Family

They sat anxiously in front of Frankie’s phone, propped up on a book someone left in the hotel room, waiting for their mother and father to join the call.

How? They both wondered. How had their dad found the time to do this?

They wanted to speak to each other and clear the air, but were each trying to come up with what they’d say to their parents when they finally got to speak again. Katie had seen a million things, and Frankie had caught herself up in so much more than she’d ever imagined she would. But looking into that blank screen, all they could focus on was how bad they wanted to see their folks again.

The phone lit up with the inside of a different small apartment room. Right up in front of the screen, Hugo and Suzy Pop stared into their souls making sure the camera was working right.

Neither of their kids could manage to say anything.

“Hello!” Her smile jumped off her face.

“Hi, kids!” He waved at the camera dorkishly.

“H-hi!”

“Hi!” 

When they finally responded, the emotions had fully hit them. Neither the shut-in nor the dreamer had ever been away from their parents for this long before. It would’ve been a little embarrassing how emotional it got them, but that was the last thing on the sister’s minds at the moment. “Nice to see you!” Chimed Katie.

“So nice to see you to!!!” Suzy squealed, sitting on the couch in their space condo. The girls spotted an android butler continuously bumping into a wall behind them as he carried an empty plate. “Thanks for sending me a picture for once, Frankie! Could you also maybe get some of any cute parkgoers you find? I’m waiting here!”

“Uh, you’re married?” Frankie reminded, somehow more appalled by her mother’s hangups now with her current life experience.

“Frankie got a girlfriend!” Katie suddenly exaggerated.

“No I-!” She argued, but it was far too late.

“You did? Congratulations!”

“That’s incredible, honey! We’re so proud of you.” Frankie melted in her palms as her dad embarrassingly awarded her. It had been too long since she’d dealt with the chaos of this family of hers.

“Have you seen a lot of rides, Kate?” Their mom didn’t linger too long on the subject, as much as she wanted to tease her youngest some more. Frankie already knew Katie must have picked that up from her.

“And some arrest warrants and a few murders, but more importantly, yeah!”

“I sometimes wonder how I’m still alive…” Frankie bore into the carpet diagonally down from her head with a stare of existential horror.

“Well, so long as it wasn’t you doing the murders!” Their father insensibly assured.

“But if it was, you just let us know if you need help with your story!” Suzy doubled on. Maybe it wasn’t exactly what the girls needed to move past some of their more traumatic experiences, but this is what both of them had come to expect from their naive progenitors. It was, at the very least, comforting to see that they hadn’t changed in the slightest.

“You know me, I always focus on the positive. So don’t worry, it’s not weighing us down any. Right, Frankie?”

“…Right.” She blinked and gulped.

“Your mother said you did something cool the other day?” The Pop Patriarch asked, quite interested in their exploits.

“…Yes. Uh-“ Frankie held up the printed reward card. “You know that… game, that Kidney held? We won it.”

“You DID?!” Suzy practically exploded right there on the loveseat.

“T-third place-“ Frankie tried to amend. Nobody but her heard. Hugo was almost crying.

“I have the strongest daughters in the universe…”

“What’re ya gonna spend the money on?” Suzy immediately asked. She was actually happy to see that it wasn’t nearly enough to send the two of them home- it meant the girls could actually spend it how they wanted.

“We’re gonna go to the ocean!” Katie pumped her fist in the air. “And then see more parks, naturally!”

“The ocean? Oh, that doesn’t sound like something you’d normally be into. Not many parks there.” The dad already had a sneaking suspicion, but Katie confirmed it.

“It was Frankie’s idea!” She once again presented her beloved little sister to the spotlight. Everyone cheered again. Once it settled down, Hugo figured it was time to catch everyone up.

“Anyway, I quit my job.”

“You what?!”

Suzy couldn’t help but laugh at Frankie’s reaction. Katie on the other hand seemed less concerned than she’d expected.

“Don’t worry. It won’t be easy, but I’ll find another. Even if it doesn’t pay as well, I’ll find one that lets me talk to you more!”

“But… you might be stuck up there for even longer on that kind of pay…”

“I know.” Hugo nodded. “But… we’re gonna be here for a while either way. We might as well spend that time… being a family, instead of throwing it all away to get back a little sooner.”

Frankie felt warm and fuzzy inside to hear it. Katie was scared of the very idea, wishing she could help her parents- even though she knew deep down that even if they had the money for it, parkgoing would take first priority. They’d get back eventually either way, wouldn’t they…? She was just glad it wasn’t her up there. Then again, I could still explore Kidneyworld once it’s ready. 

The thought calmed her. She easily returned to the conversation after that.

“Can you tell us about your girlfriend, Frankie?” Suzy changed the subject. A lot of even more embarrassing questions followed, until soon the whole day started to pass away.

As they caught the parents up on their travels- sparing not a single detail, even the adults’ clumsily worded sympathy at their darkest moment finally lifted a weight off their shoulders. They finally realized that, even if they might have a funny way of showing it, their blood did understand them at the end of the day. Which, at this point, it very much was.

“…Getting dark out, huh…” Frankie bittersweetly noted, knowing nobody else would.

“Well, what do you know? Looks like it’s the same for us.” Hugo laughed, the blackness of space gazing out his window.

“I’m really glad I got to talk to you both…” The younger daughter had felt a lot of happiness in the past few days, but this took the cake.

“W-we can talk a little longer!” Katie reassured.

“No, that’s okay.” Suzy smiled. “I’m not used to this. I should text you more, but I get shy up here for some reason. I always worry I’m ruining your fun by peeking in.”

“No, not at all!” Frankie exclaimed. “I know we can’t always text you either… but it feels good when we do. So… call us whenever you want from now on, even if we might be a little busy.”

“We’re so proud of you both.” Hugo insisted. “And you’ve come a long way, Frankie. It’s… a little scary, seeing how much my daughter’s changed while I’ve been gone… but it’s a very impressive change. Don’t stop it for anything.”

“I won’t.” She smirked.

“…Alright then. I love you two.”

“I love you!” Suzy echoed.

“Bye. Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas! Bye!” Frankie waved, and the call ended.

Katie felt empty.

She saw the time on Frankie’s still-lit up phone.

“You ready to go see those fireworks?” She jumped to cheer herself up. Frankie happily nodded.

“Yeah. I’m ready to say goodbye to this park for good already.”