Chapter 1
I own no characters except the ones I create.
Author's Note: This is the last summer story before I begin working on the sequel to Cailey On Deck.
It was almost two weeks before the S.S. Tipton and Seven Seas High were about to set sail for yet another year. So, there was one last event to occur that summer. The wedding. Wednesday, August 11, had been both Cody and Bailey's last days with their internships. And the next day, Bailey, Cody, Carey and Zack all found themselves on a plane that would eventually lead them to Kettlecorn, Kansas. Carey and Zack were in row 3 while Cody and Bailey sat behind them in row 4. As they grew closer and closer to their final destination, Cody couldn't help but notice how anxious Bailey was getting.
Bailey had to admit that she was. It had been almost a whole year since she had been home, and she couldn't wait to see all of her sisters, the farm and Porkers again. Cody had to smile at the mention of the little pig. He had to admit to Bailey that part of him wanted to name Porkers the winner of the contest, but with Ivana clearing Zack of that jewel theft, he had to call it a tie. Bailey smiled too. She could understand that. She even apologized for calling him a wishy washy judgie wudgie. Cody just replied that from now on, he shouldn't be a judge in anything Bailey was competing in...he was too biased.
Eventually, after a succession of planes, the four landed in Kansas. Kurt was there to pick them up and take them on the long drive to Kettlecorn. After greeting everyone, he piled them into his rental car. As they drove, Kurt was able to catch up with Cody and Bailey about their summers in Boston and their internships. As they drove, Cody could tell they were getting closer to Kettlecorn by how excited Bailey got. He just shook his head and smiled.
The car finally pulled up to the Pickett farm house. Bailey immediately got out of the car and ran into the house leaving Zack just looking at his brother. Cody shrugged and helped his brother and father get all of the luggage out of the trunk. For the first time, Kurt was noticing that his youngest son was lifting the bags with little effort. He couldn't help but notice Cody's arms and shoulders were a lot more defined. Cody had his bag over one shoulder and Bailey's over the other and proceeded to walk up the front steps to house and went inside. Inside, Cody found Bailey hugging her parents.
Joe Pickett heard the door open and looked over to see Cody entering the house. Was that really the same Cody he had met just a few months ago? Something was different...he wasn't so scrawny anymore. In fact, it now looked like farm work wouldn't break him anymore. Cody walked in and shook Joe's hand again. His grip was stronger too. Maggie Pickett noticed it too when she hugged Cody. But she actually asked what had happened. Cody just smiled and shrugged saying he had been hitting the gym the last couple of months. Maggie had to chuckle to herself. She was sure her daughter hadn't minded in the least. Eventually, Carey, Zack and Kurt arrived inside with their bags.
They were interrupted by a stampede into the living room. Before Cody knew it, he was surrounded by eight other young women with a handful of young men. Cody paused. Bailey had been going over all of their names and the names of spouses/significant others. Bernie and Bobbi he already knew, so that was two down. But before he had to see how good his memory was, Bailey stepped in and introduced him to the rest of her sisters and everyone else. She stood there holding his hand as he shook hands with everyone. He could definitely see the family resemblances, but as far as he was concerned, he had the pick of the litter. All of Bailey's sisters seemed very nice, and most of their significant others did too. But it was obvious to everyone that when comparing the men of the Pickett daughters, one was definitely different than the others. Most of them were farmers or worked in some capacity in town. One was a sheriff's deputy and another ran the local grocery.
Of course, this being the first time they had met him, Bailey's sisters were very curious about the young man they knew their sister loved. The spokesman for the group appeared to be the oldest sister, Mandy. She wasn't one to waste time, so she immediately started in on Cody by telling him they were all impressed by what had happened in Tokyo and Miami. But then she asked after that, why had Cody backed down to Moose. Cody and Bailey looked at each other in confusion. After Bailey asked her sister what she was talking about, Mandy proceeded to explain that Moose had come home saying Bailey and Cody had avoided him at all costs and pleaded with him to leave them alone. This angered Bailey as she immediately told them what had really happened. She finished by saying it had been Moose that had hightailed it out of there with his tail between his legs.
Bailey was ready to track Moose down at that very moment. When she was done with him, he was going to wish he had gotten off as light as his uncle did with the butter churn. Cody had to immediately grab her and pull her back. He had to remind her then is a couple of hours, they had to go for final fittings for the tuxedos and dresses. Then, where only she could hear him, he said they would both go and deal with Moose later.
After about an hour of everyone just sitting around and chatting and getting to know each other, it was time for the fittings. As Kettlecorn was so small, the only clothing shop catered to both men and women. So, everyone was waiting together. Cody, Bailey, Kurt, Maggie and Joe were met there by Sarah and Cassie who had been taking care of a few other last minute things. When Zack finally saw Cassie, he could help himself but to run over and hug her. The guys went first as it would be quicker to make any alterations to the tuxes. Cody and Zack were the first ones out. Wearing tuxes had become an oddly frequent occurrence for them, so they could get them on quicker. Both Zack and Cody were thankful that they were full vests and not cummerbunds. As they both stood there as the seamstress marked last minute alterations, Cassie and Bailey could only look on at how handsome their boyfriends looked. The only major change was that Cody needed a larger jacket. Seems the original was going to be too tight in the shoulders and back. Soon, it was the girl's turns to get fitted, and it was the guy's turn to sit and muse at how beautiful their girlfriends were. By the time it was time for the final fitting for Sarah's wedding dress, all the men were sent back to the house.
