Chap. 5- The Invite
Sydney walked the length of her driveway and stepped onto the sidewalk and then onto the steps of her neighbor's yard. Nervously, she reached out and rang the doorbell.
"Coming!" A woman's voice yelled from inside the house. Sydney waited as the woman peered through the peephole and then opened the door. "Can I help you?" she asked.
"Hi, I'm sorry to intrude. I hope you're not very busy." Sydney apologized.
"No, no."
"I'm Sydney," Sydney said, extending her hand, "your neighbor."
"Oh, hi! It's so nice to finally meet you, Sydney. I'm Lauren." She said, grasping Sydney's extended hand and shaking it. "Would you like to come in?"
"Sure." Sydney said, stepping into the doorway.
She followed Lauren through the hallway and into the kitchen.
"Would you like something to drink?" Lauren asked.
"Water's fine." Sydney answered.
Lauren took out a clean glass from the cupboard and headed to the water cooler.
"I'm so sorry." Lauren apologized when she walked back towards Sydney and handed her a glass of water while gathering up some sweaters and clothes that were piled on the chair. "We just moved in a while ago and I just can't seem to find the time to clean up."
Sydney nodded her head in agreement while she watched Lauren pick up each piece of clothing and folding them up neatly.
"Are you into sports?" Sydney asked, nodding her head towards what she was holding. Lauren looked down at what she was holding and flipped it around, a King's jersey. Sydney's heart fluttered.
"Oh, no...This is my husband's."
"Is he a big hockey fan?"
"I think fanatic is the word, "Lauren said laughing, "but how hard I try, I can never get into it. It's so violent."
Silence hung around the room for a second or two.
"So what does your husband do?" Sydney asked politely.
"He works for the government." Lauren said and Sydney could see that she didn't wish to delve further into his career. "What about you and your husband?"
"Oh...well...I work at a bank," Sydney said, unaware that she was using her old excuse, "and my husband is a doctor at the university hospital."
"Well, you have a very beautiful home," Lauren remarked.
"Thank you," Sydney replied. She looked at her watch, "I really should be getting home to start dinner, but I almost forgot to ask you if you had any plans, say...Wednesday night at 5? My husband, Scott, and I were having a barbecue and we were wondering if you would like to join us."
"That sounds great, but I think that my husband's friend and his family are coming over to watch the King's game."
"Well...I, myself am a pretty big King's fan and I'll be watching the game anyways, so if your husband and his friend are comfortable with the idea, they're welcome to watch it at our house."
Lauren bit her lip in thought.
"I'll have to run it by my husband, but I'm sure he'll be okay with it. Can I just get your number and I'll call you as soon as he gets home?"
"Of course," Sydney said, jotting down her number on a scrap of paper and handing it to Lauren although she thought it was odd to use the phone when they lived only a few paces away. "Anyways, I better go now. Scott is probably wondering why I'm taking so long."
Lauren walked with Sydney to the front door.
"It was so nice meeting you, Sydney. I hope that we'll see each other on Wednesday."
"It was nice meeting you too." Sydney smiled at Lauren warmly as she turned and walked back into her house.
Just as Sydney's door closed shut, Vaughn's car pulled into the garage. Lauren ran to greet him.
"Hi honey, how was your day?"
"Tiring..." Vaughn remarked, running his hand through his hair while thinking of how Sydney had pushed him away. In Austria, her tone on the comm. link was professional and didn't hold any of the humor or spark that it used to. He looked at his wife with her clear, light blue eyes and wavy blond hair. She seemed unusually perky today. "How was yours?" Vaughn asked.
"Oh, I did all the usual things, but today, our neighbor, you know the one in the big house next to ours came over and invited us over for a barbecue on Wednesday."
"That's great." Vaughn said. Then he remembered that Eric, Lisa, and Jake were all coming over to watch the King's game. "Lauren..." he started. He hated to disappoint her, but this would be a legendary and once-in-a- lifetime game.
Lauren held up her hand to stop him.
"I know what you're thinking. But, I already told her that and she said that Eric and his family could come to the barbecue too and you could all watch the game together since she's a fan too."
"I don't know if Weiss would like that." Vaughn said, although he knew that Weiss wouldn't mind where he was as long as there was a TV in front of him, a beer in his hand, and he was sitting in a comfortable couch watching hockey.
"They have a big screen TV..."Lauren started.
"There's nothing wrong with our TV..." he said trailing off and looked at his small television screen that Lauren had insisted that they keep and spend the money on something more important.
"Michael..." Lauren sighed.
He looked at her face and sighed with her. She didn't have anyone to talk to now that they had moved out of the apartment complex and he could tell that she was lonely and needed a friend.
"Okay, we'll go to the barbecue." He said suddenly. Lauren looked at him and brightened.
"I knew that you'd say yes! We're going to have such a good time..." Lauren said chatting happily to him and she walked off to heat up his dinner. He could hear her call the neighbors while she was busy in the kitchen, which he thought was absurd since they lived so close by.
