Chapter 9: Of Showers and Christmas Trees
About a month later, the kitchen and the living room were redone, again. Jennie and Remy were still kind of mad at each other.
"How long is this gonna last?" Feryal asked.
"I'm not sure. It varies in time." Piotr said.
"Yeah last time it was 3 weeks." Aidan said.
"How long do you think it's gonna last?" Feryal asked.
"Not sure. 'Opefully not f'much longa, Sheila." John said.
"Well, I think we should help them along." Feryal said with a devilish smile.
"I'm right with ya. So what are we gonna do?" Aidan asked.
"Well," Feryal began but then she slowly got softer so Jennie and Remy wouldn't hear her.
Feryal and Aidan were bunkered in the shower with their plan but Remy beat them to it. They had the camera to film their plan but they thought Remy's would be more 'thought out'. Remy came out of his room with a speaker. He went back in and got a microphone. He came back out with a stereo and hooked it into the speaker. He pushed play. "867-5309" started playing… and Remy started singing.
Aidan and Feryal were laughing hysterically behind the shower curtains.
"Aidan are you getting this?" Feryal asked.
"Every magic moment." Aidan said laughing more.
John walked into the hallway and saw Remy. He shook his head and headed towards the bathroom. Since he never shuts the door when he uses the bathroom he just headed straight for the toilet. Feryal grabbed his shirt from the other end of the shower.
"GET IN HERE!" She whisper yelled and pulled him in.
"What's goin' on? I 'ave 'ta pee!" John whined," 'Old on… is 'at Remy singin'?"
"Yes it is." Feryal said.
"Oh, this is good. I 'ave ta watch this." John said moving closer to Aidan.
Jennie was sitting in her room when she heard rustling outside. She got off of her bed and went to the door. She almost opened it when she heard singing. She sat down leaning against the door and listened. She realized about half way through the song it was Remy who was singing. She smiled and laughed. She got up from her place on the floor and put her hand on the doorknob. She opened it and saw Remy kneeling on the floor. He looked up at her and smiled. She smiled back at him. Aidan, Feryal, and John were still hanging out in the shower.
"Guys, I think we better go." Feryal said.
"How? Those two lovebirds have us trapped in here," Aidan asked turning off the camera.
"Yeah," John said, "'n I still 'ave ta pee…"
"Oh shut up," Feryal said. "No one cares about your stupid bladder."
"Oh, crap!" Aidan yelped, pulling the shower curtain closed. "Here they come!"
"Why're they both comin' to th'bathroom?" John asked, scratching his head.
"Shut up!" Feryal whisper yelled once more.
Suddenly the shower curtain was yanked back to reveal John, Aidan, and Feryal sitting on the beautiful blue tiling. The three culprits stared up and smiled innocently at Remy and Jennie.
"Anyone hungry?" Aidan piped.
"God, Sheila, y' read me mind." John said getting up and running towards the kitchen, followed closely by his accomplices.
"Ah, yes, your mind...with all the literary challenges of Horton Hears a Who," Feryal whispered to Aidan as they booked it to the kitchen.
"My words exactly." Aidan whispered back.
A few minutes later John, Piotr, Aidan, and Feryal were in the living room watching a home movie of last week. John was running around the house screaming he was 'Monkey Man' and saving all of the bananas from destruction.
Feryal and Aidan were howling with laughter. Piotr was chuckling and John was sitting there trying not to laugh at himself. Remy and Jennie came in holding hands. Everyone looked at them.
"Yes, we made up." Jennie said.
"That's good. I didn't want to see Remy moping anymore. He stinks at it." Feryal said.
"T'anks, Feryal." Remy said sitting down on the lay-z-boy and Jennie sitting on him.
"No problem, Remy." Feryal said smiling.
"So, whatcha watching?" Jennie asked.
"Home movies. Right now we're on John er, 'Monkey Man'." Aidan said smiling.
"Oh. Look it's changed to something else." Jennie said.
She was right. It was Remy singing to Jennie's door. Jennie started laughing.
Remy, on the other hand, wasn't. Everyone else was laughing hysterically.
A month later…
"It was midnight.. I was in my robe when the Trojans attacked!" John said to himself as he typed on his typewriter. "No, no, no… that sucks…" John muttered as he tore the paper out and crumbled it into a ball.
"John! Let's go!" Feryal yelled.
"Crickey! I'm comin' Sheila!" John said, shoving his typewriter under his bed and running out of his room.
"Okay let's go." John said once he arrived at the front door.
"Uhm, John," Jennie started, "It's snowing outside."
