Thorns of Life

Chapter One

"How's my favourite niece?" I asked joking, she smiled brightly at me.

"I'm great auntie Ema!" She sung, she called me Ema for short. "I'm really existed to see Grandma, and Grandad." She giggled. "Where's Ginny? And Lily?"

"Sleeping in the van." I told her, "You'll be driving with us I trust?" I asked both her and Hazel.

"If you want to it's okay with me Annabeth." Hazel told her, I smiled as Annabeth gave me a hug, I helped Hazel load up her truck with her and Trevor and then we left again. All four of my children remained asleep.

"So auntie, anything new?" Annabeth asked me sweetly, I smiled at her. I made sure the kids were asleep before I continued.

"Well we will be picking up a surprise in Esterhazy." I told her kindly, she nodded. Even if Annabeth was five she was very smart, not much different from Hazel. The rest of the trip went by, it was three hours later when Ginny woke up.

"Hi Ginny!" Annabeth giggled, they were sitting next to each other. Ginny threw her arms around her cousin and they quietly told story's and caught up on each others lives.

After a few hours we pulled into Esterhazy. I felt at home as we drove past dairy vile. I knew I would have to take the kids to it while we were down, soon I was pulling into my old drive way. The old trampoline still out back, a new swing set, and an above ground pool. Mom was watching out the window as we pulled in, Haley pulled in front of the house not long after I pulled in.

"Hi guys, oh look at the kids!" Mom told us after hugging us. "They've grown! And look at Hermione's hair, I told you it would be curly like Hazel's."

"I know, she's such a sweetie." I told my mom, she smiled as I grabbed the now awake Hermione and paced her over to mom. "Lily, Ginny, please take your suite cases inside, Jeff can you start setting up the tent outside?" I told my kids and asked my husband sweetly.

"Sure Hun, kids after you've done that help your mother please." Jeff said, kissing me on the cheek before grabbing the tent out of the back.

"Gran where are us girls staying?" Lily asked, I smiled as she had already grabbed her suite case and was waiting as patient as she could right now.

"Your moms old room." Mom told her kindly, I smiled... Wait did the kids know where my old room was?

"Where is it?" Lily asked sweetly, I smiled at her kindness towards others.

"Down stairs, get your grandpa to carry your suite case down, he's watching the football game with your uncle Cris in the living room." Mom told Lily and Ginny. They bolted inside, Lily has a connection with my dad just like I had one with his. I find this sweet, they play card games and tease each other and others. It brings a smile to my face every day.

I walked over and in hitched a very cranky James from his car seat. He jumped out and ran over to his grandmother. I laughed, he then turned to me as Hazel was just walking up the drive way. "Percy! Mom where's Percy!" James giggled happily, I smiled and ruffled his dark brown hair, his blue eyes shone up at me.

"He's waiting in the van most likely James, can you go inside and help your sisters right now though?" I asked him, he pouted but went inside to find his sisters. "So mom, do you know who's coming down for our little reunion?" I asked her, she smiled.

"Ryan, his boys, Cris and his daughter and wife, Willy, his wife and boys, Todd and Lora, Zyla and Ty most likely will be coming to, Brad his wife and daughter, Beth her husband and two girls, Sarah, her kids, her husband works, and Casey and Arabella." She told me, "You know of anyone?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure Nick, Zach, Fay and Savanna be here, and Jasmine, Ryan, Ross and Rikki." I told my mom, Haley was now beside us.

"Zoey has come up from Minot with Cris, Riley and Max." Hazel said, "And Sara is coming up with her two kids, Victory and Lori."

"So a full on party?" I laughed, Hazel laughed to. We all went inside the house shortly after that, dad was watching the game, Lily sitting happily next to him, Ginny on the floor playing with a beer bottle lid, I gave them a strange look. I sighed and picked up one of the girls suite cases and brought it down to their room, my room... Doesn't matter.

I walked into my room, the walls were still a dark purple, but instead of a single bed there were two bunk beds. The TV still sat in the same corner and my desk was all cleared off, there were still some of my pictures on the walls, me with Zoey, and Hazel in a photo both from the summer we went to Edmonton, I smiled at that picture.

I looked more closely at the bunk beds, there were drawers for cloths underneath them, there was also a crib in the corner. I smiled. Mom had everything prepared. "Pick a bunk girls, then put your cloths in the empty drawers underneath." I told them, "bed right away, you can watch TV for a bit if you like, but I'm coming to turn it off in an hour." I told them as they emptied their suite cases.

I walked back up stairs to find James and Percy talking, I sighed. "James sweet heart it's time for bed." I told him.

"Mommy can't I stay up a little bit longer!" James begged, I sighed.

"No James."

"It's time for you to go to bed to Percy," Hazel told her own son, he sighed as we took the boys down to Hazel's old room. It was pretty similar to mine, her walls still the same bright blue and green they were when we painted them when I was eighteen. There was a bunk bed up against the back wall where Hazel's bed once was and a newer TV then her old one. Her walls were no longer covered in one direction posters, but I saw them in a box behind the door. I think mom didn't want to scar our children for life yet. On the desk I sat a picture of Hazel and Vader, it made me smile. There was also a picture of Princess and me, when I was seventeen, Princess twelve.

"Wow. Mom really outdid herself." I told Hazel, she nodded. We both went up stairs to catch up on each others lives.