Dorothy wondered, and not for the first time either, if single children were normally loners. Her dad, like herself, had no friends and when he was among other people, like the times he took Dorothy to tennis tournaments before she got her driver's license, they would keep each other company rather than socialize with people their own age. The other players formed a close-knit group which she never penetrated, or had the desire to become part of.
Her mother, Claire, was different. She was much more socially inclined. Dorothy wondered, and not for the first time either, if it was because her mother had a brother. That she interacted with Uncle Julius's friends from a young age. That she learnt from before she could remember to share, to team-up, to co-operate, and to argue.
This was why there were only eleven places set on the table in front of her. It was supposed to be a big day for her, as she turned eighteen the day before. Claire tried to encourage Dorothy to invite friends, from school, from tennis, the church, but Dorothy couldn't think of anyone whom she would like to share her eighteenth, only her close-knit family.
Dorothy helped Claire to prepare her special birthday dinner. She looked absentmindedly to the table in front of her. There were eleven places, representing her entire family, actually more than her blood family. She couldn't help to get an empty feeling because a classmate recently remarked that she had an extended family of fifty-four. That is her parents, her siblings, her grandparents as well as her parents' siblings and their spouses and children.
Dorothy started to work through her family, like so many times before. She was an only child, and with her parents, they're three. Dad also had no siblings and only his mother, Granny Dorothy, was still alive. That made it four. Mom has only a brother, Uncle Julius, and he was married to Aunt Emily. They had two kids, Derik and Alida. That's four more, making it eight. That was it - eight!
But she counted Aunt Julia and her two children Jeff and Pamela, in as well. They're not true blood family, they're Uncle Julius's in-laws. Aunt Julia was the sister of Aunt Emily, but they were so integrated into Dorothy's family, that she regarded them as family. Adding the trio to the eight, gave her the eleven places.
"Dorothy, are you dreaming! The guests will be here in less than ten minutes." Claire's voice reminded Dorothy that she must sort out the seating arrangement. She pulled herself together and recounted the chairs. She didn't know why because she knew that there were eleven places.
Dorothy's thoughts strayed again. Aunt Emily and Aunt Julia weren't real sisters, they're cousins, but Aunt Julia, and her brother, Uncle Wilson were adopted by Aunt Emily's parents. Their father died in a mining accident shortly after her mother got pregnant with Aunt Julia, and her mother died shortly after she was born from complications - Aunt Julia was about two months old at the time. Aunt Emily's parents took baby Julia and her brother in and eventually adopted them to raise as their own children.
That reminded her that she could also count Uncle Wilson, his wife, Aunt Desiree, and their daughters Patricia, Cara and Ingrid, as well as their brother, Wimpie. As with Aunt Julia, they're not blood family, but they're close enough to be counted. They would have been at her dinner, but they live in Nelspruit and could not make it. She was proud of the increased size of her extended family - seventeen.
"Dorothy!"
"I'm busy, Mom!" She lied and knew that she should focus. The table was a twelve-seater, but they removed one chair and moved the table against the wall to create more walking space near the buffet. There were five chairs on each side and one at the head. The head was easy to allocate, that was where she wanted her father to sit. Uncle Julius should sit on his left-hand side with his wife, Aunt Emily, right next to him. Aunt Julia should sit next to her sister. Mom should of, course, sit next to Dad, on his right side, and Granny Dorothy next to her. That should work for the adults.
That left three open spaces next to her grandmother, and two next to Aunt Julia. Dorothy decided that since she was the birthday girl, that she could claim the middle seat of the three. Her heart started to race, it was the reason for the delay. Should she have one or both of the boys next to her, she had a crush on both of them lately, especially Derik. They were both twenty and quite sexy. She decided to have only one of them next to her, but she was unsure which one she would choose. She decided on Jeff, but almost immediately second-guessed herself. What if Jeff interprets it as a signal that she fancies him? He wasn't true family after all, and may have fewer inhibitions than Derik.
