Saturday

Bobby and Sharon woke up after a night of cuddling. He woke her up with a kiss. She kissed him back, and their morning kisses turned into a morning fuck.

Rusty was half awake. He rolled over and went back to bed.

Flynn's House

Andrea and Flynn woke up in each other's arms. They cuddled for a while, neither of them wanting to break the embrace long enough to wake up.

The Farmers' Market

Eliza and David were buying food together. Gabriel usually just went to grocery stores, but Eliza said the food here was fresher. They got locally grown produce, organic eggs, grass-fed beef, and fresh fish. When they got back to the loft, Eliza washed the fish and the produce. She let the produce air dry on the counter and she wrapped the fish in parchment paper. She froze some of it and some of the beef. She put the rest of the food in the fridge.

David poached some eggs and made some bacon. He put some english muffins in the toaster. He made open-faced sandwiches. Eliza poured some juice and they are together.

"My friend Riley's coming over today. He's going to take some measurements for the dressers."

He made her dressers and she wanted to have new ones made for Gabriel.

Brenda and Fritz

They spent the morning doing chores, laundry, cleaning, etc. Marcus and his grandparents were going to the zoo. They were heading back to Chicago on Tuesday. Brenda wanted them to have another Saturday together before they went.

Bobby came home, eventually. He took Hunter for a walk. He then came back, and said he was going to move in with Sharon.

"She's willing to put up with you," said Fritz.

"I know, right."

The Zoo

Marcus loved the penguins. He took several pictures of them. The fathers watched the babies and the mothers chased them jealously.

Molly was almost finished with her photo album. She was going to do the last touches on Sunday, while the boys were gone. She hoped that Marcus loved it.

Sunday

The Hotel

Marcus was excited to be going to the game. It was a two hour drive to San Diego and the game started at at 4:15.

He and his grandfather got ready. Fritz and Bobby picked them up at the hotel, and they were all off. Fritz was driving. Bobby planned on having plenty of beer. They stopped at In and Out along the way.

Molly printed out the photos Marcus took at a CVS. She added them to the end of the book. She included many blank sheets, so Marcus could add to the album.

Brenda/Fritz's place

Brenda was trying to figure out what to do with the apartment. Their lease was over in three months. The should tell the landlord now that they won't be renewing. She got ready to start typing a letter when the doorbell rang. She looked and saw the upstairs neighbor at her door.

"Hi Mrs. Traynor. What can I do for you?"

"Have you had your apartment inspected?"

"No. Why would we?"

"Our landlord should have told you. The apartment upstairs had a broken shower. They went to replace it, and there was black mold behind the walls. They need to check all of the apartments."

"Oh my!"

"You might need to move out for a while if they find anything."

Brenda was relieved. She had a way out of her lease. "That's too bad."

I brought the information here. The woman handed Brenda a packet. "You should get right on it."

"Oh we will. Thank you for stopping by."

The woman left. Brenda left the forms for Fritz to read. She was craving a nap.

The Q

There was a big line, but they got through before the game started. They found their seats. They were a little high up, but they had a great vantage point. The crowd was loud. The day was nice and sunny. Bobby had plenty of beer. This was going to be quite a game.

It was a real shootout. Neither defense seemed ready to go and both teams were throwing the ball downfield with ease. San Diego pulled away in the third quarter, and the rest was history. Bobby went through a lot of beers. They cut him off, but then Henry started to buy them. They got pretty drunk.

Fritz and Marcus focused on the game and Bobby and Henry argued with some group behind them as to who was better, Phillip Rivers or Sam Bradford.

They got in the car and headed home. Marcus fell asleep in the back as did Bobby.

They dropped off Marcus and Henry at the hotel. Bobby slept all the way home. Fritz pulled into the parking space and roused Bobby. "Let's go, Bobby!"

"What happened to the game!"

"It ended 2 hours ago."

