Chapter 10

"Double Deuces"

I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did.

Wait...In this story, I created some of the characters, so I will actually own them.

Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves.

And as to the ones I create, who they are is up to me, so...

Boston University Fit&Rec Center

Almost immediately after the young woman had introduced herself as Max, Maya had a light bulb moment. Immediately, she had a flashback of meeting her at the restaurant before everyone headed out to ring in the new year in Times Square. Sure, the girl had matured in the past few years, but Maya was able recognize her. And as soon as she did, she began chuckling to herself that she had just mentioned to Zack a few days prior that he might run into Max again soon.

"Of course I remember you now! You're the twins friend! You're the girl that grew up with Zack and Cody here in Boston, and we ran into you in New York City a few years ago. I'm Maya..."

Max smiled and her eyes lit up in recognition. "That's why you looked familiar to me! You're Zack's friend that I met that night. I was actually planning on stopping by the Tipton once I left here to see if Zack still lived there. I remember that Cody was off at Yale, but I didn't know if he was back in town now or not. I haven't been able to keep in touch as much as I would have liked, and I figured they've both probably graduated college by now."

"Yeah, they're both college graduates now. And both are back in Boston now too. In fact, Zack does still live at the Tipton. He and I have our own suite down the hall from the one the twins grew up in..."

That caught Max's attention. "Own suite? You two live together?"

Maya smiled. "Yeah, we've moved beyond being friends and are a couple...again. We officially reunited close to two and a half years ago."

Max was even more shocked. "Zack's actually been in a relation with the same girl for over two years now?"

Maya laughed. "Yeah, he has. He's really grown up a lot since in the past several years. He and I have even talked about making our relationship more permanent somewhere down the line."

Max just shook her head. "Wow...never thought I'd ever see this day. But good for you two then. I definitely need to go see him again and see the new and improved version of Zack." She paused. "Well, if you two have been together for over two years, I'm guessing you're still taking good care of him for me."

She laughed again. "As best as I can, but you know how Zack can me. He doesn't always make it easy..."

"Oh, I know that all too well. So, now that he's a college grad, what's he up to nowadays anyways?"

Maya grinned. "Still in in school. He's now a MBA student over at the Harvard Business School..."

Everything else she had heard had surprised Max, but hearing that just about knocked her over. "Zack? Harvard?" She shook her head. "Never saw that one coming. I think I have less trouble believing he's been in a serious relationship than that."

"Well, before all of it happened, I think he would have agreed with you. And even after he got into Harvard, he didn't want to go. I practically had to drag him kicking and screaming for him to even agree to give it a chance..." She grinned. "Of course, now, he says its no big deal..."

"Well, keep up the good work then. I can see you're definitely taking very good care of him then..." Max shook her head and laughed. "Wow. I still can't get over Zack at Harvard. Even when we lived in Boston, he was afraid to go over to Cambridge because he thought all the nerds over there would rub off on to him or infect him. And now, he's one of them."

"Yeah, I have fun teasing him about that too."

"I guess that makes both the twins Ivy Leaguers now, thought I always knew Cody was more the type and really wanted to go there. I guess he did at Yale."

"It took a little magic to get him in to Yale, but once he got in, he took no prisoners and dominated. Both he and Bailey both did as they both graduated with honors with matching 4.0s. Now, they're both at Harvard Medical School. They started there about a week or so after they got back from their honeymoon..."

Max cut her off again. "Excuse me? Honeymoon? Are you telling me that Cody's married now?"

"Yeah, to Bailey. It was no real surprise though. I mean, they had pretty much been dating for seven years at the time. You've actually met her too."

"I have?" She paused to think. "Wait a minute. Was Bailey the same girl I saw him with in New York? Now that I think about it, he did introduce her as the girl of his dreams..."

Maya laughed. "Yeah, that's definitely Bailey or Mrs. Martin now if you will. And before you ask, she's taking real good care of him too. Like I said, they got married this past July over in Hawaii, and now, they have a townhouse over near the medical school campus."

"Well, it looks like both of my boys are doing very well for themselves..." She sighed. "I just wish I had done a better job of keeping in touch with them these past few years. I would have loved to have been at Cody's wedding."

