The Family Garden's: The Rose House
Chapter 1- Little Rose Cherry pt 1
July 1, 2018
"But why do you have to go so far away?" Gabriella Galdren asked in a motherly whine as she cried and pulled me into her extremely impressive bosom.
Mom was fifty-one now, but as beautiful as ever. She was one of those that when she was thirty she looked twenty, when she was forty she looked like she was barely thirty, and now at fifty she still looked like she was in her late thirties.
Damn dad was a lucky man! But then, he was a lucky man many times over. To have acquired not only mom, but grandma Fornasia as well as most of mom's sisters, aunt Porsche, Charlene, Larissa, and Sable. And that was just on mom's side of the family.
I could go into all of it but that would take forever. Suffice it to say, I have probably got the largest immediate family in the world. Just from my own mother I have seventeen siblings. Seventeen! Counting me she had eighteen children!
How? You might ask. Well, the Korrapati women are predisposed to having both identical and fraternal multiples. So mom's first pregnancy resulted in her having three boys, Kenner, Reagan, and George. Five years later her second pregnancy gave her five more boys, Henry, Noah, Moses, Jacob, and Jonathan. Mom's last pregnancy five years after that resulted in mom having ten identical and fraternal multiples, Victoria, Hellana, Maeve, and Ivy were identical quadruplets, Amelia and Dinah are identical twins, and then there is me, Wyatt, Jackson, and Asher.
So, needless to say with such a huge and dynamic family, even if I was given to being loud and bombastic, which I'm not, I still would be overpowered by all the noise and personality within our giant household. That is why I home schooled. It is why I graduated early. And, it is why I am leaving home as quickly as possible!
My first stop. College!
"Because mom," I answered into her breasts as I hugged her back, "I need to get out of here! I need my own space! I need to find out who I am when I am not surrounded by... family!"
"Couldn't you have gone to Seattle though," She replied in a pleading tone for me to reconsider.
"No mom," I said, rejecting the idea with a firm shake of my head, "I have as much family over there as I do here, with aunt Charlene, aunts Milly, Loulee and Ethel, and then there is Heather, Kathryn, Jean, and Shannon! No mom! I want to be out on my own!"
"It's fine Gabby," Jason chuckled as he walked up and shook my hand, "He needs to spread his wings and fly." As he finished he pulled me in for a hug and a tight squeeze before he let me step back.
"Yes, but he's flying away," Gabby whimpered.
"Only for a little while," Dad reassured her, as he put his arm around her shoulder and let her turn into him and hug him as he finished, "He will fly home when he is ready."
"Thanks dad," I said with a smile as I gathered up my last couple of bags.
"Just remember what I've tried to teach you son," He said warmly.
"Yes sir," I answered with a nod.
"Then be safe my son, and be good," Dad replied with a warm smile and nod.
That was my cue. He had mom in his arms. He would console her. If I was going to make my escape, now was the time!
I couldn't help looking back at them, and my brothers and sisters one last time as I opened the door. Tears I didn't feel coming suddenly welled up and lined my lower lashes, and with a sniffle I left before I lost my nerve...
——(!)——
Once I reached highway ninety it took only a couple of hours to arrive at Ellensburg. I wanted to get out on my own, away from all the family, but I didn't want to be so far away that if I needed help there was nothing they could do. Pulling off the highway, I pulled into the nearest 'Tenbucks' for a coffee and biscuit and pulled out my phone.
Finding housing was a pain in the ass, and finding part-time work was even harder. I had to resort to 'Craigslist', something I tried to never ever do or incur the wrath of my mother who would then tell every horrible news-story about serial-killers stalking their victims through the site, kidnappings, and then that led into the plague of child sex-slavery. By the time mom was done she was a mess, and mama Porsche, mom's twin sister wasn't any help. She would just stand there, the both of them holding hands, and nod along like mom's word was gospel!
Shaking my head, I sipped my coffee, and reread the post that had finally drawn my attention:
Seeking Maintenance Manager-
Male college student preferred. The job will entail light home and grounds maintenance. Job pays minimum wage for work time only plus room and board. Submit your application or resume to: TheRoseHouse@email.com
The post appeared about halfway through June, and I responded a couple days later with my resume. I still remember it being the quickest response ever to an email I've ever gotten. Within minutes I received the reply:
"How soon can you move and start work? Is July too soon? I have work and preparations that need to be done before the fall semester begins..."
It took me all of a second to respond:
"I can start immediately!"
The next response was an address and added: "Excellent! Show up as soon as you can, July first by the latest!"
"P.S.- The manager's name is Rosalina Alcaraz. She will get you situated as soon as you arrive."
Swiping my phone over to 'Google Maps' I entered the address for the Rose House and confirmed that I wanted directions. As it turns out it wasn't far away!
As I turned from the window bar I bumped into a small Latina girl. At first I thought she was a minor, or at least a middle school girl. She was so short! There was no way she was any taller than four and a half feet!
"Oh! Excuse me!" I gasped in apology.