back at her own son. “May need to send my son to come do what you do so he can get up in life.”
“I do alright for myself,” I smiled, amused by it all. The tone and cadence were that of a woman in their late stage in life, but the voice belonged to a little girl.
“Uncle Trevor?!” One of the little ones called out as they clung to Trevor, pulling at his arm for his attention.
“This has to be a joke, right?” Carmilla muttered under her breath. “Surely we all can’t be related because clearly you all are…”
“What?” Raven asked with a few hard blinks. “We’re what, exactly?”
“Grandma?! Tell Jay to let me hold the game!?” One of the boys complained when Raven turned around.
“I told both of y'all not to bring those damn devices, did I not?!” Raven snapped as she turned to march off towards the keys. Clarence walked over with a low whistle before leaning in.
“I wish she stay a damn child, so I don’t have to bother with her.” He muttered with a wink as Trevor laughed.
“I heard that Clarence! Don’t have them people thinking you and I are anything but parents to our very grown adult children!”
“Mama please!” Bree groaned before looking at my mother. “I’m sorry y'all… We try and keep them separate because all they’re gonna do is fight and bicker at each other.”
“Yo mama still wants me, Bree.”
“No the hell I don’t!” Raven snapped as she marched right over.
What should have been a tense meeting amongst family turned into a comedy shit show that I almost forgot what we were here for. They all seemed so…normal in comparison to Draco, Milly, Lovely, and I. They behaved like an actual family. It was the same thing I noticed with Maggie, how normal she behaved.
