DISCLAIMER: So far, no royalties from the TMNT's have made it to my meager mailbox. All I have to my name is the plot and story line, Shari Brentwood, and the redwoods behind Mike's house! WA Peabody owns Rahab, Gaele, Devon, Seth, & Riahna, plus the estate in Big Sur. Oh, and Thomas, too. Eastman and Laird or Mirage Studios owns the TMNT's. Lucky dogs.
One more thing: I've been trying to backlog my chapters so I can upload without the panic of trying to get one going. Unfortunately, I've run out of chapters for WYLEI and will be panicking from here on out! :0) So, be patient…with all that I've loaded myself down with (what was I thinking????), I'm doin' the best I can! Also, I'll be leaving the States for the Philippines on July 29th and won't be back until August 14th. My brain won't be back until well after that, so consider the time an opportunity for you, the reader, to re-read my stories and catch any boo boos I've made, then leave me a note( E-mail ) re: them, include chapter numbers, and where in the work I goofed! That is if you feel so inclined. Thanks and y'all be blessed!
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CHAPTER 8 – It's All in the Family
While Thomas was fixing the heating in the apartment, Shari went outside to stretch her legs. She squinted at first against the bright mid-morning sun. It journeyed in a lazy arc against the cerulean blue sky, shortening the shadows as it headed for high noon. She soon adjusted to the light, however, taking note of a gentle sage-scented breeze that wafted in from the surrounding eastern hillside. The soft gust of wind traveled westward, bringing with it some warmth to the area and the promise of a pleasant day. A few butterflies flitted about as they explored the flowers growing around the yard with the buzz of bees adding to the ambience of the outdoors.
No longer chilled, Shari cast off her sweater and threw it over her right shoulder. She moved around the sparsely landscaped yard while she inspected the various plants and flowers. Despite the sage-seasoned breeze, the air had a taste of salt, a testament to the ocean not too far away. The woman had to admit to herself that more and more she was beginning to like it where she was in California. She was even beginning to entertain the notion of looking for a place to live once things began to settle down. Though she loved the four seasons of New York, the balmy feel of the central west coast was very inviting to her.
As she wandered around the yard, she observed the tall majestic trees just a little north of where she stood. Not even a half acre from the main house, their immense size made them appear closer than they actually were, dwarfing the property considerably. Seeing them from her current vantage point rather than through her apartment window, when she was having her cup of coffee, was breathtaking.
Recalling the evening before, it had been too dark then to afford Shari the luxury of seeing what she was looking at now. What trees she had observed were back-dropped by the evening sky, the scant bit of light coming from the smattering of stars and the quarter moon. Now, with morning in full swing, she took in the true wonder of the estate, feeling slightly overwhelmed and amazingly at peace. Yet, she was so caught up with the grandeur of the landscape, Shari failed to hear the one who walked up behind her on silent feet.
"Plannin' on puttin' in a pool one day!" it said cheerily.
She spun around, somewhat alarmed and clearly not pleased with being so surprised. "What?" she asked, a bit agitated.
Mike repeated himself, smiling at Shari's unease, "I said, we're gonna put a pool in one of these days. Maybe with a rock waterfall and a slide. Kids'll really eat it up; they just love the water. 'Course, they're half turtle and iguana, so it's sort of nat'ral for 'em." He laughed then and shoved his hand out to her, "Guess a second intro is in order consid'ring last evenin' an' all. Mike Angelo, at yer service!"
Relaxing under his forced drawl, Shari smiled a little and took his proffered hand, receiving a very generous shake in return. Mike didn't linger too long with his grip, though, releasing it and then looking her over. Then, motioning towards the larger house, he invited, "'Bout ready to eat breakfast. Would love to have ya join us."
"Hmm…does your wife know about me, yet?" Shari asked, looking past Mike and over towards the sliding glass door by the patio. She didn't necessarily want to walk in on his wife unexplained. Shari was sure that Rahab knew about her by now, but it still would be awkward just walking in without really knowing if she did. She looked at Mike and saw a grin crease his face at her question.
"Oh, that? Yeah – Rahab knows. Just so's you know, though, she's been outta sorts lately. Don't take anythin' she says person'lly, 'kay?" he grinned broader and then gently took Shari's nearest elbow to guide her ahead of him.
However, she deftly removed her arm from Mike's gentle grasp, explaining, "No offense, but I'm perfectly capable of finding my own way." She never liked to be managed and there wasn't any way she was going to change now. For one capable of getting around and handling herself independent of any chaperon, it all seemed demeaning to her.
