-Family is Family by Kacey Musgraves-

Dinner was terrific, but the adults were talking so much that they barely ate. They wanted to know all about Mark and Denise's life on the road, how they got into YouTube, how long they had been dating.

The whole family was fans.

On their movie nights, the adults would watch their latest YouTube video before calling the kids to watch a family-friendly movie. YouTube was how they kept tabs on Mark and how he was doing.

Denise was so unfamiliar with being in a family-oriented setting that she found herself going quiet every now and again. She would scan the table, looking at the genuine smiles and laughter.

It felt so unreal.

This is what family was supposed to be like.

It was Mark who would pull her back into the conversation by grasping her hand under the table, or someone asking her question.

They had been there for a few hours, and Denise already loved everybody.

Especially Adeline and Samantha.

Adeline definitely held the reigns of the older sibling. She had a confident leadership way about her. Anyone could tell that she was a woman who meant business despite how down to earth she really was.

She was a classy woman, intelligent too.

All while Samantha was the wild child and unapologetically so. Not even a swear jar could bring her potty mouth to a minimum, not to mention how spunky she was. Between her dark humor, sarcasm, and dirty jokes, she was someone who preferred a good time over seriousness any day.

Add Mark to the bunch, and you can easily tell that he was the prince of the house since he was the only boy.

His calm temperament was unlike his two sisters.

Denise wondered how he managed to make it, being the only introvert between the three.

There was one thing they all had in common, though, and that was speaking their minds.

Mark might have no been as quick to speak as his sisters were, but just like them, if he felt like something needed to be said - he didn't have a problem speaking up.

While he was mostly different from his sisters, he was exactly like his parents. Both were calm, sweet, and all-right down to earth.

Most siblings love to tease the youngest about being adopted, but in this case. Adeline and Samantha could have been the adopted ones.

Their personalities contrasted with their reserved parents, making their shared features linking them biologically instead.

After dinner, Denise helped Adeline and Samantha clean up in the kitchen. Mark was in the living room with their parents, while Valentino and William took the kids to get ice cream.

Once again, Denise zoned out, replaying the entire night in her head.

It was unfortunate that being in a life of dysfunction made functionality feel weird, almost to a point where it was uncomfortable.

It was crazy to think someone actually has to get used to good things when all they know is pain and trauma.

In the back of their minds, they know good things exist and can happen.

But their experiences prevent them from believing it. Make it out to be a farse, a lie even.

"You okay?" Adeline nudged Denise's arm softly as she washed a fork.

Clearing her throat, Denise came out of her thoughts as she dried a plate, "yeah, I'm fine, sorry. This night has just been, a little . . . different. 'Cause you know, I didn't really grow up with family dinners like this. Last time I sat at a dinner table, I told my family I was pregnant."

"At the dinner table?" Adeline didn't think it was the best way of telling your parents.

"Yeah," Denise rolled her eyes at her younger self. "And I said it so casually. Like I was talking about the weather. My parents were always so busy at work that we never sat at the table and ate dinner together. And when we did, all my father wanted to talk about was himself."

"Well, that'll shut any father up," chuckled Samantha, wrapping up leftovers.

"It definitely shut him up," smirked Denise. "First thing he said was abortion, obviously."

"And what'd you say?" Adeline asked.

"I started grabbing everything I could get in my hands and chucking it at his head."

"Did you get him?" Samantha was hopeful.

Denise laughs, "I wish I did back then. If I knew he was going to send me away anyway, I would have aimed straight for the target," she shrugged.

As Denise kept drying, Adeline stared at her thoughtfully.

She could see the sadness in her eyes as she remembered the family she never really had.

"Well, you know, Denise, even the closest family isn't perfect."

"We sure aren't," scoffed Samantha. "Me and Addy almost killed each other earlier today."

"We're always about to kill each other," Adeline corrected her with a grimacing smile.

Denise could only imagine. Their outspokenness made it, so they clashed. Adeline's structured ways and Samantha's go with the wind personality made it, so they were like water and oil.

"I mean, even the other day," Adeline went on. "Oliver and Ryleigh got into it real bad."

"Yeah?" Denise was surprised to hear.

"Oh yeah," Samantha came and leaned on the counter beside her sister. "It was so bad, they started throwing down. Fists and all."

"Ryleigh got my baby real good," Adeline was just as amused as her sister. "I had to calm him down, you know, stroke his ego about getting beat by a girl."

"We told them to apologize, and we were done with it," Samantha shrugged. "But . . . "

"William caught wind, and didn't like that his son got his tail handed to him by a girl," Adeline recalled with an eye-roll.

