"I really appreciate you letting me come to stay, Aunt April." The dull sound of a heavy cardboard box hitting the floor echoed from the guest bedroom, followed by a small mushroom cloud of dust exploding out the door. Abandoning the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches she'd been working on in the kitchen down the hall, April poked her head in the room just as her niece broke into a fit of hacking coughs, waving her thin hands in a vain but comical attempt to clear the air. April felt a small smile cross her face as she stepped into the room, shooting the growing pile of unopened boxes an appraising glance. She'd originally been the against the idea of her 17 year old niece coming to visit for the entire summer – there was just so much to worry about. This was New York City after all, and the news never stopped coming, leaving April working obscenely long hours at work practically every day. It just didn't seem right to leave Chelsea alone in the apartment all that time – and the idea of letting her wander around the city alone had set April's skin crawling. And then, of course, there was the more complicated issue of the company April kept. There was no chance that she would go an entire three months with out seeing hide or shell of Mikey, Raph, Donnie or Leo – and there was no way around it, they were a bit hard to explain. Consequently, her automatic answer to Chelsea's request was a staunch 'no'. But it had only taken two teary phone calls, laced with begging, pleading, and promises that she'd 'stay totally out of your way, Aunt April' to convince her to relent. The work situation had been resolved fairly easily, much to her surprise. A short conversation with her boss and an agreement about shorter hours for a brief while had been reached. The guys on the other hand ... well, she hadn't quite gotten around to telling them yet... time had just slipped away from her and before she knew it she was picking Chels up at the airport and the topic hadn't been broached.
"Don't mention it..." April looked up from her own thoughts and shot the thin girl sitting on the bed a smile. "I'm sorry about the mess... I just haven't had company in such a long time. And I haven't really had time to clean ..." She paused and dragged a finger across one of the bed posts, cringing when it came up completely covered in fuzz. "...as you can tell." Chelsea was shaking her head in protest, her long braid shaking violently behind her like a tail as she plopped down on the bed, another cloud of dust floating up from the mattress. April just laughed, and turned her attention towards the boxes. "So do you want to start unpacking? Maybe if we get your stuff out it will liven this place up..." She looked around at the stark white walls and plain furniture. She really had neglected to do much decorating in here, but it seemed like every time she thought she could get started on the project something unexpected came up. Maybe now that Chelsea was settling in for a while they could tackle the task together.
"Actually," Chelsea paused, obviously embarrassed. "... I'm kind of starving. I forgot to get breakfast before catching the bus. You know how dad is ... he was so scared I was going to be late we got to the station three hours early." She blew her bangs out of her eyes as April laughed.
"He's been that way since we were kids." A ghost of a smirk crossed her lips as she dusted her hands off on her Levi's. "Well...if you're hungry, how about some real New York pizza, huh?" Chelsea's face lit up at the suggestion and before April could say 'hold the anchovies' the teenager had her jacket on and was waiting anxiously by the front door. April was struck slightly by just how much the girl had changed in the last 17 years. She could still remember the day she'd received the call from her ecstatic older brother, so excited that he was talking faster than she could keep up with. It was a year or two after he'd moved away from the city with his wife, Amelia. The two had come to a mutual decision that New York was no place to raise a family, and had invested in a house out in a small suburban town in Ohio.
His move hadn't shocked April much. He'd always been the nervous sibling. While she'd been a precocious, tenacious child, Andrew had been timid, constantly unsure of himself. The city had done nothing but make him nervous his entire life, and when the chance came to leave it April would have been surprised if he hadn't grabbed at the opportunity. Within three months of the move Amelia had become pregnant, and in September she answered the phone to hear that she was an Aunt. He'd named her Chelsea, after their grandmother. She was perfect she'd told him. And looking at her now, swaying by the door, April saw so much of her brother it was almost astonishing.
"Come on, Aunt April, let's bone out! I could eat a cow!" She was rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet, her hands playing with the scrunchie in her hair as April grabbed her keys and coat.
"Alright! Alright! I'm coming!" She was laughing as they locked up.
