Happy Halloween, Zacky
Part Four
TW: mentions of sexual harassment, death by gunshot, and death by childbirth
Zacky was stunned, as he surveyed the young man that looked identical to him. It seemed strange to think that this was the ancestor he was named after. According to his mother and other grandmother, Zachary Charles Giannini was a very gentle and mild-mannered young man who was very protective of his younger sisters, including Zacky’s great-grandmother Julia.
However, Zachary Charles had died at a tragic young age. At about the same age that Zacky himself was currently, in fact. He had been shot in a bar, while he was defending Julia from unwanted sexual advances - and, within two days, he died from the gun wound. His death had taken such a huge toll on Julia, she had suffered from major depression for the rest of her life - until she had died giving birth to Zacky’s maternal grandmother. Her widowed husband had always maintained that Julia might’ve survived, if not for her depression.
"Are you all right, Zacky?" Zachary Charles asked, gently.
"Well, I, uh…" Zacky stammered. "I was just thinking of what a tragedy it was… that happened to you. You died a hero, and your sister took it badly. Then again, if something happened to Matt or Zina, I’d probably…"
"Everything’s fine, now," Zachary Charles commented, with a gentle smile. "Julia is here, too. Just a minute." He then walked over to the staircase, as he called out, "Julia! Hey, Julia! Please come down! There’s someone I’d like you to meet."
"He really is a lot like you, Zacky," Anna Rose explained, softly. "I call him Uncle Zack, even though he’s not really my uncle. Aunt Julia is cool, too."
"So you folks are like one big family, eh?" Zacky asked, glancing around the kitchen. He glanced from Anna Rose to Zachary Charles to Grandma Baker. "I wonder what brought you together."
"I’m here, Zack," called out a feminine-sounding voice. "Who is it that you… Oh! My goodness!"
Zacky and Julia took a close look at each other. Julia looked a lot like Zina, in fact. It was hard to believe that this young lady was his great-grandmother.
"Hi, uh, Julia," Zacky mumbled, nervously. "This is such a… I’m, uh, your great-grandson. Folks call me Zacky."
"Goodness! Zacky!" Julia gasped. "You look just like my brother. Except for… Uh, what are those things you have on your lower lip?"
"Oh, those are snakebite piercings," Zacky explained, calmly. "I guess facial piercing were, essentially, unheard of in your time. But, in my era, they’re quite popular."
"I must admit, they look becoming on you," Julia said, quietly. She then glanced at the counter, and commented. "Oh, boy, cookies! I don’t think Grandma Baker ever made anything I didn’t like."
"Wait a minute!" Zacky gasped, as he realized something. "You call her ‘Grandma Baker’, even though you’re older than her? When, in fact, you’re the mother of… my other grandma?"
Julia and Zachary Charles both burst out laughing, then did everyone else in the kitchen.
"It’s just what everyone calls her," Harmony explained, gently. "The name pretty much stuck."
"Even I call her that," Serenity added, nodding, "and I’m several thousand years old."
"Plus they do appear to be younger than me," Grandma Baker added.
"Not me, though," Serenity pointed out, quietly. "Although, I was only 24 when I fell ill and died."
"All right, you lot!" Grandma Baker called out, laughing. "Why don’t you all head to the dining room? Dinner is almost ready."
"I am pretty hungry, actually," Zacky commented, as his mouth watered at the concept of Grandma Baker’s home-style cooking.
"The dining room is this way," Zachary Charles explained, as he took a turn to the right.
Zacky nodded, as he followed the group. He then wondered how Serenity, being a skeleton, was going to eat. Indeed, this really was shaping up to be a very interesting night.
Zacky was stunned, as he surveyed the young man that looked identical to him. It seemed strange to think that this was the ancestor he was named after. According to his mother and other grandmother, Zachary Charles Giannini was a very gentle and mild-mannered young man who was very protective of his younger sisters, including Zacky’s great-grandmother Julia.
However, Zachary Charles had died at a tragic young age. At about the same age that Zacky himself was currently, in fact. He had been shot in a bar, while he was defending Julia from unwanted sexual advances - and, within two days, he died from the gun wound. His death had taken such a huge toll on Julia, she had suffered from major depression for the rest of her life - until she had died giving birth to Zacky’s maternal grandmother. Her widowed husband had always maintained that Julia might’ve survived, if not for her depression.
"Are you all right, Zacky?" Zachary Charles asked, gently.
"Well, I, uh…" Zacky stammered. "I was just thinking of what a tragedy it was… that happened to you. You died a hero, and your sister took it badly. Then again, if something happened to Matt or Zina, I’d probably…"
"Everything’s fine, now," Zachary Charles commented, with a gentle smile. "Julia is here, too. Just a minute." He then walked over to the staircase, as he called out, "Julia! Hey, Julia! Please come down! There’s someone I’d like you to meet."
"He really is a lot like you, Zacky," Anna Rose explained, softly. "I call him Uncle Zack, even though he’s not really my uncle. Aunt Julia is cool, too."
"So you folks are like one big family, eh?" Zacky asked, glancing around the kitchen. He glanced from Anna Rose to Zachary Charles to Grandma Baker. "I wonder what brought you together."
"I’m here, Zack," called out a feminine-sounding voice. "Who is it that you… Oh! My goodness!"
Zacky and Julia took a close look at each other. Julia looked a lot like Zina, in fact. It was hard to believe that this young lady was his great-grandmother.
"Hi, uh, Julia," Zacky mumbled, nervously. "This is such a… I’m, uh, your great-grandson. Folks call me Zacky."
"Goodness! Zacky!" Julia gasped. "You look just like my brother. Except for… Uh, what are those things you have on your lower lip?"
"Oh, those are snakebite piercings," Zacky explained, calmly. "I guess facial piercing were, essentially, unheard of in your time. But, in my era, they’re quite popular."
"I must admit, they look becoming on you," Julia said, quietly. She then glanced at the counter, and commented. "Oh, boy, cookies! I don’t think Grandma Baker ever made anything I didn’t like."
"Wait a minute!" Zacky gasped, as he realized something. "You call her ‘Grandma Baker’, even though you’re older than her? When, in fact, you’re the mother of… my other grandma?"
Julia and Zachary Charles both burst out laughing, then did everyone else in the kitchen.
"It’s just what everyone calls her," Harmony explained, gently. "The name pretty much stuck."
"Even I call her that," Serenity added, nodding, "and I’m several thousand years old."
"Plus they do appear to be younger than me," Grandma Baker added.
"Not me, though," Serenity pointed out, quietly. "Although, I was only 24 when I fell ill and died."
"All right, you lot!" Grandma Baker called out, laughing. "Why don’t you all head to the dining room? Dinner is almost ready."
"I am pretty hungry, actually," Zacky commented, as his mouth watered at the concept of Grandma Baker’s home-style cooking.
"The dining room is this way," Zachary Charles explained, as he took a turn to the right.
Zacky nodded, as he followed the group. He then wondered how Serenity, being a skeleton, was going to eat. Indeed, this really was shaping up to be a very interesting night.
10/29/13