Georg stared at Maëlys, as if trying to make sure she was still there. What was Maëlys doing here at the hotel on this vacation? She lived nowhere near Florida, and he was pretty sure he’d forbidden Sebbie from having her family come to this vacation. He didn’t want Sebbie to spend thousands of dollars more on this vacation than he already had, and anyway, as much as Maëlys was his friend, he was ready to spend vacation with only his family. And Elian and Ulmer and the Alkavovs for some reason. And Monroe, because of course Monroe had to come!
Maëlys blinked, taken aback for a moment, then immediately put on her carefully-practiced surprised face. What was the story that she and Sebastian had agreed on, again? He was supposed to be there to back her up and act innocent when her family encountered his at breakfast tomorrow, a sudden encounter with a wild husband wasn’t in the plan! “Oh! Von Wolff, what are you doing here? What a coincidence! My British relatives are visiting and they all wanted to visit Disney World, so we took a trip. Is Sebastian here with you?”
Georg rolled his eyes. “Oh, yeah, I’m sure this was just a coincidence. All of us coming to the same hotel at the same time? You and Sebastian couldn’t have come up with a better explanation than ‘it’s a coincidence’? You really expected me to believe that?” He frowned slightly, thinking. “Who all was in on this? Does Monroe know?”
Maëlys raised an eyebrow. “I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about. Disney World is a very common vacation destination. And it is a very nice hotel. Is Monroe here, then?” This was a genuine question, as she hadn’t realized that he was included in Sebastian’s family vacation.
“Of course Monroe is here! Where else would he be?” said Georg confidently. “He’s staying in our room. But seriously, I don’t know why you and Sebastian just didn’t tell me that you weren’t going to listen to what I’d asked. I mean, it’s not that much of a big deal.” He did feel kind of hurt that Sebastian hadn’t listened to him, they could have just gone on a vacation with Maëlys’s family next year or had some sort of giant multi family reunion at a later date.
“Don’t worry, I don’t intend to infringe on your family time. There are enough of my relatives running around that I’m going to have a hard enough time dealing with them.” Maëlys smiled encouragingly at Von Wolff, tucking a stray strand of hair back into her hijab. “You haven’t met my two youngest siblings before, have you? We’ll probably see you at breakfast tomorrow, assuming that you all are breakfasting here at the hotel.” She knew very well that they were planning to do so, but it seemed like a good idea to at least maintain plausible deniability.
“Oh yeah, I know about that. Apparently Sebastian had to wrestle Xander into coming, and Adrianna threw a fit on the first day.” He tried to think if he remembered meeting Maelys’s youngest siblings. He didn’t really remember it? But he often forgot things that actually happened, so he could have. “I don’t think I’ve met them. Yeah, we’ll all have breakfast here at the hotel. It looked like it was pretty good when we were walking past there yesterday, all the food so far has been really nice.”
Maëlys snapped her fingers, remembering her current quest. “Oh, right! I was just on my way to the dining area to look for some errant niblings. Where are you heading?”
“I’m going to Damien’s room to pick up my pills for tonight. I don’t know why they’re there, apparently Sebastian put them pointlessly with his things.” He groaned. “I’ll have to encounter Markus, eugh.”
Maëlys winced. “Ah, good luck. Well, I’d better make sure that the kids haven’t run off and joined the circus or something. See you later!”
“Yeah, see you at breakfast!” said Georg, waving to Maelys.
Maëlys blinked, taken aback for a moment, then immediately put on her carefully-practiced surprised face. What was the story that she and Sebastian had agreed on, again? He was supposed to be there to back her up and act innocent when her family encountered his at breakfast tomorrow, a sudden encounter with a wild husband wasn’t in the plan! “Oh! Von Wolff, what are you doing here? What a coincidence! My British relatives are visiting and they all wanted to visit Disney World, so we took a trip. Is Sebastian here with you?”
Georg rolled his eyes. “Oh, yeah, I’m sure this was just a coincidence. All of us coming to the same hotel at the same time? You and Sebastian couldn’t have come up with a better explanation than ‘it’s a coincidence’? You really expected me to believe that?” He frowned slightly, thinking. “Who all was in on this? Does Monroe know?”
Maëlys raised an eyebrow. “I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about. Disney World is a very common vacation destination. And it is a very nice hotel. Is Monroe here, then?” This was a genuine question, as she hadn’t realized that he was included in Sebastian’s family vacation.
“Of course Monroe is here! Where else would he be?” said Georg confidently. “He’s staying in our room. But seriously, I don’t know why you and Sebastian just didn’t tell me that you weren’t going to listen to what I’d asked. I mean, it’s not that much of a big deal.” He did feel kind of hurt that Sebastian hadn’t listened to him, they could have just gone on a vacation with Maëlys’s family next year or had some sort of giant multi family reunion at a later date.
“Don’t worry, I don’t intend to infringe on your family time. There are enough of my relatives running around that I’m going to have a hard enough time dealing with them.” Maëlys smiled encouragingly at Von Wolff, tucking a stray strand of hair back into her hijab. “You haven’t met my two youngest siblings before, have you? We’ll probably see you at breakfast tomorrow, assuming that you all are breakfasting here at the hotel.” She knew very well that they were planning to do so, but it seemed like a good idea to at least maintain plausible deniability.
