Author's Note: All right. I figure y'all have waited long enough. I really have no idea how to work this site, so I hope this works well.
FLORIDA
The Beginning
Beep! Beep! Alan Woods threw the broom into the corner and wiped a circle of grime off of the window. As he saw the car turn into the driveway, a brilliant smile illuminated his face.
“Paige! They’re here!”
“Who is ‘they’?” Paige inquired, poking her head out the door of the neighboring bedroom in the small vacation cottage.
“The Perrys! Who else would it be, the fire department?”
“Well, with all of the old cigarette smoke in this house, I wouldn’t be able to tell if it was burning! Tell me again, why did we have to rent the dirtiest, worst-smelling, generally nastiest house possible for our vacation?” she complained as the couple hustled down the hallway towards the door.
“It was cheap and had four bedrooms. You agreed that it would be fine when I found it on the internet.”
“You can’t smell a house through an online ad,” she replied, running her dusty fingers through her short blonde hair. At least we have help, now. We can put those boys of theirs to work. What are they now, like, five?
“Six and four, actually,” came a melodic voice from the front door. “Whew, it stinks in here!” Brooke Perry, actress extraordinaire, hustled her children in the door, lugging their suitcases. Her husband, the popular pro football player Philip, followed with a large trunk.
“Al, have you started smoking?”
“Goodness, no. But with cheap lodging comes great cleaning. We got here yesterday and haven’t had a break since.”
“How much have you gotten done?” quizzed Brooke, always the practical one.
“Two and a half bedrooms, one bathroom, the kitchen and the pool,” counted Paige, ticking things off on her fingers.
“And I’m guessing you’ve got a makeshift study in there somewhere, don’t you?” accused Phillip, glaring teasingly at Alan and Paige.
“Well, now that you mention it, they had a guest house with a closed in porch. It has a kitchenette, space for a bed, and a massive desk. Paige and I spent the morning working on it before we moved to the bedrooms. The bathroom, kitchen and pool were done yesterday.”
“Good work! I didn’t think that you could get that much done that fast,” teased Brooke, looking pointedly at Alan.
“Neither did I,” whispered Paige conspiratorially.
“Hey, I heard that!” Alan nudged his wife.
“Alright, Samuel, Fredrick, why don’t you guys go down the hall and open the first door on the right. That’s Sam’s room. We haven’t cleaned it yet. Fred, you’re just across the hall from your brother, OK? Your room’s done, so why don’t you help your brother start on his. I’m sure he will appreciate the help. We’ll be in to help as soon as we finish your parents’ room. Sound good?” Paige asked.
“Oh-tay,” said four-year-old Fredrick.
“Sure. What do you guys want us to call you?” Samuel asked Alan.
“How about Uncle Al? And she can be your Aunt Paige.”
“Okey-dokey,” grinned Sam. He ran down the hallway with his brother at his heels to start knocking down cobwebs.
“Sorry we’re late. There was a police checkpoint at the edge of town. There seems to be an increase in armed officers around. Has there been an increase in crime lately, I wonder?” Phillip said, the last part almost to himself.
“That’s fine. Let’s get to work finishing what’s left of the house, and we can catch up after dinner.”
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After an excellent dinner of grilled pork chops and corn on the cob, the ladies and kids got into the pool as Phillip and Alan relaxed at the poolside table and chatted about people they had attended college with. Alan and Phil had been roommates many years ago.
“Have you heard from the Cresses? How are they doing, Al?”
“Good, although I believe Jeremy is stuped for ideas on his newest CD, not suprising, considering his two year old, Kate. He’s debating including vocalists, but he doesn’t want them to drown out his instrumental music. Lexes has recently gotten a better job at the New York City Laboratory. Heard anything from Harmony Davis?”
“Not a thing, same as the past decade and a half. What about Derek, he showed a lot of potential in the legal field?”
“He can count his losses as a lawyer on one hand. How about the Cooper sisters? They doin’ okay?”
“Yeah, but Sabrina got married!”
“Really, who to?”
“Some Oliver Stewart. He runs a coffee shop in Honolulu. Oh! Speaking of which, Taylor Callihan is back in the States!”
“Where?”
“Hawaii. She and Autumn McNeely flew in from London earlier today.” Phillip looked up, and noticed Alan tensing up. “What’s wrong, Al? Something I said?”
“Just. . .” Right at that moment a huge splash was emitted from the pool, soaking Phil and Al. “You know we have to get them back, right?”
“After you!” Alan took a running jump and cannonballed into the pool, sending a massive wave breaking over the laughing faces of his wife and Brooke.
“Boys, help your poor momma!” Brooke shrieked, cracking up.
“Charge!”
“Get Dad!”
The water fight dissolved into a fit of uncontrollable laughter, the last true laughter either family would have for quite some time.
