Chapter 9

Freddie got up very early Sunday morning. He made himself a pot of coffee so he could have all the caffeine he would need to go about the day that he has planned.

It was moving day. Freddie had a large U-Move truck parked next to his car at his apartment. Freddie began taking boxes out of his apartment and began loading them into the truck. He wanted to stay busy while he waited for the rest of his party to show up. He made several trips back and forth from the apartment carrying box after box into the back of the truck. He almost had all the boxes in the truck when he saw a white Cadillac pull into the parking spot next to the U-Move truck.

Freddie stopped what he was doing and walked to the car. He smiled when he saw his friend Jeff Attic get out of the driver's seat of his vehicle. His fiancée Mary climbed out of the car from the passenger's side. Jeff greeted his friend, "Hey Freddie, want some help?"

Freddie shook Jeff's hand, "Sure thing," he answered, "I'm about ready to start moving a few of the heavier items now and I could really use a hand."

Mary walked up to Freddie, "Is there anything I can help you with, Freddie?" She asked.

"I do have a few more boxes left that need to be loaded if you want to grab those for me," Freddie nodded to her, "None of them are all that heavy. I'd really appreciate it."

Mary and the men walked back into Freddie's apartment. She began to grab the last of the boxes, and loaded them into the truck. Freddie and Jeff started moving the heavier items out of the apartment, and as they were carrying them out, they left the items sitting just outside the truck. They would wait until Mary was through putting the boxes in the truck before they would load the bigger stuff.

Mary had just completed loading the last box when another vehicle pulled in to Freddie's parking area. George and Judy got out of their vehicle and walked up to Freddie. "You guys all done already?" George asked with a grin.

"Not quite," Freddie answered taking a small breather.

"Yeah," Jeff replied taking a moment to stretch, "you're not getting out of work that easily."

George gave Jeff a half-hearted smirk, and joined his guy friends in getting Freddie's furniture onto the truck. Judy went to join Mary in the apartment, finding out what was left to do in there.

After all of Freddie's stuff was loaded in the truck, and the truck was ready to go, the five of them quickly did some cleaning in the empty apartment so that it would be make life easier for Freddie's landlord to be able to lease it out again. Freddie later walked over to the main offices to have his landlord come down and inspect the place before they left. The apartment was clean enough for the landlord's satisfaction. Freddie received his deposit back on the apartment, while he gave his landlord the key to the place. Freddie and his friends then pulled out of the lot, and got on the 101 freeway north, and headed out of Eureka.

Freddie was driving his own car to Seattle. He was followed by the girls, who were taking Jeff's Cadillac up north. Behind the girls was George driving the U-Move truck with Jeff riding along. George had left his vehicle in Eureka. He and Judy would be coming back to California with Jeff and Mary in Jeff's car. The four would be stopping in Portland on the way back through on Monday so that Jeff could interview for some teaching jobs in that area.

Freddie had called George when he had returned to Eureka the past Wednesday evening. He had told George the good news about getting the job. He told him about his plans to try to move his stuff to Seattle on the weekend. The following day, Freddie let Gene Miller know that he had indeed been given the position at Ridgeway, and that he would not be teaching at Redwood that fall. The superintendent wished Freddie well and asked him to come by the school to fill out some paperwork on that Friday. Freddie did as he was requested.

Later on that Friday night, Freddie had received a phone call from George. George was having Jeff and Mary over to visit when he called. George mentioned to Freddie that Jeff was wanting to go to Portland to see about some jobs up there. George suggested to Jeff that they help Freddie get packed up and moved to Seattle. And while on the trip, they could go by Portland on the way back and visit some schools. Jeff was great with the idea, and they all agreed to help Freddie get moved on Sunday.

They continued on 101 until they reached the 199 highway that would take them to I-5 in southern Oregon. The trip was kind of slow for a while until they finally reached the interstate. After they got on the I-5 freeway, the rest of the trip was a freeze. The weather was absolutely perfect today for a long drive. It was a nice 80 degrees out and sunny the whole day.