“Oh yeah, I know about that. Apparently Sebastian had to wrestle Xander into coming, and Adrianna threw a fit on the first day.” He tried to think if he remembered meeting Maelys’s youngest siblings. He didn’t really remember it? But he often forgot things that actually happened, so he could have. “I don’t think I’ve met them. Yeah, we’ll all have breakfast here at the hotel. It looked like it was pretty good when we were walking past there yesterday, all the food so far has been really nice.”
Maëlys snapped her fingers, remembering her current quest. “Oh, right! I was just on my way to the dining area to look for some errant niblings. Where are you heading?”
“I’m going to Damien’s room to pick up my pills for tonight. I don’t know why they’re there, apparently Sebastian put them pointlessly with his things.” He groaned. “I’ll have to encounter Markus, eugh.”
Maëlys winced. “Ah, good luck. Well, I’d better make sure that the kids haven’t run off and joined the circus or something. See you later!”
“Yeah, see you at breakfast!” said Georg, waving to Maelys.
---
After nearly half an hour of attempting to coordinate all the family members, gather them in one place, and get them to listen to him, Sebastian finally had everyone moving towards the hotel’s breakfast buffet. Georg had mentioned to him about his random encounter with Maëlys last night, and while he was disappointed that he hadn’t been able to truly surprise him with the sight of Maëlys and her entire family showing up in the breakfast area, he was at least happy that he seemed mostly fine with it. He expected Georg to be quite angry, and happily he wasn’t. Hopefully both families could enjoy a nice breakfast together.
After waiting in line for a while, everyone had gotten their breakfast and sat down at their tables. Sebastian sat with Georg, Dominik, and Monroe, making sure to leave room for Maëlys and her family at the table they were sitting at, a large one near the front of the room. Daniys, Brigitta and the children were sitting at a table near a corner, and Xander and Cassandra were sitting at a table with their spouses and children, Elian, Ulmer, and Desta at a nearby table.
Oh dear. Kir was sitting at a table by himself, looking incredibly hung over, glaring at the table where the other Alkavovs sat. He only had tomato juice and some sort of spinach salad. Adrianna and Messel were also sitting at a table, apparently showing each other things on their phones, and Markus and Damien sat with their spouses and Lukas at a table that was uncomfortably close to the one where Sebastian was sitting.
Pleased that his family seemed to be happily sitting and eating breakfast (except for Kir, who was unhappily sitting and eating salad), Sebastian waited for the arrival of Maelys and her family.
For Maëlys’s family, getting everyone awake, dressed, and down to breakfast was a trial. Tam’s luggage was still missing, so he had to borrow clothes from Demiel, who was slightly shorter and significantly broader, giving Tam’s outfit the odd look of being too big and too small at the same time. Avery lost her phone and spent thirty minutes tearing through her room while her siblings and cousins yelled at her for touching their stuff. Finally, everyone has what they needed, and they gathered and swarmed like a terrifying plague of old down to the breakfast area where they trickled through the buffet, emerging with omelets, french toast, and assorted foodstuffs.
Maëlys, of course, headed for Sebastian’s table along with Zakele, her siblings, and her siblings’ partners. Spotting Daniys in the corner, she made a mental note to introduce her to Zinnia and Tam later, so that they could talk music. Vara wanted to sit by Bara, so he, his fathers, and his siblings went to sit at the table with Xander and Cassandra’s families, Morti happily dragging her great-grandmother along with one hand and signing with the other. Quin headed for a quieter table with people he knew, choosing to sit by Elian and Ulmer, while Sol took her sister, Seraphina, Ilana, Daisy, Trish, Avery, and Aaron, and descended on Kir’s table, which had enough space for the entire crowd. Horatio and Seraphina found a small empty side table at which to sit with Kevin and Arthur.
After waiting in line for a while, everyone had gotten their breakfast and sat down at their tables. Sebastian sat with Georg, Dominik, and Monroe, making sure to leave room for Maëlys and her family at the table they were sitting at, a large one near the front of the room. Daniys, Brigitta and the children were sitting at a table near a corner, and Xander and Cassandra were sitting at a table with their spouses and children, Elian, Ulmer, and Desta at a nearby table.
Oh dear. Kir was sitting at a table by himself, looking incredibly hung over, glaring at the table where the other Alkavovs sat. He only had tomato juice and some sort of spinach salad. Adrianna and Messel were also sitting at a table, apparently showing each other things on their phones, and Markus and Damien sat with their spouses and Lukas at a table that was uncomfortably close to the one where Sebastian was sitting.
Pleased that his family seemed to be happily sitting and eating breakfast (except for Kir, who was unhappily sitting and eating salad), Sebastian waited for the arrival of Maelys and her family.
For Maëlys’s family, getting everyone awake, dressed, and down to breakfast was a trial. Tam’s luggage was still missing, so he had to borrow clothes from Demiel, who was slightly shorter and significantly broader, giving Tam’s outfit the odd look of being too big and too small at the same time. Avery lost her phone and spent thirty minutes tearing through her room while her siblings and cousins yelled at her for touching their stuff. Finally, everyone has what they needed, and they gathered and swarmed like a terrifying plague of old down to the breakfast area where they trickled through the buffet, emerging with omelets, french toast, and assorted foodstuffs.
