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Story: The Eternal Muse

“Sure you’re feeling alright, Isa? We can always speed things up and get everyone out of here if you’re getting tired.” Isabel’s mother, Raina, sat down next to her and tucked her hair behind her ear. “We can just do presents and send everyone home to finish their treats?”

Isabel shook her head and set down her plate. “I’m doing fine, Mom. Almost entirely back to normal! You don’t have to worry about me, I swear. It wasn’t a flare-up.” The look on Raina’s face told Isabel that she still wasn’t sure her daughter wasn’t lying, but there was only so much convincing that could be done. Moms would be moms, after all.

“Quit stressing over the kid, wife,” teased Isabel’s father, Donald. “Let her enjoy her birthday party without worrying about going to bed. When she’s ready to open gifts, she’ll let us know. Won’t ya, kiddo?” He ruffled Isabel’s hair and dropped onto the couch next to his wife. “Just waiting on Mels to get here, right?”

“Yeah. She got off work about ten minutes ago, so she should be home any minute. Probably still in a bad mood that she had to miss the beginning of the party.” Isabel laughed, shaking her head. Melody had been complaining about her time off request being denied for days. “I swore we would wait for her to get here to open presents. I don’t need to break my promise and wake up with my bed full of realistic cockroaches or something.”

Everyone listening in began to laugh just as the door burst open. “Ah, speak of the devil!” Isabel teased, earning herself a glare from her now-roommate and best friend.

“I knew I sensed a disturbance in the force,” Melody replied, tossing her jacket on a chair near the door and making a bee-line for the kitchen. “There better be some of Raina’s famous birthday cake left for me!”

There was, indeed, plenty of cake and other treats left. As soon as Melody was seated in the recliner with her plate of goodies, Isabel set hers down and reached for the first gift. “Alright, ready or not, I’m starting to open. If you want to see, get your butts over here!”

A stampede led by Isabel’s three younger brothers descended on the living room, filling up most of the available floor space. “You brats keep your fingers off the boxes. If I hear one rip, I’m kicking all three of you out into the hallway!” The trio of boys tucked their hands into their armpits, earnest looks on their little faces. All three were adopted and ranged from six to eight years old, prime troublemaker years.

With everyone settled, Isabel set about freeing the gifts. “This one is from Aunt Ellen,” she announced, smiling at the blonde woman in the corner before slipping her finger beneath the tape and releasing its hold on the paper. She carefully removed the plain white box from the wrapping and opened it to find a dark blue jacket with “ITALY” stitched across the front in white. “Thank you, I love it!”

Isabel set aside the jacket and looked at her oldest brother, Hunter, as she held out her hand. He excitedly grabbed another present and handed it to her. “Thanks, munchkin. This one is from Bob and Melissa.” Bob winked, Melissa blew a kiss, and Isabel again gently freed the gift from the paper. This one was a backpack which also had “ITALY” stitched across the front.

“I think everyone has gotten the memo that I want to go there,” Isabel laughed as her aunt and uncle came in for hugs. And she wasn’t wrong; the remaining packages contained a passport cover, a new suitcase, a package of power converters, and more Italy-themed clothing.

When the table had been emptied of gifts, Isabel glanced around at her new bounty. “Well, I know two things: One, I have been 100% spoiled. And two, I really need to stop talking about Italy!” Everyone laughed and when it subsided, Isabel continued, “Thank you, everyone. I love all of you so much.”

“And we love you, sweet pea,” Donald spoke for the group. “But it seems you didn’t realize you haven’t gotten your gift from Mom and Dad yet.” Which was true; in the bounty of gifts, Isabel hadn’t been keeping track of guests vs gifts. Donald pulled an envelope from his pocket and handed it to Isabel. “Your mother nearly insisted we choose something else, but this is for you.”

She took the envelope and opened the flap, finding a letter inside. Isabel removed it from the envelope and upon opening it, a check fell out.

Dear Isabel,

Your mother and I are so proud of the woman you have become. Despite your challenges, you are bright, cheerful, and driven, just as we raised you to be. We know how hard you have been working toward your goals, and because life can be so short and unpredictable, we wanted to make sure you are able to fulfill your dreams.

You better take a thousand pictures of Italy to show us when you get back, and travel safely. We love you so, so much, our little Isabug.

Love,

Mom and Dad

Looking at the check, Isabel felt a little bit faint. “Really?” she exclaimed, her thumb brushing over the 4-figure total written in the little box. “You’re really giving me five grand?! Ahh, now I can go whenever I want! And this is like three times as much as I still wanted to save up, so maybe I can go a little longer!”

“Or you can save the rest for your next wild adventure,” Donald replied as Isabel flung herself into his arms. “No doubt you’ll have somewhere else you want to go afterwards, if France is anything to judge by. My advice is to wait until after Christmas to go, yeah? That gives you plenty of time to make arrangements and you won’t miss any holidays at home.”

Which Isabel knew translated to ‘even though we aren’t willing to say it, all the adults in this room know that your life could take a turn at any moment so holidays are particularly precious now.’

“I suppose that’s logical,” she replied, and gave her dad a kiss on the cheek before giving her mom a hug as well. “But that won’t stop me from getting on the computer to look at flights as soon as everyone goes home!”

“Fair enough,” Raina teased.

Once the party wound down and everyone left, Melody and Isabel slumped on the couch. “Parties are exhausting,” Melody moaned, dramatically draping her arm over her face. “You know I love your family, but those brothers of yours could put a rock concert to shame for volume.”

“You’re not wrong,” Isabel agreed. “At least everyone cleaned up so we don’t have to! And nobody asked about Sebastian, so it seems my real motives for visiting Italy remain safely between us.” She poked Melody in the side, grinning from ear to ear. Each of his letters added to her growing crush. “In fact, I’m going to go write him and tell him that I have the money! And look at flights. And hotels.”

Melody smacked Isabel’s hand away and rolled her eyes. “Are you accusing me of being bad with secrets?! I am utterly offended at the very thought! But yes, you should definitely tell Mr. Italian Hottie that his princess is on her way. Maybe he’ll really let you stay in that castle of his and you won’t need any of that cash from your parents at all.”

“No way, Mels. I’m not planning to just crash at a stranger’s place. I’m not convinced he actually lives in the castle anyway. The google earth view doesn’t show any signs of actual life there. He probably lives in town somewhere and just wrote the castle as his address to look cooler.”

“If you think he’s a liar, isn’t it a bad idea to fly all the way over there to see him?” Melody rolled over onto her back and looked up at Isabel upside-down. “You know I’m Team See the Hottie, but I’m also Team Don’t Be Stupid.”

Isabel shook her head and flicked Melody’s forehead. “I don’t think he’s aliar,I just think it seems as unlikely as himactuallybeing a vampire. The guy is a tease and I’ll find out soon enough. I’ll just make sure to book refundable rooms, if that makes you happy.”