“Hey…Rory…over here.”
She looked over at Dianne beckoning to her. She stood with a few of the cousins Rory hadn’t interacted with yet.
Rory made her way over to them.
“Rory, these are our cousins Natalie and Nikki. You already know Aunt Kerry’s daughter Sophia and you know Trevor.”
“Hi,” She greeted everyone with a smile. They returned the gesture.
“So that’s your fiancé over there talking with your mom, huh?” Dianne remarked, looking over at her mother and James.
“Yeah,” she replied with a smile as she turned to look at James. “That’s him.”’
James chose to look in her direction, their gaze connecting one another. James smiled affectionately back at her, but all Rory could manage was an awkward upturn of her own lips. She looked away from him to focus on the conversation with her cousins.
“So, Dianne, is Jake going to make an appearance?”
“I don’t know,” she replied. “He’s been very busy.”
“He’s been busy a lot lately,” Nikki quipped.
“So, Nikki, what do you do?” Rory jumped into the conversation to ask, noting the look of discomfort on Dianne’s face. Dianne threw her a look of gratitude.
“I used to work at The Anchor, but I’m currently between jobs, you know.”
Rory nodded.
“Plus, I’m planning to move to LA. I’m gonna become an actress. My agent thinks I have what it takes to become a great star,” the girl beamed.
“Wow, that’s nice. I hope you get your big break,” Rory replied.
“Oh, I know I’m gonna get it,” Nikki responded confidently.
Rory liked that the girl knew what she wanted and seemed determined to make it happen, but she couldn’t help but notice that Nikki was a little arrogant and judgmental of her other cousins. From the moment Rory had joined the conversation, she’d noticed that Nikki tried to find all the flaws her cousins had and sling it in a deprecating manner. Rory didn’t like it, and she wondered if the others were as uncomfortable as she felt the more Nikki opened her mouth to speak. If the look Dianne gave her, it meant that she wasn’t the only one put off by her attitude.
“Good luck,” Rory said simply.
Her attention turned to the back door to see Uncle Luke holding a very frail Becky as she made slow, deliberate steps in the direction of the melee of activities her family was currently involved in. Rory smiled, grateful that her grandmother wouldn’t be holed up in her room, missing the activities of the day. She, her mother, and her aunts had tried to coax her to come and enjoy the barbecue to no avail. She was happy that Uncle Luke had been successful where they had failed. Her smile widened when she noticed Julia emerge through the door. She didn’t follow them down the steps but had taken a seat on the porch. Nevertheless, she was glad that they had decided to join the celebrations.
Ben, who’d come a short while ago with Marg and his kids, rushed over to help Uncle Luke get Becky settled in one of the wicker chairs. Rory excused herself and made her way over to her grandmother.
“Hey grandma,” she greeted smilingly.
Becky looked up at her, her lips turned up in a small smile. “H-Hi Swee-sweet-heart,” Becky replied. She tried to lift her hand to Rory’s face as Rory knelt before her, but it proved too much for her. Instead, Rory brought her hand to Becky’s hand, holding her palm in place and bringing her head forward until her palm curved over her cheek. Becky smiled affectionately at her granddaughter, and Rory did the same. “I’m really glad you chose to join the family,” she said softly. Becky slowly brought her head down in acknowledgment.
Noticing Becky’s slight shiver and how cold her hand was, she asked, “Are you cold? Let me go get a blanket for you. Even though it’s warmer than usual today, I’m sure your still cold.” Not waiting for a reply from her grandmother, she headed inside to get the blanket.
Just as she stepped locked the linen closet, blanket in hand, the doorbell chimed. Rory folded the blanket under her arm and went to answer the door.
“Hi, Rory,” Trey smiled at her.
“Hey,” Rory replied, her brows raising in surprise. “I didn’t know you were coming.”
“I wasn’t planning to,” he responded, scratching the back of his neck. “But dad said he couldn’t make it because of work and all, you know, and I sorta volunteered to come in his place.”
“Great, well, come on in. The party is getting into full gear. I’m happy you came, though,” Rory expressed sincerely.
A smile transformed Trey’s face at her revelation. “Come on, the party’s out back,” she inclined in the direction for him to follow her. “Mom’s over there. I’m sure she’ll be glad to see you. I’m just gonna take this blanket to my grandmother,” she informed Trey as they stepped out on the back porch.
