Hallmark Moments

The Past

I ran to the gate and fumbled with the keys in my hand. The guard at the small guardhouse grinned before opening it with his remote control. 'Afternoon, Miss Cammie.' I waved at the guard before running up the sweeping concrete lawn, almost barrelling through the doors. By almost I mean the door opened at the last minute and I crashed into a very solid and warm and...something that smelled like air condition blasted cigarette scent.

When it registered into my brains that it was a person, I knew that the things circling my waist and picking me effortlessly off the floor were a pair of arms attached to my bee-loved eldest brother Tyler Gene Delaine. His middle name was courtesy of our grandpere Gene Marcus Delaine. See how the family name is passed on from generation to generation? I wouldn't be surprised if Tyler's son is gonna be named Simon Tyler Delaine. It is just...so...patriarchal.

When he put me down and closed the door behind us, I took in his features. From his dark blond hair, which he inherited from our late mother, to his almond shaped dark green eyes to his aquiline, slightly crooked nose down to his full lips. Wisps of dark blond stubble on his chin were noted and his used to be scrawny body was now filled out, giving him a buffed up body. He had grown a good four inches from the last time he came back which was a year and a half ago to attend some seminar which dragged on to some training in Singapore.

'Damn it...who the hell are you?' even his voice had changed slightly. A bit husky and low.

I circled my arms around his neck and gave him another hug. We weren't that different in height so I could hug him easily without having to stand on the tips of my toes. 'I missed you so much.' I whispered. It's true. Living alone with dad and Jonathan who doesn't really talk much was tough even for me.

I'm guessing it's time for me to introduce myself fully. My full name's Camryn Deirdre Delaine - so maybe it's not just patriarchal...or maybe mom just wanted to make a statement - third and last child of the late actress Deirdre Mackenzie and chef Marcus Oliver - Jonathan's middle name as well - Delaine. Youngest sister to aforementioned Tyler Gene and Jonathan Oliver Delaine.

Okay...sob story number one shall ensue.

When I turned five, I celebrated it along with a talent show that I would be performing in. Due to the specification of the dress code, the dress I had in mind was sold in a mall two towns away from us, which was almost an hour and a half drive. Then, we were still living in California and we were still living the high life that my mother - a very talented actress who was supposed to give Charlize Theron and Nicole Kidman a run for their money - and my father's - a chef of the highest level, only catering to the rich and famous - well endowed income could support generously.

So back to the sob story, my mom and I were in the car, enjoying the snow falling gently and listening to a song from one of my favourite animated movie, and singing along to it. Although, I was pretty much entranced by mom's singing rather than the radio, which was probably why I never saw the trailer swerve into our already cramped lane. Mom was smiling down at me when the lights from the trailer blinded me. The scream that emitted from my lips barely computed in my head that it was even mine. It was like my body was detached from the being in the car, looking down at what was happening as I saw the trailer ram into the driver's side that it ripped that half apart.

The impact ruptured my ribs and left me with bones sticking out of my arms and cuts appeared in places I never knew it could exist. Bruises the size of Russet potatoes appeared on my legs and mid back and arms. A scar - which I thought was the coolest thing I could ever sport - marred my then virginal five-year-old face; starting from my right temple, curving down to the right corner of my lips.

Apart from the physical wounds, I also fell into a coma which lasted a week. Much to my dismay, it was within that one week that mom was buried. Dad informed me that she had died on site and I remember how I scoffed at him, telling him in a candid way that only a five year old could pull off without being slapped silly. 'Duh, daddy...the trailer ripped our car in half.' Which earned me an eternal ice cold glare from Jonathan and a fresh bout of tears from dad.

During my recuperation, the media staked out at our mansion, waiting for one of us to get out for the morning paper so they could pounce on us to ask us '...was it really because Deirdre was drunk that she nearly killed her baby girl?'

I never saw my dad so livid in my whole life. See, he loved mom and would guard her pride until the last of his days. But the hounding didn't stop so he resorted to uprooting our whole family to a secluded and - as it turned out - exclusive gated community in San Diego which opened their cast iron arms to welcome us. The Delaine family immediately took it upon themselves to befriend their five-minute-walk-away-from-each-other-even though-their children's-bedrooms-almost-had-an-adjoining-balcony-to-their-room neighbours.

Twelve years of peace gave dad a lot of time to adjust to the fact that the woman that he cherished the most above all others, before us, was gone. It gave Jonathan time to turn into a reserved asshole. It gave me time to hone in my forte.

It was with effortless vigour that I became a pathological liar come my sixth birthday, a gridlock wall had been built around me that no one knew who I really was except for the fact that I was the daughter of Deirdre Mackenzie and Marcus Delaine. It was so easy to lie to people you don't know and who don't know you that it makes me laugh to see how pathetically quick it is for people to be swayed with choice words strung into a phrase. Even Parker admittedly had a difficult time breaking me down. I mean, he literally had to break me down. I was still just trying to recover from my accident and this unruly boy comes to me and beats the crap out of me only to buy me ice cream and declare that we were friends forever more from then on; with bloody t-shirts and toothless grins.

