The Diary of Joy

Awkward dinner

6. Joy, the year of the Phoenix

Dear Angel,

I promised to tell you a bit more about our visit to our grandparents, and since I am a fairy of my word, I will keep the promise, although I am still trying to digest everything.

After the initial clumsy greetings, things didn't improve. It was as if every time they wanted to say something inclusive, they would say something strange and insulting by accident.

Like when Mischief asked if she could have some more nectar and grandmother asked if humans ate that which is even more ridiculous, having in mind that my sister doesn't even remember the time she spent among the humans.

My grandparents kept treating my siblings as humans instead of just treating them as their grandchildren, and honestly, it was starting to be a pain in my wing, the way they separated us and excluded the very grandchildren they were supposed to win over.

For example, when they weren't asking stupid questions about whether humans ate or drank something, or how they behaved, they asked me questions about flying and how it was going. That was fine when we were alone, but I was sure my siblings felt left out.

Honestly, it seemed to me that, as the night progressed, they decided to stop being angry with me so that they would have someone to talk with so that they could avoid speaking to their human grandchildren since they had no idea how to do that.

To me, that's ridiculous, I am a half-fairy, half-elf and yet I can communicate with many other species as well without any problems. For them to be so bad at talking with humans was something I can't fully understand.

Maybe it has something to do with their traditional way of life, the fact that they chose to stay separated as much as they could, offering a helping hand when they had to.

After all, it is a sacred duty of fairies to help the ones who need help, but judging by my grandparents' example, they have forgotten why they are doing it.

The most painful thing for me was seeing my siblings trying to change who they were just to be able to receive at least a grain of acceptance from our grandparents.

Always talkative and lively Chatterbox; was sitting quietly at the table with his eyes full of words that he was too afraid to say. Mischief was itching to do something funny, to break free, and yet she exhibited the type of control I didn't think her capable of. And my poor brother Peace was struggling to figure out how to use various utensils that were splayed out in front of him.

Noting all those things made me furious, my grandparents were making it all happen. It was their fault that my brothers and sister were trying to change the essence of who they were to please them, and even that was not enough for those proud fairies.

It was at that moment that I realized that I couldn't allow for that to happen anymore. It had to stop. The forceful change of my siblings; needed to be stopped, and I knew that it was my job to do so.

"That's enough!" I yelled in the middle of the meal.

I am not sure who was more startled, my grandparents, or my siblings. However, I was too far gone to care. I needed to set things straight. I needed to save my family from becoming as false as my fairy grandparents were.

"Stop trying to be something you are not! Show them who you are, and if they don't love you for you, then it's their loss.

We are all different and special, and hiding that from them is like lying, and our parents have always taught us to be honest. So, be honest. Whatever happens, you still have the rest of our family." I said.

To my surprise, grandfather didn't look shocked, he seemed to be proud of me, which confused me. I just yelled at everyone at the table, and yet he had an approving look in his eyes that I have never seen before.

After I said that, there was a moment of eerie silence, and then it was like all the masks had suddenly dropped. For me, it was such a relief, but I am not sure my grandparents could say the same.

Chatterbox was the first one to drop the facade, probably because keeping quiet was true torture to him it took mere seconds before the avalanche started.

"So I always wondered about the fairy ways? Do all the fairies discriminate, or is it just you? What was mom like when she was young? Was she a rebel? What did you think of dad when you saw him?" He asked.

He rained down questions on them, and they were so confused that I couldn't help but smile at my dear brother. Although he might have broken our grandparents with his questions, I was very proud of him.

Soon after he started questioning our grandparents, Peace decided to stop torturing himself in his vain attempt to chose from the tens of utensils in front of him, and he just dug in with his fingers to the utmost horror of our grandparents.

Mischief was as always, the icing on the cake. She was the one who turned the awkward dinner into a fun event by just being herself.

Instead of staying in character, being a good little granddaughter, she took one spoonful of mashed potatoes; and launched it at Chatterbox which led to a small but disastrous food war that might not have been the best thing to do but it had us laughing like crazy, and I loved it.

After so many tense moments, it was a relief to finally have some fun, and enjoy life.

Grandmother didn't seem to agree with me since she was tomato red when she took stock of her once pristine dining room.

Grandfather, on the other hand, seemed to be doing his best to hide a smile from his wife. A task so difficult that he had to cough a few times to be able to do so.

Instead of saying anything, grandmother quickly left the table without a word.

"You children finish your meal and leave everything to me. I'll talk to your grandmother and clean this up. You should head home. I am sure your mother will be getting worried." Grandfather said.

"Okay," I said.

Before he could leave I tapped his shoulder.

"Yes?" He said.

"Thank you, grandfather," I said.

"You're welcome. Now go finish up and hurry home. Say hello to your mother for me." He said.

So, after eating all that could be eaten, we got up from the table and left without a goodbye. And no, it wasn't rude we just did as grandfather said.

Besides, I had a feeling that our grandmother needed some time away from us. Still, I think the night ended rather well.

I best be going now.

Love,

Joy