May 22nd #2
“No, thank goodness. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful career. Look, I don’t want to ruin our time together, but this trip didn’t really come at a good time. Your father and I … had some issues come up. And we’re not exactly agreeing on things, I guess you could say.”
“Like, you had a fight or something?” I ask, my eyes going wide in shock.
They never fight.
“Kind of. The truth of it is that he’s not the man I married anymore.”
“Like, you think he’s changed or something?” I ask, trying to make sense of everything.
But then she lets out a heavy sigh. “Actually, he is. Exactly the same. So, I guess that’s on me.”
“But you and Dad are perfect for each other.”
“No relationship is perfect, Ainsley. It takes working together. Wanting the same things out of life. We’re just not really working so well anymore.”
“What about counseling?”
“Your father won’t go.”
I take a moment to study her. She’s only forty-one, but right now, she looks older. Her hair is drab, way overdue for a color. Her normally polished nails are chipped and ragged. Her skin looks dull. She looks stressed—probably from the weight of whatever has been going on.
And now she’s in the Ozarks, drinking bottled liquor out of a brown paper bag. It’s like she’s sunk to an all-time low.
I reach across the car, put my hand on top of hers, and give it a squeeze.
I can tell she doesn’t want to talk about it right now, so although I have a million questions, I try to be respectful and say, “It’ll be okay, Mom.
I know you and Dad will work it all out.
Let’s just try and enjoy our time together. ”
“Yes, we should do that, because we don’t get nearly enough of it anymore,” she says.
Popsicle cheers.
Ainsley
When we arrive at the resort, she perks up.
Which is good. Our car is valeted, and our bags are loaded onto the golf cart that will be ours for the duration of our time here.
And while I’ve attended the family reunions every year, my dad rarely comes, and my mom stopped coming once I was old enough to tag along with my uncle Van and his kids.
My dad is the youngest of three brothers, all of whom go by nicknames bestowed upon them at birth. There’s the oldest, Harold III—aka Tripp; the middle, Vanguard—aka Van; and my dad, Rockefeller—aka Rocky.
“Explain to me the relationship with this other family who is staying in the new house,” my mom says. “The football guy.”
“You mean the Danny Diamond? The future Hall of Famer ? The Kansas City quarterback who won three championship rings for our team?”
“Exactly,” Mom says simply.
I can’t help but shake my head. My dad is very into sports. Dare I say, he’s been slightly obsessive about it lately. It used to be just football he loved. Now it’s pretty much all sports, all the time. He rattles off stats and teams like he knows the players personally.
My mother, not so much.
But I didn’t think she lived under a rock about it.
So, I decide to go into further detail. “Danny Diamond has been forever friends with Phillip and Jadyn Mackenzie. They all grew up together in Nebraska, and—”
“ Jadyn . That name sounds familiar too,” she says.
“Oh my gosh, Mom! Do you really never listen to me when I talk? She’s the one who so brilliantly helps Uncle Tripp redesign all his old hotels.
In fact, she designed and decorated the houses we’re staying in, as well as the whole resort, which we are now attending the grand reopening of.
And she’s also who I am doing my internship with. ”
“Oh, that’s right,” she says. “When is that again?”
“Right after the reunion. I’ll be gone for four weeks then come back here to work for the rest of the summer.”
“I knew that, sorry,” Mom says. “Keep going.”
And she is acting weird. Super distracted.
“I was just going to say that we are also all actually family now because Danny’s ex-wife, Lori, is who Uncle Van married.”
“Ooh,” she says, scrunching up her nose like she just smelled something bad. “And they vacation together? Sounds like a nightmare.”
“They all have a really great relationship, but this is the first year it’s been both families together for a joint trip.”
“Hmph. If I got a divorce, no way I’d want to go on vacation with your father.”
I stop the cart and look at her. “My father? And divorce ?! Mom, are you thinking about that? I thought you said it was just a disagreement.”
She waves her hand in my direction. “Go on.”
“There’s nothing else really to tell. It’s the three families in the two private houses, and then they invited a bunch of friends for the grand reopening, which includes a lot of celebrities. So, it should be really cool.”
“I’m sure it will be,” Mom agrees.
When we arrive at the house where we are staying, Mom is more animated. She’s impressed by the luxuriousness of the home, and she greets everyone like they’re old friends, which I guess they kind of are.
