Chapter 6: Aunt Bobbi

The Light came in through the rear French Door's windows. She stood in the muted light looking out among the emptiness of her small backyard. It had been years since she came home, after finding herself in the high desert. No, she decided it was time to settle down when she returned, she also chose to stop worrying about the past. Using the sizable savings, she had saved up, she bought this modest cottage and settled in.

Vaguely she saw her reflection in the glass of the window. She could see she still looked good in her yoga pants and sports bra. She hadn't reached forty yet, it was a few years off, but she also hadn't married or had kids yet. Her life since the return from the high desert was about maintaining the inner balance in her life, she found that night in front of the bonfire.

Pushing a stray red bang, that hung over her sweatband, out of her eye, she looked at the desolate backyard. Bobbi-Lee Burke smiled. Life had been good to her since she returned, and it's been looking to get better, so far.

"Meow!" she heard.

Bobbi-Lee looked over to the nearby counter. A grey tabby cat stood there looking at her. He titled his head, and then "Meow!" he said.

"What's wrong Rooney?" Bobbi-Lee asked one of her rescue cats. He started rubbing his head against her hand. He made a muffled purring sound.

"Meow!" The Cat said. Bobbi-Lee started scratching the cat, who turned his head to where he wanted her to scratch.

"You just want attention, don't you?" Bobbi-Lee asked.

"Meow!" Rooney the cat said.

Bobbi-Lee smiled and picked up Rooney. She cradled him in her arms and started to rub his belly. The Cat cuddled up and started purring.

She walked away from the French Door in the dining room and went across the open concept into what was referred to as the Great Room. Looking around the room she saw another of her rescue cats curled up on the sofa. He was a big blue and white bi-colored cat. The cat looked up at her and Rooney.

"Meow," The Cat on the sofa said.

"Custis, don't be jealous, I have time for you too," Bobbi-Lee said to the cat on the sofa.

The bi-colored cat put his head down. Bobbi-Lee put Rooney down on the nearby armchair. She looked at the two cats, her children, and smiled. She shrugged; the cats looked at her with curiosity.

"Now, you two behave, I have work to do," Bobbi-Lee said to the two cats.

"Meow," Custis said.

"Meow!" Rooney said.

Bobbi-Lee laughed, shook her head and went to the staircase. Walking up the stairs to the small second floor. At the top of the stairs, she was standing in her loft and looked down towards the Great Room and found Custis still laying on the couch and Rooney was now grooming himself. With a smile, she turned and looked at her at-home office that was set up in the loft.

She walked over to her drawing board that was tucked off into a corner. Bobbi-Lee hadn't broken herself of the nasty habit of working at home when she was inspired. So, she always had a drawing board set up. She looked over her latest batch of sketches, and various ideas she had. A Bachelor's degree in business from Wake Forest University, that's what she went to college for, but rarely did she use an inch of that learning. Bobbi-Lee fell into her career as a fashion designer and has been successful at it. She now oversaw one of the lines for her boss, she did most of the design work for that line, but Brooke, her boss, always had the final say.

Her smartphone rang, and she reached for it, where it usually sat in the corner of the drawing board. It wasn't there. Bobbi-Lee cursed and heard it coming from the Great Room. She got up and ran downstairs to find it sitting on an end table.

She grabbed the smartphone and looked at the screen, "Speak of the devil," she said, and answered the phone, "Hi Brooke," Bobbi-Lee said, "Yes, I got up with the sun, as always…no, I don't do yoga naked, where did you get that idea? ...Anyways you called, so what do you need on a Sunday? Yes…Yes…you know me always working…No…no…they're my babies and never get in the way…Yes…I'll brings them in on Monday…Yes…He hasn't gotten up yet, damn he's lazy…No, not everyone is like me…Yes, I saw her the other night. You know my sister, she has all that property, a husband and three young kids to manage…I haven't forgotten about her Skype call today…Yes…Yes…I'll also see you tomorrow. Yes, I had a great time last night…No, I didn't bring any of the guys home…No…No…none of them piqued my interest…You've been single how long? Yes, you don't need a man, then I don't either…No…No, ladies either…I know, I'm not forty yet…Alright, I'll talk to you tomorrow and I'll bring my sketches," Bobbi-Lee finished and hung up the phone.

Bobbi-Lee looked over to the sofa and saw her bi-colored cat staring at her. "Yes Custis?" she asked.

"Meow," Custis said.

"Yeah, that was work, and it's Sunday," Bobbi-Lee said, just as her smartphone rang again, "What does Brooke want now Custis?" she looked at the smartphone and saw who was calling, "It's not Custis, it's Aunt Kelly," she said, and answered the smartphone, "Hey Kelly, what's up?" Bobbi-Lee started the phone conversation and waited, "Yes, I got home safe and alone…Yeah, for some reason Brooke was asking why you didn't go last night…I know it's not your scene, and really Andrew is in the port again with the Nightshade. God that ship has issues…Yeah, well it is what it is…Yes, I know…So, how is our oldest niece you ask? Yes, she was there last night, do you think she'd miss it? No, I know that was sarcasm…Yes, she was little miss social butterfly, all night…I know. I don't know where she gets it either, it must be from Ash…Yeah, you know JL better than I and he's a goofball, but quiet, like Dad was. Yeah, I heard it too…Yes, I'll talk to you later, bye Kell," Bobbi-Lee said and hung up her smartphone.

