4

Family

Chapter 5

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"Thanks." I smiled at Angel.

"No problem. He's a good kid. He came in and we started talking. Liam has got so many interests and he definitely knows what he wants to do with his life. I had no idea when I was that age. Family is very important to him, Finn – well he loves him and could not imagine being without him and in a way hates him, it's that identical twin catch -22 situation. Beth, he adores because she's wonderful and very protective and is always smiley even when he is the brother from hell but its Kate whom he has the most in common. She's there for him but knows when to leave him on his own. Sometimes they don't even speak but he knows she's there. He thinks you and David are the best parents as you have always treated him as an individual and he is very grateful for that. He knows the amount of time you have given up helping him with his school work and sports interests."

"Wow, he told you all that! I don't think I've ever heard him utter more than six words at a time, especially not to me! But it's good to know we are doing something right. Thank you for telling me."

"Well, we're family aren't we?"

"Yes we are."

I gently shook the sleeping Liam and as I moved him back to his room, Angel stretched himself after being in the chair and smiled at me and the very sleepy teenager in my arms.

"You need to be getting ready for our busy day at Disney." I whispered as I directed Liam back to his room.

"OK Mum, I'll go and have a shower."

I woke the rest of the family, had a quick shower myself and wandered downstairs.

We had breakfast and met up with Fred for our trip to Disney. We arrived at the Park at 8.00am ready to make a full day. Needless to say it was wonderful and we had lots of photos of rides, Disney characters and us all eating a combination of food that would defeat a sumo wrestler. When we'd been Space Mountained, Ridden with Indian Jones, Splash Mountained and bought what it seemed the entire contents of the Disney shops (how do children manage that – no matter how old?) we fell into the doors of the Hyperion with tales to tell and after-sun to put onto our very suntanned skin. We gave presents and showed what we had bought. I must say though the sight of Angel wearing his Mickey Mouse ears during our evening meal will stay with me for the rest of my life!

We were all really totally exhausted and so after telling our stories, many about me screaming on the rides and getting frightened by Donald Duck and being lost in Critter County everyone was ready for bed.

Liam and Finn were so tired that they never made it out of their rooms, and so spent their first night on their own.

The next day was a getting over Disney day.

David spent a lot of time with Wesley looking at the very comprehensive library he had built up covering subject matter that you wouldn't find in a normal library – well not where we lived anyway! I heard snippets of conversation about language, eyes in the back of the head from which fully formed monsters erupted and the potency of various slime secreted by some demons so decided to leave them to it.

Cordy was talking to the boys about her high school days which seemed to involve a warning about treating your girl friends really well or else you might just get a visit from a vengeance demon, one of whom was now engaged to Cordy's ex-boyfriend called Xander. The high school also seemed to have been totally destroyed during their graduation as the mayor turned into a giant snake and ate the principal. 'I always thought the American education system was different to ours' I mused to myself. Liam and Finn were totally engrossed and so I left them to it.

Angel was deep in conversation with the girls and took them off up the stairs. I could hear laughter wafting down the stairs and I knew that everyone was having a good time. I wandered outside and began to read a book of my own choice in the peace and quiet of the garden which as a mother and teacher was a very rare treat.

I was aware that Gunn and Fred were coming and going and deep in conversation and once Angel came to the door to obviously advise them on something so they must have been still be carrying on their work around our visit. I was fascinated to see Gunn carrying a very large axe that looked as though it had been made out of something from a wheel arch on a car and then some time later come back with the said weapon covered in a yellow liquid that I could smell very distinctly. I didn't ask and I was very pleased he did not share with me.

Lorne came to sit with me and was telling me about some of the very interesting guests he had at Caritas. The day was rolling along very well and at some point there was another training session with Angel, our children and I think Cordy joined in too. As night approached there was also another trip in the Plymouth in order to bring back some excellent Mexican food although with the amount of time it took to collect and bring back, I had my suspicions that Angel may have taken his young relatives quite close to the border for the food! Or else they had stopped on the way, in any case it was definitely worth waiting for.

During the next few days my family split up with Kate and Liam going to Six Flags Magic Mountain with Gunn while Finn, Beth and I visited Knott's Berry Farm Park with Fred.

David and Wesley went to the Getty Museum. We all had a spectacular time and traded stories of our adventures to each other over the evening meals shared with everybody.

If we weren't going anywhere particular then we went out locally or stayed around the hotel. The boys found a local pool in a leisure complex and spend quite a lot of time there. I was impressed at their keenness to keep fit until I also went to the pool and found it absolutely full of very attractive bikini clad girls who found our dark haired boys very appealing!

We also visited the beach and again I was stunned at the number of very attractive young women around. Beth loved the beach and was very at home in her rainbow bikinis but Kate didn't do bikinis and spend most of her time in T shirt and cut offs. The boys did spend most of their time competing about how many girls they could speak to and get phone numbers. When they needed to, they worked as a perfect team. It seemed hormones took over Liam's aversion to be counted as a twin, as identical twins were very popular with the girls. My boys were growing up fast. One afternoon I walked into the foyer of the hotel after a rather successful shopping trip to find Finn with his face in Cordy's very ample cleavage.

"Finn!"

"Mummmm." Came the muffled reply.

"What are you doing?"

"It's OK Clare. I know this looks very strange but there is a very simple explanation…" She turned her head to talk to me as if she turned her body she may have done Finn an injury!

"Which is? …" I prompted

"Well we were talking about dentists and dental hygiene because Finn said he liked my teeth and I told him about my regime which involves flossing, and he had never flossed and so I brought mine down and he tried it out, not realizing that you only use a little bit and you have to remove it from the case fore you floss and he got it caught in the under-wire of my bra as he was walking passed…"

It was at this point I saw the funny side of things and started to laugh.

"Mmmmmm helf!" came the pleas from Finn.

"Do you want Mummy to help?" I asked

"Pleeth."

I went and found scissors and separated the two.

"Oh Mum. I wanted to take some more photos!" The voice came from behind me.

I turned round and Liam was sitting on the sofa with his phone.

"Why didn't you help him?"

"I wanted to send the photos to the basketball team and the athletics team and school…"

"You git!" shouted Finn, "Mum tell him!"

"Well look at it this way, Finn. You are the one with your head down the cleavage of a very attractive woman. No one need know about the dental floss."

"Oh yes… Thanks Mum!"

"Spoil sport." Whispered Liam.

"That's my job." I replied.