Note: this is my first FF, please be gentle.
Don jumped into wakefulness as he heard a voice over the loudspeaker say "Ladies and Gentlemen, please fasten your seatbelts, we are about to descend into Tullarmarine Airport in Melbourne. Local time is 2.42am and the weather is clear. Thank you for flying with Qantas Airways". Charlie was already sitting up ready to go and shifting excitedly in his seat. This was the first time he had been to Australia.
Charlie had been invited to be a guest lecturer and convinced Don to come along for a holiday. Charlie & Alan had been feeling Don was working too hard lately and needed a break.
The Eppes brothers stepped out into the airport and looked out at the sea of faces looking for a sign saying "Professor Eppes", or similar.
It wasn't long before they spotted an older man with a handwritten sign saying "Charles Eps". Charlie nudged Don "They've spelled my name wrong!" Don just rolled his eyes, thinking of all the work he had back home and wondering how Charlie had got him to agree to this trip.
"Hi, I'm Charlie and this is my brother Don", Charlie said when they had reached the man.
"Professor Eppes, it's an honour to meet you, I'm Douglas Hennessy, head of the Maths department at Monash University." The man replied. "As try as I might, I couldn't convince anyone else to come and greet you at 2am". He continued apologetically, though he sounded rather unconvincingly. Doug was a huge fan of Charlie's work and couldn't wait to meet him.
Don and Charlie followed Doug out of the airport and to the car. The whole time Doug and Charlie compared notes on various mathematical theories and Don wished he was anywhere but here.
The drive down the freeway was uneventful; Don even dozed for a while. Charlie and Doug kept up a steady stream of conversation, with Charlie doing most of the talking. IT wasn't long before they arrived at Doug's home and Doug showed them to their room. Charlie was asleep in no time, but Don tossed and turned, unable to get comfortable. He blamed the 24 hour flight and sleeping sitting up.
"Shhhhhhh" at the top of a child's voice, followed by a woman saying "Come away from there, you'll wake our guests." Giggling then loud, running footsteps on the stairs, then sounds of breakfast being made and the smell of freshly brewed coffee.
It took Don a few minutes to work out where he was. He looked over and saw Charlie fast asleep – that guy could sleep through almost anything! Don decided to get out of bed and go downstairs. He felt groggy, but had been tossing and turning most of the night, so assumed any more sleep was out of the question. He hunted around for some clothes and headed downstairs.
Downstairs he found the kitchen. This was more a fluke than actually remembering where it was, or maybe it was the smell of coffee. Doug had shown it to him & Charlie when they arrived, but Don was too tired to remember much, especially after only a few hours sleep. He was greeted with a scene of chaos. Two small boys sat at the kitchen table surrounded by the remnants of breakfast.
Before Don could step through the door, he was greeted with a flying bowl of soggy, half eaten Weet Bix and a grinning, giggling 2 year old boy.
"I'm so sorry" the woman in the kitchen said apologetically trying to clean up the mess "he's at the 'Thank God You're So Cute' stage and thinks he can get away with anything!"