Settling In

Getting the kitchen into a usable state will be relatively easy, but will still take a few days. The smell of pizza competes with but does not overpower the old house smell. This place is in the woods. Gurlberg isn’t large or noisy, but there’s still quieter away from it. It’s deeply still in the moments when the frogs aren’t popping off, and much darker at night up on this hill than in town. That makes things sort of cozy as you all eat together, standing in the kitchen, using paper plates and drinking beer from cans.

“You can really do all this?” Aunt Nadia asks. She’s still dressed for work in her blue pantsuit. Her short boss-lady haircut works for her, but you don’t love the dye job. It’s not goth-black, but it’s too dark. It doesn’t look right on her. She and your mother are almost identical otherwise, even if they’re a few years apart in age.

“I think so,” you say, gazing at your beer can, lost in thought. You can’t stop calculating and second-guessing. You have some time, but the job is huge.

Nadia looks impressed. Tracy looks proud. “He’s good at fixing stuff.”

“Is it going to matter for you if people find out you’re here?” Delta asks Nadia.

Nadia wipes her mouth with a napkin. “What? That I’m squatting in the old CCL House? I don’t know why anyone would care.”

“It’s not squatting,” Rey grumbles. “It’s camping out.”

“Not sure that’s better. But the issue in this election is bikers and drugs. Nobody cares where I’m living. This one will be decided by whichever way the social media wind blows, and I don’t have a good way to reliably influence that. Where I’m staying isn’t gonna move the needle.”

“Our bikers aren’t even the ones running that fight club, and it’s outside the county. It’s so dumb that they’re making this about you,” your mother says, shaking her head.

“Yeah,” Delta agrees, chewing as she nods.

Delilah Powers strolls in and picks up her paper plate. “OK, I know you’re all complaining about how bad this house is, but that giant, evil bathtub with the claw feet is actually cool. I’m pretty sure it’s the same one from Nightmare Before Christmas.” She’s slim, and she’d be pretty if she would take off her chunky glasses. She and Rey have been together for almost a year. “I’m contractually obligated to remind everyone that Tim Burton didn’t direct that, some other guy did.”

Delta looks pitying. “Delilah, you are the whitest person of color ever.”

“No, I am not, Meri is,” Delilah fires back before Tracy can chide your sister. “Dum dum.”

“Good comeback, babe. Sick burn,” Rey says, slipping her arm around Delilah’s waist and kissing the top of her head.

“Yeah. You got her good,” you say.

Delilah does a fist pump. “Boom. Got’em.”

“Nerd,” Delta says.

“With my kids, by now, someone would’ve thrown a juice box,” Nadia says to your mother.

“They got surprisingly civilized since they all started college,” Tracy replies. She has a relaxed glow about her that you haven’t seen in a while. She’s really happy to be here. This plan has taken a heavy weight from her shoulders.

“Civilized? Him? Tell Aunt Nadia about the time we thought he was crashing out, but he was actually—”

“We don’t need to do that,” you cut in.

“I know his reputation.” Nadia’s staring at you. There’s no judgment. Your aunt has never been around much despite living half a mile away. But she’s always been cool.

“Aunt Nadia, obviously nobody has explained to you that we are required to slut shame him at all times,” Delta says. “Do you know how many times I’ve had to listen to him boning some cheerleader through the wall?”

“That’s why god invented headphones,” Nadia says, popping open another beer. “Speaking of, we’re going to need some fans or something. It’s gonna be hot, and I can’t sleep without some white noise, you know?”