Chapter 6 - Gen 6 - Lyric

My Mom had sat in the crowd expressionless, I was paying close attention to her face, but she proved yet again to be the cold hardhearted stubborn bitch I've always known her to be.  Pipers graduation if nothing else proved Mom's theory of Piper totally wrong.  He graduated with the highest honors, was class valedictorian and deemed the most likely to become a Rock Star.  My Mother sat there and her face was stoney it never even twitched once, no smile, no shock, no surprise, no pride, absolutely nothing, I don't know why I expected anything different from her.  I am really proud of my little brother and really don't understand how she could still be so cold.

Brandy too, who graduated at the same time as Piper, did pretty well.  I am not sure what Piper's hurry is, but he asked Brandy to marry him already, so now they are engaged and like Forrest Brandy is now living here with us, they both agreed to move in today.

We were just talking over dinner and Grandad brought up the bedroom situation and said we would have to fight over the double bed tonight and he would decorate two of the bedrooms out one for me and Forrest and the other for Piper and Brandy.

Brandy:  "Piper you haven't told them yet have you?"
Piper:  "Not yet, no."
Cain:  "Told us what Piper?"
Piper:  "We don't intend on being here long we would like to get our own place."
Cain:  "Whatever for?  There is plenty of room for you here and don't forget I am not going to be around forever."
Piper:  "I just thought it best, we plan to get married pretty soon and have a family straight away and I don't really want to be rubbing it in Lyric's face, when I have a baby and he doesn't and needs one, it just wouldn't be fair."

Lyric:  "Don't be stupid Piper - it's not your fault that mother's a bitch!!"
Piper:  "How are you going to feel when I have kids running around the house??  Isn't it just going to make you feel worse knowing you have to have one, I still don't see how you are ever going to do that without finding yourself a woman, sorry Forrest, but I am just stating the obvious. "
Lyric:  "I am going to have another try with Mom tomorrow, I am going to try and make her change her mind, I have half a mind to tell her where to stick her heir choice."
Cain:   "I've tried till I'm blue in the face, you wont get anywhere with her Lyric, I will think of something, If I had made a better choice then this wouldn't have been happening now, I'll just have to sort it out somehow."
Piper:  "I think its best me and Brandy left, you don't need me here under your feet complicating things, we have found a place that we can rent over by Brandy's parents ...."
Lyric:  "OH NO!!! Granddad tell him please, you can't let him go renting somewhere when he has a perfectly good home here!!"
Cain:  "If he wants to go Lyric you have to let him go, you can't keep him here and it's understandable that they would want a house of their own. As for renting well, don't forget Lyric its your money now and you do whatever you want with it."
Lyric:  "Well if you insist on going Piper you can buy a house with the money that SHOULD be yours not mine, in fact Granddad you can give him half of it.
Piper:  "I don't want half Lyric, a house is more than enough!!"
Cain:  "I'll get onto the real estate tomorrow, and Lyric, I think you and Forrest need to talk, you haven't told him yet have you!!"
Lyric:  "Not yet."
Cain:  "I didn't think so, he is sat there looking mighty confused."

My Granddad was not happy with me - he said that I should have told Forrest before I had him move in here, he should have known what he was walking into because now this was not just my problem it was his problem too.  I know I should have done but I never expected the problem to surface so soon, I was too scared to tell him in case it frightened him away, I was still struggling to believe our relationship was actually happening I didn't want to do anything that would spoil it.  I was hoping I could talk Mom into changing her mind,

After telling me off he took it out of my hands and took it upon himself to explain to Forrest all the ins and out of the Ugli family tradition, how I was the chosen heir and while I inherited the family millions and family cemetery, I also had a responsibility of producing an heir, which meant I needed to father a baby, the next generation to carry on the family line, my own child,  to whom I passed onto what I had inherited.  He explained the family line from Marty and Summer, all the way up to date, something I needed to learn myself because I still didn't have a clue about the graves outside, another shortfall of my Mothers, because she had been taught it all by Granddad, she had just never passed it onto any of us, especially me.  In fact, I didn't actually understand the importance of them until now, when I just heard Granddad talking about it to Forrest.
While Grandad rattled on, I just stood there and listened waiting for Forrest to react, but he was quiet and just listened, I was expected him to react badly, who wouldn't.

Granddad stopped talking and there was just silence.  I was too scared to turn round, I half expected him to walk out, I was holding my breath just waiting.  I felt his hand on my shoulder and I turned round, he just hugged me then without a word walked off into the bathroom.

Forrest was pretty quiet and he seemed to be doing a lot of thinking, there was silence still, while he took his bath, the longer he went without saying anything the more I worried.

