7.15 Meet the Pruetts

“How did Myra get all of those people to picture day,” you ask.

That is an excellent question! She has been a very busy bee, trying to get everyone coordinated, and the fun has only just begun! It all started last week when Myra was talking to Harley Jean on the phone….

The smartest kid in the world. Poolside homework. Who knew?

“…nah, I’m just sitting outside looking at Alayna…she’s doing homework in the pool…no, she’s sitting at the edge of the pool with her feet in the water. Either she thinks school is rough, or she’s the smartest kid in the world….Oh I bet she’s the cutest thing. Does she have pink hair…ha! I think it would be cool if you had a child with pink hair….Yeah…we should get them together…we should get the entire family together….I’m serious….I’ll figure it out….I’m doing it!”

And so the idea was born. She got names and addresses from Lance, and the rest was history. Early the next morning, she set out on her journey to meet the Pruetts–all of them. First she went to Quinton’s house.

“Hi, Quinton! How are you?”

“Myra? Hi! What brings you over here? Come on in.”

“Thank you.”

“I’m trying to put together a family event so everyone can get together; so I’m going around town meeting everyone and putting faces with names. I figured since we met before, I’d start with you.”

“Oh! Ok. What kind of event?”

“I’m thinking about a two day event. One day would definitely be a family reunion, but not like your typical one with t-shirts and a cookout. The other day I want to be something special, but I haven’t figured it out yet.”

“Well that sounds great. I’ll definitely be down for whatever it is you come up with. I would love to see everyone. It’s nice when you guys invite me to your parties, but honestly…I don’t really know anyone else in the family.”

“That’s exactly why I’m doing this! I don’t have any family, so I know what it’s like to be alone. We’re alike in that way. But now that I’m part of this family, I want to help bring everyone together because family really is a wonderful thing. I think the Pruetts take that for granted the way it is structured and because the family is so old.”

“You are so right! You’re a real blessing to this family, Myra. No one has ever attempted anything like this, and it’s soo needed. I think long ago when the family was smaller, things happened naturally, but the family is so huge and spread out now, it feels impossible.”

“I’m not gonna lie…I know this is going to be difficult to do, but I’m up for the challenge. This needs to happen.”

“Yeah. Oh, I’m so rude. Can I get you something to drink?”

“Oh, no, thanks. I actually need to go. I’m trying to meet everyone in one day.”

“Who are you seeing next?”

“Kolby…well, Kolby’s family rather. I hope they’re doing ok.”

“I saw them once after it happened. They looked ok.”

“Good. All right, I’m gonna go, but I’ll be calling you soon when I get things figured out.”

“Sounds good. Let me know if I can help!”

“Thank you! Bye.”

Quinton and Brett lived very close to each other, so she walked instead of calling a taxi. She never met Brett before, so she was a bit nervous. Luckily for her, he and his family were outside enjoying the beautiful morning sun.

“Excuse me…are you Brett Pruett?”

“Yeah. Who’s asking?”

“I’m Myra Pruett…your cousin Lance’s wife.”

She wasn’t sure if it was something that she said, but his wife and mother came down from the porch when they heard who she was.

Uh oh. Do I need to take off my earrings?

“Ahhh, so the queen left her castle for a change, huh? Come to check up on your subjects,” Charlie scoffed.

“Excuse me?”

“You people,” Brett chimed in. “You live in that big fancy house on the hill and never come down to see about us little people let alone help us out.”

“Children! Be nice,” Taylor scolded. “I’m so sorry for their behavior, Myra. I’m Taylor, his mother. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m a fan of your husband! I remember when Kolby and I had just gotten married, Lance was just a teenager and we ran into him at the park once. He told the funniest jokes!”

“I bet he did,” Myra said. “I’m sorry to hear about your husband.”

“Thank you, dear. I miss him, but I’ll be with him soon.”

“Oh! Well, I’m glad I met you before it’s too late. I just wanted to come and introduce myself, but I also wanted to let you know what I’m trying to do. I see that you guys aren’t very happy with us, and I don’t want for there to be a rift in the family anymore. I want for everyone to know and love each other! So, I’m trying to organize some sort of family event where we can all hang out and get reacquainted.”

