by Eric McKeever

Created on: July 02, 2009   Last Updated: August 15, 2010

Lucy was an only child.  She enjoyed having her own bedroom, her own bathroom in the two-bed, two-bath apartment she shared with her parents and having the opportunity to watch any station she choose while watching the television in her bedroom.  People often assumed that Lucy was "missing out" by not having any siblings, but she made no qualms about professing her love of having no brothers or sisters crowding her space.  She did however, come from a large family having eight aunts and uncles and countless cousins.  It seemed to her that the only thing the Moreno family enjoyed more than eating, was giving birth.  She had a hard time keeping all of her cousin's names straight and was often amused at the idea of them all trying to get along with their siblings, many who had to share bedrooms and bathrooms.  Her grandfather had passed away several years ago, but she did indeed enjoy spending time with her grandmother as Lucy was clearly the "favorite."

What she really loved about her grandmother, beyond the fact that her granny routinely slipped her gifts and cash for having some "common sense," was that her gam-gam  wasn't the pie-baking, cheek-squeezing type at all.  She was a strong woman with a wicked tongue that often lashed out at her cousin's "foolishness" as grandma would call it.  Her granny was stern, firm and funny, but not the type of woman whose bad side you wanted to get near. 

So when her grandmama asked if Lucy would like to go for a spin in her new car, she was delighted to accept.  What she hadn't been told what that three of her cousins would be accompanying them on their journey.  Lucy was also shocked to learn that her normal seat up front as the side-seat navigator was now going to be occupied by her "large and in-charge" female cousin Tiny who was anything but. Lucy grew further distressed when she was told that because she was so skinny, she would have to sit in the center of the backseat on the the hump in between Tiny's younger brothers Little Big John (named so as he was the junior of Big John and it was a way to distinguish) and nNot-Phil (called so as he was named after his father who had left the family and it made their mother feel better to remind herself that nNot-Phil was nothing like his father.)  Both boys were as large as Tiny, but not nearly as in charge thus making the riding experience a cramped disaster.

As the two boys flopped about shoving their weight

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>