Chapter Eight
Denise
Monday
Today's the start of Week Two of our trip. On Saturday, we'll be in Maine! Okay...back to what happening with us. We're in Texas, somewhere near Houston. We're going to a rodeo, but we got lost a few times (Texas is a really huge state, you know!), stopped because Alex got carsick, ate dinner at a nearby steakhouse, stopped again because Joey got carsick and continued going on our way.
On the way, we took an unexpected stop...
PS: I'm so bored. I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE RODEO! WOOHOO! (I'm hyper today!)
Texas. What a cool state. It's the kind of state where you can find adventure, cowboys, horses, bulls and most importanly: Rodeos! Everyone seemed to be psyched about the rodeo. And it was the perfect time to go see one. The weather was great; not too hot and the mood was right.
Remember when Michelle couldn't stop talking about Four Corners? Well, I was feeling the same way about the rodeo. I couldn't stop talking about them. I talked about them so much, I think everyone was getting annoyed with me, including Michelle.
We were on the highway, moving along. Joey was reading a book, Nicky and Alex were taking a nap, Jesse was driving the RV, Wendy was doing some doodling, Michelle and I were playing Chinese Checkers and Becky was flipping through some stuff of hers.
Michelle had beaten me at Chinese Checkers at least fifteen times and I was getting tired of it. I groaned and pushed the game aside. "I don't wanna play anymore," I replied.
"You're only saying that because you're losing!" Michelle said.
"No. This game is boring," I said.
"Yeah...I guess you're right," she agreed. "Hey, what town are we in?" she asked.
"Myrtle," Becky replied matter-of-factly.
"How'd you know that?" Jesse asked.
"I have an atlas, you know. Plus, I've been paying attention to every town we've passed since we left."
"Okay...what was the town we were in before we came here?" Jesse challenged.
"Meyerland."
"They make bologna there?"
Becky rolled her eyes. "On a serious note, honey. I was actually going through my address book. Did you know I actually have some old friends that live here in Texas? It just so happens they live here in Myrtle. I have the address and everything."
"Old friends, huh? How old?" Jesse asked.
"My old friend from Nebraska, Charlotte Miller, lives here in Texas. We were best friends in high school but we lost touch. Another girlfriend of mine gave me her address, but I never got around to visiting or calling her. Since we're here, we might as well see how's she's doing. Jess, I'll give you the directions. Let's go!"
"But what about the rodeo?" I asked, my heart sinking.
"Don't worry, Denise. We'll still be able to go. We'll only stay for an hour," Becky promised.
I tried to smile, but I couldn't. I wasn't sure if I believed her. An hour sounded like a century to a kid.
We exited off the highway and made our way down to the town of Myrtle, Texas.
"What's that smell?" Michelle asked, pinching her nose.
"That's the smell of black gold, Texas tea, little lady," Joey replied, putting on a faux Texan accent.
"Huh?"
"Oil," Joey said. "Don'tcha watch 'The Beverly Hillbillies'?"
"I think watching that idiot box all day has turned you into an idiot," Jesse wisecracked.
Joey made a face. "Ha, ha. Funny," he said dryly.
"Okay...Charlotte lives on 19 Junction Road..." Becky muttered. "Jess, I see it! Take the next left!"
When we got to the road, we started looking for the house. Junction Road was a small street with houses all around them. There were some houses that had small farms around them. I saw chickens clucking around and cows eating grass.
"I wish we had cows back in San Francisco," Michelle replied.
"Yeah," I said nonchalently.
"Okay! I see the house! Stop!" Becky said, practically yelling.
"Alright, alright. Sheesh, Beck," Jesse said.
We pulled up to the front house, which happened to be a blue and white house with a huge meadow. There were cows all around.
"Ugh. This is totally not where I wanna be," Jesse remarked.
"Deal with it. We're here," Becky said.
We stepped out of the RV and began to walk towards the front door.
When we were standing on the front porch, Becky began to look nervous and babble mile a minute.
"How do I look? How is Charlotte going to react when she sees me? I wonder what she looks like now? I wonder if she remembers me? Is she-"
"Beck, relax. It'll be okay," Wendy reassured her, squeezing her hand.
"Okay. I guess you're right. Here's goes nothing," Becky replied as she stuck her thumb out to ring the doorbell.
"DING DONG!" Went the bell.
A young boy about me and Michelle's age answered it. He looked a little surprised to see us all standing there.
"Can I help you?" he asked.
