Mitchell Jr. parked his car outside his childhood home and dialed Regina's number. He did this every time he went home without a reply, but he felt that maybe this time he could turn things around. If anything he hoped that he could get the entire family being together again after their surprise Thanksgiving at the Haner household last year. Sure, he had kept in touch with emails and phone calls, but seeing her wasn't the same. With all of their schedules being so hectic it was hard for all of them to get together, but when they did it was like they were all little kids again.

The Murray clan, as they were dutifully named by their neighbors, were a forced to be reckoned with in their neighborhood. They weren't terrible trouble makers, not anymore than most children, but they were all there for one another. If one Murray was in trouble the other four were there to back them up. Their bonds were just that strong and he accredited it to his father, Mitchell Sr.

His father taught him everything he knew about being a man. When he was younger he just thought it was getting a job and making money, but his father made sure he knew differently. He taught him that it's about taking time with those you love most to show them the right way in life. Making sure that it's about making your presence known and being there whenever someone needed you. It didn't matter whether you made one hundred dollars that day or one hundred thousand. Taking the time to be there and setting a good example was what it took to be a man.

After his father's death he made sure to pass that along to his younger brothers while keeping a close eye on Regina. Just as he promised him he would. His father never expected to die in the line of duty, but he knew it was a possibility. He wanted to make sure that the boys had a good role model to follow and with the arrival recent arrival of twins he knew that he had taught him everything he needed to know to ensure they had a good future.

So that's what he did. He made sure that Elijah, Wyatt, and Rodney all learned how to be men. Each of them taking different roads in life, no matter how dangerous or reckless. Regina was just as he hoped their father had envisioned her a lovely young woman. He knows his mother tried hard for her to develop her femininity, but being surrounded by men it was hard for her to find her way.

She had pretty thick skin growing up the only girl out of five children, but as she got older he saw how she was slowly changing. Developing interests in fashion, make-up, and unfortunately boys. He loved seeing his baby sister grow and change, but her starting to date made him uneasy. He thought it was because she was so young, but then he realized it was because he wanted to protect her. If a guy broke her heart he felt like somehow he failed to give her something she needed in life and he didn't want to fail her.

“Hi! You've reached Reggie. Just leave a message at the tone.”

“Listen, Reg. Call me when you get this. We're getting together for Gavin's birthday. Just stop by, just for a second. Please okay? I'm begging you and you know I don't beg. So just call or better yet just come by. Bring Brian we'll have fun like the good old days. Think about it,” he said before hanging up the phone.

He got out of his car and started up the driveway. As he hit the stairs the front door opened and he was tackled by his brother Rodney into a hug. Rodney and Mitch didn't spend that much time together since he was thirteen when he and Regina were born. By the time he established a relationship with him he was away at college and then he joined the National Guard.

“Nice to see you finally cleaned up that shaggy beard,” joked Mitch as he pulled Rodney into a headlock, “I thought for a minute you finally found out that some homeless lady left you on the step. We just felt so sorry for you so we kept you around.”

Rodney got of his grip and shoved Mitch, “You're just upset because Mama loves me more.”

“That's not loves. She's just fussy over you because you're a cop,” he said as he walked through the door and stopped to kiss his mother on the cheek, “Isn't that right Ma?”

“Nonsense, Junior. You know that I love all of you the same,” she said as she took his coat and hung it up on the hook, “Dinner will be ready at six. Gavin and Elijah are in the study and Wyatt may not be here since he's working.”

Mitch groaned at the thought of Gavin as he sat down on the couch. He wasn't as receptive of him as everyone else was in the family. He couldn't really blame Rodney and Regina growing to like him so much because they were so young, but Elijah and Wyatt were a different story. Elijah immediately took to Gavin like he completely forgot about their father. Wyatt, however, stood on the fence.

“Since when does Wyatt have a [I]legal[/i] job?” asked Rodney as he sat down on the couch flipping through channels on the television, “How do you know he's not back out on the streets banging again?”

Catherine sighed, “Can you please respect your brother RJ? He's working for Regina.”

“Listen, just give him a chance,” said Mitch, “He's just trying to find his way. If he's working for Reggie that's a good thing because she can keep him in line.”

