SUNDAY AFTERNOON, THE BAIT SHOP
Ryan, and for that matter, Marissa woke up quite late Sunday morning… around 11am. They had been extremely tired from the party the night before. After a refreshing shower and shave, Ryan fetched Marissa and the two of them went over to the Bait Shop as they had arranged the night before.
Ryan pulled the car up in the lot.
"Strange there are so few cars here." Marissa observed.
"Yeah." Ryan agreed, puzzled.
They both got out the car and walked up to the entrance. As they got closer, they saw a roughly scribbled sign on the door: "CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE."
"Wow that was unexpected." Marissa said.
"Yeh… the place seemed to be doing well."
"Wonder what happened, I mean it had been open for almost seven years now…"
"Well, you wanna go down to the pier then? There's sure to be places open there."
"Ok, but this time… I'm driving!"
Marissa grabbed the keys out Ryan's hand and ran to the car. Ryan raced behind her and grabbed her around the waist and playfully swung her around. As he did, their eyes caught each other's and for the first time in a long while, they just stood and gazed at each other. It seemed like they were lost from time and space, but it was mere seconds. What they felt now, was a feeling neither of them had experienced in over 8 years.
"um… you know… I just remembered I have something to take care of before a business meeting tomorrow, and…" Ryan eventually said feeling a bit uneasy, nervous and unsure.
"Ryan… We're not kids anymore… Besides, I'm even hungrier now than ever!" Marissa replied acting as though nothing had just happened.
She climbed in the driver's side and Ryan the passenger's.
BACK AT SETH AND RYAN (AND NOW ZACH'S PLACE)
It was a warm day in Orange County, so the aircon was on, and the blinds drawn shut to try and minimize the incoming light.
Seth was sitting in his study looking very intense and involved in what he was doing on the computer.
"What's that…! Ah, man… I DIDN'T press THAT button!" Seth was annoyed.
Just then Zach walked in.
"Oh, uhh… sorry didn't mean…"
"Oh, hey man… what's up?" Seth swiveled his chair around to face Zach.
"I noticed that we are out of a few supplies, and I thought I'd run down to the shop and pick up some stuff…"
"Sure. Be my guest…Well, you ARE my guest… I guess…"
"Yeah… except I've left my wallet at home…"
"Oh.. uh…" Seth took out his wallet, opened it and removed a few notes from it and handed it to Zach. "I'll just add your cut to the rent…"
"Thanks man. See you in a while."
Zach left and Seth got back to his computer game.
A few minutes later, Seth heard the sound of a cell phone ringing, but he knew it was not his, and he normally recognized Ryan's ring tone. He got up and followed the sound of the tone until he found the phone in the kitchen on the counter next to the fridge.
"Must be Zach's," Seth thought.
He opened it and noticed the caller ID… it was Summer.
He answered.
"Hey."
"Oh, um… Cohen?… What have you done with my fiancé?" Summer sounded flustered.
"Afternoon to you too Summer…"
"Agh… no time for games, Cohen, where is Zach?"
"He went to the store to get some supplies…"
"Oh, so now you've made him your little bitch?"
"Exactly."
"Well, how long is he going to be?"
"I dunno… an hour or so…"
"AN HOUR! I CAN'T WAIT AN HOUR… Where's Ryan?"
"Out with Marissa…"
"Damn… ok, you'll have to do… Cohen, I need you, now!"
"Ah, Summer… all you needed to do was ask… but how are we going to break the news to Zach? I mean he will be heart broken, and the ring… it did kinda cost him a bit… and the wedding… Oh my God… all those people will be so disappointed…"
"Don't be a smartass. It's an emergency, just get here…" And with that Summer ended the call.
SUMMER'S PLACE, 45 MINUTES LATER.
Seth had arrived and Summer had taken him in to the bathroom.
"So this is your emergency? This is why you called me over here… for a toilet that won't flush? You want me, a Jewish boy from Newport, to open the top and look in your bowl?" Seth said in disbelief.
"Don't be a smartass Cohen… just tell me, can you fix it or not? There's been a problem with the plumbing in this place for years…"
"Well, let's see…"
Seth walked over to the toilet, lifted the top and looked inside. Summer was standing a bit behind him.
"Can't see anything messed up… maybe if I pull this…" Seth tugged at a chain, and suddenly a surge of water came gushing out, and up in his face. He jumped back, knocking Summer over, and fell face down on top of her.
Just then they heard the front door open and Zach walking down the passage.
"Sum… you here? Cohen? I saw your..." Zach stopped dead in mid-sentence as he walked in to the bathroom, which was now virtually covered in water, and saw Seth lying on top of Summer.
"Oh, hey Zach…" Seth said, and quickly jumped up. Summer struggled to her feet too, Seth not offering to help her up.
"Wha... what's going on here?" Zach asked with a concerned and confused look.
"It's… not what it appears…" Summer responded.
"Yeah… I'm just here to fix Summer's plumbing problem…" Seth stopped, realizing what he had just said was pretty ambiguous… "I mean… her pipes…" He was digging a whole for himself… Summer knew she had to jump in.
"I asked him to come and sort out the toilet… It wasn't flushing."
"Ah, I see… And you couldn't call a plumber for that?"
"No plumber available… Sunday…" Seth said kinda embarrassed.
By this time the water had stopped gushing. Zach reached over to the toilet, and flushed it successfully.
"Well, look at that!" Summer exclaimed. "It looks like my pipes, the pipes… have been fixed."
"Yeah, fancy that." Zach said unconvinced.
He turned to Seth, "I'm gonna stay here for lunch and the rest of the afternoon… These are your supplies." He handed a bag to Seth. "See you tonight?"
"Yeah, sure… and thanks for this." Seth responded thanking him for the groceries. He turned and left the bathroom.
"Cohen! Thanks for the plumbing." Summer shouted back after him.