Sammi and Sam: The Saga Continues

Neighbors

So I mentioned previously that my dad and Marissa were moving to Georgia, literally right around the corner from where the boys and I stay. By April 7th, they were pretty much all moved into their new home and Marissa was already inviting us over for a small party to celebrate. Before I agreed to go, I made sure to ask Dad about potential dangers to myself or my son. In case you've forgotten, the last party my dad and Marissa threw almost ended with me dying from a gunshot wound. "There aren't going to be any other hunters there," Dad assured me. "It's basically just the two of us, the four of you, my parents, and Marissa mom." "So Cam gets to meet his great grandparents," I said. "Better pack extra wipes to clean off all the lipstick marks." Dad laughed. "I don't know about you guys, but we're really looking forward to being neighbors. No more traveling 6 hours each way when we want to visit." "And I'm sure Grammy Marissa will want to babysit almost every day," I added. "With her, you may not see your son again until he's 18," Dad said with a wink. "What time are you expecting everyone to show up tonight?" I asked. "Your grandparents and Marissa's mom are getting in around 6," Dad replied. "You four can come on over at any point during the day before that time." Sam was coming down the stairs with Cam at this point and he said, "Why don't you go over there now, babe? You can help Marissa get everything prepared for tonight, have some girl bonding time. Dean and I can handle Cam." "That sounds like an amazing idea," Dad agreed. "I know Marissa would love some girl time. She hasn't had any since the last time y'all came to visit the old place." "And what are you going to do, Dad?" I asked. "I'll hang out here with my son-in-law, grandson, and Dean," Dad smiled. "You're sure Marissa won't be looking for you to help out over at the house?" I teased. "Probably," Dad said, "but I've seen the way you two work together. You won't even miss me." "I guess it's settled then," I replied, walking over to kiss my boys goodbye. "Y'all have fun bonding. I'll see you later tonight." I headed out the door and started my short walk to Dad and Marissa's new place. It literally took me about 5 minutes to get there, and as soon as I walked up the stairs to the front door, Marissa was waiting there with open arms. "Welcome to our new home!" she said excitedly. "I'm guessing Dad gave you advanced warning that I was on my way over?" I asked, smiling. "Not at all. I never told you I have ESP?" she answered jokingly. I gave her a hug. "Are you going to give me a tour or do we have to get to work right away?" "We have enough time for a quick tour," Marissa said. "Come on in." I stepped inside the doorway and waited as Marissa closed the door behind us. I followed her through the living room, into the dining room, and to the kitchen. From what I could see so far, this house was a little bit bigger than the one they had in Florida. The only thing missing was the downstairs office that was converted into an extra bedroom. "I love it so far," I admitted. "Each room seems a little bigger than in your old house." "They are just a tad bit bigger," Marissa replied. "There are also four bedrooms instead of two and the added on third we had." "Well since y'all don't need four bedrooms, I'm going to guess that the price was pretty good?" I asked, curious. "We paid $20,000 less for this house than we did for our old one," she admitted. "Wow," I said. "That's definitely worth the extra bedrooms." "Come on upstairs," Marissa told me. "I want to show you something." I followed her up to the bedrooms. She showed me the master bedroom that she and Dad would be staying in, complete with walk in closet and a huge bathroom. She then took me to the other end of the hall, where there was another decent sized bedroom with a bathroom that connected to another small bedroom. "This is going to be yours and Sam's room, if you ever need to spend the night," she told me. "And the room next door is going to be for Cam. I have decorations already picked out and we ordered furniture before we left Florida." "This is absolutely amazing," I said. "But what about if you have other guests, like my grandparents or your mom?" "That's what the last bedroom is for, silly," Marissa explained. "There's another full bathroom between our room and the guest room and a half bathroom downstairs." "I love it," I told her. "And I love the idea of having you guys so much closer now. I get to spend more time with the both of you and you two get to see Cam more often. I couldn't ask for much more...unless my brother and sister both decided to move away from Canada." "Don't hold your breath on that," she said. "Your dad has been trying for years to get them to come back to the states. He's content to just have a relationship with both of them, though." "I hear that," I agreed. "What do you say we head back downstairs and get started preparing for tonight?" "Bring it on!" Marissa smiled. We made our way back down to the kitchen, turned on some music, and started our food preparation for that evening's festivities....