I don't own Sailor Moon, nor did I create it. Naoko Takeuchi created Sailor Moon, this is just my alternate universe version, a sort of "If I created Sailor Moon" story...

Note: Any dialogue written like this is in a foreign language, the language, unless Japanese, will be specified.

CHAPTER 41: HOW I SPENT MY SUMMER VACATION #12

A NIGHT WITH THE ROWDYS, OR ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY

JULY 25, 1987

"So who do you think is going to be there tonight?" Jerry Logue asked his cousin, John McCoy.

"I know my mom and your mom are going to be there," John said. "As well as Mina's mom, Liz, and Teri, as well as Carol and Pam from Placentia, and Susan and Jeri from City of Industry."

"Anyone from La Mirada?" Jerry asked.

"Not sure," John said.

"Looks like it's going to be a Rowdys reunion," Jerry said. "Especially if Marge and/or Cynthia show up. I got the flier in the mail yesterday."

"So what's on the agenda for tonight?" John asked.

"Teri promises to bring Steve, who promises to tell us some of his vast collection of foot jokes," Jerry said. "Also, my mom promises to come clean on whether or not she's having an affair with Stuart Anderson, they plan to settle the debate on whether Miller Lite beer tastes great or is less filling, and the guest of honor is Annette Funicello, she'll give autographed jars of Skippy peanut butter to the first 20 arrivals."

"Foot jokes?" Adam Park asked. "I didn't even know there was a such thing."

"The whole flier is a joke," Mina Aino said. "From what Jerry and John said, Teri always promises to bring her husband Steve, and Steve always promises to tell foot jokes."

"Steve's a podiatrist," Jerry said. "That's where the foot jokes comes in. Anyways, my mom makes up the fliers for every one of these little shindigs, she always manages to come up with a few zingers, and with one exception, every flier has at least one joke I came up with. For example, I came up with the bit about settling the debate on whether Miller Lite tastes great or is less filling. And there's always a contest with prizes or a giveaway on each one."

"I liked the contest you came up with when we had the one at Shakey's last year," John said. "Guess how many pigs your mom has at her house, whoever came closest was first prize, they won an all-expenses paid trip to Needles for a week."

"And second place was 2 weeks," Adam said.

"How did you know?" John asked.

"I've been to Needles," Adam said. "That place is pretty much how Charles Schulz depicts it in Peanuts when he shows Snoopy's brother Spike."

"And the contest comes from the fact my mom collects pigs," Jerry said. "She has a whole bunch of stuff. Plush pigs, pig statuettes, ceramic pigs, piggy banks, pig posters, a pig based dice game, a hog breeder's catalog, she even has a copy of a parody of Playboy, but for pigs. Everyone knows she likes pigs. Heck, even my stepbrother calls her the Pig Lady."

"Sounds like they don't take these things all that seriously," Usagi Tsukino said.

"Nah," John said. "It's a chance to get out, let your hair down, and relax. Granted, some of the adults have the occasional glass of beer or wine, or maybe a mixed drink, but they generally stay away from the hard stuff, and nobody really gets drunk."

"It's just about letting off steam," Jerry said. "It's mostly for the tellers and head tellers, no officers allowed. Basically, a time to let your hair down and relax."

"You guys gonna talk all night, or are we ready to go?" Molly Hogan asked, as she arrived.

"Just waiting for you," Jerry said, as he and Usagi hopped on the back of his Harley-Davidson SS-350, and he kick-started it.

Jerry pulled out of John's driveway, followed by John in his 1966 Ford Mustang convertible, he was driving Molly, Mina, and Adam. They arrived shortly at Black Angus steakhouse, on Imperial Highway, just a couple blocks from Imperial Highway. Jerry and Usagi arrived a few seconds later, and parked in motorcycle parking. "Jerry and I know most of these ladies," John said. "Our moms go back to when it was Hacienda Bank."

When they entered, John, Mina, Jerry, Usagi, Molly, and Adam were met by a woman in her early 30s, a few inches shorter than John, with dark hair. She was with a man who stood about 6' tall, with sandy blonde hair, and a bushy mustache. "Jerry, John," she said.

"Hi Cynthia," Jerry said, hugging her.

"Hey Cynthia," John said, hugging her.

"So who are your friends?" Cynthia asked.

"I'm Mina," Mina said.

"Judging by the accent," Cynthia said, "you must be Cecily Aino's daughter."

"Yeah," Mina said.

"I normally work at the La Mirada branch," Cynthia said. "But I was filling in at the La Habra branch when your mom started."

"I'm Adam," Adam said. "If you work at the La Mirada branch, you probably know my sister, Joanne Park."

