I DONT KNOW HOW BUT MY LANGUAGE SETTING CHANGED TO BRITISH SO WHEN I WAS SPELL CHECKING IT WAS CHANGING IT TO THE BRITISH SPELLING. (sorry I had caps lock on lmao) If this chapter sounds more British than usual, that's why. Shout-out to my British viewers.
Best part is, it changed my Google's voice to the British man's one. It kind of sounds like a certain British murder-man...
Also guys omg in like a week we got 4 new followers, hit 13k views - and a ton of new reviews! A lot from new people! You guys are all so nice I can't even- :sob:
Also I should make a Mangle chapter soon. She hasn't been relevant since the bite of 2021, and her character desperately needs development.
Reviews! (so many omggggg)
some annoying (AWESOME) ff guest: tysm for the long review! I honestly wasn't sure if many people like the ships, so thanks! Tbh I forgot about Mangle x Foxy till a few days ago when I reread the book- yeahhh. I might break them up (in a friendly way ofc) bc I just see them as friends now, but I can totally have more Freddy x Bonnie stuff! And Ruby x Myah will be focused on more too...hehehe.
754880: Thank you! And what a lovely shade of purple ;)
Lydia-From-Linmat: Wow, great description! I love the colour scheme, it reminds me of the new Sunrise animatronic. I haven't seen that Steam Powered Giraffe thing, but it sounds amazing.
SomeRandomRobo: LOL that ending tho. I love cinnamon buns as well, I had one while writing that chapter.
Violet86: I'm glad you liked it. Elizabeth is one of my favorites too :)
Clankster39: oh nooo :sob: I rly wish that they weren't so similar, and I do respect AV's work lol, just an unfortunate coincidence.
Qxr: lol, poor Elizabeth...so innocent. And hmmm links are annoying to do, just try searching my username up again. I have the purple haired Amity profile picture.
MoonTheMagical: wow, I'm honoured you read this during break :D and I didn't know that, that's cool! Wanna hear a Canada joke?
Three men were deciding Canada's name. The first man said. "What's about C, eh?"
The second man said, "Yeah and how about N, eh?"
The last man said, "Yes, then it could end with D, eh?"
Bad joke but I like it lol.
Onto the Thanksgiving in December chapter!
Chapter 66
A Thanksgiving Gathering
"Ruby! Can you pass me the salt?"
Ruby leaned over the countertops, grabbing the salt shaker and passing it to her mother, who shook it a couple times over the large turkey. Across from them in the kitchen, Jared and Rylie prepared the yam apples - well, Jared peeled the skin off the apples and Rylie ate the skin - and Raven and Ruby boiled and made the cranberry sauce.
Even if it meant doing boring chores, Ruby was happy to spend time with her favourite older sister. Although, it was weird seeing Raven:
Not coated in ten pounds of black makeup
With a chic pixie cut instead of a half-shaved shoulder-length cut.
No purple streaks in it, just a royal blue stripe in the front.
In ordinary baggy jeans and a black-and-white tartan hoodie. Plus, instead of a bazillion layers of chunky silver jewelry, she wore her simple green necklace her father had given her
But, under it all was still her sister, and Ruby was glad to hang out with her no matter what. And Raven was happy to tell long, elaborate tales of her and her best friends Samantha (or Sammy as Ray called her) and Anna at their art college in California, and how she was still keeping in touch with Chester, who was doing doctor training in Ottawa.
A honk sounded from outside, and Ruby's mom rushed to look out the window, the glass panes fogged up from the cold outside and the warm inside.
"Oh, that must be Daisy with your cousins. Ruby, will you go and say hello to them?" Her mother asked lightly, putting her hands on her hips.
Ruby groaned, slumping. While she loved her mother's younger sister, she hated the cold. "Moooom, I don't wanna! It's freezing out there, and I'll get frostbite, and-"
But it was too late, for her mother had pushed her outside, slamming the door shut. Ruby sighed. Her breath came out in little foggy puffs, her nose and cheeks turning as red as her hair. She shivered. Her oversized tan flannel and black cargo pants were not warm enough to brave the freezing late November weather. Not to mention that she wasn't even wearing shoes.
