modern family | vanessa delgado

Family Portrait

Claire wants to do this family picture thing that'll take place later on today. She wants us all in white for it. I don't know why. She's the one who's organizing it and seems to be a perfectionist. 

Before that happens, I'm just hanging out with Haley for the day and then we just enter her home from our friend's house. Since the guys are going to the Lakers game, I decide to hang out with Haley.

We just mind our own business until we're about to pass by Claire who is just...staring at the stairs looking like she's deep in thought.

I don't really know why. With this family, I'm not sure if I want to know.

Haley turns around to her and got confused just like me. "What's wrong?"

"A broken step. It's going to ruin our whole family portrait." Claire answers, still staring at it.

Haley and I look at the stairs to check it out ourselves. I look at all the stairs and I honestly don't see anything wrong it. Maybe there is one wonky step, but it doesn't stand out that much, so it's not a big deal.

But knowing how the Pritchett's are, it is.

"I don't see anything." Haley notices as she looks at it.

"So I'm crazy?" Claire gives her a look with her arms crossed.

It's such a bad thing to let your own mother know that she's crazy. No matter if that's true, you don't want to let her know just to save yourself from your mother's crazy wrath.

"No! You're...not...?" Haley doesn't sound convincing enough.

"I think I can kinda see it." I tell her.

"You can?" Claire asks to me, glad that I understand.

"A little." I admit.

"Your father was supposed to fix that step." She says to Haley.

"Mom, you're obsessing over the tiniest little thing-" 

"So, you do see it, yeah?" She shrugs.

I give a look to Haley that her mother is very anal about everything. The wood sticks out a little bit, but it's really nothing. You can be notice it at a quick glance.

"What is the big deal about this one picture?"

"Honey, you know what? I don't expect you to understand, but..." Then Claire sighs and approaches us. "When you two are mothers, everything goes by so quickly in a minute. Luke's gonna be shaving, Alex is gonna graduate from college, and you're gonna be..." She trails off when she can't think of what Haley will be doing with her life. "You're gonna be doing something great. I just wanna freeze this moment as it is right now. You know?"

"I get that." I nod my head.

"I do," Haley answers. "I know I don't show it, but this family is still the most important-" 

"Screw it," Claire interrupts her speech. "I'm gonna fix the bastard," She starts walking up the stairs. Haley gives me a look and I give her a sympathetic one in return for how she has to put up with her mother. "I mean, how hard can it be? Your father can do it, I can do it, right? Alright." She kneels down at the broken step. 

"Do you want me to text Jay cause I'm sure he can-" I'm about to offer, but she can do.

"No, no. I can do this-" She lifts the wooden board and it pops off, breaking it.

"Ohhh, now I see it." Haley says.

Later, her and I are sitting on the couch, talking, while the Lakers game is on. My mother is at the game twitch Manny, Phil, and Alex.