Family Matters

"Hmm, I wonder if I'll live to see the day when the whole family sits down to have breakfast at the same time." Anne told herself one day as she prepared breakfast for the family. "Probably not..." She said with a smile.

The Montgomery Family consisted of eight family members across three generations. Four adults, two teenagers and two children. Soon, it would be four teenagers.

"Four teenagers under the same roof... what was that daughter of mine thinking." Anne said chuckling. In the end, it was business as usual: First Anne and Alex had breakfast, followed by twins Camren and Cole. Then Ben Clare and Caiden and at last, usually after everyone but Anne was off to school or work Blythe was usually the last to have breakfast.

It was also Caiden's birthday! The youngest of the three boys was finally catching up with his older brothers and becoming a teenager.

Teenage Caiden was a genius and now a cheerful kid to boot. He now aspired to be a Computer Whiz. For now it seems Caiden is the one out of the three boys that takes after their mother the most. With three teenage boys at home, Clare was feeling a bit small. But she didn't worry about that for now, soon she would catch up with her brothers.

Clare was on a mission of her own, well with the help of Charles of course. Clare had decided it was time to sort out this family issue. She had talked to her cousin Lori, and Lori said when she'd asked her parents about the Montgomery family, Malcolm had changed the subject and had not spoken of the matter since.

Now the plan was to have Lori over to Montgomery House, to be introduced to the family there. Clare had no way to guess how her parents would react to this, but she knew it couldn't possibly be a worst case scenario situation. Her parents and even grandparents were extremely family oriented. Surely they wouldn't turn Lori away.

That is why Charles and Clare were at the park. They were meeting Lori and then they would go back to Clare's house unless Lori decided to not go through with it.

Fortunately, Lori was all for meeting the Montgomery Household. They wasted no time in setting their plan in action.

"You've brought home another friend, Clare. Who might this little lady be?" Asked Blythe with a smile.

"Her name is Lori." Clare said watching her parents. "Lori Landgraab."

Ben looked at Lori surprised. He didn't even know his brother had married, let alone that he had a child. He sighed deeply, Malcolm and he had grown so far apart, especially since their parents' deaths. He had a niece who was a stranger to him.

"So you're Malcolm's daughter." Said Blythe trying to break the uncomfortable silence. "I'm sorry, dear. We had no idea your father had married..."

"We figured as much," Said Clare before Lori could reply. "Why don't you get along with your brother, dad?" She asked curiously.

Ben chuckled, "It's not that we don't get along, princess. It's that...we grew apart." he said sadly.

"I'm sorry..." Lori said feeling awkward.

Ben smiled warmly, "Oh don't be. It has nothing to do with you or any of the children. It's very nice to meet you Lori. It's nice to know I have a niece running around."

Lori smiled, relieved that her new-found family hadn't rejected her.

They spent the rest of the day talking and getting acquainted with each other. Ben resolved to try and reach out to his brother once more. Whether Malcolm would want to talk to him or not was something he would have to chance.

Too soon it seemed, it was time for Lori to say goodbye. She had to be back home before dark. Lori left happy and promised to pay another visit as soon as possible.

"You know, Lori looks like Malcolm." Ben said as he and Blythe were turning in for the night.

"She does." Blythe said with a smile. Fortunately Lori has a better sense of family. Let's hope she doesn't turn out evil like her father. She thought to herself as she turned off the light. "Goodnight, dear."