July 1st, 1996
Brian got out of the car taking his sunglasses off. It was hot outside, but not as hot as it was in Miami. His wife walked up behind him.
"We need to get the food." Zophia said. Brian nodded.
"We'll get something." He said helping his youngest son out of the car, "How does MacDonald's sound?"
"Awesome!" Heath, his eldest son, said. Zophia rolled her eyes as they walked into the mall.
"You indulge them too much." She said.
"I'm their father. They have never been here before. So I plan on buying them everything that they need." Brian said, "It's not like we packed a lot of things."
"I know." Zophia sighed looking around the mall. "There's so many people here."
"We'll be fine. Everyone I know is spread throughout the country and you know no one here, so it'll be fine." Brian said walking down to the food court. Things were going to be different here than it was in Florida. He walked up to the MacDonald's booth, "Hi. Could I have two happy meals with Pepsi, a number two with diet pepsi, and a number six with a pepsi?" The woman nodded as she rang up their total.
"Fourteen dollars and twenty-five cents." She said. Brian handed her a twenty.
"Brian, is that you?" Brian froze. Someone recognized him. He didn't think anyone would. Brian slowly turned around. Andrew Clark.
"Andy…Hey…" Brian said. Andrew laughed loudly.
"You back in town?" He asked, "It seems that everyone is coming back. Claire and John came back a few weeks ago."
"Really?" Brian stared at him. Andrew nodded.
"You back for good?" he asked. Brian shrugged.
"My wife and I move a lot." He said glancing towards the table where Zophia and the boys where. Andrew looked at them.
"Wow. Gorgeous…I mean you boys…Well, your wife….She's well…" Andrew chuckled. Brian nodded.
"She's a model." He said picking up his tray and walked to the table, "Zophia…This is Andrew. He went to high school with me."
"Oh." Zophia smiled nervously. "It's a pleasure."
"These are my boys, Heathcliff and Wolfgang." Brian said. Andrew arched his eyebrows at the names. Asia ran up to him.
"Daddy, Can I go play in the balls?" She asked. Andrew nodded.
"Go. Stick with Adria." He said, "So you're a dad. It's nice isn't it?"
"It's wonderful." Brian said.
"Alli just had our third in May." Andrew beamed with pride.
"That's great." Brian said taking Wolfgang's hand, "If you'll excuse us. We're really busy and have a lot of errands to run. It was nice running into you again."
"Yeah. We'll need to have a play date sometime." Andrew said.
"We will." Brian smiled leading his family out of MacDonald's. He handed Wolfgang and Heathcliff their happy meals.
"You said everyone you knew didn't live here any more." Zophia told him. Brian glared at her.
"I didn't know Andy was still in town. Give me a break, Phi." He said pulling his family through the mall, "We don't have to stop here. We can go further." Zophia shook her head.
"We can try here for awhile." She said, "I want to boys to have a home for once." Brian stopped and looked at his wife.
"That's all I want too, Phi. You need to believe me, but I want them to be safe as well." He said.
"They'll be safe here. I can feel it." Zophia said wrapping her arms around her husband. He sighed as he held her tightly. He hoped that she would be right. He was sick of running. Brian just wanted all of this to end.
July 14th, 1996
Claire loved being back. She loved having kids her kids could play with. With the kids on summer break now, Claire needed the break. She loved having lunch dates with Allison.
"Two weeks left." Allison said as she sat down at the picnic table, "How does it feel?" Claire looked at her enormous stomach.
"It feels uncomfortable." Claire said, "but I've had three kids so I know what to expect."
"Every pregnancy is different." Allison looking towards the playground. Tyler and Asia were in the sandbox building their own little town. Tiffany and Adria were on the tire swing chatting away. "Andy and I are thinking about number four ourselves…Of course in awhile. Audrey isn't even three months."
"Well, that'd be nice." She said. "You guys make good-looking babies."
"I think so too." Allison chuckled, "So, did you hear about the whole Brian thing?" Claire nodded.
"That is so wild." She said, "You'd think he'd be happier to see Andy."
"It was as if he didn't want Andy to recognize him or something." Allison said, "Andy said he has really filled out."
"I can't imagine him filling out." Claire said watching Tyler carefully, "Why do you think he's being so mysterious?"
"I have no idea. Maybe he's in some kind of trouble." She said, "But he has a wife and two children so I don't know."
"I hope I run into him." Claire said, "He seemed smart back in high school."
"I'm sure he still is." Allison said. "How does it feel having a boy?"
"Opposed to girls?" She asked. Allison nodded, "It's pretty wild. Very different. Girls are drama queens and are emotional."
"Lord, glad it's not just mine." She said.
"Tyler is very kinetic. Sometimes it's hard to keep up." Claire told her.
"Andy wants a boy of course." Allison said, "I don't think I could handle another pregnancy, but we'll see." Claire's hand went over her stomach.
"It's not that bad, honest. You just show sooner." She chuckled.
"That's what I don't need." Allison winked unpacking the picnic basket. "Guys, come eat!" The four children came running over.
"Good. I'm starved." Tiffany sat down next to Adria.
"Ham and cheese with no crust for Adri. PB & J for Ty and Asia." Allison tossed them their sandwiches. "And bologna and mustard for Tiff."
"Thank you, Mrs. Clark." Tiffany said.
"My mommy's having a baby." Tyler told Asia. She giggled.
"My mommy just had a baby. Her belly got very big." Asia said.
"My mommy's belly is super huge." Tyler beamed.
"Hey!" Claire laughed.
"It's true." Tyler said.
"But you don't need to tell her that." Tiffany scolded, "Pregnant girls are sensitive." Tyler rolled his eyes.
"You're sensitive." He muttered. Claire looked at Allison and chuckled.
"And you wonder why I love them." She said. Allison smiled looking at her own daughters. She could remember some wonderful comments from Adria when she was pregnant with Audrey. Children had an honest way about them. Allison loved that.