The group finally reached Seattle around the 6:00 hour. They made their way through the city and pulled into the Bushpeck around 6:45. The men quickly began grabbing the furniture out of the truck and making their way through the lobby and up the elevator to Freddie's apartment. The girls were trying to grab the boxes and bring those in for Freddie. The five were trying to get completed before the sun would go down. They had some time, and luckily, Freddie didn't have that much stuff. Finally, just as the sun was getting ready to set, the five had emptied the truck, and shut and locked its doors.

Freddie treated his friends to a late dinner at Peachtree's before thanking them for their help and letting them head off to the hotel that the four of them wanted to stay at.

Freddie returned to his new apartment at around 10:30 that evening. He decided to unpack his boxes the following evening so that he could spend the day doing some grocery shopping and such. He dropped down on his bed and fell asleep immediately.

XxXxXxXxXx

Sam reached across the bed to shake her friend awake, "Hey Ash," she said softly, "time to get up my friend." As soon as Sam saw that Ashley was getting out of the bed, she went into the bathroom to hurry and take her shower.

After she showered and got dressed, Sam walked into the kitchen to get a bowl of cereal. Brian was getting up off the couch yawning as he looked at Sam making herself some breakfast. "Where's Ashley?" He mumbled to Sam as he began to walk into the kitchen.

"She is taking a shower," Sam answered as she grabbed the milk out of the fridge. "Did you want something to eat this morning?" She asked him.

"Nah," he replied, "I'll wait and grab something at the restaurant this morning. I'll take a glass of water though."

Sam set the milk down on the counter and walked towards the cupboard to get a glass for Brian. After she handed him the glass, she went back to getting her cereal. Brian walked to the fridge and grabbed the pitcher of ice water that Sam kept in there. He poured himself a glass and put the pitcher away. He walked over the kitchen table and sat down. Sam joined him at the table with her bowl of cereal. The two ate and drank in silence.

After about ten minutes, Ashley came out of the bedroom ready for work. She walked over to Brian and gave him a quick kiss before she turned to Sam, "Do you mind if I grab myself a bowl of cereal Sam?" She asked.

Sam nodded, "Of course, help yourself," she answered plainly. Sam had just finished her big bowl and got up from the table. She put her dish in the sink, and walked out of the kitchen to go into the bathroom to finish getting ready for work.

After doing her hair and makeup, Sam walked back into the kitchen. She saw that Ashley and Brian were still sitting at the kitchen table. Ashley had finished her breakfast, and Brian finished his water. The two saw that Sam was ready to go, so they got up to put their dishes in the sink. Ashley grabbed the clothes that she had been wearing the day before, and the three of them went out the front door of Sam's place.

It was another gorgeous morning out as the three got in Brian's truck and took off for Paula's Place. The ride over was very quiet this morning. They were all still very tired from the long night before. Sam was hoping that she would have a better day at work today than she did Thursday and Friday. She knew that she just needed to be calm and professional, and she would get through her day all right. She tried to put the Trevor incident aside, and not let the stress from that episode get to her. She had been grateful that her two good friends had stayed the night with her.

Brian pulled into the restaurant and stayed in the car while the girls got out and walked to the door. Mrs. Moore let the two in, and the girls got busy getting the restaurant ready to open for business. When the time came to open the doors, Brian came in out of the truck, and joined the few people who had waited to get in so they could have breakfast. He grabbed a table that was his girlfriend's responsibility, and she took care of his breakfast needs.

It was a typical Sunday business day for them as far as customer volume was concerned. The morning was steady when Brittany came in at 9:00 to help the girls out. The beautiful weather outside helped contribute to their business for the day. When Jacklyn came in at 11:00 to start her shift, the place was packed. The four of them worked hard to keep things running smoothly through the lunch rush.

