Chapter 09 – Family Ties
The resemblance between Elizabeth and Roxanne was striking. Both had that dark silken hair Emily and her cousin Erick had inherited, a pair of piercing gray eyes, and thin lips to match their already severe appearance. Roxanne was a little fuller compared to her almost gaunt sister, and she didn't spare make-up or jewelry either. Erick had some of Roxanne's facial features, but his dad's genes had softened them out, and luckily, he had also his grandmother's dimpled mouth and his grandfather's gentle greenish eyes, both traits that underlined his kindhearted soul. His sister Laura on the other hand was the spitting image of her mother, except for her very long, very sleek and very light blonde hair, that went like a cascade over her shoulders and finished just above her bottom.
"Come here, kiddo!" Erick exclaimed, without paying attention to his mother's hiss. Emily didn't need to be told twice. She jumped into her big cousin's open arms, hugging him tightly. Erick kissed her on the head, delighted to see his baby cousin after such a long time.
"You have to tell me everything!" Emily said and beamed at him. "You didn't give me too many details in your last letter."
"I can't wait sweetie. But let go of me please, you're suffocating me," Erick said and laughed cheerfully.
Emily joined in before turning her attention to the two women sitting at opposite ends of the couch. "Sorry. Hi Laura," she addressed the bored looking girl on her right.
"Hello Emily, how are you?" Laura drawled, not managing to conceal the tone of annoyance in her voice.
"Emily, how nice of you to join us dear," Roxanne purred in an insufferable high-pitched voice, another trait that set her apart from Elizabeth.
"I'm sorry aunt Roxie, it has been crazy around here, I completely forgot you were coming," Emily apologized, just a tad miffed by her aunt's mocking tone.
"Always a good excuse ready, don't we?" snarled the older woman, while stretching her arms to study her scarlet fingernails. Her expression shifted quickly when she found no smudges on them, and the self-satisfied smile she displayed showed a flicker of the beautiful young girl she once must have been. However, her face soon went back to normal after she spotted JJ, who was standing behind Emily in a safe distance.
"And who do we have here?" she asked and narrowed her eyes to slits. She waited until the girl hesitantly came forward, and then eyed JJ with a scrutinizing glare that bordered on intrusiveness. The blonde chuckled nervously and smiled, mistaking the staring for genuine interest.
"How rude of you to not introduce us to your friend," Roxanne chanted. "Where are your manners, Emily?"
"Mother!" Erick cried out and rolled his eyes. "Leave Emily alone for once, you're always picking on her."
"Don't defend this kind of behavior, Erick! This child needs to learn some manners before it's too late!"
"I'm sorry," Emily repeated, barely containing her indignation. "Aunt Roxanne, Erick, Laura… this is my friend Jennifer."
"JJ," the blonde said quickly and stepped forward. "I'm JJ, hello. Nice to meet you all."
"No way, little Jen?" exclaimed Erick, recognizing JJ at once. "It's so nice to see you again!" He grabbed JJ's hands and shook them enthusiastically.
"It is nice to see you too, Erick" JJ said, smiling widely at him. She already liked Emily's cousin, though she only remembered him vaguely.
"Aren't you the little Jareau girl?" Roxanne asked casually. As JJ affirmed by nodding her head, Emily's aunt frowned and pressed her lips tightly together, forming a severe line. Nobody except Emily noticed it, and she did not like it at all.
Thanks to Erick and JJ, dinner didn't turn out to be a complete disaster. JJ had instantly won Erick's heart. The young man was glad that his baby cousin had a close friend around to keep her company and whom she could share her secrets with. He entertained the girls with anecdotes of his freshman year in college and his many travel adventures around the globe, only toning down his vivid account of his brief (and accidental) stay in a Moroccan Harem after Roxanne argued that those topics were not suited for the ears of three young ladies, and that he was putting silly ideas in Emily's head. Jennifer on the other hand smiled adoringly at the young man. He was handsome and smart, and he had a lot of interesting things to tell. Both she and Emily were hanging on his every word.
As the day progressed, Erick was running out of stories to tell his young listeners, stories that were age appropriate, anyways. Sensing the opportunity to engross her niece in a conversation, Roxanne started questioning her.
"So, Emily, how's school? Have you joined any clubs already?"
"Clubs?"
"Yes dear, clubs. Don't you have them in Europe? I'd recommend to join the debate club. The chess club is not bad either, or the drama club… there are so many to choose from, and they always look good on your college application."
"College application? But I still have time for that." Emily did not like where this conversation was heading.
"You have to plan ahead dear, when will you learn that?" her aunt said, impatiently drumming her fingers on the table.
"For God's sake mother, leave Emily alone!" Erick intervened once more.
"You should try and talk some sense into her as well," protested his mother sourly. "Apparently she listens to you. It is never too early to plan your future Emily. And if you want to get into a renowned university like Erick and Laura did, then you should've started to organize yourself years ago. What major are you choosing?"
"I… I don't know. Maybe Literature? I really enjoy it."
"Journalism," stated her aunt, as though she hadn't heard her. "Journalism is an awfully difficult business. If I were you I would become a lawyer, like your dad. Lawyers are always needed."
