That Summer
Rating: T-M
Disclaimer: If the characters were mine I'd be getting paid to write
TV scripts, now wouldn't I? So…you know the drill.
Reviewers: The stars thing wasn't the part I thought everyone would
like. Actually that's going to come in chapter 9, so be prepared, it's going to
be hilarious…or at least partially funny. Hi Ange. Sam – I know the Kevin and Lilly thing was different, but hey, I
like to spice it up! Laura – In
the episode where Rocky dies and they're in the garage and Joan is trying to
tell Adam about his dream but he's pissed. Kevin grabs his arm; he goes to
storm out and tips Kevin over. Season 1. I forget what the name of the episode
is. Also, I wanted to have her go after him, but…well maybe in the future!
A/N – Sorry for any typos, it's late and I just
can't proofread now. But hey they could wind up being really funny typos! This
chapter could be a little confusing, but it will get clarified…at least I think
so, but I'm the one writing it, so…let me know how awful it is will you?
Chapter 8 – Celebration
"Mom, we're fine! No-Yes-No-MOM!" Joan just about shouted into the phone, frustrated. "No. Mom I've got to go were going to be late for dinner." She said as she rummaged around for her other earring. "Yes. I promise we're behaving. No mom, there haven't been any huge parties here. Yes, we're being very careful. Mom I've got to go." She said again. "Okay. I love you too. Tell daddy I love him. All right. Bye mom." Joan finally hung up.
"Hey, almost done, Jane?" Adam came into the room. Joan sighed and put the cordless phone, leaning back against the dresser.
"I think so." She looked around, trying to figure out if she had everything she needed.
"Luke and Grace gave their room to Kevin and Lilly for their stay." Adam said. "Luke said it'd be better because of the bathroom."
"That's a good idea." Joan said absently. She looked up at Adam, who was standing with his hands in his pockets. A grin crept across her face and she giggled slightly, covering her mouth with her hand. "Come here…" She signaled him over with her index finger. Adam stepped over to her, placing his hands at her waist. Wrapping her arms around his neck, Joan leaned in and kissed Adam. When she pulled away she ran a hand through his hair and then traced back to try and pull something out of it. "There's paint in your hair…" She said with a smile. Adam's eyes glanced up even though he couldn't see it and then went back to her eyes.
"We did some ceilings today." He grinned sheepishly.
"Oh, I see." She nodded slowly before patting his hair back down.
"You don't have to give up your room for us you know." Kevin said in the living room. Adam had gone to get Joan and Lilly was finishing up putting her make-up on. Luke was seat on the corner seat of the couch, with Grace's legs across his lap as they waited for the others.
"It's not that big of a deal, r-really." Luke said, his voice almost cracking. Grace looked at him curiously for a second, and then turned to Kevin.
"Yeah, we've got the rest of the summer to use it, dude." She nodded. Kevin nodded.
"Thanks, you guys." He smiled slightly. Adam and Joan sauntered out into the living room, followed moments later by Lilly. "Okay," Kevin rubbed his hands together. "Who's hungry?"
"Oh definitely. Bring on the garlic." Luke said as he and Grace stood up. Luke followed Kevin to the door. Grace looked at Joan, who laughed, thinking of their earlier conversation. Grace held her hand out towards look as her proof.
"See! Proof!" She said. "Guidos are obsessed with garlic."
"Hey, hey now," Joan said. "Don't let my dad hear you calling us guidos."
"Yeah, can you imagine that?" Kevin snickered. "He'd probably lecture you for three hours about the Godfather." Everyone laughed.
"There are nuances!" Kevin, Joan and Luke imitated their father together, getting another round of laughter out of everyone as they piled into Kevin's station wagon. Luke and Grace climbed into the back with Kevin's chair, and Adam and Joan sat in the backseat.
It only took about 15 minutes to get to the restaurant. The entrance and waiting area were packed so it took a few minutes to get through to the hostess so that they could get seated. The hostess crossed off their name and led the way out onto the deck of the restaurant into the farthest part of the patio/deck section. After everyone was situated they ordered something to drink and started looking over the menu.
