Family

Awkward Family Reunions

God save me, Heather thought, from awkward family reunions.

She stood on the gate leading to the horses' pasture, watching Guy and Dusty munch on the grass. Guy was an auburn horse who Heather had always been rather fond of. He was the horse she'd learned to ride on, the most gentle out of the two, and an absolute sweetheart. Always the patient horse, Guy had put up with various temper tantrums from children over the years, never once doing anything to make them fear him.

Dusty, on the other hand, preferred to keep to himself. He was an old horse who'd "done his time" as her grandparents said. Now retired, in a sense, Dusty spent his days grazing the field and accepting food from any human who decided to feed him. Unlike Guy, he had the luxury of trotting off to a quieter place if the kids got to be too annoying.

They both stood there, in the field, eating handfuls of grass without a care in the world.

Lucky, Heather thought.

Heather didn't hate family reunions, but in her experience, they always contained more drama than they were worth. The fact that Heather's grandparents had decided to invite the entirety of her binuclear family never seemed to be a good idea.

Despite being divorced for over five years now, and both being married with their own children and step-children, Heather's mother and father could never find it in themselves to get along. Sure, the divorce had been a messy one, but really, after five-plus years, couldn't they at least be civil to one another?

Apparently not.

"Whatcha doing here all alone?" asked a voice Heather would recognize anywhere.

She turned around, her eyes landing on her extended family member, her cousin Mia. They didn't live together or even see each other much, given that they both went to different colleges, but still... She was the niece of her mother's brother, so extended family.

With a wry smile, Heather leaned back, her arms jolting as they took on most of her weight.

"If I wanted to watch a fight, I'd tune into the Fight Channel."

Mia laughed, climbing up the wooden fence to sit on top. "Fair enough."

Heather gave her a half-smile, turning to look at the horses once more. "How are you doing these days?"

"Fine," Mia replied, kicking her legs once. "Feels a bit weird being home. Nothing's changed, but it's still...weird."

"Hmm."

Mia took after her mother in more ways than one. Not only did she have Clariss's bright red hair and green eyes, but she had inherited her mother's forceful nature. The Whites were a matriarchal family, in that it was Mia's mother, Kelly, who had the authority, so to speak. She made most of the decisions on the family's behalf, and for the most part, her husband and the kids went along with it.

The Whites were quite different from Heather's own family. Her mother and stepfather generally made decisions together. When it came to her father and her stepmother, however, that side was undoubtedly a patriarchal family.

There was a reason Heather preferred staying with her mother. Devin, her father, took the whole patriarchal role a bit too seriously and was rather fond of traditional gender roles. Devin's marriage with her stepmother, Mary, wasn't exactly one Heather aspired to. Mary spent plenty of time cooking supper and keeping the house clean, whereas he... Well, once the workday was over, his workday was over.

Personally, Heather thought things had been a lot less complicated when all she had to worry about was her family of origin: her father, mother, and siblings. Less complicated, but not necessarily better.

Shaking off these dismal thoughts, Heather cast a look over at Mia, whose red hair was blowing in the gentle breathe. She used one hand to push her own blonde hair behind her ear.

"Wanna get away for a while?" she suggested. "We could go ride the horses."

Mia turned to her, a grin appearing on her face as her eyes glittered.

"Let's go."

Glossary

Family of origin: A family into which one is born and raised.

Binuclear family: One family divided into two by divorce.

Extended family: Family members not part of one's immediate family, such as cousins, grandparents, aunts and uncles, etc.

Matriarchal family: A family in which the mother is the head of the household, and has authority over the family members.

Patriarchal family: A family in which the father is the head of the household, and has authority over the family members.