"Uh...I'm Rebecca Katsopolis...I'm looking for Charlotte Miller. I'm an old friend of hers and-"
"Becca! That you?" A women's voice asked.A dark-haired, plump-faced woman peered behind the boy.
"OMIGOD! CHARLOTTE!" Becky squealed.
The two girls shrieked and gave each other hugs.
"My, my! I never thought...Becca, you look so pretty! My, my!" Charlotte said, crying into Becky's shoulder.
The two girls hugged for what seemed like forever. That's fifteen minutes left, I thought.
"Becca, come on in. Oh, is this your family? Bring 'em all in! Oh, my!"
Becky wiped the tears away. "Charlotte, let me introduce you to everyone. This is my husband, Jesse Katsopolis, my twin sons Nicholas and Alexander, my niece Michelle, my sister-in-law Wendy, our long-time friend Joey and my niece's best friend Denise."
Charlotte shook hands with everyone. "How are you? Jeesum, Becca! You married a hunk!" She replied, smiling at Jesse.
Jesse smiled back. "Well, thanks for your flattering comments. I am quite a catch, am I?"
"I'll say. Nice to meet you, Jesse. You have a cute couple of twins there. And your niece and her friend are adorable."
"Thank you very much," Michelle replied.
"Yes. Thank you," I said.
"Well, Becca, why don't you all sit down in the parlor? We werejust having a BBQ for dinner, but I guess we can fit in a few more. This is my son, Wade. He's nine years old. I guess he can play with the children. I have two daughters and another son. Marissa Lynn, Laurelyn and Hunter are all upstairs, but they'll be down soon. Why don't you make yourselves at home?"
Charlotte showed us to the parlor and motioned for us to sit down. The chairs felt comfortable as we sat down.
"Would you like something to eat? Drink? I have some sweet tea and some fruit," Charlotte offered.
"Um..." I said.
"No thanks. We don't want to deplete you of any food you might have," Joey replied.
"Nonsense. My husband's making ribs, burgers, hot dogs, grilled corn, barbecued chicken and chicken-fried steak. A Texan favorite."
I could see everyone's mouth practically watering. My mouth was watering, too.
"Well...okay. I guess we can eat just a little something," Joey replied.
"Great! Y'all can just sit here with me and talk. Especially you, Becca. How comeyou haven't chatted it up with me, huh?"
Becky blushed. "Well..." And then she began to talk.
While the grown-ups were talking, Wade, Michelle and I looked at each other. Wade was clutching his mother's hand.
Charlotte smiled at her son. "Wade, you wanna go play with the company? Bring the others down here and you can play."
Wade nodded. "Okay," he said.
He got up and went upstairs. A minute later, he arrived with the rest of his siblings. They all looked like their mother; the same dark hair, the plump faces.
"Everyone, these are my children. Hunter's fourteen, Laurelyn's eleven, Marissa Lynn's ten and little Wade here is nine, like I said before. Kids, this is Becca Katsopolis, my old friend from high school. She's with her family on a trip. Why don't you show your young company around, okay?"
The kids agreed. Hunter grimaced. "Mama, do I gotta? I'm fourteen-too young to be around little kids. Besides, I have to call Taylor Chambers. She'll call any minute."
"Who's Taylor Chambers?" Michelle asked.
"His girlfriend!" Marissa Lynn shrieked, giggling.
"MOM!" Hunter yelled.
Charlotte pointed towards the door. "Hunter Markus Miller, go outside with your company, this minute! I'm warning you, young man!" She told him sternly.
Hunter groaned. "Alright. C'mon," he said.
As we walked outside, the girl named Marissa Lynn walked next to us. "Hi. I'm Marissa Lynn Christina Miller. What's your name?" She asked Michelle and I.
"I'm Michelle Elizabeth Tanner. How old are you?"
"I'm ten. What about you?"
"I'm nine, but I'll be ten next year."
"What about you? What's your name?" Marissa Lynn asked me.
"I'm Denise Camille Frasier. I'm nine and a half."
"Where y'all from?"
"We're from San Francisco."
Marissa Lynn looked wide-eyed. "Wow. I've heard of San Francisco. That's a big place, isn't it?"
"Yep. It has trolley cars and parks and zoos and..." Michelle went on. Marissa Lynn listened to every word.
Meanwhile, Laurelyn was already taking a liking to Nicky and Alex. She had each twin by the hand. Wade was by his big brother, who was leading us to who knew where.