Cody and Bailey had planned on going on to look for Moose, but were unable to get away. There was an impromptu wedding shower being thrown in the Pickett home. Since she had been away so long, many friends of the family wanted to see her again and meet her new beau. Joe and Edna Weevil were not invited.
Cody found himself woken up early the next morning. Still being asleep, he mistook the real rooster crowing for Bailey's alarm clock and instinctively reached over to pull the sleeping body next to him closer. Unfortunately, that sleeping body was his brother Zack. Cody was starting to lean in and nuzzle Bailey's neck when he opened his eyes and noticed the person next to him wasn't his Bailey. The shock of that convinced Cody to immediately get up and out of the room before Zack woke up. As he made his way to the kitchen, he found Maggie Pickett already up and about to begin breakfast. Cody greeted her good morning and asked if she needed any help. Maggie smiled. Bailey had mentioned the Cody was a great cook, so she took him up on his offer. Cody was already in the midst of preparing a large plate of pancakes when the next person awake arrived into the kitchen. It was Bailey. Without noticing her mother was in the room, she immediately went up to Cody and wrapped her arms around him and leaned in for a morning kiss. Maggie Pickett could only watch in the background and smile.
After breakfast, Bailey took Cody for a tour of the family farm. Being his first time on a real farm, Cody was very attentive to everything Bailey was telling him. All of his reading about cross pollination was nothing compared to seeing everything in its natural state. And of course, he did get to see Porkers again. He turned to Bailey and told her to remind him to ask Jo Thomas if the apartment was pet friendly, and if so, they could bring Porkers with them. Bailey could do nothing but smile. She would love to be able to bring Porkers to Yale with them. As Bailey and Cody returned from their tour of the farm, they found the Picketts and Carey and Kurt sitting around the kitchen table. Joe Pickett spoke up and said that then was as good a time as any to discuss the apartment in New Haven. Cody and Bailey nodded and Cody excused himself to get something to show them first. He came back with a manila folder. Cody sat next to Bailey and began.
"Okay, I gone through the scholarship information from Yale, and I've provided a proposed budget based on Bailey and I pooling our living stipends." Cody passes out a document to each one of them. "Now, I've also called all the utilities we would need in New Haven to get estimates of what our monthly expenses will be." He passes out another document to each of them. "I also asked Mrs. Thomas to fax me a proposed lease. You can see on it all the terms she told us about already." He proceeds to hand out copies of the proposed lease. "Now, Bailey and I prepared a chart here to show that with our combined monthly stipends from Yale, we will have more than enough to pay rent, all utilities, groceries and other necessities." Cody passes out the chart and he had Bailey look at their parents.
Joe, Maggie, Carey and Kurt glance at the sheets in front of them and then at each other. They all just begin to laugh.
Bailey is annoyed. "What's so funny?"
Joe smiles. "It looks like you two have put a lot of work into this..."
Cody answers. "We have. We've thought about it a lot. We've talked about it extensively. This is something we both want."
Bailey continues. "Cody's right. Yale is going to be a challenging experience for both of us. We both know how much easier it will be on us knowing that everyday we will be have each other to talk to, to relax with, to laugh with...and to have someone that you know loves you no matter what..."
Joe pauses. "What will you do if we don't agree with this?"
Cody and Bailey look at each other. "We'll do it anyways..."
The four parents are silenced and look each other. Finally Kurt speaks up. "I have no objections. It will actually be comforting to me that Cody will have Bailey there to count on and to watch over him. I rather he be with some I know cares about him."
Maggie speaks next. "I tend to agree. Bailey will be a long way from home. I too would feel better knowing that Cody was there for her in case she got sick or hurt or something like that..." She smiles. "And I know from this morning that she will eat well..."
Carey is next. "I've spent all summer with them together. I know they'll be fine. I've always taught Cody to follow his heart. Well, if this is what his heart is telling him, I trust him..."
Everyone's eyes finally turn to Joe. He has yet to speak. Finally, he sighs. "I don't want to be the bad guy here. If I may, I have a few questions..."
Cody and Bailey nod.
Joe begins. "All of this is based on your stipends that Yale is giving you as part of your scholarships. I hope you both are aware that Yale is going to expect you to keep a certain level of grades to keep those..."
Bailey answers. "We know, Daddy. But our grades at Seven Seas High have both actually improved since we've been together. We encourage each other to study, and we'll both be there to help the other..."
Joe nods. "So, what happens when an expense arises that your stipend doesn't cover?"
Cody takes this one. "Joe, I've saved every penny that my internship has paid me this summer. I've been able to live off what I make working for London Tipton and will continue to be able to do that through next year. What I've saved will be our emergency fund..."
Bailey continues. "And I've saved a lot of what I've made too just like you always taught me to do. We should have plenty to cover anything that happens..."
Joe pauses to think. "The apartment isn't furnished...What will you do for furniture?"
Bailey answers. "We will use as much as we can that we already own. Beyond that, we can search secondhand stores, newspaper ads and garage sales next summer. We don't need anything fancy..." She turns to smile at Cody. "Well, Cody might make a few purchases for the kitchen..."
Joe nods. "Well, it does seem like you have thought through this. If everybody else is okay with it, then I guess I'm in too..."
Cody and Bailey thank their parents and then turn to hug each other. But the hug didn't last too long...they had a phone call to make.
And after that, a final score to settle with a big, dumb animal...
To be Continued...