Maëlys, of course, headed for Sebastian’s table along with Zakele, her siblings, and her siblings’ partners. Spotting Daniys in the corner, she made a mental note to introduce her to Zinnia and Tam later, so that they could talk music. Vara wanted to sit by Bara, so he, his fathers, and his siblings went to sit at the table with Xander and Cassandra’s families, Morti happily dragging her great-grandmother along with one hand and signing with the other. Quin headed for a quieter table with people he knew, choosing to sit by Elian and Ulmer, while Sol took her sister, Seraphina, Ilana, Daisy, Trish, Avery, and Aaron, and descended on Kir’s table, which had enough space for the entire crowd. Horatio and Seraphina found a small empty side table at which to sit with Kevin and Arthur.
---
Sebbie let out a fake gasp, feigning total surprise. “My goodness! Look who it is! Maëlys, what in the world are you doing here with your whole entire family? What a total, pleasant surprise!”
Georg rolled his eyes. “Okay, who did you think was going to believe that? And who was that amazing performance for? Dominik? I’m pretty sure he-er, they, can put two and two together, you know.”
“This is a total and pleasant surprise!” said Monroe in an even voice. “I wasn’t even expecting it at all. This vacation just gets better and better.”
Dominik looked up from their pancakes at Maëlys and her family. “Hello Mrs. Maëlys. And hello Mrs. Maëlys’s family. Is this… supposed to be a surprise? I kind of expected you would show up at some point.”
Maëlys hugged Sebbie, kissing him on the cheek before claiming a seat. “Yes, I am a bit like a bad penny that way, aren’t I? It’s lovely to see you all.” To her family, she said, “Sit down, you lot! Sebastian, Von Wolff, you’ve met my brother El before, and of course my wonderful husband. These are El’s partners, Zolin and Andrelli, and this is my sister Zinnia and her husband Tam, and my brother Daniel and his wife Erika. For those who don’t know them, this is Sebastian and his husband Von Wolff, and their child Dominik, and this is my dear friend Monroe.”
Elias nodded and grinned as he sat down, sprawling in his seat. “Nice to see you! It’s been a while.” Zolin and Andrelli sat beside him, waving greetings.
Daniel nodded his hello, and Erika said, “We’ve heard so much about you from Maëlys! So nice to meet you at last.”
“It’s very nice to finally meet you.” said Sebastian. “I’m so glad we could finally meet and have our families be together.”
“Yeah, it’s great.” said Georg, attempting his best to sound very enthusiastic. “Basically most of the people I know or have ever heard of are now here.” Monroe didn’t stay anything but waved hello, as he had a very large slice of cheese in his mouth.
“It’s lovely to meet you all! And aren’t you darling!” Zinnia said to Dominik. “How old are you, love?”
Tam eyed Sebastian. “I heard you’re a one for shopping. I lost a lot of luggage on the way, and I need to buy some new clothes, but I don’t know many of these American stores and brands… Any recommendations?”
Sebastian suddenly completely abandoned his breakfast and begun talking to Tam about all sorts of clothes. It was most likely that he wouldn’t stop or remember his breakfast for hours unless interrupted.
Dominik smiled at Zinnia, attempting very hard to remember her name and the name of all of the people he’d just been introduced to later. They hoped they wouldn’t be quizzed on this later. “Um… I’m eight.” said Dominik. “My birthday was last month. On the eighth.”
Zinnia beamed. “I remember when my children were your age! It’s such a wonderful time, though my youngest is in high school now. What year are you in, love?”
“I’m in second grade.” replied Dominik. “I like it a lot better than first grade, though I go to a different school now. My teacher is a lot nicer.”
Andrelli politely asked Von Wolff, “Is Dominik your only child?” Being a more recent addition to the extended Maëlys family, he was less familiar with the terror that was Sebastian’s family tree.
Von Wolff shook his head with a soft, wheezing laugh. “Oh gods no. Sebbie and I have five.. no, six more. There’s Ehimay, the oldest, he’s adopted. I have no clue where he was, he was supposed to meet us for breakfast but he didn’t. He has two kids, Isha and Alome; Isha’s Nadir’s boyfriend. Xander’s over there, he’s a doctor. He has two kids, Sevvie and Jiro. They’re around Dominik’s age. Cassie and Lukie are both chemistry professors at UC-Berkeley. Lukas has two kids, Markus and Damien, and they’re both married and have kids, Adrianna and Messel respectively.” Von Wolff took a deep breath, then continued. “Anyway, Cassie’s married to Danill, they’re both sitting with Xander and Illiam and the kids, and they have one daughter, Bara, though they have been talking about having a second kid. Finally, there’s Daniys, and Daniys has no kids. She’s over there with her girlfriend, whatserface.”
Sebastian popped out of his conversation momentarily to correct his husband. “Brigitta von Brandt, dear. You can’t just call her whatserface.”
“There’s me, too, dad,” added Dominik. “You forgot me.”
“Yeah, well, we already know you exist,” replied von Wolff.
Andrelli’s eyes had gone just slightly wider, this flood of information apparently not having been what he was expecting. Like Dominik, he was panicking internally at the number of names he now felt obligated to remember. Elias has started silently smirking as soon as Andrelli asked the fateful question, and now he laughed outright at his partner’s expression. Zolin chuckled too, and commented, “Okay, I’m going to go with ‘hey you’ in all interactions from here on out, because that is too many names. Even with you two, so that everything is fair.” He pointed to his partners.