Wednesday afternoon, Vaughn promised Lauren that he would come home early so he wouldn't be late or forget about the barbecue. Sydney hadn't come into the office today, calling in sick. At a stop light, he rested his head against the steering wheel. Lately, she was always in his mind. Everywhere he went, everything he did, she seemed to be there...haunting him in her happiness.
A car behind him honked. He looked up quickly at the green light and began moving again. He arrived home ten minutes later. Stepping lightly into the kitchen, he watched Lauren move around the kitchen, chopping up vegetables for salad and dropping cobs of corn into a pot of boiling water. He cleared her throat and she whirled around.
"Michael! I didn't hear you come in, I'm just getting some food ready."
Vaughn nodded and he looked at the kitchen table where a simple, medium sized gift bag stood.
"What is that?" He asked.
"What?" Lauren asked, and looked toward where he was pointing, "Oh, that. Well, our neighbor came by earlier today to drop that off as a housewarming gift. Isn't that sweet?"
"That's very nice of them." Vaughn agreed.
"Oh! Look what I got for them!" Lauren said excitedly, running towards the living room where she had put the gift. She brought it back to him, a gift bag with an array of curled ribbon and tissue paper.
"What is it?" He asked.
"It's a fountain! The salesperson said that it's very feng shui." Lauren giggled.
"Oh..." Vaughn started to say, but Lauren rushed off to turn off the pot before it overflowed.
"Anyways," Lauren said, coming back to meet him by the table, "you should get ready. We're going to leave in about ten minutes. Just let me get everything into bowls. Did you tell Eric?"
"No..."
"Well, call him now!" Lauren said shooing him towards the bedroom.
"I don't think that he'll be very comfortable about going over someone else's house..." he said, trying one last time to get out of the barbecue.
Lauren didn't hear him and began pulling out plates from the cupboard. Vaughn changed quickly and picked up the phone, dialing Weiss' number.
"Hello?"
"Lisa! It's Michael."
"Hold on." Lisa said, automatically handing Weiss the phone.
"Hey, Mike. We still on for today?"
"Yea, but Lauren is making me go to a barbecue at our neighbor's so we're going to watch it there."
"Ok. I don't care. Why are you telling me?"
Hey! It's chapter 5! So what did you think? Seriously, I've only been to school for three days and it feels like forever! So much homework!
But ANYWAYS, maybe being back to school is a good thing for readers because it's given me SUCH a brain surge and an urge to write!
I have some great ideas and I can't wait to follow through with them.
So keep reading, I promise, you won't be disappointed!
lol, sounds like a commercial.
Sydney walked the length of her driveway and stepped onto the sidewalk and then onto the steps of her neighbor's yard. Nervously, she reached out and rang the doorbell.
"Coming!" A woman's voice yelled from inside the house. Sydney waited as the woman peered through the peephole and then opened the door. "Can I help you?" she asked.
"Hi, I'm sorry to intrude. I hope you're not very busy." Sydney apologized.
"No, no."
"I'm Sydney," Sydney said, extending her hand, "your neighbor."
"Oh, hi! It's so nice to finally meet you, Sydney. I'm Lauren." She said, grasping Sydney's extended hand and shaking it. "Would you like to come in?"
"Sure." Sydney said, stepping into the doorway.
She followed Lauren through the hallway and into the kitchen.
"Would you like something to drink?" Lauren asked.
"Water's fine." Sydney answered.
Lauren took out a clean glass from the cupboard and headed to the water cooler.
"I'm so sorry." Lauren apologized when she walked back towards Sydney and handed her a glass of water while gathering up some sweaters and clothes that were piled on the chair. "We just moved in a while ago and I just can't seem to find the time to clean up."
Sydney nodded her head in agreement while she watched Lauren pick up each piece of clothing and folding them up neatly.
"Are you into sports?" Sydney asked, nodding her head towards what she was holding. Lauren looked down at what she was holding and flipped it around, a King's jersey. Sydney's heart fluttered.
"Oh, no...This is my husband's."
"Is he a big hockey fan?"
"I think fanatic is the word, "Lauren said laughing, "but how hard I try, I can never get into it. It's so violent."
Silence hung around the room for a second or two.
"So what does your husband do?" Sydney asked politely.
"He works for the government." Lauren said and Sydney could see that she didn't wish to delve further into his career. "What about you and your husband?"
"Oh...well...I work at a bank," Sydney said, unaware that she was using her old excuse, "and my husband is a doctor at the university hospital."
"Well, you have a very beautiful home," Lauren remarked.
"Thank you," Sydney replied. She looked at her watch, "I really should be getting home to start dinner, but I almost forgot to ask you if you had any plans, say...Wednesday night at 5? My husband, Scott, and I were having a barbecue and we were wondering if you would like to join us."
"That sounds great, but I think that my husband's friend and his family are coming over to watch the King's game."
"Well...I, myself am a pretty big King's fan and I'll be watching the game anyways, so if your husband and his friend are comfortable with the idea, they're welcome to watch it at our house."
Lauren bit her lip in thought.