Maya frowned. "Now that I think about, I'm almost sure they invited you. Why didn't you go?"

Max laughed. "Well, lets just say the past few years have been kind of wild and crazy. I never really had a permanent address as I was traveling so much, so, I didn't always get all of my mail that I was supposed to. I'm betting the invitation and I probably just missed each other several times."

"Oh yeah? Where all have you been?"

"After I saw you guys that New Year's, I did end up calling your friend Marcus, and he hooked me up with the phone number for a producer friend of his. I got an audition that I nailed which lead me to getting a role in a Broadway play. That in turn got me noticed by a talent scout which lead to me being offered a role on an international touring company. Until this time last year, I was seeing the world kind of like how you all were on the boat. And then, I got offered a chance to be a lead for a national dance troop..."

"Oh yeah? Where was that?"

"Auckland, New Zealand. Its a beautiful country but kind of cut off from the rest of the world. Fortunately, they do speak English there, so that made it a lot easier. But, to be honest, I think I've seen enough sheep to last me a lifetime..."

Maya laughed. "I bet." She nodded down at Max's knee brace and crutches. "I'm taking it you had a mishap though somewhere along the way..."

Max nodded. "You could definitely say that. As part of our finale, I was supposed to have been thrown up into the air and then caught. Unfortunately, the guy who was supposed to catch me suddenly had a sneezing fit, and well..." She sighed. "Lets just say I ended up landing in the orchestra before everything was all said and done."

Maya cringed. "I can only imagine how that happened. So, what was the damage?"

"Torn ACL, MCL and PCL...basically, if its a CL, I tore it." She laughed. "I guess when I tear up my knee, I go all out. I had surgery a couple of months ago, and I've spent the past couple of months in a hospital in Auckland. Fortunately, the national dance company has been very gracious about paying for my medical bills and still paying me as if I was still active. I guess they were afraid I would sue them or something. They've even offered to pay for my rehab and offered to send me back here to the states to do that around my family and friends. My parents no longer live here in the area, but my grandmother offered to let me stay with her so I flew back in town yesterday. I went to my doctor here this morning who cleared me to begin rehab, and he told me this was the best rehab center in town." Max paused as suddenly something occurred to her. "Wait a minute! Are you the physical therapist I'm supposed to be meeting?"

"Sure looks that way. While I'm still in school, I do basically run the aquatic therapy area here. So you don't think I'm some hack, I'm due to graduate in another couple of years with my bachelors degree in athletic training and a doctorate in physical therapy."

"Hey, works for me. I'm just glad I'll have someone I halfway know helping out with this..."

For the first time, Gabby spoke up. "And from someone else going through rehab right now, she's actually really good at what she does. You're in good hands..."

Maya groaned. "Where are my manners? Max, this is Gabby Martinez. She's a friend of and in medical school with Cody and Bailey. Gabby, this is Max, she's an old friend of Zack and Cody's from here in Boston."

Max extended her hand. "Nice to meet you, Gabby. If you are a friend of Cody's, you must be alright."

Gabby shook her hand. "Likewise I'm sure..." She laughed. "Plus, it looks like we both know what its like to totally destroy our knees."

Max laughed too. "Sure looks that way. How did you hurt yours?"

She paused. "You don't know?"

That caught Max off guard once again. "Should I?"

She paused again and smiled. "You don't know who I am, do you?"

Max shook her head. "I'm sorry I don't. Again, should I?"

Maya laughed. "Well, Gabby was only America's sweetheart after winning a gold medal at the London Olympics. She was on TV a lot after it and everything."

"Oh..." Max cringed. "Sorry, my bad. I haven't had the chance to watch much TV the past several years. In fact, my grandmother mentioned to me me this is my chance to take a deep breath and catch up on everything I've missed out on while I've been gone. She says its time for to finally stop and smell the roses. But congrats on the gold. That's a huge accomplishment."

Gabby smiled. "Thanks but don't worry about it. I know what you mean about finally having time to stop and enjoy life..."

"But aren't you in medical school now? I would figure you wouldn't have much time for anything else but it..."

