Sweet Summer Sunsets- A Robert Irwin FanFic

Ashley

Me: I don't know what to wear

Tarzan: sometimes you're such a girl lol what are your options?

Me: maybe cause I am a girl? light blue dress with a snowflake pattern or jeans and a Christmas shirt

Tarzan: I mean, you're just seeing you're uncle today and then spending time with my family, no need to really dress up 

Me: yeah, you're right. jeans it is. thanks!

I giggled at the fact that Robert was the one that I went to for things like this. Maybe once things get sorted with Cait and our families (well, family?), she and I could be this close too. 

I pulled out a pair of light blue mom jeans and a shirt that had a koala with a Santa hat on it. 

I took my time getting dressed and doing my hair, which I put in a simple braid. It was nice to be able to get dressed and ready without being in a rush like I seem to be on most days. 

I made sure to switch my watch band to a thicker one that would hide my fresh cuts better. I can't imagine my mum finding out that I did it again today. She didn't take it well when she found out that I did it, and I didn't want to deal with a similar situation possibly ruining the day for me. Or her. 

It was around 9:30 by the time I was done and I made my way downstairs.

"Good morning, sweetheart," my mum said as I walked into the kitchen. She was chopping vegetables and putting them in a container to put in the fridge until closer to lunch. "I'm just getting things prepped since the ham had to be in the oven early. Your uncle should be here soon, then we're going to do gifts and then you can help me with the rest of the cooking."

"Sounds good. And then after lunch, we're going to the Irwins, right?" I asked, wanting to double-check that that was still the plan. I knew there was no reason that the plan would have changed, but my anxiety and my mum being unpredictable lately wasn't a good mixture. 

"Yes. You're uncle is going to go back to where he's staying when we leave for the Irwins', he doesn't want to impose too much and I figure he could come to the zoo and meet them sometime in the next week, probably after we get things sorted with Cait's mum and her and all that."

I nodded, going to the fridge and grabbing some juice. 

"Speaking of your uncle, I offered for him to stay with us. He's been at a hotel and it gets expensive after a while, so I said he could take over your dad's old office that Elaine stayed in, the other spare room is a bit too girly for him."

I stopped what I was doing and looked up. Of course, she was wanting to make a big drastic change. 

"Sure," I said, not bothering to hide any hint of an attitude in my voice. 

"Ashley, come on. I know I hid the fact that you had a whole uncle from you, but you're going to have to get over it. Plus, you and he might get on better than you think. Maybe he'll be your Funcle." She laughed at the last part. Robert came up with that term when Bindi was pregnant with Grace. It was a mash-up of "fun" and "uncle", and he was determined to be Grace's Funcle.

I sighed. I knew she was probably right, and that I should get over my resentment about her lying. It wasn't like I was mad at her, I know that adults sometimes do things to protect their kids as well as they can, but I couldn't help being angry or frustrated. I also knew that having an uncle and a cousin would probably be nice and that it would be better if I just made an equal effort to get to know my uncle.

It wasn't good to be so angry, especially about something that I had no way of changing. Plus it was the holidays, which were supposed to be about family anyway.