I arrived to my cousin's house. I made it there before everyone did with Stoneybrook.
I wanted to be there also, but I had the funeral planned before hearing about meeting Kristy's family and staying in her mansion that I've been hearing about.
I can wait to hear about it when they come back.
Right now my family comes first.
I haven't seen them in years, so it was nice to catch up during this rough time because of the murder.
"Hey, Al. How have you been?" my brother Dale asked.
"Fine. Having a fun relationship with some new friends," I told him.
"That's good. Who are these friends of yours?" Dale asked.
I told him the story starting with the contest Mary Anne and her friends won.
"That's fun. I don't think you mentioned this before. How old are these contest winners?" he asked.
I told him.
"Wow. I sometimes wish I was that young again," said Dale.
"Me too," I agreed.
I decided to call my friends in Stoneybrook tonight and see how everyone was doing. Maybe they could put me on the speaker so I could talk to the all at the same time.
I was staying at my brother's house while I was out here. That's how we planned it in the first place.
I was going to call from his house, but he said I was welcome to use it anytime while out here.
Kristy has his phone number in case I call. At least she will recognize the number instead of thinking it was a wrong one.
The funeral lasted for a while, but the time didn't matter to us.
We were going to eat out instead of having him cook tonight. That was a good plan.
When we returned to his place, I looked at the clock, telling us it was not too late to call them.
I wanted to hear my friends' voices. That means a lot to me.
I hoped I didn't call at the wrong out there.
It told me the was only 7:30 PM.
I went straight to his phone and dialed Kristy. It turned out they were still up too.
I was happy to hear her voice.
"Hello?" Kristy said.
"This is Al," I said.
"Hi, Al. It's quite a surprise to hear from you. How was your flight?" Kristy asked.
"Just fine," I answered.
"That's good to hear. I'll tell everyone you called," she said.
"Where is everyone?" I asked.
"We were just hanging around, but catching up since we last saw each other," Kristy told me.
"That's great," I said.
"We miss you already. I'll go find them and see if they want to chat," Kristy replied.
"I'll wait," I told her.
"I won't be long," Kristy replies.
I didn't have too long like she said.
Like I thought, she put me on the speaker.
"Hi, Al," Marion said.
"Hi, Marion," I returned.
"How did the funeral go?" Dawn asked.
"It went well. The flight was good too," I answered.
I thought I heard some kids in the background, but I could be wrong.
"Jenny came too," Joanie said.
"That's cool. I thought she wasn't invited," I told Joanie.
"She's taking your place," Howard said.
"Thanks, Jenny," I said.
"You're welcome, Al. We miss you already," Jenny told me.
"I'm sure you do," I replied.
She sounded like she meant it. I could tell by hearing her voice.
I wasn't surprised at why Jenny took over from me since I had a funeral to go to.
At least it's fine with me if she took my place on this trip.
"Maybe you can change your plans after the funeral and come here instead of going back to Milwaukee," Potsie asked.
"I don't think so, Potsie. I'm going to reopen my business and it'll be open when you guys come back," I answered.
"At least we'll be sure to bring pictures so you can see them," said Howard.
"I'd appreciate that, Howard. I want to see them. Maybe next time I can join you," I said.
"That would be nice," Mary Anne said.
"It's our turn to come out there," Mallory said.
"That would be fun," Ralph said.
We all agreed with him.
"I'm going to fly back to Milwaukee before you do, Howard. I leave next week, I think," I said.
"That would be fun to do by coming home to the diner," Richie said.
Once again we all agreed.
We talked for a few minutes and then it was starting to get late.
"It was fun talking with you guys. I'm going to say good – night for now. I'll look forward to seeing you again," I said.
After the phone call, I decided it was time for bed. It was a good day.
