So Close Yet So Far

"Are these the pictures from your trip?" Ramona's friend Chelsea asks as she picks up a photo envelope.
"Yeah." Ramona says smirking.
"Do you have a picture of your one and only here?"
"Yeah." Ramona says as she takes the envelope and pulls out the photos and starts searching through them. "Umm here's Joey, with his brother Jakob."
"Billie's kids right?"
"Right, and here's Joey and I on tour with our dad's, I think we were in Texas."
"Cool, and what about the rest of the photos?"
"Umm well here's me, my dad, Bianca, and my brothers."
"How come your brothers don't live here?" Chelsea asks analyzing the picture.
"They're my half brothers, Frankito is from my dad's second marriage and Josh is from his current marriage."
"You think he'll divorce again?" Chelsea asks innocently.
"No, the divorces were because of the stress of him always being on tour but Bianca was a dancer so she knows about performing and stuff so she's really patient." Ramona says as she goes through the rest of the photos.
"What about them? Who are they?" Chelsea says pulling out another picture.
"Oh that's Jill and James, Jill used to go out with Mike when they were teenagers and well she stayed friends with my father and Bianca. James was there recording tech and that's their daughter Molly."
"Oh yeah, that's right Bianca was your Dad's girlfriend in high school and then they split for a while."
"Yeah, and this is Mike, Cassie, Estelle and Travis." Ramona says showing the final picture.
"Cool. Estelle isn't Cassie's right?"
"Right, she's from Mike's first marriage. It's complicated but in the end it makes sense." Ramona says laughing.

"So you're seriously going to leave for a whole year?" Chelsea says in disbelief.
"Yeah, I might actually just finish high school in Oakland." Ramona says as she puts the photos back on her desk.
"What?! So I'll never see you again." Chelsea complains.
"I'll be back for holidays and stuff."
"Yeah but still."
"Chelsea, don't pull me on a guilt trip, I've lived in New York my whole life, and I want to try living in Oakland."
"Yeah, I still don't understand how you can just pick up and leave."
"It's just the way I am." Ramona says shrugging.

***
"So when's Ramona coming back?" Jakob asks in an annoying voice.
"One week." Joey says annoyed that he has to wait so long.
"Awe poor little Joseph is all alone." Jakob pesters.
"Leave your brother alone." Billie Joe says absent mindedly.
"But."
"When you have to spend a week without the woman you're crazy about then you can talk." Billie mutters more interested in the newspaper in front of him.
"Then what am I supposed to do for fun?" Jakob whines.
"Call one of your buddies." Billie mutters.
"Or Stella." Joey says taking a mocking tone. "Dad, didn't you say Mike has her this weekend?"
"Yeah." Billie Joe says still reading over the newspaper. Jakob leaves the room quietly.