4.42 - Trouble

Very early one morning Brian and Adelaide got a phone call from her publisher. He offered the couple a free vacation and the plane was leaving in two hours. Brian was the one who answered the phone, and he was more than happy to agree. They hadn't been anywhere in quite a while, and it sounded like a delightful thing to do. He shook Adelaide awake and told her to get ready, that they were leaving. At first she griped about it, but that's only because she was still basically asleep, when she woke all the way she agreed that it sounded fun. The two of them left a note for David, telling him where they went, leaving a number and trusting that he could handle himself while they were gone.

David woke and showered as normal, but when he came downstairs there was no breakfast ready - only a piece of paper on the table. He read it and shrugged. Looking into the kitchen he became wary, he wasn't very practiced at making anything for food. That was something Brian always did, sometimes his mom, but most of the time it was Brian that did the cooking. David went in and opened the fridge, about to pull out the milk for some cereal, when he noticed some left-over pancakes. He let out a thankful sigh, and grabbed a plate full.

After eating he rechecked his homework and made sure it was all done. It was. He had just sat down to watch some television when he heard the bus honk its horn out front. David hesitated for just a minute, thinking of not going in. 'There's nothing else to do, might as well' he said to himself as he was walking out the door.

After the grueling day of school ended, he went to the park to do his homework as he usually did, and then back home. He was barely in the front door when Laquita called.

"Heya. I was wondering what you were doing this afternoon. Some friends and I were going to find somewhere to get together, and was wondering if you wanted to come." She told him.

"Well, where are you going?"

She told him that she didn't really know, they didn't have a place just yet, but someone was working on that. David offered his own house. No one was there but him anyway, and it was just a few friends.

"Wow, you're awesome! Sure, we can do that. I'll make some calls to let them know, and we'll all be there in an hour or so." Laquita said.

David hung up with her and went to the living room, he moved the couch and coffee table out of they way so they could have more room to play video games or do whatever else came up. He sat down and started up the game console, even started playing for a little bit when Laquita came running in, she hadn't knocked. He looked up and smiled at her, then stood and gave her a hug.

The doorbell rang just then and David went to retrieve the pizza he had ordered for them. Right behind the pizza delivery girl, was about five more teenagers, all in their swim wear, coming to his 'party'.

David carried the pizza to the kitchen, and opened the box so friends could grab what they wanted. He and Laquita were the first to get a slice, they both left the crowd to fight over the rest of it. The teen couple sat at the table together to eat and talk. He had found out that this was mainly Laquita's idea, she was just tired of being at home and really needed something to do. She was glad that David had offered up his home for her and their friends, but that made her wonder where his parents were.

"I don't really know, they just said they were going on vacation. They left a number for me to call just in case, but that's it." He admitted.

"Oh, well I hope they have fun." Laquita really liked David's parents, and loved to come over and see them. She was kind of sad that they weren't there.

David broke her train of thought. "What's your favorite animal?"

"What? Oh, I've always loved horses, I am going to get one when I move out on my own. It's been a dream of mine since I was a little girl. That was kind of random. Why do you ask?"

He shrugged. "Just wanted to know, I was thinking of Emma. She was our dog, well Logan's dog, and she left with him and his family. I miss her a bit. Want to go dance?"

Laquita laughed at his sudden change of topic. "Sure sure, let's go."

They both went into the living room, where they found most of the other teens playing games. They danced for about two songs then played games with the others. After they had basically beaten the game, David suggested a dip in the hot tub. Everyone cheered at the thought and ran outside to get in.

Unfortunately, after the fourth body got in, the hot tub broke. The water surrounding them turned green and started to overflow. Laughing and squealing at the same time, each of them climbed out. By now it was about four in the morning, and the kids were getting tired, but refused to give in. They all started in a big game of tag.

That game didn't last long before two of the players, Laquita and another guy fell passed out right there in the grass. David had gone inside and sat on the love seat, where he also dozed off. Mostly all of the teens that had come over, were crashed on the floor somewhere.

David awoke with a start when his cellphone rang. It was his parents, and they were on their way home.

"Yeah, that place was horrible, we're not staying. We're only about an hour away, so we'll be there soon. Sorry if we woke you." They had said.

