Chapter 3: Day -1

In the small town of Riverside, there was not much to entertain oneself with. Sure, there were a café, two dinners, a bed and breakfast, the weekly farmer's market, several parks and one movie theatre- the latter of which had only been built here because Riverside was the biggest town out of the local municipalities.

However, for most of the older generation, local fishing competitions and yearly visits from tourists were all the entertainment they got. The phrase "small-town gossip" had to come from somewhere.

In Riverside, gossiping was ingrained in its inhabitants as part of their culture. Therefore, the Brown-Murray household was not at all shocked when in a matter of days, most of the town was already aware of their latest family row.

However, just because they hadn't been surprised didn't mean they were thrilled about it. Jane Murray, the head of the household as well as one of the main targets of the rumour mill, was particularly disgruntled. The blonde woman would often be heard muttering "bunch of nosy busybodies" throughout the period of her being the subject of town gossip.

The other recipient of the rumour mill, Emma, found her mother to be quite hypocritical. After all, Jane Murray was one of the worst gossips in town.

The older woman only disliked this particular rumour because it painted her in an unflattering light as a mother. And if there was anything Emma knew about her mother, it was that she took great pride in being the mother of three "successful" children.

Naturally, all good things- or in this case, bad things, must come to an end. Rumours were fickle, to begin with, it didn't take long for another scandal to take Emma and her mother's argument's place as the hottest topic in town.

Emma was relieved. While the brunette didn't show as strong of a dislike for being the centre of gossip as her mother, she disliked the attention. Riverside was a tightly knit community where everyone knew everyone.

There were times Emma was glad for the closeness but this was not such a time. She couldn't go anywhere without hearing at least one person whisper and point at her. The worst part was that they weren't being discreet about it at all. It made her next couple of shifts at the café awkward.

Thankfully, it did not last long. Emma would not have taken well being scrutinized on top of everything else she was currently dealing with. Granted, Emma was the one to make things more difficult for herself to begin with. Imposing a time limit on her family's bucket list was neither the logical nor practical thing to do. To put it bluntly, planning on finishing the bucket list in two weeks was very ambitious, if not impossible.

However, the 23-year-old couldn't stomach doing it any other way. It just wouldn't feel right to finish the bucket list once the house was no longer theirs, and it no longer would be in exactly 16 days.

John Roberts deserved better and honouring him by doing what he was unable to do while he was alive was the right thing to do.

It would have been nice if her family thought so as well. Unfortunately, Emma was not so lucky. While both her sisters had been on board, the rest of the family was not so easily convinced. Emma's mother and stepfather were reticent, but not entirely against the idea.

For them, the timing here was the issue. Since they both worked full time at the clinic, they didn't have much free time to give her. So, scheduling problems were Emma's first obstacle. The second issue the brunette encountered was how to convince her brother and biological father.

Aidan was her biggest opposition. He categorically refused to participate in the activities she had planned out, saying he had better things to do, like working. Another implicit argument was the fact it would require the brown-haired man to spend time with Ryan and vice versa.

Saying Aidan's relationship with Ryan Brown was tense was an understatement, it was downright terrible. Emma considered Frank, the man who had actually raised her, the true father figure in her life but she got along fine with her birth father. They weren't close but they had a decent enough relationship what with the circumstances.

However, the same could not be said for her older brother. Aidan loathed Ryan Brown and would never call him "father", much less willingly spend time with him. Emma guessed it was because when Ryan Brown left their mother, Aidan had been older than her. He must have remembered what it was like, living with both of their parents. Emma couldn't fault him for that since she had been too young to remember it.

In the end, the only reason Ryan Brown refused to participate in what Emma had started to call the "Bucket List Project" was because he didn't want to make things awkward with Aidan. If anyone had asked her opinion on the matter, Emma would have retorted he was years too late for that.

This definitely made things more difficult for her. The brunette couldn't force their hands but she would not go forward with her plans without them either. Her entire family had attended the Christmas dinner five years ago and it would not feel right to go without any of its members.

