Roger stared straight at the road in front of him as he made his way down the Overseas Highway toward Key West in his own Chevy Nova. He had never driven down a highway like this before, and it was a strange feeling having no place to stop where grass grew. Only miles upon miles of open ocean. Naturally he was a little nervous driving down the road and would rarely join in on his friend's conversations about what they were seeing around them. In fact he had missed quite a few questions and would be surprised to hear either Homer or Barney calling out his name moments later as they tried to ask him again. But he knew he had to be careful here, one slipup could send the car careening down the highway and into deep water. Well maybe not too deep, but enough to send the sharks calling.
He had been fortunate enough to have been accepted in Homer and Barney's journey to Key West. Moe was more than happy to take him in, it could mean that the bar could be open on Sunday's and Monday's now and that more fish could be caught for the evening dinner. All Roger knew was that he was glad to get away from Springfield; it was time to scout new horizons as his family changed their surroundings. He would possibly return if things got better, for now though he was happy to be with his friends driving down the highway, a trailer hitched on the back with all their belongings.
It had taken them a week and a half to get down there and had a few adventures along the way. Adventures that would take much longer for the story to be told and more of a side distraction really, it's best to leave what they went through to your imagination. But those adventures did not slow them down and all three were excited to finally reach their destination in a few hours. If only Roger stayed calm about driving down the watery highway.
"You want to pull over and let me drive?" Barney finally ended up asking.
"Huh? …Oh I think I'll be okay, we only have a few more miles to go anyway, it's just so different driving down the never ending bridge," Roger replied as he only turned once to reply to Barney who was sitting in the front seat while Homer hung out on the back reading a new issue of Playdude he got in Key Largo before heading out. Of course Homer was paying no attention to how Roger was doing and would usually comment on some of the hot girls who were showing off in the pages.
"Man if any of the girls down in Key West look like this I think I'll be in heaven," Homer said, not taking his eyes off the magazine.
"No kidding, maybe all three of us will be lucky and have a girl by next week," Barney said.
"Mmhmm, a job, a girl, and tropical paradise what would be better," Homer replied.
"Well maybe a wider bridge," Roger replied.
"I did tell you I could drive for you," Barney said.
"I know, but it's my car and I know how to handle it, you all can drive it when you have to run errands," Roger said.
Homer nodded to this silently, mainly because he was still enjoying his magazine while Barney just rolled his eyes and looked out at the water. It really was very pretty with the blue waters meeting the blue sky. There were clouds around, but none that obscured the water and the sky from meeting each other on the horizon. It was simply a beautiful late summer day that the boys were now proud to be part of. They would reach Key West in a few hours and a new life would be waiting for them. Well Jenna would be any way, it was already afternoon and both Moe and Mick were working. When Barney called them from Miami, Moe informed them that since they were coming later, Mick's sister would be there to help them get around.
Barney began to wonder what she looked like; did she have the bikini body like the ones in the Playdude Magazine that Homer was staring at? Was she really that nice enough to come down and meet up with them or had they have to force her to do so? Why was she not with Moe? Did she already have a boyfriend? He could only come up with so many questions about her, and all he did know was that someone was there to help bring them to where they needed to go.
They finally reached Key West a little less than an hour later; Roger heaved a big sigh of relief when he finally hit the island. Now that he was no longer surrounded by water, he could relax and make his way through the town looking for where he needed to go so they could meet up with Jenna and unpack their things.
"So where are we supposed to meet this Jenna person?" Roger asked as he looked around at the swaying palm trees and the many shops that lined the sidewalks.
"Just at Moe's house down the street, she'll help us in and show us around probably. Maybe we will see Moe work and try his delicious array of booze," Barney said.
"But we're underage," Homer replied.
"But he's Moe," Said Barney.
"I have a year left before I'm legal, I bet he will let me slide," said Roger.
"Well as long as he doesn't get caught, he worked hard to get this place, and turn right here Roger," Barney said.
Roger made his turn down the street where they were soon met with row after row of little beach houses that were built against the water. Each one had a quaint little look about them that felt very welcoming to the boys as they made their way down the street. They knew it would be easy to get acquainted with the neighbors and that getting lost would be impossible, especially since it was an island and had to lead to some place that everyone knew about. The three looked at all the houses carefully, looking for the right number on the house until they came to the very end of the street. Sure enough the road led to a dead end where his house was, the last house on the street.
