D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad

“Of course,” interjected Bruce.

“Of COURSE” harumphed Roxy, “I was the most adorable baby you ever did see I tell you!”

“I’m sure Vivian would love to hear you repeat that,” laughed Bruce.

“Oh, Vivian was cute too, and I love her but I’m telling you, know better baby then me!” sniggered Roxy. Kat felt her eye twitch slightly, and was rather confused by that fact. “I wish I had some pictures so I could show you that I really was adorable. No matter. See, Bruce’s parents, my mother and father in-law, were big into real estate. They managed to make off with a lot of money and a huge plot of land for themselves.

“They built a fairly modest house, though it was somewhat extravagant for the time, and had a massive garden that required constant maintenance. That’s where my own father came in. He jumped at the chance to work on such a prestigious garden, especially when it included a place to stay and a consistent wage. Now, Bruce’s parents had him later in life, and my own parents are a good fifteen? I want to say fifteen years younger. Anyway, my father, Ronaldo, had a little cabin on the grounds. The bottom floor was half a kitchen while the other half was all the gardening supplies. It did not smell good at all.

“Eventually, with a stable job, and… technically a house, he proposed to his own sweetheart Perenelle, and accepted. So Mum and Dad worked in the garden, Bruce’s parents, Byron, and Tiffany, lived in their house when they could but were mostly traveling around for work. They were building it as a retirement home for themselves from what I heard. Anyway… eventually they decided to settle down and have a proper family.

“Now, if you ask our parents… there was a big party the day Tiffany found out she was pregnant and I was conceived that very night. I don’t know how true that is, and considering Bruce and I are born about a month apart I’m of the opinion that it was probably just luck. Whatever the case, it meant that Perenelle and Tiffany were pregnant at the same time and they got a lot closer.

“So of course it was just natural that little Bruce, and baby Roxy would play together right? Well that’s what our parents thought and we HATED each other. I don’t really know why. Every time I asked my parents they’d give a different reason. Maybe Bruce looked at me funny, maybe I bit him-”

.....

“You’re still biting me,” chimed in Bruce.

“The kids don’t want to hear about what we get up to in the bedroom Bruce,” retorted Roxy.

“You brought it up first,” said Bruce innocently.

Roxy rolled her eyes, “Regardless of my husband’s weird fetishes,” “Oi!” “we didn’t like each other as babies. Or maybe we did and the hatred built up later? As I said the story changes whenever we ask about it, even to this day. Though my own parents have passed away, and Byron left us a few years ago. Tiffany is still alive and telling tall tales. I’d worry for her memory actually, if she wasn’t already in the habit of just making things up,

“Still, I do remember that it continued all through our teenage years. I thought Bruce was a stuck up idiot that thought he was too good for everyone else. I know now of course that he’s a shy teddy bear with all the social graces of a brick…” Roxy trailed off for a few moments as if waiting for Bruce to retort but he just nodded slowly, as is if what Roxy said was the simple truth.

Roxy sighed, “Things started to change when we ended up working together. See, we both went into real estate like Bruce’s parents, though for different reasons. Bruce can tell you his reasons,” Bruce actually pouted at being volunteered for this, “but for me it was because I saw that as the best way to make money. I never really enjoyed the work, but I knew that Tiffany and Byron were successful so I wanted to follow in their footsteps. I don’t want to pretend that they ever treated me poorly, I don’t think Bruce and I would have gotten together if that was the case…

“But I FELT like that little gardener’s girl. We had a tiny house that smelt like shit. I mean that literally. Half of the supplies in the downstairs rooms was actual shit and the walls didn’t do a great job of keeping the smell out. We had so many fragrant plants around the house to try and combat it and honestly it didn’t work that well. Our house was tiny, and only the fact we had a second floor for bedrooms made it seem like we had any spare space.

“I used to get teased at school, plenty of people saying that the smell of shit never really washed off. I was always the little girl that Bruce’s parents took pity on and I HATED it. Now, I was already in an antagonistic relationship with Bruce so I don’t know how things would’ve changed if that wasn’t the case but it felt like a compounding issue. Bruce’s family had everything I wanted. Money, prestige, love. Not to say my family didn’t love me of course, but they were ALWAYS busy.

“My father loved his work, and while I don’t fault him for that now, it did mean he never really took a break. For him, working with plants was his break from the hellish jobs he did beforehand. For my mother, it was a constant battle to keep our clothes in working order, keep a few things smelling nice, and constantly acquiring food from the nearby farmers because it didn’t keep properly in a house with piles of shit in the cupboard. It meant that I spent more time with Bruce’s parents, and sure I love them like my own now, but I resented that fact.

“I am glad I never wanted to be Tiff’s and Byron’s daughter, but I did want my parents to be around like Bruce’s. I saw them as the goal in life, so of course I went into real estate straight out of school. I saw it as the pathway to a good life. Now, it turned out that I really had a knack for it and I eventually managed to do well, but it was a large risk. I didn’t invest properly into other interests. Still, I did well and it was killing me a little bit.”

Roxy shivered a bit. “I believe I mentioned that I was good at real estate yes? Well I was, and I still am but I hated it when I was younger. I’ve mellowed out and it isn’t so bad anymore, but it was practically eating me alive when I was younger. Bruce though… he was barely managing things but he was having a blast. He’d take up work pro bono, he’d loose time on a sale and get bad cuts. I’m pretty sure he would’ve been homeless for a bit if his parents weren’t so loaded. He never lost his smile though,”

Roxy turned and gazed at Bruce, nothing but love in her eyes, “That’s how I fell for him. He let me see the joy in the work I’d saddled myself with. Let me reconnect with my parents, though that’s a bit of a different story, and welcomed me into his own family. It was wonderful. We became close friends and then more… though I’ll admit that took a bit. I was a bit of a blushing maiden back then. My mother was always making plant puns about it,”

Roxy shivered again, “Trust me, there is only so many ways you can hear jokes based on ‘my daughter wants to get pollinated’ and not have a few nightmares as a result. It’s weird, and I’m forever grateful I didn’t pick up Perenelle’s sense of humour. Urgh… it was horrible and I think it might have set back my confession to Bruce by like… six months at least,”

Roxy paused sucking in a deep breath, “I guess that’s how we both met and eventually wound up together? I’m now a bit curious as to how Bruce will explain his side of things. It’s been a while since anyone has asked… and most of our friends either aren’t interested or knew us from growing up together,” Bruce shifted in position and looked around the room, clearly of the opinion that his wife had adequately explained things. There was no reason to go on and on about his own experience right? Well… he found a bunch of women with expectant looks on their faces. One of which, was his wife. There was no getting out of it.