I'm guessing that's pretty much why he's so unfazed by the still increasing amount of reputation I was getting due to my ability to freeze everything around me up as quick as a snap of a finger. That's also probably why he never bats an eye when I become the reason why a ninth grader would cower in the shadows because he had an encounter with a sixth grader nicknamed CD. Lame, yes but very effective when it came to shunning everyone away.

This is a far cry from over for my sob story, even when I need time to talk to my dearest brother. In fact, Tyler himself is a huge entity in my life I should make clear of.

Tyler was that big brother who was so annoying that you are tempted to kill him in his sleep. Yet, he protected me during my youth like no other. There was one incident I can never forget. It was after mom's death. A resident pervert (we were already in San Diego at the time) came up to me and gave me a kiss on the lips. Note, I was only eight at the time. Although I was already old enough to have been able to defend myself, I couldn't help but run home crying to Tyler. Dad wasn't home at the time because he had a TV slot to fill and I couldn't very well go to Jonathan because he hated me. Tyler was so furious he hunted the man down. I don't know what he did or said but after that day, every time I saw that pervert, he went running in the opposite direction.

The time Tyler was shipped off to Columbia for training for six years was when I decided to toughen up. I provoked Jonathan enough so he could take a swing at me and from there, I learnt how to fight. I watched dad cook and from there I learned patience as menu after menu went down the garbage because an ingredient was missing or it was overcooked or undercooked. Finally, I earned my title as resident bad ass personified when I decided to mock even my seniors who actually bow down to my words. What can I say? You just don't mess with a Delaine.

When Tyler came back for two years, I softened up a bit when I was at home. He noticed the hostility in the household but never commented on it until I told him. He tried so hard to reconcile the whole family but being a Delaine meant being stubborn at the highest level. Tyler and mom were surprisingly the only ones who never were. Jonathan refused to speak, dad refused to acknowledge, I refused. Period. Tyler gave up but made sure that we were at least civil towards each other and we didn't bite each other's heads off.

Then, he had to leave again. We were able to write to each other though. It was sporadic but it gave me something to look forward to.

In the end, Parker was my block. He kept me grounded throughout most of my life. He was my source of joy, anger, enlightenment and sometimes epiphany. It didn't matter that most of the time he was away in his own world and once in a while, he would just close up on himself. He was still Parker and I depended on him. A lot.

Sob story done. Actual conversation, begin.

'I miss you so much.'

Tyler heard my whisper and I felt rather than saw his smile before he replied. 'I miss you too.' Squeezing me gently, he released me and ruffled my hair before leading me to the kitchen where dad was baking chocolate chip cookies.

'Look what the wind blew in.' Tyler said sliding up the counter top and grabbing a cookie.

Dad looked up and smiled absent-mindedly at him before mixing up the cookie dough for another batch. I silently made my way to the fridge where I took out a small bottle of Snapple and an apple. I grabbed a glass from the countertop and sat at the kitchen table.

'So dad,' Tyler filled in the silence as I poured my Snapple into the glass. 'I was thinking of getting married.'

I swear I could almost hear the crickets singing and hay rolling across the sandy Western cowboy film road. A pin could be heard dropping from the Eiffel tower. We can hear the waves crashing into each other in Oceania. I am hearing my own THOUGHTS!

It was either me or dad who cracked up first at that time, but either way, we did it unison and that was the first time we ever agreed on something. We laughed from our bellies, through our noses and just plain old laughing til tears came pouring from our eyes.

Tyler's face went through a transition from taken aback to being offended in a matter of seconds. 'I'm not kidding!'

We stopped laughing when we saw how serious he was. 'When did you come up with this notion?' dad asked calmly in his monotonous voice. Tyler shrugged and mumbled something about it being three months ago. His eyes were directed to the floor and he was rubbing his right index finger with his right thumb really hard. He was nervous. And when Tyler was nervous, that could only mean one thing. He has a girlfriend!

He cracked under my stare and blurted everything out. How they met (bumped into each other in a shopping complex the first day Tyler arrived in Singapore) what her name was (Nadia Salman) and how long they have been together (since that day they bumped into each other). Apparently, he has met with her parents and apparently as well, they fell in love with him straight away. I don't blame them. Tyler was the boy next door.

'So where is she right now?' dad asked in that tone again.

'At the local inn.'

'She flew all the way over here?' I asked incredulously. 'For you?' I used a teasing tone to let him know that I've softened. We were just waiting for dad to crack. Tyler smiled at my obvious tease and looked at dad.

'Dinner is still at eight.' Tyler didn't need any more convincing as he grabbed me and ran out to his car.