Ruby made her way down the driveway, wincing at the sharp stone on her orange-sock-covered feet. They had little turkeys on them, which she found adorable. Ruby remembered how Bonnie always made fun of her for having socks on every occasion...good times. Soon she'd be breaking out the Christmas socks, of which she had many.
When her aunt Daisy spotted her, she waved vigorously. She was wearing a huge puffy blue winter coat and black leggings, her golden blonde hair spread out over her furry hood. Ruby's eleven and thirteen-year-old cousins Navy and Venus helped their mother with some packages wrapped in pink paper.
"Ruby! Hi, sweetheart! My, how you've grown! You're almost as tall as me now! I love your outfit!" Daisy gushed, enveloping Ruby in a massive hug that was more jacket than Daisy.
Ruby smiled at her aunt's enthusiasm. Her mother always said Daisy liked to end all her sentences with an exclamation point. "Thanks. Um, can I help you with any of that?"
"Aw, how lovely! Thank you, Ruby! Navs, will you give her that package? The other with the red ribbon." Daisy asked her eldest child.
"Sure," Navy said, handing her the package. He was clad in an equally large burgundy winter coat, the hood nearly covering his face and fluffy black hair.
"I wrapped it," Venus said proudly, wearing a ginormous fuchsia coat with her blonde hair, so much like her mother's, in a tight ponytail. A purple headband held her bangs back.
"It's...beautiful!" Ruby tried, glancing at the anything-but-beautiful lump of tape and wrapping paper that was the package. Venus beamed, pleased with her response.
"Let's go inside. Kids, can you grab the pie and whipped cream? Ruby, could you be a dear and take the packages? I'll bring the books and snacks." Daisy suggested.
Navy leaned inside the car and took the little cardboard box of pumpkin pie, while Venus grabbed the whipped cream. Ruby stacked the five packages on top of each other and carried them in her arms, all the while wondering what they held inside. Clothes? Books? Candy? She'd just have to wait and find out.
"Oh my-" Ruby's mother gasped when she saw Ruby with the packages. "Daze, you didn't have to bring all this- I mean, Christmas is coming up and all!"
"Ah, you know I couldn't resist getting some presents for my favourite big sis, her husband, and nieces!" Daisy trilled cheerfully, setting the bags down on a footstool and giving her sister a hug. "It's good to see you, Rosie!"
"You too, Daze." Her mother laughed.
Daisy eventually let Ruby's mother go and looked around the room. Ruby and Rylie had set the table with a floral-printed tablecloth and placemats for everyone. Royal blue napkins sat beside the plates, shiny silverware resting on top of them. Golden light shone down from the mini-chandelier above the table, birch chairs seated at the table. Daisy counted them. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
Two for Rosie and Jared...one for me...one for Raven. Then who's that last chair for?
"Who is the last chair for?" Daisy asked in curiosity. "I mean, it can't be for Ruby, because there's four chairs at the kid's table. Is Candy sitting there?"
The Candy in question was hiding under a couch, terrified of the two children who'd been chasing him around ever since they spotted a cat. Cindy was perched happily on top of a shelf, one too high for either Navy or Venus to reach.
"Wait." Ruby held her hands up, having overheard this interesting little conversation. "I'm sitting at the kid's table?!"
Ruby's mother looked pained. "I'm sorry, Rubes, but there's not enough room at the main table this year."
"Why?" Ruby cried in exasperation. "You've always had room for me every other year. It's just our family and theirs, who else would be sitting in that chair?"
A knock at the front door interrupted them. Daisy and Ruby furrowed their brows in confusion, who could that be? Ruby's mother sighed, making her way to the front door. She reached for the handle, and with a quick turn, she opened it.
"Hello, Rosalie. Long time no see. Too long, in fact."
Daisy blinked her warm hazel eyes. Once. Twice. Three times. Was she seeing correctly? The person standing at the door was none other than...her mother?
