1.29 Love keeps its promises

It didn’t take very long until new problems appeared. Birdy had been spending most of her free time outside of the house for a few weeks now, and Anna was worried. Not only did she miss curfew more than once, and even had to be brought home by the police, but she never told her mother where she was going or who she was meeting with. Every time Anna asked, Birdy just smiled and didn’t say a word. 

One night, Benjamin got home from a meeting with an old friend, and reported that he had seen Birdy at the pool, accompanied by a pretty girl. They had been giggling and laughing, obviously having a lot of fun.

And then Birdy had kissed her. Benjamin hadn’t stayed very long to watch this scenario, since he didn’t want to spy on his stepdaughter, nevertheless he could tell that this girl – a stranger to him – had been quite pleased.

When Birdy got home that night, obviously way too late, almost her entire family was waiting for her. As soon as she entered the house, Barbra ran up to her and told her she’d be in trouble.

And she was right. Anna was furious about Birdy staying out until midnight again, and, even worse, not telling her about what was going on in her life. She knew that her daughter was growing up, and that she was supposed to lead her own life. It was not about that. Her anger came from the feeling that Birdy didn’t trust her enough to tell her about her feelings. 

The two girls didn’t speak to each other for a few days, and Birdy turned to painting for comfort. She had been grounded for her actions, which meant she couldn’t see any of her friends after school. Anna watched her oldest daughter suffer, and she hated herself for making her feel that way. She hadn’t wanted to hurt Birdy, she only wanted her to trust her parents, especially her as her mother. So she talked to her one afternoon, and explained what her constant worries were really about. There was no screaming or yelling, instead they had a long conversation. Birdy understood that her mother was sad about her secrets, and she explained that she hadn’t been too sure about her feelings in the beginning. That’s why she had kept it down for so long. But now she knew that she was in love with Sandra, a girl from high school, and that she no longer wanted it to be a secret.

At the following weekend, the family planned a trip to the pool. Birdy asked to stay home, because she wanted to get some schoolwork done. Anna looked at her daughter, and smiled. There was no way she really wanted to do something for school. But she didn’t object, instead she wished her a nice day, and then they left. Birdy stayed at home, alone.

But not for long. As soon as she could be sure that her family was gone, she called Sandra and invited her to her house. Finally they could spend some quality time together, without the fear of being interrupted.

They barely made it inside before Birdy pulled her closer and kissed her passionately. Sandra hadn’t been at school for the last few days, and she had missed her terribly. 

Being busy with each other, they didn’t realize somebody was approaching the house. Birdy had plucked up courage and asked Sandra to be her official girlfriend, which Sandra had happily agreed to. Nobody could steal them away from each other now.

Outside, Benni Hennessey arrived, bringing her youngest son with her. She had called Anna a few minutes earlier, announcing that they were on their way to pick up Beth for a play date. Of course, Beth was thrilled about having someone to play with, since she got a little bored at the pool with her older siblings and Barbra. When she arrived at home, Benni and her son were already waiting for her, not knowing that the happy couple inside hadn’t noticed them.

While Beth and the two visitors – Benni had decided to stay for a couple of minutes – played in the living room, Birdy and Sandra tried to remain some privacy. Moving to Birdy’s room would have required moving at all, and as long as they were undetected, they were fine.

At night, after Sandra had left, Birdy once again turned to the easel. She had been painting a lot lately, producing some lovely paintings that she put all over the house. Her parents’ pension was enough to live on, she didn’t have to sell them.

The next day, Anna and Benjamin officially invited Sandra over in the late afternoon. It was time they met the person that had captured their daughter’s heart. Soon, Benjamin and Sandra were lost in a discussion about local sport teams, noticing that they mostly shared the same thoughts. 

Billy was also fond of who might become his sister-in-law at some point. Sandra was a sweet girl, despite her weird clothing habits, and he really liked her. Even though he hadn’t had any luck with girls so far, he didn’t even try to hit on her. She was clearly in love with his sister, and he respected that.

To tighten the family bonds, all of them went to the summer festival again the next day. A few new attractions had opened, and they couldn’t wait to participate in all the contests. 

Benjamin had a very unpleasant encounter with a former love affair, somebody he had met while waiting for Anna. This woman had never heard from him again after he dumped her, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity for her to tell him everything that had been on her mind. Billy stood next to them, watching, and already trying to memorize some of the replies Benjamin shouted out. After all, he was going to be a star, and as a star he had to turn people down at some point. It couldn’t hurt to know how to do it smoothly.

At night, while Anna was taking some time for herself – the first time in ages –, she was suddenly joined by somebody she hadn’t seen for a long time.

Jo’s ghost appeared next to her, not saying a word, just watching. She tried to communicate with him, since there was so much she wanted to tell him, but he didn’t reply. Instead, he remained silent and finally floated away, in the direction of the house. It seemed like he wanted to check on everybody. After a few hours he was gone again, and Anna wondered whether she had imagined this situation.

Before she could think about it for too long, it was birthday time. Beth had finished elementary school with good grades, and was about to change schools now.

She hoped that the sun would shine a little brighter for her in her teen years, since she had often been bothered by her older siblings. She had always been the crazy little one, and now she wasn’t.

Her parents were astonished about how different she looked as a teen. Not only had she grown, but she had aged a lot. And now she was just beautiful. A beautiful young lady, with a future wide open.