That was when the doorbell rang. Bobbi-Lee sighed and placed her smartphone back down on the end table. Shaking her head, she looked at Custis, who was now grooming himself, along with Rooney. Bobbi-Lee shook her head as she started to walk towards the front door.

"Welcome to Grand Central Terminal," Bobbi-Lee said and opened the front door. Standing on the stoop was a tall red-haired teenage girl. The Burkes were tall, and the teenager was one of the taller ones, just like her dad. She also got the ginger coloring, not the auburn of Kelly.

"Aunt Bobbi, can I come in? It's cold out here," Brett Pierce-Burke asked, her paternal aunt.

"Yes, quickly before the fuzzy balls try to escape," Bobbi-Lee said, and let Brett in. The teenager looked at Custis laying on the sofa.

"Yeah, they're dying to escape," Brett said and slipped her coat off. Rooney popped up from where he was laying and trotted over to Brett. The tabby cat started rubbing against Brett's legs and purred.

"Rooney be careful," Bobbi-Lee said and walked over to her recliner and took a seat, "Have a seat, I assume you're between parental residences and wanted to stop by and see your spinster Aunt."

"Umm, I don't know what to say to that," Brett replied, as she took a seat on the sofa. Bobbi-Lee took a seat in an armchair.

"Well, did you at least get to your Dad's last night? God, please say yes, I don't want to be an accomplice, especially with your Momma," Bobbi-Lee said.

Brett shook her head, "No, Aunt Bobbi, don't worry. I did stay at Daddy Huck's last night. I'm just, well, I'm not ready to deal with Momma yet," she said.

Bobbi-Lee nodded, "So, why didn't you stay at your Dad's?" she asked, "But don't get me wrong, I like the company."

"I'd get too tied up with the kids and I'd miss what I have to do, and I'd hear it, double," Brett said.

Bobbi-Lee sighed, "Your Momma means well, she didn't exactly have the best role model for being a mom in your Grandma Maddie," Bobbi-Lee said.

Brett nodded, "How did you turn out to be so wise?" she asked.

"A lot of Maker's Mark," Bobbi-Lee said, "Some SO-CO, Knob Creek, and Jamison, too."

Brett crooked her head, "You're drunk wise?" she asked.

"No, nothing like that," Bobbi-Lee said, "I'll let William Blake say it best, 'The Road of Excess leads to the palace of wisdom."

Brett nodded, "Wasn't that the same shit Brian Scott was going wacko about…"

"Yeah," Bobbi-Lee interrupted, "It was from a Marriage of Heaven and Hell. Fuck how does that little shit keep renting space in our heads? How do you know about that?"

Brett nodded, "Mental Lapse is still popular, and I see kids wearing their t-shirts all the time," she said, "Especially Brian Scott ones."

"Mental Lapse only had one good album, they're first," Bobbi-Lee said and nodded, "Now, we'll forget that wacko Blake's quote, and we'll go with Walt Whitman, 'The Road to Wisdom is paved with excess'."

Rooney took this moment to curl up in Brett's lap. Brett reached down and petted the tabby cat. "Isn't that the same thing?" she asked and looked over to Custis lying next to her, "Being lazy Custis?" she asked the bi-colored cat.

Bobbi-Lee nodded, "You'll find a lot of things are the same ideas repacked, and sometimes in nicer wrappings," she said.

Brett nodded and got comfortable, "What's the story with Brian Scott? I know he's like my step-uncle, but that's really about it," she said.

"I don't know most of the details; your Aunt Kayla would know what happened on the music side. As for the other side, I don't think you or anyone else would ever know the whole story. A lot of he said/she said," Bobbi-Lee said.

Brett nodded, "Last night, and I don't know how drunk Nana Brooke was when she spoke to me about doing one of her shows for one of the Fashion Weeks this year," she said.

Bobbi-Lee sat up and nodded, "She's probably serious, Brooke doesn't drink," she said.

Brett nodded, "Oh," she said.

"You didn't know that's why it's a dry house?" Bobbi-Lee asked.

"No, I know that's why Daddy Huck's house is dry because Momma Chase doesn't drink. But I thought with Nana Brooke it was because of Nomi and Ellis," Brett said.

"No worries," Bobbi-Lee said, "So have you thought about it?"

"I don't know, Aunt Bobbi, if I should do it. I don't want to screw up Norte Dame, and well I'm not sure if Momma will let me do it," Brett said.

Bobbi-Lee smiled and got up. "I'll be right back," she said and run upstairs to her loft office.