Prim and proper as ever, Nana's hair was dyed blonde but had light gray roots showing, most of which were covered by a flowered straw hat. She wore a simple maroon dress and had a layer of crimson lipstick paired with a light mascara on her face.
"Mother? What are you doing here? Rosie sure didn't tell me…" Daisy said pointedly, glaring at her sister.
"Well, I came for a visit. Rosalie was kind enough to invite me. Isn't that right?" Nana cocked her head to the side, glancing at her daughter.
"Mm-hm." Her mother muttered, her teeth clenched. Daisy gave her sister a Look, one that practically begged for an explanation.
"At least I have one daughter who cares enough to see me," Nana sighed, her face full of woe. Daisy's hazel eyes burst into a murderous flame, but she kept her cool.
Ruby's eyes widened. She'd only met her grandmother twice, and both times...well, let's just say Ruby hadn't made the best impression on her. Whining about chocolate all day then eating so much she threw up wasn't exactly a good thing to do the first time you meet someone. The second time was when Rylie was born, and even then Ruby hadn't gotten to see her grandmother much. She only heard the shouted phone calls behind locked doors that day, and her grandmother storming out of the hospital, yelling about how could her eldest daughter be so careless?
But hey, that was years ago! Her Nana had surely forgotten. Besides, Nana was at the wedding that summer (for about three minutes, but still). That was a good sign...right?
"The place looks...habitable. Interesting choice of tablecloth, was that a gift?" Nana asked, holding up a corner of the fabric and showing it to her mother.
"No. I chose it myself."
"...Oh. Oh my… Well, if I was you I certainly wouldn't have chosen that!" Nana laughed airily, but the tone seemed forced. Ruby's mother laughed along, her cherry-coloured smile made of plastic.
Nana made her way over to where Ruby, Raven, Rylie, Navy, and Venus were standing and staring at her. Ruby knew that her cousins had only met Nana once, but Rylie had never met her. Nana had practically abandoned her grandchildren and children after Rylie was born - that meant four years.
"Hello, Raven. I hear you've decided to study art? Interesting choice."
"Okay."
"Well, art isn't a very stable job. Ever hear the phrase starving artist? They don't just say that for nothing."
"Okay."
"Really, a young adult such as yourself should be doing something less...wasteful. Like taking courses in business! Or nursing! That gets food on the table for sure."
"Okay."
"Because I don't want anyone with the last name Roxanne being thrown out on the streets because she can't pay for all those expensive art classes and not have anything to show for it!"
"Okay."
Ruby got the feeling that her sister didn't give a crap what her overbearing grandmother had to say about her life decisions.
"Ruby." Nana frowned. "Still have the hair, I see."
"Ha, I don't quite have the face to go bald!" Ruby attempted to crack a joke to ease the horrible, strangling tension in the room.
Nana did not look amused. "It's longer than I remember."
"Well, you haven't seen us for four years, so I should think so." Ruby mumbled under her breath.
"I'm sorry?" Nana blinked, leaning closer and doing that annoying thing people did where they cupped their hands over their ears to hear better. As if that would do anything.
"Nothing." Ruby scowled, crossing her arms.
Nana moved on to Rylie, who was clutching Ruby's hand tightly with her own small one. Rylie widened her clear blue eyes when Nana peered curiously down at her.
"My, what dazzlingly blue eyes. I don't think anyone in our family has ever had blue eyes! Well, no time to start like the present, I suppose." Nana laughed. Ruby suspected that might have been a subtle jab at her mother, but chose not to question it.
Rylie giggled and bounced up and down, her raven curls bouncing with her. "Old lady smell funny."
Nana gasped, looking startled. She placed a wrinkled palm on her chest. "Well! Rosalie, I see you've forgotten to teach her proper manners! Never in my years have I ever heard a child so rude…"
"Nana, are you really so fragile that you'd be insulted by a four-year-old?" Ruby asked, trying to hide a smile.
"I didn't choose to be insulted! She insulted me!" Nana defended herself whilst placing her hands on her hips, sharp red nails like a cat's claws digging into her side.
