48. Childhood
Juliet adores her parents, but she idolizes her older brother, Ewan. He's already in high school, but he still lets her tag along with him and his friends. He stands up for her when she needs him and teaches her how to stand up for herself since he won't always be around. When things go wrong, she goes to him and he makes them right. She wants to be just like him when she grows up.
Gus' favorite night of the week is Thursday, because that's family game night. They order take out, their only non-home cooked meal of the week, and spend hours eating and laughing and talking about anything and everything. Gus can't imagine how anyone could be unhappy if they have a family.
Shawn spends most nights either out on the beach or up in his room. He doesn't like being in the water, but watching and listening to the waves is soothing. His room is his sanctuary. It's the one place he can go and not have to worry about how many hats there are or if a light bulb is out. He can lounge in his room and work on his Judd Nelson impersonation and eat pop rocks and pretend like he doesn't hear his parents fighting. When the shouting gets too loud, Shawn puts on his earphones, turns his music up as high as it will go, and plans a thousand different ways to escape.
Carlton loves his little brother, because his mother tells him he has to love everyone or he'll go to hell, but he loves his bb gun more. He loves his sister at least as much as his gun, but he'd never tell her that. Even if she is a good shot, she's still a girl and there are certain principles that have to be respected. He loves and honors his mother because that's what you're supposed to do. But at night, when he's curled up under his covers, he dreams. He dreams about being a cowboy or a cop and stopping bad guys when he grows up. He dreams about having a horse than he can ride whenever he wants. He dreams about moving to Old Sonora and living with Sheriff Hank. Mostly though, he dreams about the day his dad will come home.
Kristin: It's amazing what some pineapple chunks, a kickASS choir rehearsal, and a few kind words can do for my mood. Today has been so much better than I expected it to be last night.
Kid!Carlton and Kid!Shawn make me feel all maternal and gooshy inside. And the Gusters would totally be the sort of family to have scrabble and trivial pursuit tournaments. But not Monopoly. Not since that time Mrs. Guster caught Mr. Guster stealing from the bank.
19/100