She hasn’t hung out with this side of the family for a long time. I don’t understand why, but I suppose family dynamics are tricky sometimes.
Which I have always thought was strange because they are all so nice to me .
First to wrap me in a bear hug is my uncle Van.
He’s tall and, in my opinion, the handsomest of the brothers—his dark hair is just graying at the temples, and he has a jawline like a superhero.
He also acted like a superhero for me. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have gotten the little-known scholarship he told me to apply for and would have been ridden with student loan debt when I graduate in December.
“Ainsley,” he says with a picture-perfect smile. I swear, he should be doing toothpaste commercials or something. “You look amazing, and I see you brought your beautiful mother with you. I hope you’re both ready for three amazing weeks!”
I turn and look at my mom—who is being introduced to Van’s wife, Lori, by Uncle Tripp—and say quietly to Van, “I think Mom’s only staying until Monday.”
“Is your father here?” he asks discreetly.
“No. Mom said he probably isn’t coming.”
“I would have been very surprised if he had,” Van says. “He never does.”
“Do you think I should be worried about him? It sounds like he and Mom aren’t getting along. And he wasn’t at the house when I picked her up.”
“Probably just needed a little time to himself. I’m sure they will work things out. They always have.”
“Always have? Like, this has happened before?” My eyes go wide in shock.
“No relationship is perfect, Ainsley,” he says. “Now let’s talk about more exciting things. You’d better get ready for this weekend. The party is going to be one for the books. Heck, we may need the rest of our time here just to recover from it.”
“Well, Uncle Tripp never does anything small, does he?” I say with a chuckle.
“No, he doesn’t. All the kids are out back. Why don’t you go join them? Wilder is waiting for you to pop the champagne.”
“Are Mom and I the last ones here?”
“Yes. In fact,” he says loudly to get everyone’s attention, “Nicole,” he says to my mom then adds, “Tripp, Lori, let’s go kick this reunion off.”
I watch as Lori wraps her arm around Uncle Van’s elbow.
And this woman is amazing. I swear, she never ages and practically sparkles all the time—although it might be partially because of all the diamonds she wears.
To be honest, I was shocked when she changed her last name to Archibald because Diamond was very fitting for her.
We go through the large, open kitchen space, out onto the screened porch, then head down the stairs.
I’ve barely gotten to the bottom when I’m greeted by screeching and hugs.
First to wrap their arms around my legs are the eight-year-old twins, Bentley and Beau, who are wearing sailor outfits—Bentley’s is an adorable navy dress with white trim, and Beau is in a white pant set with navy trim.
To be honest, he looks a little like he should be working on a yacht.
“Lee-Lee!” they yell out their nickname for me.
From three of his four children, Uncle Van has seven grandchildren. The oldest, Blakely, just turned fourteen, and the youngest, Willow, is almost three.
More of the pack join in, with choruses of Vanny and Trippy when they realize who else is following me.
Hunter, who is six, pouts. “Vanny! Mama and Daddy won’t let us go swimming yet!”
“That’s because we are going to have dinner, then go to a party. There’s going to be lots of people and pretty lights. We’ll be in a big tent, and you can see the stars!”
“I can see the stars?” he asks with wonderment.
I love kids. They are so bright-eyed and happy most of the time.
Of course, just as I think it, Willow marches up with a bubble wand in her hand and wails, “I do it.” She’s very independent, and she wants to do everything the older kids are.
Halston, who is twelve, scoops her up and says, “I’ll help you with the bubbles, okay?”
“O-tay,” she says back, as they march off happily.
“It’s chaos here,” my mother mumbles from behind me.
But apparently, Lori hears and goes, “Isn’t it just wonderful, Nicole?”
My mom looks at her, smiles, and nods, but I can tell she’s just being polite. Especially when she says, “Ah, there’s the champagne,” and makes a beeline in the direction of the outdoor kitchen.
The outdoor kitchen is pretty cool, featuring a big area to cook for a crowd and a large bar that doubles as a buffet when we have our annual fish fry. Right now, it’s filled with bottles of fine champagne chilling and glasses lined up in neat little rows.
Needless to say, I will be eating and drinking at a much higher caliber here than my and Sammy’s typical doctored-up ramen noodle meals and cheap wine.
Although I have had some of the best times of my life just laughing, eating, and drinking with him. There is something to be said about food tasting better depending on who you are sharing it with.