I dropped off Yena and Zeke at their homes; fortunately we all live about 5 minutes from each other, which was very convenient when we were kids. Our parents knew we’d be at one of our homes, which made the phone calls to find out where we were pretty easy. Pulling in to the driveway, I could see both cars already parked in the driveway, and lights on in the house, so I knew my parents were home. Okay, X… you got this. I mentally psyched myself up. Easy peasy. I mentally made sure that my sweatshirt was pulled down over the GNAT device; I didn’t want to have to try and explain that.
I switched the car off (then waited the 15-20 seconds for it to actually shut off), then got out and walked up to our house. It was a small, simple house, a 1980’s Cape that had the top popped for more living space, with the traditional ‘Cape Gray’ weathered wood shingles so common to New England. A low white picket fence ringed the yard, with some hedges just behind it. The fence was a bit the worse for wear, with the white paint starting to peel in places, and a few of the pickets being slightly askew, as they moved when the wind was strong enough. Our decorative black shutters on each window also looked like they needed a fresh coat of paint, but it was obvious the house was well loved and cared for. (Those items had been on my dad’s ‘to do’ list for about three months now; he was going to do them in the summer ‘when he had time’) Out front, the hedges were expertly sculpted, and the yard was as neat and tidy as possible, care of my mom. She loved working in the yard, and anything plant based she touched seemed to grow like crazy; she definitely had a green thumb.
As I moved the gate, the creaking of the hinges caught the attention of our dogs, who then proceeded to go apeshit, barking like mad as they heard the keys turning in the lock. Even though neither of them weigh more than 25 pounds, it’s insane the amount of racket these two can make. I was able to get into the house and get the door closed before I had to kneel down and get literally dogpiled by our Tibetan Terriers, who love to jump on me and give me the face washing as a way of saying hello. Cider, being the puppy, was still all puppy barks, nips and youthful demands for attention. Her sister, Ginny was a bit slower in arriving, but no less dedicated in demanding the pets and rubs that she’d waited all day for, her tail wagging happily now that I was home.
Upon hearing the commotion, my mom came into the hallway, wiping her hands on a dish towel with a smile on her face. Both my mom and my dad are shorter than I am at 5’5” and 5’4”, respectively, so I have no idea where my height came from. Almost no one in our family is tall on either side; we’ve always just been your average height, average body, average looking group of people. I could tell that my parents had just finished dinner, because I could hear my dad in the dining room, with the distinctive sound of leftovers being put into containers for lunch the next day.
“Hey you!” she said, over the din of claws on hardwood, happy woofs and yips, and the sounds of tongues on flesh. “I figured you would’ve been home for dinner. We just finished.”
“I would have, but Yena treated us all to La Burrito, so…”
My mom made to step back in horror. “Not La Burrito! You stay away from me mister, with what’s going to be coming out later!”
“Mooooom!” I said, laughing. It’s not that bad!
“Nope, your mom is absolutely right.” My father chimed in from the kitchen, as he put the leftovers in the fridge. “You’re going to have to sleep outside tonight. Only way to be sure we won’t die from the poison gas exposure.”
“Dad!” I groaned, as they both broke down laughing. My mom took pity on me and pulled the two dogs off me so I could get up, so she could give me her own hug.
“How was Yena?” she asked. “Airport wasn’t too busy?”
“No, surprisingly. Neither she or Zeke had any checked baggage, so they were able to get out pretty quickly.”
“Zeke was there too? That’s surprising.”
“I know, I was surprised as well. I got the whole story on the way from Manchester.” I filled her and my dad in on what had happened. They expressed anger at the way Zeke was treated, but both of them being in the education field knew what happened was just a cost of doing business in the ‘for profit’ world of education.
“I’m kind of surprised Zeke didn’t tell you beforehand.” My dad commented. “You three have always been close.”
“I know. I think us going off to college changed things a bit; we tried to stay in touch, but our lives have all been so busy, I think some of that communication got put on the back burner.”
“That does happen sometimes” my mom agreed, “but you three are thick as thieves, and a semester away at college won’t break that.”
“Oh, I know.” I said, trying to play it casual. “We’re hoping to spend a lot of time together this vacation. Speaking of that, a funny thing happened that I wanted to talk to you about…”
“Oh?” My mom said, an eyebrow raised, and internally I cringed. I knew that tone, that’s my Mom’s ‘I know there’s something coming and I don’t think I’m going to like it’ tone.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“So, Yena actually won a contest of sorts, and the prize is a week up in New Hampshire at a resort, all expenses paid.” Okay, so it wasn’t technically a lie, but it wasn’t technically the whole truth either.
“That seems an… oddly specific contest to win” was my dad’s helpful contribution.
“I know, I thought so too!” I said, trying to laugh it off. “It couldn’t have been somewhere warm, noo! It had to be snowy New Hampshire in late December!”