Lyric:  "So are you in a mood with me now?"
Forrest:  "No whatever gave you that idea?"
Lyric:  "You haven't spoke to me since your talk with Grandad."
Forrest:  "Sorry I have just been thinking about how on earth we are going to get you a baby, I'm not angry with you if that's what you are thinking, although you should have told me about this Lyric!!"
Lyric:  "I know I'm sorry, I wanted to have one more try with my Mother, if I could just get her to change her mind, then there would have been no point you even having to worry about it, I didn't ask for any of this, I've had it forced on me and I don't want it to affect us in anyway."
Forrest:  "I'm not stupid, I know you never would have wanted this, but it will affect us if you don't talk to me Lyric, I had to sit and listen to a conversation over dinner that scared me half to death, you can't imagine what I was thinking, I never want to go through that again, you have to tell me everything from now on, whether you think I am going to like it or not!!"
Lyric:  "I'm sorry, I was just scared you would leave already!!"
Forrest:  "You won't get rid of me that easily you know, I love you, you idiot!!  You go see your Mom tomorrow then we'll just have to see what happens from there, now you can come here"  he held his arms out to me  "I think you can say sorry properly, you have some making up to do!!"

I wasn't going to argue with that!!

The next morning Brandy and Piper were really excited they were viewing houses today, they had picked out the ones they wanted to look at on the internet, even before they had eaten breakfast.  I couldn't get excited over the thought of Piper moving out, but it was something I was just going to have to get used to.  I had plans myself for today that I was not looking forward to, tracking down my Mother and trying to talk some sense into that stupid head of hers.  I would more likely be wasting my time but I had to try just one last time before I sat down to the reality of what I was going to have to do.

Somehow I guessed she would be here, lurking about in the park, what else did she have to do, she lived alone now, I doubt any of her kids give her the time of day, Dad had left her, she had no friends in this town,  her sister Dixie was way too busy with her tribe of kids to even bother with Mom that much, where else was she going to find company?

Amber:   "What's up with you now as if I can't guess!!"
Lyric:  "I want to talk to you about me being heir,  I need you to change your mind and chose one of the others to do it."
Amber:  "Why Lyric?"
Lyric:  "You know why, I am gay, I have a boyfriend, its not like we are going to have a baby any time soon, Melody, she is married and has kids, Piper, he is getting married to Brandy soon and they are already planning a family, even Harper or Symphony, please Mom they are not gay, but I am."
Amber:  "I notice you never mentioned your twin sister."
Lyric:  "You know why Mom, she is gay too, there is nothing stopping you from changing your mind, so why won't you change your choice of heir to one of us that isn't gay??"

Amber:  "Look Lyric, I made my choice, You, and don't you even start on about that useless brother of yours, you know exactly how I feel about that boy.  I've done my bit for this family, even though I hated every minute of it, now I have washed my hands of it all, like you lot have washed your hands of me, you being gay is not my problem, you deal with it.  Besides you having the most Ugli genes, you are the only one out of the six of you that I can see ever doing anything with your life, you are different, all the others are just going to waste their lives away, but when you have your Dad for an example its not surprising really, he is happy to sit behind a desk in that stupid police station of his, he has no ambition or drive anymore, he is not the man I married and they are all going to take after him, but that's something else that I am getting the blame for, I dragged him down apparently.  So I waste my life having a bunch of ungrateful kids that can never do as they are told.  Just once, Lyric, do what I ask of you just this one time, but don't do it for me, do it for your Granddad!!   I am not changing my mind and you are giving me a headache, so you can go away and leave me alone now , and I'll just carry on rotting away on my own, that's the only thing that seems to keep you lot happy!!"

Wow - where did that come from??!!  I could have argued with her on many points, but I couldn't be bothered to waste my breath because I would have just lost my temper.  She HAS made all of us the way we are, including Dad, she HAS dragged us all down and she has the nerve to twist it back onto us.  She has lost her mind and there is just no reasoning with her.   If I had started with her I could just see myself being arrested for strangling  my own mother in the park, she had riled me up that much, all I could do was get up and walk away.  I didn't look back at her and planned to never again, from this point on she was out of my life, not that she has ever been in it in the first place, I just hope its a very long time before I ever set eyes on her again!!!

When I got home I found Forrest working on his athletic skill for work, he was running, so I joined him, I needed a way to run off some steam my Mother had wound me up so badly.

Forrest:  "How did it go with your Mother?"
Lyric:  "Not good!!"
Forrest:  "She won't change her mind then?"
Lyric:  "No, she says its not her fault that I am gay, I just have to deal with it!!"
Forrest:  "Charming!!  Forget about it now, can we talk about it when I get back from work later, I have a chance of a promotion tonight and I don't won't to fill my head with this stuff, otherwise I will just let it wander and I really need to concentrate on my work while I'm there."
Lyric:  "That's fine, I need time to calm down anyway, she has really wound me up!!"

While Forrest was getting ready for work I decided to practice a few of my songs.  I was going nowhere near that park or her until I had calmed right down.

Cain:  "Lyric you need to have a word with that boyfriend of yours!!"
Lyric:  "Why what has he done?"
Cain:  "He is too tidy, he is a clean freek!!"
Lyric:  "And that is a problem because ........?"
Cain:  "I am bored, he is leaving me nothing to do, how else do you think I keep myself occupied all day."
Lyric:  "Maybe you need to get out a bit more Granddad, life must be getting pretty sad if all you do all day is painting and housework!!"

