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Corrin sat quietly in the quaint coffee shop, braiding her dark brown hair and sorting through the different emotions that came with being employed in her particular field. Working on a short-term inpatient psychiatric unit for children and adolescents never made for a dull moment, and the stories that brought the boys and girls to her group therapy were always quite dramatic. Even if Corrin only had a week to stabilize them and get them ready to send home, it never seemed to be enough time to be sure they would be prepared enough to win the overall war against their struggles instead of continuing to get caught in smaller emotional battlefields.
She was happy to be meeting her sisters Camilla, Azura, and Elise for their weekly coffee date, especially because Camilla had been dying to share a special surprise with her three little sisters all week. Corrin was forever grateful she had ended up in a foster home with the three of them as well as her two brothers Xander and Leo. While Xander was the biological son of her foster father, Garon, and his deceased first wife and Azura was his stepdaughter from his marriage to his deceased second wife; Camilla, Leo, and Elise were his illegitimate children from the many girlfriends he took to ease the hurt of his wives’ deaths.
Corrin wasn’t sure what possessed her foster father to take her in after her mother died when she was 8, but she made sure to be as sweet and well-behaved as possible so he wouldn’t regret it. There were hints that Garon knew her father in some way, but he didn’t voluntarily offer up the information so she didn’t bother to ask.
While it wasn’t the most loving and fuzzy environment to grow up in, their father was wealthy enough to keep them in comfort until they graduated college. He was a well-known political figure in their community, and made sure his children stayed out of trouble to keep his image pristine. Corrin was always grateful for the close and loving relationships she and her siblings had nurtured growing up together, and her thoughts drifted to where life had taken each of them.
Xander double majored in History and Political Science, and was the Dean of the Liberal Arts Department at the university. Camilla had opened her own daycare/pre-school for the local community after studying Child Development, and was always more than willing to send her emotionally volatile tykes to be assessed at the inpatient unit Corrin worked at. Corrin studied Psychology, and became a research assistant in an adolescent behavioral lab during her time in graduate school before becoming a licensed therapist.
Azura had majored in Vocal Performance, and joined a rather large ensemble that toured the country for four months straight (thanks to her father's connections). Leo was the more pragmatic of the siblings, and decided to major in Chemistry to learn to control and manipulate the properties of everyday chemicals for a local research company. Elise was still at the university, majoring in Biology and preparing for medical school with the dream to help heal those in need.
Even though they were all living apart, all the siblings made plans to see each other for weekly Sunday dinner at Xander’s house and the sisters had coffee together regularly. Xander’s wife Charlotte was an amazing cook, and the sisters had noticed Xander putting on a few pounds during the newlywed period of his marriage. Leo and his girlfriend Selena had been living together for a few months, and Elise lived with her best friends Effie and Arthur in their student apartment on the university’s campus. Azura and Corrin shared an apartment near Corrin’s work, although Azura wasn’t home very often due to her performance and practice schedule. Camilla had been living in an apartment on her own, preferring her privacy on the days when she brought home male company for the evening.
Corrin was jarred from her thoughts when she was being wrapped in a hug by her youngest and blondest little sister. “Corrin! I’m so happy to see you weren’t caught in the middle of a catastrophic cat fight or big beastly brawl,” Elise always had a way with words, and probably would have been an excellent English major. However she wanted to prove she was just as useful as her other siblings, and she did have an incredible bedside manner. Before Corrin could respond, her mouth was covered by long lilac locks that belonged to her sister Camilla.
“My darling little loves, I am so happy we could get together this afternoon,” their ever motherly sibling smothered the two women with unyielding affection. Her purple hair had been a permanent fixture in their lives. They were soon joined by their sister Azura.
“Azura! It’s good to have you home. We’ve missed you,” Corrin embraced her sister. She and Azura were the closest in age, and had always been attached to each other growing up.
“So come on Camilla, you’ve been dragging this out all week. What’s the big announcement?!” Elise stomped her foot impatiently. While Corrin and Azura didn’t say anything out loud, they both were extremely curious as to what their sister had been holding off on telling them until she saw them in person.
Camilla grinned deviously, “Now darlings, what would our visits be without a gift from your big sister?” She handed each of them a small box with a note attached to the top. They opened the box to find a beautiful crystal bauble necklace and earring set with the words on the note setting off a chorus of squeals, My dearest sisters, would you stand by my side as I marry my mister?
“Camilla you were dating someone, and didn’t tell us?!” Azura questioned her older sister.
“Camilla you’re engaged?!” Corrin gawked at the rather large princess cut diamond engagement ring gracing her sister’s ring finger.
“Camilla, you’re getting married?!” Elise screamed enthusiastically to the dismay of the other patrons in the coffeehouse.
Camilla giggled and answered the rapid fire questions, “Yes, yes, and yes to each of you. It’s been a bit of a whirlwind romance, but nothing rushed or forced I assure you.”
“Well can we at least know about our future brother-in-law now you’ve decided to share this? How did you meet him?” Azura smiled gently as a love-struck look crossed Camilla’s face.
“His name is Ryoma. His niece is one of the little ones at my daycare, and he’s been helping his sister out by picking her up in the afternoons for the past several months,” Camilla began recounting their casual conversations as she and the built brunette discussed Caeldori’s perfect behavior reports for the day, “Caeldori’s mother is at the university and her father is in the military. Ryoma went to law school to join his father’s law firm, and took over when he passed away last year. He has a little more time on his hands to help out, and during one of our afternoon conversations he invited me to dinner.” Camilla sipped her coffee as she allowed her sisters some time to think of more questions about her future husband.
They talked about Ryoma, wedding plans, and sharing the news with their brothers on Sunday night until the coffee shop owner shuttled them out the door at closing time. “I wonder how Xander and Leo will respond?” Corrin looked to Camilla as they walked away from the locked door of their favorite hang out spot. Azura and Elise stopped as their elder sister giggled mischievously, “I guess we’ll find out this weekend, since I’ll be bringing Ryoma along.”