Family Business

Hoping

Claire's pov

I woke up feeling oddly optimistic this morning. Maybe it's because I had such a fun night with my grandfather and uncle, playing cards and watching a movie. It was especially great watching Uncle EJ be such a sore loser when Grandfather and I cheated at Old Maid. He got so worked up and annoyed, it was hilarious. I loved teaming up with my grandfather to knock my cocky uncle down a few pegs. It would've been even more fun if my father and Aunt Lexie could have been here though.

After having a quiet breakfast, I went looking for my uncle so I could ask him for a favor. He was reading the paper while sipping tea in the living room. It's not afternoon tea or high tea so I figured it would be okay to interrupt him.

"Uncle EJ, will you take me riding today, please?" I asked hopefully, despite the fact my uncle never willingly wants to do anything remotely fun with me.

"I can't, twerp, I have business to attend to," he replied in his signature bored monotone, except he pronounced can't as konnt in his annoying intermittent exaggerated British accent.

"All day?" I whined.

"Yes, alllll dayyyy," he said, mimicking my whiny tone as he so considerately lowered the paper like a gentleman to look me in the eye while mocking me.

"Awwwww, I really wanted to go riding today," I groaned.

"You can still ride Tuono by the stables." His newspaper was back in place, indicating he was done with this conversation.

"That's no fun. I want to go on a long trail ride. Riding in the ring is boring," I complained, because I'm not done with this conversation.

"You know what's not boring?" he asked, lowering the paper again. "Horseback riding with a sore ass," he replied without pausing, wisely answering his own question before I had the chance to sass him.

"Ha ha, you're so not funny," I sneered.

"Beat it, brat, before I whip your butt." The paper was back up and so was the level of attitude he was giving me.

"You can't spank me for no reason. If you try to, I'll tell Grandfather," I retorted, with a whole lotta pizzazz including a snap, head bob, and a hip swivel.

"I have a reason, a very good reason. You're a pain in my ass and if you don't want me returning the favor with the palm of my hand, you'll make yourself scarce," my uncle warned, adopting the look of an old angry suburban white guy chasing the neighborhood children off his freshly mown lawn.

"Ugghhh! You are so annoying," I said, stomping off to the stables to find some better company to keep.

I groomed Tuono and fed her an apple, while using her as a sounding board to complain about my unreasonable uncle. Not surprisingly, Tuono wholeheartedly agreed with everything I had to say. Once I was through cleaning her stall, I put her saddle on and rode her around the small fenced off area by the stables. We both quickly became bored of riding in circles around the track so I decided to go inside and call Samantha.

I went up to my bedroom and closed the door so I could have some privacy while FaceTiming her.

"Hey girl, what's up?"

"Nothin', I'm grounded so I'm super bored," Samantha replied, hanging upside down off her bed.

"What moronic thing did you do this time?" I asked, only half-jokingly since she's been known to pull some stupid stunts to land herself in trouble.

"Hey! I would resent that if it wasn't accurate," she laughed, in faux protest of my harmless ribbing.

"Seriously, what did you do?" I asked, a little too eagerly. My reality is so dull, I need to live vicariously through my best friend.