The Flip of a Switch

Chapter 3: Meeting The Banks Family

It was dinner time, and my family were all sitting at the table eating my moms delicious pasta. She was a great cook, and it was one of the main reasons why I stayed living at home. My mom decided to break the nonexistent ice, since everyone else was eating.
" I saw a new family across the street. A man, woman, and young boy. They looked very nice and tomorrow I'm going to bake muffins and we'll all bring them over together".
Sam choked on his milk, looking up at mom as if she had grown another head. " Ma, no way in hell I'm doing that. We'll get to know them over time, and we don't even know how long they will be staying here". I have to admit his rebuttal was strong. If it wasn't for the mysterious woman I would agree with them.

"Language Samuel, and it's not an option. It's the neighborly thing to do and we all will be going. That includes you as well Daniel".
My dad looked up from his dinner, the wrinkles on his forehead more pronounced. After looking around and making eye contact with me, he looked at his wife and nodded. Sam groaned while Lucas kept eating, although I saw a frown on his face.
Mom went on and on about the new neighbors and how nice they looked, and how cute the little boy was. She even mentioned the mans' big beard and muscles, even with her husband 5 feel away.

By the time dinner was over, I was ready for bed. It wasn't even 8:00, but I retired to my room. Mom had mentioned something about finding an apartment for me, since I apparently was "too old to be living at your parents house". Looking at the website, everything was really expensive. I had a job at the local bakery, but it was only a few hours a week and wasn't the best money. Erin's dad was the CEO of a landscaping business, and she got everything she wanted.

There was only one apartment that stood out. It was in the middle of town, two bedrooms, 2 baths, brick fireplace, and two parking spaces reserved for the owners. It seemed perfect, but the rent was higher than I could afford. Asking my parents for money wasn't an option, although I'm sure they'd give it to me.
My phone buzzed next to me, Erin asking if I'd found a place. I sent her the link and made sure to highlight the rent.

After sending the link, I closed my laptop and laid back in bed. As I was drifting to sleep I heard a car door slam. My eyes opened, my first thoughts going to the new neighbors. There was another car door, and an engine shut off. Jumping out of bed I looked out the window to see the man, woman, and young boy sleeping on his mother's shoulder going into the house. The man put out his cigarette on the front step of the porch, blowing the last of the smoke into the night air. The young woman stepped aside and went inside, the man following suit after another puff of smoke.
I stepped away from the window and crawled back into bed. My thoughts immediately drifting to the young woman, and what I've seen of her so far. I was itching to know her name, and see her face for the first time.

I woke up the next morning, and it being a Saturday I got to sleep in. We were supposedly meeting the new neighbors, and I was working later.
Mom was taking muffins out of the oven when I came down. Sam and Lucas were already at the table, both shirtless and drinking coffee.

" Morning sweetie, how'd you sleep"
" good ma, muffins ready"? She made the muffins from scratch, and they were always so delicious.

"Give them a minute to cool, and I need to put some on a plate for the neighbors. And boys, you are still going".
My brothers look up from their coffee, both frowning. Mom giving them her signature look, shutting them up. Dad came down a few minutes later, greeting everyone and pecking my moms lips. They are still both madly in love, I want to be that way when I'm there age.
"Paige, honey, did you hear me?"
"Yeah, what" I looked up seeing mom looking at me.
"I said, we will all go over to bring the muffins for the neighbors in half an hour, so go get dressed"
Nodding, I grab a muffin and go upstairs to get dressed. I want to dress good when meeting the mysterious woman. Deciding on black jeans, and a light blue muscle shirt with a collar. It showed off my arm muscles well and the blue brought out my eyes. I brushed my hair, letting it fall on my shoulders. Standing back, I looked damn good. For one last touch, I put on the locket my great grandma gave me, right before she died a few years ago.

When I walked down the stairs, my family were all in the foyer, with my mom holding the plate of muffins. We all walked out the door, down the driveway and across the street. The neighbors car was out front and a few windows on the second floor were open.

Mom walked up to the door and knocked, then standing back and joining the rest of us. After a few moments, the door opened, and the man answered.
" hello, can I help you?" His voice was deep and gravely. His beard covered his face and his deep brown eyes were red on the bottom. He was wearing basket ball shorts and a tank top with the outline of a person dunking a basketball.
"Hi there, we're the Simms family and your neighbors from across the street".
"Oh, it's nice to meet ya'll", he turned away from the door. " babe come to the door it's the neighbors".
A minute later the woman I'd been watching came to the door. Her green eyes first caught my attention, being so bright and distinguished. Her brown hair fell just below her shoulders. She was wearing shorts and a shirt sleeve red shirt, going for the comfy look. She had light pink lips and freckles littering her face. Her light skin glowed in the sun, despite her husband looking like a druggie.
"Babe, it's the neighbors across the street, the Simms, right?" He looked at my mom, who smiled.
"Yes that's us, here are some homemade blueberry muffins. My name is Helen, my husband Daniel, our oldest daughter Paige, and our twin sons Samuel and Lucas. Welcome to the neighborhood". My mom was way to happy for 10:00 I'm the morning.
The man attempted to smile, clearly faking it. The women smiled genuinely and looked at all of us. When she met my eyes, I was stuck. It was like they are seeing into my soul. She was devastatingly beautiful, her smile was contagious. We held eye contact for awhile, but eventually she broke off when mom started asking her more questions.

" Well it's so nice to meet you all, thank you for coming over and the muffins, they look delicious". God even her voice was breathtaking
"We're the Banks, this is my husband Ryan, I'm Juliet, and our son who is currently napping is Matthew", she pointed behind her.
"Aww, I love little ones, how old is Matthew?". Gosh mom is too noisy.
Juliet laughed. "He's 18 months, his birthday is in October"
She looked at me again, her smile still on her face. Ryan, looked at her and snaked his arm behind her. Juliet jumped slightly and slapped his arm. I couldn't contain my giggle, but tried to suppress it by coughing. When I looked back up, she was looking at me,  slightly blushing. Holy crap, did I just make this beautiful woman blush, I though. Her husband was oblivious, talking to dad about sports or something masculine. She was still looking at me, smiling while we made eye contact. Even if we were alone, we didn't need to speak. It was like we were doing a secret language with one another. I had only just met this woman and I was smitten. I blushed at the though and looked down, noticing she wasn't wearing any shoes or socks, her feet perfectly manicured and painted light green.
I snapped out of it and looked back up when my mom started aging her goodbyes, inviting the Banks over for dinner tomorrow night. Mr. Banks accepted and we started back to our house. Right before stepping on the street, I looked back and saw Juliet by the half open door, watching us. I'd like to think it was just me, since I was the only one that tuned. She smiled and waved, and I reciprocated, turning back around with a smile on my face. I couldn't wait until dinner tomorrow night, and to learn more about the mysterious Juliet Banks.

That's all for this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. Please comment and vote on how you felt, I'll try to get back to you guys as soon as possible. Thanks for reading and see you next chapter!
                                  - Jane