{{Author's note: Didn't get to posting this before now because it took me some time to come up with names for the other 6 Talbot groups, since Peter's father Leon is the oldest of 7 sons. Unique names are courtesy of 20,000 names.com Hope you like the following.—tmw.}}
As Peter Talbot parked at the curb in front of his house, Karen Yuletide couldn't help noticing all the other cars in the area. While she didn't know all the makes and models, Karen could tell they were all classics like his.
"Your family certainly has been busy," she observed.
"Yes. It was my father's idea to help keep peace in the family. Other than parts, everyone helped with restoring each other's vehicles. That way, each son, wife, or daughter picked out their own to avoid sibling rivalry amongst the brothers and their families," said Peter, as he held the door open for his girlfriend.
They had stopped and grabbed a quick bite to go at the local diner, careful not to spill anything within or on the interior of Peter's car. As she grabbed her day bag from the back seat, the text tone on Karen's cellphone chimed.
"It's from Jenny!" she announced, looking at her phone. She read the message to Peter.
I'M SAFE. HARPERS & I RELOCATED TO NEW LOCATION 4 WEEKEND. SKULK HAVE PLAN TO CATCH IMPOSTOR BUT KEEP ALERT!–JENNY.
"That is good to hear," replied Peter, while securing his car for the day.
"Yes, but to move the entire Harper family? I thought this guy was just after Jenny for that jerk back in Alabama," commented Karen.
"Maybe. Maybe not. This suspect could always try to use one of the other Harpers as leverage against Jenny for her cooperation," pointed out Peter. Or part of his mission could be to kill Harry before dragging Jenny unwillingly back home. I will have to talk to father about this when we have a moment alone.
"I guess," was all Karen said, while securing her cellphone.
"Ready to meet the rest of my extended family?" he asked, taking her hand in his.
"As ready as I'll ever be," replied Karen with a smile, as they started to walk up the long driveway to the garage.
Karen noted that the garage where the Talbots did their car restorations was 3 bays long, although only one actually had a project in it at the moment.
However, all 3 doors were open, with a WHOLE lot of people lined up across them.
"Greetings Karen," said Peter's father Leon, with his wife Regina right behind him. "I hope today finds you well."
"Me personally, yes; although there have been new developments with my friend Jennifer Harper that don't bode well for her," replied Karen.
"I am sad to hear that. Perhaps when we have a moment, you can tell me and then I'll talk to my brothers. Speaking of which, it is time to meet the entire Talbot clan," said Leon, walking to the far left hand of the open garage doors. Karen and Peter followed him as Leon said, "Starting with the next oldest after myself, may I present my brother Tau, which is African for Lion, his wife Nubia, and their daughter Joy."
"Greetings young one," said Tau, smiling at Karen, as she shook each person's hand as she met them.
"She is beautiful. You have done well," Nubia said to Peter, which made Karen blush.
"If we weren't related," was all Joy, who happened to be a high school senior, said.
"I know, but we are," was Peter's only reply.
"Next is Jay, his wife Olivia, and their daughter Ife, which means Love," said Leon, continuing the introductions as they moved down the line a bit.
"Hello. Are you really an artist?" asked Jay.
"Yes," replied Karen. "I'll be happy to show everyone some of my drawings later," she added, indicating the sketch book in her shoulder bag.
"Although she is just a high school freshman, our daughter hopes to be an artist someday too," said Olivia, as Ife blushed.
"If you have any of your work with you, maybe I can take a look at it later," said Karen, trying to defuse the situation, which made Ife smile.
"This is my brother Rudy, his wife Rose, and their daughter Cecelia," said Leon, continuing the introductions.
"I'm in the Eighth grade," Cecelia said proudly.
"Now I am proud to introduce you to my twin brothers Apio and Adongo. Although they look alike, Apio was born 5 minutes ahead of Adongo," explained Leon.
"Greetings," said Apio. "This is my wife Lily, and our daughter Emily."
"I hope you don't find all of this too overwhelming," said Lily, while shaking Karen's hand.
"It is a lot to take in," replied Peter's girlfriend.
"While Ife was the last of us to experience our first transformation at the moment, for what it's worth, I think you'll make a beautiful lioness," commented Emily, to which both Karen and Peter blushed.
"I am Adongo Talbot," began Apio's twin brother. "This is my wife Astra, and our daughter Maggie," he said, introducing his immediate family.
"It's a pleasure to meet you. Later on, us ladies will be preparing lunch for the men. Perhaps we'll get a chance to talk more then," said Astra, hopefully.
"I hope you don't mind hanging out with a sixth grader," replied Maggie.
"No. Not if you don't mind hanging out with a college freshman," said Karen in return.
"Cool," said Maggie, as Leon led Karen to the last group.
"Last, but certainly not least, may I present my youngest brother Noah, his wife Dahlia, and their daughter Heather," said Leon.
"Sorry it took so long to get to say hello to you. Big family," Noah pointed out to her.
"It certainly is. One you should all be proud of," added Karen, to which Noah smiled.
"Your hair looks so beautiful. Being a hairdresser, I can tell its the natural color, but who's your stylist?" asked Dahlia.
"I had it trimmed at the campus beautician school a couple of weeks ago, but it's never truly had a style," replied Karen.
"Really? I find that hard to believe," said Dahlia in return.
"Mother, you just met Cousin Peter's girlfriend. She has no reason to lie to any of us," said Heather, while adjusting her glasses.
"I never said that young lady. I just meant that—"
"It's okay," replied Karen. "You're certainly a smart one, aren't you?" she asked Heather.
"I got to skip third grade and go directly into the fourth at the beginning of this school year," Heather said proudly.
"Well, I hope you're getting to enjoy life along with all that academia," replied Karen.
"What do you mean?" asked Heather in return.
"I'll explain later," promised Karen, as she turned her attention back to all the Talbots. "Ladies and gentlemen, I am honored to meet you all," she added, taking a brief bow before the entire procession. With his father the oldest and Peter the only son in the entire clan, I can see why they are the Lion "King and Prince".
All the other Talbots smiled at her before Leon said, "Okay gentlemen. Let's get to work. We should be able to come close to, if not actually finish our current project today. Then we can discuss our next assignment."
Karen stayed next to Peter as all the other ladies started heading back inside the house.
"I still think it should be the Woody*," said Apio.
"But we have never worked on one of those before," said Adongo.
"But because we have never worked on one before is why it would be an interesting challenge," pointed out Apio.
"What about that air museum wanting us to restore that YB-9 bomber?" asked Rudy. "We don't have to get it sky worthy, just presentable for display purposes."
"And drive back and forth from here to Oregon to work on it? That may not be logistically practical," replied Noah.
"Perhaps Leon is right. Let us finish what we are working on before we discuss the future," suggested Tau.
With that, the brothers Talbot set about their tasks.
Leon briefly turned to look at Peter and Karen. He shrugged his shoulders and smiled before entering the garage to join his brothers.
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*A classic vehicle with real wood panels.—tmw.