Author's note:
Here's the third installment of 'Not Quite A Cinderella Story'.
Still a bit of scene setting as we're introduced to more characters. I'll maybe post Chapter 4 in another two days or so... It's a bit of a biggie; easily twice as long as this chapter, and we get to see the arrival of Spencer at last, yay! Who's excited? :P
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my imagination... A lot of the characters are mine, but unfortunately, Ashley and Spencer are not. Sad face :(
Chapter 3:
After a further two hours of driving whilst singing our hearts out in the summer heat, we finally reach the large dirt track that leads up the hill to the country house. We had stopped singing about an hour ago, and Brooke had fallen asleep within the last half hour. She shows no signs of waking up naturally anytime soon, so I gently nudge her in an effort to wake her. I figure if I wake her now, she'll be less groggy by the time we actually reach the house, and so won't be moody when we greet everyone.
"Brooke..." I nudge her again. "Brooke." She begins to stir. "Come on, superstar, we're almost there."
She turns to face me, her little face scrunched up as her eyes adjust to the light, opening halfway.
"We are?"
"Yeah, the house is just at the top of this hill." Her eyes open fully as she turns her head to look out the window.
As soon as we reach the peak, Brooke turns to me.
"Is that the house?"
"It sure is."
"Wow. It's just like in the movies."
She's right; it is 'just like in the movies'. There's a little pathway leading up the large grassy area to a porch where the front door is, a little wooden bench on the right hand side of the door, and a matching set which consists of a small table and chairs on the left. There are hanging baskets on either side of the porch steps which house beautiful pink geraniums, and brightly coloured flowerbeds running along the front that adds colour to the structure, which is painted a brilliant white.
I park up beside Casey's brother, Dale's silver SUV and unbuckle my seatbelt before getting out of the car. Brooke is soon to follow, hopping off her seat before taking my hand.
"Do you think they'll like me?" she asks, looking up at me.
"Of course; Brooke, they'll love you! Casey's told them all about how great you are and Max and Emily can't wait to meet you!"
This seems to satisfy her, as she flashes me a huge grin and begins to skip towards the front door, still keeping a tight grip of my hand.
When we reach the bright red door, I lift Brooke up to reach the doorbell. She gives it a firm push, before I put her down again, this time in front of me, placing my hands on each of her shoulders.
Soon enough, the door is pulled open, revealing a tall, happy woman with kind blue eyes and short brown hair.
"Ashley!" She reaches out to pull me into a tight hug. "It's great to see you again!"
"Hey, Aunt Pam!" My face lights up. Aunt Pam is the nicest woman I've ever met. Even though I'm not related to her in any way, she and Rob have always treated me like a part of the family; so much so that since I was young, I always referred to them as 'Aunt' and 'Uncle', just like Casey and the others.
"And this must be Brooke... Well aren't you just a little cutie!" Brooke just smiles shyly as Pam invites us in. "Come in, come in! The others are all out back!"
We follow Pam through the house before she opens the back door for us, holding it open as we make our way outside.
"Ashley!" I'm practically rugby tackled by an overly excited Casey. "I'm so glad you're here! We missed you last year!"
"I missed you too, Case, but uh... I can't really breathe..." She released her grip on me before lifting Brooke up and twirling her around.
"Hey, Little B! How are you? You're getting so big!" Brooke giggles in Casey's arms.
"I'm nearly seven!"
Casey gasps.
"Seven? Wow, aren't you a big girl!" No sooner as Casey puts Brooke down, Brooke is accosted by two little dwarfs.
"Brooke, Brooke! Uncle Rob found a rabbit! Come see!" She looks at me for permission as I nod my head before running off after Max and Emily.
I've always loved how accepting children can be. Even if they've never met each other before in their lives, they still manage to hold decent child-like conversations and play amongst themselves with little to no difficulty. I sometimes wonder... Why can't certain adults be like children in this respect? I think back to my mother, who, despite knowing me all my life, seemed to see playtime with me as a chore. Eventually, she stopped playing with me at a very young age, and left all the fun stuff to my dad...
"So how've you been, Ash?" Casey asks me as we sit down on the swing chair by the door.
"I've been great actually. What about you?"