"Then Val caught wind and didn't like the insinuation that it should have been the other way around just because Ry's a girl. And it was just a shitshow from there," Samantha held the bridge of her nose.

"Caused a big spat, and also put me and Sammy in an awkward position."

"Well, what happened?" Denise felt like she was hearing about some crazy family reality TV show.

"It took a few days, but now it's like it never happened," Adeline said thankfully. "But my point is: family will never be perfect. It doesn't matter where you find it. You put a group of flawed humans together, and you're gonna get some trouble every now and again."

"Right," Denise nodded slowly.

"I just don't want you to think that our family is perfect because it isn't. We're close because we want to be. Because we put in the work, you know?"

"Yeah, I get it," Denise did find some comfort in her words.

Due to her experience, every family was going to better than hers. But it still didn't make theirs perfect.

But putting in the work, that was Denise's biggest takeaway.

Being able to put in the work when it came to those you claimed to love and care about.

"Hey, mom," Ryleigh came into the kitchen.

Samantha had forgotten she opted out of ice cream - surprisingly.

"What's up?" Samantha affectionately pushed her curly dark hair that was identical to Valentino's, behind her ears.

"I've given it a lot of thought, and I want to cut all my hair off. Like Denise."

Both Denise and Adeline's neck snapped to the serious twelve-year-old.

While Denise was surprised, Adeline thought it was adorable that she already influence on the family.

"Ryleigh," an exasperated Samantha crossed her arms over her chest.

"Just hear me out," Ryleigh argued her case, pulling all her hair up as much as she could. "I totally have the head shape for it. And you would never have to do my hair again. I mean, look at it, it's a mop, you can barely brush it half the time," she tried to run her fingers through her easily tangled curls.

"Honey -"

"Mom, please don't try to talk me out of this. Remember when I told you I needed change? This is it! You know how liberating cutting my hair off would be? No girl my age would even dare too. I'd be making a statement. Plus, I'll be thirteen soon, officially a teenager."

Denise was shocked at the twelve-year-old's concrete argument for self-expression.

Adeline, on the other hand, was not.

"You think this is shocking? You should have seen Sammy when she was Ryleigh's age," whispered Addy. "She was always running my parents crazy, doing anything she could to be different. Cutting up her clothes, cutting her hair, dying it with kool-aid. Ryleigh's only giving her a taste of her own medicine."

"I heard that," spat Samantha.

"Good for you, you've got ears," Adeline hit her younger sibling with a taste of unusual sarcasm.

Denise laughs - they were cute.

Different and yet so alike in which it pertains to their outspokenness.

"Denise, help me out here," pouted Ryleigh crossing her arms over her chest.

Uncomfortably caught in the middle, Denise locked eyes with Samantha, who was begging to be backed up.

While the blonde believed in freedom of expression, she knew damn well that the twelve-year-old would only last a day before she'd be begging for her stubborn curls to grow up.

Denise knew it too. Cutting off all your hair was not for most little girls who didn't know who they were yet and shifted moods quicker than they could comprehend.

Drying her hands, Denise goes to stand with Samantha.

"Pull your hair back again," she told Ryleigh, who followed directions, hope, and desperateness beaming in her young brown eyes.

"You know what? You do have the head shape for it."

"See?" Ryleigh's eyes lit up like a Christmas Tree.

"But," Denise caused her shoulders to slouch. "You should probably take some time to think about it."

"A long time," added Samantha.

"Because once it's gone, it's gone. And not every woman has the gift of growing back their hair quickly. Besides, your curls are gorgeous."

"They're a pain," Ryleigh growled. "I wasn't blessed with the Walsh hair gene," she gestured to her mother's blonde hair, which she shared with her siblings and parents.

Even gray, Eugene had a nice head of hair too.

"Hey, they might be a pain, but they're yours, and they're beautiful." Samantha encourages, though she knew that hearing praise from your parents was way different from hearing it from your peers when you got older.

"She's right. I love your hair," complimented Denise.

"Really?" Ryleigh perked up again.

"Yeah, I do. Ryleigh, do you know how many straight-haired girls wish they could have your girls? Naturally, at that."

"No, I didn't," Ryleigh's confidence was growing more and more.

"Well now, you do," Denise gave her an assuring smile. "So be confident and love your curls despite the hassle. You want a change, start small. Maybe take a few inches off or bangs."

"Ooo," Adeline joined the three. "Bangs would be so cute."

