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Tue, May 19 2026, 6:49am PDT [ Login ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: [1], 2, 3, 4 ]

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Date Posted: Thu, Jul 03 2003, 4:03pm PDT
Author: .susan.and.james.mcallistor.
Subject:
[.to:erica,di,and justin.] ".meet.the.mcallistors."



Mr. and Mrs. McAllistor… ah, how to describe them? Do you know that when thinking of what to write for this, I was clueless. Absolutely clueless. I only knew a few select things about the parents of my three characters: Emma, Owen, and Joseph. And now, with the things I know in hand, I must write something satisfactory enough to impress you guys and really tell you the depths of Mr. and Mrs. McAllistor. I have one problem though… I don’t know where to start. Hmmm… Clothes. Let’s start at clothes, it’s always a safe starting point. Here goes:

From the matching Versace suits, to the confident but also cocky strides and the triple-boulder-diamond broach that Mrs. McAllistor wore – this married couple could easily have been named the definition of rich. But what were riches – when you truly weren’t in love? Mr. and Mrs. McAllistor, or Susan and James McAllistor, were most definitely not in love. The two couldn’t even hold hands to show off for the press that hung off the every word and action of the rich couple residing in the concrete jungle named Seattle. Susan McAllistor was currently yakking ‘way on a high-tech cellphone about how the new – and 5th -- Mercedes must be white… must be. Her free hand was moving this way and that depending on what tone her voice took. Now, her husband, James McAllistor, was looking straight ahead, with a very bored expression on his face… he hadn’t liked the car-ride in Owen’s unkept Mustang so much, and he reminded himself that he’d have to lecture his oldest – and screwiest – son about how to keep a car in tip-top shape, since that was one of the most important things in life; keeping a car sparkly clean so you presented a sharp image to the all-adoring public.
“James? Oh yes… He’s fine. James, are you fine? Yes, why of course you’re fine!” Susan shrieked into the cellphone, answering the car dealer’s questions automatically – without a single ounce of her husband’s input. Her stiletto heels clicked madly ‘cross the pavement as she walked, increasing her speed – and not even bothering to watch as her husband slipped farther and farther behind her…
’Ugh…. Who cares if he can’t catch up, it’s his fault – that asthma!’
Her thoughts twisted and turned in that bottle-blond head of hers. Ick, sometimes James annoyed her so much she felt like telling him to run just so that he’d die of an asthma attack. Aggitatedly, she pressed a hand to her creased forhead, carefully not to smudge any of her foundation in the process. She pursed her cherry-red and lightly wrinkled lips slightly ‘fore endings the phone conversation quickly.
“Yes, tomorrow. I want it to be ready at 7:00am… we’ll be back then, and I want it by then.” She sighed angrily into the phone, “No… 7:30am is not acceptable… I want it by 7:00am, Mr. Rook, and I’ll get it by 7:00am.”
That said, she violently clicked the cellphone shut and jammed it back into her matching Versace purse, totally and completely unamused by her car dealer’s incompetence.
’Stupid…. Stupid… stupid man!’
Her thoughts growled, as she combed a frail hand through her brittle hair. Ick, now she had to see her children and whatever little friends they were bringing along. Well, they just better be to her liking – that’s it… If they weren’t then – well, they had to be… Let’s just leave it at that.
Meanwhile, James McAllistor was still lagging behind Susan – not perticulairily interested at the idea of catching up with his wife who seemed to be going through another hissy-fit with the car dealer again. Ugh… he hated when she got into her moods… Actually, he hated her most of the time – even when she wasn’t in a mood of any sort. Mindlessly, he ran his bushy moustache and then into his thinning brown-turning-grey hair.
’Time to see the kids…’
Thought James sadly. In some ways he liked seeing them, but in others – it hurt. Emma wasn’t his… and he couldn’t treat her like she was a daughter, not after he’d found out she wasn’t… Not after he’d found out that she was the result of his wife’s affair. As thoughts of Emma came to his mind, James’ face twisted into a cruel frown, sadness lurking everywhere in his expression. It hurt to see Emma, simply because he’d thought of her as his own for so long – and then to find out she wasn’t…. It had changed everything. And then there was Owen. James almost sighed aloud at the thought of his eldest son. Owen, yes, well… James didn’t particularly like to see Owen, or hear of him – or talk to him or anything of the sort! Owen had screwed everything up, betrayed the family, and then continued to live – which meant that he would continue to always be a living reminder of failure and unfulfilled promise in the McAllistor family. It wouldn’t be a long shot to say that James hated Owen… It wasn’t that he completely and totally hated the boy just yet – but he was pretty damn close to it. Ah, and then there was Joseph. Little Joseph… he tried to be exactly what his Mother and Father wanted him to be – and that was the way it should be, James was convinced. Joseph was growing up to be everything that Owen once had been – and more… although the boy still needed some reminder now and then that he could always do better then his 95% average. The boy always needed the reminder that he was second-in-line as the family heir, and that Owen had been first. If Joseph ever screwed up James had promised he’d throw him out of the family – with nothing. That promise kept good ol’ Joseph in line… and doing his best, always. The thought of Joseph only brought a smile to James’ lips… Yes, the boy was everything James had wanted him to be: an excellent scholar, a perfect son, and the easiest thing to mold and shape to his parents’ likings. Joseph was literally afraid of them… and that could often be thrilling because the boy acted so very much like a slave to their every wish. Yes, Joseph truly was everything Owen was not…
