forum The Esteemed Bradford Family (6/6 | CLOSED)

Started May 22, 2019 by @Moxie group

tune

Charlie nodded. "Thank you," she whispered.
"We're landing girls!" their mother's voice called from the front of the plane. "Get ready to get off."
Charlie turned and watched out the window of the plane as slid on to the ground with a bump. Soon, the plane had come to a stop and they were getting off. Charlie held the hand of her younger brother Alex, and her mother carried a sleeping Niko in her arms. It was a short taxi ride to the docks where they all six boarded the small yacht that would take them to the island.
Grandfather and Grandmother were standing on the docks when they arrived. It was tradition for the two of them to greet each family as they disembarked. As soon as everyone was off, the yacht turned around to wait for the next family. Grandmother and Grandfather greeted everyone with hugs. It was a rare moment where Alexander Bradford was not a businessman. But tomorrow night, the ball would happen and he would be the great Alexander Bradford once more. For now, though, Charlie just drank in the moment.

(I made a map of the island)

(The oldest cousins all stay together in the house farthest away from the other houses)

They got to the airport and hour and a half later, thanks to traffic and a bathroom stop for Polly (8 y/o). The plane ride was a quick hour in their private jet; Silas ushered his family into said jet, practically dragging an exhausted Polliana behind him.
Amos, now plugged into his music, closed the group; the second he got on the plane he'd sunk low into a window seat and the very front where he could watch the pilots at work. His father however, had a different idea.
The jet took off, and Silas was set next to his son. "You'll behave, this summer, yes?"
Amos nodded. "You'll attend the party, dressed how I tell you and without your earphones." Amos nodded. "And you'll spend some evenings with the men, discussing business."
At this, Amos hesitated. The one extended bit of time where he was free to do as he liked and his father wanted to impede on it. But, not having any choice, he once again nodded.
With a satisfied sigh, Silas settled into his seat. He had no intention of joining Brooke in the center of the plane.

Mila practically leapt into her grandfather's arms as soon as she saw him. She was particularly close with her grandparents after living with them in Paris for close to two years while she went to a private school for dance. Beaming she began signing at the both of them, but was quickly over taken by the rest of her family, who cascaded into a mountain of hugs and voices trying to talk over one another. It was moments like these where they weren't the multi-billion dollar family, they were just the Bradford's. It was the moments like these that she felt the most normal, relaxed, and happy.

Keeping true to his word, Piers now held his youngest brother, Nicholai while the most complantive of the four, Tobias played with the fourth son, Tarrance. The teen smiled at the small boy as he had fallen asleep just moments ago. Had Tobi held out just a bit longer, perhaps the babysitting would have been better. Or if he didn't whine all the time. Perhaps it was the rushing waves that calmed the toddler. Currently James and Helen were in there separate cabin of the boat from their children, likely talking about business matters. They preferred the quiet when traveling, despite that they had four kids. Piers could now see the island in the distance, a few tiny figures gathered together near the dock.
A grin crept onto his features, imagining talking to his several cousins. He'd get to sleep in the furthest house away from his brothers as well. The eldest son sighed. All the more reason he wanted to land already.

Alex ran over and clutched onto Charlie's arm, who had been standing slightly to the side. He was currently in a stage where he got very nervous around new people and he didn't remember Grandmother and Grandfather enough to be comfortable around them yet. He stood with his back up against her and she crossed both arms over his chest. She had already gotten her hugs so she was content to watch the reunion currently going on. Mila was rapidly signing to Grandma, her father stood with his arms around her mother and Niko, and Grandfather was cooing over a sleeping Niko.
An alert flashed on Grandfather's phone. "James's plane just landed," he announced. "Why don't we walk you all over to the houses and the girls can get set up in their house so your grandmother and I can be back to greet James and Helen and Piers and all the little ones."

Mila nodded dutifully, beginning to follow her grandparents away from the dock. She could feel the little bubbles of excitement in her chest. This was her last summer trip before she left for college. She wouldn't be too far, but far enough that she wouldn't be able to see her family as often as she wanted. Sighing quietly as they walked, Mila tried to brush away all those nervous thoughts. This was going to be a great and relaxing trip. Nothing to worry about.