"Nobody can make you feel insulted without your consent," Venus piped up. "That's what we learned at school."
Nana frowned. "Aren't they teaching you maths there?"
"Sometimes," Venus said. "But I don't like it. I like doing ballet though, and makeup. Navy likes theatre, right Navs?"
"Yep," was Navy's quiet reply. "I'd like to be an actor when I grow up."
"Oh, actors these days are just plastic and lip gloss, nothing more. Not like back in my day. Ever hear of Marilyn Monroe?"
The line of kids slowly shook their heads.
"Elvis Presley? Elizabeth Taylor? For goodness sake, children! You've grown up on nothing but junk, pure junk!" Nana exclaimed in bewilderment, throwing up her hands. Ruby's mother appeared in the doorway suddenly, making her way over to them and placing her hands on Nana's slim shoulders.
"Okay, mother, let's go to the kitchen and prepare the food. You can meet Jared again!" She trilled in a chipper tone, guiding her mother to the kitchen. She turned her head around, mouthing I'm Sorry to them as she left.
Raven smiled softly at the three younger kids.
"Don't listen to her. You guys can be whatever you want in life, if you really want to."
"Even a uni-corn?" Rylie asked excitedly, her bright blue eyes shimmering with hope.
"Uhhh. Sure!" Raven laughed while glancing from side to side nervously, not wanting to let her kid sister down.
"Kids! Can you help carry the food into the dining room?" Daisy called from the kitchen.
The group scrambled to their feet, dashing through the doorway into the carrot-orange kitchen, the same colour wallpaper as the dining room. Ruby offered to take the heavy dish of yam apples, Raven handled the porcelain bowl of mashed potatoes, Navy and Venus poured the sparkling water (plain for Nana), and Rylie straightened the napkins.
A delicious aroma filled the air as the food settled, and Ruby grinned. While she didn't like the holiday itself (racism and colonization weren't exactly Ruby's festive cup of tea), she sure did love the food.
Raven, Navy, Venus, and Rylie took their seats at the table, but Ruby was still standing, as she was finishing setting the dish down. It was difficult carrying things when you had huge lobster oven mitts on your hands!
Suddenly, there was a scream and a, "Candy, no!" from the kitchen. Ruby bolted upright, her hazel eyes widening.
"What was that?!" She cried, mostly to herself.
Raven shrugged. "Let's go see." The two sisters stood up from their seats, rushing into the kitchen...
Only to find Jared carrying a very smug-looking black-and-white patched kitten, standing next to an almost-empty tray of half-eaten Brussels sprouts.
"What happened?!" Ruby asked in bewilderment, staring at the panicked faces of her mother and Jared. "And where's Nana?"
"Nana's upstairs, thankfully." Her mother said, voice still a little shaky. "Basically, I turned around because Cindy was meowing at me. Next thing I know, Candy dives down onto the counter and starts gulping down Brussels sprouts like he hasn't eaten in years! He's a cat! They're supposed to like tuna, or whatever!"
"I don't even like Brussels sprouts," Ruby said in an awed voice. "Nice work, Candy."
"Well, at least we've got the turkey. That's something." Said Jared, ever the optimist.
Her mother nodded with a smile, and her and Jared together lifted the turkey up. It was copper-brown with black squares from the tray on it, glistening with butter. The tray had fresh green lettuce surrounding it with cherry tomatoes adding pops of colour, making the whole dish look like it belonged on one of those food magazines you always got in lobbies. The two of them brought the large meat into the dining room with Raven and Ruby trailing behind them, where three hungry kids waited.
"Ta-da!" Her mother sang, placing the turkey down on the table. The kids oohed and aahed at the steaming hot turkey. Ruby grinned, it looked delicious.
The creaking of the stairs informed them that Nana was coming down. Ruby fixed her hair, running a few fingers through it. She didn't want any more comments about it...not that she cared or anything.
Nana smiled pleasantly, her eyes darting around the table. "My, what a lovely spread. I'm assuming you didn't cook it yourself?"
