the kitchen counter and smirks at us all, loving every minute of our squirming. "Okay, I'll put you out of your misery. It is a video I have to show you, but not of the Segway Polo Cub. No, this is a video you might actually be interested in. Come on, then." He starts off down the hall, and glancing unsurely at each other as we go, we begin to follow him. "To the screening room!"
- 7 -
We each settle back into one of the large leather recliners and wait patiently for whatever it is Uncle Erik's going to show us.
"Before we start, a small snack to whet your appetite!" He emerges from the bar with a tray. A tray with tiny little tubs of popcorn on it.
"Cute! Thanks, Uncle Erik!" I say as I take one from the tray.
"It is videos of the Segway Polo Club," Allie says from the seat beside me, as she takes a tub as well.
"Oh, shush," Uncle Erik says. Having passed around the popcorn, he perches on the side of Mom's chair, in the row behind Rory, Allie, and me. "Now, you know I've been spring cleaning lately…" he starts.
"I put the Segway out with the trash, but he found it!" Allie interjects.
"Finished?" Uncle Erik asks, staring his youngest daughter down. When there's no reply, he keeps talking. "Right, then. Well, in my travels, I happened to find this. And I thought you might enjoy it. So, here we go!" He presses a button on the remote in his hand.
"Aaaggghhh!" Allie, Rory and I scream at the same time as soon as the footage jumps onto the screen. "Aaaggghhh!" We look at each other, eyes wide. And then we start laughing and turn back to focus in on the screen. Because there, in widescreen detail in front of us, is…us. Rory must be about eight, which makes me about six and Allie about five. We're on a trampoline, in the back yard of Uncle Erik's old house in Beverly Hills. The sun is beating down, and someone has a hose on us.
The three of us watch, entranced, as we sing some silly song and do some silly dance that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
"You were always doing that," Mom says, laughing along with us. "Making up crazy songs and then performing them for whoever would be your audience."
"Dad, check out your hair ," Rory says, cracking up. "You've, like…got some!"
"Thanks for pointing that out, darling daughter." I look up to see Uncle Erik run his hand over his buzz cut that makes his bald patch look way less obvious.
"Well, I think your new ’do is cool, Uncle Erik."
"Yes, age gracefully, as they say," my mom chimes in.
I twist in my chair to give her an "Oh, really?" stare, and she gives me one right back.
"No surgery here," she reminds me.
"Hmmm…" I say, raising an eyebrow, because Mom might not have had actual surgery, but she's had everything but.
"Aaaggghhh!" Rory, her attention still on the screen before us, yelps , and Allie and I whip back around to see my mom strutting around in a teeny tiny yellow bikini.
"Goodness," my mom says. "I miss that body. I wonder what happened to it? Gravity, I think they call it."
Allie snorts. "Because you look so bad now, Aunt Cass!"
"I don't think I look bad now, but I know I don't look like that!" Mom laughs. "So, how old were you here, Rory? About eight?"
Rory nods. "Yeah, I think so. Which means I was already working on Saturday Kids full-time."
Mom's head whips back to the screen. "Really? Already? Well, I guess you're right. But you seem like such a baby."
We all sit back in our seats and take in the movie for a few minutes more in silence, until Allie leans forward to examine my image more closely. "Check you out, Thea. I mean, Rory's a good few years older than you there, but you are totally keeping up with her, aren't you?"
Uncle Erik agrees. "You really are. We should have signed you up for SMD as well, hey?"
And my mom? Well, no surprise, but my mom doesn't say anything at all to that one.
* * *
It's like old times. Almost like there's nothing wrong. We all eat way too much pizza, and drink way too much chinotto, and talk way
- 7 -
We each settle back into one of the large leather recliners and wait patiently for whatever it is Uncle Erik's going to show us.
"Before we start, a small snack to whet your appetite!" He emerges from the bar with a tray. A tray with tiny little tubs of popcorn on it.
"Cute! Thanks, Uncle Erik!" I say as I take one from the tray.
"It is videos of the Segway Polo Club," Allie says from the seat beside me, as she takes a tub as well.
"Oh, shush," Uncle Erik says. Having passed around the popcorn, he perches on the side of Mom's chair, in the row behind Rory, Allie, and me. "Now, you know I've been spring cleaning lately…" he starts.
"I put the Segway out with the trash, but he found it!" Allie interjects.
"Finished?" Uncle Erik asks, staring his youngest daughter down. When there's no reply, he keeps talking. "Right, then. Well, in my travels, I happened to find this. And I thought you might enjoy it. So, here we go!" He presses a button on the remote in his hand.
"Aaaggghhh!" Allie, Rory and I scream at the same time as soon as the footage jumps onto the screen. "Aaaggghhh!" We look at each other, eyes wide. And then we start laughing and turn back to focus in on the screen. Because there, in widescreen detail in front of us, is…us. Rory must be about eight, which makes me about six and Allie about five. We're on a trampoline, in the back yard of Uncle Erik's old house in Beverly Hills. The sun is beating down, and someone has a hose on us.
The three of us watch, entranced, as we sing some silly song and do some silly dance that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
"You were always doing that," Mom says, laughing along with us. "Making up crazy songs and then performing them for whoever would be your audience."
"Dad, check out your hair ," Rory says, cracking up. "You've, like…got some!"
"Thanks for pointing that out, darling daughter." I look up to see Uncle Erik run his hand over his buzz cut that makes his bald patch look way less obvious.
"Well, I think your new ’do is cool, Uncle Erik."
"Yes, age gracefully, as they say," my mom chimes in.
I twist in my chair to give her an "Oh, really?" stare, and she gives me one right back.
"No surgery here," she reminds me.
"Hmmm…" I say, raising an eyebrow, because Mom might not have had actual surgery, but she's had everything but.
"Aaaggghhh!" Rory, her attention still on the screen before us, yelps , and Allie and I whip back around to see my mom strutting around in a teeny tiny yellow bikini.
"Goodness," my mom says. "I miss that body. I wonder what happened to it? Gravity, I think they call it."
Allie snorts. "Because you look so bad now, Aunt Cass!"
"I don't think I look bad now, but I know I don't look like that!" Mom laughs. "So, how old were you here, Rory? About eight?"
Rory nods. "Yeah, I think so. Which means I was already working on Saturday Kids full-time."
Mom's head whips back to the screen. "Really? Already? Well, I guess you're right. But you seem like such a baby."
We all sit back in our seats and take in the movie for a few minutes more in silence, until Allie leans forward to examine my image more closely. "Check you out, Thea. I mean, Rory's a good few years older than you there, but you are totally keeping up with her, aren't you?"
Uncle Erik agrees. "You really are. We should have signed you up for SMD as well, hey?"
And my mom? Well, no surprise, but my mom doesn't say anything at all to that one.
* * *
It's like old times. Almost like there's nothing wrong. We all eat way too much pizza, and drink way too much chinotto, and talk way
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