“Hmph,” Brett snorted. “How can we be reacquainted when we were never acquainted!”

“We will be glad to help you,” Taylor said. “What are you thinking about?”

“I haven’t gotten all the details together yet, but I know I definitely want to have a family reunion and some other special event.”

“Oh that sounds splendid! Count us in,” Taylor said.

If looks could kill, Taylor would surely be dead. Brett was not happy about this one bit.

“Oh I’m glad! If you don’t mind, I’d like to come over again and meet your daughter.”

“We would love to have you over for dinner sometime.”

“That would be lovely! I’ll tell Lance, and all of us will come. I hate to cut this short, but I have to go. I’m trying to meet everyone today.”

“Ok, dear. Good luck with everything. Let us know when and where,” Taylor said.

“Definitely. Goodbye!”

Boy…this family is in desperate need of repair, she thought. Next stop, Mack and Theresa. They lived around the corner from Brett, so she decided to walk again. Although Brett and Charlie’s feeling confirmed why this event was needed, she felt more confident than ever that she would be successful.

She rounded the corner and walked up to the porch and knocked on the door. She got the surprise of her life when someone came to the door.

“Gavin?? What are you doing here?”

“Myra? What up, girl! I live here. What are you doing here?”

“I was looking for Mack and Theresa Pruett. I guess I have the wrong house.”

“This is the place. Come on in,” he said and showed her to the family room. “Have a seat. This is Mack right here.”

“Hi, Mack! I’m Myra. I’m married to Lance.”

Mack did not respond.

“Oh…don’t mind him. He don’t talk while he’s reading. He’s a lil cray cray. So you said you married Lance? Lance Pruett?”

“The one and only!”

“Dang, girl! You hit the jackpot! I ain’t mad atcha. That means we’re kinda related now.”

“Oh,” she said flatly. “You know, Cameron and Cadence got married,” she said trying to change the subject and not think about her and Gavin being related.

“Yep. And I heard about Paxton and Melody too. That’s real messed up!”

“Yeah. It really is. So…are you roommates with Mack and Theresa or something?”

“Naw, girl! She’s my wife!”

“Oh! I hadn’t heard about you getting married.”

“Girl, please! You know I think marriage is a scam. I don’t know why folk wanna spend a bunch of money on a big ol party to prove to everybody that they’re in love and committed to each other–no offense. Me and Theresa have that same love and commitment, and we don’t need no piece of paper to show everyone that! She is my wife, and I am her husband. That’s all y’all need to know.”

“I see you’re still the same ol combative Gavin.”

“Take a look. It’s in a book,” Mack suddenly said.

What the what??

“Huh?”

“Oh, don’t mind. He only speaks in song lyrics.”

“Ummm…all right.”

There was a lull in the conversation as Myra tried to recover from that startling experience. Gavin couldn’t help but notice that Myra looked exactly the same as she did the last time he saw her when they were young: elegant and exquisite. The memories of his infatuation with her came flooding back, and just for a second he tried to imagine what life would have been like with her.

“Man…so you and Lance got together. That is something,” he drifted off. “You know, you still just as fine as–”

“Who’s this, Gavin,” Theresa asked.

Your wife is gonna knock the Kool-aid right out of that smile if you don’t stop staring at Myra!

“Oh, hey, sugar lips,” he said three octaves higher. “This here is Lance’s wife, Myra. We used to live together. I mean, she lived with me in the boarding house. Well, she didn’t live with me, but she lived there too. You know what I mean.”

“Hi Theresa! I saw your father once before, and I see that you look just like him. I’m sorry to hear that he passed away.”

“Yeah. Well, you know. You gotta go sometime!”

“Oh! Well, yes, I suppose we do,” Myra said and was a bit shocked at her response.

“Can I get you something to drink, Myra,” Gavin asked.

“I’m fine, thank you.”

A teenage girl walked in and sat down on the couch.

“Myra, this is our daughter Stephanie. She is our third one,” Theresa said.

“How many do you have?”

“Four. Do you have children?”

“Yes. Three. They’re triplets.”

“For real? Y’all had three babies at once? That’s a lot of babies,” Gavin said.

“Mom! Dad said I couldn’t get the Freezer Bunny guitar,” Stephanie whined.

