24)

I rode to the airport along with everyone else in the family to see everyone off. There were a lot of hugs, which took me and my Dad by surprise, along with exchanges of phone numbers, emails, and other social media contact information.

It varies by the age of the relative. I even got some mailing addresses.

There had also been a lot of photos all weekend, but we still took some more before anyone left. There was no guarantee we would all be able to get together in one place at one time again despite Grandpa’s attempt to get people to commit to Thanksgiving and Christmas.

His nieces and nephews had in laws that wanted family over for holidays as well. I could see him nearly offer to fly them out too, but Adora took his hand and gave him a look. One that was both affectionate and a warning.

I’m starting to warm up to her.

Then they were gone. Mostly

Gruncle Drew was staying one more night, as was his son Charles.

So was my cousin Sofia with her little boy, and Grandma Bree.

The last two weeks before school started up was Grandpa Bree's turn to teach Ami and me, and she offered Sofia the chance to sit in. Which made my cousin freeze up before her dad offered to take her son back home with him and she nearly fell over herself thanking my Grandma for the chance to learn, while Aran hugged Peter and said. "Stay."

It looked like they had bonded, plus Aran wanted to play with a boy for a change. Not that it kept Milinda away.

I had always known that Great Grandmother Endora was a famous, or notorious Witch as far as supernatural circles went, but I had never thought of Grandma Bree as someone well known.

However, I had always suspected that Aunt Rosaria was well known, or at least most people had been warned.

Before I went to bed that night, I decided to ask my parents about it.

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To my surprise, my Mom spoke up first. "She's the one everyone trusts. My family… My side of the family has hired her to put up and renew the wards at the enclave every ten years. I even played once with her little red headed boy once when she brought him along.” He gave my Dad a sideways look. “The little brat thought me and everyone else in my family knew Kung Fu just because we’re Asian.”

My Dad fell back on their bed with a groan. “I know Kung Fu is Chinese, now. But I knew your family did some kind of martial arts, you had training stuff just like in the movies all over the place.”

She flicked the end of his big toe. “Uncle Dave bought all that stuff because he watched the same moves as you did.”

He gave her a resigned look, then sat up to answer my question. “Mom was kind of the go between for anyone who had to deal with Endora but didn’t want to get near the old bat. She got to know everyone and often tried to help them out when they had problems. People learned to trust her and she became the one everyone wanted to help them as the go between when they had to deal with each other."

Standing up he began herding me toward their bedroom door. “It actually helped me a lot when I began doing courier work being her son.” He grimaced. “And Endora’s grandson.”

Just before he closed the door on me, he mentioned. “It may not hurt to work for her after you graduate, even if it’s just for the summer. You can make a lot of contacts and get your name out there. Especially to hammer in the idea that you're Brianna Caine's granddaughter rather than just my kid.”

Then I headed up to bed, very glad the house was built with more than adequate soundproofing. And that I could turn off my enhanced hearing. Growing up in a regular house had been awkward when I complained in front of Grandma that I could hear my parents grunting and groaning as they trained at fighting without me after I had gone to bed.

Grandma Bree had put up some soundproofing wards around their bedroom after she got done snickering and caught her breath.

When I was out running the next day I caught part of a conversation between Gruncle Drew and Grandpa, they saw me walk up so I didn’t think it was a private conversation.

Gruncle Drew scratched at his head. “I was thinking about looking for a house around here, but I don’t want you to throw money at me, so it depends on how much I can get for the old place.”

Grandpa fake sniffled like he was close to tears. "Aw, you want to live close to your little brother." Then he tried to go in for a hug, and they struggled for a bit before Grucle Drew clutched at his leg and said "Ow" in a sharp tone which made Grandpa jump back with a worried look until Gruncle Drew started chuckling.

Chuckle: To laugh inwardly or quietly. Also, A continuous gentle sound resembling suppressed mirth.

Grandpa shook his head at him while I patted him on the shoulder with a look of pity. “That wasn’t even the leg he was missing Grandpa. Are you having a senior moment?”

I got a dark look as he planned something in retaliation.

Grundle Drew saved me. "You're partially right. I wanted to keep the house in the family, but it’s too big for me, and I don’t think Charles is going to have kids. He’s going vampire so he can be with his girl.”

Grandpa took in a deep breath before letting it out slowly. “That’s going to make family get togethers a bit awkward.” Vampires and Werewolves can’t be around each other, not safely.

His brother leaned back against his truck and stared off into the distance. "I got all this time left to live now. And in just a few years there's going to be a day that I see my son for the last time. Again."

I twitched. This was not a conversation I should be a part of. His older son, Philip, had killed himself as a teen. He hadn't been all that much older than me.

Grandpa gave me a sad smile. “It’s okay Sara, go ahead and finish your run.” Gruncle drew looked up from a memory and nodded to me. “And your little dog too.”

I dashed over and hugged him tight. "Love you, Gruncle Drew." Then I got out of there before I started crying and made an old man cry too. Saku stuck pretty close to me for the rest of my run.

How can I both morn and be angry with a boy I've never met?