Hi, there. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Hester, and I know it's God-awful. I was named after my grandmother, who unfortunately died long before I was even a passing thought. Too bad, because they say she was nice. Anyway, I go by Hess, which, other than the fact that it's a brand of gasoline, is a slightly more acceptable alternative.
I am 5'10" (Mom's genes, thanks Mom!) with almost blonde hair (Dad's) and thankfully, no one my family has a weight problem, so I've always been thin. Actually, I did run across a picture once of Mom looking a little porked up. When I showed it to her she just snatched it away and muttered something about a 6 month long case of nerves. Didn't dare go there again. I've been meaning to ask Dad, maybe he'll spill.
I'm 22 and finishing up my last year at Yale. It was Dad's school, and he was so pleased when I told him I'd chosen it. Haven't chosen the family business, though (Dad and my uncle are shrinks). I am going to medical school, but I'd prefer to heal bodies, not minds. Too depressing. Luckily I am not at all squeamish about blood and stuff. I find it hard to believe Dad made it through med school, with the loopy way he is when he cuts himself. He explained once that it's only the sight of his own blood that does that to him. I guess.
My parents still live in Seattle with my younger brother Stephen. He's in high school and plays on several sports teams. That talent must have skipped a generation. He's a quirky kid because he's also nuts about opera, something for which Dad says he thanks God every day. They go a lot. Mom says she's glad because it gets her off the hook. Snoozy, she calls it.
Mom and Dad are both great people; very different from each other, but they make it work. She's from England, and very pretty. He's kind of a nut case, but he's a great guy. It's his third marriage (if the second one really counts) and her only one. I guess I'm one of the few kids these days whose parents are still together, but knowing the story of what got them there explains a lot. You don't usually like to think of your parents in a clinch, but it's just too cute for words. It's complicated. Very complicated.
She was living with and working for my uncle and Grandpa who had a shot up hip (retired cop), and Dad says he loved her almost from the start. Said he dropped by all the time for years just to be near her (isn't that sweet?). She was clueless. He eloped with someone else after she got engaged to this lawyer (I saw that man's picture once; Mom, what were you thinking?). By that time she found out how he felt, and she loved him too but didn't change her mind until the day of the almost wedding when she was gowned and veiled. Dad divorced the wife (witchy sort, he once told me) and the rest is history. Mom always wanted kids, but she said she remembered a time when Dad wasn't sure. He was married to a verrrry strange little person at the time and Mom said he once carried a sack of flour around for a week and pretended it was a baby. I told you he was a little off. But after they got together he said he wanted nothing more. They renovated our huge apartment where Dad already lived, and that's where I grew up. I love that place. They have great taste, but they keep this ugly dragon statue in the middle of the dining room table. They say it's special to them but neither will tell us why. Their secret, I guess.
I have one uncle on Dad's side, and a whole mess of them on Mom's. She says she's grateful that they live an ocean away. Dad says he's very grateful they live an ocean away. They took us to England for a visit when I was 10, and I just remember a lot of very noisy people with accents like Mom's.
Dad says his brother is a lot less uptight than he used to be. Actually he's pretty mellow so I can't picture it. He is on his third marriage too, and that one seems to be working. They were just friends for years before they married. She was the producer of this call in radio show he did for years, giving people advice. McSessions, Dad called them. My aunt says they made a pact to be there for each other if they didn't hook up with other people. They have kids by people they were with before. Her daughter is almost 30 and she owns a little coffee shop. She has been like a big sister to me. My cousin from my uncle's prior marriage is much older than I, and he lives in Austria. Fell in love with it on a childhood visit. My uncle misses him, but he visits now and then. The family doesn't talk about it, but I'm pretty sure he's gay. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Grandpa's still with us, and still sharp in spite of his age. He lives with a buddy in my uncle's old apartment and has had a series of live-in workers. He always has a little dog; when one dies he gets another one. He cracks me up.
That's my family tree. I have to go pack, I'm bringing my boyfriend out west during spring break to meet the folks. I couldn't get Dad to stop grilling me about him on the phone, so I'm gritting my teeth and letting them meet. Mom will see to it that things go smoothly. She always does.
Nice talking to you. H.C.