Chapter 9, Team Wehrenberg
Cassi, Casey and Abbie all headed to Cassi's house, to start searching for their puzzle pieces. Upon entering the house, they ran into Zack, who was rewinding up the grandfather clock in the hallway.
"There, all fixed." Said Zack with a smile, as he heard the clock ticking again as it should, and pushed it back up against the wall, as he had to pull it out, to get to the winder on the back of the clock.
"Hi dad." Said all three girls in unison.
"Huh?" Said Zack, turning in the direction of Cassi, Casey, and Abbie.
"Oh, hi, these are Casey and Abbie Wehrenberg. They came here from an alternate universe, that exists, twelve years in the future." Cassi explained.
"Oh, I see! So, I'm your dad in another universe, eh?" Zack asked.
"Yes, you are." Abbie replied.
"So, do you live in Midesco California of that universe? And am I a database programmer there?" Zack asked.
"No, we live in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, though you lived for about the first ten years of your childhood in a place called Yucaipa, California, with your aunt Celeste, who's blind." Explained Casey.
"Then, according to our great aunt, who worked for Radio Disney, she was transferred to a radio station in Wheeling, West Virginia for a time, I believe dad told us it was for the first five years of his teenage life, until he was about fifteen-years-old, when they moved back to Yucaipa, California, where he finished his high school career." Explained Abbie.
"Then, you got together with Kimi Watanabe Finster, and the two of you, moved to Massachusetts, and eventually, got married." Said Casey.
"So, you're our dad, and yes, you are a database programmer, and Kimi, is our mom, and she's a nurse in an eye doctor's office." Explained Abbie.
"Oh, around here, Kimi is queen of the Confederacy, and George and Abbigale's mom." Said Zack.
"Where we come from, a woman named Violet is queen of the Confederacy, along side her husband, King Peter Albany, and they have a daughter named Rosemary, who's four years older than us." Explained Abbie.
Just then, the grandfather clock struck two, and a puzzle piece, fell from the top of the clock on to the entry hall floor.
"Look! I just found the first puzzle piece!" Exclaimed Cassi, as she picked it up off the floor, and showed it to Casey, Abbie, and Zack.
"Puzzle pieces?" Zack asked in confusion.
"Yeah, they'll help us rebuild the portal, to help us get back home." Explained Casey.
"Our friends and cousins, are off looking for the other ones right now." Added Abbie.
"Come on, let's keep searching the house, for the rest of the pieces." Said Cassi.
Just then, Regina walked into the hallway.
"Ready to go dear?" Regina asked.
"Going? Where are you going?" Cassi asked.
"Oh, your father and I have some Aarons to run, and, who's this?" Regina asked, noticing Casey and Abbie.
"Oh, these are my twin daughters from another universe, that exists twelve years in the future, in some place called Pittsfield, Massachusetts." Explained Zack.
"Oh, well, it's nice to meet you girls." Said Regina with a smile.
"Nice to meet you!" Said Casey and Abbie in unison.
"So, what do you do for a living?" Abbie asked.
"Oh, I'm an assistant with Zack at his database programming job." Replied Regina.
"Well, good luck with your Aarons, I'm going to be helping my new friends, find the other puzzle pieces so we can repair the portal, and send them back home." Said Cassi.
"Oh ok, your great Aunty Celeste is in the kitchen, making some fudge if you're interested." Said Regina.
"We'd love some!" Said all three girls in unison, as they ran through the house to the kitchen, where they found Aunty Celeste.
"Well hello there!" Said Aunty Celeste with a smile, as she spotted Cassi entering the kitchen.
"I take it she's not blind in your universe?" Abbie whispered to Cassi.
Cassi nodded.
"Hi Aunty Celeste, may we please have some fudge?" Cassi asked.
"Sure! Just finished up a batch, and, it should be ready to eat." Said Aunty Celeste, as she got out three plates, and placed four pieces of milk chocolate fudge on each plate.
"And who are you?" Celeste asked.
"Oh, we're your great nieces from an alternate universe." Replied Casey.
"Oh, I see!" Said Celeste with a smile, as she poured herself a cup of tea, and joined the three girls at the kitchen table.
"So, what am I like where you come from?" Celeste asked.
"Well, we don't see you that often." Replied Abbie.
"You retired to Sunnyville, Florida some time ago, and we only get to see you if we should take trips at the holidays." Said Abbie.
"And, you're blind." Added Casey.
"Aha." Said Celeste.
"Yeah, I believe you were blind since birth." Said Casey.
"Don't you remember? She had some useable vision up until she was twenty-five and a half-years-old, when she lost the rest of her sight." Said Abbie.
"Oh dear, well I'm sorry to hear this." Said Celeste, taking another sip of her tea.
"Oh don't be. You have a really cool driverless van, that allows you to go anywhere you want on your own, and when you were working, you had a very successful career on the radio." Said Abbie.
"Hey! I worked for Radio Disney here in Midesco, California, until I retired a few years ago. Been here ever since Zack was just a tiny baby, and I gained custody of him, after his mommy and daddy died." Explained Celeste.
"Hey! Our paternal grandparents also died when our dad was just a baby too." Said Casey.
"So, have you always lived in this house?" Abbie asked.
"Yep, my great aunt and father have lived in this house, ever since she gained custody of him when he was just a baby, and when he married my mom, they stayed in this house. They sleep together in my father's room, while my great aunt still has her room, and I sleep in what use to be a guest room before I was born." Explained Cassi.
"Wow! Neat!" Said Casey, as she took a bite of her fudge.
"Mmmm! This fudge is delicious!" Exclaimed Abbie.
"Thank you! I love chocolate." Said Aunty Celeste.
"Really? Our great aunt in our universe, loves it too!" Said Casey.
When Casey finished the fudge that was on her plate, she found something rather odd. She licked some of the fudge off, to discover that it was a yellow puzzle piece.
"Look at this guys, another puzzle piece!" Said Casey.
"Puzzle piece?" Celeste asked in confusion.
Cassi went on to explain to her great aunt about how they had to find puzzle pieces, to put a portal back together, to send Casey and Abbie, along with their friends and cousins, back home to their rightful universe.
"I'll go wash off that puzzle piece for you." Said Abbie.
"Thanks sis!" Said Casey, handing the piece to her sister, who went to the kitchen sink, to wash it off.
While she was washing it off, she spotted another yellow puzzle piece in the sink.
"And look! Our third puzzle piece!" Said Abbie, as she picked up her puzzle piece from the sink, and brought both pieces back to the table, handing the piece she recently cleaned, to her sister.
Casey and Abbie placed the puzzle pieces into their pockets for safe keeping.
"Well, looks like we're off to the park, I'll see you later." Said Cassi.
"I'll see you later, and good luck getting home Casey and Abbie." Said Aunty Celeste with a smile.
"Thank you." Said Casey and Abbie simultaneously.
The three girls wiped the fudge off of their faces, and headed back to the park, where they found Rosemary, Abbigale, George, Darin Barrow, Kelly, Keith, Danielle, Megan, Benjamin, Charles, Rachel, Melenda, Adam, Emily, Darin Pickles, and Keenan, all hanging out. The three girls decided to join everybody, while they waited for the rest of the gang, to show up.
