Sunday
*~*~*~*~
"Lindsey!" Shayne's voice shouted from downstairs. "Get up! We're going to church!"
"I repent!" she cried from her bed. "Now let me sleep!"
The next thing she heard was Shayne's heavy boots tromping up the stairs. "Last chance. Get up."
"No," Lindsey said. "Sunday is the day of rest! You're sinning by making me get up!"
"Lindsey," Shayne said in a low voice. "I mean it."
"Lordy Jesus, strike him dead that I may sleep in peace," she muttered into her pillow.
"That's it," Shayne growled. He grabbed her by her ankles and ripped her from the bed, causing her to hit the hard floor with a THUNK. "Get ready for church."
"You're going to burn in Hell for this!" Lindsey cried. "It's sacrilegious!" She mumbled to herself, then dressed in a long brown skirt and an off-white peasant top with bell sleeves. She pulled her hair back in a bun and slipped on some sandals. She was surprised to find that her window was open and her room was still warm. *Maybe the cold weather's finally over* she thought to herself. But she knew it wasn't. The weather in Missouri was crazy. Sometimes it was still swimming weather in October. Other times, it snowed in April. One winter there would be three feet of snow and the next they were lucky for ice. It was insane.
*~*~*~*~*~
After church that day at North Park Baptist Church in Moberly, the Z-Girls went home and hung out around the house.
"I think I'm going to cook something," Lindsey announced as they walked into the kitchen. The boys had gone out to take care of the fields and things and had left the girls to themselves.
"How many brothers do you have?" Lia asked.
"Seven," Lindsey answered. "And two sisters. I'm the youngest."
"That's nuts," Leelee said. "Your parents must have really liked children."
"Yeah, they did."
"So what happened to them?" Kristen asked.
"Mom died while giving birth to me," Lindsey said as she wrapped a white handkerchief over her hair to pull it back out of her face while she cooked. "And Dad died when I was fourteen while trying to train a horse."
"I'm sorry," Kristen said.
Lindsey shrugged. "It's okay. I'm pretty much over it. I mean, I don't think I'll ever be completely over it, but I think this is as good as it gets, ya know?"
Kristen nodded.
"So what are we going to cook?" Catie asked, grinning, attempting to change the subject.
"Let's fix everything!" Sabriena exclaimed.
"Last time we did that, we set my house on fire," Jenny muttered.
Sabriena giggled. "Oh yeah! I remember that!"
Lindsey shook her head as she pulled out a recipe box. "Cake, cookies, bread . . ." she paused and stared at a card. "Wild Alaskan Salmon Fiesta? What the fuck is that?!" With a look of disgust, she threw the card into the trashcan.
"Your Grandma made that one time for us," Sabriena said. "Do you know how hard it was for me to choke that down and not blow chunks all over the place?"
"Okay, that was a little graphic," Leelee said.
Lindsey laughed. "I know. I faked a headache that night."
"Won't she miss the recipe?" Lia asked.
"Nah," Lindsey answered. "She and Papaw are living in Florida now. They only come up for holidays."
Lia tipped her chin up and smiled. "So you have no parents or anything around here, do you?"
"Shayne's as close as it gets," Lindsey said. "And he doesn't care too much."
"Sweet," Leelee grinned.
*~*~*~*~*~
"Are we there yet, Dad?" Gohan complained for the fiftieth time.
"Not yet," Goku answered.
Chichi laughed. "You were better behaved when you were nine, Gohan."
"I just can't wait to see her!" Gohan exclaimed.
"I can't wait to see Catie," Trunks smiled. "Man, I hope she'll be glad to see me."
Krillin smiled. "You guys calm down. Those girls care about you all. You don't have anything to worry about."
"But why does she have to live so far from the airport? This is crazy," Gohan muttered.
"It's only a three hour drive," Chichi said. "After a fifteen hour fight, it shouldn't seem that bad."
Gohan groaned and leaned his head back in the seat.
"Poor kid is so in love, he doesn't know what to do," Yamcha laughed.
*~*~*~*~*~
"Sabriena, I swear if you stick your fingers in that batter one more time, I'm going to spoon you to death!"
"But it's chocolate!"
"It's supposed to be cake! But it will never be cake if you don't stop eating all of it!"
Sabriena rolled her eyes and took a seat at the kitchen table, which sat to the right of the room. There was an island in the middle of the room with two stools on either side. That was where Lindsey was trying to cook. The girls had already made chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal cookies, brownies, pumpkin bread, cheesecake, apple pie, and lemon meringue pie. At the moment, Lindsey was working on a chocolate cake while Catie and Jenny made homemade ice cream and Kristen and Lia were working on vanilla cupcakes. Leelee was mixing up a ton of white icing for all of the creations and was going to divide it up to be dyed different colors.
