"Happy Birthday Serena!"
I was surprised to come downstairs the morning of my eighteenth birthday to be greeted by my mother and all of her sisters. It's not like it was just a quick trip for any of them. Teena, my mom's twin sister, lived only a couple of blocks away. But Veronica, the oldest, lived about four hours away in Atlanta, while Francie, the baby, well, she didn't actually stay anywhere long enough for me to figure out where she lived.
"Awe, thanks. What are all you guys doing here? Not that I'm complaining!"
"Well, we all wanted to make sure you started your last year as a teenager right. Who knows when you'll be home for us to take you out on your birthday again?" While my mom sounded enthusiastic when she answered, I couldn't help but notice her giving her sisters an awkward glance.
"Wow, so does that mean you guys are going to let me miss school today?"
"Of course! Unless you think they'll take Valedictorian away from you for missing," joked Teena.
"Or student body president, homecoming queen, cheerleader," added Francie.
I rolled my eyes at my aunts. They never let me forget what an overachiever I'd become. I couldn't help it; I not only like to be involved, I liked to be in charge!
"Ladies, leave the kid alone or she won't drive us to brunch!"
"You want me to drive us to brunch on my birthday? That doesn't seem very fair Aunt V!"
"How about you open your first gift of they day, and then rethink it," she responded, sliding a small box my way.
I screamed as soon as I opened it! They had gotten me the new Range Rover! While I had always had nice cars, they were hand me downs from my mom and aunts. I finally got to be the original owner of a vehicle. Six months ago, I had seen the drawings of the soon to be released Range Rover and had pined ever since. My mom would always laugh at me and tell me to keep dreaming. Now, I could sit and stare at my very own. I ran outside to see it and screamed again. It was the bright green color I thought had been invented just for me! I hopped in and started impatiently honking the horn, hoping the four of them would hurry. I couldn't wait to drive in to town!
My mother and I live on St. Simons, a small island in Georiga, so the drive to downtown didn't give us a whole lot of time in the car. Luckily, we were having a family dinner at my grandmother's, so I would get to really test the car out then. That was the only reason I went to the beach with them after brunch instead of driving around all day. Despite the fact that I had a great day with everybody, I still got the odd feeling that something was off. They all went along like everything was normal, but there was a weird vibe between them all and I couldn't quite put my finger on it. I hoped that with every cocktail they would get closer to telling me what was going on, but, unfortunately, the women in my family have an uncanny ability to hold their alcohol!
I was finally told everything that night at dinner. After listening to my mother and her sisters tell me all about where our family came from, I made a decision that would forever change my life.