1Disclaimer - While these ideas are my own, they are based on the awesome characters developed by the writers and creators of CSI:Miami. As far as I know as of the last time I worked on this story (8/23/08) the details of my story are not drawn from any known events - past, present, or currently being developed or investigated.
* By the way, IF your name just happens to be Christina Duquesne, I just thought of the name one day and didn't mean to base it on anyone real or fictional.
On a rather hot, late Sunday afternoon when the sun was a bright orange ball in the sky, Christina Duquesne exited off of I - 95 in south Florida singing loudly in the car as she made her way to her cousin's house. Christina's uncle was Calleigh's dad. The two hadn't seen each other in 6 years. They had always had a strong bond but it hadn't been the same since Christina's family moved to North Carolina.
As she turned onto Calleigh's street - still singing loudly - she smiled as she pulled into Calleigh's driveway. She stopped the car as Calleigh opened the door.
"Hey Calleigh! I'm finally here!", Christina said excitedly. The two hugged tightly. To an outsider, Calleigh and Christina looked more like sisters than cousins; with long blonde hair, beautiful eyes and matching southern accents.
" Oh my gosh! Look how much you've grown, how have you been, how's your mom and dad?" Calleigh exclaimed.
"Good, good, everything's good. I'm following mama and daddy's footsteps by teaching. Daddy's retiring after this year and mama is still teaching 5th grade." Christina answered. "How are you? I can't believe how HOT it is here. I thought we had humidity in North Carolina, but it's really bad here!"
"I'm great, I love my job and I love Miami, it's so fun here. When I'm not working you and I have some serious catching up to do by the pool" said Calleigh.
Calleigh helped Christina bring her bags inside. The two chatted as they walked into Calleigh's very big, very pretty, two-story white stucco house. As Calleigh showed her around the house, Christina couldn't help but notice the framed picture on the mantle of Calleigh and a very cute, Cuban looking young man. Hmm, she thought to herself, I wonder who that could be. She didn't say a word to her cousin who was busy talking away about the different rooms in the house and showing Christina where she would be sleeping.
After settling in, Christina came back downstairs ready to catch up with her favorite cousin. Calleigh had some snacks for them to eat while they talked.
"So" Calleigh started, " I have to work tomorrow, Tuesday and Wednesday, then I am off on Thursday and we can do whatever you want. There's the Miami Seaquarium and a place called the Parrot Jungle Island that we can visit and I know you want to hit the beach as well."
"I definitely want to get on that beach - a lot - and maybe go snorkeling" Christina said. She also hinted that she'd like to meet some of her friends, thinking Calleigh would mention something about the guy she was with in the picture she'd seen earlier but she never said anything about it. The two talked until Christina, tired from driving all the way from North Carolina, was ready for bed.
Early Monday morning Christina woke to the aroma of strong coffee wafting through the house. The windows were opened allowing a soft breeze to wander in. The sun was barely up as she walked down the stairs to find her cousin drinking coffee, reading over a case file, or something like that. Christina didn't know exactly what Calleigh's job entailed, but she knew she was very good at what she did and worked with some of the best CSI's in the country. She didn't even look up as Christina stood beside her, glancing at what she was reading.
"Cal, since we were little you've been immersed in work, I can't believe you bring it home with you!" Christina said. She found a box of cereal Calleigh had left out for her and opened the refrigerator to find some milk.
"You know my job is very serious, I like to get a head start before I go in." Calleigh told her. "If you want to, you can go outside and pick a few oranges off of my orange tree and make yourself some fresh-squeezed orange juice!"
Christina went outside and for the first time, saw Calleigh's backyard. It was beautifully landscaped the way she knew it would be. Her older cousin was very organized, so why wouldn't her backyard be the same? She had a pool with a hot tub and a fountain, an orange tree, a lemon tree and some other really nice tropical plants that she had no idea what they were called. She noticed a black truck in the driveway beside the house with man in it but really didn't pay too much attention to it, thinking it was just someone leaving for work.
When she returned to the kitchen, it was almost time for Calleigh to leave for work. She showed Christina where to find everything she would need to make her own orange juice as well as other things she might need while she was home by herself. She told her cousin to have fun and that she'd be home as soon as possible.