Cory's Family - Part 1

September 2030

Cory is 54; Rose is 40; Melissa is 20; Corinne is 13; Noah is 10; Emily is 4

The sun was going down earlier now. Summer was definitely over.

Like most summers, it flew by too quickly. A lot had happened. No big dramas or disasters - at least, not compared to some previous years - but it had seemed like there were plenty of small ones to keep them busy.

Melissa had come home from university again, trying to cram in as much of her free time as she could with her friends...

 and with her dog...

 and with Cory's kids. 

"Are you sure you're comfortable in that?" Cory asked.  She'd been back over a week and he'd yet to see her in anything really suited to the weather. "I mean, isn't it a little hot for long sleeves?"  

"I'm fine," she said. "Everyone feels the temperature differently."

"Well, sure, but that's still a bit extreme in the middle of summer. Are you sure you're not coming down with something? I mean, if you're that cold - "

"Oh, Corinne, there you are!" 

His middle daughter had a terrible sense of timing, Cory decided. She also loved any opportunity to spend time with Melissa, so there was no chance of continuing their conversation now.

 "I thought I might go down to the park," Melissa said to Corinne. "Want to come?"

"Sure, I guess."

"Ok. Let's get Emily and we'll go."

"Uh... actually... I can't go. I've just remembered something I have to do." Corinne turned to run up the stairs. "Maybe some other time... " 

Cory looked questioningly at Melissa, but she seemed as confused as she was. 

Two summers ago...

"You're moving out to go to college, aren't you?" Corinne asked.

"Were you listening to me talking to your parents?"

"I couldn't help it. You were talking loud. I don't want you to go. Sam went to college and she didn't come back, then you moved in with us and it was like having a big sister again. And now you're going too."

"I'll come back, though," Melissa said.

"That's what Sam said... "

"Do you know why you don't want me to go?"

"Because I'll miss you!"

Corinne did miss Melissa, and she hated missing the chance to spend time with her. That was Emily's fault, too, just like everything else that was wrong for Corinne right now.

She'd never told anyone, but she hated sharing a room with her little sister. Emily went to bed so early, and after she was asleep Corinne couldn't even make noise in her own room. 

If she wanted to listen to music while she was reading, she had to do it in the living room.

And when Emily was napping during the day, and Corinne could only spend time with her friends outdoors.

Not that she could take anyone into her room anyway - not when it was full of little kids toys.

If  that wasn't bad enough, Emily was scared of everything - including the monsters she was sure lived in their bedroom. 

It didn't help that Noah just loved telling scary stories.

Emily would have nightmares and wake up crying and yelling, and Corinne could never get a good night's sleep.

She'd even gotten so mad enough one time that she'd told Emily she'd call the monsters to get her if she didn't go back to sleep. Emily had run out of the room. Corinne didn't know where Emily had slept the rest of the night. 

She had expected to get in to trouble the next day, but apparently Emily never told anyone. She didn't care anyway. She just wanted Emily to hurry up and grow up so she could enjoy her own room like a normal person.

---

As usual during the summer, the family went to the lake most days.

Every day so far this year, Melissa had come up with a different reason not to come with them. Some of them had been just as shaky as her 'reasons' for not wanting to move to the dorm when she started college.

They only found out why one afternoon when they'd come back earlier than they'd planned. It was pure luck that Rose came into the house a bit ahead of the rest of the family.

"How long have you had that?!"

"Um... a couple of months... I know the butterfly is a bit cliché but I thought it was pretty... "

"Well, it is, but... "

"... but... Cory's going to hate it, isn't he?"

"Of course he is," Rose said. "You know he doesn't like tattoos at all. But what was your plan here? Were you just going to keep your arm covered for the rest of his life?"

"I don't know, I hadn't really thought about it... "

"He's going to come inside any minute now. You need to tell him."

"I know, I just - "

"That's him coming now." She turned back to Melissa. "Look, he'll be upset, but just let him say his bit. Don't interrupt him or anything. He'll be more willing to listen to you after he's got it off his chest."

"Why didn't you give me tips like that when I used to get in trouble with him when I lived here?"

"Because you were a kid then and you probably deserved to be in trouble. But you're an adult now and you need to learn to discuss things as an adult. Come into the kitchen. I'm going to start dinner, you guys can have it out in there."

---

Melissa is stealing the show again here...  But the tattoo (which was a want she rolled at college) is visible in most of the pictures of her I need for the rest of the update... So we have to get that, and Cory's reaction, out of the way first. 

This started out as a single update, but this household is so chaotic and now it has three parts! They are all more-or- less written, I just need to tidy the other two up, so I'll probably post them all a few days apart this week.

The memory is from a part of the vacation update that I couldn't fit in because I wanted to end with Melissa making her decision. It fits quite well here in a way that will be more clear in the other two parts.