Niles stared as Frasier pulled into the gravel driveway of a basic-sized log cabin. He parked, and Martin exclaimed, "All right! This place is even better than the pictures made it look." Biting his bottom lip, Niles began to lift his bags out of the car. He had no idea why he had even agreed to come on this vacation in the first place. His father had been insistent on him coming, but he just as easily could have said that he was too busy with work. Frasier could have made the same excuse, but he had plenty of vacation time and didn't know when else he'd take it.

Once all luggage had been unloaded, Martin sat down the bag he was carrying and unlocked the cabin door, letting Eddie in first. He smiled upon seeing the interior, and Frasier and Niles groaned. It wasn't exactly their cup of tea, taking on more of a quaint and vintage style than the luxury they were accustomed to.

On the walls were oil paintings of old wagon wheels in open fields and ships on raging seas. A formal dining room with eight chairs and an embroidered tablecloth sat in the corner of the house, and the small kitchen was bedecked with food-themed decorations. "You know, Dad," Frasier began, "I know of plenty of finer resorts and hotels we could have stayed at for our vacation."

"Ah, you can't make memories at a place like that. You gotta go where there's meat and substance. That's where you can have the best time in the end."

"Like we couldn't have made memories with a massage therapist," whispered Niles to his brother, who nodded in return

"I guess I get first pick of the rooms, huh?" said Martin.

"Go ahead, Dad," muttered Frasier.

"All right!" He said, laughing. All the bedrooms were in one long hallway, and he peered into each one before choosing the one he wanted. Frasier and Niles took the other two without looking inside.

Niles quickly began to unpack as soon as he arrived. His room was small, but he liked the coziness of it. A large, wooden dresser sat against a far wall and was topped by a small, wooden deer statue. A soft red comforter lay on his bed, and long, white curtains covered the window. He began to unpack immediately, carefully putting his clothes into the dresser drawers and making sure everything was just as neat and clean as he wanted it to be.

When everything was satisfactory, he left and went into the green-couched living room, not quite sure what to do with himself. A sliding glass door at the end of the room gave a good view of Lake Maude, which Niles supposed was rather beautiful, even if his father did have terrible taste for picking a vacation spot. At least there would be something to look at.

"Well, Niles, ready to go to the country store with me?" Asked Martin, coming out of his room.

"What country store, Dad?" Niles asked.

"There's a little grocery and souvenir shop at the front of the resort. It's in walking distance. Come on."

"Isn't Frasier coming?"

"I asked him, but he said no. Come on, Niles."

Niles followed Martin out the door silently.

"Boy am I glad to get away for a little while," said Martin, once they were outside.

"Dad, you don't even have a job."

"Yeah, but I'm relieved to be away from that witch of a physical therapist, Christina."

"Dad, certainly she isn't that bad."

"You'd better believe it. It's bad enough that I have to go all the way down to the hospital to see her, but I have to sit there while she tortures me and nags on me about how I'm not losing weight. I might have to do some exercises by myself while I'm here, but it's better than putting up with her."

"I'll be pleased to not be in the same city as Maris. We've been divorced for over a year, and still it seems as if everywhere I go I see her face. She's done enough damage in my life and I'd like to finally have her out of it."

They were silent for a few steps until Niles continued, "Forgetting for the moment that Frasier loses all of his girlfriends, at least he has dates. There are women who actually want his company."

"Oh come on, Niles, I'm sure there are lots of girls who wanna go out with you."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, but if that were true I think there would be some evidence of that."

"You just have to wait for the right person. You think your soul mate's just gonna pop out of the air?"

"Of course not, Dad, but it's dreadful being lonely."

"Well, you don't have to be lonely now. You're spending three weeks in a cabin with your family!"

Niles said nothing.

Soon, they had arrived at a big log cabin with a painted sign overhead that read, LAKE MAUDE COUNTRY RESTAURANT AND STORE.

"Wow, it looks so authentic!" Martin exclaimed.

"Just what exactly are we buying here, Dad?" Niles asked.

"Stuff for dinner. I thought we'd celebrate our first night here by fixing a nice home-cooked meal and eating it in the dining room."

Niles sighed and followed his father through the door. Inside, everything smelled like cinnamon and fudge. The floorboards creaked beneath Niles' feet as he walked, and a draft of air conditioning moved swiftly through the brown shelves of food and souvenirs. Lights hung from the tall ceiling, but the place was mostly lit by the light of the huge windows in the front of the store.

He stayed with Martin and helped him carry cans of peas and corn, as well as a bag of potatoes and a box of batter to make dinner rolls with. The last thing they did was walk to the back to the four freezer doors against the far wall. Martin looked the perfect frozen chicken, and when he had found it pulled on one of the freezer doors. It wouldn't open.

"Niles, go look for an employee and ask him about this door."

"Dad," he whined, "must I? I'm already carrying most of the groceries."

"Here, give 'em to me," Martin replied, and Niles did; then set out to complete his task.

He weaved through shelves looking for someone in a uniform, but after a few moments he gave up and began to make his way to the front. As he passed boxed desserts, candy, and various Lake Maude hats, he suddenly heard what sounded like cellophane rappers cascading to the floor. A woman's voice followed it, beginning to yell, "Oh, bloody-" The voice slammed on its brakes, but Niles wished it to go on. Something about it caught his steps and prevented him from going any farther.

He turned around, trying to remember where the voice had come from. Whoever this woman was, it was obvious that she needed help, after all. He saw nothing, so he called out, "Um...pardon me, ma'am, do you need help?"

"No, I've got it," she responded. Her voice came from the floor now. "But, thank you, sir."

Niles didn't give up; he couldn't for any reason. He searched and finally found her. She was kneeling on the floor amongst bags and bags of chips, putting them back on the shelf with graceful hands. Long dark hair splashed down her back and shined in the indoor sunlight as she leaned down. With an upward glance she noticed Niles and smiled radiantly at him. Her eyes, dark with wood, looked at him and made his life presently stop.

"Hello," she said. "I don't know what happened here. One of me knees must have nudged one of the bags and down they all came."

"Please, allow me to help you," said Niles.

"Thank you."

Niles slowly bent down, trying to put the fact that the floor was dirty out of his mind. He put back the chip bags one by one, content to be so close to this woman. When they were done, he helped her up and she thanked him again. "I'm more than a little embarrassed," she confessed. "Well, I guess things like this happen to everyone. Anyways, I've taken enough of your time. Bye."

Niles watched her walk away, wanting to say something but having no idea what to say. He stared at her as she pushed open the door empty handed and turned the way he and his father had come.

For a moment afterwards, Niles didn't move as he tried to remember what it was Martin had wanted him to do. Finally, the answer came, and he found someone to unlock the freezer door for his dad. "What took you so long?" He asked his son as they made their way to the checkout counter.

"I'm sorry, Dad," he said. "I just got distracted."