"I trained her," Cynthia said. "Nice girl, has a good head on her shoulders. I thought there was something familiar about you."

"I'm Molly," Molly said. "I'm John's girlfriend."

"I'm Usagi," Usagi said. "I'm Jerry's girlfriend."

"I'm David," the man with Cynthia said. "I'm Cynthia's husband. I've met Jerry a couple times before, but not any of the rest of you."

"I'm John," John said. "I'm Caryn Frehley's son."

At that point, Sharon, Jerry's mom, arrived with Debra, followed by Liz Wolf and her daughter Lisa, Carol Hawkins, and Susan Porter, Carol bringing her son Jack, while Susan brought her son Tommy. "Hi everybody," Sharon said.

"Hi Sharon," Cynthia said.

"So who we waiting for?" Sharon asked.

"Caryn, Cecily and James, Teri and Steve, Pam, Jeri, Tami, and Marge and Ken," Cynthia said.

"So all the Rowdys are going to be here?" Jerry asked.

"Rowdys?" Mina asked.

"About 6 years ago," John said, "they had a contest between the different branches in the Los Angeles area, I forget what it was for. Each branch put together a team of 10 employees, and the La Mirada branch called their team the Rowdys."

"My mom was the captain," Jerry said. "Her team was John's mom, Liz, Carol, Susan, Cynthia, Teri, Pam, Jeri, and Marge. It was as much a bonding experience as a contest, it lasted about 6 months, and La Mirada ended up winning. Anyways, first prize was regional headquarters sprung for a party at a local steakhouse for the team members and their families, and that's kind of where the parties started. Eventually, the La Mirada Rowdys got split up, but they decided to keep the parties going every few months, and eventually, we started inviting others who weren't part of the Rowdys. But it's okay, they've grown into a real tightly knit bunch over the years. And it's not just going out for dinner, or the annual picnic, Mitsubshi Bank is kind of like a large family. In fact, I bought my bike from Carol's oldest son, he had just gotten married, and his wife told him in no uncertain terms to sell it, because she wanted to be his wife, not his widow."

Soon, the rest of their group arrived, and they were sat in the banquet room. John, Jerry, Mina, Usagi, Adam, and Molly sat at a table together, along with Tommy, and Jessica Lincoln(Pam's daughter), while Debra, Lisa Wolf, Tor Wharton(Jeri's son), Ron Lincoln(Pam's son), Jack, Billy Gray(Cynthia's nephew), Kelli Baxter(Tami's daughter), and Melissa Gordon(Teri's daughter) sat at the next table. "Hey Missa," John said.

"Hey John," Melissa said.

"So who's the new blood, anyways?" Tor asked.

"Why don't we all go around and introduce ourselves," Debra said. "Everyone say who they are, who they're related to, and something about themselves."

"Good idea," John said. "I'll start. I'm John McCoy, I'm Caryn Frehley's son, and in case any of you spent the last couple months living under a rock, I'm also the suburban vigilante known as Golden Hawk."

"Molly Hogan," Molly said. "I'm John's girlfriend, my mom owns Cavern Records in Placentia."

"Mina Aino," Mina said. "Cecily Aino's daughter, I'm from Liverpool, England."

"Adam Park," Adam said. "Mina's boyfriend, although my sister Joanne works at the La Mirada branch."

"Jerry Logue," Jerry said. "Sharon Husted's son, and aspiring filmmaker."

"Usagi Tsukino," Usagi said. "Jerry's girlfriend. I know I don't look Japanese, I was adopted."

"Tommy Porter," Tommy said. "Susan Porter's son, and first string running back for Rowland High. Go Raiders!"

"Jessie Lincoln," Jessica said. "Pam Lincoln's daughter, I have a black belt in karate."

"Debra Logue," Debra said. "Sharon Husted's daughter. I'll be starting my freshman year at Sonora High this fall."

"Lisa Wolf," Lisa said. "Liz Wolf's daughter, I'll be on the JV cheerleader squad at La Habra High this coming year."

"Tor Wharton," Tor said. "I'm Jeri Wharton's son, and I run cross country at Servite."

"Ron Lincoln," Ron said. "Pam Lincoln's son, I collect comic books."

"Jack Hawkins," Jack said. "Carol Hawkins's son, and aspiring writer."

"Billy Gray," Billy said. "I'm Cynthia Scott's nephew, I'll be going into the Air Force in October."

"Kelli Baxter," Kelli said, both speaking and in sign language. "I'm Tami Carter's daughter, and I learned sign language so I could let my fingers do the talking."

"Melissa Gordon," Melissa said. "Teri Gordon's daughter, my friends call me Missa."

