Reiley Praram Unrado was a fussy man. His work at the Natural History Museum of Santa Cruz was very detailed. Reiley was in charge of archiving fossils. Even at home, he liked everything in its place. Shelves were built for all the items in Reiley’s life. Most of the things he owned were useful and one was never enough. Reiley was not a hoarder - when he purchased something he would also research and buy any configuration of the object available. For example with scissors, Reiley bought right handed, left handed, wire cutters, sewing, paper, pruning, crimping, electric, battery powered, bent, pearl handled, wood handled, the list goes on and on. Reiley was fascinated with the design and was happy to see each set of items in their place.
When it came to socializing, Reiley was a bit of a loner. He didn’t go out much and preferred to stay at home. One day the doorbell rang and at his door was Aunt Dellina. She was his aunt on his mother’s side, a small pushy woman with cracked dry hands, a pinched face and outdated clothing. Reiley answered the door, “Hello Aunt D, what brings you by?” The short woman looked him up and down and said. “How long are you going to keep me waiting on the stoop? It’s cold out here and I’m an old woman.” She then pushed Reiley aside and marched into the house with purpose. “I’m here to give your place a women’s touch and your cousin Helen is doing poorly so I need to cook for her.” Reiley just looked down at his officious aunt, “Why aren’t you staying with Helen?” Dellina answered, “She doesn’t have room for me and you look like you need some of my cooking as well.”
Dellina began to unpack, pulling out pots and pans, olive oil, spices and a huge soup pot. Reiley was not pleased; he liked his quiet life style and the order of it. But he did love Aunt Dellina’s cooking - it was flavorful and comforting. Since his mom died Aunt D would pop in unexpectedly, stay for a week or two and then return home. Reiley was not in the mood for a spontaneous visit from his aunt but he knew that she would not leave and he had no choice but to accommodate her. Aunt Dellina had everything scattered all over the counters and Reiley began lining up all the spices and putting them on a kitchen shelf in alphabetical order. Several hours later the table was set and Reiley and Dellina sat down to dinner; chicken and biscuits, green beans with almonds, salad with olives and cheese and a rhubarb pie for dessert.
After dinner Reiley began asking his aunt (in a roundabout way) how long she intended to stay with him. “So, Aunt D. What seems to be wrong with Helen? I rarely see her but last time we met for lunch she seemed just fine.” Aunt Dellina was hesitant and looked as though she did not want to discuss the matter. “Helen has a problem and I am helping her to resolve it.” Reiley pushed further, “Well perhaps if you tell me the problem, I can help!” Dellina still did not want to divulge her dark secret. “Renee, you collect things, right?” Reiley looked up intrigued, “Yes, what does this have to do with collecting?” Aunt Dellina looked very serious, “Helen collects mirrors! Remember she went on weight watchers and lost all that weight? Well she became fixated on looking at herself and since she was much slimmer she began to pile on coats to make her look like she did when she was heavier! She has so many mirrors in the house there is no wall space left and now she is stacking them against the wall! I’m not sure what to do with her.” Reiley decided to pay Helen a visit and get to the bottom of this! “OK, Aunt D - I will take care of this.”
The next day Reiley drove over to Helen’s house. He was not sure what he would find but he was ready for anything. Reiley rang the doorbell and Helen, a supersized puffed up coat wearing cousin answered the door. “So hello Reiley! Come on in. Did Aunt Dellina send you?” Reiley could not believe his eyes! The entire house was full of mirrors and there in the middle of the freak fun house stood Helen, gazing at her overstuffed self in a very large full length mirror in the center of the room! “So, Reiley. How do you think I look? So, do these coats make me look like I did when I was fat? So do you think I need a few more coats to make myself look like I used too? So, I think this is about the right amount! Don’t you think so?” Reiley countered, “What’s with the coats Helen? Why don’t you like the way you look?” Helen looked surprised, “I like the way I look now, and I just want to remember what I looked like before. So is that bad? I need to see from every angle and every inch of me and having the mirrors gives me a chance to view from every angle! So what’s wrong with that, Reiley?” At that moment Reiley realized he was spending too much time alone and so was his cousin - they both needed a change!
A few weeks after Aunt Dellina returned home, Reiley got to work. He sold off all his extra stuff and took down the shelves. He then went over to Helen’s and got rid of most of her mirrors, then registered both of them for speed dating, golf lessons and writing classes. Reiley and Helen both began social lives and things improved. Aunt Dellina stopped her drop in visits; she was happy to see the children participating in new activities and made a phone call to each once a week. Helen took off her many coats and grew to accept her new figure and Reiley met a nice woman at speed dating whose cooking was spectacular. All in all things were looking up! 
