The Desired Effect

Feet On The Ground

Thursday 29th December - Park City, Utah
"If you need anything just give us a call Bran!" Ron called from the doorway, "seriously, let's not leave it so long between visits next time" he smiled, watching as Brandon climbed into his truck. Brandon raised his hand to wave his best friend goodbye. He reversed off the driveway, waved once more and made his way across town. He hated saying goodbye to Ron. He was the only person, apart from his actual family, that he could say he genuinely loved.

Just a 10 minute drive from Ron's, is where his youngest of his 3 sisters lived, Steph. She and her own little family lived just out of town so he thought he'd pay them a visit. He always got on best with Steph, probably because she was the youngest child for the longest until he finally arrived and they needed to stick together to survive the torment of the older siblings. He pulled up into her driveway, took a deep sigh before unbuckling his seatbelt and headed up to her house. Just as his knuckles met the hard wood, the door swung open.

"Brandon!" Steph cheered, a broad smile creeping across her lips, "its so good to see you!" she remarked, pulling her little brother into the house and engulfing him with a warm hug. Brandon sighed with relief and savoured the affection.
"Likewise sis" he responded, pecking a quick kiss on her cheek as they broke away from one another.
"I've missed you, Ryan and Lucy have too, be prepared to be hassled to play soccer in the snow by the way" Steph warned, a lightness to her tone. "lets get you a nice hot coffee first and warm you up" she added, pulling him into the cosy living room. The living room was toasty thanks to a roaring fire and a soft carpeted floor. Brandon, followed his sister into the kitchenette, catching a peek at his young niece and nephew playing in the snow outside.
"Where's Rob today?" Pondered Brandon, leaning on the counter as Steph pottered about making the coffees.
"Oh, his brother's car broke down or something so he's gone to rescue him , it's just me and the kids" Steph flashed a kind smile. She noticed that Brandon seemed different compared to usual, she could tell by the look in his eye. "Everything ok Bran?" she asked, pausing to take a good look at him, "you look like you've been working yourself into the ground" she reached out to touch his forearm. He sighed, he sometimes hated how well the Flowers' siblings knew one another.
"I've just been under a lot of pressure recently, I take my frustrations out by running I guess?" Brandon did his best to downplay the situation, not wanting to disappoint his sister.
"You're a hard worker Bran, you always have been, it's in our blood" she finished fixing the brews, "come on lets chat by the fire, you can tell me everything" she carried the brews out towards the huge, plush sofa that sat opposite the fireplace. She cocked her head to prompt Brandon to follow her. They got comfortable and began to chat, catching up on everything they had missed from one anothers lives and Brandon told her about everything. Afterwards, he felt as if a heavy weight had been taken from his shoulders.
"Thanks Steph, I need you in my life more than I think sometimes" he chuckled.
"I need you too, ironically, you keep my feet on the ground" she giggled, poking his arm in fun.
"Ha, the musician brother keeps his midwife sisters feet on the ground" he scoffed, flashing a genuine smile, "I should probably go see what those two are up to" Brandon remarked, nodding to the children who were still playing outside.
"Don't stay out long though, you'll all freeze to death!" Steph called after Brandon as he reluctantly gritted his teeth and braved the cold winter air.

