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She led me into the theater and paraded me around the seats and up to the screen. It reminded me of a miniature version of the theater in Charleston.
“Wow,” I said, practically speechless.
“Tomorrow we’re all going to watch The Princess Bride after lunch. Isabel’s breaking out the popcorn machine.” She pointed at the little red machine in the far corner next to a brightly painted faux box office.
“I’m seriously reconsidering the physician route. Maybe I’d do well as a lawyer.” I teased.
“I don’t think so Elliott. This would be a little too much for us. I imagine us in a needy country somewhere, living in squalor conditions but we’ll be the happiest and most in love people in the world.” She paused, and inched closer to me, fiddling with the hem of my knit with her fingers. “You’d have two jobs there, you know. Are you okay with that?” She teased.
o;Uhhh,” Jules hesitated, “no, unfortunately we didn’t make quite enough.”
“What?” Isabel asked, shocked, “that’s impossible!”
“Well,” I interrupted, “something came up and we had to use the money for a family emergency.”
Neither one of our families, but a family emergency all the same.
“Oh,” she said, not wanting to pry any further. “Shall we head toward the kitchen? I can hear everyone buzzing around in there.”
We started toward the kitchen and Jules grabbed my hand. She apparently felt comfortable enough to do that and I wasn’t going to pitch a fit so I wove my fingers with hers and brought the top of her hand to my lips and kissed it. I didn’t let go of her hand once while being introduced to the cousins I had been so fairly warned about. Jules was right, Lizzy was the thoroughly cool one. Then Jules led me to a spunky, elderly lady with the whitest hair.
“You must be memaw Joan E.?” I asked.
“No, fool, I’m Julia’s aunt. How old do you think I am?” She asked, her eyes wide.
I turned bright red and my eyes nearly popped from my head.
“I...I....I,” I stuttered.
“I’m just pullin’ your chain son!” She laughed a hearty laugh. “Come here!”
She planted a large kiss on my face and tapped my cheek lightly with her palm. I laughed along with her and Jules.
“You pass boy.”
Then she walked off.
“And that was memaw Joan E.,” Jules said. “Great isn’t she?” She beamed.
“Very Jules.”
“Are you going to see Caroline, Julia?” Isabel asked us from the sink.
“Is she in town?” Jules asked excitedly.
“She is and I believe they’re playing tonight at Antone’s.”
Jules walked the length of the kitchen and we sat in the corner window seat together. The entire kitchen was full to the brim of her chattering family. Yes, quite an impossible size of such incredibly interesting people. Why Jules’ mother decided to live in Bramwell with Jules’ dad I’m not sure, being that she was from Philadelphia and all, maybe she preferred a quieter life. I’m sort of glad she did though, whatever the reason. Jules’ grandfather, Benjamin, was a physician. I picked his brain for quite some time and he actually said to me,
“You want to become a physician? You must be insane.”
He was joking but I couldn’t help but feel a small sting of truth in his words. Although, he did reveal that it was a profession made for him and that made me feel whole lot better since I’d felt that same way for years. Ben was one of the smartest men I’d ever met. Her aunt as I mentioned before was an attorney. Her grandmother was an author of a children’s series about a little bird named Charlie.
Her cousin Richard was a pilot of drones for the Army and his wife devoted her life to helping children with Autism. Another cousin of hers, Sylvia, currently lived in D.C. helping homeless and destitute families. Her cousin Caroline traveled the country with her tribal dance group.
The rest of her family was in finance, basically, a family of abnormally large brains. Interesting people, very interesting. Seeing Jules with her family, in her element, was fascinating. She was brighter, even more energetic and inspired.
Caroline’s in town?” I asked.