"This place looks like a bakery," Sabriena said, glancing around at the treat-covered countertops.
"So what are we going to fix for actual dinner?" Leelee asked, adding sugar and stirring some more.
"I dunno," Lindsey said. "What sounds good?"
"That chicken-stuffing casserole you make," Sabriena said. "That stuff's good."
Lindsey nodded. "Check the deep freezer and make sure I have enough chicken."
Sabriena got up and walked to the freezer. She checked and there was plenty. "You're good to go, sparky."
Lindsey laughed.
Sabriena walked back over to her friend. "I'm bored."
"So cook something," Lindsey said, shoving the box at her. "Or there's books over there."
"Okay," Sabriena said and stuck her finger back into the batter.
"Sabriena Anne!" Lindsey shrieked and grabbed Sabriena's wrist."
"Fine! Fine!" Sabriena said.
Lindsey released her friend's wrist, only to have Sabriena wipe the chocolate off onto Lindsey's face.
Lindsey gasped and lunged for Sabriena. Both girls fell to the floor and began wrestling around.
"Dude! You're in a skirt!" Catie cried. "Don't!"
"I don't wanna see that!" Jenny teased.
Sabriena scrambled away from Lindsey, then grabbed a handful of flour and threw it at her.
"You bitch! You're dead now!'
*~*~*~*~
"I think this is it," Goku said as he turned into the long drive. It led through a large gate with brick pillars on either side. Off to the left was a lake. Both sides of the drive were lined with white-wooden fences. A few horses ran around in the fields. A black one with a white stripe leaned his head over the fence as if to greet them. Trees also lined the drive, but they were spaced far apart, so as to allow plenty of view of the extensive amounts of land.
"This place is huge," Krillin gasped.
The drive ended in a circle drive before a large, rust colored ranch style house with two stories. The front door was dark blue with an oval of glass in the center. The porch spanned across the whole front of the house. Steps led from the middle of the porch to the ground and there were steps off either side of the porch as well. A brand new Ford 350 truck sat in front of the house as well as a red 2001 mustang, a black 2000 Jeep Cherokee and a blue Honda Civic with ground effects and a huge spoiler. Off to the right on the grass was a silver 2003 Dodge Viper.
Goku parked the car and they all stepped out.
Suddenly, the front door burst open and Sabriena ran out of it, screaming and running for her life. She jumped the porch railing, then took off down towards the barn that sat behind the house and off to the right.
"If I ever get my hands on you, you'll rue the day you were born!"
The Z-Fighters stood blinking as Lindsey stepped out onto the porch in the warm spring air. Flour and a few small lines of chocolate streaked her face.
"Lindsey?" Gohan asked, taking a step forward.
Lindsey gasped. "Gohan?"
He grinned and she ran down the steps and wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight hug. She kissed him passionately and immediately felt like the world was perfect and she was so happy.
Gohan broke away from her. "I've missed you."
"I've missed you, too," she said.
"Lindsey?"
Lindsey blinked and turned to see Chichi standing there.
"Chichi, I . . ."
Chichi held up a hand. "I was wrong. I'm sorry. Can you ever forgive me?"
Lindsey smiled and hugged Chichi. "Of course I can. Can you forgive me?"
Chichi nodded and hugged Lindsey back.
Lindsey stepped back and stared at all of them. "You just had to come today. I look like crap."
"Thanks to me!" came Sabriena's voice. No one could see her.
Lindsey sighed and shook her head. "Come inside." She led the way back into the house, her bare feet padding on the worn wood of the porch. "Guys, we have company."
The girls all gasped when they saw who had walked in the door and Leelee, Jenny and Catie all ran and hugged their boyfriends.
"It's only been three days," Kristen muttered. "You'd think they hadn't seen them in a year."
Lia snickered.
"Wow! Where'd all this food come from?" Goku cried.
"We were bored," Lindsey explained. "So, we decided to cook something."
"It all looks delicious. Can I have some?"
Lindsey nodded and Goku grinned.
Jenny grabbed Catie and pulled her aside.
"What?" Catie asked.
"What are we going to do with them here?" Jenny asked. "If they find out about the boost, we're all done for."
Catie blinked. "Well, we just won't let them find out."
Jenny took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay. I hope you're right." But when she turned back to their friends, Piccolo had a suspicious look on his face and Jenny could just tell that he knew something.
