Book VI: Housewarming

Logan entered his new house to find all of his belongings and furniture unpacked and neatly arranged. No doubt Mel had placed herself in charge of the decorating. Logan looked back with a twinge of sadness on the day he had lost the one person that had been kind enough to take him in off of the streets...

...

It was seven years to the day that Logan had moved into the Maestro household, and the day had begun like any other. After his morning routine, Logan and his father-figure Marvin would work out and spar before breakfast. Only today, Marvin requested a breather during the sparring match. Logan came back from fetching a glass of water for Marvin, only to find him lying on the ground clutching his chest. Logan called Marvin's private medics, and they rushed him to the infirmary on the top floor of the mansion.

Logan had found out several years prior that Marvin was honorably discharged from the CIA after getting injured in a bomb attack. Now, everyone's worst fears were realized: a small piece of shrapnel that had gone unnoticed by surgeons and scans alike had found its way into his heart. The medics predicted that Marvin had a few hours to live, if even that.

Standing on each side of his deathbed, Logan and Mel listened intently as Marvin explained his final wishes. Now that Mel was a legal adult, she would inherit the entire estate as long as she divided her inheritance equally with Logan. The lawyers standing by for just such an emergency would take care of everything.

As he drew his last breath, Marvin said, "I'm so proud of both of you. Logan, you were like the son I never had. And Mel, if it wasn't for your kind, loving heart, we never would've met Logan. Take care of yourselves and, if needed, each other. That's all I ask..." Marvin pulled the two crying teenagers into a final embrace, and they remained in his arms long after his grip went slack.

...

Logan clenched his fist at the memory of what happened after the funeral. The lawyers had tried to swindle him and Mel out of their inheritance, only to find out that neither of them were easily duped. They persisted nonetheless, and Logan finally had to resort to "persuasion" to get the lawyers to leave them alone. It was smooth sailing after that.

Logan shook his head to clear it of those thoughts and went upstairs to his bedroom. He changed into his usual sleep attire of a black sleeveless T-shirt and black drawstring shorts, brushed his teeth, and climbed under the covers. He drifted off to sleep thinking of ways that he could get to know his siblings better and possibly make amends with Lori.

...

Shortly after he woke up the next morning, Logan's cell phone rang. He smiled when he saw his mother's name on the caller ID; he and his parents had exchanged contact information before he left for the night.

"Hello?"

"Hey, sweetie, it's Mom. Would you like to come over for breakfast before your siblings go to school? Your dad made waffles."

"Sweet! You don't know how much I've missed Dad's cooking! Just give me a few minutes to get dressed and stuff, and I'll be right over."

"Okay, then. I'll be sure to save you a plate."

Logan hung up and pulled on his clothes from the day before, taking some time to apply cologne and run a comb through his hair, which was nearly impossible to tame at the best of times. He then walked the short distance to his parents' house, and everyone but Lori was happy to see him. Lynn Sr. in particular was excited when he learned how much Logan missed his cooking.

While they were eating, Luna asked, "I don't mean to make you uncomfy or anything, bro, but how did you get those scars? I meant to ask last night but missed my chance."

"Oh, it's no issue at all. I got both sets a little while after I turned twelve. The ones on my left cheek are from falling asleep on a street gang's turf, and the ones on my right cheek are from when a crazy lady scratched me with her fingernails." Most of the siblings winced in sympathy.

"You're not gonna leave again, are you? Not after we just met?" Lola asked with a sad tone of voice.

"Of course not, Lola. I caused enough pain the first time around. Plus, Mom and Dad made it pretty clear that I'm out of the will if I do anything like that again. I might be gone for long periods of time because of my job, but I'll always come straight back. In case you've forgotten, we're technically neighbors now."

"So you're a freelancer, huh? Me and my band do gigs all over town, so I'm kind of a freelancer myself. Where all have you gone?" asked Luna.

"I guess that's one way of describing what I do. I've been all over the world; I actually just came back to the States from Hong Kong."

"Oh, look at the time! We're gonna be late!" Lori interjected. While she ushered everyone else out to the battered old van, Lisa beckoned Logan down towards her. When he bent down to see what she wanted, she reached up with a pair of tweezers and plucked a hair from his nostril, causing him to yelp as his hands flew up to cover his nose.

"My apologies, eldest brother, but there are some things about your personal genome that I am curious about. I hope you understand."

"Sure, but why do you have to use my nose hair?!" Logan complained, still holding his nose.

"Personally, I find a person's reaction to getting a follicle plucked from their nasal orifice to be rather amusing. As do other people with an appreciation for slapstick humor." Logan didn't want to agree, but he also couldn't argue. After his siblings left for school, Logan himself went to the supermarket. During breakfast, he had gotten a text from Mel about the possibility of having a housewarming party, so he decided to buy soda, snacks, decorations, and new dishes for his parents. Lincoln wasn't the only "Man with a Plan" in the family!

...

After spending most of the day decorating his new house for the occasion, Logan waited until his siblings got home before inviting his family to the housewarming party. They arrived at his door mere minutes after his siblings finished their homework, his parents each carrying a steaming pan of his father's famous Lynn-sagna. The doorbell rang again while everyone gazed in awe at his lavishly furnished living room (even Lori was impressed, and she didn't even want to be there), and on the porch stood Logan's two friends from work, Mel and Geoff.

Geoff (pronounced "Jeff") was Logan's "Guy in the Chair" as well as one of the CIA's best gadget experts. He had shoulder-length black hair that was dyed acid-green at the tips, stormy gray eyes, pale skin from spending days on end cooped up in his workshop, a black trench coat over a red-and-white striped shirt, faded blue jeans, and steel-toed work boots. He looked so thin that a stiff breeze could knock him over, and he had sharp bird-like facial features as well as a prominent Adam's Apple.

Mel's appearance had changed very little, aside from the fact that she was taller and had lost a fair amount of baby fat. She wore bell-bottom jeans, a bright green shirt that hugged her thin waist, a brown jacket that barely cleared the bottom of her rib cage, and brown cowboy boots. Her curly brown hair reached the middle of her back, and her heterochromatic eyes sparkled with mischief. The pair happily greeted Logan, Mel with a brief hug and Geoff with a firm handshake.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet my coworkers, Mel and Geoff. Guys, meet my family," Logan introduced.

"Hi, I'm Melody Maestro. Logan's told me so much about you!" Mel said, eagerly shaking the hands of Logan's parents. "Though the sly devil said he only had six siblings."

"Oh, come on, Mel! You know how long I've been gone!" Logan griped.

"She's only kidding, Logan. Anyways, I'm Geoff Puccini. I'm the tech support manager at our company's headquarters," Geoff said, inventing a cover-up for his real job on the spot. "Logan and I have worked together many times before his promotion. We've been friends ever since." Mel and Geoff mingled with Logan's family, with Mel becoming fast friends with Leni given their similar tastes in fashion. Likewise, a small friendship sparked between Lisa and Geoff over technology. Everyone chatted, ate, and sang karoke until it was bedtime for the younger Louds. Mel and Geoff stayed a bit longer to help Logan clean up, then returned to their hotel for the night in preparation to make the trip back to Great Lakes City in the morning.

After hauling a pair of trash bags to the curb, Logan himself retired for the night.