Zinnia said, “What a big family! Do you like having a large family, Dominik? We have a pretty big family too, but none of my children have given me the gift of grandchildren yet.” She sighed, this clearly being a point of sorrow for her. “But our Trish is engaged, at least, so maybe soon…”
Dominik looked embarrassed before shaking their head. “Not really. There are too many people and too many names and people get mad at me when I forget them. They’re all really nice people except for Markus, who I guess is my nephew even though it feels like he should be my uncle. But it’s really hard to remember everyone. Maybe if I was born earlier I’d remember them all.”
“I only got mad at you once, Dominik, and I apologized, and it was because you thought that your own sister Cassandra was your aunt.” said Von Wolff. “Whose sibling did you think she was?”
Dominik shook their head. “It was like when I thought Monroe was my uncle. But he’s not really related to us at all.”
“I’m your nephew’s father-in-law. That makes me your…. your….” Monroe paused, not really sure what that was. Probably not actually a relation at all.
Maëlys waved a hand. “You don’t need to be related to someone to be an aunt or uncle in spirit.”
“Oh, great, make all this family stuff more bloody complicated,” Erika teased. “I didn’t sign up for this, I got married and had two children and done.” Daniel grabbed her hand and kissed it, startling a laugh from her.
Zinnia said, “Well, I adore having a big family. I think you’ll probably like it more once you have more niblings and cousins your age, Dominik, dear. Speaking of which, where are your grandkids, Lys? I didn’t get a chance to see them in the rush this morning.”
Zakele pointed. “They’re over there with their dad and your mother, Nia.” Seeing him pointing, Morti waved, then went back to signing excitedly with her table. Her dress today was pink with skulls and crossbones sewn on, another product of Isha’s customization according to his daughter’s tastes.
Georg rolled his eyes. “Okay, who did you think was going to believe that? And who was that amazing performance for? Dominik? I’m pretty sure he-er, they, can put two and two together, you know.”
“This is a total and pleasant surprise!” said Monroe in an even voice. “I wasn’t even expecting it at all. This vacation just gets better and better.”
Dominik looked up from their pancakes at Maëlys and her family. “Hello Mrs. Maëlys. And hello Mrs. Maëlys’s family. Is this… supposed to be a surprise? I kind of expected you would show up at some point.”
Maëlys hugged Sebbie, kissing him on the cheek before claiming a seat. “Yes, I am a bit like a bad penny that way, aren’t I? It’s lovely to see you all.” To her family, she said, “Sit down, you lot! Sebastian, Von Wolff, you’ve met my brother El before, and of course my wonderful husband. These are El’s partners, Zolin and Andrelli, and this is my sister Zinnia and her husband Tam, and my brother Daniel and his wife Erika. For those who don’t know them, this is Sebastian and his husband Von Wolff, and their child Dominik, and this is my dear friend Monroe.”
Elias nodded and grinned as he sat down, sprawling in his seat. “Nice to see you! It’s been a while.” Zolin and Andrelli sat beside him, waving greetings.
Daniel nodded his hello, and Erika said, “We’ve heard so much about you from Maëlys! So nice to meet you at last.”
“It’s very nice to finally meet you.” said Sebastian. “I’m so glad we could finally meet and have our families be together.”
“Yeah, it’s great.” said Georg, attempting his best to sound very enthusiastic. “Basically most of the people I know or have ever heard of are now here.” Monroe didn’t stay anything but waved hello, as he had a very large slice of cheese in his mouth.
“It’s lovely to meet you all! And aren’t you darling!” Zinnia said to Dominik. “How old are you, love?”
Tam eyed Sebastian. “I heard you’re a one for shopping. I lost a lot of luggage on the way, and I need to buy some new clothes, but I don’t know many of these American stores and brands… Any recommendations?”
Sebastian suddenly completely abandoned his breakfast and begun talking to Tam about all sorts of clothes. It was most likely that he wouldn’t stop or remember his breakfast for hours unless interrupted.
Dominik smiled at Zinnia, attempting very hard to remember her name and the name of all of the people he’d just been introduced to later. They hoped they wouldn’t be quizzed on this later. “Um… I’m eight.” said Dominik. “My birthday was last month. On the eighth.”
Zinnia beamed. “I remember when my children were your age! It’s such a wonderful time, though my youngest is in high school now. What year are you in, love?”
“I’m in second grade.” replied Dominik. “I like it a lot better than first grade, though I go to a different school now. My teacher is a lot nicer.”
Andrelli politely asked Von Wolff, “Is Dominik your only child?” Being a more recent addition to the extended Maëlys family, he was less familiar with the terror that was Sebastian’s family tree.
Von Wolff shook his head with a soft, wheezing laugh. “Oh gods no. Sebbie and I have five.. no, six more. There’s Ehimay, the oldest, he’s adopted. I have no clue where he was, he was supposed to meet us for breakfast but he didn’t. He has two kids, Isha and Alome; Isha’s Nadir’s boyfriend. Xander’s over there, he’s a doctor. He has two kids, Sevvie and Jiro. They’re around Dominik’s age. Cassie and Lukie are both chemistry professors at UC-Berkeley. Lukas has two kids, Markus and Damien, and they’re both married and have kids, Adrianna and Messel respectively.” Von Wolff took a deep breath, then continued. “Anyway, Cassie’s married to Danill, they’re both sitting with Xander and Illiam and the kids, and they have one daughter, Bara, though they have been talking about having a second kid. Finally, there’s Daniys, and Daniys has no kids. She’s over there with her girlfriend, whatserface.”