Rodney started to speak, but one look from his mother he quickly zipped his mouth. He was tired of everyone making excuses for Wyatt. As far back as Rodney could remember Wyatt had been in trouble. He had done numerous stints in juvenile detention and on his seventeenth birthday he was tried as an adult in a drug bust. He spent a few years in prison and everyone expected him to do so much more with his life – especially RJ.

He looked up all three of his brothers especially Wyatt since they were the closet in age as compared to Elijah and Mitchell. He was the first to stand up for him when he got out of prison the first time, but when he went for a second sentence due to parole violations he couldn't do it. He couldn't sit back and try to pretend that it was just his “hard” upbringing that swayed him from being on the straightened arrow.

To him they all had the same upbringing. The only difference was that he and Regina didn't get to know their biological father, but Gavin made sure that they had everything they could ever want growing up. Growing up he often wondered if his life would have changed if his father was still around, but for all intent and purpose Gavin was his father. He was the one to go to all of his little league games and every one of his parent teacher conferences. Sure, he was a bit strict in punishment, but tough love was what they needed.

“So what did you get Gavin for his birthday?” he asked Mitchell.

“I'm here ain't I? Seems to be gift enough to me,” mumbled Mitchell as he lounged on the couch. He had never really been a fan of Gavin from the moment his mother started dating him. Being the oldest he felt as though his father was being replaced no matter how many times Catherine assured him he wasn't.

“You could have at least gotten him a card or even gone in on the gift from me and Elijah.”

“Or better yet. You can go in on my gift,” said Wyatt as he stood against the doorway. Mitchell immediately got up and hugged him while Rodney continued to watch television, “So is everyone here? I'm starving!”

“Everyone's here, but Regina,” said Rodney, “But odds are she's not going to come. She never comes home.”

“I was hoping to convince her to come to dinner tonight, but she didn't come into the studio today. She didn't even call me to tell me not to show up. After about an hour everyone left after they couldn't get in contact with her,” said Wyatt as he sat down.

Mitchell groaned as he stood from the couch, “She's probably just hanging out with Brian or something. Then again she knows what today is and she probably didn't want to be bothered by it.”

Wyatt and Rodney nodded as they watched the television in complete silence. Mitch headed to the kitchen and on his way there he noticed the curio of family portraits that they took every year. His large hand reached up and took down the last portrait that they took before his father died. His mother looked so happy sitting next to his father while he and his brothers sat on the floor beneath them. Those were the good old days and despite how much he disliked Gavin he knew that times weren't all bad with him.

If it had not have been for Gavin he wouldn't have been able to have his career with the National Guard. He would have been stuck bouncing around from job to job, but he got to live his life. He didn't have to worry as much about everyone and it was a weight off of his shoulders knowing they were okay. But the more he visited his family on leave he noticed how much they were all changing and despite his efforts there was nothing he could do.

“Dinner's ready,” sang Catherine as she placed the last dish on the table.

“Nice to see that you made it son,” said Gavin as he and Elijah emerged from his office, “It really means a lot that you came.”

“Yeah, uh Happy Birthday,” he said as he walked into the dining room, “Nice to see that you got Elijah to come home.”

Elijah laughed, “I come home. I'm just busy with running the center that it's hard sometimes. Now, Regina is the one that doesn't come for anything. Gavin was just telling me how much he misses her and wishes that she'd come around more. I never see her either and it wouldn't kill her to show up.”

“Regina sees him once a month. I see her almost twice a week, Wyatt's working for her, and you know she and Rodney are joined at the hip. You two are the only people she doesn't keep in contact with,” said Mitch.

“Mitchell,” hissed Catherine as she sat down. She breathed in slowly as she regained her composure, “Let's just have a nice quiet dinner please.”

“Yes ma'am.”

Everyone sat at their usual spot at the table while Gavin lead them in prayer. After grace silence fell upon the table with small bouts of casual conversation every so often. On the outside they looked like the perfect family that one would see on television enjoying a joyous meal laughing and carrying on with immense love. The reality of it all though was that they were all quite good at keeping up appearances to those around them because they were too afraid to admit the truth about their [i]loving[/i] family.

Notes

This same story is posted on Mibba and it has more chapters since I'm just now making the effort to post stories here as well.