The One With the Aunt Problem

Date: 8/9/2024

I’m with a group of people — which includes Aunt Buggy — sitting against a wall on the floor. A girl I don’t know that well (can’t remember who she was) asks me some sort of question about Aunt Marni, and I immediately turn to Aunt Buggy. She awkwardly looks around and starts blabbering about how they haven’t been hanging out much lately. I say something about how I figured something must have happened because Aunt Marni hasn’t been posting pictures of her. As I’m talking, I can tell that she’s letting her guard down a little and she begins to explain that she wasn’t thrilled about some of the things Aunt Marni has been saying recently. I say, “I don’t want to sound disrespectful but—“ I pause, staring at a blue wall, as I prepare to finally tell her how I’ve felt about this whole thing … It’s a few days before Christmas and I’m with my whole Florida family in a condo somewhere. Aunt Ronny and Uncle Michael come to say goodbye to me. Aunt Ronny hugs me tightly and I wonder if she’s sad not to spend Christmas Day with us because it was a tradition we had for so many years when I was a kid. I suddenly feel sorry for her … I’m sitting outside a cute cottage house watching Jordyn (my neighbor across the street) and her family pose for pictures. She’s wearing a blue floral dress and has her hair down, and I suddenly realize I’ve only ever seen her with it up in a messy bun (in real life). I ask her how she’s feeling because shes pregnant, and she sits down to me to chat.