"S'kay, Ms. Brentwood, no offense. Jus' tryn' ta be nice is all." Mike explained as he smiled a little thinner. "'Sides, the way Rahab can be, you're a walk in 'th' park!" he sniggered quite easily, too easily as far as Shari was concerned. It seemed like a mask to her, as if he were hiding something unpleasant. She then proceeded to follow Mike as he led the way towards the house.
As they neared the patio, however, she could soon hear people yelling, or – more to the point – she could hear someone yelling. By the sound of it, the voice was female and she seemed quite angry. Then, there was a loud crash as if something fragile had fallen and broken inside. The next thing that happened, Shari saw Raph storming out of the house through the patio doors. With his head down, he muttered under his breath as he rushed off towards the cottage. Shari noticed that his hands were clenching and unclenching in anger as he walked.
"KEEP OUT OF MY HOUSE, YOU HEAR ME, RAPHAEL!" Rahab yelled from the patio door. She was quite livid, that much was obvious, and what Shari could see of it, the iguanid's tail was lashing the floor viciously.
Raph stopped and turned around at her, glaring back and said, "You just can't forgive can you, Rahab? What do I have ta do to convince you I'm sorry?"
"It's too late for sorries, Raphael! Too late for you! I told you the last time to stay away." Rahab yelled.
"Business, Rahab, I'm only here on business. But, for you, I'll stay away, 'cuz that's the kind of guy I am!" Raph replied sarcastically and just as angrily. Short of running, he turned back around and headed for the guesthouse as fast as he could. He noticed Mike right away and glared at him. "She's in one of her moods again, Mike! I'll be in the cottage for the rest of my stay!" he growled out. He shot a look at Shari as if daring her to make any comments.
Fortunately, the woman kept her mouth shut. With the tension on the patio as thick as a London fog, she could sense a volatile situation when she saw one. In that moment she understood what Don had meant about staying off of Raphael's 'personal page' concerning Rahab. Looking over at Mike's wife, Shari saw rage etched on the female's face. Different species or not, her fury was as visible as the monstrous trees only a few hundred feet away and nearly as imposing! Then, much to the woman's chagrin, Rahab took note of her – and she scowled even more!
"Great, now she's going to get on my case and I haven't even done anything yet!" Shari silently groaned in apprehension.
However, Mike took the initiative and quickly edged passed the woman, meeting his wife a dozen steps ahead of Shari. He whispered something to Rahab, readily accepting the tempestuous expression she gave him, but then she backed down and nodded reluctantly. The iguanid gave Shari one more discerning look, sizing her up, and then turned around and slipped back inside the house.
Mike watched his wife retreat but then met Shari outside before she made it to the door. He lowered his head to her, whispering, "Remember, you're the nanny; Rahab has to be convinced of this. She's not dumb by a long shot!"
Shari smirked, "But if we get attacked, can I blow my cover?"
Mike looked at her for a long moment as if he hadn't quite fathomed what she just said, but then he smiled, grinning, "Sure …but I don't think it'll come to that."
Shari straightened up a bit at Mike's admittance, somewhat confused. She asked, "Ah, Don said that he was expecting some kind of a hit on your place; that's why he hired me." If he had been lying to her just to get her to do 'nanny work', she'd have him filleted and fried in short order.
Mike's expression went flat as he nodded, "Hmm…yeah, that could happen. Wouldn't be the first time – and that's the reason why Rahab has to stay in the dark! She'd freak out if there was any expectation of an impending attack." He motioned her towards the patio door, "So, breakfast?"
Shari hesitated at first and then nodded, making her way towards the entrance. She was a little apprehensive about meeting the resident adult female. As many adversaries as she had gone up against throughout her career, this was all new territory for her. Human relations, or otherwise, was not necessarily her forte'. She could play the part well enough at the Pentagon, but to do it twenty-four seven was certainly going to prove to her a most challenging assignment.
Stepping into the house, she saw the inside for the very first time. She noticed Rahab stooped to a crouch in the hallway, currently sweeping up what remained of a vase, broken pieces of varying sizes scattered along the floor. She ignored Mike and Shari as they came in from outside. She was grumbling quite audibly and most of it about some 'jerk'. Shari assumed, and probably correctly, too, that the 'jerk' in question was Raphael. More than likely, he was also the target of the vase. In a brief moment of compassion, she felt a little sympathy for the brute, but it only lasted for a second or two. Considering what she learned earlier that morning about this family, she was amused that a single female like Rahab could intimidate someone as skilled as Don and Mike's brother were. It all seemed hysterically funny no matter how much Shari felt sorry for him in that moment.