At that point, it was time to order. "Full rack of ribs," Tor said. "Baked potato with everything, salad with Italian, and iced tea."

"16 oz prime rib, rare," Ron said. "Baked potato with just butter and sour cream, Caesar salad, and a Dr Pepper."

"Prime rib, cowboy cut," Jack said. "Baked potato with everything but sour cream, salad with ranch, and iced tea."

"Porterhouse, medium rare," Billy said. "Baked potato with butter and cheese, salad with Bleu cheese, and Coke."

"Grilled chicken breast," Kelli said. "Baked potato with everything, and iced tea."

"New York strip, medium," Melissa said. "Baked potato no chives, salad with ranch, and Sprite."

"Grilled boneless chicken breast," Debra said. "Baked potato with everything, salad with Bleu cheese, and iced tea."

"Sirloin, medium well," Lisa said. "Baked potato with everything, salad with ranch, strawberry lemonade."

"Filet Mignon, medium rare," Jessica said. "Baked potato with butter and chives, salad with 1000 island, and a Shirley Temple."

"Prime Rib, cowboy cut, rare" John said. "Baked potato with butter, bacon, and cheese, salad with ranch, and a Dr Pepper."

"New York Strip, medium well," Molly said. "Baked potato with butter and sour cream, salad with ranch, and a Coke."

"Filet Mignon, medium rare," Mina said. "Baked potato with butter, salad with Italian, and lemonade."

"Porterhouse, medium," Adam said. "Baked potato with butter and cheese, salad with Bleu cheese, and a Roy Rogers."

"Prime rib, cowboy cut, medium rare," Jerry said. "Baked potato with butter, bacon, and cheese, salad with 1000 island, ginger ale with pineapple juice and a splash of grenadine."

"Sirloin medium well," Usagi said. "Baked potato with butter, cheese, and chives, salad with ranch, and a Coke."

"Prime rib, cowboy cut, medium," Tommy said. "Baked potato with butter and cheese, salad with 1000 island, and a Diet Coke."

They talked while waiting for dinner, and also during dinner. After they ate, it was time for dessert. Jerry, Usagi, Kelli, and Billy all got carrot cake, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, Debra, Molly, and Jessica all got New York style cheesecake, Adam and Mina shared a slice of mile high chocolate cake, Lisa got pecan pie with a scoop of ice cream, Tommy got a hot fudge brownie sundae, Jack, Ron, and Melissa got maple walnut blondie(a brownie made with white chocolate) sundaes, Tor and Jessica got chocolate lava cakes with a scoop of ice cream.

"That was fun," Usagi said, as they finished dessert.

"Tell me about it," Jerry said. "It's always like this."

"Over the years," Kelli said, "we've sort of become kind of a family."

"Just like our moms," Lisa said.

"Your moms and my aunt," Billy said. "But Cynthia's been like a second mom to me my whole life, anyways."

"Molly, Adam, Usagi, Mina," Melissa said, "Any of you ever want to talk to any of us, Jerry and John have all our phone numbers."

"You can think of us as one big happy family," Tor said.

"I don't get to see the two of you all that often," Melissa said, hugging both Jerry and John in turn. "Adam, Mina, Molly, Usagi, you're now part of the family as well," she added, hugging each of them.

"I'll see you in a couple days," Jerry said to his mom. "I'm going to stay at my dad's for a couple days, and then I'll be spending the rest of the summer with you."

"See you in a couple days," Sharon said.

They left, Jerry and Usagi got on his bike, he started it up, and rode back to his dad's house. Once he arrived, he parked his motorcycle in the garage, and let his dad know he was going to walk Usagi home. "I had a real good time tonight," Usagi said. "You seem like one big family."

"We are," Jerry said. "One day in the near future, we're all going to go our separate ways, but that isn't going to change anything. We all have access to a telephone, we'll be only a call away. I know everyone but you, Mina, Adam, and Molly have been together since the first get-together back in the summer of 1981, but now you're part of the family. We are family. There are a few of us who are related. You know that Debra's my sister, and John's our cousin, but family isn't just genetics. Sometimes, it's hard to describe it, but it's there. I just hope that in the future, we're still friends, even when we do go our separate ways."

"I'd like to think we all remain friends in the future," Usagi said. "Kind of like the Sailor Soldiers, we haven't been together all that long, but we've become a family of sorts. And now, you're part of that family."

"And now, you're part of the Rowdy family," Jerry said, as they arrived at Usagi's house. She unlocked the door, and just before she went in the house, she and Jerry kissed. "I love you," Jerry said.

"I love you," Usagi said, as she closed the door, and Jerry walked back to his house.

À SUIVRE...