Playing Games

The Family Reunion

Backstory:

This is Sofia DeGross, sister to famous photographer Adam DeGross. She is an ER nurse that works in LA and has been super busy these last few years and hasn't seen her brother that lives in Salt Lake City, in a very long time. Adam has been with his longtime girlfriend for about 6 years now and has finally proposed and they are getting married. The story starts off with Adam and his fiancé, Christine ( I just made up the character) throwing an engagement party at one of Adams best-friends house.

~

I woke up early on Friday morning to the sound of my phone ringing. I wiped the sleep from my eyes and yawned as I answered the call, "Hello?" I said groggily into the speaker. "Good morning my favorite sister!" My brother, Adam, yelled on the other end. "I am your only sister, stupid," I said laughing, "what's going on why are you calling me so early." "Early? Its 9 in the morning, Sofia, definitely not early. But anyways I wanted to talk to you about your flight? What time is it coming in again?" He asked. "Umm let me check" as I opened up my Delta Airlines app. "I should land there around 2pm your time." He then responded in his usually happy manner, "Fuck yeah! Okay cool so I'm gonna run some last minute errands but I'll be there to pick you up."  I got up out of bed finally and started to get my stuff together. I was always a last minute packer. "You know you don't have to get me, I can take an uber or something." "Hell no! I am picking you up, and I will not take no for an answer" he says and I laugh. "Okay fine, well Im gonna pack up the rest of my stuff and I'll text you when I board the plane, okay?" "Sounds great Sof! I can't wait to see you and you're gonna love everyone, they're so excited to finally meet you" Adam says. We finished up our conversation and started to pack everything for my weekend trip.

As I finish packing I decide to take a quick shower and put myself together since I had a little bit of free time before I needed to head to the airport. As I started to wash my hair, I could feel myself getting nervous. I had never met any of Adam's friends and knew that he talked about me to them a lot. I kind of knew the dynamic of everyones friendships, but I wanted to get a long with everyone and didn't want to make any bad impressions. As I continued to worry for no reason, I finished up in the shower. I quickly blow dried my hair halfway so my natural waves could continue to dry on their own. I decided with to throw on my everyday makeup look which consisted of a tinted moisturizer, little bit of contour and blush, concealer under the giant dark circles under my eyes thanks to my crazy job and the little to no sleep I get, and brows and mascara. I slipped on a pair of black leggings and a white cropped tank top. I checked my weather app for Salt Lake City to see if I should bring a bigger jacket then what I had planned. After all, I do live in LA where anything under 75 degrees is freezing to me. I decided to throw on an oversized crewneck to keep me warm because I know i'll get cold regardless. One of my best friends, Gabe, who works with me in the ER had offered to take me to the airport because he's "the best friend a girl could ask for" his words, not mine.

I walked out of my apartment, my suitcase in hand rolling behind me. "Damn bitch, you're going for the weekend and you're only bringing a carry-on?" Gabe says as he pulls his pink heart sunglasses to the tip of his nose. "Not everybody packs 17 different outfits options for each day, my love" I say while throwing my bag in the back of his car. "True, true. Not everyone is as fabulous as me, I guess" he says puckering his lips and throwing an imaginary hair flip over his shoulder. I laugh at his crazy antics and throw on my sunglasses as we head to the airport. We sing obnoxiously loud on our way and make small talk along the way. "So, are you excited to meet all your brother's hot friends" Gabe asks sipping his iced matcha latte. "I don't even know who's going to be there. All I know is that the engagement party is being hosted at one of his friends house and that only close friends and family will be there" I say picking up the iced vanilla latte he had gotten me. "What about post Malone? Isn't he besties with the guy? And you drool over every picture you see of him, so what if he's there?" Gabe asks. "I do not drool over him! He's cute yeah but I don't know him. He seems cool but he could totally be an asshole, I have no idea. And yeah they're good friends but like I said I really don't know who's going to be there, so ill guess we'll find out" I stare out the window. "You're gonna have a great time babe, don't sweat it. Just get wild, have a little fun! Call me with all the juicy details" Gabe says as we pull up to the terminal. "Thanks Gabe. I love you, we'll be in touch" I say as I kiss his cheek and get out of the car. I grab my bag from the back and give him one last wave. "Hey Sof!" Gabe yells from the car. "Yeah?" I say turning back around. "Those leggings make your ass look amazing" he says laughing as he drive away. I laugh as I turn back around and head to my gate.

I finally get situated and board the plane. I grab my phone out and send Adam a quick text telling me I was on the plane and that I'd be there in a couple hours. He responded quickly with a short voice message says "Fuck yeah! Ill see you soon Sof, fly safe." And in the background I could hear Christine and a few other excited muffled voices. I smile as I put my phone on airplane mode and press shuffle on my music. I stare out if the plane window excited for the weekend and all that it will bring.

I get off the plane and check my phone. I got a message from Adam saying he was headed to pick me up and so I responded back quickly telling him I was headed to the pickup area. As I walked out of the doors I see him standing outside of a white Bentley. "There she is!" Adam yelled as I ran into his open arms. "I missed you so much" I whispered barely managed to get out because he was squeezing me so tight. "I am so fucking happy you're here" he said pulling away and looking at me. "Me too" I said starting to get teary eyed. Its been about two years since I've seen him in person. Adam and I always had a great brother-sister relationship. We were always there for each other but understood each other's boundaries. "God, I can't wait for you to meet everyone. You're gonna love them" he said opening the car door for me. "Im so excited! Where's Christine?" I ask. "She's back at the house with everyone. She's trying to get the flowers in the right place or something? I don't really know, you know how passionate she is about party planning and this has got to be perfect" he said pulling out of the terminal. "I am sure whatever she has planned will be absolutely incredible. I'm happy you finally put a ring on it" I say nudging his arm. "Ha Ha, funny. I'd honestly never thought id be with someone like her" he says with a genuine smile plastered across his face. We passed the rest of the drive by catching up on life, singing to songs playing throughout the cars speakers, and laughing. We made our way through this gated community that had beautiful homes lining the street. "Jeez Adam, didn't know photographers could make so much" I say joking with him. "Well, you know I do pretty good for myself, but we're going up to my buddies house, it's where the party is." He said making his way up a very large driveway. At the end of this driveway revealed a beautiful mansion. "Holy shit Adam, this place is insane!" I said in complete awe. "You haven't even seen the best parts yet. C'mon lets go!" He said as he hopped out of the car and grabbed my bag from the back.