Sebastian popped out of his conversation momentarily to correct his husband. “Brigitta von Brandt, dear. You can’t just call her whatserface.”
“There’s me, too, dad,” added Dominik. “You forgot me.”
“Yeah, well, we already know you exist,” replied von Wolff.
Andrelli’s eyes had gone just slightly wider, this flood of information apparently not having been what he was expecting. Like Dominik, he was panicking internally at the number of names he now felt obligated to remember. Elias has started silently smirking as soon as Andrelli asked the fateful question, and now he laughed outright at his partner’s expression. Zolin chuckled too, and commented, “Okay, I’m going to go with ‘hey you’ in all interactions from here on out, because that is too many names. Even with you two, so that everything is fair.” He pointed to his partners.
Zinnia said, “What a big family! Do you like having a large family, Dominik? We have a pretty big family too, but none of my children have given me the gift of grandchildren yet.” She sighed, this clearly being a point of sorrow for her. “But our Trish is engaged, at least, so maybe soon…”
Dominik looked embarrassed before shaking their head. “Not really. There are too many people and too many names and people get mad at me when I forget them. They’re all really nice people except for Markus, who I guess is my nephew even though it feels like he should be my uncle. But it’s really hard to remember everyone. Maybe if I was born earlier I’d remember them all.”
“I only got mad at you once, Dominik, and I apologized, and it was because you thought that your own sister Cassandra was your aunt.” said Von Wolff. “Whose sibling did you think she was?”
Dominik shook their head. “It was like when I thought Monroe was my uncle. But he’s not really related to us at all.”
“I’m your nephew’s father-in-law. That makes me your…. your….” Monroe paused, not really sure what that was. Probably not actually a relation at all.
Maëlys waved a hand. “You don’t need to be related to someone to be an aunt or uncle in spirit.”
“Oh, great, make all this family stuff more bloody complicated,” Erika teased. “I didn’t sign up for this, I got married and had two children and done.” Daniel grabbed her hand and kissed it, startling a laugh from her.
Zinnia said, “Well, I adore having a big family. I think you’ll probably like it more once you have more niblings and cousins your age, Dominik, dear. Speaking of which, where are your grandkids, Lys? I didn’t get a chance to see them in the rush this morning.”
Zakele pointed. “They’re over there with their dad and your mother, Nia.” Seeing him pointing, Morti waved, then went back to signing excitedly with her table. Her dress today was pink with skulls and crossbones sewn on, another product of Isha’s customization according to his daughter’s tastes.
---
Alice was attempting to eat her omelet, which was pleasingly large and delicious, with plenty of cheese. They made them to order, and she had successfully ordered a three-egg omelet before the dads could stop her; at home, they always imposed a two-egg omelet limit and said that three eggs was too many. Now, finally, she had her magnificent omelet, and it was everything she had dreamed. Of course, what she had dreamed was basically a larger version of a standard omelet. Morti kept tugging on her sleeve to get her to interpret for Mémé, though. Normally Alice would have made Vara do it instead with his text-to-voice app, but Vara was signing happily with Bara and thus distracted, and the dads were chatting with Bara’s parents and two guys Alice assumed were related to someone but couldn’t recognize on sight. So Alice kept having to pause between fluffy mouthfuls of egg and tell Mémé what Morti was trying to say, and it was pretty annoying.
Bara and Vara were planning what animals they were going to keep a look out for in the Animal Kingdom. Bara, of course, was planning to see as many geese as she could, but she was also looking forward to the storks, cranes, and ducks. Vara was excited to see the zebras, antelopes, and turtles. Bara was just happy that there was a day she could go animal watching and her parents wouldn’t ask her constantly if she wanted to do something else. Plus, today she could hang out with Vara and his siblings! It was a very exciting day.
Morti had gushed appropriately to Mémé about how thrilled she was to see the princesses soon, especially Ariel and Snow White, who were her favorites. Now she adjusted her dark-lensed glasses and turned her attention to the two children at the table who she didn’t know. (Bara she kind of knew because she was Vara’s friend, and they were always video chatting.) “Hi!” she signed, waving. “I’m Morti, it’s nice to meet you! What are your names?” Alice was eating her omelet again, so Morti had to wait for her to swallow before she translated what Morti had said. Morti couldn’t wait to learn how to spell well so that she could use a text-to-speech app like Vara and not have to wait for someone to interpret for her all the time.
“I’m Sevvie!” proudly proclaimed Sevvie. “Bara tells me about you all the time, Morti. It’s cool to finally meet you. Are you excited to look at animals today?”
Jiro looked up from his book and closed it, marking the page with a careful bookmark. “I’m Jiro. Sevvie’s brother.”
Morti said, “Hi Jiro and Sevvie! I’m very excited for animals. I want to see the elephants! What are your favorite animals?”
Sevvie smiled widely. “The goats! I love goats. Goats are my favorite animals. I have some at home. You live in a big city right?” She frowned, sad to think that Morti would most likely never be able to experience the joy of goat ownership. “I bet you can’t have any goats there….”
