22. #2
“The dynamics of your relationship are enough to make a sane person shudder,” Terran said in disgust.
I turned to look at him. “As if you or anyone else in this family is sane. All of you are nuts.”
In unison, Spruce and Terran reminded me, “No we’re not. We’ve been tested.”
“Petra told me I should stop announcing that, because it will make it harder to defend me in court.”
“For what?” Ziggy asked.
“I don’t know yet. Life has been lifeing, but it hasn’t gotten bad enough that I’ve been caught doing anything that might require an alibi or threaten a prison sentence.”
Terran scoffed. Spruce added, “Maybe not this year.”
I fell even more in love with Ziggy when he said, “It’s only August. We’ve got plenty of time.”
“Come inside and make your plates. Petra called and said she’s running late, so we should eat without her.”
“The rest of your family isn’t coming?”
“Mom breaks up family dinners so not all of us come at once. It makes it easier for everyone to find a seat and . . .”
“And usually I arrange it so the ones most likely to irritate each other aren’t here together,” Mom explained. “Looks like next time I host, Terran shouldn’t be here.”
“That’s great, but what about work every day?”
“I don’t have to clean up the mess if you fight at work, and I don’t have to listen to it, so I really don’t care,” Mom said as she walked back inside.
“At this point, it’s down to may the craziest child win, and right now, I’m not sure you’re still the number one draft pick, Jewel. Terran may have taken your crown.”
“What?” I asked in shock.
“Yes!” Terran exclaimed. He looked at me and hooted. “Suck it, loser.”
“I hate every cell in your body right now.”
Ziggy and Addie cackled as Spruce and Atlas disappeared into the house to make their plates. Still in Ziggy’s arms, I tilted my head back to look up at his face. “Are you sure you’re feeling okay?”
“I’m fine now, but I feel . . . foggy. It’s hard to put into words.”
“I’ll explain later.”
“Later?” Ziggy asked with a grin.
I looked around and saw that we were alone on the deck, so I promised, “We’re going to enjoy the hell out of each other for at least an hour until you’re too worn out to get out of bed and go on a killing spree.”
“Is that a promise?”
“Absolutely.”
“I love you, Kitten.”
I sighed. “I can’t believe you’ve worn me down so much that hearing you say that doesn’t give me hives.”
“Do you get hives when you say it back?”
“Let’s see,” I suggested. “I love you, Nip. And, just FYI, it’s the forever kind of love, so you’re stuck with me.”
“Good. I can’t imagine going a single day without hearing you insult my intelligence or threaten bodily harm.”
“Well, you’re in for a treat, sweetheart, because that’s not likely to happen.” I paused before I added, “You may try to change your mind after our talk later, but I won’t let you.”
◆◆◆
ZIGGY
Once I cleaned both of us up, and we were snuggled together in bed, I asked Jewel, “What happened this evening that had everyone in an uproar?”
“You’ve been around the different members of my family often enough to understand that we’re not . . .”
When her voice trailed off and it seemed like she was searching for a descriptor, I suggested, “Normal, rational, or sane?”
“All three.”
“And?”
“When we were kids, Mom wanted us to explore our interests. She didn’t care what profession we chose. As long as it made us happy and we were doing the best, she was fine with it.”
“Considering she’s got three doctors and a lawyer, I’d say her no-pressure approach worked.”
“Summer worked in corporate America before she discovered she was really a fertility goddess who had missed her calling. She married Bird and raised all their children to be feral, strong-willed, assholes . . .” Jewel cleared her throat. “Sorry. I meant to say adults. Yeah. Adults.”
“What does Willow do?”
“She’s a successful business owner, and she somehow got the fertility-goddess title too.”
“They do have a lot of children between them,” I agreed. “And Atlas?”
“He’s some sort of computer brain. Honestly, I’m not sure what he does, but he’s good at it.”
“I bet your mom is proud of all of you. I worry about my kids and the life choices they’re still in the process of making, but I’ve consoled myself with the thought that nothing is permanent and I just want them to be happy.”
“Did your sons go to college?”
“Yes. They each graduated with an MBA. Zander minored in hospitality management, and Zane minored in marketing.”
“Very business-minded individuals. Impressive.”
“The girls are finding their way, which is fine. They’re young, and I try to remember that every time I get a call telling me they’ve dropped a class or changed their major.”
“I was lucky with Parker because he knew exactly which degree he wanted and worked toward it throughout high school, which fast-tracked him through college.”
“What does he have?”
“An MS in pharmaceutical science with a focus on cannabis therapeutics and medicine.”
“I didn’t realize that was . . .”
“A real degree? I know, right? Micah and I were both shocked, but it works out since that’s the family business.”
“Marijuana is the family business?”
Jewel hummed, yawned, then answered, “Micah’s father and his siblings helped their father grow pot.
Of course, it was illegal at the time, but when the laws changed, they took that knowledge and used it to open a very successful grow operation.
Now Micah and quite a few of his cousins work in different areas of the business. ”