She made up her mind, Jeff should sit next to his mother, Aunt Julia, with their cousin, Alida, next to him to complete the row. Then an idea struck her, placing Derik across his sister would be boring, Derik should rather sit next to her grandmother, leaving the seat on her other side open for Pamela.
The plan got even better when she thought it over. Pam turned eighteen in late May and Alida would turn eighteen in a few weeks' time. They would sit across from each other, and may have an interesting conversation. The two young men would also sit across from each other, well - almost, and they, too, may have an interesting conversation. From her position, she could easily switch from one conversation to the other, depending on which one was more interesting. Problem solved!
She chuckled, as she just now thought that she could 'join' a conversation, but that wasn't her style. She would just listen in, she was an introvert, or a loner, after all, even among family members. This fact was clearly illustrated by the total absence of any friends from all spheres of her life.
She wondered if it would be different in a large family. You would have brothers and sisters, and they should have friends. And if your parents came from larger families, then you'd have uncles and aunts, and lots of cousins. Yeah, it may just be easier to have friends other than family. She decided that she wouldn't waste sleep over the issue, because she was happy with her situation. Then she started to doubt if she was being honest with herself - she often wished that she could just talk to someone about anything. But Dorothy realized that she hadn't developed the social tools to be relaxed in a conversation while she grew up.
But Dorothy didn't have the time to entertain the thought. Her father, George, had returned with Granny Dorothy, who gave her namesake a brief kiss on the lips and handed her an envelope. Her grandmother chuckled. "I understand the boyfriends are queueing at your front door now that you are eighteen!" She gave Dorothy a playful wink and headed for her favorite chair in the living room.
Car doors were closing outside and soon, Uncle Julius and family, stepped into the house. Soon, everyone greeted and congratulated Dorothy, except for Derik. Then she heard him calling her name. She went outside where he pulled her into a sensual embrace and gave her a smooching wet kiss, right on her lips. "Happy Birthday, Dory." Derik gave her a nice, tight hug and squeezed her bum. "Eighteen at last, and been properly kissed!"
The thought that turning eighteen didn't give him the right to squeeze her bum and poke his tongue into her mouth, flashed through my mind. Her rapid heartbeat was telling a different story. It felt incredibly nice, and she wondered if he knew of her recent crush on him. She contemplated if she would allow him even more, if he wanted to take it further. Her head was spinning. She chuckled, when she realized that she thought that Derik would be a 'safe' choice!
More car doors closed outside, which meant that Aunt Julia with Jeff and Alida had arrived. Jeff was also the last to walk in. He placed his hands lightly on Dorothy's hips and looked her in the eyes. "I guess Derik has beaten me to it, so let's keep it civilized." He leaned forward and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips; his lips lingered slightly longer than usual. She felt a slight tug on her lower lip when his lips pulled away from hers. Butterflies started to flutter around her heart. Was Jeff the safe and gentle option she thought he would be?
****
Aunt Julia and family were the first to leave; it was just after ten o'clock. Jeff was driving and opened the doors for his mother and sister. It turned out to be a ploy to be the last one to get into the car, the last to say his goodbyes to Dorothy.
The telephone rang and Claire rushed in to answer it.
Jeff's goodbye kiss was just as full of promise, as the kiss he gave her when they had arrived. Then he placed his hand on her back, and slid it onto her bum. "Let me know if you need some... um... guidance, when you wake up and get romantically active." Dorothy started to doubt the innocence of his kiss, especially when he gave her buttock a squeeze with one hand, and pinched her nipple with his other. She was confused on how the sneaky bastard managed to do that, without her noticing it.
The telephone rang again, as Dorothy walked back into the house. Claire answered, and after a bit of silence, she held the handset to Dorothy. "Lisa wants to talk to you!"
Lisa congratulated Dorothy on her eighteenth, and apologized that it was a day late. She made some small chat about how Dorothy's day was. She conveyed the birthday wishes of Adrian and their children, Eveline and Adrian junior.