As 1:00 approached, Sam needed a breather. She told the girls that she needed to sit for about five or ten minutes so she could continue. Sam walked to the back of the restaurant and took a seat in a chair. She was so glad to get off her feet. She sat back and relaxed for a while. She heard somebody coming and turned to see who it was, she saw it was Dana.

"Hi Sam," Dana greeted her kindly, "how are you today?"

Sam grinned back, "I'm doing all right. We've been busy all morning and I had to sit down for a few minutes. Are you getting ready to start your shift?"

"Yeah," Dana responded, "Church let out a little late today; otherwise I would have been her sooner."

"That's cool," Sam replied, "I think that's nice of Tammy to let you come in late so you can go to church."

Dana nodded, "I do appreciate that too. Although, as much as I like the fact that Mrs. Moore lets me do it every Sunday, I think it would be nice if she let one of you guys be able to go as well."

Sam gave Dana a weird face, "Dana," she said, "I'm not a church goer, and I'm sure done of the others are either. I mean, I do believe and everything, but church wouldn't suit me or anything. It's not for me."

"That's too bad Sam," Dana said somewhat sadly, "I wish you'd consider going sometime. I won't push you though. Anyway, I'll see you after bit." Dana punched in for her shift and began to walk out of the back area.

Sam looked at her young friend. She means well, Sam thought, but I don't believe that God is doing all that he can to give me the best life possible. I seem to always have bad things happen to me. I am thankful for what I have though. Maybe I should go once. Sam got up from her chair and returned to her duties. As she saw Dana, she walked up to her and said, "The church thing, I'll think about it and let you know later in the week." Sam walked away to take care of a customer. Dana softly smiled at Sam before she went back to get her customers their order.

As Sam was taking her customer's order, she thought, I need all the help that I can get. I guess I should really put more faith in God as far as what happens. Who knows, maybe God will surprise me with something special.

Sam actually stayed in good spirits for the rest of her shift. After she and Ashley finished their day at the restaurant, the two sat and ate lunch together and Sam talked to Ashley about the discussion she had with Dana. Ashley told Sam that she thought that it was good thing that Sam should maybe go to church and have a pastor or somebody pray for her and the baby. However, Ashley also told her that she would back Sam in whatever decision she would make about whether or not to go.

The two continued to discuss this and other things that happened at the restaurant while Brian was driving Sam back home. When Sam got home, she began to pick up the place and do some actual cleaning of her apartment. She decided that she wanted to have the place ready to go if she should decide to want to move out in the upcoming days. She still technically had 3 weeks left to be out, but Sam thought it would be best if she started making arrangements to have some people help her move her stuff soon.

Sam went to bed feeling very much at peace. It was a far cry from what she had felt the night before. She knew that if she prayed, that eventually God would answer. She was wondering though why one certain prayer of hers was taking so long though…

XxXxXxXxXx

Freddie ached as he woke up the next morning. He was sore from all the furniture that he and his buddies had moved the previous day. He wondered how Jeff and George were feeling that morning. He gave his buddy George a call on the phone. George told him that they were all sore from the moving, but that they were already on the move back home. He said that they were already half way to Portland so that they could make their stop for Jeff. Freddie wished them a safe trip and ended his call with his friend.

Freddie jumped into the shower and got himself cleaned up and ready to go. He put on a T-shirt and some jeans to wear for the day. He put all of the rest of his clothes away from the boxes they were in. Afterward, he got his keys and went down to his vehicle.

As he took off from the Bellpeck, he made a quick stop at Barl's Jr. to grab something to eat. He continued on his way to the first person he wanted to speak to that might have an idea where Sam lived. He didn't think that he might get any information from her, but he thought he'd take the chance.

Freddie pulled up to the house that Sam used to call home while she was a teenager. He got out of the car and walked up to the front door. He looked with disgust at the porch which was littered with beer cans and cigarette butts. He knocked hard on the door and waited. His skin crawled just thinking about what he might see if the door opened.

