Eddie opened his eyes to birds chirping that morning. Sunlight was streaming through the room, and the big tree outside of his window was a beautiful sight, if he did say so himself.
His bedroom contained a bed (the comfiest bed in Montana, that was for sure), a nightstand (which held his hair gel, a picture of Raven and Chelsea giggling at the camera, and a picture of his old house, so he'd never forget it), and there was a dresser (full of clothes, of course), and a navy blue rug on the floor. He'd had that blue rug for as long as he could remember, and boy, did it make him feel home sweet home!
Eddie, still in the bed, stretched his toes by wiggling them around, had a big yawn, and almost fell back asleep when his mother yelled, "BREAKFAST EVERYBODY! GET UP! I'TS TIME TO EAT!"
Eddie didn't want to get up, but that smell of bacon was too hard to resist. So, he got out of bed slowly, took his time, and in the next minute or so, he was seated at the kitchen table. Bacon, eggs, toast, orange juice, napkins, plates – this tiny table was covered with stuff!
"Uhh, Mom? Why'd you cook for us? I mean, come on, you always used to give us bars! What's with the buffet?" He looked up at his mother, confused. Mrs. Thomas was even wearing a polka dotted apron!
"Well, Eddie, I thought we could start out nice and fresh today! Besides, I'm in a good mood, so don't ruin it." She gave her son a big, fake smile.
"Okay, whatever." Eddie said, picking up the juicy bacon. Yum, yum, yum!
"Hold on Eddie, we have to wait for the others!" His mother snapped, snatching the bacon from his hand.
The next thing he knew, his dad swung open the kitchen door, smiling, breathing hard, and rosy cheeked.
"Hellllooo, family!" Mr. Thomas practically shouted. His deep voice boomed against the walls.
"Hi Dad. What are you doing outside? It's only eight in the morning, for crying out loud!" Eddie was glancing at the clock on the wall in shock. His father was the sleeping in type.
"Haha. Eddie, my son. There is always work to be done here on our property. We're in the country, remember." Mr. Thomas was wearing overalls, big work boots, and a big hat to shield his eyes from the sun. It looked like a sombrero, it was so wide on the brim!
Then, little Ellie, who never talked, came sulking out of her own bedroom, giving the others a lonely smile. She was only seven, and could she ever get a bad attitude.
"Hellllooo, daughter!" Mr. Thomas boomed again! He raced over and hugged his little girl.
"Dad, stop doing that 'hello' thing. You've already woke me up from it, ya know. It's so lame." Ellie snapped, wiggling herself out of her father's hug.
"Sorry honey. Come on, Ell, let's eat that food!" He grabbed her daughter's hand and pulled her into the chair next to him, smiling all the way.
So, the foursome sat down to their early morning meal, and dug in. Mr. Thomas shoveled it into his mouth, claiming they all should too, since they'll be working hard on the garden outside today and needed their energy. Eddie gulped his juice down and always needed refill (it was a long ride, you know!). Ellie took dainty bites, and by the time breakfast was over, she hadn't even eaten half of what was on the plate. And, as for Mrs. Thomas, she just smiled at Eddie and her husband lugging down everything she had made. She only gave Ellie a little glance and a sweet smile. But, Mrs. Thomas barely ate her own food herself. She just loved seeing her family so happy, even though Ellie seemed angry all of the time, she knew she must've been a tiny bit happy.
After breakfast, they all set to their own things: Ellie to her room to hide from the work in the garden, Eddie to the living room to watch his Sunday morning shows, Mrs. Thomas stayed in the kitchen to clean up, and Mr. Thomas raced outside to his fresh air. They stayed apart all day, just like that. Occasionally, though, Mr. Thomas would come inside and ask if Ellie or Eddie wanted to help, but they both said 'no'. So, he worked alone for that day, not caring at the least. He just whistled tunes, and felt like he was home again.
By one in the afternoon, Mrs. Thomas came to the living room and sat down on the couch next to Eddie.
"So, Eddie, how do you like it here in Montana?" she asked.
He shrugged his shoulders and kept his eyes on his favorite show. He'd been waiting all week for this, and he wasn't going to miss it for the world.
"Can you keep a secret, Eddie?" his mother asked, sounding teary.
"Ya, sure." Eddie managed to say, eyes still on the television set.
"Good, cause I need to tell somebody this!" She began to weep, and Eddie had no choice other than to turn off the TV set to see if his mother was okay.
"Mom, what's wrong?"
"I hate this place! Don't tell your father, but this place is horrible! I need to go back to the city again! I'm going to go crazy living here for t…t…two years!' She burst into a waterfall.
Eddie wasn't expecting this, and all he knew what to do was to give her a huge hug. Poor, poor, Mom.
"I hate it too, Mom. I miss Raven and Chelsea. And everybody else."
"Oh, I know you do. They were such sweet girls."
"You'll be okay, Mom. Hey, at least we are going back, right?" Eddie asked.
"Ya, it's just…it's just…." She wiped her eyes and continued, " It's just two years in the country is too long for me. I'm a city girl."
Mr. Thomas burst into the kitchen. He heard voices in the living room, so he boomed across the house and followed the trail of the voices.
"Hi Dad." Eddie said, as his father walked into the living room. Mrs. Thomas quickly put on a fake smile and got up and hugged her husband.
"Hey, sonny boy!"
"Why are your eyes all red? Are you okay, Caroline?" Mr. Thomas asked his wife.
"Oh, yeah! I'm fine! I think I just may have allergies to something out here, so my eyes got teary. That's all it is." She lied.
"Oh, I'm sorry. That's too bad. Hey, I have a question to ask you about this garden. Here, I gotta show this thing to you. It's the weirdest bug I ever saw and it's sitting in our garden. Maybe you'll know what it is." With that, the two left the room, letting Eddie finish watching the best show on TV.
That night, it was way too hard to fall asleep. His first day of school was the next day! Could he possibly make it? He had no idea, whatsoever! Stay tuned to see how it goes!