"Meh, can't complain! So... I don't mean to pry, and you can totally just tell me to shut up if what I'm asking is out of line, but... How are you keeping Paige-wise?"
I take a deep breath and avert my gaze to my hands as I begin fiddling with my fingers. In the past, when anybody apart from Brooke ever brought up the subject of Paige, I immediately closed myself off, the emotional pain being too much for me.
I brace myself for the pain that's about to wash over me. It doesn't come. There's the smallest twinge, but it's almost non-existent. I furrow my eyebrows in confusion before replying.
"Actually... I'm okay..." I make eye contact with her then as she stares back, eyebrows raised in disbelief. "Really, I'm fine. Brooke... Brooke said something the other night. It made me think... Maybe I should start dating again..." There's a moment of silence before Casey says anything.
"Well that's great, Ash! Hey, you know... There's a pretty cool nightclub that opened recently about an hour away from here. We should totally hit it up some night; it'll be just like old times!" I smile at this.
"You know what, Case... I think that sounds like a pretty cool idea." Just then, Dale shouts over to us.
"Hey, Casey! Come over here and give Chase a hand! Obviously after we were born, mom and dad ran out of intelligence genes to pass on. Smarty pants over here can't seem to work out how to turn the tap on..." I laugh, watching on as Casey rescues her younger brother.
They're trying to fill the huge inflatable pool up, Dale taking aim with the hose at the pool's side, while Chase struggles with the tap.
It's been two years since I've seen Dale and Chase. Dale hasn't changed one bit. As the oldest of the siblings at twenty seven, he's always been a bit of a leader. Despite being totally into girls, I can recognise a good looking guy when I see one, and let me tell you, Dale is your typical pin-up. He's tall with a good athletic build, short, dark hair, and perfectly chiselled features. I notice there's a bit of stubble going on there too, but not too much; I don't think Annie's a fan of the homeless look...
Chase on the other hand seems to have shot up a good few feet since I last saw him. At sixteen, the youngest of the three looks just like a mini Dale, except his hair is just a shade lighter, and his face smooth.
Then there's Casey. She's around about the same height and build as me, her light brown shoulder length hair straightened and sitting to perfection, creating the perfect frame for her delicate features.
You can tell without a doubt they're related just by their similar facial features, but the one feature they most definitely share is their dark blue eyes. In fact, strip Casey's face of make up, and throw a paper bag with holes over each of their heads so you can only see their eyes and I swear you would think they're the same person.
Eventually, between the two of them, Casey and Chase get the tap on, Casey finally getting the tap to turn whilst Chase stands behind her, muttering something about having loosened it, Dale cheering as the water begins to flow into the pool.
Pam re-emerges from the house, tray full of drinks, as Annie follows behind with two plates of a selection of biscuits, her long, blonde hair blowing in the breeze.
Annie is Dale's high school sweetheart. They got married five years ago when Dale was twenty two, and Annie, twenty one, and had the twins, Max and Emily almost a year later.
Just like their parents, Max and Emily are little lookers, although despite possessing more of their father's features facially, they have Annie's blonde hair and piercing ice blue eyes.
"Hi, Ashley!" Annie addresses me as she walks with Pam to the large wooden picnic table.
"Hey, Annie! I saw the twins a few minutes ago; they're getting so big!"
"I know! They just won't stop growing!" I giggle at this.
"Ashley!" Pam calls out to me. "Come over and sit at the table with us! Boys, Casey, come and have a drink!" Chase turns the tap off, this time with no difficulty; yay, Chase! He runs over to the table, downing his lemonade in no time at all. Turning the tap must be thirsty work...
Casey arrives soon after, followed by Dale, who throws one arm around Pam before hugging her and bending down so he can place a kiss on her forehead as she laughs.
"Thanks, Aunt Pam; you're a saint! Isn't she a saint?" We all laugh at this before tucking in.
Pam walks over to a tree, where there's a small decline in the hill, before calling out to Rob and the kids.
"Rob, kids, cookies!" about three seconds later, three small figures appear at the top of the hill.
"Cookies!" They run to the table, Emily jumping onto Dale's knee, while Max goes to Annie, and Brooke to me.