Right away the guys noticed how modest but nice the place looked. The driveway led to a garage like shed in the back where a bike was parked out next to it. Possibly Jenna's. There was a sidewalk leading from the driveway to the front door that had a welcome sign on it along with some flowers on each side. The yard had some grass growing but not much, they were close enough to the water that the sand took up most of the yard. But it didn't look too bad; Moe seemed to find ways to get around that by adding an island with a few flowers and some tacky lawn gnomes.
Roger parked behind the car in the driveway and a few moments later, a young lady appeared around the corner. All three of the boys saw her at the same time and two of them were instantly smitten, Roger and Homer. She wasn't in any bikini or any kind of bathing suit for that matter. Just a regular t-shirt and some short shorts while her long brown hair was tied neatly in the back. For a moment, Homer almost thought he saw Marge by the way she moved her body toward them in a graceful manner. She almost had the same facial features too, save for the nose which was a bit pointier than Marge's was. In an instant, he wondered if perhaps he would get lucky with her and finally have a girlfriend to call his own.
"She's mine!" Roger suddenly called out.
"I saw her first," Homer said.
"No you didn't, you're sitting in the back seat so your projection isn't as quick as mine," Roger replied as he jumped out of the car to greet the young lady. Barney only slowly got out, he didn't seem to show much interest and that was fine by Homer, it was easier to duke it out with one guy.
"Welcome to the Key's boys," Jenna said with a warm smile and held out a hand to shake with Barney who was the first to reach her. Roger was still trying to move forward with the perfect greeting, while Homer stood behind Barney ready to shake her hand.
"You're Jenna?" Barney asked just to be sure.
"That's me, Jenna Talbot at your service, cleaner of hotel rooms and bathrooms, baker of Jenna's perfect key lime pie, and surfer extraordinaire." She had a small southern accent that seemed to be disappearing over time.
"Well I'm Barney Gumble, former pin monkey and best friend to Moe," Barney replied.
Jenna smiled warmly and was about to shake Homer's hand when Roger jumped forward knocking Homer over and shaking her hand excitedly. "I'm Roger Steinbeck, no relation to John Steinbeck, also a former pin monkey with lots of time on his hands."
"Well nice to meet you Roger, I can see you are a pin monkey seeing as how you just knocked over one," Jenna replied.
"Yeah that's another monkey alright," Roger said with a grin.
Homer helped himself up before introducing himself with a warm and friendly smile. "I'm Homer Simpson, second best friend to Moe, and it's great to meet you."
"Likewise," Jenna nodded. For a brief moment both met eye to eye and for that brief moment Homer felt that there was some sort of connection between both them already. But that brief moment was quickly extinguished when Jenna motioned them inside. "Well I bet you guys are ready to relax after that long trip, so come on in and make yourselves at home, we'll stop by Moe's in about an hour or two since it is the afternoon rush right now."
The three followed her into Moe's quaint little home on the water, and as soon as they opened the door they discovered that it was much different on the inside. The living room was the first room that was visible to them as soon as they walked in. There was a sofa and a matching loveseat and both looked like they had been worn out years ago. The blue color that it once had was now faded to a dull blue and parts of both were torn. There was a bucket with a life ring on top and on top of that was a round piece of glass with some candles for decoration in the middle, apparently Moe had not found the time to get himself a new coffee table. There was a TV against the wall on top of an old lobster crate and next to that was another lobster crate with his record player, while his records were neatly set up on the bookshelf next to a nice collection of books.
Beyond the living room was the kitchen and a small dining room with an ordinary table and chairs, ones that looked like they were meant to be outside rather than in. The kitchen was modest with no dishwasher and an old stove that could only be turned on once you lit the gas. There were still dirty dishes in the sink and a box of chicken left out from a few days ago on the counter waiting to be thrown out. All four of them were too afraid to even go near it, afraid of what they might smell.
"Yeah, Moe works too much, I'm glad you all came, maybe he can finally clean up after himself and Mick once in a while. I would do it but I do enough of that at work and at my own house," Jenna said as she led them to the bedroom where they would be staying in.