"Snowing? ALRIGHT!" He screamed running out the door and standing in the snow and making snowballs. "It's a bit nippy out 'ere."
"JOHN! Put some pants on!" Aidan yelled from the doorway.
John looked down and saw he was in his boxers that had crocodiles with Santa hats on saying 'Crickey! It's Christmas!'
"Ya coulda tol' me I didn't 'ave pants on." John said coming from his room now in blue jeans.
"Well, ya ran out in a fit 'o joy, we jus' didn' have de 'eart t' tell ya." Remy said opening the door…. again.
"Yeah, sure." John said walking out the door and heading towards the garage.
The Garage,
"So, who will be riding with me and Feryal in the Ford?" Piotr asked.
"Well, me and John can take the bike…" Aidan started but Jennie cut her off.
"Oh, no, no, no, me and Remy can take the Vette." Jennie said.
Remy's eyes widened with fear.
"Are y' mad woman? Y' can't take Remy's bébé out in de snow!" He said leaning over the hood and stroking it.
"Oh, Remy, it's just a car." Jennie said.
Piotr put in a Christmas cd that Feryal brought.
"You guys don't mind if we listen to Christmas songs do you?" Feryal asked looking back and Remy and Jennie.
Jennie was staring out her window… fuming and Remy was looking at the floor.
"Guys?" Feryal asked again.
"Remy don' mind, y' 'ave t' ask her." Remy said.
"Oh, I don't know why you'd want to ask me? I'm always wrong." Jennie spat.
"Remy never said dat!" Remy said, turning towards Jennie.
"Excuse me, this is Christmas music we're talking about! Not about the little tiff you guys just had!" Feryal yelled.
Remy and Jennie stopped.
"Now, we're going to get a Christmas tree! I want to be HAPPY when we get it! I hate being MAD when we get a tree because I never want to look at it! Now, are we going to be happy or do I have to have Piotr turn this Ford around and we won't have a Christmas tree at all!" Feryal screamed.
Remy and Jennie's eyes were wide and they turned and looked out their windows.
"Okay, here we are." Piotr said putting the truck in park and re-locking the doors.
"I mean really, who actually says that?" Feryal said, drawing a Charlie Brown christmas tree in the breath condensation on the window.
"I do," Piotr said matter-of-factly. "And stop that, you're smudging my windows."
Remy and Jennie tried to open their doors.
"Uh, Piotr, Remy t'ink y' need t' get y' truck fixed." Remy said still trying to open the door.
"Well, maybe you two can come to terms? You've been fighting a lot in the past 2 months. Can we please be civil when we get the tree?" Feryal asked.
"And it's not like you were fighting about important things. I mean the car, the couch, the toaster." Piotr said.
"What about the toaster!" Jennie yelped.
"Not the toaster, the toe-nail clippers," Feryal clarified.
"Oh, thank God," Jennie muttered.
Remy looked at Jennie.
"Now that ya mention it, we do fight about stupid things." Remy said.
"Let's go get the tree." Jennie amended.
Piotr unlocked the doors and they all got out.
"Why did you guys take so long?" Aidan asked.
"We had to teach Remy and Jennie a life lesson." Feryal said.
"Oh, so they aren't fightin' no more?" John asked.
"Nope." Feryal said smiling.
"Remy, go tell the guy we want this tree." Jennie said.
"Okay." Remy said walking over to the counter.
The boy looked up from his magazine and said, "Yes?"
"I'd like to buy dis tree." Remy said pointing to the tree that Piotr had.
"Okay." The boy said.
A few minutes later,
"Remy can' believe what you charge for a Christmas tree!" Remy said.
"Well, we do sell the kit." The boy said handing Remy the kit.
"Kit? Y'call dis a kit? Dis is a pinecone." Remy said waving the pinecone in front of the boys face.
"Some assembly required." The boy said going back to his magazine.
Back at the base,
"I am never giong tree shopping as long as I live." Piotr said sitting on the couch.
"Aw why do you say that?" Feryal asked sitting next to him.
"Because those people laughed at me when I tried to put it in the bed of the truck and I got chased by a squirrel." Piotr said.
" Aww." Feryal said hugging him.
Aidan walked in with the ornaments box.
"Hey, get a room!" she said to Feryal and Piotr, who pulled away instantly.
She laughed and set the box down in front of the tree and began to decorate.
John walked into the living room with the tree lights, noticing Aidan with the ornaments. "Oohh pretty ornaments! Trade ya, love!"
"Hell no! These're mine!" Aidan yelped, clutching the box to her chest.
"Crickey, love, where's y'Christmas spirit?" John muttered as he untangled the lights.
BZZZZZZTT!