Chapter 4

As Dave accompanied the kids into the house, expecting their arrival Tommy and Dil say hello to their parents "Hi, Mom, Hi Dad" they said in unison.

"Hey Champs, how was school today?" Stu questioned, his head tilted towards them, one elbow on top of the chair.

"It's been fantastic, Dad; today couldn't be better," Tommy said with a smile.

"I couldn't agree more, bro," Dil replied, agreeing with Tommy.

Didi rose from her seat and introduced herself, first to Allie. Didi looked at her and remarked, "You must be Allie."

"Yes, I am, and may I say your lightning strike steak is really cool, did you get that sprayed with a template?" Allie asked, glancing at her hair.

Kat and Dave were both taken aback by their youngest daughter's query, and Stu couldn't help but giggle at such a remark, placing his palm over his mouth to conceal his subtle laughter.

Tommy, Dil, and Beth found the unexpected remark amusing as well, but they knew better, so they kept attempting to keep straight faces, biting their own lips, and nudging each other's elbows on purpose to see who would burst out laughing first.

Kat was about to yell at Allie, but Didi took the remark in her stride, smoothing her hair and bending gently to place a hand on Allie's shoulder.

She remarked with a smile. "This isn't some sort of trendy hairstyle, this is just a grey streak, the joys of getting older, I am due to get my hair dyed again at the hairdressers"

Allie was let off the hook from Dave and Kat but opening a bad impression left from far being impressed of course, they forgot about it very quickly as Didi took it well as she accepted Dil's unusual mannerisms as a result she wasn't fazed by it.

"I am Beth by the way," said Beth.

"Lovely, to meet you Beth" said Didi, "Beth and Allie this is the Stu by the way" said Didi, gesturing her hand towards Stu.

"Hey, Beth and Allie, how are you both doing?" Stu asked.

"Doing fine" said Allie with just two words.

"I'm good, thank you Stu, Kev should be here very soon," said Beth

"I know we are both looking forward to meeting your brother" said Didi smiling.

Kev got home, joining Tommy, Dil, Allie, and Beth in the kitchen, and Kat immediately inquired about how soccer practice went.

"Hello, Kev, how was Lil's soccer practice?" Kat asked, joyfully, to see her only son return home.

Kev tried hard to suggest that hanging out with Lil was just a casual affair, saying "Yeah, it was fine Mom"

Dave made a good-natured jibe towards Kev, stating, "Oh, someone's got a girlfriend."

"Well, you jumped at the chance, didn't you, bro" cynically stated Beth

Kev's cheeks crimson, but he swiftly rejects the mocking, stating, "Lil, is not my girlfriend Dad!" "She's just my friend, that's all," he says, turning to face Beth, "I'm just keeping her company, that's all, nothing more!"

"Dave, stop embarrassing Kev!" Kat taps Dave's bouldering shoulder softly.

"I'm just messing with you son," Dave adds with one hand on Kev's shoulder.

"This is Tommy and Dil's parents, Stu and Didi" Dave went on to say.

"Hello, Kev," Stu said, smiling.

"Hi Kev, it's lovely to be able to meet you all" says Didi.

Allie inquired, "Can we have dessert before dinner?"

"Eh... no... dinner first, then dessert," Kat remarked, imposing her motherly control over mealtimes.

Dil rubbed his chin and agreed with Allie, "You know dessert before dinner sounds like a great idea"

"Well, there's a good reason why dessert comes last young man" Didi said.

Dave determines that there are too many people in the kitchen due to the food preparation, so he asks Kev, Beth, and Allie to get around to showing them their rooms.

"Okay, introductions aside, how about you three show the boys your rooms, while me and your mom, start prepping the rest of the meal".

Kev motions his hand forward, urging Beth, Allie, Tommy, and Dil upstairs to show them their bedrooms. Of course, Beth was the first to show them their room.

Beth's bedroom has everything a thirteen-year-old girl could want, including a custom-made bed, a heart-shaped bedside table with a Lava lamp, a vanity table for when she needs to do her make-up, and framed signed posters of The Sulky Boys and Emica that take pride of place on her walls.

Another framed picture that Beth treasures is one of her posing with The Sulky Boys. Tommy, who is a fan, was taken aback and had no qualms in asking Beth how she met the boyband.

"Wow! Beth!" "You're posing right next to The Sulky Boys!" exclaimed Tommy, leering at the photo.

"Sure did, Uncle Nikolai hired them to sing at my 12th Birthday Party last year," Beth replies as she delicately lifts the framed photograph from her bedside.

"They stayed for cake, and we got all kinds of cool merchandise of them," Kev recalled of the enjoyable occasion.

Without holding back, Allie crossed her arms and said, "Meh, I didn't think The Sulky Boys were that great."

"Finally, someone shares the same opinion as me!" said Dil high fiving Allie.

Tommy said to Dil "Didn't stop you from going to the concert with us, we got better seats than Angelica"

Beth shook her head, perplexed, and inquired, "Is that the Angelica who wouldn't stop talking about herself in class today?"

"Our cousin Angelica" as Tommy further elaborated.

