claudia o'reilly, m.d. (36) / older sister
michael o'reilly (36) / brother-in-law
@ new york city
"Who sent the box?"Claudia spared a quick look to the opened package sitting on the dining table before answering. "Adette. She was in Mumbai."
"The life of an actor," Mike said, whistling in appreciation as he rifled through the gifts his sister-in-law had sent from her travels. "Where's she now? Can we request things?" He joked.
"Atlanta, she's gone to see Oliver. Your options are peaches or sweet tea."
"They're serious, huh. Can't believe she's dating Oliver Cobb. That's kind of crazy," Mike mused. He'd never fully comprehended how popular of an actress his sister-in-law actually was in South Korea. It was hard to grasp even after he and Claudia watched all of Adette's movies and dramas. "I hope you're not too jealous. You get stuck with me, and she gets your favorite actor."
Claudia laughed, throwing a wadded up paper towel at his head. "Watch yourself, Michael. I think they are though. We should have dinner with them whenever she remembers to come back to the city."
"Can you keep your cool?" Mike teased again, raising an eyebrow at his wife.
"I swear to God, don't make me come over there," she warned back, making a threatening gesture. "He's good for her, I think. Maybe. Now that the two of them have stopped being so stubborn, at least. She seems happy, or at least she talks about Oliver a lot more than the other guys she's dated in the last few years. She even lets me FaceTime him. It's definitely less of the bullshit she was pulling with poor Glen."
Mike shrugged. His wife's constant concern over her sister's dating life never affected him. Adette rarely brought her boyfriends around, and as far as he was concerned, she was a grown adult who could handle her own affairs. Mistakes and all.
Claudia, on the other hand, fretted over her younger sister, wondering if she'd ever recover, if Adette would ever let herself be happy again. Claudia continued, "I don't want her to withdraw even more. It's unhealthy, and she refuses to recognize the amount of damage she's doing to herself. I don't know. I can't help but worry. You know how she is; Adette never does what's best for herself. She's so misguided. I think Seoul was bad for her. She should've never gone."
"Well, if she's happy, she's happy now, right? You can't parent her, Claud. You can't protect her from herself," Mike said patiently, repeating words with which he often used to console his wife. "Let's just invite her and Oliver over, we'll get to know him, you'll fawn all over him before you remember he's your sister's boyfriend and someone you actually know now. We'll take down all of your Oliver Cobb posters from the bedroom walls before he gets here. Then you'll know whether or not this is good for her and you can relax."