He managed two crunching steps into the snow before he caught Ryan's attention.
"Uncle Brandon!" The boy yelled, instantly abandoning his sister to run in Brandon's direction. Lucy shortly followed, being 3 years older than her brother at 12 she sauntered over as if she's too cool to show affection. "When did you get here?" The boy was clearly elated and threw himself at his uncle, looping his little arms around Brandon's torso and hugging him tight. "Did you have a nice Christmas? I got nerf guns!" He informed Brandon excitedly.
"Heyyy, I did thank you, sounds like you did too?" Brandon finally managed to get a word in. "Aren't you cold out here Ry?" Brandon hugged the boy into him.
"Hey Uncle Brandon" Lucy finally greeted him as she arrived beside him, offering a weak smile only preteens are capable of making.
"Hey Luce, come here, you're never too old for a huddle with your uncle" Brandon flashed a comforting smile and the girl obliged. Lucy and Ryan soon updated Brandon on everything he needed to know and he then managed to convince them to go back inside, even if it was to be forced into a nerf gunfight. It was every man for themselves and the sound of laughter, pitter-patter of feet and nerf gunshots filled the house. Hours later with all 3 out of steam, they collapsed onto the sofa in a pile.
"When are you going to get married uncle Brandon?" Ryan asked innocently as he toyed with the rings on Brandon's fingers.
"Oh, um, I don't know, when I meet the right lady I guess" Brandon faltered, caught off guard by the random but sweet question.
"He can't just pick any random lady, she has to be right" Lucy added, rolling her eyes.
"Yeah Lucy's right, I haven't met the right one yet that's all" Brandon added, feeling confident.
"How do you know though?" Ryan continued, his brow furrowing at the complexity of it all.
"Oh you just know, don't you worry, there's more to life than marriage" Brandon leant up to kiss the boys head and then turned to kiss the girls head. He pushed himself up and excused himself to head to the bathroom. The questions and his answers rattling in his mind. Was he being honest or was he just trying to satisfy the curious child? Either way, he felt a wave of anxiety ripple through him. 'Just forget her Brandon, there is more to life than girls' he told himself before he headed back downstairs.

Saturday 31st December - Las Vegas, Nevada

Since Jaz had arrived in Vegas on the Thursday, she and Poppy had hardly stopped. They were either getting into mischief and hanging out around town or partying. Last night had been particularly eventful.

At one point Jaz pulled some hot musician type but felt the need to run off from him and spent the next hour cautiously trying to avoid him, which all seemed hilarious to Poppy who doing her best not to fall over. Poppy bumped into Jordan and some of his friends at one point too which was a relief for Poppy in case Jaz actually did manage to pull. They chatted and danced for a little bit but somehow Poppy and Jaz ended up drifting away from them and instead started chatting to a helicopter pilot.
"Is that like your actual job?" Poppy asked the man, trying especially hard to sound sober.
"Yeah, I mainly fly people over the strip, but I sometimes do the Grand Canyon and all that too" the man explained, his accent thick. Poppy and Jaz stood gobsmacked.
"Hmm, I think your lying" Jaz commented, still sober enough to scheme but doing her best to focus her eyes.
"I tell you what, I'll take you both out tomorrow" the man suggested, glancing at his watch for some reason. The girls' eyes widened. "I can take you out at 1pm, here, I'll give you my card so you can call me" the man offered confidently, handing a business card over to Poppy. The girls couldn't stop chatting about the pilot for the rest of the night and eventually called it a day when Jaz could no longer keep her eyes open.

The girls were waiting by the helipad, when Poppy's phone began to ring. She quickly answered it after seeing Chris' ID.
"Hey Chris?" She answered confidently while Jaz watched the pilot man get to work sorting the helicopter up.
"Hey, good night last night huh?" He chuckled lightly before cutting to the chase, "We're having a bit of a BBQ tonight, Jordan said you'd be up for it with your mate so thought I'd call you" he rambled on.
"Yeah definitely mate, thanks" poppy responded excitedly before the pilot man rather rudely started up the engine.
"Where the fuck are you by the way?" She just about heard Chris say.
"We're going on a helicopter! I think I pulled a pilot last night!" Poppy shouted down the phone, laughing at the hilarity of it, "I'll text you later!" She finished before hanging up and turning her attention the helicopter. The pilot man waved them over and the girls excitedly ran over.

They were up in the air for an hour and the whole time the pair couldn't keep their eyes off of the views. They ensured they had plenty of photos to post on social media and they instantly forgot all about their hangovers. That was until they returned back to solid ground. As soon as they stepped foot on the concrete, Jaz threw up to the side of the helicopter.
"For fuck sake" Poppy laughed, rolling her eyes. Jaz proceeded to hurl her guts up while Poppy awkwardly thankedthe pilot man and tried to get away from the scenario as hastily as possible. "Come on, let's get back so we can get a nap before tonight" stared Poppy as she turned to help her friend who was now a concerning shade of green.