AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Hello again all you wonderful readers! Are you ready to meet another one of our Emotional families? After all that sweetness and adorableness from the Sadness Family last time, things are about to get sassy and full of class with our next reunion…that's right! Get ready to meet the Disgust Family!

And as you can guess from the previous two family reunions, Disgust and her parents have secret names too! (Once again I tried to choose names that seemed appropriate for each individual Emotion, so hopefully you'll all enjoy the names I managed to come up with for our posh little fashionista and her folks.)

And one more thing…I'm sure many of you have picked up on the fact that each Emotion's name begins with their first letter (Anger's family all had names beginning with "A" whereas Sadness and her parents' names all started with the letter "S")

You all know what that means? Disgust and her parents will have names beginning with the letter "D" then… :)

Okay that's enough said for now! Thank you to everyone who has read and enjoyed this story so far and I hope you all decide to stick around and read on about how Disgust's family gathering turned out!

Svinorita.

Chapter 11.

It was Friday once again and Bill Andersen was driving home from work when he remembered that Jill had asked him to stop at the bakery along the way to get some bread rolls for dinner. So Bill drove up to the best local bakery in their neighborhood and parked the car right outside a butchers shop across the street.

As he got out of the car and passed the window of the butchers, he glanced inside and a sign stating that Old English Sausages were now half-price, caught his eye.

"Hmmm…we haven't had some Bangers and Mash in a while." Bill mused thoughtfully as he took out his wallet and checked if he had enough cash on him to buy the bread rolls and some of those sausages on the side.

"Oh what the heck! They're half-price! I say if you come across a good bargain you should take it!" He told himself decisively as he pushed open the door to the butchers and stepped inside.

XXX

When he arrived home, Bill saw an excellent opportunity to turn tonight's dinner time into some good old-fashioned family fun!

Well since we'll be having Bangers and Mash for dinner, why don't we throw a little fancy dress party into the mix and have some fun?! He thought as he walked through the front door with his shopping bags.

In the kitchen, Jill was just about to start preparing dinner when Bill walked in with an excited smile spread across his face as he held up his bags proudly.

"Hey look what I got us for dinner Jilly!" he announced happily as he handed her the bag containing the Old English Sausages.

Jill raised her eyebrow questioningly at him as she pulled out the packet of sausages. "Seriously Bill? I ask you to get some bread rolls and you come back with these?"

Bill's smile wavered slightly at her unimpressed reaction, but he managed to hide his disappointment as he stated, "But Honey! They were only half-price! How could you expect me to let a bargain like that slip away?"

Jill rolled her eyes and sighed with exasperation. "But what am I supposed to do with these? This is not what I planned for dinner tonight!"

"Well I have an even better suggestion!" Bill declared excitedly as his wife shot him a confused look.

"I hate to ask, but what exactly do you have in mind dear?"

Bill grinned mischievously and responded, "You'll see! It's a surprise! In the meantime, can you make some mashed potatoes and fry those sausages up? Riley can help you!"

"Riley! Come and help your mother with dinner!" Bill called instructively as Jill studied him with deepening confusion.

Riley shuffled into the kitchen reluctantly and moaned, "Dad! Do I have to?"

"Yes!" Her father demanded adamantly.

Then he placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder, his voice full of excitement as he whispered, "I have some fun planned for us tonight and I think you're going to love it!"

He patted her arm affectionately and without waiting for a reply, he turned to Jill and said, "While you girls are preparing the food, I'll quickly dash upstairs and change out my work clothes into something more comfortable…"

With that he turned and headed out the kitchen, leaving Jill and Riley looking at each other in confusion as he called over his shoulder, "See you shortly!"

A few minutes later, Bill returned to the kitchen wearing some torn jeans, a John Lennon t-shirt (complete with a pair of Lennon style spectacle frames on his nose!) and a hippie bandana on his head.

Jill gasped as she turned around from her cooking and saw her husband standing in the doorway in his 1960's attire, looking rather pleased with himself as he gave her the peace sign with his fingers.