David told them that it was fine and hung up. He looked around, wondering where everyone was. He hadn't meant to fall asleep. He got up to search and found some people asleep with their heads on the dining room table. He started flinging his arms around and shouting, making sure everyone heard him.

"Get up get up! It's morning, past 6 and my parents are coming home, you guys have to leave now!" He wasn't sure exactly how his parents would react coming home to a house full of teenagers, but he didn't want to find out. He looked around while everyone was coming out of the sleepy stupor. They were messy teenagers. There were pizza crusts lying about, and paper plates. The couch was missing, he had no idea where it was, and there were puddles of water in places. The guest bathroom was filthy and the hot tub was still broken.

"Oh snap. I'm in trouble."

Everyone was gone just in time, and David had run up the stairs and tucked himself into bed. He wasn't ready to face his parents right away, nor the chores that he was sure to be put to doing when they got home.

Brian and Adelaide walked in the front door, they were greeted by a puddle on the floor. Brian looked down and scrunched up his nose in a mixture of disgust and confusion. Then he looked around the house. He was shocked to find the place a complete disaster. Adelaide had seen the mess as well and started to mop up the water on the floor, there were quite a few puddles.

Brian went about fixing up everything else. There were clothes around, David's clothes, and the trashcan outside was knocked over with the garbage all over the place. He cleaned the front bathroom and put the coffee table back where it belonged, but couldn't find the couch anywhere. He turned around just in time to see David run out the front door and get on the bus to school.

After Adelaide and Brian had discussed how to handle the situation with David, Brian made a key lime pie for them to eat. Not to much later, David walked in the door - automatically saying that he was sorry, before he had even seen either of his parents.

Adelaide was just giving Brian a hug when they heard him. "Go easy on him, he's a good kid - most times." Brian smiled.

David walked in the dining room and apologized again. "It was just a few friends, I'm really sorry, I didn't  mean for it to get so out of hand."

Brian told him to sit down and have a piece of pie, he and Adelaide did the same. "Look, I know, sometimes a teen has to step out like that. But come on, really? Where's the couch? Did you have to leave the pizza crusts around?"

Adelaide piped in, "Who dumped the trashcan over outside? Why didn't  you clean anything up? Why is the hot tub green?"

Listening to his parents questions, he realized that he hadn't seen but half of the mess that was left. "I'll go start cleaning up."

His father shook his head, "No, you're mom and I have taken care of it. We shouldn't have, but we did. You will have no video games, and come straight home after school. You'll do your homework here, not at the park. Oh, and no computer either."

That night, when David went to bed, he couldn't help but think that he got off easy. Then again that was the first offense, maybe they were thinking of it that way. Either way he was happy about it. Not like he was going to be doing that again anytime soon anyway, he hadn't had much fun. Teen parties weren't his thing.

A robber decided to visit the Fuller house one night. The family was sound asleep when the alarm went off. Brian jumped out of the bed, followed quickly by Adelaide. David apparently slept through the whole thing.

The cops were on the scene as quick as the swish of an angry cat's tail. Just in the door, the policeman jumped the criminal, who had paused in his surprise at the alarm blaring on the wall. After about a ten minute fight that Brian and Adelaide both watched, the thief kicked the cop on his butt and took off.

Brian was out the door, before anyone else could blink, going after him. He wasn't sure why someone trying to escape would do something so stupid, but the robber had stopped to laugh at his 'victory' right in the front yard. Brian didn't hesitate to attack.

This fight didn't last nearly as long. Brian had the guy on the ground within a minute. He sent the wanna be criminal packing with a message. 'Leave that house alone'. In the aftermath, Brian was actually glad the man had stopped at the bottom of the steps - he wasn't sure he would have caught him otherwise. He wasn't so speedy anymore.

Brian stood and watched the guy run away, he smiled at the thought of him still having that old stuff. He turned to go back inside, but checked the mail first. Adelaide had gotten her most recent book published and it had been in the mailbox waiting for her. This book was entitled "Brennidon", it was about a city lost to chaos, and of course it had a hero who fell in love with a peasant girl. He smiled, happy that his wife was enjoying her writing. She made good money with it too, she had even reached her dream of being a well known author. She had seven novels on the shelves of bookstores and libraries everywhere. He was so proud of her. Brian brought the book inside and added it to their own collection.