“I like mice.” added Jiro. “Um, and rabbits, and pika, and frogs.”
Morti shook her head. “Yeah, we could never fit a goat into the townhouse. We could probably fit a mouse, though!”
Alice added, “I’m Alice, by the way. Morti’s sister, and the one who does the talking.” She sighed.
Morti grinned at Alice. “Thank you, Alice!” she signed, and Alice rolled her eyes, but looked happy.
“I would want a rabbit, personally. A really big one!” Alice imagined a massive rabbit. “I wonder if they have giant rabbits here.”
“There’s the white rabbit from Alice in Wonderland! He’s giant!” Morti signed.
Alice translated before responding, “No, I mean real rabbits, silly!”
Sevvie considered commenting that Morti should have a giant book with every single word ever written on a different page so she could point to the word she wanted to say in case she and Alice ever got separated, but figured that there was probably some reason that was a bad idea. “That’d be cool. Like a rabbit so big you could ride it. Then you could ride a big animal around but it wouldn’t be a horse.”
“A HORSE?!” shrieked Xander. “Where?!”
“It’s not a real horse, dad, it’s just the concept of a horse.” Xander calmed down somewhat. Sevvie wondered why her dad hadn’t freaked out seeing the many zebras located outside the hotel, but figured that zebras weren’t really horses. Could you even ride a zebra? Where there zebra ponies? No. No there weren’t. So Zebras didn’t count.
“I think a giant rabbit would be very cool, but they only have real animals at the park.” said Jiro. Sevvie pffed.
“But I bet they can make giant rabbits, Jiro. Just science them up.”
Alice said, “Well, maybe not horse-sized, but my dad Isha showed me pictures of really big rabbits online. Like as big as our dog Eggplant.”
“They weren’t that big!” Morti objected. “Eggplant is a very big dog.”
“Close, anyways,” Alice said confidently.
“I guess a baby could ride one of them….” replied Sevvie, thinking. “I’m sure they’ve got the big rabbits here, aren’t they supposed to have all the animals in the world here? We can steal a baby, there’s got to be one in the family, and put it on top of the rabbit and see if it will ride it. I bet it will.”
“I think it would fall off,” Alice said. “Babies are really bad at staying on things. Morti would always fall off my trike when I would put her on it, or out of the wagon.”
Morti said, “I would want to get a regular-sized rabbit and let it ride the giant rabbit.”
“That’s a good plan too. We could get a baby sized saddle and use it for both babies and rabbits. The baby or rabbit or rabbit baby would be strapped onto the saddle.” Sevvie was full of bad ideas. She was ready to implement them all.
“I bet Daddy could make us a saddle! He’s very good at sewing. He put these skulls and bones on my dress, look!” Morti showed off her outfit to Sevvie and Jiro.
Jiro smiled politely. “I bet he could. If only we had some materials to make a saddle out of…”
Alice nodded. “Well, we’ll have to keep an eye out for giant rabbits. I’m ready.”
Bara and Vara were planning what animals they were going to keep a look out for in the Animal Kingdom. Bara, of course, was planning to see as many geese as she could, but she was also looking forward to the storks, cranes, and ducks. Vara was excited to see the zebras, antelopes, and turtles. Bara was just happy that there was a day she could go animal watching and her parents wouldn’t ask her constantly if she wanted to do something else. Plus, today she could hang out with Vara and his siblings! It was a very exciting day.
Morti had gushed appropriately to Mémé about how thrilled she was to see the princesses soon, especially Ariel and Snow White, who were her favorites. Now she adjusted her dark-lensed glasses and turned her attention to the two children at the table who she didn’t know. (Bara she kind of knew because she was Vara’s friend, and they were always video chatting.) “Hi!” she signed, waving. “I’m Morti, it’s nice to meet you! What are your names?” Alice was eating her omelet again, so Morti had to wait for her to swallow before she translated what Morti had said. Morti couldn’t wait to learn how to spell well so that she could use a text-to-speech app like Vara and not have to wait for someone to interpret for her all the time.
“I’m Sevvie!” proudly proclaimed Sevvie. “Bara tells me about you all the time, Morti. It’s cool to finally meet you. Are you excited to look at animals today?”
Jiro looked up from his book and closed it, marking the page with a careful bookmark. “I’m Jiro. Sevvie’s brother.”
Morti said, “Hi Jiro and Sevvie! I’m very excited for animals. I want to see the elephants! What are your favorite animals?”
Sevvie smiled widely. “The goats! I love goats. Goats are my favorite animals. I have some at home. You live in a big city right?” She frowned, sad to think that Morti would most likely never be able to experience the joy of goat ownership. “I bet you can’t have any goats there….”
“I like mice.” added Jiro. “Um, and rabbits, and pika, and frogs.”
Morti shook her head. “Yeah, we could never fit a goat into the townhouse. We could probably fit a mouse, though!”
Alice added, “I’m Alice, by the way. Morti’s sister, and the one who does the talking.” She sighed.
Morti grinned at Alice. “Thank you, Alice!” she signed, and Alice rolled her eyes, but looked happy.
“I would want a rabbit, personally. A really big one!” Alice imagined a massive rabbit. “I wonder if they have giant rabbits here.”
“There’s the white rabbit from Alice in Wonderland! He’s giant!” Morti signed.
Alice translated before responding, “No, I mean real rabbits, silly!”