I decided I was going to try auditioning at the Karaoke bar for a gigg, I doubted I was anywhere near good enough but it was worth a try.  I decided to take Granddad out with me, he never gets out and I am sure that his whole life now revolves around housework and waiting for the ghost of his dead wife to come out.  Apricot, the woman that I though was my Grandmother, but now know she isn't.

I had an audition with the proprietor of the bar for a gig and as I suspected I was not quite ready, she told me I was not quite up to the standard she required and  to get a little more experience then to come back at a later date.

While I was auditioning, I was pretty amused to see that Granddad was chatting up Red Jewels.  It might be good for him to get another woman in his life, but he might have chosen someone a little better.  Not that there was anything wrong with Red, but while I am out and about I am hearing quite a lot of the rumors flying around town.  Red lives with a bunch of other people in the large Simpleton house in the corner of town, a nice bunch of people but they seem to be the ones causing all the scandals that are keeping the rest of town pleasantly amused. 

I decided to go to the park to sing for tips while I killed time waiting for Forrest to finish work.  Granddad was still with me, if my Mother was there he would be a good referee, I was still angry with her and really didn't want to be seeing her so soon.  Thankfully she wasn't in the park so I could relax.

Today it was very quiet in the park, there was nobody around but I started singing anyway.  Soon Red re-appeared, I wandered if she had followed us here, Granddad was fishing so they didn't bother with each other, then Piper appeared, he was looking for me.

Piper:  "I wandered where Granddad was, it's unusal for him not to be home."
Lyric:  "I thought he needed to get out, he is stuck in way too much!!"
Piper:  "We are all packed and ready to go, so when you get home, we should already have left, I thought I should come find you and let you know."
Lyric:  "I really wish you didn't have to go Piper!!"
Piper:  "Its for the best Lyric, you'll see, and I'm sorry I put my foot in it with Forrest, I never thought you wouldn't have told him yet."
Lyric:  "It's all fine, it was my own fault for not telling him, don't worry about it!!"
Piper:  "Don't be mad with me, but me and Brandy got married today."
Lyric:  "What?!"
Piper:  "We didn't want lots of fuss and I definitely didn't want Mother there, which would have happened if we had had a wedding, I know Granddad would have dragged her there."
Lyric:  "Don't worry, I understand, I guess I will be doing exactly the same - Here take this."
Piper:   "What is it?  It looks like a music CD"
Lyric:  "It is, its mine."

Piper:  "This is yours!!"
Lyric:  "Yes, so don't forget, I want your first one when you get started with your singing career"
Piper:  "Yeah about that, you know you were right I do much prefer my guitar so I've decided, I would much prefer to be a Rock Star and I start work at the theatre tomorrow."
Lyric:  "I'm not surprised really!!"

Granddad was happily playing with his snake charming basket, so I told him I was off and left him in the park and headed home alone, me and Forrest had some talking to do

Lyric:  "Well, did you get your promotion?"
Forrest:  "Yes, but I think I've over done it with the exercise."
Lyric:  "Maybe a soak in the hot tub might help while we talk about my problem."

Neither of us had a clue how I was going to go about having a baby of my own.  It might seem simple - sleep with a woman make a baby and the jobs done, but realistically it was far from easy.  Finding someone who would have a baby for me was going to be hard enough without even thinking about the act I was going to have to perform to actually make the baby!!   Forrest - how on earth he is going to take me sleeping with a woman?  How is he going to feel about the child knowing it is not our child?  He says he will cope with it all but will he, it is easier said than done!!  I could quite easily seeing this coming between us.  I needed the baby to be living with me, would she let that happen, would there be fighting and arguing over the child, and then, the child might be gay, then we are back to square one, but most of all, I made things a little more complicated, every child needs a mother, I know that more than most, how could I take the child's mother away from it, I couldn't let any child of mine grow up like I did, without a mother - I am really not sure I can do this - there are too many if's and buts to even imagine it is ever going to work.

I was sick of talking and thinking about it, we were just going round in circles.  We started to kiss each other and one thing let to another.

 We thought we were alone down here.

Suddenly Granddad appeared from nowhere and he didn't look too happy.  I didn't even realize he was back from the park already.

Cain:  "Don't think I don't know what you boys have been up to!!"

I was a little surprised with the look he had on his face.

Cain:  "Now I know how Leon felt!!"

Lyric:  "Who is Leon?"

Cain:  "My Step-Dad, he caught me and Apricot in the hot-tub once."

Lyric:  "He caught you!?"

Cain:  "Next time just make sure I am not halfway down the stairs before you start messing about!!"

He finished mopping up the puddle then headed up the basement stairs.

Forrest:  "OMG he saw us didn't he!!"

Lyric:  "I think so!!"

We waited till he got to the top of the basement steps before we both burst up laughing.

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Chapter 7

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