They were about halfway through the flight when Marcie started bawling.
Brooke had been fussing over her for nearly an hour now, and yet she hadn't stopped. Amos was hunched into his seat, eyes closed against the noise, and Silas was sighing repeatedly next to him without lifting a finger to help his wife.
Polly was playing with her iPad in a seat in front of Amos.
The 15-minutes-to-landing announcement sounded then, quickly followed by a collective sigh of relief.

Piers grinned at the smell of the ocean air. It reminded him of something peaceful, like walks along the beach and skipping stones as the sun set. Smiling down at Nicholai, he couldn't help but thing about teaching him the wonders of the island tradition. The waves gently lapped at the side of the boat adding to the soothing atmosphere. The other two brothers were currently playing on their electronic devices, so the noise had been cut down some. Back leaned against the railing of the ship, he stared at the clouds for a moment. His thoughts were then interrupted by the sound of the bow bumping into the side of the island. They had arrived.

Madeleine and Alexander walked back to the dock arm in arm to greet James, Helen, and the children. They stood at the edge of the dock as the family disembarked from the boat and greeted them with warm hugs and smiles.

Charlie had just finished dropping off Alex at the house their parents stayed at. William and Sophia and their youngest stayed in the same house as Thomas, Anastasia, Alexi, and Niko. James, Helen, and their youngest stayed in their own house, as did Silas, Brooke, and their youngest two. Magnus and Vivian stayed in the main house with Grandmother and Grandfather. Charlie ran straight to the house she was staying in. The cousins had been debating on what to name it since they were eleven and allowed to stay by themselves, but they had yet to make a decision. Charlie hoisted her suitcase up the stairs to her bedroom. Her room was sandwiched in between Mila and Julianna's bedrooms. They were all immediately opposite Estelle, Amos, and Piers.
As soon as Charlie got in her room, she opened the windows. There was always a fresh change of sheets and the room was always clean, but it didn't really feel like her's until she opened the windows.

The end of the trip went by in a flash. Brooke sent off a message as soon as they landed and they were on the ferry a few minutes later.
Amos was still plugged into his music, trying his very best to ignore the commanding figure of his father strutting next to him; it helped that Polly was on the boy's other side, tugging at his arm as she skipped towards the boat's window.
The ferry ride was a quick half an hour, and 7 songs later the island came into view.

Mila had the corner room, as she always had, simply because it was the one that got the most sunlight in the morning. She loved watching the sunrise through her windows and frequently practiced her ballet in the soft light, playfully imagining that she was on a grand stage. Not that she would tell anyone in her family of her childlike daydreams. It was too embarrassing.
She smiled to herself as she heard Charlie slam open the windows in the next room. It truly wasn't the start of the vacation until they had settled into the house. Mila opened her own double french doors and breathed in the sea air. Grinning, she spun around to launch herself into the massive, fluffy folds of her bed.

James gratefully accepted the warm greeting, returning it tenfold. "This place just never gets old," he stated, watching the boys greet their grandparents. Helen now held Nicholai in her arms, dismissing Piers to find his cousins who were likely in their separate house already. Smiling, he gave her a curt nod before running off, leaving the adults with the younger kids. It was nice to feel the gentle breeze blow through his hair. Reaching the house, the eldest boy gave a quick knock before welcoming himself in. He knew if the others wanted privacy they would be in their rooms. Either that or they'd be in there unpacking. Piers facepalmed as he had forgotten his things on the boat. He felt a bit bad for not moving his bags off the boat, even though it would be the servants bringing his bags to the house like usual. Sighing, he let it be. His parents had told him to run and have fun, didn't they?
"Anyone home?" he called, hoping for an answer.

Charlie perked up at the sound of a voice. "Piers? Is that you?" she called, walking to the stairwell, where you could see the rest of the house. She saw her cousin in the doorway and grinned. "Mila! Piers is here!" she yelled over her shoulder and ran down the steps to greet him.