"Eh you like it?" Bill asked proudly as he paraded around the kitchen like a peacock.

Jill smiled and shook her head teasingly. "Well, well handsome! Aren't you full of surprises tonight?!"

Riley stared at her father in barely disguised amusement. "Uh dad? You look like you stepped out of the movie Hairspray!"

"Yeah, more like from Hair..."Jill muttered to her husband with a knowing wink.

Bill gave her an elated smile and chortled, "That's my clever girl! You guessed the theme for our dress-up! Tonight we are taking a trip back to the 60's!"

He spread his arms proudly. "And now my lovely ladies, it's your turn! Go ahead and show me what you've got!"

Riley glanced at her mother uncertainly, but Jill was already nodding in agreement as she shot her husband a challenging look.

"Wait just a sec dear! We'll be right back."

With that Jill smiled at Riley and took her by the arm as she headed for the stairs. "Come with me Riley! I'll help you with your outfit."

A short time later, mother and daughter entered the kitchen wearing matching green miniskirt dresses with cork wedge shoes. Their hair was combed in a 60's bob style with bobby pins and headbands.

Bill whistled in admiration. "Wow girls! You both look amazing!"

Riley and Jill exchanged knowing looks and the family sat down for dinner, listening to the soundtrack of some classic Beatles tunes like "Sergeant Pepper", "Yesterday" and "Let It Be…"

XXX

Inside Riley's Headquarters, Disgust was up in her room busily preparing herself to meet her mom and dad on Family Island tonight. Now Disgust was infamous for taking her time when it came to applying her makeup and choosing outfits for special occasions…and since she had never met her parents before tonight, this definitely counted as a special occasion!

If there was ever an excuse for her to spend hours engaging in her favorite past-time (namely preening and beautifying herself) than tonight was it! Disgust wanted to make sure that when her parents saw her, she would leave a lasting impression in their minds for all the right reasons!

So it was that the green Emotion found herself in front of her full-length mirror, deliberating about whether she should wear her trendy pink scarf with her favorite green dress, or the sparkly blue one embroidered with gold sequins.

Disgust sighed as she held up the blue scarf against her neck and studied herself in the mirror. "No. This won't do! It's too glitzy for this dress! A scarf should be an accessory and not draw attention away from this stunning dress…"

She tossed it aside with distaste, and tried the pink one instead, only to discover that she didn't like the way it contrasted with her hair.

Disgust let out a frustrated growl.

Suddenly her eyes fell on a lilac-colored scarf at the bottom of her closet and she bent down and picked it up eagerly. Compared to the other two, this scarf was relatively simple in design and the fabric was so fine that it was almost see-through, but Disgust's eyes glittered with excitement as she held it against her neck and admired her reflection in the mirror.

"Yes! I think this one is perfect!" She exclaimed happily as she draped it over her shoulders and decided that it worked the best with her chosen outfit.

"Simple, yet classy! That's settled then! This one it is!"

Next she turned her attention to her makeup kit and started re-applying her eye shadow and lip gloss for possibly the 10th time tonight…but hey! Beauty is like art, it can't be rushed!

Finally about 4 hours later, Disgust strolled into the main room looking as gorgeous as ever and putting some final touches with her portable makeup mirror in hand, she announced chirpily, "Well how do I look everyone?!"

Her question was met with silence, and annoyed that no one was complimenting her on her pain-staking effort, Disgust glanced up from her mirror with a frown scrawled across her pretty face.

"Hello?! Anyone care that I'm about to meet my parents and that I need to look extra-gorgeous tonight?!"

The only answer she received was a loud snore coming from the direction of the console. Pouting in irritation, Disgust walked over to the couch and discovered that Anger was the only one in the room right now, and he was sprawled out on the sofa, his arm draped over his belly as he snored up a storm.

