I’m back home from Arizona! The video shoot went well. I think you’re really going to like it. There was one part where we were all standing on the shore and skimming stones. (Wonder where I got that idea! LOL!) It’s funny because there were no stones on the beach of this lake. It was sandy. So they brought in some stones.
Anyway, it got all competitive. Brian was the best at it and that made Kev try even harder. He got that squinty narrow-eyed look he gets when he’s concentrating. Howie was useless at it and AJ wasn’t much better. I was okay. Well, you know that, you’ve seen my form and technique. LOL! Anyway, it sort of developed into a contest between the Kentucky cousins. AJ got all into trying to mess with their concentration, especially Kev’s. And Kev’s throwing got worse and worse and his jaw got tighter and tighter. And the rest of us laughed harder and harder. And then Kev scooped AJ up in his arms and walked right into the lake and dropped him in the water. And me and Howie got a hold of Brian and he went in next. Soon we were all splashing around and having a ball, like we used to do. The water was kind of chilly, so if they use any of that footage for the video, there’ll be some great nipples shots for the girls to faint over. LOL!
Just ten days to go until I get on the big plane! What have you been up to?
Nick
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Dear Nick,
I’m glad you made it home safely. It sounds like you guys had a lot of fun. Even if the footage doesn’t get put into the video, it will make a great outtake reel. I’m sure it will show up somewhere! LOL!
It’s just nine days now until you get here. Enjoy these last nine days, Nick, because I can pretty much guarantee you won’t be the same when you leave here. For the rest of your days, you will probably think of your life as BSF and ASF (Before Sharon Fremont and After…well, you get the idea! LOL!).
Any offers on the house while you were gone?
Take care,
Abby
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hey, Abby!
Eight days to go! I’m not counting today because it’s nearly over. What will the weather be like there? (I’ll probably have to fill out a report for AJ! LOL!) What kind of clothes should I bring? Do I need dress up stuff?
No takers on the house yet. The real estate agent says that it might be an idea to drop the price if there’s no offer by the end of the month.
Nick
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Dear Nick,
Yes, eight days! Mrs. Smith is baking and shopping and my mother is in a frenzy about where to put you. She’s changed the bedroom location for you about six times. I won’t tell you what I suggested. LOL!!
The weather will be cold for a Southern boy like you, so bring a warm coat and winter stuff, like a wool cap and gloves. I think we’ll be spending a lot of time fleeing the house…I mean, going for walks.
We’ll be having the big turkey thing on Thursday after you get here. Don’t even think about dieting this weekend. Mrs. Smith makes the best pumpkin pie!
Btw, do you like tuna casserole?
Take care,
Abby
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hey, Abby!
Seven days (‘cause today is almost over) to go! Do me a favor…when we’re sitting at the dinner table, don’t come out with one of those lines that make me spit! I don’t think it will make a very good impression on your parents if wine comes shooting out my nose or something.
Love the tuna casserole line. Got a nice clean monitor out of that one!
Does your dad like football? I do, and there will be a lot of games on this weekend. Any chance I’ll get to see any of them?
Nick
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Dear Nick,
Yes, Daddy likes to watch football (it’s his quiet time away from my mother). He says it’s too bad the Bears are out of town this weekend; he would have taken you to the game. He has a box. You dodged a bullet on that one, Nick! When Daddy and his friends get together in that box, they are transformed into people who think (notice the verb…think) they know everything about football, way more than the coach, anyway…and they spend the next three hours second guessing every play and reminiscing about the glory years of yesterday.
Of course, that might be your idea of the perfect afternoon. LOL!
Take care,
Abby
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hey, Abby!
Much as I like football, I’m glad I have to pass on your dad and his pals.
Six days. Tell me what we are going to do exactly and how I should behave. I know stuff like ‘no swearing’ and ‘keep your feet off the furniture’, but is there anything that you think I might not know…besides the fact that I know zippity-do-dah about opera and art and stuff. LOL!
Nick
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Dear Nick,
Don’t worry about your behavior. I’ve seen you. You ‘clean up pretty good’. LOL! And besides, unless you have a royal title, there’s no way you’ll please my mother. She is a snob extraordinaire. And since all of the impressive people you know are ones she’s never heard of, name-dropping won’t help. (Pulling out a picture of Kid Rock won’t further the cause either, so if you were thinking of that…)
Thursday, we’ll do the turkey thing, like I mentioned before. Turkey and the third degree, Sharon-style, that is.
I thought that Friday I’d show you some of the places that we ‘visited’ the last time you ‘were here’. In the morning, we have to drop in on a thing for the Hearing Society. It’s their Christmas bazaar…crafts, bake sale…My kids will all be there. I always go. It’s only for an hour or so.
Friday night will be a quiet dinner and evening at home (read: continuation of the Nick interrogation). I’m starting to feel like a long walk already. LOL!
You and Daddy can do the football thing all day Saturday. That night, my parents are going out to a party, but I declined on our behalf. I said that we would want to have some time together, just us. (Consider this to be your Sharon-free zone!) Daddy got misty at that. LOL! Be prepared for a ‘don’t hurt my baby’ speech at some point. He’s never actually made one of those before so do both of you a favor and change the subject as soon as he starts. “How about those Bears?” might be a good way to go.
It snowed here yesterday. It didn’t stay on the ground, but it’s a definite sign of winter. Bundle up, Beach Boy! You’re coming to Chicago.
Take care,
Abby
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hey, Abby!
Yes, I’m coming to Chicago, even though it seems you are trying to talk me out of it…or maybe scare me into behaving or something. LOL!
