"Jay!" Audri yelled, spotting him sitting in the sand. He turned around at the sound of his name.
"Hey, Audri! Is everything okay?"
"It couldn't be better, look Johnny will explain everything to you, but I need to find Bradin. Where is he?"
"He took off down there," he pointed to the rocks in the distance. "I think he was heading to Spanish Cove."
"Okay, thank you. I'll see you later."
Jay nodded, and watched after her as she began to run along the sand. After she was out of sight, he headed back up to see Johnny. As he got in through the sliding doors, he noticed Erika and Johnny talking.
"Hey Johnny boy, hey babe."
"Hey, Jay," they said.
"Hey, what's going on with Audri?"
Erika and Johnny exchanged smiling glances.
"What?"
"Jay," Johnny said, getting up. "We have a new addition to the family. I adopted Audri."
"Really?"
"I did."
"Well, then that calls for a celebration. How about the weekend after the pier party? Here."
The three of them smiled and began the plans and ideas for what they wanted to do. Johnny couldn't wait to tell the others when they got back.
Audri reached Spanish Cove after what seemed like forever. She found Bradin, his back to her sitting cross-legged with his elbows resting on his knees, staring out at the ocean.
"Hey there, surfer boy."
Her voice startled him. He looked at her as if she were a ghost that had suddenly appeared; he jumped to his feet and faced her, hair blowing in the breeze.
"Well, I have good news and I have bad news. What do you want first?"
"Bad news I guess," he sighed.
"Okay, well the bad news is that the police took my car. The good news is that they're not taking me with it."
Bradin broke into a wide smile, then took her in his arms, spinning her around while the waves crashed before them.
"There's more good news."
"More? I can't imagine there being better news than that!"
"There is. Uncle Johnny adopted me."
"Oh my God! Okay, I need a seat, I'm going to faint. Too much good news!"
Audri laughed, "Hold on, I want to take in everything myself! I can't believe it, I'm here, really here."
"Damn right, you're here to stay!"
They sat down in the sand, Audri resting her head on Bradin's shoulder. They stayed that way until the sun went down, and then, made their way back home, hand in hand.
Ava and Susannah got home around five o'clock, their news not so happy. Johnny and Jay were cooking dinner in the kitchen when they walked in.
"Hey, hey, my two favorite ladies in the whole wide world!" Johnny exclaimed, not looking up to see the deflation in their faces.
"Yeah, hi," Ava said, flopping down in the living room.
This time, both Johnny and Jay looked up, frowning at their sight.
"What happened?" Jay asked, slicing a lime into halves.
"Ms. I-Just-Don't-Think-Your-Designs-Are-Right-For-This-Company. That's what happened," Susannah said, kicking her heels off.
"I'm thinking that the interview didn't go over well?" Johnny guessed.
"We might as well have stayed home to tell you the honest truth," Ava replied.
"Yep, it would have saved a lot of grief," Susannah agreed.
"Hey, well, tomorrow is another day," Jay said optimistically.
"He's right, you know," Bradin said, entering the house, with Audri.
"Hey, sweetie," Ava said, "where have you guys been?"
"On the beach, I hope that's all right. I mean, we didn't miss anything did we?"
"Some early wallowing, but hey, nothing you need to know," Susannah said.
"Okay, good."
Audri smacked Bradin playfully on the arm, "I'm sorry your interview didn't work out, Ava. You know, for a fashion magazine, they must have really not had any fashion sense at all to turn you guys down."
Ava and Susannah seemed to brighten up, "Thanks, sweetie," Ava said.
"Well, dinner is ready and waiting," Johnny announced.
"All right then, let's eat!" Bradin said.
"I'll go get Nikki and Derrick," Ava said.
"Oh, Aunt Ava, no need. Watch this. NIKKI! DERRICK! DINNER!" Bradin yelled.
Silence ensued.
"What?" he said defensively. "It saves time."
Nikki and Derrick emerged from upstairs and were in the kitchen in no time. Pretty soon, everyone was dishing up their plates, and heading out to the patio for dinner under the stars. That's when Johnny broke the news about Audri to the remaining members of the family. By the end of dinner, plots of celebration were already being planned.