In the meantime, she was at quite a standstill. It was such a shame too since Emma had already remastered the bucket list by taking off of the list all the elements which would have been impossible to clear out in two weeks:

(Remastered Bucket List)

• Get Aidan to cook for a week/teach him how

• Pizza making

• Garden planning

• Have Maeve dole me and Abby up

• Learn how to climb a tree with Abby

• Fishing day => family

• Organize a tea party with Aidan as the main guest

• cleaning dad's apartment

• Dye Aidan's hair/Maeve's prank

• Pixie hair cut

• Go to a party

• Travel outside the country

• Mountain Climbing

• Northern Lights

• Go bowling with friends

The 23-year-old had also started making a schedule, taking into account everyone's availabilities, all for naught since two members of the family refused to take part in the "Bucket List Project".

Understandably frustrated, Emma ranted to her friends when she met them two days after cleaning John Roberts' house.

"Can you believe them? My brother thinks this is a pointless endeavour and won't even try to be in the same room as our father- and my father's too chicken to face him!"

Murphy continued turning the pages of the YA novel he was reading while Ines brushed through Emma's hair, an action the brunette had always found soothing. It was something her grandmother, Anna Roberts, used to do when Emma was little. Thereafter, Murphy, Maeve and Ines were the only ones the brunette allowed to touch her hair.

After going through a surprisingly nasty tangle, rare as it was to find one on someone with straight hair, Ines rubbed Emma's shoulder comfortingly.

"Don't you worry, 'M. I am sure your brother will come around." Pausing, the younger girl giggled. "Ha, you said chicken! 'M you dear old mother hen!"

Ines then proceeded to make clucking noises which made her erupt in teary laughter. Emma cracked a smile.

"Ha, it wasn't on purpose. But- thank you for cheering me up, Ines."

Before the younger girl could reply, Murphy spoke up.

"I hate to be "that" guy ruining the mood and even more so if it means I'm siding with Aidan but, I agree with him. Where is this coming from, 'M? Two weeks to do a bucket list? This is not like you."

Emma turned around, furrowing her brows.

"What do you mean by that, 'Phy? You think I shouldn't pay my respects to my grandfather?"

Murphy rolled his eyes and snapped his book closed.

"Don't twist my words. That is not what I meant."

Sighing, he continued. "I'm worried about you. You don't do things on impulse, ever. This- getting your family to agree and setting it up, all of that in two weeks? That is too much for one person. Even if your family participates, what if things don't work out the way you want? I know you 'M, you can't handle it when you can't achieve something. You remember what happened in 10th grade, don't you?"

At his words, Emma could not help but glance down. Murphy was right, she knew that. In 10th grade, they had gotten a right out of college young new English teacher. He had come from a big city so teaching in Sunset Valley had been a new experience for him. The English teacher had a lot ideas for fun, interesting projects but he had trouble finding volunteer students.

Emma, however, had been sold and participated in half of them, which turned out to be a serious mistake. Back then, the brunette had just made first string in the high school soccer team on top of taking a few advanced classes.

With the extra workload, Emma struggled to maintain both her grades and her place in the team. Near the end of the semester, she was completely burnt out and had to be taken out of school for two weeks.

Looking up into her childhood's friend concerned hazel eyes, Emma's expression softened.

"I know why you are worried, Murphy- and rightly so. I am aware this might be too much stress and work but I really want to do this. I need to do this, not only for my grandfather but also, for myself."

Feeling Murphy was about to interrupt, Emma continued, more adamant.

"I feel like I'm in a rut, and have been for a while. I know acting on impulse is the last thing I would normally do but I think it's the only way I will ever find myself again."

Batting away the oncoming tears in her eyes, Emma chuckled weakly. "I don't think I am alright, 'Phy. I can't remember the last time I was genuinely happy or excited. I just want that feeling again. Is that so wrong?"

Shaking his head, Murphy stood up and hugged Emma.

"Of course not. You have the right to be happy and you have the right to seek out that happiness. I am just worried you are taking too much on your shoulders again."