Sevvie considered commenting that Morti should have a giant book with every single word ever written on a different page so she could point to the word she wanted to say in case she and Alice ever got separated, but figured that there was probably some reason that was a bad idea. “That’d be cool. Like a rabbit so big you could ride it. Then you could ride a big animal around but it wouldn’t be a horse.”
“A HORSE?!” shrieked Xander. “Where?!”
“It’s not a real horse, dad, it’s just the concept of a horse.” Xander calmed down somewhat. Sevvie wondered why her dad hadn’t freaked out seeing the many zebras located outside the hotel, but figured that zebras weren’t really horses. Could you even ride a zebra? Where there zebra ponies? No. No there weren’t. So Zebras didn’t count.
“I think a giant rabbit would be very cool, but they only have real animals at the park.” said Jiro. Sevvie pffed.
“But I bet they can make giant rabbits, Jiro. Just science them up.”
Alice said, “Well, maybe not horse-sized, but my dad Isha showed me pictures of really big rabbits online. Like as big as our dog Eggplant.”
“They weren’t that big!” Morti objected. “Eggplant is a very big dog.”
“Close, anyways,” Alice said confidently.
“I guess a baby could ride one of them….” replied Sevvie, thinking. “I’m sure they’ve got the big rabbits here, aren’t they supposed to have all the animals in the world here? We can steal a baby, there’s got to be one in the family, and put it on top of the rabbit and see if it will ride it. I bet it will.”
“I think it would fall off,” Alice said. “Babies are really bad at staying on things. Morti would always fall off my trike when I would put her on it, or out of the wagon.”
Morti said, “I would want to get a regular-sized rabbit and let it ride the giant rabbit.”
“That’s a good plan too. We could get a baby sized saddle and use it for both babies and rabbits. The baby or rabbit or rabbit baby would be strapped onto the saddle.” Sevvie was full of bad ideas. She was ready to implement them all.
“I bet Daddy could make us a saddle! He’s very good at sewing. He put these skulls and bones on my dress, look!” Morti showed off her outfit to Sevvie and Jiro.
Jiro smiled politely. “I bet he could. If only we had some materials to make a saddle out of…”
Alice nodded. “Well, we’ll have to keep an eye out for giant rabbits. I’m ready.”
---
Kir sat at his table, eating salad and glaring at his relatives. He couldn’t really remember what happened last night after he left them. Like many recent nights, it was just a blur, and he’d woken up in the hotel room without quite remembering how he’d gotten back. He took another sip of tomato juice, savoring the taste. Trying to ignore all the people who were randomly sitting at his table.
“Hi, Kir!” Sol waved as she sat down, horribly cheerful. “You don’t mind if we sit here, do you? There aren’t that many tables with this much space left. These are Zen’s and my cousins, except for Aaron, he’s Trish’s fiancé. This is Ilana, Daisy, Seraphina, Trish, Avery, and the pale one is Aaron. We brought him so that you wouldn’t be lonely at a table full of girls.”
“Yeah, that was definitely the only reason we brought him along,” Trish said dryly. “Hi, Kir, pleasure to meet you.” The others all chorused greetings as well, or signed them, as they selected seats and settled their plates of food.
“Salad for breakfast?” Sol asked, raising an eyebrow. “Seems sad. You should try this corned beef boaty stuff, it’s good.”
“Bobotie,” Zen corrected her. “And I don’t know how you can eat corned beef this early, quite frankly.”
Kir shook his head. “Salad is incredibly healthy. I enjoy eating it at every meal. And it’s all right if you sit here, I suppose. Though I don’t think I’ll be the most… talkative conversation partner. I’ve had a rough few days.” He let out a slightly over-dramatic sigh. “It turns out that Disney World is not the Happiest Place on Earth…”
“Oh dear, what’s wrong?” Ilana asked. “Do you want to talk about it? We’ll listen.” Daisy nodded. She could sympathize, traveling yesterday had been pretty horrible and she’d had to lay down under her weighted blanket the entire evening to rest and recover.
“It’s just a little sad to see all my siblings and all the people who are the same age as me who are Sebastian’s children happy, and successful, and with families of their own, and here I am, an adult man at Disney World basically by himself.” He poked some lettuce with a fork. “Plus all the travel arrangements have been very stressful, and Markus and Nadia won’t even hang out with me.”
“Well, we can keep you company!” Ilana offered brightly. “Then you won’t be by yourself!” She paused. “Are you not one of Sebastian’s children?”
Kir shook his head. “No, I’m his daughter Cassandra’s brother-in-law. And I would love to have the company. Esfir and Danill are my sister and brother.” He pointed to them, Danill with Cassandra and the kids plotting rabbit saddles, Esfir sitting with her daughters, uncle, and grandchildren.
Ilana still looked a bit baffled, but she nodded. “Well, I wouldn’t worry too much about comparing yourself to the success of others, love. Everyone has different talents and progresses differently.”
“Oh gosh, she’s starting, quick, someone change the subject!” Avery said, only half-teasing. “Where are you from, Kir? Do you live in…” She paused, thinking. “Whatever state our aunt Lys lives in?”
“California, Avery, California!” Trish supplied.
Avery shrugged. “American geography isn’t my strong suit.”
Kir nodded. “I live in California, and I’m studying at the California Institute of Integral Studies. I’m trying to finish my degree in Drama Therapy. It’s a very difficult degree.”
