Ok, THIS TIME there's Auntie Liza. Finally. Lemme know what you think/what you wanna see because I've got some block over little details.
Katie MacAlpine: Bless you, you're a doll xx
theawesomest5: Glad you like it! Stick around, lovely!
Clint drove and drove and drove and drove until Liza was sure he'd moved the house, because "There's no way in hell this drive was this long last time."
Her cousin shook his head and spared a glance over at her. She had her feet up on the dash, and her arms crossed defiantly over her chest. If she was attempting to look serious, the look was ruined by the open window turning her already messy blonde hair into a hurricane. If he hadn't known any better, he'd have sworn it was his Aunt June sitting there in the passenger seat.
"You look just like your mom when you're mad." Instead of slugging him in the arm, as he'd come to expect, she smiled and looked up hopefully.
"I do?" Clint pulled the visor down.
"Yeah. Do you remember her?" Liza snorted bitterly and turned her gaze back out the window.
"Not nearly as well as I wish. But I do remember." She fixed him with a curious look. "Tell me about her."
Clint huffed and shook his head. "You'll have to be more specific than that. I'll tell you what, June was a hoot and a half."
Liza grinned and fiddled with the little ring on her right ring finger, a dainty gold band with a tiny sapphire sat just in the middle of it, right in line with her knuckle, spinning it round and round around the digit. "That much I remember. When I was little, she used to crank her record player up all the way and dance while she cleaned. God, she was gorgeous,"
"I've got some old photos upstairs, if you wanna look at them." Liza launched out of her seat and over the center console to plant an elated kiss on his weathered cheek.
"Thank you, Clint. I want nothing more than to cuddle my absolutely adorable neice on her birthday, and look at those photos."
"And share a beer with Laura and swap those stupid-ass stories about me."
Liza threw her head back and laughed uproariously. "Yeah," She conceded, "That too."
They passed the rest of the ride singing horrendously off-key to the skipping cd in the ancient radio. Neither of them could sing worth a damn, but that didn't stop them one little bit.
Clint's farm was huge, absolutely huge. The house was just as impressive, white and perfect and homey. A homemade sign hung from the abnister of the front porch read, in crudely formed and sloppily painted letters: WELCOME AUNTIE LIZA.
Said Auntie let out a little laugh and snapped a photo. Clint grinned. "Yeah, this is the biggest event of the whole year. Auntie Liza's coming for a whole week, I mean, what else could a kid ask for?"
She snorted. "Lila needs to up her wishlist game. She won't be this excited with me forever."
"Doubtful,"
The front door burst open with enough force to chip the paint as it banged into the wall, and two little blurs flew out to the truck, chanting, "Auntie Liza! Auntie Liza's here!" Liza frowned, trying her best to open the door without banging any little heads. As soon as she was clear, though, she knelt and swooped Lila into her arms.
"How's my big bad birthday girl?" Liza swung little Lila in a circle.
"Auntie!" She giggled, "I'm good! Daddy got us chickens!"
"Did he really?" Liza raised an eyebrow at Clint over Lila's shoulder.
'Laura's idea,' he mouthed.
Cooper had had enough of Lila hogging his auntie, and tugged on her shirt. "Auntie Liza, wanna help us name them?" She grabbed him up in a giant bear hug.
"Of course I do, Coop! How many cluckers are we talking here?"
"Five," She put a finger to her chin.
"I'm thinking, Spider Bite, Lightning, Green Bean, Tin Man, and Blondie." Lila and Cooper seemed thrilled with these names. Clint, understanding the reference, was equally delighted.
The porch door creaked open again, this time by an (as always) effortlessly stunning Laura with a roly-poly Nate on her hip.
Liza sqealed and raced over. She threw her arms around Laura and pecked her cheek, then wriggled her fingers at little Nate. He gave her a gummy grin in return and grabbed at her fingers with his own slobbery mitts. Laura hefted him over in Auntie Liza's hold.
"You like him so much, you take him. He's obscenely heavy, Liz. I'm in a wrist brace because of this mammoth of a child." She waved her braced arm.
"Aw, poor Mommy. Nate, what are you doing to her?" He planted his hand on her cheek. "Ew. It's ok, it's fine, I'll just rub it off on Daddy."
"No the hell you won't. I've had my fair share of all that. Get BACK, woman!" Boosting Nate up higher on her hip, Liza chased after Clint, her nephew laughing uproariously.
"C'mon, Nate, let's get Daddy!" She held out Nate's slobbery hand in front of them.
Laura just shook her head. In the span of four minutes, she'd gone from living with three kids and her husband to living with just five kids.
This was gonna be a long week.
Gotta love Laura. That woman's a saint.