Camp Van de Kamp (A Desperate Housewives One Shot)

Camp Van de Kamp

Bree Van de Kamp was sitting in her perfect house, with it's perfect furniture. She had a perfect smile, perfect natural red hair that never looked tousled or out of place, perfect manicured fingers and perfectly ironed J. Crew clothes.

She was sitting in her dining room polishing her silver.

She breathed on the spoon and then wiped it clean. Holding it up to the light, she smiled a full, satisfied, smile.

"Perfect," she purred as she placed the sparkling spoon with the others. The peaceful silence of Bree's home was broken by the low ring of her phone. She took her time to close up the polish and set her fork back in its rightful place for, Everything has a Place, she thought to herself.

As Bree lifted the phone off the receiver and held it to her ear, she smoothed her skirt.

"Van de Kamp residence," she answered pleasantly.

"Yeah, hi, Bree," there was a crash on the other end and then a dramatic sigh, "It's Lynette."

"Oh," Bree said pleasantly surprised, "Hello, Lynette. How are you?"

Lynette gave her nervous laugh, "Oh, I'm-" there was screaming in the background and Bree had to listen to her friend yell at her children, "Knock it off you two! Porter, stop drawing on your sister's dolls! Preston, stop trying to give Parker a wedgie!"

The phone crashed as it fell to the floor and Bree held the receiver away from her ear. A minute later, Lynette's voice could be heard on the other end, "I could be better."

"Lynette, I'm telling you," Bree scolded, "If you had taken a firmer hand with them then you would have been much better off."

Though, as Bree said those things, she wasn't sure how true they were. Sure her own children had been well behaved and well dressed. But that had all changed once her children grew up: Andrew became an alcoholic not long after he had killed her neighbor, Carlos', Mother Soleis in a hit and run, and Bree's daughter, Danielle, got pregnant and was sent to live in a convent for the duration of the pregnancy, so as no to ruin the Van de Kamp reputation.

"Anyway, Bree, I was wondering if you could babysit the twins tonight? Tom and I really wanted to go out for our anniversary."

"Of course, Lynette!" Bree accepted right away, "Where will your other children be?"

"Across the street with Mrs. McCluskey. Porter and Preston asked if you could babysit them- they have a crush on you," Lynette giggled at that last part and Bree smiled warmly.

"Alright, Lynette. I'll watch the boys. I just want you and Tom to have a wonderful evening. Bye-bye, now."

"Later, Bree. Thanks so much!"

Bree gently placed the phone back on the receiver. Se grabbed her apron off its hook and tied it in a big bow around her waist. She crossed over to the refrigerator and pulled out eggs, flour and chocolate chips so that she could make cookies for the twins.

         *   *   *   *   *   *

"Hello, boys," Bree smiled warmly as she opened the door to greet her friend Lynette and her eldest boys.

"Thanks again, Bree," Lynette smiled as she wrapped her arms around her friend.

"Not bother at all, dear," Bree reassured.

That was the thing about Bree- she was always taking care of everyone else no matter how much she wanted to polish the silver or wax the floor. By Bree's standards, it had been far too long since both. It's been a week since the silver was done and four days and seven hours since the floors.