Apparently, all the other Emotions had gone to bed some time ago and as Disgust glanced up at the monitor, she saw that Riley too had turned-in for the night and was currently dreaming that she was in the movie Hairspray for some reason.

The green Emotion crossed her arms and huffed to herself petulantly, "Huh! How typical! It turns out that I'm surrounded by a bunch of babies and seniors! I spent all that time making myself look amazing and there's no one around to appreciate my Grand Entrance!"

Finally she waved dismissively and stated with confidence, "Whatever! I don't need their approval! Beauty never lies, and I know that I am beautiful!"

With that, she flicked a strand of hair out of her face and sauntered towards the Recall Tube, full of pride in her appearance.

XXX

On Family Island, Papa Disgust was pacing back and forth impatiently with a tray of food in his hands. He grumbled something under his breath about punctuality and how his wife and child apparently didn't grasp the concept and let out a sigh of exasperation.

"This is unacceptable!" The Father Emotion complained bitterly, his usually deep and handsome voice taking on a decidedly unattractive whining note.

He paused momentarily to admire his amazing culinary creation with pride, taking a deep sniff of the carefully wrapped tray in his hands.

"Mm-umm!"

Then his green eyes flashed with irritation as he protested, "I spend so much time preparing this delicious food and this is the appreciation I get! The least my family could do is show up on time! Is that really too much to ask?!"

Suddenly he heard an unamused snort coming from behind him. Followed by a sarcastic remark, "Well, well…I see that some things never change! Still complaining as much as ever aren't you Donald?"

The Father Emotion whirled around and saw his beautiful wife walking towards him with all the grace of a model on a catwalk. She was wearing her stunning purple dress (the same one he remembered her wearing when they first met! Wait a minute…he remembered that dress after all these years?! It appears that Family Island is working its magic once again…)

He noticed that her long brown hair was flowing loosely down her elegant shoulders and she was clutching a stylish black handbag in her hands. As she drew nearer, she locked gazes with him and he found himself captivated by those gorgeous emerald-colored eyes as if he were under a spell.

It's incredible! He thought to himself in awestruck wonder. She hasn't changed a bit after all this time!

She finally reached him, shooting him a sly look and a teasing smile.

"You're just as beautiful as I remember…" he breathed in admiration.

Then he shook his head and looked around expectantly. "But where's Junior?"

Suddenly they were interrupted by an ear-slitting shriek of outrage as Disgust walked onto the scene, her hands on her hips and her eyes narrowed (specifically at her father) with indignation as she made her feelings known.

"A JUNIOR?" Do you have any idea how many hours I spent making myself look pretty tonight just for you two?! Do I look like a boy to you!?"

Papa Disgust (Donald) nearly dropped the tray containing his culinary masterpiece from shock at the sight and explosiveness of the young female Emotion standing before him!

"A GIRL?!" he uttered dumbly as he fumbled with his tray.

Disgust pouted and her frown deepened as she sniped, "Well DUH! Obviously! I can't believe you actually thought I was a boy! I mean come on! Really?!"

Donald looked down in shame and rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, he muttered, "Ah sorry Sweetheart! I didn't mean to offend you!"

Then he glanced up at his daughter with an expression of love in his eyes. "Come here and give your foolish old man a kiss!"

Despite her indignity, Disgust felt a smile of appreciation tug at her lips as she went up to her mother and father and "air kissed" each one in turn.

Donald studied his daughter with admiration as he took her by the arms and gazed into her dazzling emerald-colored eyes, which shone even more vibrantly than her mother's.

"You are just as beautiful as your mother my girl! I am so proud to call you my daughter!"

Disgust blushed under her father's gaze and smiled sweetly.

"Thanks dad." She replied quietly as he embraced her fondly.

After a few seconds, Disgust slowly pulled away from his hug and looked at her dad in bemusement.

"Hey what was that I heard mom call you before? Donald?"

She suppressed a smirk as he nodded in confirmation. "Is that really your name? As in Donald Duck!?"

