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Richie
You know that’s not my nickname. Why do you insist on calling me that?
Also, why do you need a picture of my daughter?
Lotte
Because you’re a dick, Dick
Also, I need my daily dose of birth control
Mimi
Don’t call our niece birth control
I smile as a picture of baby Emmy appears in our family chat. In the picture, she’s wearing a baby-blue beanie and a onesie with a giraffe on it. Her black, curly hair is barely visible, with most of it in the cap, but you can still see little curls spilling out. Her grin is the most contagious thing I’ve ever seen. So far, Richie is the only Reed family child to even be in a committed relationship.
Normally, the parents ask if you have a significant other. My moms think it’s funny to ask all of us if we are using protection. The question is usually more targeted at Lotte, Ella, and Miggy, though.
Leon and I can’t get pregnant. Then you have the other members of the Reed family. Mia—we call her Mimi—has never even talked about a real guy. She usually just talks about the idea of romance portrayed in her books. Richie has been married for two years now, so they stopped asking him since they actually want grandkids. And finally, Trinity isn’t home often enough to get asked because of her acting career.
Another text comes through this time with Trin.
Trin
I don’t think many of us need help with birth control, but Emmy is adorable, and I can’t wait to see her at Christmas.
Mimi
Are you going to make it this year?
Trin
Don’t call me out like that :/
You’ll never let that go, will you? I missed one Christmas for work.
Mama
That’s my beautiful granddaughter!
A smile plays on my lips. The first smile in the past couple of days. The family chat continues to go off while I leave my room. The house is uncharacteristically quiet as I walk into the living room.
“Sal!” Mimi yells from the kitchen.
Before I can even react, she sets her mug down and pulls me into a hug. Mimi has always been a bit more affectionate—at least way more affectionate when you compare her to Ella or me, who handle social interaction like the plague. She is currently attending NYU, getting her degree in English and Creative Writing, but she always comes home for the summer. With her living in the student apartments, she gets new roommates every year. She says it’s to make her more social.
Luckily, that won’t be happening to me. The anxiety of constantly having to present as my most feminine self would be exhausting if Ella and I weren’t planning on attending Grace Hill together. Ella got a full-ride scholarship with the volleyball team, and I will join the film program as a student assistant, helping them manage the facility. The pay will help me pay for the rest of my tuition that isn’t covered by scholarships. I secured my spot because of a mockumentary I did on our family. Though, no one besides the school and my family will ever see it.
“Do you want tea?” Mimi asks after letting go and walking back over to the kitchen counter. Her straight, dark-brown nearly black bob sways just above her shoulders. “I just made a cup, but I can make another. I made a friend from London, and he introduced me to adding milk to Earl Grey tea.”
“Can’t you drink coffee like a normal person?” Ella calls from the living room. Mimi frowns before shaking her head.
“Cup?”
“Sure.”
Mimi smiles at me, and for a second, I see pity flash through her eyes before it fades, and she turns to the kettle, filling it with more water.
