One morning, just before sunrise, the family gathered around to celebrate Adelaide moving into elder-hood. She couldn't say that she was 'ready', but she was willing to progress into her next stage of life. As she looked at her family, cheering for her, she thought about her first days in Sunset Valley. She had just moved there, young and alone, when she found Brian at the park for Logan's birthday party. She had known from the moment she saw him, that she wanted to be with him, but he had just gone through a very hard time so she became a friend first. She waited until he was ready. Now, they were still here, still together, a son of their own, and still best friends. She had wondered before why he had never asked to marry her but she had also come to the conclusion, not long after, that he just wasn't ready to be married again. He married once, a girl of his dreams, only to have her violently ripped from his grasp. She understood completely why he wouldn't want to wed someone else, though she still dreamed of the day he would ask her.
The sound of a party favor brought her out of her thoughts. Her eyes were a little misty from thinking but no one said anything. She bent down to blow her candles out and continue her life in a new age group.
"Happy birthday mom." Logan said.
Hearing that from his mouth shocked Adelaide. She was very pleasantly surprised that he called her 'mom'. "Logan. You've never said that to me before."
"I know, but I should have. You're the only mother I've ever really known you know." He glanced at his father with a small apologetic look, hoping he hadn't hurt his feelings.
Adelaide smiled, nearly crying. "Thanks Logan."
The family sat down and ate cake for breakfast and talked lightly of plans for the day. Logan would be leaving for work at the same time that David would be leaving for school.
The family sat down and ate cake for breakfast and talked lightly of plans for the day. Logan would be leaving for work at the same time that David would be leaving for school.
The day at work for Logan was mostly that - work. He worked on the firetruck, keeping that maintained as well as the alarm bells. Those had to be kept up just as much as the engine, and apparently Logan was the only one who would do it. It appeared to Logan as if he was the only one really working in this place. Agnes rarely did work, he always found her studying something and when there was an emergency she told everyone else what to do. Lauren kept everything clean so he couldn't fault her for that, since that's what she was hired for. She did seem interested in his stories returning from a fire, but never interested enough to go with him. The other two workers, he had forgotten their names, always slept or played Foosball upstairs. One of the other workers had very strange eyes and was always determined not to go outside until about sundown. Logan thought that odd, but didn't dwell much on it.
Brian spent his morning cleaning the house. It was one of his favorite things to do when there was no one else inside. No one to get in the way, or make a mess somewhere just after he had cleaned that room. He found a few balls that Emma had lost, and the dog was very happy when they were returned to her.
David was at school trying to keep his attention on his schoolwork. He had fallen a little behind in his assignments, and homework, barely keeping his grades at a C+. Adelaide had spoken about this to him before, but he just couldn't help it. It was hard to keep his mind on his work when all he wanted to do was play. Another reason for his falling behind in school, and his recent bleakness, was because Logan wasn't around so much. He was an adult now with other responsibilities, and not as much time to play with his brother. David missed his Logan terribly.
Logan was nearing the end of his shift, and there was nothing for him to do. He didn't want to read since the books in the building were not that great and he had forgotten his own. The truck was done as was the alarm so he decided to play Foosball. No one else in the building was awake, so he played by himself. He had not had any emergencies to respond to this day and it was the first time since he had started his new job that he found himself to be bored.
The Foosball table that he was using was on the third floor, which had many large windows. One of them had a good view of the park just behind the building. While Logan was playing, he saw that the park was quite busy. Apparently they had some kind of SimFest going, where people from the neighborhood could come and perform to the town. This gave them a great chance to get noticed by someone important, possibly even get hired on to a big gig or party. Logan planned on stopping by there after his shift was over, and hoped that it was still going. It would be fun to watch the show.
When he was finally free to leave, Logan walked to the park to see if anyone was still there. There was only two women still remaining. Only one of the women was not busy, she was just sitting there at a picnic table. Logan went up to her and asked, "The show is over?"
She smiled at him, "Yes, it's over for the night, but there will be another in just a few days. Did you want to perform? We could always use new stars to keep the crowd cheering."
