Introducing Thomas
Amber had always been possessive of her older sister and was the one to talk her into new things. She was protective of Jasmine even though Amber was 2 years younger. One time when they were little, Amber decided to cut her blond curls because she was tired of people calling her cute. She got the kitchen scissors and cut her curls off in the bathroom using the mirror. After she cut her hair, she regretted that it was too short. She didn't want to be the only girl with short hair, so she cut Jasmine's hair too! Jasmine just let her do it to help her feel better. She has had wavy Strawberry blonde hair since she was 2 years old. She was born almost bald and only had blonde peach fuzz before she turned 2 years old. Jasmine loved her hair a lot, but she loved her sister more and would gladly trade her hair to make her sister happy.
After Delilah got home that day and saw Amber cutting her older daughter's hair, she took them to the hair salon to get it fixed. It was still short, but at least the Cosmetician helped to make their hair even and stylish. After that, the girls let their hair grow out. Amber would always wear her hair in a bun to hide her curls. She was a bit of a tomboy. Christopher had blonde hair but kept it short because he wanted to look older. He usually got a buzz cut when they went to the barbershop. He was the man of the family, and his angelic chubby freckled cheeks already made him look younger. He didn't want long curly blonde hair as well!
Christopher seemed to approve of Thomas after their talk. Kids are usually good judges of character because they are innocent. Thomas didn't talk down to Christopher just because he was younger. Jasmine was thinking that Thomas would be a good influence on her brother. He needed one after having an abusive stepdad and an absent father. Our uncle was a good guy, and he would take us on trips in the summer, but he was busy most of the year. Grandpa Frank would also take us for a week or 2 in the summer. He took us fishing and on Ferry boat rides. Christopher needed a positive male role model who would be around more often. I knew introducing Thomas to my family earlier in this was a good idea.
Amber was still a little shy, so I told her about Thomas playing the Cello and guitar. I told Thomas, "Amber plays the piano and keyboard. We were in the church choir together at our old church and are going to start a band. She even writes her music." He looked at her and was impressed. He said, "That's awesome! I also want to start a band with my friends." Jasmine said, "Maybe we can all play together sometime. We already have a few songs." Thomas nodded and said, "That would be cool. I'll tell Allen and Fernando. Maybe we can meet up next weekend or after school sometime." I looked at my mom and asked, "What do you think about that mom?" She said, "I would like an adult to be there, and I need to talk to them first." I agreed.
That would be better than in my last life. In my past life, the first time my mom called Thomas's parents was to yell at them after she found out we had s*x! She was like, "Your son had s*x with my daughter! If she gets pregnant, I'm not raising it!" Thomas's mom was like, "What do you want me to do about it!" Lol! Later when Thomas got home from his paintball game his dad had the s*x talk with him and told him, " Tommy, make sure to use a condom. Just be safe." Thomas hated it when another person called him Tommy but his parents did. They were the only ones allowed because they made him and raised him.
This time I would make sure that my mom had a good first impression of Thomas and his family. His parents were honestly the best in-laws a daughter-in-law could ask for. His mom was nice, and his dad was funny. I eventually had a good relationship with them. At first, I thought they didn't like me due to my insecurities. Thomas kept telling me that they liked me, but I didn't believe him. It was because of something his dad said the first time he saw a picture of me in the yearbook.
I was going through my goth/emo phase and only wore black and rarely smiled. I was depressed because of my angry stepdad, and I thought smiling made my face look fat. I looked super angry in my yearbook picture. When the photographer told me to smile, I gave him the f*ck off stare! He just took the picture and called next while avoiding eye contact. When Thomas showed his dad the picture his dad said, "Please don't date her. Date someone happy." This time I was happier and would make a great first impression. I already knew what they liked and would use it to my advantage. His dad liked Coen movies and I loved them as well. I remember when I quoted 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' My hair got messed up and I said, "Oh, My hair" like George Clooney's character. He laughed and said, "Tommy, She's a keeper!" It was the first time I believed that his parents liked me.
His parents also played video games like Thomas. We all played World of Warcraft. His mom was so cool! She had a blood elf mage! She even bought us mugs and T-shirts! Later she showed me how to do arts and crafts projects. I learned how to sew from my grandparents. She taught me how to cross-stitch. This time I would just be myself in front of them and not be so insecure. When I told them about my stepdad, they even told me, "You can't choose your family." I was looking forward to meeting Robert and Dahlia again the right way.
After lunch I asked my mom, "Can Thomas come over to our house so we can show him our songs?" She hesitated for a second but then agreed. She would be home and James wasn't there. He had turned the garage into a recording studio for his band practice when the church band would play at our house. The walls and garage door were padded with foam egg crates to help soundproof them. It helped to dampen the noise so the neighbors didn't call the cops, but we could still hear it in our bedroom. I learned to fall asleep to the sound of the drums. The pounding rhythm became my lullaby.
There was still some recording equipment and instruments at our house. James still hadn't picked up his stuff because he thought my mom would take him back eventually. He only took his favorite guitar and some clothes. He was still staying with his friend from church. He was a bachelor and didn't have any kids, so it was ok. I was excited to show Thomas our garage. We had real microphones and an electric guitar he could use! I didn't care if James got mad! He owed us for all the times he got mad at little things. Until he signed the divorce agreement my mom also owned his stuff!
Thomas followed us to my house in his little gray truck. It was a small truck with no back seat. His parents bought it for his 16th birthday. We got to my house, and I showed Thomas the garage. He was impressed and went to pick up the guitar. My mom said to leave the door open. We had a door from the dining room that led to the garage. I left it open to make her happy. I wasn't about to do anything inappropriate, especially in front of my little sister!
Amber went to the keyboard, and I picked up a microphone. I turned on the amp and the recording machine. I knew how to use it because James would record some of my parodies for church. I said, "Here is a parody we worked on together. It's the same music as 'I'm Blue', but with better lyrics." I let Amber start to play the intro music on the keyboard while I sang. I kept it PG and did cuss in the song. We had a drum machine and I set the tempo. In my past life, Thomas would call it the 'boots and cats beat'! He said it sounded like someone saying, "boots and cats" repeatedly. It was a popular club beat, but now all I can think about is Puss in Boots when I hear it!