"She won't. After all, she has us, doesn't she? We will help you, Emma", added Ines, joining the impromptu hug.

The brunette smiled lightly, burying herself in her friends' embrace.

"Thank you guys, you are the best."

A heart to heart wasn't at all what Emma had planned on when she met up with her friends that evening but, the brunette was glad. Getting all of this out of her chest and in the open was not something she even knew she desperately needed- until now.

After talking with her friends, Emma felt indefinitely better. It was with an extra bounce in her steps that she returned home. For once, the brunette had no trouble falling asleep. The next morning, it was as if some deity had heard her prayers.

Emma was woken up by her brother, Aidan, calling her on the phone. Was it a leap year? How come the one who never, ever called, phoned her twice in a single week?

"Aidan, is that really you?" Emma asked groggily, voice still laced with sleep.

"Of course, Captain Obvious. Who else could it be? Do you happen to have another brother called Aidan?"

His speech might have been rough but Emma immediately noted it lacked its usual bite.

"Are you okay?" she asked, worriedly.

Aidan didn't immediately deny her assumptions which she immediately found alarming. Something was wrong. Emma could not remember her brother ever being this vulnerable.

"I will be," he sighed.

Aidan cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable. "Anyway, this isn't why I am calling you. I will do it."

Confused, Emma asked. "Do what?"

This time, the 23-year-old could nearly feel Aidan roll his eyes through the phone. "Your bucket list- thing. I will do it."

"Really? Why the sudden change of heart? You won't change your mind again in two days, will you?"

Aidan sighed. "I don't want to talk about it. I'll participate and that's all I'm saying. Bye."

Emma noted he had said goodbye this time. She was happy he did but at the same time, she couldn't help but worry. Certainly, a decent somewhat polite Aidan was better than a rude one but, what could have happened to him in two days? The 27-year-old hadn't sounded like himself. He seemed almost- sad.

Deciding it would be better to get further into it, Emma scrolled down on her contact's list until she found Jeremiah, Aidan's best friend, flatmate and band member. After the second ring, he picked up.

"Emma? You don't usually call. Is everything alright?"

Emma nodded, not that he could actually see her. "Yeah, I am. Sorry for bothering you but I just had Aidan on the phone and he seemed- off. Did something happen when he got back?"

"Oh, it's about Aidan", for some reason, Jeremiah almost sounded disappointed by her reply. Was he upset she hadn't asked how he was doing?

Jeremiah sighed. "You could say that. Aidan got dumped yesterday."

Emma startled. "My brother was seeing someone?"

Jeremiah scratched his hair. "Well, not really. Aidan was sort of having this casual fling with this barmaid we met a couple of months ago. I thought they were already together but apparently, your brother asked her out yesterday and she- uh, turned him down."

Emma's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "I didn't see that one coming by a long shot."

As far as Emma could remember, her older brother had always been rather popular with the ladies. Aidan hadn't been particularly interested in them his teens but once he left Riverside, she knew he had dated at least four women, probably more.

As to why women were fascinated by him, Emma had no clue. She guessed they must have found him handsome with his blue eyes, soft brown curls and thick eyebrows. It contrasted with his mysterious aura quite a bit, maybe women found that intriguing?

It was hard for Emma to tell since Aidan was her brother because- gross. Also, his personality was not one she would be drawn to. He was not a nice person. Perhaps, the barmaid Aidan had been seeing had been turned off by it or, maybe she just wasn't looking for a relationship.

In any case, Emma was glad she'd called Jeremiah. It would not have done to unknowingly upset Aidan. She was already lucky to have her brother agree to participate in the "Bucket List Project", it would not do to push it.

After exchanging a couple of pleasantries with Jeremiah, Emma finished the call. Checking her phone for messages, the 23-year-old saw her brother had sent her one with two attachments.

"I am sending you my schedule. Do with it as you wish. You are lucky I don't have too much work or else your 'Bucket List Project' would be doomed before it could even start. Also, don't bother contacting Ryan, I already did. Both our schedules are in the attachments."