"Well, true, but to be fair, I spend less time now studying then I used to do in training. So, I do have more free time on my hands as of late. Anyways, it was actually kind of nice to meet someone who had no preconceived notions about me already. Don't got me wrong, everyone around here has been great, but its refreshing to just be regular old Gabby when I meet someone for the first time..." She paused and laughed. "Well, except for my professors. I won't lie – if they want to go easy on me for my upcoming test on Friday, I wouldn't mind."

"I bet medical school tests would be beasts. Good luck to you on that too."

"Thanks. Speaking of which, I should probably be going so I can get back to studying. It was nice to meet you though, Max. I'll probably see you around here from time to time."

"I would say that's probably a pretty good bet."

Gabby turned to Maya. "And I'll see you later too. I should be here on Friday, but if I don't, it'll be because I'm freaking about about only having a week left to study. Either way, I'll see you on Saturday night."

Maya's eyes went wide as something suddenly occurred to her. "Saturday night! I can't believe I forgot..." She paused as an idea came to her. "Well, Max, how would you feel about not heading over to the Tipton once you leave here and instead be a surprise birthday present next Saturday?"

Max just looked at her funny. "Huh?"

She smiled. "Next Saturday, London is having a birthday dinner for the three of myself, Zack and Cody since all of our birthdays are within a few days of each other. Naturally, we'd love for you to join us, but I was thinking we could keep your appearance as a surprise for the birthday boys."

"Sounds good to me..." Max nodded down at her knee. "Just don't expect me to jump out of a birthday cake or anything..."

Maya laughed. "I wouldn't think of it. That would only cause more work for me later on."

"Works for me then. Just give me the final details at some point..." She paused. "Though, do you think you could invite a couple of more guests though. There is another one of our old crew I'd love to see too..."

Maya smiled and cut her off. "Already done. Tapeworm and his girlfriend Gertie are already coming up as surprise guests for the twins too. Not only will you be a surprise for Zack and Cody, you'll also be a surprise for the other surprise guests."

"I'll be there then..." She paused. "I just need to figure out a way to get there now." She nodded down to her knee. "I can't really drive with a busted up right knee. Well, I think I can, but my doctor told me I couldn't, and my grandmother is hiding her car keys from me. And as I learned today, crutches and the subway are a complete pain in the butt."

Gabby spoke up. "Well, if you want, I can pick you up on my way?"

Max smiled. "Hey, that works for me. I can give you my cell phone number, and we'll figure something out. Well, I'm glad I stopped by here today then. I got a lot more done than I thought I would..."

Maya shook her head and laughed. "Well, don't leave just yet. We still have to talk about scheduling appointments for your rehab. I kind of assume that's why you came here in the first place..."

She laughed. "Oh yeah...that might be a good idea..."

The Restaurant at the Tipton Hotel, the following Saturday evening

After another week, everyone was ready to blow off some steam for one reason or another. Arriving a little early and realize they were the only ones there yet, Cody and Bailey decided to head into the bar area and have a glass of wine while they waited. Ordinarily they wouldn't even consider drinking during one of their intense study periods, but after after almost non-stop studying for the past couple of weeks, they figured they needed one for the sake of their mental well beings. Of course, being them, neither one of them had any intention of overindulging that evening. But, to be on the safe side, they had rode the subway over just in case they had more than they foresaw. After about twenty minutes, they found themselves no longer alone as Zack and Maya walked into the bar area. And after placing orders themselves with the bartender, they joined Cody and Bailey at their table.

"Well, Happy Birthday, Broseph." Zack sighed. "I would have returned your voice mail on Wednesday, but I spent the entire evening of our birthday working on a group project for school."

Cody smiled. "Don't worry about it. Once we got out of class that day, we headed home to continue studying ourselves. We probably would have all night if Bailey hadn't finally made me call it a night about eight o'clock. And then she insisted she fix me a special birthday dinner."

"And you're still alive after eating that?"

Bailey rolled her eyes. "Yes, he did. In case you haven't noticed, Cody has been teaching me for the past four years. He doesn't even feel the need to supervise me anymore on Thanksgiving."

"Whatever you say, Sisterella. It just sucks that we both had to spend our actual birthdays doing school work."

