Page 9 of Keepsakes and Kismet

I ran a mile. That’s so fun!

I watered a plant. That’s so fun!

I swallowed a bee. That’s so fun!

Carter swoops in and puts his arm around my shoulder. “It is super duper fun, Sherry. Sorry to steal this guy, but Ma’s hoping for a family pic. You know, to commemorate the occasion.”

“Of course. What an accomplishment for Caitlyn!”

Carter shoves my shoulder. “I was actually talking about Cal coming out tonight.”

“Fuck off, Carter,” I mutter, huffing a laugh.

“Great to see you out and about, Cal!” Sherry gives a little wave as Carter and I walk toward the back of the cafe.

The only place the six of us siblings are ever together is at weekly family dinner, so it almost feels strange to see everyone somewhere other than my parents’ kitchen table. The group’s spread across two velvet couches, chatting and eating hors d'oeuvres.

I greet the twins first. “Hey, Clover—I hear congratulations are in order?”

Clover rolls her hazel eyes so slowly that I look up to see if there’s something interesting on the ceiling. In her short denim dress and heels, she stands out among the other high schoolers here who are dressed casually. Though she’s more content creator than teenager these days.

“Fifty K isn’t that big of a deal. If Ma would remove the child safety settings on my socials, I’d have more followers,” she complains, her eyes glued back to her phone.

“More followers asking for pictures of your feet, maybe,” Clementine chimes in, giving me a hug.

“I like the haircut, Lemmy.” I ruffle her shoulder-length do. “Much easier to tell you two apart now.”

Hair lengths aside, my sisters couldn’t be more different in personality. From the outside, Clementine’s calm and quiet demeanor seems at odds with Clover’s outgoing and chaotic personality, but somehow they’ve remained best friends.

“Cal! Hey!” And that low voice, along with the sudden stop of music in the cafe, means that we have the full crew of Galvins accounted for. When I turn around, I’m not surprised to find Christopher yawning and cracking his knuckles behind me. He used to perform late night gigs, but a couple years ago, he switched to teaching piano full time. Cait has him playing the keyboard tonight, and he looks exhausted.

“Hey, Christopher. I like the tie today.” I gesture toward the black and white music notes design.

He scratches the facial hair on his chin. “Right? A student got it for me for Teacher Appreciation Week.”

“Time for the family pic!” Carter calls. “I invited the milkman, but he couldn’t make it. Sorry about your dad, Christopher.”

A Christopher Blond Joke always gets all the Galvin siblings to laugh—even Clover, who I catch snickering behind her phone.

“At least I don’t need valium just to go to the dentist, unlike you redheaded freaks,” Christopher counters with a good-natured grin.

“Alright, alright. Everyone, get in the frame,” Cait says, setting up her phone on a tripod. We line up next to her in age order behind the velvet couch: Caitlyn on the far left, then me, followed by Carter and Christopher. Clementine and Clover battle for placement. Ma and Dad remain seated on the couch in front.

Ma smiles, her blue eyes crinkling at the corners. “Cal pal, good to see you here.”

“You too, Ma.” I bend down to kiss her on the cheek and bump the side of her red-framed glasses.

She sniffs the air. “You smell good… like gardenias.”

Cherry blossoms, maybe.

“Where are the toddlers, Cait?” I ask, realizing we’re missing her twins for the photo.

“Lila and Logan are with their dad tonight. I figured I’d get home too late from the party, and we all know how monstrous they become when their sleep schedule’s messed up.”

The entire family collectively shudders just as the picture timer goes off. Everyone groans. Automatic photo timers are Enemy Number One for large families.

Sherry steps in front of us, chuckling. “Figured the lot of you need a photographer. Alright, Galvins, which phone should I use?”