When this woman spoke, Logan's attention was almost instantly diverted from his question. She had a very sexy and sure voice. He quickly studied the girl in front of him. She was definitely good looking. 'Great figure,' Logan thought, 'She has pink highlights. Interesting, cute on her. I could date her. Maybe...'
"Sir?" The woman said, pulling him back to their conversation.
"Uh, no. Not a performer. Actually," Logan leaned a little closer and put a small smirk on his face, his tone of voice lowered an octave, "I'm more into the dangerous jobs, saving peoples lives and such."
The girl fell into his line quickly. She gasped and put her hands to her mouth. "Oh! Is it okay? How horrible!"
Logan put his hands out, "Oh he's fine now, I found him just in time. I saved him."
She did a little squeal of delight, then giggled. "Well that's great, your a good guy for doing that." She looked at him more closely. "What did you say your name was?"
He smiled. 'Excellent. She's curious, seems like she could be interested in me too.' He thought, then said, "Logan. Logan Fuller, it's my pleasure." 'This firefighter thing might be better for me than I thought.'
"Logan. I'm Velina, the proprietor of the show earlier. Great to meet you. I don't get to see many people that aren't actors, or singers or someone trying to get attention." She rolled her eyes a little at the last bit, then they both laughed. For a moment, though he wasn't sure why, Logan thought of Lauren. He compared their laughter, the two women sounded very similar.
"Yeah, I'm sure. So I know what you do for work, what do you do for fun then?" Logan inquired.
"I don't know. Whatever comes around I guess. Actually. I'm kind of new in this town, and starving. A girl shouldn't walk around alone at night, it's pretty dangerous you know, not knowing where I'm going and all. Can you show me to the nearest diner?" She had found him quite attractive, and was trying to think of ways to keep him with her for just a little while longer. Her thinking was; with him being a firefighter, a protector, a man like him would never let a woman eat on her own. She was right.
"Oh, I'll take you there. I'm not busy. I've got my truck right over there." He pointed to the road. "Are you ready to go?"
"Just give me a moment to change." She told him, then scampered off behind the stage, leaving Logan to his thoughts for a minute.
'Wow, we seem to hit it off nicely, I think I'll offer to eat with her. I'm hungry anyway.'
"I would love your company, why don't you get dinner too? I'll pay for mine though, thanks." She had told him.
They arrived at the diner in only a couple of minutes, since it was just a few blocks away. Logan was impressed to see that Velina wasn't one of those woman who only got a salad to eat, and didn't even finish all of it. She ate an the same size cheeseburger that he had, and fries on the side. The two of them also got a giant chocolate milkshake each. She even finished a few bites ahead of him.
During their meal, they talked about anything that came up. Velina learned that Logan loved his new dog Emma, and that he had only been a firefighter for about a week. She also found that he could introduce her to the people she would need to know to become an actress. Though he wasn't in the acting business, he was still a star and knew a lot of people.
About her, Logan learned that she was Eco-friendly, just as he was. He also learned that she didn't always pick up after herself, and she lived alone. She aspired to be the best actress ever, though has not yet started in that career track because she wasn't sure how. He also found out that she had been adopted by her family, and both of her adoptive parents had now passed away.
Logan took her home after dinner was over, he didn't get out, but sat in his truck and watched until she was safely inside. He pulled away full of new emotions. 'That was the best, and most enlightening, dinner I've ever had. I really enjoy her company, she's awesome. Hope we can do that again. Soon.' he was back at home before he knew it. When he went inside, the house was silent, Logan looked at the clock and was shocked to find it to be well after midnight. Quickly, he changed and got into bed. With all the thoughts of the night running through his head he didn't not fall asleep fast, but when he did he slept great before he was up and out to work again.
That morning, Emma was still asleep when Logan left, and she was not happy to find out that he was gone when she woke. After she had eaten her own breakfast, she decided to follow him to work to say her own good morning.
Logan was surprised to see his dog walking into the study room, but he was delighted to see her. He closed his book and gave her some attention, smooching her dog lips and rubbing her belly. He made sure to hit her tickle spots and her favorite places to be scratched before sending her home. He couldn't have here here if there was an emergency, in all the rush she could get hurt. When she left, he sat back down to read, finding that Agnes was no longer there.
He had only been studying about ten more minutes when he got another surprise visitor - this one human.