She walked over to a bookshelf and pulled out a large scrapbook. Double-checking to make sure she grabbed the right one she returned to the main level. She carried it over to Brett and shooed Rooney off Brett's lap. Bobbi-Lee placed the scrapbook in Brett's lap that was freshly vacated by the tabby cat.

"What's this?" Brett asked.

"It's something you should look at kiddo," Bobbi-Lee said.

"Okay," Brett said and opened the book. She looked at the first picture and then looked up at Bobbi-Lee. "Is that Aunt Izzy?" Brett asked.

Bobbi-Lee nodded, "Yeah, back in high school and college she did fashion week for her Mom," she said.

Brett nodded and flipped to the next page and looked at the model, "Is that Momma Chase?" Brett asked.

Bobbi-Lee nodded, "Yup," she said.

"Momma Chase said she had done it, but I never saw pictures and didn't believe her," Brett said.

"After that show, she found out she was pregnant with Key," Bobbi-Lee said.

Brett nodded, "Was it the same deal as Aunt Izzy?" she said.

"Yup, pretty much, I think your Momma Chase, did a few more, as Aunt Izzy got busy with work," Bobbi-Lee said.

Brett nodded and turned the page, and looked at the page, "No way, Auntie Tall?" she asked.

Bobbi-Lee nodded, "Yup, your Auntie Tall usually does the February Fashion week, she's done a few Septembers, right out of college, she's done a lot of modeling work actually," Bobbi-Lee said.

"I just can't see it," Brett said, and turned the page, "Yup, that's her, I recognized those wings anywhere."

Bobbi-Lee smiled, "Yeah, people always ask about her wings," she said.

"I always remember her having them," Brett said.

"That was a college thing," Bobbi-Lee said, "You should see her first ESPN The Body Picture," she pointed out, "It shows off her wings."

Brett nodded, "When we do spend time together and go to the beach, her wings do draw some looks," she said.

"That's your Auntie Tall," Bobbi-Lee said.

Brett laughed, "Yeah, that sounds about right," she said, and flipped the next page. She looked over the pictures, "What? Is that Momma?" she asked.

Bobbi-Lee laughed, "Yes, your Momma did one show before she got pregnant with Maeghan," she said.

"Is this why you showed me this book?" Brett asked.

"As in to show you that your Momma had done runway work for Nana Brooke, and she shouldn't have any issue letting you do it if you want too?" Bobbi-Lee asked.

Brett closed the book. Bobbi-Lee collected the book. Rooney took advantage of Brett's lap now being empty and hopped back into it and purred.

"Would you jump in her grave that quick, Rooney?" Bobbi-Lee asked, and Rooney just purred. Bobbi-Lee shook her head at the tabby cat.

"So, you think Momma has no grounds to say no if I want to work for Nana Brooke," Brett stated.

"Pretty much," Bobbi-Lee said.

"So, what is that book?" Brett asked.

Bobbi-Lee looked at it and dusted it a bit. "It's a book of my designs that were displayed at various fashion weeks," she said, "Foolish Memories really. Dust in the wind."

Brett shook her head, "Daddy Huck is the philosophical one, not you, Aunt Bobbi," she said.

Bobbi-Lee laughed, "You're right, I've always been the drama queen," she said.

Brett smiled and petted the tabby cat in her lap, who purred away. "Those aren't foolish memories, they're your accomplishments," she said.

Bobbi-Lee put the book on the end table and turned around and looked at Brett, "If you want to do the show, do it, you only live once, Brett. That's what your Granddad Cade told us, and usually yelled at me when I followed his advice," she said.

"He sounds like he was a good person to have around," Brett said.

"He was," Bobbi-Lee said, smiling remembering her Dad, "Do you remember him?" she asked.

"Should I?" Brett asked.

"You might, you were six when he died," Bobbi-Lee said.

"If I have any memories of him, they are vague, at best," Brett said, "Wasn't he a firefighter like Daddy Huck?"

Bobbi-Lee nodded, "Yes, he was," she said.

Brett nodded and checked her smartphone, "Shit! I must get going, Aunt Bobbi or Momma will start the National Guard out searching for me," she said.

"I don't think your Uncle is around," Bobbi-Lee said.

Brett laughed, "Right," she said.

Bobbi-Lee nodded, "Go, you rug rat, we don't want her to go all angry she-bear on any of us," she said.

Brett smiled and picked up Rooney the Tabby Cat and placed him next to Custis the Bi-Colored Cat. Brett got a pissed look from both cats. "Thank you for your time, Aunt Bobbi," she said.

"You're welcome, anytime, I like the company," Bobbi-Lee said and let Brett out. Bobbi-Lee watched her oldest niece leave from the window. She turned around and looked at the two cats who were laying on the sofa. "What do you think boys? I think there was something else on her mind," Bobbi-Lee said.

"Meow!" Rooney said.

"Meow," Custis said.

Bobbi-Lee nodded, "I agree, I'm going to shower, be good," she said grabbed the scrapbook and went upstairs towards her bedroom to get ready to shower.