"Having fun?" I ask her. She just nods, a huge smile lighting up her face as she takes a large sip of lemonade.
"Well, well, well, look who it is!"I raise my head, eyes searching for the owner of the deep, gruff voice.
From the same direction the kids came from, a tall figure makes his way towards us. Just like Dale, Uncle Rob hasn't changed a bit. His greying moustache is still a permanent fixture just under his nose, and his dark hair seems to have lost a little more colour over the years, but his eyes are still as kind as ever, just like Pam's.
"Hey, Uncle Rob!" I smile brightly.
"Couldn't go another year without seeing us, eh? Glad to have you back, kiddo!" He winks before picking up a cookie and taking a bite.
The conversation flows easily between us as we catch up on all the happenings since our last get together two years ago, before we make plans for the rest of the day.
We decide to get the pool filled, so we can spend the rest of the day just splashing about in the sun, before gathering wood for the campfire later.
As everyone runs off to put their swimming gear on, I grab our things from the car, bringing them to our rooms upstairs. Brooke is sharing a room with Max and Emily, two double beds evenly spaced in the large room that lies to the left of the stairs. Dale and Annie are in the next room with a double bed; the very bed that Casey and I used to share when we were younger. Chase is in the next room with a single, followed by Pam and Rob's room, then Casey with the bunk beds and me in the single room at the end. I would sleep in the same room as Casey in the bunk bed, but she already has the bottom one claimed, and since I started to get taller as a kid, I always had the problem of waking up in the top bunk and banging my head on the ceiling, forgetting that I was in a bunk in the first place. I let it go on for so long, until one day, Casey woke me with an ear-piercing scream. I jumped up so quickly and knocked my head so hard that Aunt Pam thought I had concussion. The bump stayed on my head for about a week after... All for a little spider that had managed to make its way onto Casey's bed sheets. That was when we decided it'd be best to move into the room Dale and Annie now occupied.
As I search for our swimwear, unpacking things as I go along, I check things off in my head. Underwear, check. Socks, check. Sun screen, check. Deodorant, check. Toothbrushes... Wait, toothbrushes... Shit. I search through the toiletries frantically, checking for any sign of them. How could I forget them? They were sitting right there beside the sink! Smart one, Ash. Now I'm going to have to find somewhere that sells them in this wilderness. Somehow, I don't think there'll be anywhere I'll be able to reach within ten minutes...
Dental hygiene has always been a big thing in our household. Brooke had always been taught by her parents to brush twice a day with no exceptions, so I owed it to them to keep drilling it into her. She was very good about it. In fact, most of the time, she would be the one to initiate our morning and evening ritual. I don't think she'd be very happy with me if she found out I'd forgotten our toothbrushes...
I make my way downstairs after calling Brooke up and getting her changed quickly, not saying a word to her about our forgotten toothbrushes. I find Pam out the back and approach her as Brooke runs off, laughing as Dale lifts her up into the pool before putting her up on his shoulders. Max is on Chase's shoulders as Emily splashes about with Annie and Casey, Rob throwing various floats and things into the pool for the kids to play with.
I explain my situation to Pam and she writes out directions for me which should take me to a little shopping complex about half an hour away. I use the term 'shopping complex' very loosely, as Pam notifies me that being quite out of the way in the country, it really isn't a shopping complex at all, but there's a little supermarket and a few other small shops scattered around it, so it does the job if anybody needs anything.
I thank Pam before going over to Brooke, who's now having a splashing match with Chase, to ensure that she'll be happy enough if I leave for a little while. She focuses her attention on me for about two whole seconds as she nods quickly before returning her gaze to Chase, giggling as he manages to splash her unexpectedly. She'll be just fine.
I head out to the car, but not before Pam hands me a list and some money.
"I was going to wait until tomorrow to pick a few things up, but since you're heading there now, would you mind getting them for me? It's just a few things for tomorrow evening; there's not a lot. I have some stuff in the cupboards, but I want to stock up just incase."
"Of course, that's not a problem, Pam. I'll be back soon." I put my sunglasses on before setting off, waving to Pam as I make my way down the hill.
Time to put these kickass orientation skills to good use...