From where she stood in the house, though, Shari could see the other end of the hall where the front door was located. She noticed the kitchen situated off to her left with what appeared to be the family room just beyond that. An atrium was off to one side from there, surrounded on three sides by clear glass partitions. Then, from where she observed, she noticed there were a few more rooms off of the main hallway that suggested a formal living room and possibly a den. She noted that unlike the hacienda architecture of the outside, contemporary décor ruled the interior. She thought it an amusing contrast. One would think that whatever the style of the home's architecture was, the inside would compliment it in some way. It was apparent that the family – or Rahab – had an eclectic sense of design.
With some gentle urging from Mike, Shari continued into the house and came around the right through the hallway. She soon found herself heading into the dining room. She noted Don and Devon were already there, sitting on one side of the table with a vacant spot next to the boy. It was obvious that was where she was to sit. Three more children sat opposite them on the other side of the table with two of the youngsters appearing to be female. The one in the middle, however, was male - if his clothing was any indication of his gender.
"Say, I heard you've already met Devon!" Mike cheered with a grin as he motioned with his hand for her to take her seat.
Shari looked at him, amused, and nodded, "Yes, he was sort of my wake up call this morning!" She ambled around to the waiting chair, noticing that Rahab had now joined them and was taking her seat at one end of the dining table.
Mike busted out a laugh, "Yep, he's an early riser all right!"
"Hmm…well…" and this time Shari looked directly at Devon, "Maybe we can set that 'alarm' for an hour later?"
The boy glowered at her and commented, "Or and hour earlier? Maybe even two?" Devon sneered contemptuously.
A voice Shari didn't recognize interrupted the slowly brewing dissention. It came from one of the other children.
"Devon, please try to be nice for a change." It said.
Shari took her seat, sitting down gracefully, and noted that the other speaker was the younger male. He sat to the left of the obvious elder of the four children, a female. That one seemed to be quietly taking things in for the moment, assessing the gradually escalating war of words. She was watching casually, although Shari could tell she was quite anxious about what was going on.
"Yeah, well, maybe I will if SHE leaves! You know as well as I do, Seth, that we DON'T need a NANNY!" Devon declared defiantly, snorting his disgust.
Finally, the female spoke up, looking at her brother across from her, "If you'd just cause fewer problems, Dev, maybe Uncle Don wouldn't have had a reason!" Her eyes flit with anger for a moment but then they cooled down considerably as she caught Mike's gaze. She lowered her head contritely and fiddled with her napkin, quickly laying it across her lap.
"Gaele, I will not have any of you blaming the other for whatever decisions we make! We make them for the whole family, not just in part." Mike admonished her. He continued to look at his daughter to drive home the point of his words. She nodded submissively and sighed.
"Well, now that the pleasantries are over with…" Don began, "Rahab, I would like to introduce you to Shari Brentwood. Shari, Rahab Angelo." The turtle smiled warmly, but the lone human at the table could sense a bit of apprehension behind his words.
The woman nodded towards the female iguanid, who did likewise, although she responded with a little more reservation. It was almost as if she were embarrassed or shy, a direct contrast to what had just preceded the morning meal with Raph. Rahab slipped her napkin across her lap and then looked back up to catch Shari's gaze.
"I must apologize for the – ah – rude behavior from earlier." She began, "Suffice it to say, Raphael and I have a bad history. His being here has upset me." She paused just a little as if assessing her next words and the subtle reaction from her husband and brother-in-law. Then, "Still, I should have kept my reaction in check and for that I am sorry." Rahab licked her lips just a little and then reached over to retrieve her juice glass, taking a generous sip from it.
"That's all right. We're all allowed to blow off steam once in a while!" Shari replied casually.
"Yeah, since my dad almost killed her and Seth!" Devon spat out. "He's such a jerk!" the boy growled, almost mimicking his mother's accent on the word.
"DEVON!" Don declared, "You will refrain from passing any judgment on your father!"
That caught Shari's attention like no other. She looked over at Mike and then at Rahab, finally allowing her gaze to settle on the iguanid boy who sat sullen and angry next to her.
"Father, Raphael is his father?" She quietly exclaimed to herself. "Well, that certainly explains a lot!" Shari almost chuckled out loud but caught herself in time. Looking back over at Rahab, she saw the contriteness on the female's face, almost as if just hearing Don admit to the boy's parentage was taxing. "Hmm…maybe they were married before Mike came onto the picture." She wondered to herself. Looking at each of the children, the only ones that had any resemblance to Mike were Gaele and Riahna. Gaele seemed a little stouter than Riahna, with the latter obviously taking after her mother. They were children, of course, but with their teen years still ahead of them, there would be remarkable transformations to be sure.
