"Meeting" the Cousins

As "Emily" made her way to the restaurant with her seemingly new acquaintance, Jessie decided it would be helpful to give her a run through of the three cousins she would be meeting that evening. Maisie had known them their whole lives, of course, but figured it would be interesting to find out what her daughter really thought of them.

"So three of my cousins are coming out tonight and, if you can believe it, they're all going to be turning eighteen this week" Jessie explained "You're invited to their joint party on Saturday, by the way, it should be pretty wild"

"All three were born in the same week? That's crazy" Maisie pretended to be surprised.

"Yeah, we're a pretty crazy family, honestly" Jessie laughed "How is yours?"

"My family certainly has its moments of madness too" Maisie smirked a little to herself before her daughter began her summary.

"So anyway, there is Tammy"

"She's my Aunt Holly's daughter, and I absolutely love her. She's really sweet and smart and just the nicest person ever once you get to know her. She may take a little time to warm up to you though, she's always a little guarded around new people at first. Also, she doesn't drink. So Saturday should be interesting for her"

"Then there is Haley"

"She's the eldest of my Aunt Mel's three daughters, and she's pretty cool. She's just a good person and very easy to get on with. She'll probably be the one who'll be friendliest to you initially. It is literally her birthday today, actually, so I guess this meal is a little in her honour as well as yours, kind of a joint celebration."

"And finally, for tonight at least, there is Kelly"

"She is the older of my Aunt Kylie's two daughters. Honestly, I'm really fond of her, but she won't be everyone's cup of tea. Sometimes she can act like a bit of a dick and seem quite rude and abrasive, but it's just her sense of humour, and she doesn't mean it. Apparently her Mom was an actual nightmare at that age, and she's lovely now, so Kel will probably grow out of it. Anyway, the best way to deal with her is to give as good as you get. She respects that"

"Thanks for the intel. And what about your fiance?" Maisie probed.

"Craig, yeah, he'll be there too. It's all been a bit of a fairy tale really. We were best friends for years and I never thought about him in a romantic sense, like, at all. But a couple of months ago I just kind of fell for him"

"Oh, so what changed?" Maisie asked.

"Honestly, I don't know" Jessie shrugged "It was the strangest thing, it was like suddenly something just clicked for me and I saw him in a totally different light. He helped me out with something not long before, just family stuff, and he was really cool about it. So maybe that helped"

That all felt pretty inconclusive to Maisie. Sure, something randomly clicking out of nowhere could have been down to the influence of the curse. Then again, sometimes love was just like that. It had happened to Maisie herself almost exactly that way two decades ago. She really had nothing incriminating to report back at this point, but she would be watching Craig's behaviour very closely at the meal.

As the pair continued to talk, Maisie couldn't help but feel a strong sense of pride at the young woman she had raised. Even if Emily had been real, her familial link to Jessie would have been extremely distant. Yet she had been warmly welcomed and instantly made to feel fully included and part of the family. Jessie's assessment of her cousins had been fair as well, though her comments about Kelly were interesting. The girl had never been anything other than well mannered and respectful around Maisie when she was her Aunt rather than another teenager, but this should be an education on what her younger relatives were like when their guard was down. Still, she didn't like the idea of giving attitude back to a kid that she loved. It was also true what Jessie had said about Kylie. She had been a monster as a teenager, and Maisie now felt guilty about how much she used to hate her. The two were extremely close these days, and Kylie was as decent and generous a person as anyone could hope to meet. Maybe that particular branch of the family tree just had a rebellious streak it needed to get out of it's system at a young age.

"Okay, this is it, looks like we're first to arrive!" Jessie smiled as they approached a restaurant Maisie had been taking her daughter to practically since she could walk "I promise, you're going to love it. I personally recommend the Buffalo wings"