"Jared cooked most of it. I made the potatoes, and I think they taste fine." Her mother quipped, spooning some of the potatoes onto her plate and pouring a generous helping of gravy with onions onto it.
Ruby took the black rubber ladle and grabbed some yam apples for herself, shaking some cinnamon onto them. She spooned a bit of cranberry sauce the colour of pomegranates on the side, then reached for the mashed potatoes and gravy.
Nana's eyes fell on the large turkey and she frowned. "Oh, Rosalie. I can't have that turkey! You know I'm vegan."
Her mother's mouth dropped open, eyes wide with shock. "Mother, you never told me that! I would have prepared something else if I had known."
"What's a vegan?" Rylie asked, tilting her head to the side.
"It's someone who doesn't eat meat. Or fish. Or honey. Or eggs." Navy explained in a very wise tone of voice.
Rylie stuck her lower lip out in a pout, the news saddening her. "That means no cakey!" Rylie was a very big fan of cake.
"It's alright, Rylie. I'm trying to cut down on sugar anyway." Her grandmother offered thinly, taking a tiny amount of the yam apples, not accepting the cinnamon that Raven had offered. Rylie puzzled over why someone wouldn't want sugar, then pieced it down to the fact that adults were just weird.
The room fell silent, every chewing their food quietly. At least everyone else liked the turkey, even if Nana wouldn't eat it.
"So, Jared. Have there been any big cases lately?" Daisy asked, attempting to break the thick ice.
"Oh, nothing much, really. Mostly just Karens telling me that someone accidentally stepped on their lawn, or noise complaints. There was a robbery at Jennavieve's Jewellery last month, which was relatively exciting. The guy tried to escape in his car, but he ran out of gas in like, five minutes! He pleaded guilty, so he's in jail now." Jared laughed.
Navy and Venus's eyes were wide. "You do cop chases?! Like in those Lega City episodes?"
Jared beamed. "Oh yeah, definitely! It's a very cool job. But it can also be sad, like if there's a murder case. Being a policeman is difficult, but rewarding."
"I wanna be a policeman!" Rylie squealed, and everyone laughed. Even Nana, which was a good sign.
"I'm going to be a veterinarian, because I like animals and I wanna take care of them. We have a dog named Chewy at home." Venus informed them.
"We call him that 'cos he likes to chew stuff." Navy explained. "Like my red cape for the play. Or Vee's ballet slippers. Or Mom's hat."
"Oh...how lovely." Nana murmured in distaste, avoiding eye contact. Ruby got the feeling that her grandmother wasn't very fond of dogs...or animals in general.
"How about you, Ruby? What would you like to be?" Daisy asked cheerfully.
And suddenly, all eyes were on her. Her family's kind ones. Her Nana's judging ones. A spotlight seemed to radiate down on, and Ruby racked her brain for an answer. What did she want to be? It was such a simple question, yet the answer seemed to disappear in a dark, shadowy fog of the unknown.
"U-uh...to be honest, I'm not quite sure yet." Ruby mumbled, looking at her feet. The turkeys on her socks, once cute, glared at her with their disappointed beady eyes.
Nana frowned. "Hmm. That's odd. I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life when I was just fourteen! I knew I wanted to marry your grandfather, bless his soul, and become an accountant."
"Ruby doesn't have to decide anything yet if she doesn't want to. She's a very talented student at her school. Ruby, tell Nana what you did in your robotics class!" Her mother said, practically begging Ruby with her eyes.
"Oh, I made this little robot thingy and programmed him to pick up Lega bricks. I named him Wall-E." Ruby told the people seated at the table.
"Ooh, like in the movie!" Venus gasped. "I love that one! I like the part where they're floating in space with the fire extinguishers."
"That's my favourite part as well," Raven agreed, nodding vigorously.
Nana smiled. "Well. How nice. I'm just glad we get to gather for my favourite holiday!"
"Isn't this holiday about the colonizers that came here and murdered the Indigenous people, then proceeded to take over the country and their culture and kidnap their children and put them in horrible torturous residential schools that didn't close until the late nineties?" Venus asked, tilting her head to the side. "That's what we learned in school this year."
