The Cost Of Winning

FIANNA'S POV :

As the GPS in our rental car informs us that we're one mile from our destination, Ash quickly glances in my direction, and asks, "You all right over there, love?"

I lean my head back against the seat, and sigh. "Yeah, I think so. It's just kind of hard to know what to expect. Skype is one thing, but this is totally different."

We're currently driving into a somewhat rural area of Colorado, where I'm about to meet my brother in person for the first time. David and his wife, Leanna, had invited us several weeks ago to come out and spend a few days at their place, and we decided on the Fourth of July holiday week. The band still has a couple of months before the release of the new album, so we decided to make sure it happened before the tour starts, so Ash can be involved as well.

A couple of minutes later, we see a large, log-cabin style house on our left, with a multi-car garage to one side, and a woman in a large sunhat in the yard, spraying several raised flowerbeds with a garden hose. As we pull into the driveway, she lets go of the spray nozzle, letting it fall to the grass, and as Ash turns off the ignition, we can hear her call out, "David! Ben! Come out, they're here!"

As we get out of the car, a sliding-glass door at the side of the house opens up, and a tall, dark-haired man in his forties comes out onto the patio. He takes a few steps toward us, and then, with a rather startled expression, stops so abruptly that the person behind him fetches up against his back.

"Dad! Don't slow down so fast, I'm tryin' to get out here!" we hear him exclaim. " What's the prob, anyway?"

He shakes his head briefly, then replies. "No problem, son. Just trying to get a good look at our guests."

Ash touches my shoulder, and says, "You go on, babe. I'll get Bren out and catch up in a sec."

I move away from the car, the second person comes forward to meet me, and I get my first face-to-face look at my brother. He's nearly as tall as Ash, with slightly shaggy medium-brown hair, and a very familiar pair of grayish-green eyes, which are the only thing he inherited from both Claudia and our Grandma Colleen. He breaks into a huge grin, and I see the glint of braces on his teeth, before he nearly smothers me in a huge hug, actually lifting me up off the ground.

"You're actually here!" he shouts. "I've been waiting for you guys all day! It's so cool to finally actually see you!"

"It's great to finally see you, too, Ben," I tell him, ruffling his hair as I hug him back.

"Sweetheart, maybe you should put your sister down, and let her breathe," Leanna tells him gently. "Then we can get their bags out of the car and go inside, where it's cooler."

"Oh, crap! I'm sorry, Fi, I didn't mean to squish you!" he apologizes, as he sets me back on my feet. "I was just so excited..."

"It's totally okay, I understand perfectly. I've been antsy all the way from the airport," I reply. 'Now come with me, there are people I want you to meet." I take hold of his hand and lead him to the car, where Ash is standing, holding onto Bren's hand as she leans against his leg, looking at everyone curiously.

I introduce Ash to everyone, and then I bring Ben forward and say, "Bren, do you know who this is?"

She nods, and says, "Me think so. Am that's yous bubby that you talks to on the 'puter?"

"That's absolutely right, Smidge, this is your Uncle Ben. And Ben, this is your niece, Brenna."

He crouches down, to her eye level, and says, "Hi, Brenna. You're a very pretty little girl. How old are you now?"

She hold her chin up very proudly, and announces, "Me had mines birfday, and me is tree, so I'ms a big girl now. Me gots mine own wittle horsie, and she's name is Daisy. Her is dray. How old you is?"

"I'm fourteen, and I'll be fifteen when I have my birthday. I have a horsie, too, but mine is brown and white spotted. His name is Strider, and maybe we can all go for a ride while you're here."

"Yes, yes! Mommy say yous telled her you gots horsies, so us all bwinged ours boops, so us cans go sees they!" she enthuses, reaching out to grab his hand. "Daddy cans wide weally good, but me don'ts weally knows how yet. Mommy don'ts know, too. Wast time us wides the horsies, her falled off."

As we head toward the house, with Bren walking between Ash and Ben, he says, "Well then, we'll have to let your mommy ride one of our really nice horses, so she won't get hurt. But if your daddy is a good rider, he can ride one of the big horses that likes to go faster."

We walk into the house, with the three of them still chattering about horses, and as they move toward the living room, I stop David, and ask, "Was there something wrong a few minutes ago? You seemed to be a bit startled when you came outside."

He gives me a wry sort of grin, and replies, "No, nothing was wrong, but even though I've seen you when you Skyped with Ben, I guess I wasn't quite prepared for how much you look like Claudia. Except for those blue eyes, you're almost her doppelganger."

Ash has apparently been listening, because he says, "Not so much anymore. I could see that there had been a resemblance at one point, but it's long gone now. Everything is so exaggerated at this point that she's not really even attractive anymore."

"Is it seriously that bad?" David asks him.

