You Were Meant for Me

My eyes fluttered open as there was a soft knock at the door. I groaned and rolled out of bed, wishing I could climb right back in. The bed was calling to me as I walked away, begging me to wrap myself back up in the sheets. I shoved my feet in my shoes as I shuffled towards the door, hoping to stop the knocking. Mummo was standing there with a bright smile on her face, waiting on me. She wore a red plaid apron dusted with what looked like flour on top of her clothes, and her hair was tied up on her head, out of her face.

“Come, come! Dinner is served,” She beamed as she ushered me down the hallway towards the dining room. “Everyone is here. Your aunt, uncle, and cousin. Oh, I’m so excited for you to meet them. I feel that you and Lauri will get along just fine!”

I didn’t say anything as I followed her to the table where my family sat. I could see my parents talking and laughing with my aunt, uncle, and grandfather. My cousin, however, was nowhere to be seen. I heard mummo mutter to herself about how he needed to learn to stay put. I couldn’t help but let out a little laugh, causing everyone to look at me. My face started getting hot as I felt eyes on me, and at that moment, someone else walked in, shifting the focus off me.

“Lauri, there you are! Here, meet your cousin, Wynter, and your aunt, Diann.”

I turned to greet my cousin and stopped short as my eyes fell upon him. He was definitely not what I was expecting. For some strange reason I was expecting a jock type, a preppy boy, but he was the complete opposite. He wore all black, and his long blonde hair stuck out in every direction, almost as if he had gotten caught in a wind gust. He had black liner coated around his eyes, and black polish on his nails. I was flabbergasted, couldn’t get words out. My father never mentioned this little detail before.

“Hei, nice to meet you.” He said with a thick Finnish accent. His eyes narrowed as he realized I was still staring at him.

“Yes! It’s very nice to meet you too.” I finally managed to get a few words out before joining the family at the table.

Lauri kept eyeing me, like he was trying to figure out what was wrong with me. He probably thought I had some mental issue or something. I don’t know, I probably did. Mummo started passing the food around then began filling the glasses on the table. I caught my father’s eye, and gave him a look, earning a shrug in reply. Why didn’t he tell me that my cousin was just like me at heart?

“So, Wynter, your father tells me that you are a vocalist, is that so?” Uncle Tiitus asked as he took a bite of food.

“Yes, well, more of a songwriter than a singer, but yes.”

“I suppose it runs in the family then.” He laughed and nudged my father. I didn’t understand what he meant. When my dad sang, it was worse than a cat in a blender.

“I’m sorry, have you ever heard my father sing?” I giggled as my father shot me a dirty look.

“No, not him. Your cousin! He’s in a band. A pretty popular band, if I do say so myself. We’re very proud of him, and now we have you to be proud of too!”

“Oh wow, that’s extremely cool, Lauri! I had no idea we were so much alike. Maybe I can catch a show sometime.”

“We’re actually having a little get together tonight, if you’d like to come. It’s not a show, but I could introduce you to the band and we could get to know each other.” Lauri spoke, pulling his phone out of his pocket, adding we’d have to leave within the next hour.

“Yes! That would be so awesome. I’ll get ready now!” I squealed, not able to contain my excitement. I jumped up from the table earning a stern look from my father. He told me to sit back down and finish my dinner, causing Lauri to stifle back his laughter.

After everyone ate, I hurried to the room I was staying in to fix my hair and makeup. I looked like I had just rolled out of bed. I didn’t care about looking drop dead gorgeous, just somewhat presentable. It took me a few tries to get my hair to do anything other than lay flat like a piece of cardboard and only a few seconds to touch up my eye liner. As I grabbed my jacket and headed out of the room, I heard my father talking to Lauri, telling him to keep an eye on me, not to let me drink too much, and to bring me back in one piece. I grimaced at the sight and dad looked like a deer in headlights, knowing he’d been caught.

“Ready to go?”

The car ride was a little awkward, to be honest. I wasn’t sure what to talk about. Lauri was my cousin, but he was still more of a stranger to me. What was I even supposed to talk about? The weather? Too cliche. Me? Him? His band? He didn’t seem to want to talk though, so instead I focused my attention on the beautiful city around me. Helsinki was so different compared to Scranton. The way the buildings loomed overhead, the way the people walked down the streets, the way everything was lit up. It was almost picturesque.

“It’s your first time here, no?” Lauri asked, breaking the silence. “How old are you and why have we never met before? Not to be rude, I was starting to think my American cousin was a figment of my uncle’s imagination. What do you do back in America? Tell me about yourself.”

“I’ve always wanted to come with him, but things always got in the way. School, mainly. I’m 24, 25 in a few weeks. I’ve just graduated from college with a degree in music, so right now my full time job is writing. I’ve actually had a few songs recorded back home, I just don’t think I could do it myself though. I don’t know what to say, really.”

Lauri nodded his head, content with my answers for now. The ride went back to silence, except for the song on the radio. I wasn’t very familiar with Finnish bands so I had no idea who it was even though it was sung in English. It was different, a little dark and moody sounding, but it wasn’t half bad. The guy’s voice was deep and raspy, he could definitely sing. I asked Lauri who it was, and he replied The 69 Eyes. I had never heard of them, but I was going to find more of their stuff.