"Really? Let me go see," Ryleigh ran off to stare in the mirror, probably until it was time to go home.

"Thanks for having my back," Samantha gave Denise a high five. "My sister was right. I am definitely reaping the hard time I gave my parents when I was Ry's age. I love that she has my passion for freedom of expression. Unfortunately, though, she's at the age where looks are starting to matter. And it's less about expressing herself and more about her comparison to other girls. I've caught her staring at her figure so many times."

She shook her head, the mother emotional just thinking about the world standards that were already weighing on her daughter.

"As much as I want her to stay a kid, she's growing up. She's figuring out that the world is vain and looks do matter."

"Aw," Addy rubbed her back, understanding what she was going through.

Denise could see the love that they had for their kids. The love she wished her parents had for her. The love she was determined to have for her own son so long ago.

She wasn't sad at the thought, just reflecting on her past. At the same time, trying to determine her future.

They'd only been together for six months, and she knew for sure she was going to Mrs. Denise Walsh one day. There was no way in hell, Mark would confess his love to her if he wasn't planning to love her until the day they parted this earth.

He was traditional like that.

If she was surprisingly up for the task of being his wife, she might as go full throttle with a kid. No matter what, she swore to herself years ago.

After all, Mark would be a good father. Better than her own.

Maybe her confidence in the future was coming from being around Mark's family.

Maybe it was the reason Denise's fear of marriage, kids, sex even was decreasing.

As Adeline had said, if you put in the work, there was no reason that family and love couldn't be something good. More importantly - functional.

Denise, Adeline, and Samantha's attention went to Mark and his parents as they entered the kitchen.

Audrey's eyes were wet from lamenting to her son about how sorry she was for never reaching out and how happy she was that he was okay. That prison didn't affect him as bad as it could have.

As bad as it did for most.

"Everything, alright?" Adeline asked though she knew her mother would probably be emotional for the next few days.

None of them had ever expected Mark would come back. Not after being in prison.

"I'm okay," Audrey assured, sniffling. "Just happy to have my boy is all," she smiled as Mark put an arm around her.

"How long are you guys going to stay?" Samantha asked.

Mark looks at Denise, who shrugs, "we didn't even think about it."

She nods, "yeah, it's not like we have a nine to five to get back to."

"Great, even better," Adeline gushed. "There's so much for us to do—some much time to catch up on. The kids can get to know you, you can hang out with William and Val. Oh my god, we have to go on a family trip somewhere and -"

"Snarfburger!" She and Samantha gushed at the same time.

"Wow, I forgot about that place," a rush of greasy carb memories flashed in his mind.

"Best burgers in town," Samantha told Denise. "I promise you, you're going to love it."

There was so much time to make up for and so many things to do. And luckily, an easily cleared schedule for Denise and Mark.

"We'll plan all the fun later," Audrey guided Denise over to stand next to Mark. "For now, it's getting late. You two can stay with us."

"You sure, ma?" Adeline asked. "Will and I've got plenty of space here."

"Oh, let her have it," Samantha knew all too well that her mother just wanted to spoil her little brother.

Feed him, wash his clothes, all the motherly duties that she always did without complaining and with a smile.

No matter the hardships that came with marriage and parenting, Audrey Walsh never complained.

She wanted to be married, so she did it. She wanted kids, so she had them.

There were no reasons to complain in her eyes. She thought it was ignorant for anyone to expect sunshine and rainbows in this chaotic life. Even more to do something you're not even equipped to handle when things get hard.

Marriage and parenting were for the mature and the selfless.

Not for the unrealistic people who's dreams stopped at a fairy tale wedding and dressing up their babies for social media photos.

There was a life after the wedding and a life beyond the pictures.

No matter the family photos she had hanging around her house, her reality for years had been that her son was taken away from her.

Wrongly convicted, alone, and on the other side of the country.

Now that she had him back, she was going to make up for the lost time.

"Besides," Samantha went on, "they're just around the corner, so you won't be far."

"You all live in the same neighborhood?" frowned Mark.

"Not the neighborhood. Our neighborhood," Adeline corrected him. "You probably couldn't tell because most of the houses have been renovated."

"I thought it looked familiar, but I was unsure," Mark recalled how in his thoughts, he had been the entire ride.

"Sammy lives a few houses down, and mom and dad are still in the same house where we grew up."

Denise's heart melted a bit. They even lived close to one another.

Mark's family was the real deal. Imperfect but close and functional.

"Why don't we call it a night?" said Euguene giving his daughters a hug.

"Good night," said Adeline, as everyone began exchanging goodbye hugs.