"I remember something from when I was a kid that might explain what I'm talking about," Ash explains. "I don't know if you remember, but there used to be this chick with a freakin' humongous chest, who would run out on the field during baseball games and kiss the players. That's basically where Claudia is now. She's trying so hard that she's basically become a parody of herself."

"Yeah, I remember the one you're talking about. She called herself 'Morgana, The Kissing Bandit'*. Definitely a bit much."

We all settle into the living room to talk, and I bring out the pictures I brought to show Ben, of our grandma, a few of our grandad, who I never met, and some of me as a kid, and they bring out numerous pictures of him as well. During dinner, Smidge insists on sitting next to him, they talk about their schools, and she tells him about Ivy, while he says that his best friend is named Zac. They have put us in two connecting rooms on the first floor, so 'we can have some privacy', Leanna explains. So when Bren eventually gets sleepy, I let Ben tell her a bedtime story, and Ash and I put her to bed.

When we come back out to the living room, I can see immediately that Ben has been talking to his folks about something, because he looks at them sort of questioningly. The look at each other, and David says, "All right, son, they're yours, and if Fianna and Ashley are okay with your idea, so are we."

Ash and I look at each other, sort of confused, and he proceeds to tell us about an idea he had earlier, but didn't want to mention in front of Bren, in case we were against it. We all sit and discuss it, and finally agree to let him carry out his plan. After we get everything settled, we all sit and talk for awhile longer, and eventually, everyone goes to bed.

The next morning, during breakfast, Ben sits down by Bren, and tells her, "Brenna, since I didn't get to come to your birthday party, your mom and dad said that I can give you a present now. So as soon as we finish eating, I'll take everybody out so you can see it."

"Me gets more pesent? Yay! What it is?"

"If I tell you, it won't be a surprise, so you'll just have to wait and see."

After everybody finishes eating, we go outside and walk to a small, barn-like building. Ben puts his hand on the doorhandle, and tells Bren, "I've got some very special things in here, and your mom and dad said I can give you one. But you have to be very nice and careful, okay?"

"Otay, me is be good girl, Unca Ben."

He opens the door, and we're immediately swarmed by several pudgy little tan puppies, and the mother dog ambles along after them, eager to check everyone out. She walks up and looks at Ben, who sits on the floor to scratch her ears.

"This is my dog, Bren. Her name is Sally, and these are her puppies. And you get to pick one to take with you when you go home."

"Puppy for weally can goes to ours house? For weally, weally? What one is mine puppy?" she squeals. "And why does them wook wike the wittle dreen man ons the moobie?"

"You can have whichever one you want, except Sally. And what little green man are you talking about?"

"The wittle dreen man that fwies, and gots big ears, and hits the bad mans wif hes big fwashwight," she clarifies.

It dawns on me what she's talking about, and I inform them, "She's talking about Yoda, guys. And considering that they're Shar-Pei's, she's kind of right."

There are five little puppies running around under our feet, and then a sixth, who's smaller than the others, comes out to investigate. But everytime it tries to get some attention, one of the others shoves it aside, until it finally gives up and goes to lay back down. Bren walks over and pats the little pup, and it licks her hand, so she lays down beside it and kisses it on the head. "This one ams mine puppy, 'cause it am sad. But am it a boy puppy or a girl puppy?"

"That's a boy puppy, sweetie," Ben tells her. "But are you sure you don't want one of the other puppies, that want to run and play? That one is the runt."

"But him is nice, and him need somebody to wuv he. And him is wittle, wike Mommy and Aunt 'Kaela say me were when I'm was baby. But me gots big, 'cause Mommy wuvs me, so me will helps he gets big, too. And him's name wills be wike the wittle dreen man, too, so him cans be bwave puppy."

She picks the puppy up from the cushion and cuddles him to her chest, wearing her stubborn face, looking at all of us like she's daring somebody to argue with her.

"I have to say, that's one bright little girl you've got there," David says. "I know some grown-ups who can't explain themselves that well."

"And it would be really nice if more grown-ups had that kind of compassion, too," Leanna adds.

Ben gives her a smile, and stands up."All right, then, I guess Yoda is your puppy, if you're sure he's the one you want."

"Yes, him my Yoda," she proclaims, as the puppy stretches it's head up and licks her on the chin. "See, him wuvs me, too! Him want to go to ours house wif me, and seeps in mine bed, and pway in mines wittle house. Pwease it ams otay?"

"Of course it is," Ash answers. "Uncle Ben said you can have whichever puppy you want, so if you want Yoda, he'll go home with us when we leave."

As she sits back down to play with Yoda and his siblings, I turn to Ash and remind him "Yes, the puppy will be going home with us, which means that sometime in the next few days, you need to either plan on a long drive back, or call the airline and make travel arrangements for our newest family member."

He nods in agreement, and puts his arm around me as we watch Bren play with her new friend, with my brother right next to her. I pull out my phone and take several pictures, so I don't ever forget.

I actually have a family again, and I want to enjoy every moment.

Notes