"Damn, that was fast." They headed inside. Brenda ordered pizza. Drunk Bobby began to devour it. "Save some for Fritz." Brenda grabbed a plate and put two slices on it for her husband. "You hungry Fritz?"

"Thanks, Babe." They sat on the couch. "What do you want to do about the apartment?"

"I almost forgot. Mrs. Traynor stopped by. There might be mold in the apartment. We might have to evacuate."

"What!"

"Isn't that great?"

"How is toxic mold great?"

"We can break our lease and not have to pay."

Fritz laughed. "You worry about rent more than our health."

"We haven't gotten sick yet."

He kissed her and went to heat up his food.

Monday

Gabriel had to stop by his apartment for more clothes again. He couldn't wait for Riley to finish those dressers. He was also going to build a closet for David. Gabriel checked his mail, nothing of interest, and went to work.

Rusty's School

He actually got his work done and made it to class on time. He hadn't heard from Kyle all weekend. He was surprised to see Kyle at his school.

"Why aren't you in class?"

"The grief counselor is there giving a school wide presentation. I decided to ditch."

"Where were you all weekend?"

"Doing college apps. They were due today."

"I forgot about that."

"Well, we should hang out this weekend." Kyle kissed him and then he left.

Fritz, Brenda and Andrea met at an indian buffet for lunch.

Fritz started the conversation. "You have a beautiful house."

"Thank you."

"I am a little nervous about renting from a friend though."

"I thought about that too. We would have to negotiate this carefully. How long do you plan on renting a house?"

"We want to get Marcus settled. We would probably stay for at least a year, probably until Marcus finished middle school."

"What grade is he in now?"

"6th."

"Are you looking to sell the house?"

"Not yet. I wasn't sure if ..."

"You and Flynn will work."

"Brenda!"

"What! Everyone gets nervous about it when they first move in."

"I didn't."

"That's because you're a fool. It's also why I love you." They shared a quick kiss. "If you did want to sell though, we would prefer the new owner to assume the lease until it was over."

"Of course. I could also include an option."

"How would that work?"

"If I decided to sell, you would have the option to pay some predetermined price before I put the house on the market."

"We would pick the number now?"

"Or it would be a formula, but we would decide how we would pick now."

"What about repairs?"

"Tell me when stuff is broken. I'll send someone to fix it."

"Do you think you'd make a good landlord?"

"I'd hope I can be better than any of the landlords I have had. Honestly, if you pay your rent and don't burn the place down, I'll be content."

"Insurance?"

"You should get renter's insurance for your property and liability insurance if one of your guests gets injured. I have insurance for the house and my property, but it doesn't cover commercial uses."

"Security deposit?"

"Same as the rent. Would be held in escrow until the lease terminated. Would be applied to any damage or missed payments."

"Painting."

"I haven't painted it in a while. You are free to paint, but if you use outlandish colors, I'll expect you to repaint when you leave."

"I was thinking strawberry jam, every room," Brenda announced. They both looked at her.

"What! Y'all can't take a joke."

"Air conditioning?"

"Central Air."

"Gas or electric stove."

"All gas appliances. The fridge is two years old. The washer and dryer are 4 years old. There's a deep freezer in the garage."

"Walkthrough."

"Here's the key."

Monday night.

Henry and Molly dropped off Marcus at the apartment. She gave him his photo album. Tears fell from his face as he flipped through it and saw his life unfold. He hugged her tightly and told her it was the greatest present ever. That meant a lot to her, knowing all of the presents he has gotten in his life. They left their grandson with his father. They both cried when they got back to the hotel. They knew he belonged here, but the pain didn't fade at all.

Brenda and Fritz ended up moving into Andrea's house within the next week. Marcus got his own room and he helped his father paint it dark green. Brenda got him a stationary set, so he could write to his grandparents. They were boxing some of his stuff and having it sent to LA. Some of it would stay in Chicago for when he visited. They all planned a family trip to Chicago for New Years.

Bobby moved in with Sharon. He saw a perfect spot in her backyard for a smoker. He was ready for some BBQ.