Chapter 57: Modern Family
An hour later, a sky-blue Porsche 911 parked in front of an ordinary suburban villa on the outskirts of New York City.
The moment Martin stepped out of the car, a blonde woman met him and hugged him happily .
"Martin!… it's really you! .I can't believe it… you look even better than when you started college! "
Martin laughed "Claire, you're also still as stunning as ever."
After claire he gave Phil a hearty hug.
"Martin, it's been so long. We've all missed you…"
"Same here, Phil! You look exactly the same!"
After nearly ten minutes of catching up at the doorstep, they finally moved inside. The house was a typical American suburban home—bright white and blue walls, a cozy fireplace warming the chilly New York air.
The Dunphys introduced their three children:
- **Haley Dunphy**, the fifteen-year-old rebellious teen obsessed with dating and makeup, currently Claire's biggest headache.
- **Alex**, the thirteen-year-old bookworm with glasses, who loved outsmarting her siblings.
- **Luke**, the youngest, a curly-haired ten-year-old boy who'd just celebrated his birthday a few days before Thanksgiving.
Martin ruffled Luke's messy hair and handed him a Spalding basketball.
"Sorry I missed your birthday party, Luke. This is a belated gift from Uncle Martin. Happy birthday!"
Claire didn't notice anything special about the ball. "You remembered his birthday? That's so sweet!"
But Phil's eyes widened as he spotted the black signature.
"LeBron James?!?!"
Phil snatched the ball before Luke could take it, scrutinizing the signature. "Martin… is this real?"
"Would I fake a gift for my favorite nephew?" Martin winked. "Our firm works with big sports agents. Signed merch is part of the job perks. I almost swiped a Jordan-signed ball from a partner, but figured Luke's too young to care."
Claire finally grasped the significance. "Martin, Luke's too young for something this valuable!"
Martin waved her off. "Consider it compensation for missing ten years of birthdays. Haley and Alex will get theirs next year."
The girls, initially feeling unlucky, lit up .
Phil offered a house tour, which ended abruptly when Martin tripped on a broken stair, sending both men tumbling.
"Oh my God! Are you okay?!" Claire yelped, rushing over.
Martin rubbed his shoulder. "I'm fine."
Phil, used to such mishaps, raised a hand. "I swear I'll fix that stair soon!"
Martin stifled a laugh—he knew that stair would stay broken for at least another year.
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Later, after shooing the kids to bed, Claire dragged Martin to the couch for a heart-to-heart.
As they talked, Martin reminisced about the family gathering nine years earlier. Claire was his cousin because Martin's mother, Caterina, and Claire's father, Jay Pritchett, were siblings.
Yes—*the* Jay Pritchett, the sixty-something millionaire businessman from *Modern Family*. Caterina had married a Texas lawyer, distance limiting their interactions, but the Pritchett family's emphasis on kinship kept them close.
Caterina had only Martin, while Jay had two children: Claire and her younger brother Mitchell.
Their last reunion was at Martin's Harvard acceptance party—a star-studded event attended by relatives and his parents' elite friends. Jay proudly introduced Mitchell, freshly graduated from Columbia Law.
But the celebration imploded when Mitchell grabbed the mic and came out as gay.
In deeply conservative Texas, this was akin to "ordering a Big Mac at KFC." The room froze. Even Jay and Claire were mortified, and Caterina—furious at her nephew for "humiliating the family"—kicked Mitchell out.
The party ended in awkward silence. Later, Martin secretly brought Mitchell back and defended him to the family. He respected others' lifestyles—as long as they didn't affect him.
But Caterina, steeped in tradition, disowned Jay's family the next day for "failing to educate their son." Siblings became strangers overnight.
Martin, busy with Harvard and his work forgot to actively reach out .And nine years had slipped by.
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*(End of Chapter)*