It was May. My dad, my younger sister Melissa, best friend Kate and I had just moved to beautiful, bright, sunny, warm Denver, Colorado.
Dad had unlocked the door to our new house; I was inside, setting up my room which was upstairs. The bedroom windows were open. Birds were singing outside. Kate and Melissa were setting up their bedrooms. My mom was back in New York with my brother Matt.
"Lizzie?" I heard Dad call from outside.
"Yeah?" I asked.
"Will you come and help me with these boxes?"
"Yeah, be down in a minute."
"Ok."
I came out of my room and bumped into Melissa.
"Dad needs your help," she told me.
"Ok," I said.
I went downstairs, on the way passing Kate in the kitchen.
"Lizzie?" she said.
"Yeah?"
"Tell your dad we need food since we don't have...any at all, it seems."
"Ok. Will you come and help us with the boxes?" I asked.
"Ok sure."
We went through the kitchen to the front entryway and out the big white front door.
"Hey," I said, coming down the few cement steps that were in front of the house.
"Hi," Dad said.
"Isn't it a great day?" Kate asked, turning her palms skywards.
"I know. We couldn't have picked a more gorgeous day to move in," I said.
We joined Dad at the big white truck.
"We have a lot of boxes," Dad observed.
"Well we have a lot of stuff," I said.
"By the way Mr. McGuire, we need food since we don't have...any," Kate said.
"Kate I don't how many times I have to tell you...call me Jason," Dad said.
"Ok."
"You 3 can go grocery shopping after we're done," Dad said.
"Ok."
Dad wasn't annoyed by Kate's calling him Mr. McGuire, he was reminding her. Kate went inside.
We lifted the cardboard boxes from the truck and went inside.
"Hey, would you have Melissa come and help?" Dad asked.
"Yeah sure," I replied.
"Where do you want these?" Kate called from inside.
"Um living room is fine, just set them down there on the...floor," Dad called back.
"Ok."
I went back inside.
Melissa came into the living room.
"Hey we need food," she told us.
"Yeah we know," I said, after I'd set the down boxes on the hardwood floor.
Kate brushed a curl out of her eye.
"Your dad says we can go grocery shopping after we're done," she told Melissa.
"Ok."
She went out the front doorway.
We heard Dad and a woman talking outside. They were both laughing.
"I wonder if she's one of our new neighbors?" I wondered aloud.
"Maybe," Kate said, stepping closer to me; "Now that we're finally alone . . ."
She was saying the wanted to be intimate which was why she closed the proximity between us.
"Well why don't you come inside?" I heard Dad ask the woman.
"Ok," she replied.
Kate stepped a few inches away from me as she didn't want anyone to know we liked each other.
Melissa entered, carrying a box. She was followed by Dad and a woman with brown hair to her shoulders, the kind that looks red in the sun and dark eyes. Her skin was soft and light. She was very pretty.
"Hey, this is Ginger," Dad said, introducing the woman.
"Hey," the woman said.
"Ginger, these are my 2 daughters, Lizzzie and you already met Melissa."
"Yep that I did."
"And this is Lizzie's friend Kate," Dad introduced.
"Hi," Kate, Melissa and I said.
"Hey yall look alike, you're all very pretty," Ginger said in a southern accent.
"Thank you so are you," I said.
"You're not from here," Kate noted.
"No, no I'm not. I'm from Georgia. And you're from?"
"California."
"Oh been there. It's beautiful."
"Yeah. It is."
"Well welcome to Denver."
"Thank you. You're the first one who's welcomed us," Melissa said.
"Well she's the first one we've met," Dad said.
"I was just getting to know your dad and...hey, where's Tom?" Ginger asked
"Outside."
"Oh ok."
Ginger leaned her head back.
"Tom, honey, bring in the lemonade would ya?" she called.
Kate, Melissa and I exchanged a look wondering who tom was.
"Um who's Tom?" Kate asked.
"My son. My, youngest son."
"Oh ok."
"I also have 3 others. And a daughter."
"Wow."
"Yeah. Toby and October she's my daughter they're the oldest."
"Wow big family."
"Yeah well."
By this time Melissa had set the box on the floor.
A small boy, about 9 or 10, with dark hair walked into the room, struggling under the weight of a glass pitcher of lemonade.
"Hey here ya go Mom," he said.
"I'll take that," Dad said, leaning down and taking the pitcher out of Tom's arms.
"Thanks Mr. um..." Tom said.
"Jason call me Jason," Dad said.
"Oh ok."
Dad went and put the pitcher on the white shelf in front of the kitchen, with Ginger following close behind.
"Well that's awfully nice of you Jason," Ginger said.
"I'm Tom," Tom said.
"Yeah we know your mom just told us," Melissa said.
"Oh ok. And you are?"
"Melissa and this is my sister Lizzie,"
"Oh."
"Hi," I said.
"Hi."
"This is my friend Kate."
"Hi how old are you?" Kate asked Tom.
"10."
2 guys around Kate's and my age walked into the room, holding boxes. They were wearing jeans and tight black thick t shirts. They had green eyes and long curled hair to their shoulders.
"Hey Mom we got more boxes where do you-oh hello there," one of them said, looking at me.
He was distracted by me.
"Hey. I'm Lizzie."
"Hi I'm Eric and this is my brother Leo. I see you've already met my mom and Tom."
"Yes. This is my sister Melissa,"
"Hi," Melissa said.
"And my friend Kate."
"Well hello there," the other guy said.
"Hi," Kate said.
"Lizzie, where do you want these?" Eric asked me.
"Oh on the floor is fine," I replied.
"Ok."
The guys leaned down and set the boxes on the floor, then stood up.
"You the family who just moved?" Leo asked.
"Yeah we haven't even unpacked yet," Melissa told him.
"Oh we could help you with that."
"Yeah there are, a lot of things we could help you with," Eric put in flirtatiously.
Kate and I smiled.
Tom went over to his mother.
"Mom," he said a little annoyed.
She stopped talking to Dad and looked down at her son.
"Yes?"
"I'm hungry."
"Oh they're always hungry at that age. I remember when Lizzie was 10 she . . . "
"Dad!" I broke in.
"Ok ok. Uh, well, it appears that we don't have any food. I told the girls they could go grocery shopping after they were done unpacking."
"Oh, October can take them," Ginger put in.
"October?" Dad asked, lifting an eyebrow.
"Oh she's my oldest."
"Oh ok."
"And we don't have dinner plans so . .er, unless. I'm sorry Ginger I didn't mean to be presumptious, um, would you like to...have...?"
"Dinner later on?" Ginger filled in.
Dad smiled; "yes. Exactly."
"Sure I'd love to."
Leo and Eric came back with more boxes which they set on the living room floor.
"But Mom," Tom reminded his mom more annoyed.
"Honey, maybe when Toby and October come by, they can take you grocery shopping. But right now I'm talking to this nice man."
"Oh. Ok."
Tom pouted and went outside.
"Tom, hey!" Leo called after him.
"Exscuse me," he said to me.
"Yeah sure."
He ran out the door after tom.
"Tom, where ya goin?" we heard him say.
"Back to our house."
"Oh. Ok."
Leo returned.
"Sorry bout that. He has a tendency to wander off, so we have to keep an eye on him," he said.
"That's ok."
"Your mom seems pretty comfortable," Kate remarked.
"With...is that your dad?"
"Yep. Well it's Lizzies' dad...actually."
"Oh ok. So how 'bout that unpacking?"
"Yeah ok."
We went upstairs after telling Ginger and Dad we were going upstairs.