Disgust shot her mother a wry look and quipped, "Let me guess…is mom's name Daisy by any chance? And what does that make me then? Huey, Dewey or Louie?!"

"Oh no darling!" The Mother Emotion reassured dismissively as she gave her daughter a confident smile.

"You see, your father and I chose our own names…"

Her eyes flashed with pride as she added smugly, "Of course I picked out yours! Actually yours and mine are more like titles than true names, but I think you'll agree that my choices were very befitting for Emotions of our standards!"

Disgust listened with increasingly mounting anticipation as her mother paused and seemed to taunt her with the suspense.

"Well go on already!" Disgust urged her impatiently. "Are you going to tell me what my name is or not?"

Her mother laughed off her brash demand and continued with an air of importance, "Patience my child! I will tell you soon enough…but first I should point out what led me to my final decision!"

Taking a deep breath Momma Disgust explained pompously, "Don't forget that we Disgust Emotions are like fine pieces of art! Therefore we deserve appropriate names befitting our status!"

She looked at Disgust apologetically and shrugged. "You see, I was originally going to name you Diva, but then I decided that name would sound perfect for myself! I was really torn about what to do…and then I remembered that old adage: What came first? The chicken or the egg?"

Disgust gave her mother a distasteful scowl. But the Mother Emotion just shrugged innocently before continuing in an undaunted manner, "So that's why I decided to call myself Diva instead! Well actually it's Divine…but I choose to shorten it to Diva."

Momma Disgust (Diva) shot a look of disapproval at Donald, who was looking rather bored as he listened to his wife's vain gloating. She narrowed her eyes challengingly at him and prompted, "And I strongly urged your father to call himself Duke but no! He said there was only one Duke and that was John Wayne…"

She crossed her arms over her chest, teasing dryly, "Apparently he didn't want to be associated with his strong macho cowboy image!"

Donald looked up with a hint of irritation on his green face and retorted, "Well since I like to look good, smell nice and keep my hands soft, I just couldn't see myself as Duke…"

He gave his wife and daughter a pleased smile. "So one night I was flicking through a book of names and I was focusing specifically on names beginning with D…you know as in D for Disgust…"

He chuckled loftily and declared, "And that's when I saw the name Donald, which means 'Ruler of All' and I liked the sound of it instantly!"

Diva rolled her eyes at her husband's bragging in an unimpressed fashion and smiled sweetly at Disgust as she noticed that her scarf was coming untied. She leaned forward and started fixing it for her helpfully as she announced proudly, "And you my gorgeous little girl, I decided to name Duchess!"

Disgust's brow furrowed in contemplation as she mumbled the name "Duchess" quietly to herself a few times. Finally she decided that she liked the sound of that name, and she smiled and gave her mother a nod of approval.

"Mmm…I suppose that works. And if I ever find the right Emotion for me, I will make sure that he calls himself Duke! Then we could be the Duke and Duchess of California!"

Diva smiled at her daughter fondly. "That has quite a ring to it…I like it my little Duchess! I see you've inherited my wits as well as my beauty!"

"Gee thanks mom…" Disgust (Duchess) replied as her mother gave her a loving hug.

After a few moments, Donald cleared his throat gently to get everyone's attention and held up the tray of mystery food proudly.

"Listen up my gorgeous girls! I think that it's time we all get stuck into this mouth-watering dish that I've prepared especially for the two of you before it gets any colder!"

Diva regarded her husband with admiration as he retrieved a picnic basket from behind a nearby tree and spread a blanket out on the ground in front of them.

"Oh Donald! So that's your big surprise!" she exclaimed excitedly while he laid out some plates and cutlery from his basket.

Disgust realized just how hungry she really was as the smell of her father's special home-cooked meal drifted towards her and she sniffed the air eagerly.

"Mmmm…that smells good dad! What is it?" she asked as her mouth began watering involuntarily.

"Ah wait and see my Princess!" The Father Emotion said with elation, giving Disgust a pleased smile.

