old soul | matthew gray gubler

22. family ties

"How's it going?"

Charlotte's feet dug into the wooden flooring of the porch, tugging her weight forward and pushing backwards gently. She sighed down the phone, zoned-out expression boring into the landscape before her.

"Good. Nobody's attacked me for grandma's mistakes. Yet."

Matthew chuckled despite the situation, "Don't worry. I can take 'em."

"Oh, yeah, just gotta threaten them with my 6'1" boyfriend." She crossed her arm over her chest, leaning her head back against the top of the swing.

Matthew laughed again, "I promise I'd be there in record time."

"I know," she spoke genuinely. "I just wish you were here already."

"Me, too, sweetheart" he cooed.

"Charlotte! Can you come here!"

Sheila was making breakfast, for the third morning in a row. The smell of bacon rolled out through the open windows of the kitchen, gracing Charlotte's senes. Even though she hated the Midwest, Charlotte had to admit that Illinois was pretty in the summertime. Aunt Joan's house was medium sized, with two stories a large front porch Uncle John had put in a few summers ago. There was a porch swing, a children's swing set in the front yard, and a pool in the back.

Aunt Joan had married up whenever she got off her drug addiction. She has two kids by the time Charlotte was 8, a set of twins who had just graduated from high school this past year. It was probably comforting for Sheila and Daniel that their mom had at least been there to see that.

Sheila had grown up a lot in the three years that Charlotte hadn't been around. Especially now, that her mother was dead, her fierce independence was going to be important. Daniel, ever the teenage boy, was still snoozing away at 10 AM.

Charlotte didn't blame him, though. The day ahead set a heavy aura on the household. No one should be expected to wake up early the day of their mother's funeral service.

Charlotte's family was somewhat small, especially now that everyone seemed to be dying off. She had the Foe's, Daniel, Sheila and Uncle John who bore a different last name due to marriage. The Gregor's, those named the same as her, weren't in her life. She didn't know her father, so she didn't know his family.

Extending from Aunt Joan's and Charlotte's mother's families were the siblings of her grandmother. Cousin's Michael and Juliette were elderly, but their sons and daughters still lived in Illinois where Charlotte's grandmother had grown up. And, of course, Charlotte's grandpa, who was married to a new family ever since Charlotte's grandma had uprooted her life to Los Angeles at 20 with two young girls who just wanted a mom.

The funeral would be small, to say the least.

She was experienced with the funeral process, but it didn't make it anymore easier. She was no longer worried about the tension, considering that all went away when she had stepped off the plane yesterday and spotted her younger cousin. When she wrapped her arms around Sheila, the girl burst into tears, clutching onto Charlotte for dear life.

Charlotte hadn't been expecting to show up and take on the role of the older sister, but every night that had been here, she had made rounds in the Foe household, ensuring  everyone had been fed the dinner that she cooked, showered, and were still breathing. Sheila had found herself slipping into Charlotte's bed, looking for solace in her elder cousin.