Bailey's Point of View:
"Hey y'all!" I greet once we got inside.
"Mom? Dad?"
Two little angels appeared from both sides of the living room and sprinted towards us. We greeted them with a hug.
"You're home early!" squealed Audra.
"2 hours 28 minutes and 32 seconds earlier than the average time you come back!" Nadine added.
I released Audra from our hug, and grinned.
"We have a surprise for you."
"Really? What?" Audra turned to Cody.
He brought a finger on his lips. "We'll tell you later."
"Tell me now!" Audra pleaded.
"Over dinner." I promised.
Nadine, patient as always, nodded.
I dropped my bag on the couch and headed to the kitchen, bumping into Tiffany along the way.
"Oh! Sorry, Mrs. Martin." She set down the laundry basket. "Hey, you're home early!"
I smiled. "Yes." I looked around for Nadine, but she was too occupied from her novel. "Cody got the entire break off for us."
Tiffany gave me a hug.
"That's wonderful!"
I nodded.
"So you can take this break off too. I'm sorry if it inconvenienced you in the past."
Tiffany shook her head.
"I don't have much to do during the holidays anyway. And it's a delight to be with your children."
I beamed. "You can get off work early today. Or would you like to stay for dinner?"
"Oh, no, that's fine. Merry Christmas!" Tiffany exclaimed, giving me another hug before packing her stuff heading out the door.
"Tell me, tell me!" pleaded Audra.
I gave myself a small chuckle, looking in the living room to see Audra follow Cody everywhere.
"Audra, go check on your brother."
Audra gave a small shrug to my order, and ran upstairs.
"Thank you." Cody sighed in relief, coming towards me.
"Audra's smart. She knows you'll break the news easier than me."
"That's a bit offensive on my part."
"Mom!" I heard Audra yell from upstairs.
"Yes?"
"Joshua's awake!"
A few moments later, Audra was leading her little brother to the kitchen.
"You know, I hate that he never makes a sound when he wakes up." Audra commented.
"Why don't you and Nadine play with Joshua, while your father and I make dinner?"
Audra considered this for a moment.
"Sorry, Mom, that's not possible."
"Why not?"
"Nadine can't have fun." Audra shrugged.
Nadine bolted up from her history textbook and glared at her sister.
"What do you mean I can't have fun?"
"I mean, you read history textbooks during the holidays, you ask teachers for homework, and you are already starting to consider your future college." Audra listed. "Must I go on?"
"What's wrong with that?" Cody asked, looking up.
"Yeah, Audra. What is wrong with that?" Nadine challenged.
I shook my head. "Audra, don't tease your sister. Nadine, play with your brother okay? And Cody..."
"I'm getting in trouble too?"
"No. Be careful, or you'll cut yourself." I gestured with my head to where his hand was at, dangerously close to the knife.
"Oh!" Cody jumped in surprise. "Thanks."
When Audra and Nadine heard the news, they were really excited. Then Cody surprised the three of us, saying that there's a large chance it might happen every year. Soon, Nadine and Audra started to chant out places as vacation spots for the two weeks.
"Let's go to Egypt!" Nadine suggested.
"Eww...mummies? Why, you want zombies to come back to life?" Audra objected.
"No, to see the archaeologists' discoveries there, as well as check out the Pyramid of Giza. You know, it has been standing for over four thousand years? I would love to see it. It's not as interesting to read about it in textbooks. And by the way, the definition of mummies is the dead body of a human being or animal preserved by the ancient Egyptian process or some similar method of embalming, certainly not zombies." Nadine directed to her sister.
"Well, I'm thinking of going to Japan. Wouldn't that be cool? It is one of the most technological places on Earth! Gaming industries, anime productions," Audra's eyes turned dreamy. "And I definitely want to check out all the culture they have there. I mean, samurais, ninjas, so cool for a Christmas vacation!"
"So let me get this straight...you and your sister wants to go to two opposite directions of the world?" Cody summarized.
Audra and Nadine's eyes brightened at this thought.
"Could we? Please? Mom can go with me to Egypt, and Daddy can go with Audra to Japan!"
"You know the rules. We have to go as family." I shook my head.
"Besides, your mother and I already made plans for this holiday break."
Audra and Nadine groaned.
"So much for seeing the pyramids." Nadine mumbled, stuffing her last bit of salad in her mouth.
"Hey, quit complaining! If the pyramid you're so crazy over stood there for 4000 years, I hardly doubt it's going to collapse anytime soon. It's me who should be suffering! I'm gonna miss the festival they're holding this year."
"You mean the festival they hold every year?"
Audra slid off her seat, and pondered at this.
"Maybe. But at least I'm not fussing over a dumb three-dimensional triangle."
"It's called the Pyramid of Giza!" Nadine corrected her.
"I know its name." Audra gave a teasing grin.
After that, both of them turned in separate directions, showing how different the two sisters were, no matter how identical they may seem.
I finished up my meal, and cleared the table while Cody turned his attention back to his laptop.
There was a quiet hum in the house. Audra's soft playing in the background, with an occasional shuffling of footsteps from upstairs in Nadine's room. Joshua had gone to bed, and was not going to wake up until morning.
