extended weekend

December 1, 2086. Lara is 33, Jack is 37, Patrick is 36, Ryanne is 15, Luca is 2, Piper is 32. 




"Hey, screw you, buddy!" Lara says. "This is my corner."


In Catalina, Jack extends his long weekend to stay with his cousin's family for a few more days. It may be vacation for Jack, but it's a weekday for everyone else. Patrick is out hustling for piano gigs, Raine is at school, and Jack offered to watch 4-year-old Skye so that Lara could suit up as The Incredible Silver Cowgirl and try to scrounge some tips (if that gold loser doesn't steal all of her tourists).

So for Jack and Skye, it's showtime!



With a pianist father, a street-performing mother, and a budding child star sister, Skye is no stranger to performance arts. Jack, however, sounds like a wounded cat. But that's okay by Skye. She won't judge.


"Hey, Aunt Lara. Nice costume!"

Too bad Ryanne doesn't have any money for tips. She spent her last pocket change on a chai tea latte and a chocolate chip cupcake.


Ryanne struts through the vibrant Fashion District, noting a curious lack of clothing stores here. She doesn't get it, perhaps it's some kind of joke. The novelty of being a city girl is still fresh for Ryanne, and she wonders if this place will ever feel like home. It's weird and loud and fascinating.

Later, she will write in her journal that she maybe kind of likes it here, not that she could ever admit that to anyone. The first day at her new school starts on Monday, so she's reserving her judgement for now until she meets her new classmates.


Lara scrubbed off her silver face paint in time to join her hubby and the gang for the Spice Festival.


They invited everyone out, but that doesn't mean they intended to wait for them before they dug into the buffet.


Heartburn.


Jack is the Curry Champion, somehow, even though it was his first time at the Spice Festival!


Riley is enjoying that hookah, perhaps to ease her embarrassment about that little birthday party outburst she had the other night. Nobody mentions it, which she is grateful for.


Patrick and Lara look like they could use a date. They're happy to have more family nearby now. Especially family with a teenage daughter. Ryanne is about to be smothered in all the babysitting work she could ever hope for pretty soon, whether she likes children or not.


Past Raine's bedtime, it looks like.


Bagging up some leftovers to take home. A lot of leftovers!

Hey, it's free food.


Is that seconds, or thirds, or fourths?

They don't even look like they're enjoying it anymore! But, you know, free food.


This festival runs late, and now it's past Hayden's bedtime, too.

But while everyone was enjoying the food and festivities, here's what Ryanne was doing...


She was busy babysitting her little brother so her dad and stepmom could go hang out with their friends. And she doesn't mind too terribly much. She is getting paid for her time, of course. No teenager would ever turn down easy money, and Luca is a pretty easy tot. He doesn't cry too much, and he's even kind of fun sometimes.


She loves how he watches her and copies everything she does.




It reminds her of how she was a little squirt to her big sister once, too.


When Luca goes down for his nap, Ryanne calls Sam. He says they had their first snowfall up north, and she says she walked home from school without a jacket.

Her departure was faster than they were ready for. They never managed to make it happen—she feels too immature to even say it—do it, have sex, make love, whatever. They talked about it, but before they could make any plans, she was gone.

"It's no big deal," Sam says. "There's spring break, or summer. Unless you meet some hunk at your new school."

"Ha ha," Ryanne laughs.  Sam is sweet. She doesn't know that she would call him or anyone who couldn't yet grow chest hair a "hunk." She imagines Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones, and James Dean on a motorcycle. Sam isn't a hunk, he is adorable. Anyway, she wonders if they weren't quite ready for it. This summer they'll both be sixteen. She'll convince his parents to let him come out and visit. They'll be ready then, and it'll be even better.


As part of the tenth grade curriculum, they both have a robotics project this year. It's a shame they can't work on them together.  It's a shame they didn't have time to decide whether they were ready or not ready, then before they knew it, the time to decide was over. It's a shame about a lot of things in life, but not everything.


Ryanne's new bedroom is the biggest bedroom in their apartment, and she found a couple of cool lamps at a street sale. She swiped some posters of a band that Summer says she knows and will sneak Ryanne into one of their shows sometime.


And her bedroom has one of the best views in the neighborhood!


But best of all, Summer lives here.

It's the last day of Ryanne's extended fall break, so the Phoenix girls (and little boy) take a day trip out to Sierra Nova to pick some veggies from the farm. They marvel at the great outdoors for a bit, but mostly they can't stay off of their phones. Silly city slickers.


Photobombing toddler.


Ryanne picks some bananas and everyone takes turns making sure Luca doesn't eat dirt. Piper has nine more weeks before the new baby arrives. She worries about pesticides first, then the dangers of e coli from fresh produce, but she has a spotty cell signal out here and can't find any answers. While the girls snack on strawberries off the vine, Piper decides to eat hers at home after a good washing to be safe.


They bought some prepared takeout from the farmer's market to have for lunch downtown. There is a restaurant there, but they didn't think Luca would want to sit through that. After a long day in the sun, he would want a nap soon anyway.


But this was fine, Ryanne thought.

Just then, Piper said, "This is so nice. We should bring your dad back here when he gets a day off."

Later, in her journal, Ryanne will write about how it sort of feels like they're all a family. A whole family, not a mangled one, even if they were perhaps pieced together and bonded with glue.

And she'll write about the funny way that life throws you things you're sure you'll hate, but then it all turns out fine. Better than fine, maybe. It turns out good. Not that she'll ever admit it out loud.

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notes: Isn't Ryanne just precious with Luca? Remember when she hated the idea of getting a new little sibling?