Logan jerked his head up from his book startled. 'Wow, I love the way she talks,' was the first thing the came to his mind, but he said, "Hey!" Then he glanced around. "What are you doing here?" He asked pleasantly surprised.
Velina smiled, "I just realized that I didn't get your number or anything. What if I wanted to see you again, or call you? So I figured I'd see if you were working today. I'm glad to find that you are."
A small laugh escaped Logan's lips before admitting that it was nice to see her, and that he had thought the same thing the night before. "Well I'm glad you came then. Here." He happily gave her his cellphone number, and entered hers into his phone right then. "I'm nearly always available, call anytime."
"Thanks Logan. I will. Anyway, I have to go, busy woman you know." She gave him another winning smile and touched his arm lightly before turning to leave.
At the same time, Lauren walked in. "Heya Logan. I didn't know you were here today." She shook his hand.
Velina looked over her shoulder as she was leaving, holding a very suspicious look on her face. She didn't much like that woman already, and wondered how close the two of them were. 'Logan didn't say anything about being in a relationship. I wonder..' she thought. 'Of course, it's not like I have any claim on him, he's not really in a relationship with me either. Yet.' Velina sighed, 'I wish he was.' In just the one evening they spent together, she had fallen hard for the firefighter.
"Nah, not really, everything is still in working order since yesterday. Not much for me to do."
Lauren and Logan had become near best friends over the past week that they had known each other. Logan felt very at ease with her, and even liked her to a degree that he would go out with her, if he didn't think it would mess up the relationship they already had. Also, dating someone in his work-place could pose a problem, and a distraction. He didn't think Agnes would appreciate if he diverted his attention to somewhere other than work.
"Actually, our shift is almost up and I'm very hungry. How about we go to the diner down the road and get a bite?"
"That sounds great actually. Sure." Logan agreed.
Logan and Lauren finished up work then left together to go eat. Logan got the truck from his own driveway, since he had walked to work and drove them.
"You're house is lovely from the outside." Lauren complimented. "Maybe I'll see inside one day." She smiled at him. Lauren liked him a lot, and honestly wished that he would ask her on a date, but she wasn't outgoing enough to ask him herself. She was working up to that though. To her, it was great to finally get some personal time in with him. They normally only talked during work.
Logan didn't hear her statement in anyway except 'I'd love to see the inside of your house.' He didn't hear any indication of wanting to know him more personally. His mind was stuck on 'she's my best friend, nothing more'.
"It's pretty cool, I'm sure you'll be over someday." He said through a little chuckle.
Lauren and Logan enjoyed a nice dinner, finally getting to know each other a little more on the personal level. There was no flirting or suggestions passing between the two of them out loud, so the environment around them was still of an easy-going nature.
The thoughts in minds were a little different than the spoken words though. Lauren couldn't get her mind off of how much she wanted to kiss him. 'I wonder what he'd do if I just leaned over and planted a kiss right there on those great lips. Would he respond positively? Would he never want to see me again?' She had been torturing herself with her own speculations.
Logan mostly thought of Velina. What she might be doing at the time, or if she was thinking of him. 'Maybe if it's not too late after dinner, I'll give her a call. It's almost the weekend, maybe I'll ask her on a date.' He glance up at Lauren at the same time she looked at him. 'Lauren is rather pretty, she's got great eyes. what was it that stopped me from going out with her? Well, it's a little late now that I'm interested in another woman anyway.'
Externally, dinner went without a hitch. The food was great, as was the company each of them were keeping. When the meal was over the two of them talked outside for a bit.
"So, you're working tomorrow?" Logan asked Lauren.
'Oh, he's talking about work, he hates me.' She thought. "Yes, I'll be there. You?"
Logan nodded. "Yeah, me too. Hey, dinner was great! Thanks for the suggestion. I should be getting home though, it's getting late. I'll see you tomorrow okay?"
Logan gave her a friendly hug. Lauren felt every muscle in her body tense as he had leaned in toward her, she returned his hug while the inner voice screamed at her, 'Oh come on, just a slight turn of your head.' She smelled his cologne, 'Kiss his cheek!' She fought the thoughts and pulled out of the hug. 'He would have probably just thought it a friendly peck anyway.' She argued with herself.