The deck area of the restaurant was just about as big as the building of the restaurant itself. The tables all lined the wall for three quarters of the deck, leading up to a dance floor. A house band was performing cover songs and a few couples were dancing, having gotten a few drinks in them and feeling brave.
Joan and Lilly were caught up in a conversation about baby clothes, ultrasounds and hormones after everyone had ordered. Adam was busy staring at his all of the metal around him, using his fork, knife, spoon and anything else he could to create a makeshift sculpture. Kevin took a sip of his drink as he tried to entertain a conversation with Luke. Grace was watching this interaction with amusement. Every time Kevin would bring up a sports analogy that confused Luke, Luke would offer up a scientific one that confused Kevin.
"It's good to know you'll never give up on the scientific mumbo jumbo no matter how old you get, littler brother." Kevin said, ending another analogy war.
"Hey, at least I don't use baseball metaphors as a, like, way of life." Luke replied. Kevin looked at the amused look on Grace's face as she watched them.
"What, you think this is funny?" He challenged her with a grin.
"Oh, yeah, I'm laughing so hard, if I drink anything, it's just coming out my nostrils." Grace said dryly.
"Now you see, at least we know Grace will never change either." Kevin said.
"Well perhaps one day I'll throw you a curveball." Grace said.
"Ohhhhhh!" Kevin and Luke threw their hands up.
"Luke…come to the darkside with us!" Kevin said in his best Darth Vader voice.
"Okay number one, that's so old it's like, it's stale, Kev." Luke began, using his finger to talk.
"And two?" Kevin asked.
"A-A curveball, is science my friend." He said. Grace rolled her eyes.
"Oh come on!" Kevin said, exasperated.
"Boys, boys." Grace held her hands up to stop them. "I was simply using terminology that Kevin here would understand." She said innocently. Kevin put his hand over his heart and feigned pain.
"Oooh, ow, that one hurt, sister." He said. Grace chuckled at him. He looked at Kevin. "A curveball is so not science by the way."
"Are you kidding? Factoring in momentum, velocity, negative and positive air flow, weight, leverage and-,"
"Okay! Okay!" Grace put her hands up.
"A curveball can be thrown by a spectacular athlete, whatever that is graded by, and at the same time perfected by a science nerd, if given the right equation-truce?" Grace interjected. Luke and Kevin thought about this for a moment before both of them nodded in agreement.
"Truce." Both said at the same time, looking at each other.
"Kevin-sorry to interrupt you guys-Kevin, tell Joan about your foot and what the doctor said?" Lilly said, putting her hand on Kevin's shoulder, pulling him into the conversation at the other end of the table. Adam was now paying more attention to the conversation, curious to hear more. Luke sighed slightly and took a drink of his water.
"Ohhh, and what was that slightly dramatic under your breath sigh about?" Grace asked from next to him.
"It amazes me how quickly this family can ignore me." He stated.
"Well, you did have a nice long analogy war." Grace pointed out. Luke made a face.
"Yeah, I know. It's hard to explain." He looked at her. Grace offered a tightlipped smile.
"No it's not. I've been watching it for quite a while now." She told him. "But hey, I'm not ignoring you." She gave his arm a slight pat. Luke offered a pitiful smile. Grace was trying to think of something to say to salvage the awkward moment when they realized what song was playing. Luke looked at Grace and she couldn't help it as slowly a grin spread across her face.
"Talk about good timing." She muttered. Luke chuckled as the band sung the first chorus of Kool & The Gang's "Celebration."
"Hey, don't pick on our song." He shot back. Both of them shared a good laugh, which caused Grace to put her forehead down on his shoulder as she laughed and tried to regain her composure before the other noticed and asked what was going on. "We should totally go dance." Luke suggested.
"Ohhh, no way hot shot we are so not going there tonight, brain." Grace sat back in her chair.
"Oh come on, live dangerously." Luke mused.
"Living dangerously is skydiving, or mountain climbing without ropes, and white water rafting-not, I'm happy to say, dancing." Grace snickered as she took a drink of her soda. Luke was about to reply when the waitress came with the appetizers everyone had ordered for the table.