Sure enough, the door did open and there stood Sam's mother leaning against the door. When Ms. Puckett saw that a nice looking man was standing on her front porch, she smiled sweetly, "Well hello there," she said seductively, "and what can I do you for?"

Freddie could smell the alcohol coming from the house. "Hello Ms. Puckett," he said plainly, "do you remember who I am at all?"

Ms. Puckett blinked at him for a second, before continuing to flirt with Freddie, "You do look familiar," she smiled batting her eyes at him, "and if you come in right now, I'm sure that I would love to…"

"…I'm Freddie Benson," Freddie answered sternly but not too unkindly, "I used to date your daughter Sam back in high school."

At the mention of Sam's name, Ms. Puckett's attitude completely changed. She darkened in an instant. "Yeah," she said somewhat disgustedly, "well she hasn't lived here in years."

"Please Ms. Puckett," Freddie begged, "do you have any idea where she might be living, or know of anybody that might know?"

Ms. Puckett began to inch her way back inside, "Listen boy," she said curtly, "I haven't seen or heard anything from her since I booted her out after high school. That's all I got to say, now I want you off my property before I call the cops." Ms. Puckett slammed the door.

Freddie shook his head angrily and walked off the porch. He jumped into his car and angrily pulled away from the curb. He screeched his tires as he left the Puckett residence. I should have known that stopping there was going to do me no good, he thought as he decided at head to the grocery store to get some groceries for his new place.

Freddie pulled into a Bud's Foods to do some grocery shopping. After he filled his car with groceries he drove back home. Freddie brought in his groceries and quickly put them away. He spent the rest of the afternoon going through all of his boxes and getting his "moving in" completely done. After he took his empty boxes to the dumpster outside, he decided it was time to kick back and watch a little television.

He turned on the baseball game that was in progress right now. The Mariners were in Texas playing the Rangers. He watched the game for a couple hours, but when the Mariners were getting blown away 11-2 in the 7th inning, he decided to shut the game off.

He walked over to his dining room area and grabbed his laptop that he had sitting on the dining room table. He took it back into the living room with him and decided to explore the internet for a while, and check to see if he had any emails.

As he was going through his emails, he saw that he got one from Spencer. He opened the email, and saw that Spencer had gotten a hold of Carly. Carly said that when Sam had came to the wedding two years ago that Sam had mentioned that she was living with Taureen at the time. This information excited Freddie; he had someone reliable he could talk to that could help him find Sam. Freddie closed his email and set his laptop down. He remembered where Taureen's mom lived in town. He was praying that she still lived there, and that she could help him to find Taureen.

Freddie got up from the living room and decided to go to bed. He had another big day tomorrow to get some things done that he needed to get done. He was hoping that he might be able to see Sam sooner rather than later. Freddie fell asleep instantly.

Author's Note: Not the best of chapters here, but I feel that I do need to try to keep the story moving a bit. I hope that everyone continues to stick with me on this. I'll have the two meet pretty soon, but I need Freddie to follow the trail to find Sam. Thanks to all who review.

iKiss Note: There was a reason I updated tonight, and it was because I wanted some feedback from people on the iKiss episode. Here was take: I thought the whole final scene was done very well. In my eyes, I really think that the whole thing was done as well as it could be. I think the kiss was perfect, and the way it should have been. I mean for a "first time ever" kiss for the both of them, I think it was done very well, and done the way it should have been. The two were very mature about it and they put their petty differences aside for the big moment. The dialogue was very fresh, and very Sam/Freddie like. Now what this might lead to is anybody's guess. I'll tell you from my experience that I never forgot my first kiss. I think that is very important as the show goes along. For all we know, the writers may not put Seddie together until the series finale (that would be such a crime), but I believe in my heart that Seddie will eventually happen. I am a diehard Seddie fan, and if I have to pray to the good Lord to ask for this to happen, then I'll do it. In conclusion, I have to say I enjoyed the episode, the ending, and of course, the kiss itself. Please, if you don't want to review my story, LOL. But let me know what you thought of the iKiss episode. – kwags74