You can pick your friends...

I had thought that my so called "hell week" at work was over. Apparently not.

My aunt phoned me at work Friday morning asking if I could take care of her kids for the day because my sister was on vacation and not available. In spite of my misgivings, I said that I would be over after work because she sounded really stressed.

I could see why when I got there. The whole house was in boxes, and my aunt and uncle were bickering with each other while they rushed frantically, trying to complete some last minute odd jobs that they had promised the new owners they would do. Just as I arrived, the baby woke up and started screaming.

My other cousin, Garrett, was nowhere to be found. I was somewhat glad to see that because she is a handful to say the least, and I still wasn't looking forward to spending several hours with her. My aunt and uncle left to get the truck they had rented for their move. Just then, there was a knock on the door. I took Kendall with me and opened it to find Garrett on the porch, and standing behind her was my mother's aunt Sharon.

There is no other way to describe my relationship with Sharon than dysfunctional. For reasons that I will probably never understand, she does not like me. For my part, I neither like nor dislike her, because I don't know her enough to be anything more than indifferent.

We sat together in the livingroom until Auntie Paula came back, and in that time, Sharon talked incessantly to Garrett. Once again, she didn't bother to aknowledge my presence. I considered telling her about how I need to pay for tuition and books and my membership at the rowing club and dance because she is a widowed millionaire with no children of her own, but then I decided against it. She doesn't like me and I don't need her money.

I keep trying to tell myself that I can't be loved by everyone, but I would be lying if I said that it didn't hurt. I'm glad that my cousins have such a caring aunt, because I never did, and I doubt I ever will.

After she left, I spent a hellish six hours with Garrett.