One Million Tiny Things

Family is a fiasco

Dear Julie,
Sister Dearest, How are you? Doing fine in Malibu with your million little taned, toned boyfriends? I heard Mike and you broke up. Pity really that he took so long to see you for the snake you are. You can go around charming everyone around you, being fun, being wild, but we both know why you do it.

You don't want to become him. Dad. Mum left when you 10, you remember her. I don't. And you realised that you never want to fall in love. You want to live out your sad existence being the desperately lonely girl you are, and truth be told I really don't care. But, you can stop ruining the lives of everyone around you. You and Dad barely talk anymore despite working at the same place. You literally tried to murder Giovva and let's not even get to what you did to me.

Sometimes all I want to do, is push you off a ledge and watch you fall helplessly to the ground. And sometimes, in very rare moments I just miss my big sister. My protector, helper, guider and someone who has been the mum I never thought I'd get.

I know you heard of the ball. I know you're ignoring the letter. And I'm not writing to beg you to come to die from boredom with me. Quite the opposite, really. You and Christine have never gotten along. You love to rile her up and I'm not losing my wife because of your little games. Not again.

I know you heard that mom's back. As her loyal little sidekick I expected you to come running back but then again, you're just as good at leaving as she is. Not even a sign of having heard. No phone call, no text, no letter, not even a statement to the press.

I haven't talked to you in years. Not even a simple hello. So, it must come as a mystery that I'm suddenly taking the time to actually jot down a letter for you. I'm personally asking you to do us all a favor and stay up in your sunshine paradise. You love life. You might be a plotting, greedy woman but you've always been just as clever as you've been conniving. So take my advice for once in your life and step back from my life. Live life to the extremes down at the beach. Go surfing, diving, swimming with the sharks, I don't care, just don't come poking your fingers in here and bringing with you tidal waves of trouble.

It's not a ball. There won't be any rich bachelors for you to snag up and steal from. No hearts to break, no teas to spill and no fires to light. The only thing even close to exploding is the most dangerous flame of all; The Girbys. All this "ball" really turns out to be is what dad imagines is a peaceful dinner between me, Christine, you, whoever your flavour of the week is, mum, dad and Giovva.

All in all, a fun gathering, of people who can't stand each other. I don't want to see you again, we both know mum's just around for the cash, Giovva's hands fly protectively to her throat the second you enter and Christine would very well stick a dagger in you without blinking an eye. And most of our anger seems to be centered on you, so do us all a favour and stay away.

Julie, this is going to be a mess. Everything is slipping out of control. There's no right or wrong in our family. In place of morality, we know the exposed and the secrets. And those secrets would leave this entire country reeling. Karl Mcginty's death, the Groj burglary, the burst water pipe, the Cedjy kidnapping; all incidents we've been involved in. Someway or the other, we've factored into all those crimes. But we never payed the price. We never do.

Do you have any idea the number of secrets every person in that room will hold. We know next to nothing of Giovva's past. Dad hides everything; big or small. Who knows where mum has been these last few years, and the skeletons in your closet have to be the shadiest of all, I don't have to let out the truth but we both know that I could make you run off like the wind if I wanted to. I won't pretend to be an angel, afterall I've got to live upto my birthright, I've got my own problems, my own secrets. So does, Christine. And for a normal family, this might be fine. But for us, one wrong word and your own blood is ready to hold your head under the water till your breath gives out. We have no loyalty, no binding faith in each other. We'd sell the other faster than you can say family.

This dinner is going to be a disaster on its accord. Its going to give the word fiasco a whole new meaning, I can feel it. We live to drown each other and if you come down here, it's going to be a mess.

Your mere presence sets off a canon of chaos. You bring out everybody's worst nature's and leave everything around you in pieces when you leave. You're the incarnation of destruction and all I'm asking you is for one peaceful dinner.

Don't come here, Julie, just this once. Please, I'm practically begging here.

Regards,
Julian.