Boone found the house without any trouble, and pulled into the driveway of the unremarkable ranch style bungalow.
Brian opened the front door even before they reached it, looking a little surprised that they were standing there. Boone glanced quickly at the display on his cell phone to assure himself that they were on time, always punctual, he hated being early just as much as he hated being late, and given the look on the guys' face he wasn't sure that he hadn't screwed up, after all it was him, and it certainly wasn't unheard of for him to get something wrong.
"Oh, I was just going out to my car to get something, I didn't realize it was seven already," Brian commented. Boone relaxed a little when his remembrance of the correct time of the invitation was confirmed.
He beckoned them in to the foyer of his home, taking the gift basket that Andrew held out. He picked up the container of cookies and shook it, looking expectantly at Boone when he heard the rattle.
"It's cookies," Boone laughed.
A huge shaggy dog came out of nowhere and shoved its' nose into Andrew's crotch, almost knocking him over. Shannon reached out a hand to steady him. The dog then lifted its head to lick his face. "That's Lucky," Brian supplied the dog's name.
Andrew giggled and tried to push the dog away, Brian reached down and reefed on the animals' collar, but Andrew just followed along keeping in contact with the large beast, beaming widely. Boone figured that he'd get the whole 'Can we have a dog?' question before the night ended, maybe even a 'Dad' or two thrown in to up the ante.
Brian opened the coat closet door and handed them hangers, Bone already felt the vibe of a real lived in family home. The hall closet was filled to over flowing with varsity jackets, and ski clothes, the floor littered with a jumbled mass of shoes and boots. They stuffed their coats in as best they could, then followed Brian into the living room.
It was a comfortable place, Boone felt immediately at ease, and started to smile without even realizing it. There were piles of magazines everywhere, and a well worn sofa and some easy chairs. The place was obviously clean, but just as obviously well used. The coffee table had rings, most probably he guessed, from coffee mugs and beer bottles and scars from shoes, not taken off at the front door, that had been rested on its' top. It was like something out of a family based sitcom, an environment he'd wasn't used to, the Ethan Allen showroom that had been his childhood home, so diametrically opposite to the casual welcoming ambience of the Taylor house. Their own house was welcoming, he liked to think, but there just wasn't the casual clutter that this place had.
There were two burly looking boys, who appeared a few years older than Andrew, and were clearly Brian's sons, playing a video game on the T.V.
"Boys, company's here," Brian announced, getting their attention. "Downstairs." He instructed. "And this is Andrew; take him with you, and Lucky."
Boone glanced down at his son, 'You okay with that?'
He looked up smiling, still patting the dog, and nodded happily.
"Paul and Ryan," the guy pointed at each one in turn. "Don't do anything Ryan tells you to." He admonished Andrew. "Be good." He warned Ryan, and sent the mess of them all downstairs. "He's a good boy, just at that age where he taunts younger kids into doing stupid things. Last week he had Paul on a bicycle on the roof."
Boone looked a little alarmed.
Shannon patted his arm, "Andrew's not an idiot, Boone." She suddenly realized what she'd said and how it reflected on Brian's younger son. "Not that Paul is I'm sure!"
"Yeah, he is." Brian just shook his head.
He asked them what they wanted to drink and gestured to the couch for them to sit. "I'll just get Tanya out of the kitchen." He headed off with the gift basket.
They settled themselves and exchanged a happy smile, feeling oddly at home in the strange house, kissing quickly as they found themselves alone, briefly.
A pleasant looking woman came through the kitchen door, introducing herself. Brian followed quickly after with their beverages. They sat comfortably and chatted. A large grey and white cat walked, nonchalantly, across the coffee table and up Boone's knee, settling in his lap. Tanya identified him as Rover; it was an in-joke she explained at the traditionally canine name.
Shannon waited to see how long it would take Boone to shoo it off, freaking over getting cat hairs on his dark wash denim jeans. He rubbed the animals' ears and settled it more comfortably in the triangle formed by his crossed legs, patting it absently, and smiling. She wondered, 'Who are you and what have you done with Boone Carlyle?' as she eyed him suspiciously.
The conversation continued until Andrew appeared, up from the basement, holding his right hand out in front of him, index finger extended. "Boone?" He turned at the query. "I've got a sliver in my finger." The boy winced.
"Let me see," Andrew walked between Shannon and the coffee table so his father could take a look at the offending piece of wood lodged in his flesh.
"What were you doing?" Tanya asked gently.
"Playing swords," Boone looked up startled, "Wooden swords, Boone. Jeeze," Andrew explained, rolling his eyes. Yeah, like they'd be playing with real swords.
Boone dropped the child's hand and went to stand, picking the cat up and going to hand it to Shannon. She raised her eyebrow at him and made no attempt to take the feline. "Right," I'm an idiot, he thought to himself, putting the animal, instead, on the floor.
At his inquiry, Tanya rose and ushered the two of them down the hall to the bathroom, and provided the necessary first aid supplies for them. Minor surgery successful, Andrew headed back downstairs and Boone returned to the living room.
Soon after, Tanya excused herself to finish dinner. Boone, of course, offered to help, but she declined saying that she had everything well in hand. After a few minutes, the meal ready, she called them all into the kitchen to eat.