The three entered to find a nice, cozy little room with three twin beds up against the wall, they were almost like cots but not as uncomfortable. There were three chest of drawers for their clothes and a big window on the other side of the wall with the view of the ocean in front of it all.
"Well go ahead and take your pick," Jenna said while Homer, Barney and Roger picked the beds they wanted.
Homer decided on the bed on the far side of the room, it seemed like the perfect place to him. He tested the bed and found it to be nice and comfortable before setting his suitcase on top so he could start making himself at home. Roger took the middle bed, while Barney took the one closest to the door, since he was discussing with Jenna about some of the strange decorations Moe had around the house. Both Roger and Homer were listening to Barney joke about it with Jenna, when a figure suddenly leapt onto Homer's bed. Homer jumped back in surprise before realizing it was only an orange tabby cat.
"Oh I forgot to mention Hemmingway stays here too," Jenna said.
"Hemmingway huh?" Roger said.
"Yeah Moe and I think he is a stray from the authors house a few miles from here. I guess he had enough of the tourists and decided to make his home here," said Jenna as she moved forward and picked up the purring tabby.
"Well I guess it would be nice to have someone to hug when you come home from fishing and working all day," Homer replied as he made his way to the cat and gave it a pat on the head. Hemmingway continued to purr happily letting everyone keep their attention on him. Finally Jenna put the cat down and let him wander away so the boys could unpack.
"Well you guys go ahead and unpack, relax, or do whatever you need to do, I'll be out on the porch until it's time to visit Moe. Feel free to join me when you want," Jenna said as she walked away with Hemmingway following behind her.
As she walked away, Roger stood next to Barney, staring at her butt as it swayed back and forth when she walked. He let out a satisfied sigh before turning back to the guys with a huge smile on his face
"Man I'm gonna have some good times with her," Roger said happily.
"What makes you think so?" asked Homer a little annoyed by his cheekiness.
"Because I'm gonna ask her out on a date," Roger said.
"Aww come on Roger, you've been lucky ever since you were in high school, I need a chance to finally get the girl, can't I try first and if I fail, you can take over?" asked Homer.
"Yeah Roger, Homer hasn't gotten a girl yet, and she looks like a good starter for him," Barney replied.
Roger stared at his two friends who were now gaining up on him over a girl they had just met. They were right about one thing, he was lucky to find all the girls since he was a sophomore in high school and that had been quite a few years now. He had actually gone through four, and Rosie was the longest relationship he had, he still kind of missed her on occasion. He was now wondering if there was someone better on the island, there had to be tons of them so why not let the dud finally get a shot.
"Alright make your move when you are ready, just don't go too quickly, get to know her for a few days or a couple of weeks. If it doesn't work out, let me know and I'll show you how it's done," Roger replied with a sly smile.
"Oh don't worry I learned from the best and I am going knock her off her feet," Homer said as he slammed a drawer full of his clothes shut.
Roger was once again driving a few miles down the road in Key West toward Moe's Bar and Grill so that they could meet up with their old friend and learn some basics about working for him. Jenna was in the front seat giving Roger direction on where to go, while Barney and Homer sat in the backseat, both excited about meeting up with their old friend after years of not seeing him. Homer of course was also watching Roger to make sure he wouldn't try anything funny with Jenna; he wouldn't tell him right off if he did but he would later when he got the chance.
Luckily for him though, the drive was very short and it wasn't long before the group reached their destination. They parked out in front and immediately noticed how much nicer the place was than Moe's own house. The walls looked like they had been recently painted with a very soft red; the edges were colored yellow while the sign that let people come into the establishment was written at the very top in bright bold letters that could easily be seen from a distance. They wondered too if the sign was also out by the docks where the boats came in after a nice quick fishing trip. As they got further in, they noticed that the bar and grill was not blocked in by walls, in fact the entire place was open air. They could feel the wind coming from every direction and could hear Mick playing music on the open stage nearby. It was soft, tropical sounding music that made them feel right at home once they got further in.