“What exactly does drama therapy involve?” Seraphina asked with interest. As always, she signed in BSL along with speaking, since although Daisy could follow spoken conversation and hear perfectly well, Seraphina still always felt like using the same language as her sister made their communication better.
Kir was thrilled to hear that someone was interested in Drama Therapy. “Well, basically, Drama Therapy is about helping people through their emotions through acting and other theatre techniques. Personal transformation and self-actualization through drama!”
Daisy signed, “Do you do musicals with it, or just plays?”
Seraphina translated, and added, “Daisy’s a musician, you know.”
“They’re more like skits, and are just shared with your therapist or in a therapy group.” explained Kir. “Though musicals… that would be a very interesting idea! People singing out their emotions in therapy… I can picture it already!”
Daisy nodded, signing, “Music is very useful for expressing emotions that you can’t put in words.”
Avery asked, “So what’s on the schedule for today? Animals? Looking at animals? Pretty sure we could have done that in London.”
“Yeah, but am I, your favorite cousin and the sunshine in your life, in London? I didn’t think so.” Sol ruffled Avery’s hair. The teen glared at her, getting only a grin in response.
“Hi, Kir!” Sol waved as she sat down, horribly cheerful. “You don’t mind if we sit here, do you? There aren’t that many tables with this much space left. These are Zen’s and my cousins, except for Aaron, he’s Trish’s fiancé. This is Ilana, Daisy, Seraphina, Trish, Avery, and the pale one is Aaron. We brought him so that you wouldn’t be lonely at a table full of girls.”
“Yeah, that was definitely the only reason we brought him along,” Trish said dryly. “Hi, Kir, pleasure to meet you.” The others all chorused greetings as well, or signed them, as they selected seats and settled their plates of food.
“Salad for breakfast?” Sol asked, raising an eyebrow. “Seems sad. You should try this corned beef boaty stuff, it’s good.”
“Bobotie,” Zen corrected her. “And I don’t know how you can eat corned beef this early, quite frankly.”
Kir shook his head. “Salad is incredibly healthy. I enjoy eating it at every meal. And it’s all right if you sit here, I suppose. Though I don’t think I’ll be the most… talkative conversation partner. I’ve had a rough few days.” He let out a slightly over-dramatic sigh. “It turns out that Disney World is not the Happiest Place on Earth…”
“Oh dear, what’s wrong?” Ilana asked. “Do you want to talk about it? We’ll listen.” Daisy nodded. She could sympathize, traveling yesterday had been pretty horrible and she’d had to lay down under her weighted blanket the entire evening to rest and recover.
“It’s just a little sad to see all my siblings and all the people who are the same age as me who are Sebastian’s children happy, and successful, and with families of their own, and here I am, an adult man at Disney World basically by himself.” He poked some lettuce with a fork. “Plus all the travel arrangements have been very stressful, and Markus and Nadia won’t even hang out with me.”
“Well, we can keep you company!” Ilana offered brightly. “Then you won’t be by yourself!” She paused. “Are you not one of Sebastian’s children?”
Kir shook his head. “No, I’m his daughter Cassandra’s brother-in-law. And I would love to have the company. Esfir and Danill are my sister and brother.” He pointed to them, Danill with Cassandra and the kids plotting rabbit saddles, Esfir sitting with her daughters, uncle, and grandchildren.
Ilana still looked a bit baffled, but she nodded. “Well, I wouldn’t worry too much about comparing yourself to the success of others, love. Everyone has different talents and progresses differently.”
“Oh gosh, she’s starting, quick, someone change the subject!” Avery said, only half-teasing. “Where are you from, Kir? Do you live in…” She paused, thinking. “Whatever state our aunt Lys lives in?”
“California, Avery, California!” Trish supplied.
Avery shrugged. “American geography isn’t my strong suit.”
Kir nodded. “I live in California, and I’m studying at the California Institute of Integral Studies. I’m trying to finish my degree in Drama Therapy. It’s a very difficult degree.”
“What exactly does drama therapy involve?” Seraphina asked with interest. As always, she signed in BSL along with speaking, since although Daisy could follow spoken conversation and hear perfectly well, Seraphina still always felt like using the same language as her sister made their communication better.
Kir was thrilled to hear that someone was interested in Drama Therapy. “Well, basically, Drama Therapy is about helping people through their emotions through acting and other theatre techniques. Personal transformation and self-actualization through drama!”
Daisy signed, “Do you do musicals with it, or just plays?”
Seraphina translated, and added, “Daisy’s a musician, you know.”
“They’re more like skits, and are just shared with your therapist or in a therapy group.” explained Kir. “Though musicals… that would be a very interesting idea! People singing out their emotions in therapy… I can picture it already!”
Daisy nodded, signing, “Music is very useful for expressing emotions that you can’t put in words.”
Avery asked, “So what’s on the schedule for today? Animals? Looking at animals? Pretty sure we could have done that in London.”
“Yeah, but am I, your favorite cousin and the sunshine in your life, in London? I didn’t think so.” Sol ruffled Avery’s hair. The teen glared at her, getting only a grin in response.
Author's Note. One day this story will be finished. One day.
Beatrice, if you have any author's notes, I'll add them.
Word Count: 4450 Words
Date: November 11th, 2015
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