Nana blinked, speechless. "Well- I- I just mean…um, the food is...good."
The room fell silent once more. Ruby chewed the last piece of her turkey and set her fork down on the soft linen napkins, looking around the table. Pretty much everyone was finished except for Rylie, who liked to take an agonizingly long time eating her food.
"Alright, everyone can bring their plates to the kitchen and we'll have the pie that Daisy generously brought in about half an hour." Her mother declared, clapping her hands to break the awfully awkward silence.
Everyone made their way to the kitchen in a single-file line - something Ruby's classmates had never learned how to do - to clear their plates, as per her mother's orders.
After clearing their plates, everyone crashed in the living room, everyone taking their own separate couch or chair. Ruby yawned, read to take a quick nap before having some delicious pie…
"Ruby? Do you mind showing your cousins your room? I'm sure they'd love to see it!" Her mother suggested. Ruby blinked one eye open, sighing and sitting up.
"Sure thing," she said, yawning again and stretching her arms up lazily.
"Yaaay!" Venus squealed, jumping up and dashing upstairs. Navy trailed behind, but slower than his sister.
When they got upstairs, Ruby went over to her door, and with a quick pump of the handle, they were inside.
"Woahhhhww!" Venus exclaimed, cocoa-brown eyes wide with wonder. "So this is what a real teenager's bedroom looks like."
Ruby laughed. "Haven't you seen Navy's bedroom?"
"Well, yeah." Venus frowned, sticking her tongue out. "But he's still in middle school, so he doesn't count. You're in high school. You get to sing and dance through the hallways, and star in the talent show, and battle with the popular girls!"
Ruby got the feeling that Venus had been raised to believe that High School Musical was the most accurate representation of high school that TV could offer. Not that she could judge, she got most of her ideas about school from Disney Channel as well.
Venus's eyes seemed to grow larger and larger the more she looked around Ruby's room, marvelling at the various shiny posters, her colourful LED lights, and the tiny lime-green cactus she had on her shelf. With the cactus being a prickly creature, Ruby had naturally named it Bonnie.
And then, just as Ruby thought that Venus couldn't get any more amazed by her messy room, Venus opened her leopard-print makeup box.
"Oh my gosh~! You have so much makeup! Mom never lets me have anything besides lip gloss and mascara, and that's only on special occasions." Venus gasped, rummaging through the box for something she liked.
"Venus wants to be a makeup designer when she grows up. Either that or a ballet dancer." Navy told Ruby.
Suddenly, Venus whirled around, an idea beginning to form in her eyes. "Heyyy...Ruby? Could I maybe possibly perhaps...do your makeup? Pretty pretty please? I promise I'll be good-"
Ruby cut off her rambling. "Sure! I don't mind. Not like I'm going to be seeing anyone tonight." She grabbed her wheeled stool that she usually did homework or art on and wheeled it over to her shimmering mirror, sitting down to allow Venus to do whatever the heck she wanted.
"Great!" Venus clapped her hands together. "Now, let's see...Navy, could you pass me the lipstick? The red one. And now let's see what we could do with your eyebrows…"
Uh oh, what's she doing to my eyebrows, Ruby thought to herself, but it was in more of a joking sense. She trusted Venus enough not to ruin her face, and even if she looked stupid, at least it'd only be them who saw it!
"Close your eyes," Venus instructed, and Ruby complied, her eyes fluttering shut. She could feel the soft tickle of eyeshadow being dusted over her lids, and the press of lipstick over her lips, her Cupid's bow turning upwards in a slight smile.
"Don't smile! It's hard to apply this stuff when you smile." Navy told her quickly. Ruby did as she was told and settled back into a neutral position. She could feel the small scratching of a hard dark eyebrow pencil just above her eyes - sort of weird, considering her eyebrows were already thicker than she'd like and really didn't need much pencilling.
"Alright, I've finished!" Venus chirped joyfully. "You can open your eyes now."
