The Harper Generations: Country Roads

We now return to our normal scheduled programming

Valentino

After spending a month in West Virginia dealing with craziness, I needed to catch my breath. I thought you were supposed to relax on vacation. Nope, we spent an entire month getting dragged into playing "Who's the daddy?"

Luckily, everything settled down in time for the fourth. Dad got elected to host a barbecue and roped me into helping him, so I volunteered Mags as a tribute.

"How did I get roped into helping you? Where is the idiot brigade? Shouldn't they help you?" Mags asked while I set up a few folding tables.

"Have you met my cousins? If it involves work, they become Houdini and disappear."

Mags placed chairs around the tables and covered them with a tablecloth. "Eden and Marissa are staying with the girls at school."

"Yeah, Aiden and Diego are crashing with us."

Dad came out of the house to start the grill. "Don't forget Karlene is joining you."

We looked at Dad.

"What?" I asked.

"Decker's daughter will stay in the girls' rental with them. Uncle Deacon asked if we wouldn't mind. I told him it was fine," Dad said.

"I didn't think Karlene wanted to go to college."

"Your cousin hasn't found her direction. Her folks are hoping she will find it at school."

"Let's hope Lena doesn't kill her."

My dad gave me an odd look. "My brothers and I weren't close to the cousins when we were younger. We didn't bond with them like we should have. But the cousins like you. You're the only one who keeps them from killing each other."

"Why do I get to play referee with them?"

"You're the oldest." Dad shrugged.

Oh, joy. I get to play den mother to everyone. I need to ask Odin how to wrangle the cousins.

******
Misty

Nash was elected honorary den mother by everyone's parents when we started college in the fall. Actually, they designated him as a den mother. I couldn't blame our parents for choosing Nash out of everyone—not after what we encountered this summer.

We finished setting up the tables on the patio before moving the picnic tables around. The gate opened, and my parents entered with two cup holders of Slurpees and chips. My dad gave Nash and me a Slurpee before handing one to Val.

"Okay, your dad is awesome," Nash said before sipping his Slurpee.

"It helps when your mom enjoys them." I shrugged and sipped mine.

"Is Eden and her family coming to the barbecue?"

"No, they're spending it with Aiden and his family. Plus, they started family counseling with Casper."

"Good luck to Eden and her family."

I snickered.

********
Valentine

I let the grill heat while Alana helped Kadia with the food. Eventually, my brothers, their families, and the neighbors found their way to our house. Ma and Dad arrived after everyone else did.

You would think my brothers and I would get sick of each other after spending a month in West Virginia. We didn't. With everyone's lives getting busier, it gave us a chance to hang out. It also helps when we live on the same street.

"Is everything ready for the kids?" My dad asked.

"Yeah. I finalized the two rentals, and everyone paid their share. The houses are next door to each other. They have their enrollment paperwork and will get their schedules at orientation. I need to head there early and accommodate both houses for Tino. I already informed the school and requested accommodation."