However, as she looked at the middle child, she noted that Seth seemed too different from the others all the way around. His coloring was quite a bit paler compared to the rest of them, with eyes that were nearly transparent in hue. He had the same blue hair and the iguanid tail of his mother and siblings, something that Shari noticed when she first walked into the dining room. Yet, something else separated him from the others. Could he have had a different father as well? She stole a glance over at Don, who was busy serving up the scrambled eggs from a bowl that Rahab had just handed to him. Shari did a quick study of his features and then compared them to the young male sitting across from her. Keeping her facial expressions flat, she knew right away that Don could not be the boy's father. It certainly wasn't Mike and, with Devon as an example, it certainly wasn't Raphael. Maybe this other brother – Leonardo – might hold the answer she needed. Not that any of it mattered, since her job – as far as the family was concerned – was to care for the children. Yet, it did pique her curiosity a great deal.
Still, deciding that whatever answers there were would present themselves in due time, Shari shelved her inquisitiveness for the moment. With Devon scowling next to her, she decided to focus on giving him as much of her attention as she could. At the very least, he would soon know that he couldn't intimidate her any more than his father had tried doing. Just thinking about the fact that Raph had a son with the same kind of attitude like himself amused Shari like no other.
Smiling openly, she chuckled silently, "It's true what they say, a parent's curse is to end up having kids just like themselves!"
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LADY VENOM: Hey, don't sweat it about reviewing! I would find it difficult to do likewise without a PC, too! As far as Devon being a normal angsty teen, he's around 10 or so, with Gaele about 2 years older, then Seth at a year younger than Devon ( Rahab had them close together, all due to Leo falling from grace shortly after she had Devon), and then Riahna is about 2 years younger than Seth. There ya have it, the boring age differences between the kids. This is all conjecture, of course, since Wendy never did give an age difference for the kids. I sort of had to re-read parts of Rahab to figure it out. Even with that, I'm sure there might be a bigger spread. Anyway, just read when you can and review if you're able, but don't you dare feel guilty about not doing either, okay? There are bigger things in life to worry about! :0) Thanks for reading and reviewing, though, just the same. Be blessed.
VESTQUEX: Like me, you have a hard time with short reviews or anything where finger meets keyboard! :0) That's just fine with me; your reviews crack me up all the time…I look forward to them! Anyhew…glad you liked the chapter. I do try to write for my readers but sometimes the story line needs tending to, as well. Such as this one. Not as much action as maybe some would like, but patience has its reward, so… Donnie's my fav, too, so I'm more than delighted to have him in this story ( how could I not!), regardless of capacity. Of course, this will be Raph centric – eventually. Have to figure out a way to keep him on property! It has to build up a little, folks, so bare with me. Or, is that bear with me. Good grief, please keep yer clothes on if it's the former. Thanks for reading and reviewing, as always, and be blessed while yer at it!
IN THE CLOUDS: Love Devon…hmm…you're weird, ya know that? LOL Yeah, I guess his moxie will be Shari's litmus test if she can really handle this assignment. Either him or Rahab…haven't decided, yet. Well, as you've read from this latest chapter (8), Shari's discovered where the 'tude' comes from! :0) Shari has a lot to learn, but me thinks Devon will be in 'reality check 101' as well. Thanks for reading and reviewing! Be blessed.
PHOENIX-RISING: Sleepy, are we? Hmm….It's currently 1:34 A.M. right now as I'm typing out my comments to your review. I know what it is to be sleepy. So, as soon as I'm done here, I'm heading off to bed! Glad you read my meager ff.net offering and left evidence that you did. Glad you enjoyed it, too. Get some sleep, now, okay? Thanks for reading and reviewing. Be blessed!
RAMICA: Oh, Shari will learn a whole lot more as things develop! As far as Devon is concerned, he's had a attitude from day one – just trying to make him take a bath at age 'whatever he was' in Rahab was a hoot! Very stubborn little boy. He's only older, now, and more than stubborn. He will give Mike and Rahab fits in a few years, so his personality is pretty much set to go for that right now as far as the timeline is concerned with this story. Poor Raph. Poor Rahab. Yet, poor Shari! :0) Thanks for reading and reviewing. Be blessed.
DANCINGFAE: Hey, don't worry; your review was just wonderful! I can picture that sailboat – or maybe a horse dragging Shari around. Either way, great word picture there! :0) Don can only be honorable; it's in his nature and training. Doesn't mean he can't make mistakes, but then those are rare occasions. LOL Glad you're enjoying the story! BTW, what is Namaarie mellonamin? Thanks for reading and reviewing. Be blessed.