We finally ended up at a place called Freedom, and Lauri led me inside. It wasn’t too packed, people were scattered around at different tables and random spots at the bar. I noticed a karaoke stage towards the back and smiled to myself. If I got drunk enough, I could probably show these Fins a thing or two. There was a big table to our left where a few guys who dressed a lot like my cousin sat, just talking amongst themselves. Sure enough, that’s where Lauri went.

“Tämä on serkkuni. Käyttäytyä.” He spoke in a hushed tone to his friends, telling them I was his cousin and to behave, before turning to me. “Wynter, this is The Rasmus.” The guys all gave me a welcoming smile and told me their name, and gave me a handshake. There was Aki, Pauli, and Eero.

“I’m going to get drinks. Care for anything?” Lauri asked as I pulled my wallet out. I nodded then realized I didn’t have any euros on me. He noticed what I was looking at and shook his head, telling me it was on him. He walked away from the table leaving me with the rest of his band. They all stared at me for a few seconds, trying to figure me out. They had probably had no idea Lauri had a cousin, let alone a cousin that would be joining them for the evening.

Once the tray with our drinks arrived, I downed two shots before I realized I was drinking something similar to mouthwash. I let out a disgusted groan and tried to keep it down. The guys noticed the strange look on my face and let out a hearty laugh. I sniffed the glass, and sure enough it was something mint flavored. Interesting.

“Koskenkorva minttu! Vodka!” Lauri smiled before saying mint vodka in English. Ew, gross. Mint vodka? Who would want mint vodka? Why is that even a thing?

“Puhun kieltä, serkku. Jokseenkin.” I grinned, taking another glass off the tray. I guess he had no idea I spoke the language, which is exactly what I told him. This drink was the complete opposite of the mint vodka. It had a slight fruit flavor, grapefruit I think. I could drink these all day! “I hope I didn’t impose and ruin your night, but thank you for inviting me to come along. Mummo really wanted us to be friends.”

“I didn’t know you spoke Finnish! I should have known with your father. You didn’t ruin anything, at all. I invited you so we could connect, so you could spend the night with people your own age. You don’t want to spend your first night in Helsinki with your parents!” He was right on that, I needed to be around people other than my parents. “Tell us all about your American life, Wynter!”

“My ‘American life’ is actually very boring. School, writing, music, sleeping. That’s about it. No boyfriend at the moment, one best friend whom I need to call when I can, no siblings. Oh god, that makes me sound so pathetic, doesn’t it? I just don’t get along with many people. Maybe cause I’m weird, I don’t know. Now that I’m done with school, I could probably get out there and make friends, try to find a guy that isn’t annoying as fuck… But god, that’s so hard back home. They all suck, literally suck.” I went on and on about my nonexistent love and social life for a few minutes and they all just sat and listened to the ramblings of a tipsy American. There was no way I was going to stop now. “How can you even have a relationship with someone who doesn’t understand anything about the music world? Every guy I’ve dated doesn’t get that my music and my writing are going to be my top priority, not sucking dick, you know? I’m trying to make something of myself and I want someone to share that with! Someone who gets it and can be proud, understanding, and supportive. I need someone already in the business. Hey… Any of you single?” Lauri’s eyes went wide and he let out a little gasp before jumping out of the booth and running outside. “Lauri, I was kidding! Wait, come back! It was just a joke.” I yelled getting up after him.

Fuck. Way to go Wynter. No one gets your dumb jokes, and now you’ve offended your cousin. I couldn’t help but hang my head in shame. There was no word to possible describe just how embarrassed I felt. I couldn’t even look at the remaining men in the booth with me. This is why I didn’t have any friends except for Ryan Ashley back home. I always ended up messing up. I was destined to be alone forever.

I heard someone approach the table, and assumed it was Lauri, and looked up only to see a woman holding a clipboard. She asked if anyone wanted to be on the karaoke roster, and all I could do was shake my head no. My cousin took the clipboard from here, made a few marks, and gave it back with a smile.

“Sorry, had to invite someone to our little party!” Lauri snickered as he slid into the booth beside me. He looked at Pauli and nodded, who then nudged Aki, who then gave a toothy grin to Eero. They obviously knew what my cousin was up to. "Don't fret, cousin. It's a surprise!"

“So… you’re going to sing tonight?” I asked, sipping on my second long drink. “That’ll be exciting! I wasn’t expecting to hear you. I didn't exactly take you for the karaoke type, but I guess I was wrong!”

“No,” He grinned, almost evilly. “Not me. You! Show us what you’ve got!”

“Oh god, I’m gonna need another one of these. Maybe two.” I muttered as I took the last sip from my glass. “You’re evil, you know that, right?”

As I waited for my turn, I decided to flip through the song book. There were so many choices, I had no clue which to do. I couldn’t make up my mind, so I let Lauri pick for me. The guy on stage at that moment was extremely drunk, and couldn’t hold a note, but he sure was having the time of his life. He kept giggling like a little girl and was screaming the words to Free Bird. Just like the bars at home. It was awful, but it was so entertaining at the same time. I couldn’t help but clap as he was done. It was my turn and I took my spot in front of the microphone and waited for the music to start. It was Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! By ABBA. After my little rant earlier, I felt like Lauri picked it on purpose. It was official. My cousin was an ass, but I was a little too drunk to care.