"Uh...Where are we going?" I asked.
"I'm taking ya'll to a very special place. It's in the meadow."
I was wondering what it could possibly be.
Hunter lead us further and further away from the blue house. Finally, we stopped in front of a rickety old barn.
"This is it?" Michelle asked.
Laurelyn laughed. "Look inside," she said.
Michelle and I looked at each other. What were we getting ourselves into?
Marissa Lynn opened the door. Inside, were...
"HORSIES!" Nicky and Alex both yelled.
"Oh, wow! Totally cool!" Michelle replied.
"You got that right! Oh, cool!" I exclaimed.
"Wanna ride one of 'em?" Hunter asked.
Did we? Did we?
"Yeah!" We all exclaimed.
Hunter lead us into the barn and introduced to all the horses.
"We have three horses in all. These are my dad's, purebred.. The white one is called Angel; the black and white spotted one is called Glory and the smallblack one is called Striking Beauty."
"They're beautiful," Michelle replied, reaching her hand out to touch one of them. "Can I?" She asked.
"Sure, sure," Hunter replied.
Michelle stroked Angel while I petted Striking Beauty.
"Pretty horses," I said.
"You wanted to ride 'em, didn't you? Here you go," Hunter replied. He picked up the saddles and put them on the horses. Then he picked up me and put me on Striking Beauty. Then he put Michelle on Angel. Laurelyn, Marissa Lynn and Wade climbed on Glory. (Nicky and Alex were too chicken.)
With Hunter's help and supervision, we all rode the horses around the meadow.
"YEEHAW!" Michelle yelled. I joined in.
"This has to be more fun than a rodeo!" I replied.
Michelle agreed with me. We all rode back to the blue house. The grown-ups were sitting outside on the patio, talking and laughing.
"Hey, look at us! Joey! Aunt Becky! Aunt Wendy! Uncle Jesse! Look!" Michelle yelled, grinning from ear to ear.
"Wait! Let me get a picture!" Jesse replied, whipping out his camera. He quickly snapped the picture. "You look great, munchkin!"
"Alright, you guys! Yeehaw!" Joey replied.
We slowed down and mounted the horses. Then after Hunter brought them back to the barn, we all sat on the patio.
"Hope ya'll are hungry. We've got plenty," Charlotte's husband, Harold, replied.
"I sure am," Joey replied.
Harold put the platter of ribs on the table along with the chicken."Eat up!"
"Yum-mers!" Joey replied, grabbing some ribs with the serving fork.
"Hamburgers and hot dogs are comin'!" Charlotte replied.
"Finally!" I whispered to Michelle, who giggled.
When everyone had their fill, we all began talking and eating...and eating some more. It wasn't until dark that it was time to go. Charlotte and her family escorted us to our RV.
"Becca. you better stay in touch with me. I still can't believe it's you, after all those years! You look so grown up!" Charlotte replied.
"We had a lot of fun today, Char. You're always gonna be my best friend. I hope our family and yours stay in touch. Your kids are adorable."
"Oh, we will. I'm gonna miss you, Becca! Take care, you hear?"
The two hugged and began crying again.
"When you get back to San Francisco, call me, okay?"
"Okay. Love you."
"Love you, too."
We finally left. Michelle, Nicky, Alex and I waved to the Miller kids.
"We had a good time! Bye, Hunter! Bye, Wade! Bye, Marissa Lynn! Bye, Laurelyn!" Michelle and I yelled.
"Bye-bye," Alex and Nicky replied, waving.
"We'll come to San Fran sometime!" Hunter replied.
We continued waving as the RV finally left the blue house.
"Ah, man. I'm stuffed," Joey remarked.
"Me, too. So...where to next? Where's our next destination?" Jesse asked.
"The rodeo," Becky reminded him.
"I changed my mind," I replied.
"Huh?" Becky asked.
"I don't want to go to the rodeo. I already rode a horse and I saw some bulls and cows on the way here. I've done enough," I replied.
Becky looked a little surprised. "Well, okay...I'm still sorry that you had to miss your rodeo, Denise. But..."
"But seeing your old friend was more important. I understand."
Becky smiled at me. "Thanks, Denise. Michelle, you don't know how lucky you are to have a friend like Denise. She's very understanding and smart for her age."
"And that's why I like her," Michelle replied, throwing me into a hug. I was smiling so brightly, I didn't even notice when Jesse stopped the RV to snap another picture of Michelle and me.