Love after Life

Extended family

OK, allow me to introduce the rest of my family! First off it's my mom, Mary Anne Duncan! She's sixteen years older than me, works as a secretary at this company whose name I always forget...

"Derriwinkle Construction Co." Mom said, sighing. "Been working for them for twenty years, now."

Right! Mom works as a secretary for this construction company down in Amberville, which is about an hour away from home. She used to commute from Arbordale to Amberville daily when I was a kid, but she recently moved to Amberville so she could be closer to work!

Mom actually raised me by herself, with very little help from my grandparents because they suck. My father? He was never in the picture.

"Your glorified sperm donor was a child groomer who lied to me, had his way with me, then went off elsewhere when he got me pregnant," Mom bitterly said.

Right. My father, whose name I don't even bother to acknowledge, has never been and never will be part of my life. Honestly, I doubt he even knows I exist. I don't care either way.

My other relative is my cousin, Gabriel Duncan. We call him Gabe, though; he prefers that. He's a business owner who owns a shop down in Amberville called... uh...

"Gatekeeper," Gabe said, rolling his eyes.

Right! Gabe owns a shop called Gatekeeper, where he sells toys and games! He also hosts movie nights, so his shop is really popular with the kids!

"My customer base is mostly adults," said Gabe, looking exhausted.

Anyway, that's the family!

"Sooo, Mom, how's work?" I asked as Tony, Shawna, Kyle and I sat in Mom's big sofa in her apartment.

"It's fine," she replied, shrugging. "Tony, how's your job?"

"Pays the bills," said Tony with zero enthusiasm.

"You know, Shawna did really well on her tests last month!" I said, beaming with pride. "Nothing lower than an A!"

"Good work, kiddo," Mom said, smiling at my daughter. "Stay on that path, got it?"

"Yes, Nona," said Shawna. Mom HATES being called grandma. Hates it! That's why my kids call her Nona.

"Good," said Mom as she shot me a quick glare. "It's tough being a girl out there, but don't give up! You can lead a healthy, happy life without being tied down by romance!"

She was referring to me, and how I screwed up my life.

"Hey, Uncle Gabe?" Kyle piped up. "When's Infinity War coming out?"

"Next week," Gabe replied. "Daisy, Todd, Jolie and I already bought our tickets, though Todd's bringing his new girl. Totally lame of him, to be honest."

"Oh, I don't know," said Mom as she patted Gabe's leg. "From what I've heard, those two really like each other!"

"Yeah, they've been dating for a couple weeks now," said Gabe, shrugging. "He's never had a girl last this long."

"What's her name?" Asked Mom.

"Amy," he replied. "Amy Slaughterhouse."

A silence filled the living room.

"That's metal," said Kyle, grinning.

"Apparently she plays in a metal band," said Gabe.

"COOL!" Exclaimed Kyle excitedly. "Does she have a YouTube account?"

As my family kept talking about Gabe's friend's romantic life, my thoughts drifted to Angie, and how she must have been having fun on her date at that very moment.