Ruby opened her eyes and...wow. She sort of looked like a clown. Of course, she'd never say that to her cousins.
Her cheeks were dusted red with an uneven blush that was fire-engine-red in some spots and a lovely salmon colour in others. As a heavy contrast, her eyes were a deep shade of cobalt blue, her lashes dark and sooty with mascara. Her lips almost matched her cheeks in redness and thickness. But, probably the best part of it all, was the hugely cartoony thick dark eyebrows that had been drawn on by the unsteady hand of her cousins.
"I'm speechless!" Ruby answered truthfully, laughing at the silly makeup plastered all over her face. Navy was doubled over laughing, possibly the most action Ruby had seen from him all night, and Venus looked like she was trying to force down a giggle as well.
Ruby was about to comment on the eyebrows when suddenly, Wannabe by the Spice Girls started to blast loudly from her phone on top of her bed.
"Oh, that's my ringtone. Don't pick up, oka-"
"Hello?" Venus, choosing not to listen to her older cousin, spoke, clutching the red phone tightly to her ear.
"No, I'm not Ruby." Venus said quickly to whoever was on the phone. She turned to Ruby, mouthing do you want to talk? Ruby shook her head vigorously, making a slashing motion across her neck.
"She'd love to talk! Here, I'll put the camera on." Venus answered, taking the phone away from her ear and tapping a few buttons to turn on the camera and flip it over to Ruby's makeup-covered face.
A giggle, then a longer laugh of surprise echoed from the phone, one which Ruby recognized as...Myah. Of freaking course.
"...Hey, Myah. Like my makeup?"
~lll~
Rosalie leaned over, scrubbing cranberry juice off one of the plates with a blue cloth, the warm water from the sink's tap running down her fingers. Jared was taking a phone call from work, which unfortunately left her with the task of washing the dishes. At least there weren't too many dishes…
"Hello there, Rosalie." Nana said, her shiny black formal shoes making loud tapping sounds on the beige tile floor. "Doing chores, I see."
"Yep, great observation." Rosalie answered quietly, scrubbing harder at the plate. They stood in silence for a while, Rosalie getting more and more frustrated as time went on. Why is she just looking over me? Why can't she say something or go away or literally do anything but this?!
"I notice you've painted the room orange." Nana observed.
"Yeah, we got it done a few months ago. Nice, isn't it?"
"Mm." Nana didn't say anything, but her eyebrows shot up. Rosalie sighed, getting back to her dishwashing.
"You know, I don't understand how Daisy manages two kids without a father. I mean, she's quite brave to do so, but I can't figure out why she wouldn't ask for my help, or anything!" Nana laughed lightly, still standing behind her.
"Well, Daisy's a grown adult, and she's plenty good at raising those two," Rosalie replied, an edge to her tone. "I mean, I raised those three without a father for a while!"
"Yes, well, I'm just saying that the kids usually turn out...better if there's a second adult around." Nana said, carelessly ignoring how insensitive that was.
Rosalie rolled her eyes. Uh-huh. Better. Thanks.
Having finished washing the plate, set it on top of the stack of already-cleaned dishes. Nana leaned to the side, observing the plates. Rosalie closed her eyes, hoping that her mother would just leave her alone.
"You missed a spot."
Rosalie slammed the cloth down. It squished water all over the counter and soaked her shirt sleeve, but she didn't care. That was a tiny nitpick, but the last straw for her.
"Oh, my God! Mom! Do you seriously have to scrutinize every single little thing that I do?! Honestly, it's so annoying!" Rosalie bursted out, waving her hands in the air.
Nana gasped, backing away. "How dare you talk to me in that way! Apologize, right this instant."
"No, Mom. You apologize! Apologize for all the passive-aggressive comments towards me and Daisy! Apologize for all the judging directed at literal children! Apologize for barely contacting us for four years!" Rosalie yelled, anger filling her tone. She usually never raised her voice, but this was going too far!
Nana opened her mouth to say something, but closed it, hurt striking in her brown eyes, so much like her own. Nana took a tentative step forward, her features softening.