Pouring myself a glass of water, I heard Cody's laptop give a beeping sound.
"Hey Bailey, do you know who Zachary Martin is? He wants to video chat." He asked casually, staring at his screen.
The name was unfamiliar for a split second, since I was more used to the short version of the name.
"Zack? Cody, its Zack."
Cody looked up and stared at me in deep conclusion.
"Was he one of our co workers, or a friend...?"
My jaw dropped.
"You can't seriously have forgotten who he is, right?"
I approached him, alarmed.
"Umm...yes. Who is he?"
I sat down next to him on the couch and looked him sternly in his eyes, and turned away, annoyed.
"You're so lying. Scared me for a second."
Cody laughed. "I still hate how you could tell me so well."
"After 12 years, you would think you could do the same for me."
"Nope. You still keep me guessing." Cody put his arm around me.
"Well we still have to answer it. Wonder what he wants to tell us."
"More like ask us. For money, probably." Cody reasoned.
I gave a light punch on his shoulder. "Be nice. We haven't seen Zack since...wow, since his wedding."
"And I am perfectly happy with that." Cody emphasized.
I rolled my eyes and moved the mouse to the 'Accept' button on the screen.
"Wait, we really have to accept it? Can't we just say that we were busy, or..."
"I really want to see your brother."
And I clicked it.
Instantly, a familiar face popped up.
"Took you guys long enough. What, you couldn't figure out how to use the 'Accept' button?" Zack scoffed.
"Actually, we were debating whether we should use the 'Accept' button." Cody shot back, matter-in-factly.
"Well hello to you too." Zack rolled his eyes. "So, still stuck with this loser, Bailey?"
"Zack..."
"Well at least I have three loving children and do not live in an apartment in..."
"Cody..."
"Parenting is stupid. Kids are annoying and frustrating to deal with." Zack stated.
"Yes, for the immature, inconsiderate..."
"Cody! Zack!" I said in the midst of their bickering. "Do you guys ever stop? Can't we have a decent conversation, at the very least?"
"It's a twin thing."
"It's also a very annoying thing."
"You got to admit, that is kind of true." Cody agreed.
"Okay, Zack, can you tell us the reason for your pleasant," I added sarcastically "Appearance?"
"Oh, right. Well..." Zack looked away from the computer to the side, and I heard a faint voice in the background.
"Who are you talking to?"
"Captain Dopesburg and his wife." Zack joked.
There was a ruffling of steps, and Maya appeared.
"Hi guys!"
"Oh this is just perfect. I'm nicknamed Captain Dopesburg in your household?" Cody said.
"No, that's just one of your nicknames."
"Zack..." Maya turned, looking sternly at her husband, and then turned back to us. "He's lying. And besides, who else would he be talking about?"
Cody sighed, but didn't argue.
"Oh, did Zack get tell you the high school reunion?"
"What?" Cody and I exclaimed, in sync.
"Oh...then I suppose he didn't..." Maya recalled.
"I was getting there." Informed Zack, as I reached to the large pile of mail on the coffee table.
"That's quite impossible. I mean, the S.S. Tipton was dismantled in 2011, about 16 years ago. After that, Mr. Tipton just didn't get around on making another boat. It makes sense. He only had two daughters, and both had miraculously graduated from high school, so there wasn't a point of making another sea school, therefore, another cruise ship."
"Well, just because her father didn't, doesn't mean London couldn't." I said slowly, looking up from the letter.
"What do you mean?"
"Apparently, the L.L. Tipton must have been under secret construction for a year, because I've never heard about it apart from this invitation. And it's supposed to be an exact replica. Of course, with modern replacements of the past technology."
"L.L. Tipton...London Leah Tipton..." Cody said slowly.
"Funny, because didn't London hate that boat more than anything?"
"Well..." I said in response to Zack's question, "It says here...a creation for the beautiful memories and amazing friends I've gained through the four years of high school." I read aloud.
Zack snorted. "I bet she didn't write that herself."
"Maybe not, but that's still very sweet of her to do so. Do you think she's gotten nicer after all these years?"
"Not a chance. I heard somewhere that she married some rich American stock investor and is probably traveling around the world spending both their money. No kindness involved there."
I turned back to the card, reading it over again. "Its date is after Christmas. The ship will have its docking in NYC for the event, then leave on its maiden voyage. Seems pretty cool! I would love for them to get to know the ship we had high school from." I rested my head on Cody's shoulder.
"Looks like we're going back on the cruise ship!" Zack smirked.
To be continued...
*Author's Note: Apologies, my faithful readers! I'm really sorry for the delay. And...maybe for this long chapter as well. I hope I have answered the questions that might arise during reading this. And I hope you didn't fall asleep.
Yes, I put Zaya back together, because *sighs* how could Disney break up such a wonderful couple? I hope you don't mind. I know that's not very original in my part, but I really didn't want to have Zack remain single for the rest of his life.
Happy summer vacation for all of you! (How strange, writing about the winter while it is 30 degreesoutside.)*