I’m not afraid of your parents. Remember, I’ve met mine!!!!!
I got an offer on the house today. Now I have to decide what to do with it. It’s lower than what I wanted but higher than the price the real estate agent suggested dropping it to if it didn’t sell, so I think I’ll just grab it and go. I don’t like living here anymore. I don’t know if I ever did. It’s a house, not a home.
Five days.
Nick
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~It was a busy five days for both of them. Nick spent time getting stuff in order for the sale of the house, signing back papers and dickering over terms. Once he accepted the final offer, he got an empty feeling in his stomach that he could only cure with a day on the water, so he headed out on his boat.
Nick talked to all the Boys on the phone at least once and wished them a happy time with their families. They could hear the wistful tone of voice that told them things were not all that happy in his family. They were pleased that he had Abby, that he would at least be spending the holiday with someone’s family, if not his own.
He emailed his flight information to Abby and packed a bag. He took a limo to the airport, even though Troy had offered to drive him. Yeah right, Nick had told him. It’s a nine o’clock departure. That means I have to be there, like…just after seven. Enjoy the limo, had been Troy’s response.
Abby spent the week helping her mother decorate for Thanksgiving. Tasteful cornucopias were placed here and there and the fresh flowers were all done in shades of yellow, orange and copper.
Mrs. Smith baked some squares for the Hearing Society bazaar and in return, Abby spent an afternoon helping her polish the silver. Nick was going to get the full treatment, Grandmother Fremont’s ‘good’ china, the Desmond silver (Sharon’s family) and the ‘guest’ tablecloths and napkins.
Whenever she could, Abby wrote. Her first attempt at Lady Vera had been a strident, vituperative disaster. Scale that back a notch, she’d told herself laughingly when she’d taken the first draft out of the ‘freezer’.
She had finished three stories, and had shared them with the children at school and at the hospital. “Here comes the Story Lady,” rang through the hospital ward when she arrived. A growing crowd of nurses tried to be on hand whenever Abby had a story to share. The children didn’t seem to mind if it wasn’t a new story. They were happy to hear the old ones over and over.
At school, the entire class could sign along with Why Me? and were getting quite good at Princess Penelope Makes a Mistake. The third story, Princess Penelope Learns a Lesson, had enthralled the children and caused Ms. McCallum to remark that she was sure the story should be published but she wasn’t sure if it was a children’s story or for adults.
Abby didn’t sleep well Wednesday night. She was nervous and anxious on both Nick’s behalf and her own. She tried to tell herself that there was no point in stressing about it. All the rehearsal in the world couldn’t prepare them for Sharon Fremont, who was bound to find the one question that would have Nick leap up and shout that enough was enough, he wasn’t dating Abby, he didn’t even like her all that much, and he had to leave the house NOW!!
As she was tossing and turning, Abby came to the realization that her fears were not, in fact, about her mother and father. Her biggest fear, the one that made her stomach turn over, was that Nick would discover that he didn’t like her, that ‘the plan’ was a hopeless failure and that they should call it off. Because Abby didn’t want to. She liked having a boyfriend on the other side of the country. It was pleasant and convenient. She started her day off with a smile, reading Nick’s email. She answered it and went on with her day, doing her own thing, secure in the knowledge that she was ‘in a relationship’. She didn’t have to worry about her mother’s quest for prospective suitors any more. She didn’t feel like a loser when she sat at home on Saturday night. Guarding the punch bowl at the masquerade ball had been a choice, not a pathetic trade-off for having no date. Abby was happy. She wanted to stay that way.
Thursday morning, she was tired and drawn. Dammit, she told herself. She applied makeup carefully and dressed in a pair of taupe slacks and a burgundy and taupe sweater. She had changed her mind about her outfit almost as many times as her mother had changed her mind about where to house Nick.
Sharon had finally decided to put Nick in the blue guest room. It was closest to the bathroom, which would be his for the duration of his visit. Both the senior Fremonts and Abby had their own ensuite. The bedroom was also just down the hall from Abigail, but not right next door. It was even further away from the parents. Sharon wasn’t sure what the two young people would get up to…she certainly had too much class to ask or to even hint at it…but she wanted to make it possible, without making it seem like she expected it.
“When are you leaving for the airport?” asked John at lunch.
Sharon sniffed from the other end of the table. She had argued with Abby about this. It made Abby seem like a chauffeur. Sharon lost the argument because both Abby and her father knew that driving her car was one of her joys of life and she never missed out on an opportunity to do it. Besides, Abby didn’t want Nick in the position of having to knock on the door. She wanted to be at his side when the vulture descended.
“Nick’s flight gets in at three. I’ll head out there right after lunch.”
“That won’t give us much time to chat before dinner,” said Sharon. “I don’t see why he couldn’t take an earlier flight.
Abby rolled her eyes, an offense that would have gotten her severely chastised had her mother noticed. “He left at nine this morning his time, Mother. The flight is four hours and he loses two because of the time zone changes.” She had explained this three times already. Sharon waved her hand through the air. She didn’t care about the mathematics of the scenario. She cared about the convenience to her.
“Well,” said Abby, placing her napkin on the table and standing up. “I guess I’ll be off then.” She hesitated and then took a deep breath. “Mother, Daddy…” There was a tremble in her voice.
John Fremont smiled at his daughter. “We’ll be good, Honey. I promise.”
Abby dropped a kiss on his forehead, and without looking at her mother, went off to O’Hare to pick up Nick.