As they took their seats, she placed a roast beef on the table, along with some mashed potatoes and broccoli. Boone looked at the slab of meat and closed his eyes briefly, 'I can do this' he thought. She went back over to the counter and returned with a salad and a roast chicken. He relaxed the shoulders he hadn't even realized he'd tensed.
"Shannon told Brian that you don't eat red meat," Tanya smiled at him.
"Oh, she did, did she?" He gritted his teeth and gave Shannon a nasty look. "Payback's a bitch, and you're going to pay." He intended on getting back at her for all her talk of blue rare steak earlier.
"Whatever could you be talking about?" she feigned innocence.
"Oh, I don't know…the price of crude oil, or how about the merits of carbon over steel golf club shafts?" He rolled his eyes and sighed.
"Brian's been telling me all about how you're spoiling him at lunch. I'm afraid I'm not a fancy cook, but I think this will fill you up." Tanya apologized at the plain fare.
They all helped themselves, family style, Andrew eagerly taking a slice of roast beef. After four bites, however he found himself chewing less than enthusiastically and leaned forward, looking past Boone to the chicken in front of Shannon.
"Shan?" She leaned forward so she could see him. "May I have some chicken, please?"
Boone hid a smile, looking at him out of the corner of his eye.
After dinner, the kids left to play video games in the living room while the adults continued to idle over coffee and tea.
"I couldn't help but notice your engagement ring, it's gorgeous." Tanya commented.
"Thanks," Shannon held it up and twisted it on her finger, admiring it herself. "Boone gave it to me for Christmas this year."
"You aren't married?" Brian asked, frowning, sure that the silver bands on their fingers were wedding rings.
"Nine and a half blissful years," Boone remarked sarcastically, getting a smack to the back of the head for his effort.
The guy deserves a medal, Brian reflected. He didn't have anything against Shannon personally, in fact he kind of liked her spunk, but that didn't mean that he could imagine living with her.
"You didn't get an engagement ring when he proposed?" Tanya questioned.
"We were never really engaged and I don't recall that he ever proposed." Shannon answered.
"But, surely when you were dating, he must have asked you to marry him." Tanya was understandably confused.
"We never went on a date," She looked at Boone for confirmation, he just shrugged.
"You don't look like likely candidates for an arranged marriage," Brian said, just as mystified as his wife.
"If anyone arranged this marriage, it was the devil, and he either has it in for me, or has a twisted sense of humour," Boone commented, scooting down a chair, safely out of Shannon's swatting range. Sure enough she raised her arm to hit him again, glowering at him instead, when she realized he was out of reach.
"Oooohkay, then…" Brian left the question open, obviously expecting more of an explanation.
"We've been living together since I was eight and Boone was ten." Shannon said, with a mischievous glint in her eye.
"Christ, Shannon," Boone cried, incredulously, "explain why, before they think we're perverts, or that our parents were."
"That's when my dad married Bonehead's mother," she sighed, disappointed that he was ruining her fun. "You're such a buzz killer Boone."
Good lord, over twenty years, the guy didn't deserve just a medal, he warranted an entire display case, Brian's eyes widened.
"That must make things interesting," was Tanya's only comment.
Andrew appeared at the door redirecting their attention. "Boone, may I have another cookie?"
"Sure thing, bud," he answered.
He came forward as Tanya held out the plate, telling him to take two more for Paul and Ryan. "They've got that new video game that you and I wanted to play," Andrew started tentatively. "Could you, maybe, come and play a level with me?" He asked his dad.
"We're company here, Andrew," he started before Tanya cut in, urging him to go with the boy. They were finished their coffee and tea and she always encouraged Brian to spend time with their sons, so it was true to her nature to want the same for Boone.
They all stood, Boone went into the living room with Andrew; Brian headed out to the car to finish the errand he'd been on when they first got there, and Tanya and Shannon cleared the table.
"He's a good boy," she commented to Shannon.
She nodded, "Boone did a great job with him."
"Boone?" she questioned.
"I was away travelling, so he raised him himself," she looked away, uncomfortably.
"Ahhh," Tanya said, nodding as if coming to some kind of understanding.
Shannon shrugged and shook her head, her unasked question unmistakable.
"That's why he came to your husband when he had the splinter and when he wanted another cookie, if Boone raised him, then it makes sense. Usually kids come to their moms for that kind of thing." She explained.
They do? Shannon wondered. "I'm not really big on the whole 'maternal instinct' thing." Even when he'd fallen off his bike, it had been Sawyer who'd cleaned the scrapes on his knees and hands, was she really that clueless? She kept mulling it over as they loaded the dishwasher.
Tanya, unexpectedly, changed the subject to their snowboarding lessons, not following through on a possible line of questioning as to why Shannon had been travelling instead of living with her family.
They headed out shortly after, thanking the Taylor's, completely sincerely, for a wonderful evening.
Boone backed the car out onto the street and headed home. His cell phone rang about half way there, he glanced at the incoming number, noticing it was local, and thinking it was probably Amy he passed the device back over his shoulder to Andrew.
The boy answered it and smiled at hearing her voice, Boone's guess being correct. He talked quietly to her for a few minutes before raising his head, "Shan?"
"Hmm?" she glanced quickly back at him, acknowledging her name.
"Your dad's name was Adam, right?" He asked.
"Yeah," she answered slowly.
"Well…uhm…he wants to talk to you."