"I…" She trailed off, blinking quickly. "I didn't realize it hurt you that much…" Nana spoke softly, avoiding her daughter's gaze.
"Yeah, well, you did. You hurt all of us. Not just me or Daze, but my kids and her kids too." Rosalie snapped, still angry. "When Raven was born, you wouldn't visit much, but you'd at least try to call. And you visited Navy and Venus when they were born. But then when we adopted Ruby, you visited like, three times."
Nana looked away, keeping her stubborn posture. "I still called. At least once a month, if not more. And I came for Christmas."
"Yeah, you did." Rosalie mumbled. Then she looked up again, her eyes burning with an umber flame. "Until Rylie was born. You cut all contact with me. You changed your email address! Rylie literally came up to me two months ago, asking why all her classmates had a grandma, and she didn't." She sniffed. "And I wondered the exact same thing."
Nana's eyes, usually cold and hard, filled with tears. Rosalie's were the same, glittering like stars in the sky.
"Maybe you were disappointed in me. Heck, so was I. But why, why did you have to take it out on them? Was I really such a bad person that you couldn't even call once?"
A wave of silence washed over them, crushing their words before they could even make it out of their mouths. They both stood there, alone with nothing but their thoughts. They were physically only a few feet apart, but to them, it felt like they were on separate planets, calling but with no answer.
Finally, Nana broke the silence.
"I didn't mean…" She stopped herself. "I never wanted to…" Again, she stopped herself and sighed, running a pale hand over her face. "There really isn't any good excuse for...for what I did. And I'd say that I'm sorry, but you wouldn't take that, would you?"
Rosalie silently shook her head.
"I guess I was... disappointed. Since you and Daisy were born, I always had this vision put in my head of the perfect daughters. They would get straight A's, top of their class, both marry perfect, hard-working, rich people, and have perfect children. But then Daisy chose not to have a partner, and you adopted instead, and...I guess it messed with my ideal image of you. And then Ross died, and you went and had Rylie."
Nana hesitated. "I'm not going to say it was irresponsible, because you already know how I feel about that. But I suppose that was the last straw for me, and I figured that if I couldn't change you, I'd just have to...leave you." Nana frowned. "It sounds rather harsh now that I say it aloud."
"That's because it is," Rosalie responded tartly.
Nana paused. "Oh. Well, that's why."
Rosalie blinked, trying to process all of the information that was just thrown at her. "So then...if you were so disappointed, then why did you send me this email?"
Nana sighed, the lines on her forehead creasing. "Well, I suppose it had a lot to do with your father's death." She sucked in a low breath, preparing herself, and as much as Rosalie disliked her mother at the moment, she did feel bad.
"When he passed away, I realized how little time I have left here. Why should I be spending it moping around all alone, when I could be spending important time with my family?" Nana reasoned.
Rosalie smiled softly. "That's true." Then she shook herself. "But still. I get that you're trying to apologize. And I appreciate that. Really, I do."
"But…" Nana offered.
Rosalie grit her teeth. "I know. That's what I was about to say. If you really are sorry, then I want you to make more of an effort to visit us. Talk to the kids. Talk to me and Daisy. And for goodness sakes, stop judging us and the children!"
Nana gave her a small smile back. "I'll try…thank you, Rosie. For giving me a second chance."
Rosalie's heart swelled with happiness from the nickname. She knew it would take time. She knew that some annoying parts of her mother would never go away. But in all honesty she didn't care in the slightest.
Because she had her mother back.
A/N
Yayayay, happy ending!
My friend and I took a 'which fnaf character are you?' quiz. She got William Afton, which is sort of concerning. And I got everyone's favourite red clown murder pigtail girl...
Curious Baby!
Yeah, I get the feeling the person who made that quiz either didn't have English as their first language, was 2 years old, didn't have much knowledge of the games, or autocorrect was being a beach.
Security Breach is coming out in 5 days! Who else is excited? Let me know what part of the game you are most excited for!
Have an amazing day/night!
~Ghost the toast