6:45 PM, 10/13/2019

"And that's what happened to my shirt!"

My older niece, Robin, proudly boasting a gap-tooth smile and a green stain on her shirt (which we had just discovered was from a rather unfortunate glitter glue accident), stood waiting for a reaction. When she was met with silence, she gestured wildly at us.

Confused applause filled the living room, as Robin blew kisses and bowed. At only 8, she already reminded me of her mother- my younger sister, Theone. She was always the entertainer of the family, but most of that came with being the youngest of five siblings. Me, I was more content making polite conversation with the adults at gatherings like these when I was younger.

"Rachel? Hello?"

I blinked, realizing I had spaced out while reminiscing. "What?"

Theone smiled at me, holding a sugar-dusted rose champagne glass in each hand. "Dinner will be out in a bit. Marvin's fixing up the asparagus."

I took one of the glasses, sipping it. "I missed this."

"Yeah, me too," she leaned back on the couch, "We should do this more often, really."

I nodded in agreement, and we were quiet for a bit. We had not been the closest during our childhood, but the passing of our mom a couple years ago had made us reconnect. We were greatly different even then, and had only gotten less similar over the years. Theone managed a children's playplace called My Gym that her two daughters, Robin and Felicity, attended. She had a mansion of a house with her husband Marvin, who was a divorce lawyer. Despite being three years older, I had just been promoted to a detective and just out of a relationship. Suffice it to say, neither one of us knew quite how to act around the other.

"So, how's being a detective?" Theone broke the silence, "Is it everything you ever dreamed?"

We both chuckled. "Well, I'm definitely the newbie, that's for sure. But it is nice to not just be a beat cop anymore."

A few more minutes of conversation passed before Marvin called us into the dining room. The table was set magnificently- someone had even bothered to fold the napkins into little crown shapes.

After a brief grace, we enjoyed the meal. Joseph and Jamie, my two older brothers, who were both also in law enforcement, had helped Marvin cook everything.

"This is really great," Joseph settled down next to me, after passing out some more utensils, "Isn't it?"

I smiled wearily. "It really is, but I don't know how Theone handles those kids. Sure, they're cute, but Robin? She's so... overpowering."

"You would say that," he chuckled, pulling more food onto his plate, "Well, if you decide to have kids, you'll see. It's very rewarding, really."

"All parents say that," I looked over at the kid's table, seeing Joseph's 9 year old, Clark, and his 7 year old, Veronica. They were both very polite and quiet, and quite fascinated with Robin's personality.

"That's because it's true." Joseph retorted playfully.

Before I could respond, my phone rung. "Hello?"

I adjusted the phone, as a look of recognition crossed Joseph's face. "Where, sorry? Off the 405... got it. Be right there."

I hung up. "Dammit."

Joseph patted my shoulder as I stood up with a sigh. "Work just called. I have to go, there's been an... incident."

Protests and nods of understanding arose as I grabbed my coat and bag, and headed for the door. I said bye to the children, and Theone walked me to my car. She carried an umbrella, as the rain was starting to pick up. While it rarely happened in LA, any rain was welcomed.

"Sorry I couldn't stay longer," I said, tossing my bag into the passenger seat and sitting down, "Really, I mean that-"

"It's fine, Rach," Theone chuckled, "I get it. We all do."

I gave a thankful smile and closed the car door, driving off as the rain began to pelt down like bullets.