The next morning, the family was talking over breakfast. Adelaide had asked David how his girlfriend was doing, and if they had any plans this weekend.

"I dunno mom, I like her a lot - but I don't know if I'd call it love ya know. We don't.."

"OH! I'm glad you've found a girl you can relate to, that's great." Adelaide interrupted. "You be sure to tell  me when you guys get more serious." She had always wondered if he would find a girl right for him, willing to put up with his... quirkiness.

"Chill out mom, don't get all excited. I said I WOULDN'T call it love, I don't know how long we'll last you know? I'm only in high school." He tried changing the topic, he didn't want to talk about his personal life with her. "I bet that robber won't come back here again after what you did to him dad!"

Brian looked up and nodded. "I hope not kid."

"I hope he got caught and is thrown in jail!" Adelaide said. "Hasn't anyone heard of an honest living anymore? What's the world coming to?"

Brian shook his head, "Honey, there have been robbers in the world forever you know. Some people just can't help it. Some of them even have a regular job. Stealing is something they just do for fun."

Brian and Adelaide figured it was high time they visited the missing part of their family, they wanted to see the girls and the house they were living in now. It had been nearly a month since Logan and Velina left with the babies. The silence in the house was being endured better and better, but the ache in the heart was still there for both grand parents.

"Hey Velina!" Adelaide said, when they stepped out of the car.

"Oh it's good to see you guys, I'm glad you came today, we didn't have any plans. The girls and I just got back from the grocery store. Come on in." Velina told them.

Brian was happy to see that Logan was home too, while Adelaide played with Layla and Velina put Olivia in the girls' room, he stood and talked to his son.

"I hope work is going good, and you're staying safe." He said

"Work is great as usual. I still love it there. Of course, I always sit in wait for the time to come home now, since I have all my girls here. It pains to be away from them so much. There's been a lot of overtime, we are shorthanded."

Adelaide put Layla down, and followed Velina into the nursery. She bent to pick up Olivia and snuggle her. Adelaide told both girls how much she missed them, and wanted them back at the house. That life was completely different without them. She knew they didn't really get what she was saying, but still. It felt good to talk to them anyway.

Velina left the room and went to offer a tour to both Brian and Adelaide. "Sure, we'd love one." They both said in reply.

Outside

Main floor

Upper floor

"It's basic furniture, but we'll upgrade as we go along of course, get more decorations to fill in, and more personal items to make it more homelike. Right now it's just a house. Emma sleeps upstairs, that's the room we'll be in when the girls grow up a bit more. Right now though, the dog is really the only one who uses the upper floor. We sleep in the room downstairs, next to the girls." Velina was saying as they walked through the house.

When the tour ended, they came back to the den and sat to talk. Velina told them about her work, and what the girls were up to. She said they were both starting to learn to walk and talk already, but she didn't think she was ready for that. She and Logan both wanted them to stay little forever.

"Yes, I thought the same thing about Logan and David too, when I met the family I didn't want anything to change. Logan you were just adorable. Then we had David, and I wanted him to stay an infant. Everything was perfect. It still is of course, but a lot has changed. That comes with being a parent I guess." Adelaide said. "I'm so happy to have grand babies, but I find myself thinking the same things as when my kids were toddlers. 'Don't grow'." She chuckled.

The conversation continued, they caught up on everything they had missed in the last month. Velina had gotten a promotion, and lost much of the weight she had put on during her pregnancy. Logan was still highly respected at work, but spent more time there due to the overtime demand. He seemed to get home later and later every day, and the girls missed him. Logan would always be sure to spend the first hour doing nothing but playing with them before he did anything else though.

Too soon, Brian and Adelaide bid the children farewell, placing them in their cribs before leaving. They went home to have a slice of pie before their own son got home.

Adelaide laughed. "Don't you think it's kind of funny to have a teenage son and two grand babies? How did we manage that one?"

Brian chuckled too, "I'm not sure, it is interesting for sure." Then he sighed. "I fear we are getting old my love, and there's no stopping it. Pretty soon David will be an adult and have to get his own job, I wonder if he'll want to stay here, or find a new house, when he comes into his own."

They both fell into silence as they thought about what the future might hold for them.




To be continued...