"I'll have to run it by my husband, but I'm sure he'll be okay with it. Can I just get your number and I'll call you as soon as he gets home?"
"Of course," Sydney said, jotting down her number on a scrap of paper and handing it to Lauren although she thought it was odd to use the phone when they lived only a few paces away. "Anyways, I better go now. Scott is probably wondering why I'm taking so long."
Lauren walked with Sydney to the front door.
"It was so nice meeting you, Sydney. I hope that we'll see each other on Wednesday."
"It was nice meeting you too." Sydney smiled at Lauren warmly as she turned and walked back into her house.
Just as Sydney's door closed shut, Vaughn's car pulled into the garage. Lauren ran to greet him.
"Hi honey, how was your day?"
"Tiring..." Vaughn remarked, running his hand through his hair while thinking of how Sydney had pushed him away. In Austria, her tone on the comm. link was professional and didn't hold any of the humor or spark that it used to. He looked at his wife with her clear, light blue eyes and wavy blond hair. She seemed unusually perky today. "How was yours?" Vaughn asked.
"Oh, I did all the usual things, but today, our neighbor, you know the one in the big house next to ours came over and invited us over for a barbecue on Wednesday."
"That's great." Vaughn said. Then he remembered that Eric, Lisa, and Jake were all coming over to watch the King's game. "Lauren..." he started. He hated to disappoint her, but this would be a legendary and once-in-a- lifetime game.
Lauren held up her hand to stop him.
"I know what you're thinking. But, I already told her that and she said that Eric and his family could come to the barbecue too and you could all watch the game together since she's a fan too."
"I don't know if Weiss would like that." Vaughn said, although he knew that Weiss wouldn't mind where he was as long as there was a TV in front of him, a beer in his hand, and he was sitting in a comfortable couch watching hockey.
"They have a big screen TV..."Lauren started.
"There's nothing wrong with our TV..." he said trailing off and looked at his small television screen that Lauren had insisted that they keep and spend the money on something more important.
"Michael..." Lauren sighed.
He looked at her face and sighed with her. She didn't have anyone to talk to now that they had moved out of the apartment complex and he could tell that she was lonely and needed a friend.
"Okay, we'll go to the barbecue." He said suddenly. Lauren looked at him and brightened.
"I knew that you'd say yes! We're going to have such a good time..." Lauren said chatting happily to him and she walked off to heat up his dinner. He could hear her call the neighbors while she was busy in the kitchen, which he thought was absurd since they lived so close by.
Wednesday afternoon, Vaughn promised Lauren that he would come home early so he wouldn't be late or forget about the barbecue. Sydney hadn't come into the office today, calling in sick. At a stop light, he rested his head against the steering wheel. Lately, she was always in his mind. Everywhere he went, everything he did, she seemed to be there...haunting him in her happiness.
A car behind him honked. He looked up quickly at the green light and began moving again. He arrived home ten minutes later. Stepping lightly into the kitchen, he watched Lauren move around the kitchen, chopping up vegetables for salad and dropping cobs of corn into a pot of boiling water. He cleared her throat and she whirled around.
"Michael! I didn't hear you come in, I'm just getting some food ready."
Vaughn nodded and he looked at the kitchen table where a simple, medium sized gift bag stood.
"What is that?" He asked.
"What?" Lauren asked, and looked toward where he was pointing, "Oh, that. Well, our neighbor came by earlier today to drop that off as a housewarming gift. Isn't that sweet?"
"That's very nice of them." Vaughn agreed.
"Oh! Look what I got for them!" Lauren said excitedly, running towards the living room where she had put the gift. She brought it back to him, a gift bag with an array of curled ribbon and tissue paper.
"What is it?" He asked.
"It's a fountain! The salesperson said that it's very feng shui." Lauren giggled.
"Oh..." Vaughn started to say, but Lauren rushed off to turn off the pot before it overflowed.
"Anyways," Lauren said, coming back to meet him by the table, "you should get ready. We're going to leave in about ten minutes. Just let me get everything into bowls. Did you tell Eric?"
"No..."
"Well, call him now!" Lauren said shooing him towards the bedroom.
"I don't think that he'll be very comfortable about going over someone else's house..." he said, trying one last time to get out of the barbecue.
Lauren didn't hear him and began pulling out plates from the cupboard. Vaughn changed quickly and picked up the phone, dialing Weiss' number.
"Hello?"
"Lisa! It's Michael."
"Hold on." Lisa said, automatically handing Weiss the phone.
"Hey, Mike. We still on for today?"
"Yea, but Lauren is making me go to a barbecue at our neighbor's so we're going to watch it there."
"Ok. I don't care. Why are you telling me?"
Hey! It's chapter 5! So what did you think? Seriously, I've only been to school for three days and it feels like forever! So much homework!
But ANYWAYS, maybe being back to school is a good thing for readers because it's given me SUCH a brain surge and an urge to write!
I have some great ideas and I can't wait to follow through with them.
So keep reading, I promise, you won't be disappointed!
lol, sounds like a commercial.