Summer Changes

Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Chapter Five;

As they drove up her long driveway the first thing she caught sight of were the two limos parked in various spots, and counted five black SUV’s on the other side of the driveway.

“Looks like your parents are having quite the party going on.” Mr. Tait commented as he maneuvered his truck between them.

“I don’t think so.” she whispered low.

He stopped the truck under the over hang and she slid out dragging her backpack with her that smelled of fish.

“Thanks Mr. Tait, I’ll see you on Saturday.” He nodded as Hailey closed the door and walked up the stone stairs to the foyer.

The moment she opened the door she wished she hadn’t, it was literally littered with luggage and strangely dressed people. Every eye turned toward to acknowledge her presences then went back to what ever they had been doing. She self consciously swallowed and searched out the best escape route through the piles of luggage to the stairs.

Before she could take a step her mother appeared in the entry way with two extremely tall men dressed in suites. Her mother and her locked grazes pinning her to the spot in which she had made a puddle.

“Ishailey what in the world happened to you?”

“Later mom, I really need to take a hot shower, ok?”

The minuet her mother said her name the atmosphere in the room took a dramatic pause, followed by the sound of buzzing bees. All the women immediately started to whisper at each other giving her a sly looks.

“Yes, that would be a great idea, but hurry dear there is some one here that needs to meet you, officially.” Her mother looked frazzled and her mother never looked frazzled.

She thought of locking herself in her bathroom and never coming out, the hot water felt so good.

An hour later she slipped on her white hoodie over her ‘t’ shirt and black jeans, fishing under her bed for her comfortable converse sneakers before heading out her bedroom door. She completely ignored the clothes that were laid out on her bed, they were too fancy for her taste right now.

Before she could take two steps, her door magically opened letting in a frustrated looking Collin who imeadeatly closed it to press his body flat against the door, panting as if he just ran a marathon.

“You don’t want to go out there right now, it is totally insane!” he leaned heavily against her door looking freaked out.

“You seem better today?” she pointed at him.

“To much going on in this house to dwell on it, besides I talked to Brien last night,” he looked sheepishly at her and shrugged. “It helped. A fraction.”

‘Oh my god he talk about the Mer girls your going to meet didn’t he? Uncle Pete said you would.” Collin couldn’t look her straight in the eye. She shook her head and made a face at him reaching for the door handle.

“Mom said to meet her in the study.” She told trying to get him off her door. He wouldn’t budge.

“Trust me Hailey you do not want to go down there!” his expression was again strained. What was going on that had every one ready to bolt.

“Who are all those people?”

“Relative’s Hailey, who else. What planet have you been on all day?”

“Working remember!” she walked across her room and sat down in her chair behind her desk.

“I never knew we had that many. There should be a law against that many people in a family! ” his expression showed panic for the first time.

“Yah, mom looks ready to jump ship!”

“You should of seen dad, he’s the lucky one, he left to get Brien at the airport who was early. I thought mom was going to kill him for ditching her on the spot.”

He finally gave up the guard position and flung himself on her bed.

“What does she want us to do? Does she even have a game plan?” she sat behind her desk playing with the rubic’s cube.

He looked up at her, “Grandmom already has that covered. I think half her staff is here.”

“We can’t possibly hold them all!” she paused in turning.

“Some are going to grandmom’s others to the guest house.”

“Wow, I guess grandmom was right about relative’s showing up soon. Oh, I talked to uncle Pete and he said to read this book called Silver something, its in the study down stairs. After that he pretty much got weird too.”

“So listen to this. There’s this stuffy older dude wearing a dark suite with a yellow handkerchief who standing in the far corner of the living room, looking all Maffia like. Especially with those two bouncer size body guards attached to his sides.”

“Creepy.” Looking up she made a monster face half laughing. “So we do have a dark mysterious side after all in this family!”

“Yah but the creepiest thing of all is when everyone who has shown up, the first thing they do is head right for this dude and like kiss his hand!”

She made a face and grimaced. “Ooh Yeck! That’s a little mobsterish for me too! Did you kiss his hand?”

“No nose diving for me sis, besides Grandmom’s like this watch dog and won’t let anyone in there unless they have her permission.”

They laughed.

“Maybe he’s the godfather of this family!” Collin spit out jokingly as they laughed harder, swapping a few one liners from famous movies, making jokes at the guys expense.

Then a knock interrupted their banter and they starred at each other for a frozen second.

“Do you think he heard us?” Collin burst out jokingly almost falling off the bed.

“Yah wait a sec,” Hailey yelled toward the door.

Then whispered conspiratorially down to Collin, “I’ll just put my bullet proof vest on before I answer the door!”

He made the cross sign at her.

Upon opening it, it turned out to be a young fancy looking Maid in an expensive looking black and white uniform. Her hair was pulled back into a bun and she wore a small hat. She was cute.

“Miss Is . . .” she stumbled over the pronunciation of her name.

“Miss Ishailey,” the maid blushed deeper looking appalled that she had trouble sounding it out..

“Just Hailey is fine.” She took pity on the girl. The maid suddenly looked relieved.

“You are wanted now in the study by your grandmother miss.” Her accent heavy.

“Thank you, tell her I will be right there!” she went to shut the door when the maid spoke up.

“Please miss I must escort you down as instructed.” she looked very uncomfortable saying this.

“Your being summoned blonde!” Collin grinned. “By the ‘godfather’ and his watch dog!”

He was referring to their grandmom as he rolled over on her bed in a fit of laughter.

She looked at the maid who wanted to be anywhere but there.

“Inside joke! Hold on a sec.” Hailey said before leaving the poor maid standing at the door to walk back to her brother,

“If I go, you go! Wouldn’t want you to miss the drama big brother.”

And she grabbed his arm roughly before he could protest, he wasn’t laughing anymore. Yet he gave the maid a once over and smiled crookedly with that grin of his. She punched him playfully in the arm and told him to quit it.