In amazement, she questioned him. "Wait a second, forgive me for questioning you like this, so Angelica is your cousin?"

"I'm afraid so," Tommy chuckled.

"I so was glad when we would go into different classes, I don't think I could take more of it!" Beth stated as she sat on her beanbag.

"That's Angelica for you, Beth!" Said Tommy

"Yup, you said it T" Dil replied.

Tommy replied, leaning against the wall, "Tickets were like $100 each!"

Allie, standing on her head, asks him, "What?! $100 each?!"

"Yep, Allie, Sulky Boys tickets were not cheap that's for sure" Tommy added.

"How did you guys, raise the cash, $100 dollars is a lot for a pre-teen unless if you have a rich Uncle who spends money like there's no tomorrow" Kev said with a laugh.

Beth was more grounded and didn't enjoy the concept of showing off their unique family links that provided them more access than the typical kids. Kev was arrogant and show boating since he has a rich uncle who likes to indulge his nieces and nephews.

Beth quickly shuts him down, saying to her younger brother, "Kev, just because Uncle Nikolai has given us cool gifts doesn't mean we have to brag about it!"

Tommy, being at a tough age, had previously displayed signs of arrogance; after all, what pre-teen who is practically a teenager doesn't go through a phase of cocky behaviour?

He simply laughed and remarked, "If I had a wealthy uncle, I'd probably show off as well."

Dil looked at Allie, amazed at how she could stand on her for so long, then turned back to Tommy and exclaimed, "Wait?! Is Uncle Ben not wealthy?"

Tommy, unsure what to respond, tells Dil, "I couldn't tell you how rich Uncle Ben is. Anyway, to answer the question"

"Thanks to this little genius, inventing cool stuff, selling to students at school, we raised enough money for the tickets," he said, placing his hand on Dil's shoulder and smiled.

Tommy raised an eyebrow and remarked, "You never going to drop that bro?"

Tossing his shoulder to the side, he said, "You guys picked out my brains for me to invent stuff to sell, using the profits to get us all tickets to a concert I didn't even want to go to, I only went for you T!" In a low-key dramatic tone, Dil exclaimed.

Allie disapproves of what happened that day and says to Tommy, "Dude... That's pretty low man."

Kev seized the opportunity to defend his new friend, saying, "Allie, don't stir the pot if you weren't there."

Tommy gazed at the autographed poster of Emica, remembering the night a year ago when he got to walk up on stage and sing with her, making all the Emica lovers in attendance green with envy.

"Last year, we went to an Emica concert, and me and Angelica were chosen by her to go up on stage and sing with her!" Tommy grinned.

Allie completes her headstand, flips back onto her feet, and exclaims, "That's pretty cool, Tommy."

"You got to sing with Emica in person, that's so cool" Kevin added.

"Yup, got a photograph in my room, the event Photographer gave to me, that was a night to remember!" Tommy stated.

"Hard to believe that was a year ago," Dil replied, instantly forgetting why he was annoyed.

"Uncle Nikolai tried to hire Emica instead of The Sulky Boys last year but she was fully booked... so she sent me that signed poster above the wall you seen, still pretty cool though" Beth commented as she looked at the poster.

"You got to go up on stage with her, you must have been talk of the school" Kevin commented.

"You'll be surprised how quickly people forget about these things, could be hidden envy or they just don't care" Tommy stated.

Beth chose to take ten minutes for herself, which was understandable given her age; last but not least, Kev's bedroom had no special theme; he enjoys minimalism; his room has everything he needs to rest and unwind comfortably after school or just as a haven to get some space from his sisters, Tommy and Kev hung out in his room for a little while.

Dil was eager to see Allie's bedroom. Her bed was another custom-built piece by Dave; this design is one-of-a-kind since it resembles a skateboard ramp with a mattress in the middle, skateboards on the wall, and an ant farm on top of a crate; the room's aesthetic is an industrial motif.

Allie showed Dil her ant farm, which was in a self-contained glass box with sand and dozens of tunnels dug up.

Dil was fascinated by thousands of tiny dots moving fast, Allie was happy to see him so interested, it was a strange interest by normal standards, but their personalities meshed well together, giving the two a lot in common.

After finishing his examination of the ants through the glass, he strode up and down the bedroom, saying, "Allie, your room is so cool! It's like having a skate park in your bedroom!"

Allie was ecstatic to see his attention, and she couldn't wait to show him a poster of her skateboarding idol.

"Tyler Eagles, the world's best skateboarder, he's a multi time Extreme Sports Series champion," said Allie pointing at the picture.

Dil inquired about Allies' interest in skateboarding by asking, "Do you practice skateboarding often?"

Allie looks proudly at her skateboard collection before returning her gaze to Dil.

"Yes, as much as I can, Dad took me to Madtown Skatepark a couple months ago, for having borderline acceptable grades at my old school, they have such awesome skaters, that's where I learned to do an Olly" she said.

Dil noticed another poster with a music artist on it and asked Allie who she was. "Allie, who's this in the poster, is she a singer?"

Allie couldn't help but smile, eager to introduce Dil to her musical tastes.