"Mother…"
"Erick, don't interrupt me, I'm talking to Emily here."
"I suppose it's a well-paid job," Emily said and shrugged, too tired to argue or talk back.
"Oh honey, just get yourself a wealthy man, and you won't have to worry about money for one single day in your life!"
"I prefer to marry someone I love," the brunette said firmly, and Erick gave her a wink of encouragement.
"You silly thing, who said one thing excluded the other?"
"No one but –"
"Do you have a boyfriend yet?" Roxanne asked nosily.
This was the question Emily had been dreading the whole evening, the one that made her feel extremely queasy. Since the breakup with her last boyfriend and everything that had occurred before and after, she just needed to take a break from all the relationship and dating nonsense. Boys were probably the last thing on her mind right now, and she would've told her aunt so, but she knew that would only encourage her to talk about Laura's marvelous boyfriend and his filthy rich parents, the wonderful university he was attending, not to mention his rugged handsomeness. For that reason she muttered "Not yet", hoping it would be enough for her nerve-racking aunt. Of course, it wasn't.
"Come on, there must be some good looking boys at your school. And you're a fairly attractive girl, it should be easy for you to get a boy's attention."
"Oh, I bet there are plenty of boys interested in Emily," Erick joined in, before Emily could silently signalize him to shut up. "I'm sure you're quite the little heartbreaker," he continued to tease her.
"Not really," Emily said and looked at JJ for help, who offered her an apologetic smile.
"What do you mean, not really?" asked Roxanne impatiently.
"I- I want to focus on my studies," Emily said unconvincingly, glancing desperately at the door and praying this would be her aunt's last visit before she graduated from high school.
"Nonsense, a girl your age needs a boyfriend," Roxanne insisted stubbornly. "I bet you just don't want to tell us who he is, am I right?"
"There kind of is… someone."
Roxanne stared at her in expectation, and she wasn't the only one. JJ and Erick both looked up from their plates, and even Laura looked mildly interested.
"W-we kissed," Emily added, before being able to stop herself. Damn this woman and her ability to rip an answer out of even the most introverted person! She hoped that this bit of information would finally get her some peace and quiet, but she was highly mistaken.
"I beg your pardon?"
"It's nothing," Emily said quickly. "He's just a friend of mine. It didn't mean…"
"Oh my dear child," Roxanne said, leaving a pause after each word and then tilting her head back to look at the ceiling in mock exasperation. "A kiss always means something, mark my words. Anyway, does this boy have a name? Is he handsome? A good student?"
Erick shook his head at his mother's inquisitive questions. "I think we should respect Emily's privacy. She obviously doesn't want to tell us more than she already did," he said and patted Emily's arm, attributing her obvious distress to his mother's pesky behavior.
"Nonsense, we are her family. So, Emily, when is this mysterious boy asking you out? Of course, he should've done that before kissing you, but oh well… youth these days, who understands them…"
"Erick's right, I don't wanna talk about it" Emily whispered, remembering JJ's birthday party very clearly. JJ looked at her, worry in her eyes. The brunette smiled weakly at her, signalizing her that she was alright, that she wouldn't burst into tears again.
"Well, how on earth am I supposed to maintain a decent conversation with you, if you don't put any effort in it at all?" Roxanne complained. "Ah, I almost forgot… How are your grades, Emily?"
"Just fine, thank you," Emily replied curtly. She thought her aunt was through with that subject, she wasn't being very original at all.
"Just fine? Where's your ambition? You need outstanding grades and merits; you'll have to excel at everything you do in order to succeed. Do you want to end up working as a schoolteacher?"
"Actually, I want to be a schoolteacher," JJ suddenly said. Emily mouthed a silent "Thank you" in her direction. "I think it's the second most fulfilling job on the planet, and I just love children and their natural thirst for knowledge. I think it's inspiring, don't you?"
For once, aunt Roxanne shut her mouth. Sadly, it didn't take long for her to find another topic she could pester her niece with. The only person who didn't utter a sound all evening was Erick's sister Laura. She was reading a book for one of her classes. The title sounded promising and under normal circumstances, Emily would've asked her what it was about, even if she and her cousin didn't get along very well. Aunt Roxanne however didn't give her a moment's rest. As usual, Erick was the one who saved her.
"Who wants to see a movie?" he threw in, no doubt to save Emily from the fangs of his mother.
"Sorry darling, not this time. I'm still tired from the trip, I think I will just go to bed and rest," Roxanne said and covered her yawns with her hand.
"Me too," Laura said promptly and closed her book, as though she had waited all the time to hear those words from her mother.
"What about you girls?" Erick asked JJ and Emily, winking at them in complicity.
Emily and JJ looked at each other. "We would love to," Emily said. Truth be told, she would've agreed to go skinny-dipping, if that's what it took to disentangle herself from her aunt.
The ride to the cinema was very enjoyable. Erick had driven to the Prentiss' house in his own car, a red convertible with brand new leather seats. He turned the volume of his radio up, and the girls, who were sitting in the back, sang along to the songs until they were hoarse. Sometimes Erick would join in, his deep pleasant voice harmonized nicely with Emily's mezzo soprano and JJ's angelical tunes. Emily's bad mood from earlier had completely vanished.
