Chance Upon A Tempest

Chapter 46

As your flight descends, you can see the leaves on the trees below turning into vivid colors of red, yellow, orange, and deep brown. When the plane touches down on the runway, Remy turns to you and says, "Thank goodness we are home. We'll have a couple of weeks off before we have to head out again."

You reply, "I can't believe it's been six months already."

"It did go by fast. Didn't it?'

"It really did. What day is it today?"

"It's Saturday. I know... It's hard to keep track of days of the week when you are on the road. So, what will you do with this time off?"

"Take care of things at home, pay bills, spend some time with my best friend and his girl, and generally pretend to be a vegetable."

Laughing, Remy says, "That sounds divine, actually. A few days before we have to head out again, I am going to need you in my office to get some things organized."

"Just tell me when and I'll be there."

You claim your luggage and exit the terminal with Remy. As you step out, you see a man holding a tablet with your last name displayed on the screen. Another man stands next to him, who has the same setup, but with the name "LeBeau" on the screen. Seeing it, Remy turns to you and says, "Alright then. I will see you very soon, Cher."

"See you soon, Remy."

When your car service drops you off at home, it is a little after 3:00 PM. When you step out of the car, you notice that the temperature has gotten cooler. Your driver grabs your luggage out of the trunk for you. With your luggage in tow, you enter your house through your garage and then into the kitchen. You look around your house and see everything is exactly as you've left it six weeks ago. Not wanting to have to come back out of your house again, once you are in, you walk over to your next-door neighbor's home to retrieve your mail. The Taylors' have been kind enough to grab your mail for you daily while you were gone.

You ring their doorbell and hear children running and laughing. You also hear a man's voice saying, "Jack, please don't feed your brother playdoh."

Then you hear a young boy shouting, "But he likes it!"

Hearing the interaction, you can't help but chuckle.

When the door swings open, you see Mr. Taylor. You say, "Hi Mr. Taylor."

"Hey Neighbor, you're back! You were gone for quite a while this time."

"This was the longest leg of the tour. I have two more trips left and they are both about three to four weeks each. So, I'll need to bother you with all this for the next two months only."

"It's no bother. I'm assuming you are here for your mail."

"Yes. Thank you so much for looking after all that."

"Not a problem. Come on in. Go say hi to the kids."

"Don't mind if I do." You walk in through their front door and make your way up to the two older sons, who are playing in the living room and say, "Hi Jack, hi Roger."

"Hi! Look what I have." Says young Jackson, who is a carbon copy of his father. You think, "This boy is going to be a looker when he gets older."

"What's that?"

"It's playdoh."

"Did I hear that you were feeding it to Roger?"

Roger, the younger of the two boys, walks up to you and says, "I wanted to see if the red one tasted like strawberries. I like strawberries. Do you like strawberries?"