Diva gave her daughter a friendly nudge on the arm with her elbow and whispered, "Your father always was a fine cook! I'll bet he made something really special for us!"

"Okay, everything is ready! Come and get it girls!" Donald called happily as he uncovered his tray and revealed a steaming casserole-type dish which he started dividing into perfect sized portions for the three of them.

Diva and Duchess both sat down on the blanket and eagerly accepted their plates as the Father Emotion handed them out their portions. Then all three Emotions started eating their first meal together as a family.

After a few satisfying mouthfuls, Diva looked at her husband with approval and praised, "Wow Donald! You've still got the touch! This is delicious!"

"Thanks! I'm glad you like it my dear! This is my signature dish…my masterpiece of fine dining if you will!" he stated with pride swelling inside his chest.

Disgust took another bite of her dinner and gulped it down with gusto. Her green eyes flashed with respect as she looked at her dad and admitted, "Not bad at all dad! What's in it anyway?"

Donald let out a modest laugh and replied casually, "Oh it's nothing special…"

He started listing off ingredients while Disgust and her mother continued eating enthusiastically.

"…it's just got some shell pasta, lean chicken, celery, capsicum, finely-chopped pistachios, pureed broccoli and…wait for it…Donald's special cheese sauce!"

Disgust's eyes went wide with horror and she stopped chewing suddenly, her mouth still half-full as she stared at her father with a mortified expression.

Donald stared back at his daughter with confusion and Diva turned to look at her with concern etched across her pretty face.

"Sweetie are you okay? What happened?" the Mother Emotion asked gently as she placed a comforting hand on Disgust's shoulder.

Then without warning, Disgust started spontaneously coughing, gagging and spitting out the remaining food from her mouth!

"Bro…broc…WHAT?!" She screeched in-between bouts of coughing and violent retching.

Her shocked parents exchanged nervous glances with each other, neither one sure about what to do.

"Ah Sweetheart? What's wrong?" Donald offered meekly as Disgust fixed him with a stare of absolute loathing.

Her startling green eyes flashed dangerously as she spoke with a deliberate (almost demonic-sounding) voice, "I HATE BROCCOLI!"

Diva gasped in shock as her hand flew up to her mouth in disbelief.

"Duchess…!" she uttered in a shrill astounded voice.

Donald actually recoiled from the harshness of her tone and shuffled backwards desperately as he tried to get away from this vengeful creature that appeared to be directing the full-force of her fury at him!

Then just as suddenly as Disgust seemed to become possessed by the broccoli-hating demon, her facial expression returned to one of undisputed repulsion as she resumed spitting and gagging.

"I'm going to need my stomach pumped and a colonoscopy! I don't know if I'm going to survive this!"

She looked at her father with betrayal in her eyes and pointed a finger at him as she accused bitterly, "You tried to poison me!"

"Bu…but Princess!" Donald stuttered desperately, his eyes full of pleading.

"Broccoli is good for you!"

"HOW WOULD YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOOD FOR ME?!" Disgust wailed inconsolably as she felt a familiar nauseating sensation stirring in her stomach and making its way up her esophagus.

"You've just met me for the first time…!" with that Disgust clutched her belly and leaning to one side, proceeded to barf up all of Donald's culinary masterpiece that she had consumed up to this point.

Donald's shoulders slumped dejectedly as he watched his distraught daughter retching and heaving violently as she tried desperately to cleanse her system of every last shred of that repulsive green vegetable.

Suddenly he felt a soft tap on his shoulder and turning around, he saw Diva reach into her handbag and offer him a handful of assorted chocolates and candies. His mouth twitched with revulsion as the Mother Emotion shoved the colorful sweets into his hand and looked imploringly into his eyes. Then she nodded towards Disgust and back to her husband and Donald understood what she wanted him to do.

Disgust was hugging her knees to her chest and rocking back and forth slowly. Her eyes had a blank look of shock as she tried to recover from the traumatic ordeal of being tricked into eating broccoli.