James was ripped out of his thoughts as Susan doubled back and yanked on his arm,
“Let’s go…” She hissed, her face scrunching up to glare at him. James nearly passed out from looking at her… no longer was she the gorgeous woman he’d married, now she was just a frail and wrinkled 57-year-old woman who had a bad temper. He felt like he didn’t know her at all -- anymore.
“I’m coming.” He insisted, glaring back at her, his hazel eyes turning to slits as he picked up his pace and tried to measure out breathing properly. Susan nodded abruptly ‘fore freeing her clawed hand from his arm, and giving him the once over with her dazzling green eyes. Those eyes were the one thing on her that didn’t look weathered, they were just as James remembered them: stunning, piercing, beautiful.... Momentarily disgusted by the pathetic look in the eyes of her 58-year-old husband, Susan turned ‘way… sometimes she just wished he’d do something with himself – like botox of something ‘cause the wrinkles ‘neath his eyes made him look old… but then again, he was old. Something about the way he looked still gave Susan a bit of a shiver. For an older man, he was good looking… something his sons had no doubt inherited.
’Well, of course it was along with my stunning looks…’
She thought, a smile planted firmly ‘cross her painted lips. Yes, she was quite sure she was still beautiful… and she honestly didn’t give a shit about what anyone else thought, because she was always right, and that’s the only thing that mattered.
Susan flipped her brittle hair over her shoulder as she spotted her kin, and picked up her pace to greet them. James seemed to follow suite like an obedient puppy dog and followed sharply after his wife, his glowering features set in stone until he wife glanced back at him and snapped her fingers – giving him the signal that started their whole parents act.
Without a thought, both Mr. and Mrs. McAllistor pasted on phoney smiles, their perfectly white teeth exposed for their children and their children’s guests to see.
“Darrrrlings…” Susan exclaimed as she threw her hands up in the air and waddled over to her two sons and one daughter. “No touching me now, I don’t know where those hands have been!” For as long as Susan could remember, she’d had this obsession with not allowing her children to hug her or touch her or anything… In her mind, they were infested with disease. Everything about them aside from their looks was disgusting. James McAllistor stepped up the to plate boldly and shook hands with both his sons, not even bothering to glance at Emma, since she wasn’t his – and all. Sometimes, he wished the girl would just stop existing – because things would be much better then. “Hello,” said James clearly, eyeing both of his sons and the girls who stood beside them. “Dare I ask who these people are?” A slight smile curled onto his mouth as he glanced at Joe, his only prized possession. Joe hadn’t mentioned a girlfriend… so James was very curious about the quaint blonde standing beside him. Owen was allowed to have a quick glance from his father, as was his guest. “Ah… This must be Erica…” James murmured, eyeing the blonde girl boldly but gently. With that friendly look ‘pon his face, one could almost mistake Mr. McAllistor for a genuinely nice guy… that is, until he opens his mouth. “My wife and I have heard a lot of you… Owen said that you and he have something important to tell us. By the way, I’d love to meet you’re family… I mean, of course we need to, to assess their financial position. We can’t very well have our son dating someone who is common, or anything. And by the looks of you, well… you don’t seem common, but we have to make sure. And, well --” James was cut off as Susan piped in at that very moment, “I don’t care what they have to tell us or show us, James! I just want to know what on God’s earth these people are doing here… I mean, what relation do you all have to my children? Emma? Joe? Owen? You three have some explaining… I want to know everything about your friends…” She said rather huffily, her arms crossing over her chest and covering her big-bucks broach. Suddenly, she sent a venomous stare to Justin, Erica and Di, before hissing. “Do you three understand me? Tell me who you are, what you are, and how you fit into my childrens’ lives. I want to know everything… and now!” Susan’s teeth seemed to grit at her last words, and all three of her children seemed to wince. Owen looked to Erica, his eyes wide and his mouth set in a grim line as he shook his head slowly and sadly, simply because he’d known his mother would take this kind of approach. Joe looked towards Di and rolled his eyes… well, he figured, at least now she’d know exactly what his life was like… and he wouldn’t have to further explain it to her. Emma sort of shifted uncomfortably and glanced upwards toward Justin, her hand found his and squeezed it lightly. Inside, Emma was hurting… and it was all because of the man she’d once called her father. Owen was scared… but not for himself, he was scared for Erica, the girl whom he loved, because he knew his parents wouldn’t be soft while grilling the girl – and while he wished he could save her from it… he couldn’t. And Joe… well, he was used to this... so he wasn’t feeling very much different then how he normally felt. Yes, the elderly McAllistor couple weren’t exactly the cosiest two people in existence, more like the most venomous.


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