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“Okay, Mom. Let me talk to David. The sooner, the better for us, with the holiday shopping season coming up.” David saw Patrick nodding his head and walking around the dining room table. “Uh huh. Yep. Have Aunt Sherry email us the info. We’ll see you next week. Tell Dad we love him. Of course, I will! Love you too.”
“That sounded serious,” David took a bite out of one of the cookies Marcy sent him to taste test. She wanted to try some new recipes for her cookie exchange this year, and of course David volunteered to help.
Patrick hugged and kissed David on his cheek, and sat down across from his husband and took the last peanut butter cookie from the plate. “The hug was from Mom, because, and I quote, you give that husband of yours a big squeeze from me!” David smiled, rolled his eyes, and took another bite. “Do you remember Aunt Sherry?”
“Patrick, you have a lot of Aunts. You need to be a little more specific, please. Oh, wait! Was she the one who could not stop talking about the plastic surgery she had that she thought didn’t look like she had anything done, but in reality you could tell she did have it, and it wasn’t very good?” Patrick shook his head and laughed.
“No, David. That was Aunt Rhonda, and we’ve all been sworn NEVER to speak about that ever again! Aunt Sherry is my Dad’s cousin, but we all just called her Aunt Sherry. I believe you said she reminded you of your mom when she wears her strawberry-blonde Anna Wintour wig?” David raised his right eyebrow and closed his eyes for a moment.
“Okay. Two things. One, I do remember her now that you said that. And, two, I am legitimately impressed you remembered I said that!”
“I’m learning. Anyway, may I finish?”
“Of course. Proceed.” David waved his hand.
“As you know, this is Grandma Brewer’s first Christmas since moving into the assisted living facility. She is having a rough time adjusting, and of course, she misses her family. Aunt Sherry wants to help, and so she is arranging to get as many family members as she can together for a photo shoot. She wants to give it to her for Christmas.”
“That, uh, that sounds very ambitious. What does that have to do with us?”
“We are part of the family, yes?”
“Yes.”
“Then that means we are to be included in the photo shoot. By the sounds of it, she found a photographer in Toronto. She just needs to find a day that would work with everyone’s schedule-”
“Wait, wait, wait. She wants all these family members to come together for one picture?”
“I think so, why?”
“How many people will that be?”
“Um, not sure. With all the spouses and kids and grandkids, 35-40? Maybe 50? I really don’t know how many.”
“Don’t you think that is asking a lot from everyone? I mean, I get it. Your family is used to doing these kinds of things, and having family get-togethers and what-not. In my experience, it is very difficult to coordinate that many people in one setting. Did I ever tell you about the sitting my family had to do for a painting my dad wanted? We could not even get the four of us together because Alexis was out of the country, and we had to get a stand-in for her!”
“David, I don’t think we can compare your family to mine. And we certainly won't be needing any stand-ins! But I do see where you are going with this. I did tell Mom it was going to be tough for us, with how busy the store is this time of year.”
“Exactly!”
“What do we do, then? We have to be included.”
“We do. I guess we could wait until we know what the logistics will be. I mean, we could probably close the store for a couple of days to make it work. And, we will be seeing your folks next week for Thanksgiving. I’m sure we’ll get more info from your mom.”
“That works for me. But, if we could arrange it so we don’t have to close the store, I would like that even better.”
“I know.”
Clint and Marcy arrived late Friday afternoon. They had dinner at the cafe, and then Marcy insisted she cook for the remainder of the visit. Stevie was due to fly home Saturday, and then the five of them would celebrate Thanksgiving on Monday.
After dinner, Patrick helped Clint and Marcy get settled while David made an extensive grocery list. He promised he would take Marcy shopping in Elmdale, and then they would get lunch together.
“Oh David! I brought one last batch of cookies for you to taste!” Marcy opened a cookie tin and handed it to her son-in-law. David’s eyes widened when he saw what was in the tin.
“What are these?” he asked with a mouthful of cookie.
“I made these especially for you! They’re called Cherry Blossoms. I mashed my own cherries for the batter!” she told him. “You like them, then?”
“These. Are. Delicious!” He grabbed another of the pink cookies with a Hershey’s kiss in the center. Marcy laughed.
“Patrick told me how much you liked cherry blossoms, and as soon as I saw the recipe, I knew I had to make them for you!”
“Thank you! And, these are definitely the ones you need to make for your little cookie exchange!”
Later that evening, David snuggled in close, resting his head on Patrick’s chest. Patrick was just about asleep when he heard David sniffle. He sat up.
“David? What’s the matter? What happened?”
“Nothing happened, Patrick,” he whispered. “It’s nothing. It’s just-”
“It’s just what?”
“Your mom. I still cannot believe she saw those cookies, knew I would like them, and then baked them just for me. The last person to do anything like that for me was Adelina when I was ten. It was a nice surprise, I guess.”
“Why does that surprise you? She loves you, David, and she would do anything for you! You know that.”
“I do. I do know that. And I am trying, Patrick. Trying to accept that there are good people in the world who do things like this without wanting or expecting anything in return.”