Suddenly her father's outstretched hand was thrust into her field of vision as he offered her the candy hesitantly.

"I'm sorry my little Princess…I didn't mean to make you sick. I just had no idea that you have such a strong aversion to broccoli!" Donald apologized sincerely.

Disgust looked up at him slowly and he gave her a reassuring smile.

"How would you like some of these…things…then?" His voice sounded strained like the thought of eating candy made him want to barf, but he kept it together for her sake.

Disgust looked at the yummy treats in his hand and her eyes lit up with gratitude as she accepted the candy eagerly.

"Now that's more like it! I need to get this vile taste out of my mouth!" she exclaimed, unwrapping one of the sweets and popping it into her mouth.

She smiled back at her father forgivingly. "Thanks dad."

As Disgust was savoring the candy, Diva stepped forward and took out a facial wipe from her purse. Then she gently started cleaning and fixing her daughter's makeup as she crooned fondly, "There, there sweetie…you're all good now!"

She placed her hands on Disgust's arms and admired her daughter with a loving look on her face, her emerald eyes sparkling with adoration.

"You really are the most beautiful Emotion I ever laid eyes on! I am so proud of what you have become my little Duchess!"

Disgust felt a glow of appreciation in her heart as she returned her mother's compliment with equal fondness. "Aww…thanks! You're really pretty too Momma."

Donald looked at her soberly, his eyes still full of guilt. "Once again I'm so sorry Duchess! I didn't know…"

"Would you let your foolish old man give you a hug?" he asked while tickling Disgust under the chin playfully.

Disgust narrowed her eyes at her father teasingly, but nodded her consent. "Of course! All is forgiven!"

Donald chuckled in delight and scooped her up in a tight hug, spinning her around exuberantly as Disgust gave a little grunt of protest.

"Oh I love you Sweetheart!" he declared as he stopped spinning and held her fondly.

"When I return to Bill's mind, I'm going to tell the others that I have the prettiest daughter in the whole Mind World!"

"Aww dad…" Disgust wheezed as she hugged him back with equal zeal.

Then she pulled away gently and gave him a critical look. "But if we ever meet up again, can you promise not to cook please?!"

Donald stroked her hair reassuringly and vowed, "Of course! I promise my little Princess!"

With one arm still wrapped around Disgust, Donald turned to his wife and touched her cheek fondly. "It was so good to see you again my darling!"

"Yes Donald, it's been wonderful!" Diva agreed happily.

A sly smile spread across her face and she grabbed hold of his hand and pressed it against her cheek affectionately.

"And by the way, you still do have soft hands!" she admitted in honesty.

Donald grinned in satisfaction and drew her into a family group hug.

After a few precious minutes, Diva sighed and informed reluctantly, "Unfortunately it's getting quite late and we should all return to our respective hosts soon."

Donald and Duchess nodded sadly and muttered their agreement.

"But before we part ways, I need to ask a favor of you both." Diva announced earnestly.

Disgust and her father looked at the Mother Emotion expectantly as she smiled sweetly and continued, "Us Mothers have been talking about who should meet their family after I've had my turn and we've come to a collective decision. Because Momma Fear is such a sweet and considerate Emotion and she has already met her son, she wants to give the rest of us the pleasure of meeting our children first. And since Mother Joy is the only other Emotion left who still hasn't seen her family, we all agreed that she deserves to go next!"

Diva studied her family with pride. Then with a nod of encouragement she requested, "I need you both to tell your respective Joys to be ready to meet here next Friday!"

Disgust and her dad pledged their promises and the family exchanged a few more gentle hugs and "air kisses" before parting ways.

As she made her way back towards Headquarters, Duchess stuffed a few more chocolates in her mouth. She wants to make sure she gets rid of that awful broccoli aftertaste by the time she reaches home!

QUICK NOTE:

By the way, Donald's special dish is not an actual recipe! I strongly advise that you don't try and replicate it :)