It was Chelsea first time in the 'Big City' and April practically had to drag her down the street as she stopped to examine every store window, every street sign, and every swindler within the four blocks they had to walk to their hole in the wall destination. 'ROY'S PIZZA' the awning declared, in bold white lettering. Music blared within and as April pulled the door open, a warm welcoming wave of oregano and cilantro hit Chelsea full on in the face.
"Hey April!" A boy behind the counter looked up from where he was folding boxes and shot the two girls a wave. Chelsea felt herself shrink back slightly to fall behind her aunt. For all her big talk and big city excitement, she was a small town girl at heart still and despite her best efforts, any attempt at being social was severely crippled as it ran into her stubborn wall of shyness. April didn't seem to notice and made her way over to the register, leaning across to give whoever this new person was a hug. "So ... who's your friend?" The boy raised an eyebrow and looked straight at Chelsea, who was attempting to figure out the ratio of black to white tiles in the floor.
"Oh! This is my niece Chelsea. She's staying with me for the summer... Chels?" April cocked her head to the side as she peered across the room at Chelsea, who looked up timidly and shot her what she hoped was a confident smile. "Chels, this is Keno. He's a friend of mine ... and he's a good guy to know if you're hungry while I'm at work." The boy ... Keno, hopped over the counter and wiped his flour covered hands down on his apron so that he could shake with Chelsea, who tried her best to match him grip for grip.
"Nice to meet ya." He smiled at her warmly and Chelsea felt suddenly at ease, a smile of her own spreading out over her lips.
"Likewise, I'm sure." Pulling her hand back, she made her way over to April's side and peered up at the menu as her stomach grumbled loudly.
"Well someone's hungry." Keno was smirking at her as he returned to the boxes he'd been working on prior to their arrival. Chelsea just nodded fiercely, her eyes unwavering from the list of pizza toppings.
April took the liberty of ordering them a plain cheese pie, since her niece looked vaguely overwhelmed by the magnitude of the menu, and after Keno promised to deliver it to their table she pulled Chelsea away by the sleeve to sit in a corner by the window.
"Seriously Aunt April ... you don't even know how much I appreciate all this..." Chelsea said at length, pulling her eyes away from the window and a hooker that was hailing a taxi just outside. "I just couldn't spend the whole summer at home... dad would have driven me completely postal."
"He's got you on a pretty short leash after last summer, huh?" April raised an eyebrow and leaned forward on her elbows as she eyed the younger girl, who had flushed a bright red from the tip of her nose to the top of her forehead.
"You've got no freaking idea! You'd think I'd killed someone or something the way he's been acting. ... I'm tellin' you. One beer! He acted like it was the end of the world. I've been on lockdown ever since and it's been almost a year. He's wound so tight I'm surprised he hasn't snapped yet." This was accompanied by a dramatic eye roll and a casual knuckle crack. "The only reason he even let me out of his sight is because I was going to be staying with you ... but even that was a hard sell. I think he thinks I'm going to run away here or something..."
"You're his baby girl." April teased, leaning back from the table as Keno arrived with their pie. Slipping him some cash, a generous tip included, she patted the top of her piece with a napkin to soak up the extra grease. Chelsea opted for the easier route and dug right in, some of the oil dribbling down her chin in the process. "You want a napkin for that, Wolverine?" Chels grinned sheepishly and grabbed a handful, rubbing at her face before taking another bite. "But, honestly, I mean you had to know he would have a fit if he found out."
"That's just it though! I didn't think he would. I mean come on ... it was one beer. It's not like I was having sex or something. But you know how he is. So, honestly, thank you, from the bottom of my heart. If you hadn't let me come out, you would have been visiting me in an asylum come August." She paused to take a long drag off of her soda before speaking up again. "I really hope I'm not putting you out or anything..."
Now it was April's turn to pause. It wasn't that she was being put out. In fact it was the opposite, but she could help wondering if maybe now was the time to start bringing up the guys. Or should she talk to them first? Maybe they didn't even want to meet Chelsea. She shook her head slightly, both in answer to Chelsea's statement and to the direction of her own thoughts. There was no way they'd turn down the chance to meet someone new and trustworthy. She was sure of it.