“I’m sorry Steph, but we can’t spend the money on that right now.”

“GRRR! I HATE you! Why don’t you just ask her for the the money?”

“So, what brings you here, Myra,” Theresa asked ignoring her child.

“I just wanted to meet you guys, finally. I’m putting together a family event, and I was hoping all of you would come.”

“Oh! That sounds like fun! We don’t see anyone anymore. Not since we all grew up and went our separate ways. How is Cadence? We used to hang out when we were little girls.”

“She is wonderful! She got married and has three little girls. Actually, she just had twins!”

“Seriously? What is it with this family and multiple births? You know me and Mack are twins, right?”

“No, really? Lance never mentioned that.”

“We gon’ have a BBQ, Myra? I get down on the grill, like for real,” Gavin said.

“Ummm, no,” she said in disdain. “We’re going to have a very nice time at a nice place.”

“Oh, I see. You think ‘cuz you live in the big house now you too good to have a BBQ?”

“Whatever, Gavin. Theresa, I will call you when I get the details together. I’m gonna go now.”

“Ok. It was nice to meet you, Myra. Don’t be a stranger!”

“Nice meeting you too.”

“Let me get the door for you,” Gavin said and hopped up and practically ran to the door.

He stepped outside with her and said, “You know you still fine, babygirl! Is Lance taking good care of you?”

“Excuse me?! Uh uh! I’m just gonna stop you right there. I’m not your baby, I was never your baby, you were revolting to me then, and you’re especially revolting to me now! Don’t talk to me again.”

She walked away…and he watched her. He remembered how much he liked her spunk.

“I’ll see you at the BBQ,” he yelled after her.

The sun began to set, and she still had to make it to Allen’s, the Clemons’, and Sheridan’s. She wasn’t going to be able to make it to all of those houses by nightfall, but she was proud that she had gotten to the unknown family all in the same day. She called a taxi and went to Oasis Springs and made Allen’s her last stop. Justin was in the front yard, but Myra wasn’t aware he had his birthday recently. She didn’t mean to spook him, but she was right up on him when she spoke–and he was already having a bad day.

“Justin? Is that you?”

“Don’t be sneakin’ up on me like that! Geez, woman!”

“Whoa! Calm down, boy! Who do you think you’re talking to?!”

She was still upset from her unpleasant encounter with Gavin Sheffield.

“Oh. My bad, Aunt Em. I didn’t know it was you.”

“It’s ok. I’m sorry I raised my voice. How are you? Happy belated birthday! Are your parents home?”

“Yeah. They’re in there.”

She walked in the house and was greeted by a really tall llama with wings.

“Haaaa! You still wear that thing, Allen?”

“You know it’s me! The freshest llama that could be!”

“I still can’t get over you being our mascot now. That’s incredible. [gasp] Is this Fiona??”

“Hello, lady! You’re really pretty,” Fiona said.

“Well, thank you precious! Come here and give me a hug. I’m your Aunt Myra!”

“So what did we do to earn a visit from the queen,” Allen asked.

“That’s the second time today I’ve been called that.”

“Really? Where have you been?”

“Pruettville.”

“For real? Why?”

“I’m organizing a family gathering, so I had to go meet everyone. Fiona, would you like to meet all of your cousins?”

“I have cousins?!”

“See what I mean,” Myra said. “Well, I guess that means you guys are going then, Allen. I’ve gotta get home. Tell Harley Jean I’ll call her later.”

“Aight then.”

Myra went home feeling extremely accomplished about her day despite the fact she never made it to the Clemons and Sheridans. When she arrived home, she found Lance dancing in the den.

“Hi, sweetheart,” she said.

“Hey, stranger! Where have you been all day?”

“I’ve been at all your family’s houses. Did you manage the kids ok by yourself?”

“Oh yeah. I already bought my super dad t-shirt. Why were you visiting the family? I mean, not that you shouldn’t, but I would have loved to come with you.”

“I’ve got some tricks up my sleeve. I’ll tell you about it later. I’m exhausted. I’ll see you upstairs.”

“Ummm…the tricks in your sleeves…are they upstairs?”

“You are a NUT, Lance! Goodnight!”

You’ve seen picture day. Next up, the family reunion!