*~*~*~*~
"Lindsey!" Shayne's voice shouted from downstairs. "Get up! We're going to church!"
"I repent!" she cried from her bed. "Now let me sleep!"
The next thing she heard was Shayne's heavy boots tromping up the stairs. "Last chance. Get up."
"No," Lindsey said. "Sunday is the day of rest! You're sinning by making me get up!"
"Lindsey," Shayne said in a low voice. "I mean it."
"Lordy Jesus, strike him dead that I may sleep in peace," she muttered into her pillow.
"That's it," Shayne growled. He grabbed her by her ankles and ripped her from the bed, causing her to hit the hard floor with a THUNK. "Get ready for church."
"You're going to burn in Hell for this!" Lindsey cried. "It's sacrilegious!" She mumbled to herself, then dressed in a long brown skirt and an off-white peasant top with bell sleeves. She pulled her hair back in a bun and slipped on some sandals. She was surprised to find that her window was open and her room was still warm. *Maybe the cold weather's finally over* she thought to herself. But she knew it wasn't. The weather in Missouri was crazy. Sometimes it was still swimming weather in October. Other times, it snowed in April. One winter there would be three feet of snow and the next they were lucky for ice. It was insane.
*~*~*~*~*~
After church that day at North Park Baptist Church in Moberly, the Z-Girls went home and hung out around the house.
"I think I'm going to cook something," Lindsey announced as they walked into the kitchen. The boys had gone out to take care of the fields and things and had left the girls to themselves.
"How many brothers do you have?" Lia asked.
"Seven," Lindsey answered. "And two sisters. I'm the youngest."
"That's nuts," Leelee said. "Your parents must have really liked children."
"Yeah, they did."
"So what happened to them?" Kristen asked.
"Mom died while giving birth to me," Lindsey said as she wrapped a white handkerchief over her hair to pull it back out of her face while she cooked. "And Dad died when I was fourteen while trying to train a horse."
"I'm sorry," Kristen said.
Lindsey shrugged. "It's okay. I'm pretty much over it. I mean, I don't think I'll ever be completely over it, but I think this is as good as it gets, ya know?"
Kristen nodded.
"So what are we going to cook?" Catie asked, grinning, attempting to change the subject.
"Let's fix everything!" Sabriena exclaimed.
"Last time we did that, we set my house on fire," Jenny muttered.
Sabriena giggled. "Oh yeah! I remember that!"
Lindsey shook her head as she pulled out a recipe box. "Cake, cookies, bread . . ." she paused and stared at a card. "Wild Alaskan Salmon Fiesta? What the fuck is that?!" With a look of disgust, she threw the card into the trashcan.
"Your Grandma made that one time for us," Sabriena said. "Do you know how hard it was for me to choke that down and not blow chunks all over the place?"
"Okay, that was a little graphic," Leelee said.
Lindsey laughed. "I know. I faked a headache that night."
"Won't she miss the recipe?" Lia asked.
"Nah," Lindsey answered. "She and Papaw are living in Florida now. They only come up for holidays."
Lia tipped her chin up and smiled. "So you have no parents or anything around here, do you?"
"Shayne's as close as it gets," Lindsey said. "And he doesn't care too much."
"Sweet," Leelee grinned.
*~*~*~*~*~
"Are we there yet, Dad?" Gohan complained for the fiftieth time.
"Not yet," Goku answered.
Chichi laughed. "You were better behaved when you were nine, Gohan."
"I just can't wait to see her!" Gohan exclaimed.
"I can't wait to see Catie," Trunks smiled. "Man, I hope she'll be glad to see me."
Krillin smiled. "You guys calm down. Those girls care about you all. You don't have anything to worry about."
"But why does she have to live so far from the airport? This is crazy," Gohan muttered.
"It's only a three hour drive," Chichi said. "After a fifteen hour fight, it shouldn't seem that bad."
Gohan groaned and leaned his head back in the seat.
"Poor kid is so in love, he doesn't know what to do," Yamcha laughed.
*~*~*~*~*~
"Sabriena, I swear if you stick your fingers in that batter one more time, I'm going to spoon you to death!"
"But it's chocolate!"
"It's supposed to be cake! But it will never be cake if you don't stop eating all of it!"
Sabriena rolled her eyes and took a seat at the kitchen table, which sat to the right of the room. There was an island in the middle of the room with two stools on either side. That was where Lindsey was trying to cook. The girls had already made chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal cookies, brownies, pumpkin bread, cheesecake, apple pie, and lemon meringue pie. At the moment, Lindsey was working on a chocolate cake while Catie and Jenny made homemade ice cream and Kristen and Lia were working on vanilla cupcakes. Leelee was mixing up a ton of white icing for all of the creations and was going to divide it up to be dyed different colors.