“How did she win it?” Mom’s gaze was very suspicious; the Mom-Radar was on full alert, and the active pings would be coming soon. Time to defuse this, quickly.
“Yena said it was from her college; one of their clubs was having a raffle where this was one of the prizes. Apparently one of the parents that goes there owns the resort, and this was a sweetener to try and get some of the Penn State parents to go up to New Hampshire and spend some money, go skiing, that kind of thing.” I tried to keep my voice calm, and keep it as logical as I could, feeling like my heart hammering in my chest was betraying me with every passing beat.
“I see.” Her voice had lost a bit of the suspicion, but it was still there. “And when was this supposed to happen?”
“Well, that’s the funny thing… it’s supposed to be next week.”
“Next week as in… three days from now?”
“Yup.”
“And if Yena wasn’t able to go?”
“Then they’d likely be able to get out of having to give the trip. But, since we’re college students, we’re pretty flexible on time.”
“But, son” my dad said “Weren’t you going to try and work next week? Save some money for fixing Colin?”
“I was, but… Dad, I need a break. All I do is work and study, and commute to and from school. I need a break, even for just a week.” I tried to keep the pleading out of my voice, but it must’ve leaked through, because my parents looked at each other, and did that parent ‘have a conversation without saying a word, only using facial expressions’ thing that adults can do after some magical period of time has elapsed in a relationship. I tried my last trump card.
“I really want to spend the time with Yena and Zeke; I haven’t seen them in months. And, think of the savings on your grocery bill for a week if I’m not here!” I grinned.
Mom rolled her eyes, but my dad snorted a laugh. “Well, for 1 week at least you won’t be eating us out of house and home. Go ahead then!” My mom paused for a moment, then reluctantly nodded her agreement as well.
I lunged forward and pulled my dad into the hug as well. “Thank you thank you thank you!”
My lunge set the dogs off again, and between the 3 of us doing a small jumping hugging dance, and the dogs circling around us, barking and tails wagging, I’m not sure which of us was the happiest.
---
That night, as I was laying in my bed, I was doing a group chat with Zeke and Yena, being very careful not to mention anything I shouldn’t so as not to anger the NDA from hell. I felt weird phantom pains every now and then in my arms and legs, and once going up the side of my neck, just below my jaw. I tried to ignore it all as my fingers flew across the screen as we chatted; I chalked it up to nerves.
X: My parents said yes!
Y: Awesome-sauce! 😊
Z: … Did you just non-ironically say ‘awesome-sauce’? Do I know you??
Y: Shut up! You know what I mean!
X: What did your mom say, Zeke? And your dad, Yena?
Y: You know how my dad is. He’s happy to spend the weekend with me, but next week he must fly to Japan for a conference, so he’s actually relieved I won’t be here by myself. It was an easy sale.
Z: My mom isn’t thrilled with this. I think she was expecting to get to spend more time with me, as she hasn’t gotten to see me in so long. She had scheduled time off, and you know how hard it is to get time off in healthcare! But the recent workforce reductions caused her vacation time to get cancelled. Double pay or not, she’s pissed! I don’t envy her manager the next time she has to face the wrath of my mom!
X: Ouch! Yeah, I think I’d rather soak a cut in lemon juice and salt than deal with your mom when she’s mad.
Y: For sure!
X: Like, totally!
Z: Oh my gawd, YES!
Y: … you know I can still hurt both of you, right? Beanpoles or not, I’m still able to reach some very sensitive areas for you two! Ծ_Ծ
X: So! Changing topics! When did we want to leave? What time are we supposed to be there?
Y: 9 AM on Monday. It’s about a 2 hour drive to the office park, so we’ll want to leave around 6 or 6:30. Actually wait… we’re taking Colin, so make it about 5… or maybe I can find some sled dogs to take us instead, they’d be faster and more reliable.
X: Oh hah ha, very funny. Asshole.
Y: Oh, lighten up! Besides, we’ll all need coffee before we go. And donuts. Defintely donuts.
Z: Now you’re talking!
X: Sounds good. Well, it’s getting late and I’m tired, so I’m going to call it a good night. I’ll try and keep in touch this weekend, but I’m sure my parents will want to hang out now that the schedule’s changed, so I’ll be sure to pick you two up on Monday morning!
Y: Okie-dokey! Sleep well!
Z: Later!
Later that night, as I tried to move around and get comfortable, I could swear I could still feel those phantom pains, and they were in different places than before; now they were going down below my knees, and going from my shoulders towards my neck. I took a couple of asprin, downed some water, and was eventually able to pass out, dreams of new cars, living on campus, and the shocked looks on my parents faces when I paid off their mortgage out of the blue on my mind as I smiled in my sleep.