"More than one event of good timing a night…" Grace raised an eyebrow. "This can't be good."
"Must be a full moon tonight." Luke said.
"Don't blame our good fortune on the solar system, brain." Grace said, taking a mozzarella stick and dunking it into a cup of marinara sauce before taking a bite of it. "We make our own luck." She winked at him after she'd swallowed the food. After she finished her sentence she stuck the tip of her thumb in her mouth to get some stray sauce, and used her elbow to give Luke a love tap on the arm as he grinned at her.
"Does anyone else think this needs more garlic?" Kevin asked.
"Totally." Joan nodded.
"It could use a little bit more." Luke replied.
"You've got to be kidding." Grace said.
"I don't like garlic." Adam commented.
"You must be a vampire then." Lilly said. Adam looked at her for a moment.
"That would be so cool, yo." He said seriously.
"No way, you'd miss all the fun during the day. And you'd be very pale too, with all that lack of sun." Joan wrinkled up her nose.
"And don't forget the lack of the all important vitamin D those bright warm rays give us." Grace sarcastically gave a thumbs-up sign.
For a few minutes everyone was quiet, filling their stomachs with mozzarella sticks, bruschetta, and tomato salad.
"So. Mom wants me to make sure you kids are behaving." Kevin almost sung to them, rubbing his hands together. "They don't want any surprises when they come to visit on the 4th." He looked at them, trying to read them. Joan groaned and rolled her eyes, covering her face with her hands. Adam lightly breathed on his spoon before hanging it from his nose, lost in his own thought.
"I told her yesterday everything was fine." Luke shrugged. "What more can we offer?"
"You know mom, she's had enough drama for a lifetime with me." Kevin slightly rocked his chair back and forth to emphasize his chair.
"Why does everything have to be about you?" Luke asked before he could stop himself. Everyone looked at him.
"I was just making a point, geek. What's the big deal?" Kevin asked as if nothing had happened. In truth everyone else couldn't figure out what the big deal actually was. Grace knew this was something that had been building in Luke from years of always being last. She wished he could have picked a better time to let it burst forth, though.
"I wonder how long the entrees are going to take." Grace said trying to derail the staring contest that between Luke and Kevin now. She looked at Joan and Adam for help.
"Oh…OH! Yeah…let's totally take a dollar out of that chick's tip. Or something." Joan said.
"Isn't it the chef's fault?" Adam wondered aloud.
"What's your problem?" Kevin persisted, looking at Luke.
"My problem is…is that i-if you're not the subject of every sentence…t-then the world is spinning off its axis and the apocalypse is just a-around the corner." Luke stuttered as he spoke, feeling nervous now.
"Back off, dork, you don't know what you're talking about." Kevin warned.
"Oh I don't do I? Who ever forgot your bi-birthday? When did mom and d-dad ever not bend over backwards to p-pacify you?" Luke asked pointedly.
"Where is this coming from?" Kevin asked, getting angry. "And let me tell you Dad did not baby me for one second." Kevin pointed with his finger as he spoke.
"Okay guys, that's enough." Lilly said, putting a calming hand on Kevin's arm.
"No. It's not enough." Luke said. "It never is with Kevin. Is it?" Luke looked at his brother pointedly. Kevin seemed to know what the look meant. His eyes widened slightly.
"Don't, Luke." He said. Grace put her hand on Luke's arm.
"Hey, come on, let's dance." She blushed at the look Joan gave her. Luke looked at her.
"What?" He asked. "I thought you didn't want too?"
"Just, come on." Grace nodded towards the dance floor, grabbing his hand as she stood. Luke followed her, still in shock. Joan looked at Kevin and then at Lilly.
"Oh…uh…Adam why don't we go dance too." She said, patting his shoulder and standing up. Adam looked at her and then Kevin and Lilly and back at Joan.
"Oh. Okay." He stood and followed her.
"So…" Grace said once they were dancing. Her right arm rested about Luke's left shoulder and he held her left hand in his right, close to his chest and rested his left hand around her waist, looking down at her as they swayed.
