Dreams, Memories & Keys

Chapter 3 - Visiting with Family

Susan turned to her husband when they reached her car following their lunch out with friends on Saturday.

"Would you like to drive?" she offered.

"Are you sure you don't mind?" Greg asked.

"It's what you wanted to do today," Susan reminded him.

Greg smiled, held out his hand for the key, prepared to walk to the driver's side of the car before getting in.

"You won't need it. It has a keyless, proximity system," Susan advised.

Greg arched a brow. "I do remember something like that when we looked at these at the dealership showroom in New York."

Susan smiled broadly. "Welcome to the next generation of cars, Greg. I'm eager to hear what you think."

She pushed the button to unlock the car doors and they both got in. Greg took a moment to look over the controls before starting the car. When he did, it started as quietly as it always did, to the point he had to look at the indicator on the dash to assure himself it was really on. Carefully, Greg pulled Susan's car out of its parking space and onto the Los Angeles streets, navigating confidently to the freeway.

"Shall we go home first before we leave for Zackary's?" Greg wondered as they joined the flow of traffic.

"Probably," Susan agreed. "We need to be sure we have everything we need to take with us either to New York or Oakland."

The couple's stop at their Malibu Hills home didn't take long. In less than an hour, they were back out on the highway headed north. This was a route Susan had driven many times on her own recently, so she was happy to let her husband drive. They talked about nothing in particular during the entire drive, which was nice. There hadn't been nearly enough time to do that recently. Three hours later, Susan was directing Greg on which exit to take and how to find Zack and Kelly's apartment complex. They arrived to find Zack was just returning home from his part time job at Target.

"Hi you guys," the tall young man called with a grin when he saw them pull in.

"Hi Zack," Susan replied with a smile and a hug for her son.

"Hello Zackary," Greg said. "I hope you don't mind we decided to visit like this."

"Not at all," Zack assured him. "Well, come on in. I think Kelly made something for dinner."

"She didn't need to go to so much bother," Susan told him.

Zack shrugged. "She said it was easier than taking the baby out somewhere."

"Probably," Susan agreed, opening the back of the car to take out their luggage.

"Shouldn't we say 'hello' first?" Greg asked.

"Their building isn't all that close. This is probably easier," Susan advised.

"Yeah, it is," Zack agreed, taking a bag himself.

Susan locked up the car and Greg quickly discovered Susan and Zack were right. It was a bit of a walk from the parking area for guests to the apartment where Zack, Kelly, and a housemate lived.

"Kelly, I'm home," Zack announced as he pushed open the door. "I've got Mom and Greg with me."

Kelly appeared wearing a bibbed apron, but also carrying baby Milly in a snuggly beneath it.

Zack looked at her in surprise. "Does she like that?"

"I think she's trying to decide," Kelly told him. "I may have to take her with me on Tuesday, so we thought we'd give it a try."

"What is happening on Tuesday?" Susan asked.