It seemed that the rush had ended a while ago, only a few customers were there, and most were at the bar talking with friends or just sitting there contemplating about what they went through during the day. There were still a few at the tables, but they looked like they had finished their meal a while back and were just conversing about random topics. But they stopped thinking about the crowd when Jenna brought them over to Moe, who was busy cleaning out a plate left behind by one of the patrons. He stopped what he was doing once the three boys were within earshot of him.
"Well if it isn't Barney Gumble and his best bud Homah Simpson," Moe replied with his strong accent as he ran out of the bar area and gave Barney a big bear hug, a feat for someone like him who was so scrawny compared to Barney.
"It's great to see you again Moe, Springfield hasn't been the same without you," Barney said.
"Yeah that happens from time to time, but when the opportunity knocks, you got to answer it and see how it affects the way you live," Moe said as he turned to the new guy he hadn't met. "Oh hey is this Rogah?"
"Yes sir, that's me, ready to work for you," Roger said as he shook Moe's hand.
"Wow this is great, you don't know how happy I am to have you guys, I trust the trip went well for you all," Moe said.
"Oh yeah it was a lot of fun," Homer said.
"Well good, good! So now that you're finally here go ahead and take a seat, listen to Mick play and enjoy the evening. You guys want refreshments?" Moe asked.
The boys looked at each other; apparently they did not realize they were old enough to drink alcoholic beverages there. The state Springfield was in, raised the age to twenty-one about three years ago. Florida was still letting people over eighteen drink and this was now an advantage to the boys, just as long as Homer did not get carried away.
"I'll have a Duff," Barney replied as he sat on a nearby stool while Homer and Roger joined him.
"Alright one Duff on the house, how 'bout you Homah?" asked Moe as he poured a glass for Barney.
"Hmmm…I think I'll have a Kahlua Mudslide," Homer replied while looking at the selection that Moe could do.
"Oh excellent choice, what's nice too is that you can have about four before you really get buzzed, and you don't get knocked out unless you have way too many," Moe said proudly while he dug around for the ingredients.
"And I see you have Sex on the Beach, I've been wanting to try that," Roger said proudly.
"Oh I've been meaning to cover that one up, I'm out of Peach Snapps, didn't realize it until someone asked me earlier. So you can choose anything that doesn't need that stuff in there," Moe said sheepishly. He hated running out of things and he felt bad for the customer who had come in just for that earlier.
"How about the Brass Monkey then?" Roger asked.
"Coming right up," Moe said.
"You know we should probably toast to a successful new job venture we're going through," said Homer.
Both Barney and Roger murmured in agreement. Well Roger anyway, Barney was busy gulping down his Duff. But he seemed to agree.
"If you're going to toast, I'll join you guys, wanna make sure my bar is successful with you nitwits," Moe said as he poured himself a glass of Heineken.
Once Moe got his drink ready he raised his glass in front of Homer, Barney and Roger, smiling happily. The boys followed suit waiting for Moe to begin the toast.
"To this bar, may it have many years of great fortune and fame," Moe replied.
"To us, may we eat, drink and be merry even while working," Barney said and took another swig before everyone else could finish the toast.
"Uh I would not recommend that Barn," Moe said worriedly.
"Well then let's just be merry," Barney said with a burp.
"To friends, may we cherish them until we are too old to guzzle beer down our throats," Homer said.
"And to all of us finding the right girl, may we all get lucky," Roger said.
And with that, all four glasses clinked together before the boys let out a rowdy and happy cheer. It was the beginning of a new life, the beginning of something grand, and the beginning of a great adventure.
A/N: I would like to apologize for the long wait; I'm currently in transition, moving about from place to place. I'm still waiting for a job offer and thanks to that I am stuck with family. It took me a few weeks to find a really nice spot to relax and write and when I finally did I was very happy because it's very annoying when you cannot find a comfortable enough place to sit down and use your imagination. So I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and that the wait was worth it, I know this was more of an introduction chapter but don't worry we will get to some interesting stuff soon. Jenna is very important so keep an eye on her. And Moe's accent is probably a bit off, I'm still trying to get it right so I apologize for anything that seems odd about him.
So please review, a lot of people seem to have lost interest and that makes me feel a bit sad. I know I get a lot of readers; I have the stats to prove it. So don't be shy tell me what you like and stuff. Any way that's all for now, I will try to update sooner.