Welcome to the Family, a story of the Aunt Family for the Giraffe Call
For 
wyld_dandelyon's prompt.
The Aunt Family has a landing page here on DW and here on LJ.
A new baby born into Eva’s family was always a big deal, an occasion for a party, a family reunion and orgy of gift-giving. And Janelle had earned her welcome into the family just a week earlier, giving birth to the teeny Anna Marie, Evangaline’s brother Owen’s first daughter - so now the family would receive them both in fine fashion.
Eva dressed in her best, gathered the tiny hand-made things and the fragile heirloom gift, and packed the gift for Janelle away in the grown-up paper before putting everything in a bag and walking the half-mile down the road to the family estate. Anyone within driving distance would be there, and her mother would need the help.
Three hours of cooking, cleaning, and arranging later, Eva took the apron and cap off, straightened her hair, and helped her mother welcome Owen and Janelle, and baby Anna Marie, into the house and the family.
“Take a seat, dear,” she coaxed Janelle into the coveted La-z-boy. “Today you two are the guests of honor.”
And they were. Every woman in the family - and a few brave men - gathered in the house, and, one by one, they brought their gifts to Janelle and Anna Marie, while Eva and Fallon took detailed notes.
“This is a sweater my Aunts Edna and Elspeth knit for Anna,” cousin Nelia offered forth, “and these, they say, are the hats that their aunts crocheted for them when they were born. They send the love that came with those hats, and the warmth of mind they put in the sweater.”
“My dad and I made this cradle,” Beryl offered shyly. “The quilt it in was over me when I was a baby; my Great-Aunt Asta sewed it for me, from shirts her father wore. I give you the eye for the grain and the line, little Anna, that Asta passed on to me.”
“I sewed this dress for the little one,” Aunt Antonia informed them all, “and it matched the little booties my grandmother knit for me, when I was born. May you have the practicality and sense my mother passed on to me, little Anna.”
And so it went. Lovely hair, patience, peace of mind. Warmth and lovingkindness. Sweaters and blankets and an ancient, ancient heirloom crib, carefully dismantled and brought in by Stone, who grew braver with every family event. Bits of history and bits of peace were passed on to the tiny baby, who burbled and watched it all as if she knew what was going on.
Eva pretended that they weren’t watching her sideways as well. She was new to the Aunting business, and Anna-Marie was the first niece she’d welcome since taking on Asta’s role. She made them wait until the end, while Janelle looked a little more nervous and lost and overwhelmed, and then passed her notebook to Fallon and stood.
“The tradition in the family,” she told Janelle gently, “is that the gift of an unmarried, childless Aunt holds special sway. I’m not telling you this to put on airs, but to explain why everyone’s holding their breath.”
“Thank you,” the girl whispered faintly.
“Don’t worry,” she smiled, “wait ‘till we get to the point where we give you your presents.”
“Oh, good,” she answered in the same faint tone. Eva took pity on her, and presented her gifts.
“I knit this teddy bear… teddy kitty, actually,” she said, setting the doll in Janelle’s lap near Anna Marie, “from yarn that Aunt Asta brought home from a vacation in Mexico. The eyes are from Aunt Ruan’s button jar, and the little felt feet from Aunt Elenora’s sewing box. Somewhere inside of her is a small charm from Aunt Zenobia - and the pattern came from an old file that could have belonged to any one of seven aunts. So, at the very least, five aunts watch over Anna Marie in this little kitty.
“This dress was given to me by my father’s mother when I was born. It’s her christening gown, and with it comes the reminder,” she smiled at Janelle, “that every one of us has two families, not just one.”
She kissed the tiny Anna on the forehead. “May you see as clearly as you need to, little one, and always remember your kin.”
The silence as she sat back down on the wide windowsill told Eva everything she needed to know.
This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/210211.html. You can comment here or there.
wyld_dandelyon's prompt.
The Aunt Family has a landing page here on DW and here on LJ.
A new baby born into Eva’s family was always a big deal, an occasion for a party, a family reunion and orgy of gift-giving. And Janelle had earned her welcome into the family just a week earlier, giving birth to the teeny Anna Marie, Evangaline’s brother Owen’s first daughter - so now the family would receive them both in fine fashion.
Eva dressed in her best, gathered the tiny hand-made things and the fragile heirloom gift, and packed the gift for Janelle away in the grown-up paper before putting everything in a bag and walking the half-mile down the road to the family estate. Anyone within driving distance would be there, and her mother would need the help.
Three hours of cooking, cleaning, and arranging later, Eva took the apron and cap off, straightened her hair, and helped her mother welcome Owen and Janelle, and baby Anna Marie, into the house and the family.
“Take a seat, dear,” she coaxed Janelle into the coveted La-z-boy. “Today you two are the guests of honor.”
And they were. Every woman in the family - and a few brave men - gathered in the house, and, one by one, they brought their gifts to Janelle and Anna Marie, while Eva and Fallon took detailed notes.
“This is a sweater my Aunts Edna and Elspeth knit for Anna,” cousin Nelia offered forth, “and these, they say, are the hats that their aunts crocheted for them when they were born. They send the love that came with those hats, and the warmth of mind they put in the sweater.”
“My dad and I made this cradle,” Beryl offered shyly. “The quilt it in was over me when I was a baby; my Great-Aunt Asta sewed it for me, from shirts her father wore. I give you the eye for the grain and the line, little Anna, that Asta passed on to me.”
“I sewed this dress for the little one,” Aunt Antonia informed them all, “and it matched the little booties my grandmother knit for me, when I was born. May you have the practicality and sense my mother passed on to me, little Anna.”
And so it went. Lovely hair, patience, peace of mind. Warmth and lovingkindness. Sweaters and blankets and an ancient, ancient heirloom crib, carefully dismantled and brought in by Stone, who grew braver with every family event. Bits of history and bits of peace were passed on to the tiny baby, who burbled and watched it all as if she knew what was going on.
Eva pretended that they weren’t watching her sideways as well. She was new to the Aunting business, and Anna-Marie was the first niece she’d welcome since taking on Asta’s role. She made them wait until the end, while Janelle looked a little more nervous and lost and overwhelmed, and then passed her notebook to Fallon and stood.
“The tradition in the family,” she told Janelle gently, “is that the gift of an unmarried, childless Aunt holds special sway. I’m not telling you this to put on airs, but to explain why everyone’s holding their breath.”
“Thank you,” the girl whispered faintly.
“Don’t worry,” she smiled, “wait ‘till we get to the point where we give you your presents.”
“Oh, good,” she answered in the same faint tone. Eva took pity on her, and presented her gifts.
“I knit this teddy bear… teddy kitty, actually,” she said, setting the doll in Janelle’s lap near Anna Marie, “from yarn that Aunt Asta brought home from a vacation in Mexico. The eyes are from Aunt Ruan’s button jar, and the little felt feet from Aunt Elenora’s sewing box. Somewhere inside of her is a small charm from Aunt Zenobia - and the pattern came from an old file that could have belonged to any one of seven aunts. So, at the very least, five aunts watch over Anna Marie in this little kitty.
“This dress was given to me by my father’s mother when I was born. It’s her christening gown, and with it comes the reminder,” she smiled at Janelle, “that every one of us has two families, not just one.”
She kissed the tiny Anna on the forehead. “May you see as clearly as you need to, little one, and always remember your kin.”
The silence as she sat back down on the wide windowsill told Eva everything she needed to know.
This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/210211.html. You can comment here or there.