Opening the files, Emma realized her brother had indeed sent his and their father's schedule. The brunette didn't know whether this shift in behaviour was permanent or not but she would not question it. She had plans to make and she now had all she needed to make them.

First, though, Emma had work this morning. The planning could- or at least should, wait until she was done. Thankfully, the brunette had been allowed to sleep in as she did not have to prepare breakfast today. Since it was Abigail's turn, Emma already knew what to expect on the menu.

Fifteen minutes and a shower later, fruit salad really was what Emma found on the dining table when she sat down. As she dug in, the brunette told her family the 'Bucket List Project' was once more back on track and to expect a schedule of the next two weeks by tonight.

At the café, Emma's shift was calmer than usual with little clients crossing the threshold. As a result, the brunette was allowed to clock out early. Emma didn't know why her luck was so good today but she intended to milk it dry. After all, who knew when she would get this lucky ever again?

Once home, the brunette was nose deep in papers, trying to create a schedule with everyone's differing work/busy hours. Matching everything was a nightmare and in order to succeed in doing so, Emma skipped lunch.

Abigail brought the brunette snacks when she realized her older sister was not coming down. Afterwards, the blonde helped her sister sort everything out. They had a schedule down by 4 pm.

Emma then proceeded to call her best friends to rope them into helping list out the fishing equipment they had to buy, the hotel they had to book, etc. After many hours of painstakingly long research and one successful phone call, everything was ready.

The 23-year-old decided to send the participants their personal schedules. They wouldn't all be doing the same things since most of them worked and the others had other plans. Her strategy was to divide and conquer which should gain them some more time. Hopefully, it would be effective or else, Emma would have put way too much work for naught.

Starting tomorrow, this was what Emma had planned:

• Day 1 (Saturday) - Cooking lessons plan for Aidan 1/7, Afternoon café shift

• Day 2 (Sunday) - Aidan's cooking lessons 2/7, Pizza making day & start of garden planning ⅕ (the whole family)

• Day 3 (Monday) - Aidan's cooking lesson 3/7, Morning café shift, garden planning ⅖ (Jane, Frank, Abigail

• Day 4 (Tuesday) - Aidan's cooking lesson 4/7, Morning café shift, Tree climbing with Abby

• Day 5 (Wednesday) - Aidan's cooking lesson 5/7, Morning café shift, Abby and Emma's Makeover (pixie hair cut), party

• Day 6 (Thursday) - Aidan's cooking lesson 6/7, Afternoon café shift, garden planning ⅗ , Maeve and Emma prank Aidan with pink hair

• Day 7 (Friday) - Aidan's cooking lesson 7/7, Afternoon café shift, garden planning ⅘ , Tree climbing with Abby

• Day 8 (Saturday) - Family fishing day

• Day 9 (Sunday) - Morning café shift, garden planning 5/5, clean up Jane's closet

• Day 10 (Monday) - Trip with friends ⅓, bowling

• Day 11 (Tuesday) - Trip with friends ⅓, mountain climbing, stargazing (Northern lights)

• Day 12 (Wednesday) - Trip with friends ⅓ (return to Riverside)

• Day 13 (Thursday) - Help Ryan clean his apartment

• Day 14 (Friday) - Have Abby's tea party (Aidan as a guest)

• Day 15 (Saturday) - day of the signature, Last day at grandpa's house (family meal)

On paper, Emma thought it looked quite nice. The brunette had somehow managed with the help of Abby and Phynes to accommodate everyone's differing schedules. She was certain this 'Bucket List Project' of hers would be a success.

After all, the part Emma had been most worried about- excluding the participants and their availabilities, had been handled rather easily. Her high school friend, Johanna Yang, had been of great help since parties were not Emma's scene, at all.

Fortunately, Murphy had remembered Johanna was one of the die-hard party-goers in high school, pointing out if anyone knew how to get in a party, it would be Johanna.

As luck would have it, when Emma contacted her old lab partner, Johanna already had a party planned for the next Wednesday. It would be at the latter's house, in celebration of her graduating from law school. Friendly as she was, Johanna agreed to Emma's request, even going as far as extending the invitation to Murphy and Ines, when Emma mentioned Murphy had a girlfriend.

