(In weird foreign accent) K, so, here is the Earth. Dame, that is a sweet Earth, you might say. All round and—whatever. So, other than the ice caps melting, the ozone layer leaving, and a meteor becoming crashed into us, we are definitely going to blow ourselves up. Okay, so, you've got China, France, India, Pakistan, Israel, Russia, the U.K., and us, all with nukes. We've got twenty-six hundred more than anybody else…. Sorry, couldn't resist. If you haven't seen the end of the world flash animation, you should. ebaumsworld . com

Chapter 2:

Meet the Parents

The Lowells looked Riley over carefully. What they saw was a twenty-five year-old man, about 5'9" in height, with dark brown hair and brilliant blue eyes.

Charlie was the first to react. He shook Riley's hand. "Welcome to Texas, Mr. Poole."

"Your house is beautiful!" Abigail complimented.

"Oh, thank you!" Jessica said. "Charlie was the one who found it. Come on in and we'll show you the inside."

Alexis smiled. She couldn't wait to see the interior.

"I hope you don't mind, Lexi, but we cleared up that stuff we mentioned needing help with." Charlie said.

"Dad! You know what the doctor said about lifting heavy things with your back!" Alexis said with concern.

"We had help from the neighbors." He assured her.

They crossed the threshold of the house and saw that the interior was spacious and open. A staircase led from the right to the upstairs rooms. Jessica led them up the stairs and to their rooms. Afterward, she gave her daughter the grand tour.

That evening, the Lowells treated their guests to a fabulous meal, cooked by Alexis and Jessica. Of course, Charlie couldn't resist asking Ben how he had solved the riddle on the key. Abigail and Riley assisted in the kitchen, though Riley found himself to be more of a hindrance than anything else. However, his lack of skills in the kitchen entertained the women and they enjoyed having their male assistant there. Jessica asked all the usual mom questions like 'How old are you?' and 'What kind of job do you have?', which Riley answered candidly.

"Riley, can you put this over by the range?" Jessica asked.

Riley took the pan and tried to figure out what the range was. Alexis looked at her confused boyfriend sympathetically and point him to the stove. "The stove, Riley! The stove!"

Riley looked at her gratefully.

Jessica laughed. "Sorry, Riley. I was just messing around with you. I don't normally say the 'range'!"

"Mom, what was that for?" Alexis asked accusingly.

Jessica just smiled and kept cooking.

After dinner, they had fun socializing and chatting. At eleven, they all retired to their rooms.

Ben looked through the many books on his on a shelf in his room. One caught his eye. "Hmm, Texas: Legends and Lore." He pulled the book off the shelf and began flipping through it.

Alexis put on a cami and a pair of Sophies. As she closed the window that she had opened earlier, she heard a knock at her door. "Come in." She said.

It was her mother. "I just wanted to say good night." She said. "It's so nice to have you home!"

"Night, Mom." Alexis said as her mother closed the door.

She flopped back on her bed and reached for the lamp on her nightstand to turn it off. Just as the light went out, she heard another knock. "Come in," She said again. The door opened a crack, then all the way. Riley stepped in and quietly shut the door behind him.

Alexis flipped her lamp back on. "Riley?"

"Howdy." He said.

Alexis rolled her eyes. "Not funny." She said, but in her mind, she thought it was somewhat cute. She motioned for him to sit on the bed. "How'd you like your first day in Texas?"

"It was hot!" He said, joining her.

Alexis laughed. "What? You think that was hot? It was only ninety-seven degrees out there!"

"Who said I was referring to the temperature?" He said, grinning mischievously and putting his arms around her. "But really, it was hot. How do you survive, Lexi?"

"Adaptation, Riley." She answered simply. "Just like the younger generations learn to use computers faster."

"I know what it means." Riley said, laying down and pulling Alexis with him. She snuggled next to him.

"What do you want to do tomorrow?" Alexis asked.

"We could go eat somewhere." He said hopefully.

"It's always computers and food with you! Abigail was right!" She laughed.

"Hey!" Riley said indignantly. He paused. "Wait. Abigail said that?"

"It was in May, while we were in Boston."

"Right." Riley said. "I'd like to visit downtown."

"Good thing the media is focused on that ironclad discovery over in Africa." Alexis said. "Otherwise, taking a trip into downtown would be like trying to avoid taxes. Can't be done." She was referring to the discovery of the ironclad ship, the Texas, in Mali by two NUMA researchers.

"I feel sorry for them." Riley said.

"Yeah, that's nothing compared to what we found." Alexis said.

"Ben's rubbing off on you." Riley sighed. "You've acquired his ability to put words into someone else's mouth." He teased.

"I don't do that!" She defended, looking him squarely in the eyes. Big mistake. He drew her in every time with those big blue eyes.

He kissed her forehead, then her lips. Then, he brushed her nose and cheeks before finding her lips again.

"Riley, we can't do this." Alexis warned, her voice barely above a whisper.

"But we never go any further than this." Riley said in protest.

"I know, I know. It's just, my parents would think otherwise. They don't know our boundaries." She explained. "They would flip if they saw this."

"Well, then. We'll just be really quiet." Riley teased, kissing her again.

"We need to sleep, Ri." She said, using her pet name for him.

Riley knew she was right. "Okay, fine. But I'm considering tomorrow a date."