Cody laughed. "Yeah, well, welcome to adulthood, Zack. It can be great at time, but at others, it can suck really bad..."

Zack lifted his glass. "I'll drink to that!"

"Just don't expect us to help carry you up to your suite again if you keep doing that. Once our freshmen years of college was enough to last me a lifetime!"

The four of them turned to see Gertie and Tapeworm standing there grinning at them. Cody blinked and shook his head. "What are you guys doing here?"

Tapeworm smirked. "Well, we weren't going to come, but we had our arms twisted by the offer of a free hotel room, free meal and open bar. That was too much for us to turn down..."

And with that, everyone got up and hugs were doled around. "So, how is Harvard treating you guys so far?"

Zack sighed. "Its being a complete pain in my butt. The work isn't that bad, but there's just way too much of it for my liking. There working me way too hard, Man."

Tapeworm grinned. "About time somebody did!"

Gertie turned to Cody and Bailey. "And medical school?"

Bailey smiled. "Our first final is this Friday. I'll be able to tell you better after that..."

"Oh please. I bet you two have already been studying for it for the past week..."

"The past two actually. We feel very familiar with the material right now, but we have no idea what to expect in how they will test it."

Cody smiled. "Of course, the Monday after that, we begin our first fun class – the Human Body!"

Everyone else shuddered. "I can't believe you two are looking forward to slicing and dicing human cadavers. Remind me to avoid you while you guys are taking it..."

"Sorry, Bro, you can't. Our final in it is scheduled for the Monday after Thanksgiving. So, unless you're going to be on your own for Turkey Day, you'll be seeing me then."

Zack sighed. "Great...the turkey this year is going to taste like formaldehyde..."

Bailey shook her head. "Actually, it won't. Most medical schools don't use formaldehyde much any more, especially after the studies came out that it had carcinogens in it. They use a glycerine based substance now."

He shrugged. "Okay, whatever...they turkey will taste like glycerine this year then...whatever that is."

And from behind them again, they heard another voice. "Oh quit you're complaining, Zack! I've seen you eat far worse than that when we were younger!"

Everyone turned around again to see who had interrupted them now, but this time, they were really floored by who they saw. And seeing the shocked expressions on Zack, Cody and Tapeworm's faces, Max couldn't help but to laugh.

"You boys look like you've seen a ghost..."

"Max?!"

She kept laughing. "In the flesh! Good to see you two are still treating each other so well. I guess somethings will never change...no matter how much I hear you've grown up."

Immediately, Tapeworm, Zack and Cody got up to hug their old friend. "Max, what are you doing here?"

"And why are you on crutches?"

Max smiled and filled everyone in where she had been and what had happened to her since they had last seen her in New York City. "So, I guess it was just fate that I sent over to BU and ended up walking into Maya's pool area last week. I would have stopped by to see you guys sooner, but it was her idea for me to surprise you guys tonight. And since Gabby was there, she volunteered to drive me over since my doctor won't let me drive right now."

Tapeworm smiled. "Well, its good to have you back, Max. I mean, how long has it been since the four of us were all in one place together at the same time? I'd say close to nine years..."

"That sounds about right, and for the record, its definitely good to be back. Of course, from what Maya's told me and from I can see with my own two eyes, it looks like you guys have all been doing just fine without me. She laughed. "I mean, you and Cody have found girls that will actually seem to enjoy putting up with you while Zack has limited himself to just one. Whoever would have seen that coming?"

He laughed. "Speaking of which, I want you to finally meet my Gertie." Once she stepped forward, he continued. "Gertie, this is the Max I've told you so much about. Max, this is the future Mrs. Dennis Wiznewsky..."

Max frowned. "Who?"

He sighed. "That's my real name. I swear, I don't think anyone knew what it really was..."

"May bad, Tapeworm. You were always just...Tapeworm."

Cody shook his head and laughed. "Don't feel bad, Max. When I saw his real name listed as my roommate at Yale, I had no idea who it was either. Imagine my shock when I got to my dorm room and found him there."

Max smiled. "Well, Gertie, its nice to finally meet you..." She leaned in and whispered to her. "No offense though, but I hope you know you can do a lot better than my boy here."

