BLOODLUST

Absence of men in the Family

Chapter 8: Absence of men in the Family

 

It was one o’clock in the afternoon. The weather was nice; warm and sunny, but no one was outside to bask in the sun.

As the maids opened the gates, I saw our garage packed with cars. Three black SUVs were in it and a couple of convertibles were parked along the garden. I suspected that there would be a lot of them, judging by the vehicles parked in our lot.

“They’re all waiting for you inside.” Peter smiled and led me to the marble doorway as one of the maids opened the heavy wooden double door.

All heads turned to me as I stepped in our bright living room. The chandelier, the florescent bulbs and the lamps at each corner of the room provided all luminescence. They could spare the effort of turning the lights on if they opened the windows. I thought as my attention averted from the lights to the ladies in the parlor.

“Oh Megan, dear. I want you to meet our relatives.” Mom said as she placed a hand on my back and led me to the ladies. There were nine new faces in the room, including Portia and the little girl she had on her lap. I gave her a polite smile and so did she.

“Megan, these are your cousins Jenny and Lourdes.” Mom motioned to two blonde girls seemingly at my age who are in some sort of a quarrel. They stopped and raced towards me as they heard their names. They kissed me on both cheeks and let out identical giggles.

“This is your Aunt Juliet, their mom.” She continued as another blonde came to embrace me. I noticed that half of the group was quite silent for some time. Judging by the seating arrangement I concluded that they were with Portia. The inner me is starting to get the odd feeling as she tilted her head sideways.

“Is she your daughter Mrs. Ravenhearst?” I asked as smiles lit their faces. She nodded as the flaxen haired little girl ran towards me. “My name is Lucy.” She smiled a sweet little smile as I noticed no resemblance with neither with Peter nor Portia. She wrapped her tiny gloved arms along my neck as I bent down and kissed her cheek. Peter picked her up and sat quietly beside his mother placing Lucy in his lap.

“These are my sisters: Maria,” She gestured to another gloved lady with darker blonde hair. “…and Constance.” The redhead beside Maria bowed at me in protocol. I smiled in return.

“And Megan, you have to meet Mrs. Lim, and Mrs. Garcia. They’re our new neighbors. They helped us a lot in getting settled.” Mother got between two Asians who look only a few years older than me. “Thank you for helping us get settled.” I uttered. “Oh, don’t mention it.” They replied in unison.

They were introduced to me one by one as they came easy to memorize. All of them have distinct characteristics that made them different from each other.

Words of fast recovery and wishes of good health was all that I heard from them. My cousins’ war of wits and elegant sounding curses at each other was really amusing to hear as I enjoyed the food for luncheon. They were fun to be with especially when they all pick on Aunt Bertha, gaining weight.

They all sounded happy and fun to be with. I thanked God for giving me a wonderful family, but then I noticed something wrong. Where are the men?