The brunette knew Johanna was genuinely happy for Murphy but this wasn't why she'd invited Phynes. Johanna was a gossip, not the malicious kind but the "what's the latest juicy story" type. She had been this way ever since high school, chattering Emma's ears off about this and that. It sometimes got annoying, but it was admittedly part of Johanna's charm.

After thanking her friends and younger sister, Emma allowed herself to relax. 'This calls for a bubble bath', Emma thought. The brunette headed to her shared bathroom with Abigail, pyjamas in hand. Soon, the 23-year-old would move out and have a bathroom to herself. While the prospect was appealing, Emma couldn't help finding it odd.

Not seeing her sister's shampoo in the shower nor any of her cluttered belongings felt alien, like an unnatural occurrence. Emma liked the bathroom she had at her apartment but, it felt empty. The brunette didn't know whether she would ever get used to the sight of her belongings neatly organized sitting by themselves on the bathroom shelf. Living with her sister for all these years definitely left its mark. Emma wondered if her brother, Aidan, had felt the same when he had moved out.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Emma proceeded to empty her mind and enjoy her downtime. The brunette didn't get breaks as often as she liked nor should. So, it was even more important to relish in it when she got the opportunity. Emma knew she would need it with the month she had ahead of her, what with both the 'Bucket List Project' and starting her new job right after.

Sighing, Emma melted in the bathtub. She started humming her favourite song. The brunette was tone-deaf, her singing was everything but soothing. It was such a shame too since Emma enjoyed singing. Unfortunately, her lack of musical talent was something of a family disposition. The only lucky ones to have escaped it were Aidan and Frank.

After a relaxing bath, Emma went to the kitchen to get started on dinner. On the menu, was pasta, chicken saltimbocca and stir-fried green beans. It was Emma's go-to dish whenever she was out of ideas. The brunette had been taught the recipe when she was ten by her grandfather- it had been her late grandmother's favourite.

Since it was the most time consuming, Emma started with the chicken. Taking out the chicken breast from the fridge, the brunette flattened the meat before cutting it in half, lengthways. Then, she rubbed a bit of salt in the cut before placing bacon and sage on each chicken breast which she secured with a cocktail stick. Afterwards, Emma put the chicken in a pan with heated oil, letting it fry until golden.

Emma was halfway through her recipe- she had just cleaned out the pan with kitchen paper and was about to add some butter when she heard the distinctive sound of her brother's car pulling over in the driveway. A minute and added lemon juice and wine later, the front door opened and Aidan entered.

As Emma put the chicken in the boiling lemon juice/wine mix, her brother settled on a nearby kitchen stool. The brunette was getting started on boiling water for the pasta and the green beans when Aidan spoke up.

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

Glancing over her shoulder at her older brother, Emma noticed his discomfort.

"You can set the table if you want. Dinner will be served soon."

There was no response from her brother so Emma refocused on her cooking. As she put the pasta and the green beans in their respective pot of boiling water, Emma distantly heard Aidan opening several cabinets, swearing under his breath.

Her older brother apparently struggled to find his way around in the kitchen. It was to be expected. Aidan had barely opened the cabinets when he still lived here so it wasn't surprising he didn't know where to find cutlery after having moved out 8 years ago.

Aidan finished setting the table just as Emma put the finishing touches on her dishes. The young man was the one to go upstairs to call their family members down to eat while Emma brought the dishes out. This kind of decent behaviour was new coming from Aidan and Emma wondered what his casual fling could have possibly told him, for there was nothing else that came to mind which could have changed him so much in very little time.

The family dinner was quiet. Emma and her mother Jane were still not on speaking terms but it was peaceful- the tension had fizzled out a long time ago. Abigail was nearly nodding off. Cheer practice combined with helping her sister had exhausted her. Frank was eating quickly since he had a night shift today.

Of course, the most surprising behaviour had been Aidan's. He didn't speak for the entirety of the meal, not even to make a snarky comment. All the other occupants noted the unusual behaviour but they were either too tired to bring it up or knew not to pry.