Gertie laughed. "He tells me the same thing, but I think I'll keep him."

"Good. I might tease him a lot, but he's one of the best guys I've ever known. All of them are." She turned to Cody and poked him in the chest. "Now, you...I hear you went and got married on me!"

He smiled. "We tried to send you an invitation, but I guess you never got it. We just though you had up and disappeared on us again..."

"Yeah, yeah..." Max turned to Bailey. "So, you willingly married my boy here. Tell me...what kind of a husband has he been so far?"

Bailey smiled. "I may be biased, but I think he's the absolute best."

"So, he's not being a complete pain in the butt then?"

She laughed. "Well, yeah, but not anymore than before we we're married..."

"That sounds more like it. Its just feels weird to me that there is now another Mrs. Martin. Guess I'll just have to get used to it though."

"Well, we're not sure how long the first one will be a Mrs. Martin. Cody's Mom and Arwin have been dating pretty hot and heavy since our wedding."

Max gave her a look. "Carey and Arwin are dating now?" She shook her head. "I've really missed a lot around here."

"Well, with the time you need to recuperate, you'll have ample opportunity to catch up on everything."

"I guess so. Well, I have learned one thing this past year..."

"What's that?"

"Cody is no longer the worse dance partner I've ever had. At least he never caused me to end up in an orchestra pit..."

Bailey laughed. "I promise you. He's gotten a whole lot better over the years."

"I'm glad. Just keep taking care of him for me. He looks happy."

"I will. And he makes me happy too. I fully plan on keeping him." She laughed. "Besides, it would be a pain in the butt to return all of the wedding gifts now..."

Max laughed too. "I can tell you and I are going to get along just fine."

A Couple of Hours Later

Finally, of the course of the next half hour, every other guest finally arrived, and they all headed into the dining room for a specially planned dinner. And once again, Chef Paulo outdid himself with his latest creations. After dinner was over, everyone headed into the lounge area to either sit back, relax and digest or head out onto the dance to try to burn off the calories they had just consumed. As for the birthday boys, they began mingling around thanking everyone for coming and celebrating with them when they saw Gertie and Tapeworm getting up from sitting next to Max. Quickly, Zack and Cody took their spots next to their old friend.

"So, Max, why don't you get out on the dance floor and show everyone how its supposed to be done?"

She laughed. "Yeah, I don't think me hopping around on one foot would prove anything to anyone tonight..." She paused and gave Cody a look. "Now, you, young man, I saw you out there dancing with your wife a little while ago. She's definitely right - you've gotten a whole lot better. I know you told me something to that effect back in New York, but I don't think I really believed it until I saw it with my own two eyes."

Cody laughed too. "Well, I did end up taking some lessons while I was on the boat."

Zack rolled his eyes. "Yeah, about eighty-seven of them and all just to impress Bailey."

Max smiled. "Well, it looks like it worked for him, now doesn't it?"

Cody grinned. "Thankfully. That was the longest day of my life..."

She looked at him funny. "Huh? What do you mean by that?"

He shook his head. "Nevermind. You'd never believe me even if I told you."

"Try me."

So, Cody did. And once he was finished with his story, Max's eyes went wide and her mouth hung open in shock. She turned to Zack. "Is he serious?"

"Unfortunately, he is. I had to be there to witness it first hand. There were things he knew that would be impossible to know if he hadn't lived the same day over and over and over."

She turned back to Cody. "Wow...You did all of that just to impress her. You must really love her."

He smiled. "With all of my heart and all of my soul."

"Good for you. I've gotten a chance to really get to know Maya, Bailey and Gertie tonight. I wanted to make sure my boys were in good hands."

Zack gave her a look. "Yeah? What's the verdict?"

Max laughed and teased them. "All three of them are way too good for you guys! At least Cody was smart enough to figure out to convince Bailey to marry him before she got wise to him. Zack, if I were you, I'd follow suit with Maya ASAP..."

He rolled his eyes. "Thanks, Max...I can just feel the love. But for your information, Maya and I have discussed that very topic ourselves, and we've both decided we want to wait until we are both done with school before we take that large of a step."