That night, not long after Logan got home. Another robber attempted a break-in at the Fuller home. Apparently the news had not gotten around the criminal world that you just can't get away with it. Or perhaps it had, and they were each challenging themselves in turn. Adelaide was the first awake this time, and she wasted no time in dialing the cops. Brian had heard her frantic whispering, bringing him out of his own dreamworld.
"Whassa matter honey?" Brian mumbled. "Who you talking to?"
"Yes, the Fuller residence." She said into the phone. "Thank you." She hung up. "A robber, again, trying to break in!"
Brian was out of bed as quick as his tired bones would let him stand, and he was irritated. He stomped through the house cursing aloud. "Is this going to be a regular thing now? Once a week someone tries to break in? What, what is it? Do we have something special they want?"
Logan heard his father's outrage from his room, and joined him in going down the stairs. Though Adelaide was the first out, the cop and the Fuller men were only a few seconds behind her. Emma came as well, confused, yet alert.
Brian won that fight. It didn't take long either, to throw her to the hardwood floor. He had an advantage, a weapon. A stake that he used for sculpting had been sitting on his dresser, and he grabbed it on his way down to confront the suspect. He didn't think he would have to use it, thinking the police would have handled the culprit, but when that failed it sent Brian over the edge. Seeing that she was going to get away, he attacked the woman without thinking. He didn't stab her anywhere fatal, and only left a scratch on her upper arm, but it was enough to distract her and stop the fight.
Emma had her own thoughts on the whole event. She had never witnesses anything filled with such negative emotion and she wasn't quite sure what to do with herself, so she emitted the same agitation as she felt from everyone else.
Logan stared at his father in complete disbelief. Never in his life had he thought his dad capable of such an attack on another human being, he stood dumbfounded.
The cop had covered his face with his hands in utter humiliation. An old man had beaten the robber, and he had failed. He was thoroughly embarrassed to be standing there and arrested the girl as quickly as he knew how, escorting her off the premises.
Brian insisted that he was fine, a fire burning behind his eyes that he hadn't felt in quite a long time, but it was dwindling to nothing now that the danger was over. He talked to his son, telling him again that he had not been harmed at all.
Adelaide tried hard to listen to her guys talking, but she was feeling very faint. She stepped inside and get some water, but didn't make it past the foyer. She collapsed right there in front of the bathroom. Only a few seconds went by before she woke again and stood up, still dizzy.
Brian came in the door just after Adelaide had gotten to her feet. She was still holding her head lightly, where it had hit the floor.
"Addy? What's wrong? Are you alright?" Brian asked, suddenly anxious. He had not seen her pass out, but he had noticed the semi-vacant look in her eyes, and the slight reaction to pain. Not to mention she held her hand to her head. "What happened?"
Brian pulled away from her. "Really, darling I'm fine. Please don't worry. But," he paused, "this situation made me realize something. Something I can't believe I hadn't seen before."
Adelaide looked a little confused. "What are you talking about?"
Tears welled in her eyes as she heard him speak. She couldn't fight them, there was no way. After the adrenaline rush outside, to this one indoors, she let the salty tears soak her cheeks. "Yes, oh yes, I will. I've always wanted to."
Adelaide almost couldn't speak through her tears of happiness. "Oh Brian, you don't need to say anything. I know. I feel it, every time you look at me, or kiss me. Everything you need to say is there. I do, I do plan to spend every waking moment that I can by your side. For as long as we live. I love you more than any words can say."
As silly as he sounded at the time, after the emotions they had just shared, it seemed a perfect way to end the evening.
Brian and Adelaide consummated their marriage long into the night. The next morning, they were more than thrilled to break the news to the children. Logan was very happy for them, and congratulated them many times. David didn't really understand what the difference was, everything was still the same to him, but he smiled and said congratulations anyway because it's what his big brother did.
Later that morning, Brian and Addy went to the courthouse to sign the papers they needed to, and they also stopped at a jewelery store to buy her a wedding ring that fit, and a matching one for him. They called Dylan, Carla and Jennifer to spread the joyous news once more, and again they were congratulated.
To be continued...