FRIENDS ➳ jean kirstein

024. ANOTHER FAMILY REUNION

Armin — December 18, 2020
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Armin had just left his room because he wanted to make some coffee. He was going to make the coffee, get some more tissues and then return to his bedroom, where he could wallow in self pity and wish his cold away. At no point did he expect to find his father in his kitchen, conversing with his mother over tea. That wasn't part of the plan.

The sight gave Armin whiplash. It had been over ten years since he last saw his parents together. What was his dad doing here? Armin hadn't even known they were back in contact.

It was Elijah who noticed Armin first. He caught sight of him out of the corner of his eye, did a double take, and then a beam split his face. Bewildered by his sudden silence, Anya glanced over her shoulder, following suit and smiling when she saw Armin.

His parents rose to their feet and Armin flinched back. He had to be dreaming. This couldn't be real.

But it was real. His parents were stood side-by-side for the first time in a decade, and his dad, with his gleaming blue eyes and lopsided smile and silky hair, was moving towards him with a grin and outstretched arms.

Armin surprised even himself by finding the strength to move. When Elijah wrapped his arms around him, he did the same in turn, and he felt tears rapidly well in his eyes. He pulled his father closer, squeezing his eyes shut in an attempt to stop his tears from falling.

Elijah's hand was on the back of Armin's head, cradling him. "Oh, I've missed you, son," he said. "You've grown so much, I almost didn't recognise you."

"Dad," Armin croaked, struggling to find words. "What are—what are you doing here?"

"I thought it was high time I came to visit my kids," he responded. Taking Armin by the shoulders, he stepped back and smiled down at him. "God, you've gotten to be so handsome. You get it from your old man, of course."

He had aged, certainly, but his face was still alive with the youth and joy that it bore in all Armin's memories of him. He looked so familiar, and yet so much like a stranger. Over the years, Armin had many thoughts, many words, many moments that he wished he could share with his father, but now that he was back and standing before him, Armin found that his mind was entirely blank.

Mouth hanging open in disbelief, Armin looked to his mother, who was smiling back at him with glossed eyes. She had dressed up, Armin noticed. Her blonde hair fell in elaborate curls, and dusty pink strokes decorated her eyelids. Diamonds she had no doubt gotten from Paul glittered on her collarbones and fingers, and her nails were newly painted a baby blue colour.

"Where's Charlie?" Armin asked. "She should be home by now. Have you seen her yet?"

Elijah's face fell, every ounce of previous youthful glee melting away. Without his smile, he looked considerably older.

"I—uh—I surprised your sister after school," Elijah explained, suddenly refusing to meet Armin's eyes. "Let's just say she wasn't as excited as you to see me."

At that moment, Armin's ears detected the distant sound of the front door opening and, as though the utterance of her name had summoned her, Charlie entered the kitchen with Jean at her side. The latter froze in the doorway, but Charlie strode into the kitchen like her father whom she had not seen in a decade wasn't there. A car key that wasn't Anya's dangled from Charlie's hand.

"Crashed the porsche," she said nonchalantly, brushing past Elijah. "Sorry Dad, looks like your present is pretty much useless now."

She tossed the keys to Elijah, who fumbled and almost dropped them. He stared after Charlie, mouth hanging open in a silent sentence as she opened the fridge and began to rummage through it.