"You're definitely not putting me out. I'm glad to have you around. We're going to have so much fun together!" She chewed a bite of pizza thoughtfully before continuing. "But look, there's some stuff you should probably know about..." This statement brought a raised eyebrow from Chelsea, but she remained quiet, allowing her aunt to continue. "Well, I've got some friends... who I'm sure would love to meet you. They usually come around pretty regularly. But ... they're a little, well, different. And it would need to stay our secret" Chelsea shook her head at this statement, waving her hands in front of her as if to tell April not to worry about it.
"Oh don't worry! I won't tell my dad about your boyfriends or anything. I'm all for you know, women being in charge and playing the field. It's the nineties after all, right? Girl Power!" This was all mumbled around a full mouth and left April looking completely horrified.
"No, no, no! Nothing like that! They're ... well." There was no way to continue this conversation with the boys there so she chose to cut it short, to be continued at a later date. "...well, you'll just have to see. I'm sure you'll be meeting them soon anyways." She faded off, pushing her crusts away as she watched Chelsea devour her fourth slice. When the girl pushed her empty cup away and patted her stomach, April grabbed her bag and slid away from the table, waiting for Chelsea to slide back into her jacket before standing to head for the door. Shooting a wave to Keno, the twosome headed onto the street just as the sky decided to open with a torrential downpour.
"Shit!" It was a mutual exclamation as they both looked at each other, trying to decide whether to run for it, or wait it out under the awning of Roy's. A loud clap of thunder was all the signal they needed to know that the rain wasn't stopping anytime soon, and that there wasn't much else to do except make a mad dash for home. And just as they'd resigned themselves to stepping out into the storm, they both felt a hand on their shoulders.
"Could you ladies use an umbrella?" It was Keno and he had an oversized umbrella tucked under his arm. Both women shot him a thankful glance and heaved a heavy sigh of relief.
"Well, that's one bout of pneumonia I won't have to deal with." Chelsea said lightly, taking the umbrella and popping it open. Holding it up, she huddled under it with April, who was busy thanking Keno, who was waving of her appreciation playfully. After telling them he'd be around to 'collect' later, the two set out into the rain.
On the way home they talked more about Chelsea's father, who had become even more overbearing since Amelia had lost her battle to breast cancer several years earlier. The death had seemingly effected Chelsea very little ... April couldn't even remember her crying at the funeral, but she also assumed that there was a lot that went on in her brother's house that she never saw. Now that she had the chance to reflect on it more heavily, she was glad that she'd agreed to this visit. It would probably do the girl some good to get away from that stifling house and just relax a little bit.
Now, if only April could relax.
Slamming the apartment door behind them, Chelsea took over the job of locking back up as April headed over to check the answering machine. The first few were fairly uneventful – her boss, a telemarketer, a few call backs about stories, and then Donnie's familiar voice:
'Uh...Hey April! It's Don. I was just wondering if maybe you could do me a favor? If not it's fine ... I mean I don't want to be any trouble. But I'm totally out of some stuff for my lab and ...I won't give you the list now or anything but if you have the time, give me a call back and I'll give it to you...'
He was promptly interrupted by Mike's voice breaking through the line.
'Helloooooooooooooo, babe! While you're at it could you bring some pork rinds, maybe some ding dongs, and I wouldn't say no to a bag of m&m's, maybe a mars bar or three ... DORITOS! Doritos would be great... and...' There was the brief sound of a scuffle and then Don's voice, slightly breathless, came on again.
'Anyways! Thanks a lot April! You're the best!'
"Those your boyfriends?" Chelsea's teasing question startled April, who hadn't realized the girl had moved to stand behind her as she'd listened. She laughed.
"Yep. Those are my boyfriends. I'll call them back later. ...Right now lets get some sheets on that bed of your so that you're not sleeping in the middle of dust city, alright?"