Chapter 14 #5
With a laugh, my mother grabbed her purse and dug into it.
“That reminds me. I have your various trusts and retirement account details with me.” Rather than a stack of papers, she pulled out a phone in a purple case, handing it over.
“This has everything already loaded onto it, and you should treat this as your family phone. I’ll pay for the plan; it is a little better than the one you got for yourself, but it’s meant for the rest of the family to start being able to reach out to you.
I know you’re shy, and that was the best compromise I could come up with.
But we started putting money away from the day you were born, and all those accounts are yours.
Half the reason your father worked as hard as he did while you were a child was so we could see you safely off as an adult.
I wasn’t expecting you to end up with a mansion and a huge property in dire need of work so young, but those accounts will pay for just about everything and give you a good start in life.
We might be badly behaved, but we’ve always wanted to make sure we could provide for you. ”
I stared at the phone with wide eyes, flipping it over in my hands. I tapped on the screen to discover it didn’t have a passcode or lock of any sort. With a little help from Erik, I began the process of securing the device so only I could access it. “Thank you, Mom.”
“See, darling? It’s all about presenting things in a way she understands.
And we’ll do this for our future children as well.
We won’t be like your family, Erik. We’ll wait for each clutch to be fully grown up and safely venturing into the world before having another.
But if you two ever need help, we’ll be around.
That’s our job as parents. What you don’t use, you can spend on your future children.
And no, we don’t want to be repaid. I’m sure you can follow our example when it’s time for you to have some little ones of your own.
For us, there is no greater reward in the world than watching you get ready to fly.
Obviously, you are the best dragon in the city, with your Erik being the second best. The rest of the dragons in this place, excepting us of course, are inferior beasts.
” My mother sniffed and lifted her chin.
“I’ll allow those Millson dragons to stick around, though. They did raise an exemplary hatchling.”
My father shook his head, got up, and headed for the refrigerator.
“Ignore your mother. Since you have had a hard day, I’m going to handle dinner.
” He opened the fridge door and closed it without even bothering to peek inside.
“After review of what you have, we will be ordering fried chicken, pizza, and mashed potatoes. Refer any complaints to someone who cares, which is neither me nor your mother.”
“You’re not going to hear any complaints from me, Dad. Just get me some coleslaw, please.”
“You got it. Any requests, Erik?”
“Pineapple and pepperoni on my pizza.”
My father glared at my husband. “I’m going to have a talk with your father about this, boy. Seriously? Pepperoni with your pineapple?”
“You’re right. You better add some banana peppers and sausage, too,” my husband replied, giving me a hug. “With some extra pineapple.”
“I’ll allow it, but only this once. Kinsley, I will make you one and only one cocktail. What do you want?”
“If I ask for pina coladas, would you give me one for each hand?”
My father turned his glare to me. “You already set sail without leaving dry land once this week, so no. For once in your life, try to behave.”
“Aw,” I complained. “You’re no fun. And it’s not my fault Erik’s family decided to brawl and left us unattended.
Hey, Erik? Did we actually set sail with Captain Morgan?
If not, we should take a few bottles to your parents’ place next time they’re going to get into a fight.
But we’ll go prepared and warn the purple dragons we’re going to need to be detoxed before we start drinking. ”
My husband burst into laughter. “Not only did we enjoy a dalliance with Captain Morgan, we hooked up with Johnny Walker, Jack Daniels, and Jose Cuervo along the way. I’m pretty sure we hit up the entirety of the liquor world before we were done, but I don’t remember jack shit after we got a hold of the Daniels.
I’m pretty sure we stopped caring about what it tasted like at that point. ”
“Lesson learned: we set better rules for drinking games when your family is brawling.”
“I want to say this is your fault, but she gets this from me,” my mother groused.
“I demand a three egg clutch as compensation for putting up with this,” my father replied.
One day, I would cease being embarrassed by my parents and their flirtations.
I might be old and with one foot in the grave, but I would learn to cope without wanting to cross my eyes and groan over their behavior.
“I don’t care how many siblings you grace me with, just don’t perform any of the requisite deeds in front of me. ”