Patrick kissed David on his forehead before laying down. “I know you are, baby. And just so you know, you deserve every bit of attention my mom gives you. And I’m not even upset that she did not make my oatmeal scotchies this year.”
“Really?”
“Maybe a little,” Patrick mumbled into his pillow.
David was the last one up the next morning. When he finally came downstairs, he was dressed and ready for breakfast. Patrick took Clint to the store because he wanted help with fixing one of the shelves in the backroom that broke two weeks ago. Marcy handed him a cup of coffee and plated up some bacon, eggs, and toast.
“Thanks, Marcy. This smells delicious. And I hope you know we do not expect you to cook for us while you’re here. That being said, I will gladly eat whatever you place in front of me!” Marcy sat down and took a sip of her tea.
“You know I love cooking for you boys! David, I was looking at the picture frame you have in the living room, and was wondering about it.”
David nodded. “You must be talking about the Aura. Alexis got it for us for our anniversary this year. It freaked me out at first because every time I walked by, there was a new picture in there! She has access to add more pictures to it. She got one for Mom and Dad, too, but they are not too tech-savvy, so she takes care of theirs for them.”
“It’s like a slideshow. A digital slideshow.”
David swallowed and wiped his mouth. “Mhmm. It really is quite something. And now, I can add pictures whenever I want, and of course, it helps us to stay in touch. Whenever she adds something new, I know we’ll be talking soon.”
“I love it. I’m thinking this could be perfect for Grandma Brewer. Sherry is having a much more difficult time than she thought she would be trying to get everyone together for that photo shoot.”
“I told Patrick she may run into some roadblocks facilitating that. You know, old pictures can be digitized and then uploaded to the frame. I think that, mixed with some new pictures, could be something pretty special. Special for Grandma Brewer. I mean, if, um, that is something Sherry may like to do.” Marcy smiled and patted David’s hand.
“David? Could you talk to Sherry about this? I do think she would love that idea very much. How about this. After we get back from shopping and lunch, I’ll give her a call, and we can talk to her about this together.”
“Sure. I can do that. If you want me to.”
“I do want you to. Now finish up your breakfast so we can get going!”
After two hours on the phone, Sherry and David came up with a solid plan. She loved the idea of a digital picture frame that could display a slideshow of pictures from the past and present. And she loved it even more when David offered to help digitize and organize the family pictures for her. He also told her he knew someone who could digitize old photos, and that he would love to help out in any way he could. Part of Ray’s photography business now included digitizing photos.
Sherry said she would start gathering the family’s photos immediately. She wanted to give the rest of the family members a couple of weeks to choose the ones they wanted to use, and then she would send David the pictures. She also made it very clear he was under no obligation to use every picture that would be sent to him.
Sherry still wanted to try to take that extended family photo, and they agreed it would be more special if Patrick’s grandmother could be in the photo, as well. It was decided on Christmas Day, the family was to gather at Sherry’s house to have the picture professionally taken. That would give David a full two months to get the digital portion of the gift finalized, and then they could give the frame to Grandma Brewer on Christmas.
The following week, David was already going through the more recent photos Sherry emailed him. He took meticulous notes, with Patrick’s help, as to who was who in each picture, as well as what family event was taking place. Everything was going smoothly and was looking the way David had envisioned it to look.
That was until the boxes arrived.
One chilly afternoon in early November, seven cardboard file boxes filled with years and years of Brewer family photos arrived.
“What the fuck did I agree to? Look at all of these! My God! There must be hundreds and hundreds of pictures here!” David opened one box and pulled out a handful of photos. Stevie sat down next to David on the couch and opened another box.
“Wow. The Brewer’s really like to take pictures, huh?” Stevie asked as she flipped through another stack.
There were photos of weddings, graduations, and birthday parties. There were photos of dance recitals, school plays, and sportsball pictures. There were photos of family reunions, summer vacations, and holiday get-togethers. The longer David looked at the pictures, the more he felt like he was getting a glimpse of how he thought normal families lived. It was like a time-capsule documenting what it was like to be a Brewer, and it was so very different from how he grew up.
“There are some of Rachel in here, so don’t be shocked if you come across some.”
“Why would I be shocked? They were together for years. I honestly would be more shocked if she wasn’t in some of these. At least those I know I can put in the discard pile. Oh, my God- look at this!” He handed Stevie a small stack of pictures of teenage Patrick dressed in his Rose Video uniform.
“I am so keeping this!” Stevie laughed. “This is great!”
“Give it back! I am adding it to our Aura, though!”
“Please let me be there when you do! Hey. What’s the matter?” Stevie held out her hand and David handed her some more pictures.
“I’m confused. It looks like a graduation party or something.” David nodded.
“It looks like Patrick and a few of his cousins graduated at the same time.”
“Okay? And?”
“Everybody was there. The same people who have been at every gathering. Alexis and I don’t even know our cousins. Mom wasn’t close with her family, and Dad was an only child. The only people we had at our parties were business associates of Dad’s, and of course the people in Mom’s circle.”
“Cry me a river, David. Poor you had to party with the Jared Leto's of the world.”
