Page 108 of Resisting the Temptation
All three of them say “yes” at the same time.
“But I suggest waiting until after tomorrow. You probably know how…delightfula lot of the Monson extended family can be. I’d wait until the emotional toll of tomorrow is over,.” Morgan says “delightful” like it’s an insult, and I almost laugh.
I learned over dinner that Emma’s parents aren’t the only shitty ones. Elli and Izzy’s parents haven’t talked to Elli in well over a year, and they stopped talking to Izzy after she moved out in August.
Hannah’s mom hasn’t even met her grandkids because she treated Hannah so horribly.
Talmage’s parents seemdecent,but he didn’t talk about them much.
I hate that they all have terrible or non-existent relationships with their parents, but I’m glad they at least have each other.
When we get back to the house, we walk in to find the girls and Talmage on the U-shaped sofa in the living room, laughing about something.
Luke settles in front of Izzy’s legs, and Wes leans over Elli to give her a quick kiss, both of them handing the girls’ ice cream to them. Morgan kisses Hannah’s forehead, and I try not to let my jealousy show.
I hand Talmage his ice cream, then sit by Emma, desperately wishing I could give her a kiss, too.
She gives me a soft smile and murmurs, “Thanks,” as I hand over her cookie dough and brownie shake.
“What’s got you all laughing so hard?” Morgan asks as he settles next to his wife.
Talmage groans and shakes his head. “I don’t want to repeat it.”
“Me either!” Emma says around a mouthful of shake.
“Well, now I need to know. I don’t knowanyembarrassing stories about Emma,” I say with a playful nudge.
She scowls at me.
“We were just reminiscing about the time we had a family reunion at Bear Lake. Talmage and Emma were seven and six, and Talmage gave Emma a big ol’ kiss on the lips and asked her to marry him,” Elli says with a wicked grin.
“Emma agreed, and then everyone had to explain it wasn’t okay to marry your cousin. Emma and Talmage weredevastated,” Hannah adds.
“My mom told me I would go tojailif I married him. I was terrified!” Emma shrieks through a fit of giggles.
“Wow, I didn’t know I needed to be wary of your own cousin, honey,” I tease, and Talmage holds up his hands.
“Don’t worry, man, I’m no longer interested. I have someone else in mind.”
“Ooo,” all the girls say.
“Do tell, Tal,” Izzy demands.
Talmage’s cheeks immediately turn pink, and he shakes his head. “It—She—ugh.” He scrubs a hand down his face. “It’s complicated.”
“Isn’t it always?” Emma asks, and everyone gets quiet and exchanges glances.
“Tell me another embarrassing story about Emma,” I say to combat the awkward tension sticking to everything in the room.
“When we were around ten or twelve, we went on a family camping trip. Emma, Elli, and I shared a tent, and we were having a screaming contest to see who could scream the loudest. Emma has a set of lungs on her and won, but we all got in trouble for it. Emma’s also the wildest sleeper I’ve ever had to share a bed with. We’re talkingall overthe bed,” Hannah shares.
“Okay, butyouwere the one who ended up onmypillow and forced me to sleep on the hard ground for the rest of the night!” Emma accuses.
“Remember the home video we made with the giant mushroom? Hannah pretended to be some type of singer who got stuck in the woods, and a wizard made us hunt for a giant mushroom to get you back home,” Elli says.
“Oooh, yes! Remember the video the family made the year Elli was born about the ‘cereal’ killer?” Emma cackles as she explains the strange plot of a movie about someone “killing” a bunch of cereal because everyone thought the kids ate too much of it.
Wes, Morgan, Luke, and I share bemused expressions. This family is strange.