"I'm sorry." Luke sighed before she could finish her thought. Grace studied his face, trying to assess the situation. "What are you thinking?" He asked, almost afraid to know the answer.
"You stuttered." She said.
"What?" Luke asked.
"I'm thinking about how I only hear you stuttered and trip over words and sentences around your brother and your dad." She said. "Why is that?"
"I…don't know?" Luke said.
"What, no hypothesis?" Grace asked with a tiny smile. Luke smirked.
"I'm sick of being last." He said. "I'm sick of always having to impress them to get noticed." He frowned.
"Who says you have to impress them?" Grace asked. Luke chuckled nervously.
"In my family? It's unspoken. Of course if it doesn't involve a ball of some kind and contact with people cheering in the stands, then I'm doomed to fail forever." He replied. Grace frowned, looking somewhat pissed.
"Are you really going to sit here and self deprecate yourself because you're not the kid who's into sports?" She asked him. Luke opened his mouth to speak but Grace continued. "Because I've got to tell you, brain…that's pretty dense. Especially for someone of your intelligence."
"You think so?" He asked. Grace nodded.
"I know you think they ignore you, but honestly, they don't." Grace looked at him and smiled. "Sure…they tend to let their minds wander when you spout off equations and probabilities and all that stuff, but that's because it's not our thing." She shrugged. "Just like you doze off listening to Kevin's sports analogies and commentaries. And just like you hate listening to Joan talk about what in her life is confusing her on a daily basis. Or when you want to tune me out for talking about-,"
"I never tune you out." Luke cut her off. Grace snickered.
"Sure…" She smiled slightly. She looked back at him after blushing slightly. "So…are you feeling better now?"
Luke nodded. "Yeah…" He took a deep breath. "Thanks."
"Hey…forgettaboutit." Grace attempted to use her best accent as she made a face and said the comment with a shrug of her shoulders. Luke laughed with her.
"That was weak." He said. The song ended and Luke and Grace looked at each other, a little awkwardly, staring at each other. "I guess we should go sit down." He cleared his throat. Grace nodded.
"Yeah." She said. They walked back over to the table and at down. Luke began to stumble over an apologee and Kevin did the same. The waitress brought out their food and then went to refill some of their drinks.
"Miss, those two men at that table sent this over for you." The waitress put a glass on the table in front of Grace. Grace froze, staring at it. "It's a scotch on the rocks." She said. "One of them said if it was too strong for you, he knew CPR too." The woman said, assuming Grace knew what it meant. Grace's jaw set as she looked over to see a table with Ryan, Josh and two other guys at the table. Grace's jaw set tightly. "I can take it back to them if you'd like, miss?"
"No. I'll take care of it. Thanks." Grace said. The waitress walked away. Grace threw her napkin from her lap down onto the table.
"Slimey, no good, scum sucking little, horned toad maggot." She said as she took the glass and stood, heading for the table.
"Grace, wait." Luke followed her. Joan looked over and frowned, wide-eyed.
"Uh-oh." She got up to follow.
"What the hell is going one with everyone?" Kevin asked confused.
"You think this is funny?" Grace asked, looking from Ryan to Josh.
"We can't give a sexy lady a drink?" Ryan asked.
"Relax, it's just a drink." Josh shrugged.
"Just a…" grace shook her head, taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm down.
"All right, that's enough." Luke said. "Both of you, you especially, Hunter, need to get out of our business and leave us alone." He cleared his throat.
"I was simply being kind." Ryan smiled knowingly. "Go on Grace a little taste won't hurt will it?" He grinned. Grace scowled.
"You can take it back." Grace said before dumping the cup upside down in Ryan's lap. "Have a nice dinner." She smiled and turned, going back to the table. "Could you get this wrapped up for me, I'm not hungry. I'll be in the car." She turned on her heel and left.
"Ditto that for me." Luke said to Joan, who only nodded before Luke went after Grace.
"Care to explain what's going on here?" Kevin looked at Joan and Adam expectantly.