Once everyone was done eating, they all parted ways. Frank left for the clinic while Abby and Jane called it an early night. The two people remaining were Emma and Aidan. Emma started washing the dishes while Aidan naturally fell in the role of drying and putting them away. By the time they were done, Emma was itching to know what was going on with her brother and decided to succumb to temptation.

"Aidan, what's going on with you? You're acting decent, for once."

Aidan's usual response would have been a snarky comeback but, not this time. The brown-haired man sighed and plopped down on a stool.

"I heard Jeremiah talking to you on the phone this morning. So, you know what happened. I had been seeing a woman called Jules for a while and I quite liked her. In truth, I don't think I have ever liked someone as much as her before, Emma."

Rubbing a hand over his face, Aidan continued. "I asked her to go steady. She refused."

He paused in an attempt to keep his composure. "Jules said I was fun to fool around with but she would hate being in a relationship with what she called a rude insensitive sexist prick."

Emma felt torn. On one hand, she could understand Jules's reasoning. Emma would never go for someone with the same personality as her brother as well. On the other hand, the brunette had never seen her brother so heartbroken before. She didn't know what to tell him to make him feel better.

Fortunately, Aidan caught the gist of what was on her mind.

"You don't have to comfort me. What Jules said hurt but it was true. I am a rude insensitive sexist prick, you've said it many times before. I just- I didn't take you seriously. I thought you were being a typical younger sister. I was wrong and I realize I have hurt you. I am sorry, Emma. I am sorry it took someone else to make me understand what sorry excuse of a brother I am."

Speechless, Emma felt like crying, and cry she did. This was the first time she had a serious conversation like that with her brother. Emma loved her family and she'd always wanted to be closer to her brother. After getting rebuffed several times, she had given up. This felt like hope. Maybe there was still a chance to mend their relationship after all.

"To be honest, I don't know what to do. I am happy to hear you say that. I really am but I-"

"You don't know if you can accept my apology. It isn't enough to forgive me, right?"

Seeing as her brother didn't seem upset, Emma nodded. Sighing, Aidan stood up and hugged his sister for the first time.

"One day, I will be the older brother you deserve. I can't promise you I won't unintentionally put my foot in my mouth but I will try not to. Until then, don't forgive me."

After Emma's heart to heart with Aidan, the brunette decided to head to bed. The events of the day had left her drained and Emma couldn't wait for the day to be over. Although to be completely honest, Emma wasn't sure tomorrow would be any better for her stress levels since it was the official start of the 'Bucket List Project'.

In spite of the chaotic day, Emma would not change it for anything in the world, whether it be her disagreement with Murphy, her struggle with scheduling the 'Bucket List Project' or her heart to heart with Aidan. This was a day she would probably remember years from now, and while it had been an exhausting one, it was well worth it.

Emma was about to go to bed when she received a text from Murphy:

"Emma, there is something important I want to talk about. Can you head outside for a minute? This isn't something I can ask on the phone, otherwise, I would have done it already ."

Curious as to what Murphy wanted so badly he had to privately pull her aside to do so, Emma headed outside. It must have been regarding Ines. After all, Murphy had seen Emma twice today, with plenty of opportunities to ask her something.

'Isn't their anniversary coming up soon?', Emma wondered. The brunette couldn't remember the exact date but it had been at the end of summer which was soon approaching.

When Emma opened her front door, Murphy was already waiting for her. He was sitting on the exact steps where he used to wait for her on the rare occasions he went to get her so they could walk to school. Emma noted Murphy was nervously fidgeting with his hands.

"What's up, Phy?"

Murphy wrenched his hands still. "My anniversary with Ines is coming up soon and since you are both my best friend and the one who introduced Ines to me- it only feels right. I know what the 'Bucket List Project' means to you but since all three of us are going on a trip, I won't ever have an opportunity like this again."

Murphy looked up from his hands, directly into Emma's eyes.

"I want to propose to Ines, on the trip."