Allie says with a fast air guitar motion, "This is Punk Rock sensation April Devine!" Sulky Boys and Emica have nothing on her; Punk Rock is a league of its own!"

The doorbell rings, and Kat opens it to be greeted by Lou's arrival; of course, he couldn't pass up the opportunity to enjoy a supper that he didn't have to cook.

"Hello, you must be Lou Pickles, please come in and make yourself at home," Kat as she opened the door to let him in.

True to form, Lou bows and extends his arm, offering her a fresh apple pie that he cooked earlier that same afternoon.

"That I am, and may I ask what your name is?" was the reply from Lou.

"Lovely! My favourite treat is homemade apple pie!" "I am Kat Kawalski, and everyone is in the kitchen," Kat said as she took the apple pie from him.

She locked arms with Lou and he says to her, "Well, thank you for inviting me to dinner, Kat."

Kat replied with a grin, "It's our pleasure, we wanted to meet the rest of the family, my in law's will be here soon, hope you don't mind the extra company"

"That's totally fine by me," said Lou.

Kat introduces him to Dave "Dave this is Lou, he kindly baked some homemade apple pie"

Dave places the apple pie on the countertop and then introduces himself "Good, evening, Lou it's nice to finally meet you, Stu and Didi have been speaking a lot about you" shaking his hand.

"I hope you've been saying nice things about me," Lou replied sarcastically as he returned his handshake and threw a brief glance towards Stu and Didi.

"Of course, we've only said good things about you Pop," he added, a cynical undertone in his voice.

Didi was snacking on some savoury appetizers that Kat had placed out when she suggested their delectable hot beverage from their coffee machine, "Lou, you must try the coffee."

"Thank you, Dave, your parents have raised you well!" Lou says as Dave pulls out a chair for him.

"My parents taught me old fashioned values," Dave says, placing one hand on his shoulder. "Please try the coffee, got decaffeinated if it's too late to drink normal coffee," he adds.

"What the heck, I'll live in the fast lane, I'll have a triple... no wait, make it a quadruple shot latte please," Lou said, raising his finger in the air.

"Quite the daring one, Lou," Kat remarked.

"You can say it again, Kat," Didi added.

"I can agree on that," laughed Stu, who was reminded of his father's thirst for adventure.

Dave didn't want Lou to experience caffeine withdrawal symptoms, so leaning on the countertop, he respectfully offered him no more than two shots. "Lou, may I suggest taking two shots, that way you'll get the aromatic taste without the horrible crash"

"What the heck, I'll go with your suggestion," Lou smartly agreed with Dave.

When Lou's coffee was ready, Dave handed him his cup and took it from his grasp. "Thank you very much, Dave," Lou says.

"Lou, I heard you've lived an adventurous life; please tell me and Kat a bit about yourself," Dave says as he takes a seat.

"What did you for work?" Kat inquired.

After taking his first sip of coffee and appreciating the flavour, Lou explains, "After the war, I retired from the Army and quickly found work as a cook, then a small appliance repairman, and finally as a detective."

"You must have an impressive resume Lou, please tell us more about your job as a detective" Kat said.

"Now this is a story you'll want to hear," said Stu.

Dave and Kat were waiting in anticipation to hear what Lou will say in his story.

"I worked as a Detective for several years, I was primally based in LA, yes. I solved many crimes, bringing criminals to the arms of sweet lady justice" according to Lou punching his arm's out straight.

"My last assignment before I retired was in 1984, my department collaborated with the Miami branch, me and my partner Toby busted the biggest crime of that year!" stated Lou.

"The crime lord that was responsible for selling fake overpriced jeans across the Floridia state, ruining many young people's dates as they would rip easily, we got him locked up for a very long time" according to Lou

Anyway, that's a story for another time," Lou remarked as he took another sip of his coffee.

"Isn't my father-in-law exciting?" Didi exclaimed.

"Lou, I was gripped to the edge of my seat listening to you, I hope you got more great stories to tell," Dave agreed.

Stu's feet were tapping as he had to make a joke right then and there, "Well, Pop, you could say we're in the fashion police!"

Stu's pun caused Dave, Kat, Didi, and Lou to bust out laughing. A few seconds later, the doorbell rings, indicating that the children's grandparents had arrived.

"Perfect timing, dinner is almost ready" said Kat looking at the oven.

Lou said, "I'll answer the door for you."

"That's very considerate of you, I like you already!" stated Kat

Lou approached the front door and turned the doorknob; there stood an elderly couple, the woman elegantly dressed in a green full dress with a cardigan.

"Good evening, Kat called earlier today telling us we will have more company, I'm Edna Kawalski," she says, gesturing to her husband, "this is my husband Pavel, better known as Pip Kawalski."

A portly man with a huge nose, bald, glasses, and a mustache, dressed in a rolled-up sleeved shirt and smart grey trousers with suspenders, was not as warm as Edna.

Lou and Pip exchanged squinted questioning looks, implying they knew each other in the past...

Lou lets them in, closes the door, and scratches his chin, saying to Pip, "Your face looks familiar."

"I would say your face look's familiar too... but I can't quite put it where I know you from..." Pip responded.

End of Chapter 4