"Cody and Bailey didn't."

"True, but they are both in medical school together. Due to that, they are both going to be doing the same thing and going through the same things as each other. Maya and I are in different fields, and as of this semester, at different universities. Not really the same situation."

She nodded. "I guess that makes sense."

Zack grinned. "But don't worry. When the time is right, I already have the ring ready to go."

"Good. And I'll make sure I make it to your wedding. I still feel awful about missing Cody's..."

Cody patted her on the back. "Don't worry about it. It was just in Hawaii and in paradise. Its not like you missed all that much..."

She smirked at him. "Gee...thanks."

"Well, now that you've found out all about our personal lives, how about yours? Anyone special in your life?"

Max shook her head. "Not yet, but to be fair, I didn't really have time before to have much of a personal life." She paused. "Who knows? Maybe I do now?"

Meanwhile, Across the Room

Bailey was talking with Maya and Amy when she noticed Gabby and C.J. were having an intense conversation. And by the look on Gabby's face, she could tell she was starting to getting exasperated. So, not sure what was going on, Bailey drug the other two ladies over there with her to get to the bottom of it.

"Everything okay over here?"

Gabby shook her head and sighed. "I was just about to smack some sense into our boy here. He's being an incredible idiot!"

Bailey couldn't help herself and laughed. "Of course he is. He's a guy. All of them are idiots to some degree. I think its part of the Y chromosome..."

Upon hearing that, all Maya and Amy could do was nod. "I would agree with that that."

"Me too."

But at seeing C.J.'s shoulders slump at hearing that, Bailey smiled at him. "Don't worry though, it works both ways. Guys think that two X chromosomes make all women crazy to one degree or another. So, it all works out in the end."

Upon hearing that, He grinned at hearing that nudged Gabby. "See, maybe I am right after all!"

Maya spoke up. "Right about what exactly?"

Gabby just sighed again. "Tell them the story you just told me, C.J."

He nodded. "Alright, get this. This afternoon, I was over in the medical library studying as I thought there wouldn't be as many distractions there as opposed to at home. Well, I was sitting there minding my own business when this girl I've never seen before walks straight up to me. At first, she said she was just lost in search of the vending machines and asked if I could help her out. Figuring I could use a caffeine boost myself, I volunteered to show her were they were. Well, as we walked towards them, completely unsolicited, she proceeds to tell me she is a freshman at Northeastern and had been told the medical library was the best place to study. And from there, she continues to give me pretty much her entire life story."

Amy laughed. "So? What's wrong with that?"

"I haven't got to the weird part yet. Once I showed her the lounge, she stops, looks at me for a few minutes and then just asks me out on a date."

Bailey teased him. "C.J.! You stud you!"

He rolled his eyes. "Come on! You can't tell me that wasn't a little weird!"

Maya laughed. "Well, maybe it was...back in the 50's! But this is 2015, Dude. Girls are allowed to ask guys without it being strange nowadays."

He sighed again. "I don't know...maybe. Its just something like that has never ever happened to me before. And then, bam, when I'm least expecting it, it did. It caught me completely off guard..."

"So, what did you tell her?"

C.J. shrugged. "I told her than I had a big exam this Friday and all of my attention would be focused on it until then." He paused. "And then grabbed my hand, wrote her cell phone on it and told me to call her once it was over."

"You're going to call her, right?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Something in my gut was telling me that all was not kosher. I got this weird feeling about it all..."

Bailey and Maya looked at each other. "Guys and their gut feelings..."

Amy smiled. "Oh, give it a chance, Man. Besides, one date is not going to kill you. Who knows? Maybe you two will hit it off?"

C.J. paused to consider that. "You really think so?"

"Sure. I mean...what do you have to lose?"

Back Across the Room

While Zack continued talking to Max, Cody volunteered to go up to the bar to get them refills of their drinks at the bar. Checking his watch, he saw it was still before 9:30, so he thought he should be safe having a glass of soda right then. Zack had ordered another adult beverage, but Cody didn't want anything more alcoholic as Bailey had mentioned to him that she had another birthday gift waiting for him when they got home. He wasn't sure what she had in mind exactly, but he was pretty sure he was going to like it. Finally, the bartender came over, and he placed his order. As almost as soon as he had, he noticed a friendly face walk up next to him.