“It wasn’t real, you know. Any of it. You don’t ever really get to know people like that. Everybody is so guarded. And forget about trusting anyone-”
“Hey. I was kidding. I know it wasn’t all great. But, you have to admit you hit the jackpot with Patrick, you know. There really are families out there who actually like each other and don’t have relatives in jail. Check these out, David!”
David looked into the box Stevie opened. He saw photographs from their wedding and from David’s first Christmas with the Brewers, the majority of which he had never seen before.
“Looks like you made the cut, Rose.” David tucked his smile into his cheek and nodded.
“Looks like I did.”
For the next month, David, with Patrick’s help, sorted through the hundreds of photographs. Any free time David had, he was working on the project. Ray taught him how to digitize and how to troubleshoot any issues that may pop up. To say he was obsessed was an understatement. By the time he was finished, he felt like he gained a whole new perspective of what it was like to be a Brewer.
Christmas morning, David met with Sherry before everyone arrived to explain how the Aura worked. Clint dropped David off before he, Marcy, and Patrick left to pick-up Grandma Brewer.
As soon as she saw David, Sherry ran out of the house to greet him and gave him a big hug. “Oh, David! What you did was amazing. I’m not even ashamed to tell you I cried like a baby the first time I watched it!”
David embraced Sherry and pulled away. “It’s good, then? You think she’ll like it?”
“I do. She is going to love it! I can’t tell you what it means to all of us that you did this. I know we sent you a lot-” David waved his hand.
“It was fine, and I learned so much. I feel like I really got to know you all, and it was an enlightening experience to say the least! But you! How you managed to get everyone here, now that, that was quite a feat!” Sherry laughed.
“Come on in. I think we both deserve some wine before the craziness begins!”
Two hours later, Graham, the photographer, was in the process of wrangling all 48 Brewers to their prospective seats, as a few of the cousins tried to hush their crying babies. David whispered something to Graham before taking his seat in between Patrick and Marcy. Clint stood next to Marcy. Grandma Brewer was front and center and was clearly loving every minute of the attention she was receiving.
“What did you say to the photographer?” Patrick whispered.
“Hmm? Oh, I told him that any couples who weren’t married to make sure their partners were stationed on the outer edge.”
“What? Why?”
“It will be easier to cut them out if they don’t stay together, of course!” Patrick chuckled, shook his head, and kissed David’s shoulder.
“Okay! Folks? I think we may be ready!” Graham blew a whistle, and for a few seconds there was silence. “All right, let’s try this again. Show me your best and brightest smiles!”
Graham was able to get about five good pictures of the entire group before the youngest Brewers started to get restless. A few of the cousins arranged to have Graham take some personal family pictures since everyone was dressed up.
“All right, boys! We’re up next!” Marcy proclaimed. David looked at Patrick and Patrick and shrugged his shoulders.
“What?”
“I arranged to have our family picture taken, of course! Come on! It’s been years since we’ve had a professional picture taken! And now we have you, David!”
“Just go with it, boys. Your mother has been planning this since Sherry set this all up.”
“But why, Patrick? We take pictures all the time.”
“Because Mom wants a current family photo, that's why. You are now part of the family, and Mom wants to show that. Think of this as our engagement picture re-do. And I bet no one will ask us what mouse pad background we want this time!"
"Well, in that case, we can't let Marcy Brewer down, then, can we?"
"No. No, we cannot."
After all the group pictures were taken, Graham gave David a sneak peek of the afternoon’s session. Sherry told them they could use the study, and David was thankful for a brief reprieve away from the very rambunctious Brewer clan.
“Would you excuse me, David? I need to start packing up. Take as long as you need, and I'll get everything when you're finished. You have a beautiful family,” Graham said as he left David alone in the study. At least he thought he was alone.
“Thanks. It’s my husband’s family, actually.”
“It’s your family, now, too, David.” David turned around and saw Grandma Brewer standing in the doorway. “I was hoping I would get the chance to talk to you alone. Mind if I join you?” David cleared his throat and stood up. He pulled out a chair and motioned for Grandma Brewer to sit down.
"I don't mind a bit."
“Thank you, dear. Don’t get me wrong, I love and miss my family very much. But, it can be quite overwhelming to have everybody here in one place! And they are so loud! I needed a moment to clear my head.”
David laughed. “They are something, that's for sure. I often find myself looking for a quiet spot when Patrick and I attend any family gathering.”
“What you and Sherry did, I just wanted to thank you personally, David. I can only imagine the time you put into this. Patrick is a very lucky man to have you in his life.”
David blinked a few times and looked up towards the ceiling. “I- I’m the lucky one. I never thought I’d ever be a part of a family like this. My family is nothing like this. I don’t want you to think that I don’t love them, because I do."
“Oh, honey! I’m sure that you do love them!”
“I guess what I wanted to say is, what you all have here, this is, well, it’s quite wonderful.”
“I’m so glad you think so, David. Well, if I don’t go back soon, Sherry will probably call out a search party to find me! Walk me out?”
“Absolutely, Grandma Brewer. It would be my pleasure.” David stood up and held out his arm to her, and together, they joined the rest of the family.
His family.