"This place looks like a bakery," Sabriena said, glancing around at the treat-covered countertops.
"So what are we going to fix for actual dinner?" Leelee asked, adding sugar and stirring some more.
"I dunno," Lindsey said. "What sounds good?"
"That chicken-stuffing casserole you make," Sabriena said. "That stuff's good."
Lindsey nodded. "Check the deep freezer and make sure I have enough chicken."
Sabriena got up and walked to the freezer. She checked and there was plenty. "You're good to go, sparky."
Lindsey laughed.
Sabriena walked back over to her friend. "I'm bored."
"So cook something," Lindsey said, shoving the box at her. "Or there's books over there."
"Okay," Sabriena said and stuck her finger back into the batter.
"Sabriena Anne!" Lindsey shrieked and grabbed Sabriena's wrist."
"Fine! Fine!" Sabriena said.
Lindsey released her friend's wrist, only to have Sabriena wipe the chocolate off onto Lindsey's face.
Lindsey gasped and lunged for Sabriena. Both girls fell to the floor and began wrestling around.
"Dude! You're in a skirt!" Catie cried. "Don't!"
"I don't wanna see that!" Jenny teased.
Sabriena scrambled away from Lindsey, then grabbed a handful of flour and threw it at her.
"You bitch! You're dead now!'
*~*~*~*~
"I think this is it," Goku said as he turned into the long drive. It led through a large gate with brick pillars on either side. Off to the left was a lake. Both sides of the drive were lined with white-wooden fences. A few horses ran around in the fields. A black one with a white stripe leaned his head over the fence as if to greet them. Trees also lined the drive, but they were spaced far apart, so as to allow plenty of view of the extensive amounts of land.
"This place is huge," Krillin gasped.
The drive ended in a circle drive before a large, rust colored ranch style house with two stories. The front door was dark blue with an oval of glass in the center. The porch spanned across the whole front of the house. Steps led from the middle of the porch to the ground and there were steps off either side of the porch as well. A brand new Ford 350 truck sat in front of the house as well as a red 2001 mustang, a black 2000 Jeep Cherokee and a blue Honda Civic with ground effects and a huge spoiler. Off to the right on the grass was a silver 2003 Dodge Viper.
Goku parked the car and they all stepped out.
Suddenly, the front door burst open and Sabriena ran out of it, screaming and running for her life. She jumped the porch railing, then took off down towards the barn that sat behind the house and off to the right.
"If I ever get my hands on you, you'll rue the day you were born!"
The Z-Fighters stood blinking as Lindsey stepped out onto the porch in the warm spring air. Flour and a few small lines of chocolate streaked her face.
"Lindsey?" Gohan asked, taking a step forward.
Lindsey gasped. "Gohan?"
He grinned and she ran down the steps and wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight hug. She kissed him passionately and immediately felt like the world was perfect and she was so happy.
Gohan broke away from her. "I've missed you."
"I've missed you, too," she said.
"Lindsey?"
Lindsey blinked and turned to see Chichi standing there.
"Chichi, I . . ."
Chichi held up a hand. "I was wrong. I'm sorry. Can you ever forgive me?"
Lindsey smiled and hugged Chichi. "Of course I can. Can you forgive me?"
Chichi nodded and hugged Lindsey back.
Lindsey stepped back and stared at all of them. "You just had to come today. I look like crap."
"Thanks to me!" came Sabriena's voice. No one could see her.
Lindsey sighed and shook her head. "Come inside." She led the way back into the house, her bare feet padding on the worn wood of the porch. "Guys, we have company."
The girls all gasped when they saw who had walked in the door and Leelee, Jenny and Catie all ran and hugged their boyfriends.
"It's only been three days," Kristen muttered. "You'd think they hadn't seen them in a year."
Lia snickered.
"Wow! Where'd all this food come from?" Goku cried.
"We were bored," Lindsey explained. "So, we decided to cook something."
"It all looks delicious. Can I have some?"
Lindsey nodded and Goku grinned.
Jenny grabbed Catie and pulled her aside.
"What?" Catie asked.
"What are we going to do with them here?" Jenny asked. "If they find out about the boost, we're all done for."
Catie blinked. "Well, we just won't let them find out."
Jenny took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay. I hope you're right." But when she turned back to their friends, Piccolo had a suspicious look on his face and Jenny could just tell that he knew something.