"Mr. Moseby. Long time, no see. Which is kind of weird because we both live in the same town again."

Moseby smiled. "I guess it has, Cody, but I imagine life is keeping you pretty busy nowadays. Anyways, congratulations on turning 22."

"Thank you."

"The first birthday on the downhill slide of life..."

Cody frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Before this one, your birthdays actually meant something. At sixteen, you could drive. At eighteen, you could vote. At twenty, you were no longer a teenager. At twenty-one, you could buy alcohol. Staring with twenty-two, nothing. There are no more big birthdays to look forward to. Actually, its quite the contrary. As the years go on, you begin dreading your birthdays and feel less and less like celebrating them..."

"I guess I hadn't thought of it like that before..."

Moseby smiled. "Trust me, you get used to it. Especially when you're my age, it makes you feel older and older. Speaking of feeling older though, I felt really old when I realized its now been ten years since you two hooligans came into my life. You were both twelve when you moved into the hotel, and I was..." He paused. "Nevermind."

"I guess so..." He smiled. "Back then, you and I were two people who got bullied by our older brothers. Now, the only people who tell us what to do are our wives!"

Moseby lifted his glass. "I'll drink to that. Speaking of which, how is married life so far?"

"Its going great. I absolutely love it, but to be honest, its not like must has changed all that much. So far, the only real difference is that Bailey's name now comes before mine on class rolls..."

"Glad to hear that. Speaking of school, how is that going?"

"Our first final is this Friday. We'll know better after that what to expect. But, I think we'll be ready for it."

Moseby smiled again. "Well, if the past is any indication, I have no doubts that you two will. Now, I also understand you and I also have something else in common these days. It seems we both share our homes with four legged furballs who don't care for us all that much."

Cody laughed. "True, but I think Al and I have turned a corner in our relationship. I found a way to communicate with him, and I believe we have solved all of our issues."

Moseby just gave him a look. "Care to share your secret in doing that? I'd love to hear this..."

Cody looked around before leaning in close. "Well, you promise not to tell anyone?"

"My lips are sealed."

He grinned. "Corsican fruit..."

"Corsican fruit?" Moseby paused before his eyes went wide. "Wait a minute! Are you talking about that stuff that caused you and Zack to be able to read each other's mind?"

"The one and the same. It also allows one to communicate with animals. I've slipped some into Al's food everyday as well as eating some myself."

"But I thought the government confiscated all that stuff!"

"They did..." He grinned. "Well, most of it anyways. Back then, I had snuck some out of the Gemini Project thinking that it would make a good college experiment for my future as a biology major. And to make it last longer and keeping it from spoiling, I converted what I had into some Corsican fruit preserves in the ship's kitchen. Of course, I mailed it back here to keep Zack from getting his hands on it. Well, the ironic part is that with the fiasco of me not initially getting into Yale, I completely forgot all about it. By the time I finally getting accepted thanks to Mr. Tipton's 'help', it was the last thing on my mind. In fact, I probably would have continued to forgot all about it except Mom reminded me I had some stuff down in storage here at the hotel that I needed to take over to our new place. Well, when I went through those old boxes, guess what I found..."

"Wow...I guess that's a pretty smart idea though. Unfortunately for me, I know for a fact that Emma would never let me do it. I'm kind of surprised Bailey is letting you."

Cody paused and took a sip of his soda. "Well..."

Moseby gave him a look. "She doesn't know, does she?"

He began hemming and hawing. "Not exactly. We kind of made a bet on whether or not I could tame the wild beast. I like to think of it as I'm doing the same thing Bailey did when she told London about the smarticle perfume then lipstick when she tried to help her improve her grades..."

"I guess I can understand that, but will Bailey think of it the same way?"

Cody shrugged. "I don't see why not..." He looked over and saw Bailey motioning him over to where she was talking with her sister. "If you'll excuse me, Moseby, my wife is beckoning me over. See you later..." And with that, he was headed across the room.

Moseby just stood there shaking his head. "Something tells me this will not end well..."

To be Continued...