ᴛʜᴇ ꜰᴏʀɢᴏᴛᴛᴇɴ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ

ᴛʜᴇ ᴀʟɪᴄᴇ ɢʀᴏᴠᴇ (ᴘᴀʀᴛ ɪɪɪ)

TW: Mentions of drinking

Freddie was waiting for me outside, with a flask in his hand.

"Met everyone, have you?", I couldn't help but grin. Freddie was the rebellious one, always making sure that he was one step ahead in any type of event. Especially games. He always won. No matter what.

"Nah, I just really needed something before I hear the family begin their talk. Mother will obviously start gently, one of us will argue, and voila, we all leave, one positively drunk and another completely furious. Or we'll be completely drunk to notice Mother's extravagant ideas".

Freddie was right. Our family talks might not be as public as our family events, but they were still strong.

We both went inside and heard peals of laughter from the living room. "Shall we?", Freddie offered an arm and I took it. I hadn't been back home in five years, but it was nice to see nothing had changed. The furniture, the staircase, the drawers, the carpets, and the extravagant rooms were so nostalgic. I saw my family at events and we visited often, but we hadn't been gathered back home in over six years.

Everyone stopped talking and gaped at me.

"Kamari?"

"Theo?"

"Kamari?"

"Klaus?"

"Kam?"

"Naomi?"

"Kamari?"

"Christine?"

"David?"

We all turned to Freddie.

"Who the hell is David?", Theo asked impatiently. "Sorry, I got confused", replied Freddie sheepishly and took another swig of his flask.

I glanced at my family. We all had the same blue eyes. But if you looked closely, you could see a green tint in there.

Theo, the first son. The one who inherited Dad's position in the company after he retired. Usually gets mad if someone really pisses him off, but he's a good buy at heart. He married Christine, or as we call her, Chrissy, about five years ago and has an adorable soon-to-be three-year-old son called Bobby, who is sitting on his mother's lap.

Klaus, the second son. The good-looking one according to many people. The smart sibling. Closest to Theo but adores me. Klaus may look nice, but he can intimidate you if you get on his bad side. Able to memorize information in a flash.

Naomi, the adopted sibling. The art prodigy. Loves her bling and gossip. Attends galas almost every week. Catches the attention of every person with her killer entrance. Don't interrupt when she's in her art world, you will get paint-ambushed. I remember this vividly because Freddie came into my room looking like an easter egg during art week at school.

Freddie, the youngest son. The rebel. Has a good personality. Closest to me. Average GPA, but the class clown. The life of the party and very caring, and very teasing.

Finally, me. Kamari Rivers. The youngest daughter. Looks a lot like my mother, except for the fact that my hair is brown (got that from dad) and I added some caramel highlights. Good grades. Great friends. Writer. Lives in an apartment in New York. Lives a pretty average life. Which is how I want it.

"Oh, good! You're here!".

I ran to hug my mom. God, I had missed her.

I missed everyone.

"How come I don't get a hug?", Theo teased. "She clearly likes me better, brother.", Klaus grinned at me. "Sorry boys, but I'm her favourite", Freddie raised his flask. "I'm her only sister, and I helped her get ready for her first party! So the choice is obvious", Naomi scoffed. They all looked over to Chrissie.

"You got anything to add to your argument?", questioned Theo. "Nah, I'm good", she shrugged and gave me a wink. "May I just say to you all that I gave birth to her? You can't top that", my mom reminded them.

"Aunty Kay!"

Bobby ran over from his mother's lap and gave me a quick hug and a slobbery kiss on the cheek. He started blabbering about something and I quickly picked him up.

"Bobby and Mom are tied. But I love you all", I said and sat down next to Chrissie. Bobby crawled over to her mother, yawning.

Mom looked at all of us with a happy smile.

"I want to throw a ball"

There was silence.

"A ball? For a three-year-old's birthday?", Theo asked, looking at the now sleeping baby in his wife's arms.

"We haven't had one in ages. And no, not for Bobby's birthday. We need to raise the town's spirit. Those thieves stealing the statue also stole the town's spirit. We may have lost Alice, but we still have the apple tree grove".

"Hang on, thieves?", I raised my hand. "According to the sheriff", Klaus said. I noticed Theo's skeptical face.

Theo is the Head of Apple Tree Grove. The company was in charge of making sure everything in the grove goes smoothly. They were the biggest business in town. And it wasn't just the grove either, all kinds of other fruits and vegetables were being farmed a little far from the grove.

"You want to throw a ball at the Grove? The guests will ruin their outfits Mama, you can't really mean for them to stand in the mud.", Naomi gasped.

"Of course not, they know the Grove exists, they buy it for god's sake. What I mean is throw a ball in the house, have a little fun, encourage the discouraged...and yes, we'll add security around the Grove, Theo, whatever you want".

"It doesn't seem like a bad idea. We haven't had a big celebration since Theo's wedding.", Klaus said and looked at me. I gave a nod and looked at Naomi, who looked at Freddie. "You know what, how about this?", Freddie went over to the drinks bar and came back with seven glasses filled with champagne. Once everyone had a glass, Freddie raised his. "If you agree we should have a ball, and drink", and he drank a sip. I was next. Then Klaus. Naomi wrinkled her nose as she drank hers. Chrissie drank hers as Bobby gave a sleepy snort on her shoulder. Theo looked at all of us, and drank his.

It was official.

The doorbell rang.

"Who's that at this time of night?", asked Theo, concerned. "Oh, probably Isabelle. I told her to come and check if we can get on with the guest list. She said she would help with the preparations", my mother said and went to get the doorbell but Klaus stopped her.

"Mom...you asked Isabelle when exactly?". "Yesterday", she answered. "But you told us about your plan today", he said in disbelief. "Your point is?", Mother went off. Klaus gave us a refill and sat down. "She's still Mom", Freddie chuckled.

"This is insane", Naomi was still shaking her head. I looked at her in surprise. "You do realise the dress code is like...fancy stuff right?". "Yes, but I have nothing new to wear! You'll have to come with me to the Bonnard Boutique", Naomi muttered.

"You call it insane, we call it a Tuesday", Freddie said, making Theo and Klaus raise their champagne glasses. Chrissie, who had now abandoned her glass and was rocking Bobby, looked at her husband, concerned.

"It's Thursday".