#(( if anyone ever takes skylar as a fc i'll remove that ))

[sandriinehebert]

the lombardi family

FATHER: CHRISTIAN LOMBARDI

Christian was born in a wealthy family of business men. They made their name in managing hotels and restaurants, making money just by breathing. He was promised to a similar future, but his parents divorced when he was still a kid and the situation was no longer the same. He spent the rest of his childhood living with his mother who wasted all the money his father saved for their future on lottery and pointless things. Through various jobs, Christian managed to pay for university tuition, but he failed to meet the required grades to pursue his studies. His biggest dream was to open a restaurant, and he was hoping a degree from the Institut d’Hôtellerie du Québec would help him out. Instead, he worked several jobs and saved as much money as possible to suffice himself, and eventually his girlfriend. He knew from their first date that he would marry that pretty waitress. There was something so magical about Monica, something that made him promise he would never let her go. And he never did. They raised two children together as best as they could and now that they’re all grown up he runs a little restaurant in La Petite Italie. He hopes he can retire soon, pass it on to his sous-chef and enjoy the last couple of good years with his wife.

MOTHER: MONICA “NIKKI” LOMBARDI née MARIANO

Monica was very different from her older brothers, Luciano and Frederico, she had no interest in big studies nor in leaving the country to find better jobs. She dropped out of high school and started working at a restaurant as a waitress alongsides Christian, who was then working in the kitchens. While still working there, she also helped her parents at the hair salon. A couple of years before Christian and Nikki welcomed their children, Nikki helped a childhood friend open her own kindergarten. She kept the three jobs for as long as she could, supporting both her own family and her mother. When Adamo was born, the parents decided that Christian would start working a little less. The decision for Christian to become a stay-at-home dad became official with the birth of Alessandra. He had to postpone his dreams so that Monica could fulfill hers. Eventually, she slowed down a bit, but it was hard for her. Nikki absolutely loved working and she did not regret it one bit, even though she sacrificed a lot of family times for the sake of providing for her children wom she loves deeply.

GRANDMOTHER (deceased): CORINNA MARIANO née SIMEONE

Born in Italy, she immigrated with her family before World War Two. The Simeone’s established in Massachussetts, precisely in Boston, where they ran an Italian delicatessen. She was born in a large family of 7 children, three sons and four daughters. Corinna, aged 18, moved to Montréal, Canada, when she met her husband, a veteran from the Canadian army named Dominic Mariano whose family were second generation italo-québécois. She started a hair salon in La Petite Italie and ran her business with the help of her husband until she hit the respectable age of 70 years-old. Corinna and Dominic had three children, Luciano, Frederico and Monica. The first two moved back to Massachussetts and opened a law firm together. Dominic died long before Corinna, whose favorite hobbies were to listen to clients at the salon and take care of her grand children.

She was especially close with Sandrine. Despite not agreeing to most of her life choices, and not knowing about Sandrine’s bisexuality, she was the closest she had ever been with her Nonna. She did not have to befriend anyone, since she had the only best friend she needed. That could explain why she is so terrible at initiating friendships nowadays. Her death was one of the saddest moments in Sandrine’s life, because she lost her confident and her mentor. She came to Boston to try and glue some puzzle pieces of her grandma’s past back together.

BROTHER: ADAMO “ADAM” LOMBARDI (faceclaim: skylar astin)

Adam Lombardi is a 35 years-old hockey player for the Boston Bruins. He graduated from the Université de Montréal in communications. He’s working on retiring from the hockey team very soon so he can go back to his roots. He was approached by a local Bostonian TV channel to join as a commentator for the games. Growing up, Adamo was a decent big brother. He would defend his little sister at school and help her learn how to skate, since he was so naturally talented at it. He was big into sports, but also in anything that demanded communication. He did improvisation in high school and that was when he knew he wanted to pursue into communications. however, life had other plans and his dedication to hockey took over his other ambitions. He was recruited by junior teams until he graduated university, and eventually by the Boston Bruins. He was not mad about it, considering how Montréal Canadiens was one of the worst teams in the whole league. He was approached by the Golden Knights of Las Vegas at some point, but the Bruins offered to increase his pay check to keep him around. And it worked.

Adamo and Alessandra have a very complex relationship. Growing up, they were extremely close. They were like soulmates. But when fame got to Adamo’s head, and when he moved to Boston for early trainings, he was never the same. He became entitled and noisy. He was not nurturing or caring, he was indiscreet and limitating. He still supports Sandrine with her projects, but they have their moments where they can’t stand each other. She loves him and could not see her life without him, but there is a lot they need to figure out in order to fix their relationship.

ABOUT THE KIDS LIVING AWAY

The Lombardi’s travelled at least twice a year to Massachussetts, so it was inevitable that Adamo and Alessandra developped a connection with this land. They appreciate the fact that Boston is not that far after all, so it’s easy for the parents to stop for a visit. They have this tradition of celebrating Christmas two times (their father is jewish, but after years of living among Italian catholics, they kind of grew to love Christmas). Mom, dad and big brother will all stop by Sandrine’s place for Christmas eve and day, leave on the 26th and the siblings will travel back to montréal from December 31st to January 2nd. This tradition might change though, but that’s usually their thing.

Alessandra visits them around once every two months and takes a whole week off to catch up with her parents. Adamo stops for a weekend less often. He grew to be more independent than his sister.

The parents respect that their children have ambitions, but they hope they will come back home eventually. Alessandra feels this pressure more than her brother, and it affects her. Even after 5 years in the states, she still does not really consider it a home. She does not understand one bit how anything works in the USA, much less the healthcare system. Her heart belongs in Montréal with her parents. She’s like homesick in her own house whilst Adamo is having the time of his life as a Bostonian. That’s another thing that causes them to drift away; he adjusted well while she is still struggling.

FUN FACTS

Adamo is surprisingly tall, compared to his sister and his parents.

When they were younger, Adamo and Alessandra used to play hockey in the street or on an ice ring. She was actually a talented shooter and, him, a terrible goalie. He taught his sister how to ice skate, focusing on speed and power rather than grace and ease. Therefore, it explains why Sandrine was the fastest student in all of her skating classes and competitions.

When she started competing across the province and needed a partner to rehearse her dances, Adamo did it. He was, again, surprisingly good at it.

In their house, there was an antique piano that belonged to Corinna’s family. She used to play it until she was too old to do it. She taught them how to sing along the melodies, hence why both can actually bat a tune.

Being a hair stylist (even without proper education), she taught Alessandra the basics of it. Quickly, Sandrine was cutting her mom’s and her brother’s hair. She got some skills that encouraged her to add a hair salon part to her business.

Adamo is very much a mama’s boy, while Alessandra gets along with both parents equally. Even if Christian and Monica tells them they have no favorite, Adamo clearly is.

The parents forced their kids to attend French speaking schools, which is unusual for italo-québécois. Historically, most Italian immigrants chose to learn English. But the Lombardi parents wanted them to fit in the province. They spoke very little Italian at home, only what their Nonna taught them, and learned French easily. All the way from elementary school to superior education school (called CÉGEP), they had second language English classes. Adamo is talented with communications, but it turns out Alessandra is better in languages. She was at the top of her class, both in French and in English. Her first career choice was not business or beauty related, it was translation.

Growing up, the siblings had the dream to build a large house in the suburbs of Montréal so they could live with their parents and eventually with their respective families.

They also had a dream to become both politicians and rule whatever they would rule together. Let’s be honest, they would fight too much and put the world into anarchy, but a dream is a dream.

Adamo is the only person who is aware of Sandrine’s bisexuality. He supports it and will not reveal this “secret” to their quite traditional parents.