Sherry's Sanctuary - Ch. 12

Thanks again to everyone for their support of the story so far. Special thank-you's to Gamblinluck and CurrentParameter.

I'm starting to add a lot of new characters over the last couple and next few chapters. I'm doing a quick character list here to help everyone keep up.

Claude Breaux- Narrator of the story. Has a strong hatred for slavery.

Sherry Breaux- Claude's older sister. Took responsibility for protecting Claude after their mother died a year ago.

James Breaux- Claude's father. Deceased. Tormented the family after Claude's mother died. Just died in a drunk driving accident.

Jason Breaux- Claude's older brother, and Sherry's twin. Has been distant from the family. Strongly shares his father's beliefs.

Sophia Breaux- Claude's mother. Deceased. Died from a brain tumor at beginning of the story. Claude worshiped her.

Ellie Deveaux- Slave to Breaux family, 10 year sentence

Simon Penzetti- Slave to Breaux family, 15 year sentence

Nicole Williams- Deceased. Single mother killed by James in drunk driving accident

Michelle Williams- Daughter of Nicole. Sherry takes her and her sister in after the accident.

Mindy Williams- Michelle's younger sister.

Kenny Thibodeaux- Claude's best friend. Always been a friendly competitiveness between them. #3 of 7 kids (Cindy, Ben, Kenny, Gloria, Jimmy, Ava, Harper). Jack and Candace parents. Kenny currently lives with the Breaux family.

Micheal Buchannon- Like an uncle to family. Current CEO for the Breaux family shipping business.

Mark Thibodeaux- Kenny's cousin. Released slave. Not accepted by his family.

Gabby Smith- Sherry's college roommate.

Constance Hebert- CPS worker

The following characters are "borrowed" from GamblinLuck's Slave Camp stories. Please refer to those stories for more information about these characters.

Dr. Marge Angelle- Doctor for the Breaux family. Strong need to protect Claude and Sherry.

Kathy Bishop- Police officer.

Many more characters are going to be introduced as I continue the story. I will periodically update this list as needed.

Chapter 12- Carry on

I don't know how far we made it into the movie, but Michelle was asleep before I was. Still, I don't think I was that far behind. I was a little confused when my phone alarm went off about six. I quickly shut it off and took in my surroundings. I obviously had fallen asleep in front of the TV. Then I noticed someone was leaning against me. Michelle Williams was asleep on my shoulder! Everything that had happened yesterday came back in a flood. Michelle had just lost her mom, so I needed to not be an insensitive jerk and instead just be there for her. So, I gently removed myself and laid her down on the couch. I put a blanket over her and quietly left.

After a quick stop in the bathroom, I made my way to the kitchen. I checked what all we had and started laying things out for breakfast. I figured everyone would be pretty tired, so they would probably sleep in. I was wrong. By the time I had gotten pans out and the skillet warmed, people started wandering in and sitting around the table. I was glad we had bought the new table, as we wouldn't have seats for everyone otherwise.

Kenny was the first to enter. Seeing me, he started setting the table and pouring milk and juice into jugs. We must not have been as quiet as we were trying to be because Michelle entered shortly after. We were just greeting her when Ellie came in from the pool house.

"Oh man, I am going to have fun teasing you," Kenny told her. "I told you, Claude and I have breakfast handled."

Ellie stuck her tongue out at him and replied, "I am just grabbing a coffee. I have no problem with you two cooking breakfast. And I warn you, if you tease Simon, I will never make prime rib again."

Kenny grabbed his heart pretending to have a fake heart attack.

"Such cruelty! To deprive a man of his prime rib is against the Geneva Convention. If you were to do that, I would have you up on charges for war atrocities."

Michelle whispered to me, "Does he just like prime rib that much or is hers that good?"

"Both. Kenny has been addicted to it since he tried it for the first time last year. But Ellie's prime rib is a thing of legend. She made it for our birthdays last month and was one of the best things I have ever eaten. You probably don't know this about our old second grade teacher, but she was a chef in college, and she has lost none of her skills. Sorry, your first two meals here are being made by me and Kenny. Knowing Ellie, though, she probably has something special in mind for lunch or dinner tonight."

Michelle went and sat beside Ellie, who, true to her word, just sat at the table and let us cook. I let Kenny handle the sausage and bacon, while I hopped between the pancakes on the skillet and eggs in frying pan (scrambled because they're easiest and who doesn't like scrambled eggs). As we were finishing cooking, Michelle said she was going to go wake up Mindy.

"No need, look who I found coming out of her room," Sherry announced as she entered the kitchen holding Mindy's hand. Sherry had a red folder in the other hand. My sister was up to something. Mindy was clutching both Princess Penelope and Prince Albert in a Can tightly, while still rubbing her eyes. She let go of Sherry's hand and ran to take a seat next to Michelle, pushing her chair as close as she could. I needed to talk with Sherry later and make sure they would not be split up if they decided not to stay. Anyone that tried to separate those two should be collared. Simon came in a few minutes later and sat down next to Ellie. Everyone was looking at them.

"All right, you lot," Ellie scowled, "you're not going to get any information out of either of us, so stop your snooping."

We all laughed. Kenny and I laid the platters out on the table and everyone started eating. Mindy was even cuter than she had been the previous evening. She tried a little of a pancake, looked up at us with a smile, and then became a human vacuum cleaner. That little girl could eat. It was apparent the pancakes were her favorite.

"Whoa, Little One," Kenny teased her. "Where are you putting all those pancakes? How do you have any room for more?"

Mindy smiled and grabbed another pancake. I looked at Sherry, who was staring at Mindy with a smile. We both knew this little girl was just what our group needed. Her sweetness and innocence just lifted the mood. God, I hoped they stayed with us. We just might be what they needed too. Sherry stopped admiring Mindy and addressed the group.

"Everyone filled up? Good. We have a few things we need to go over this morning." She opened the folder and pulled out a notepad. "Mindy, you already know Ms. Ellie, and you met Claude and I last night. But there are two others we need to introduce you to. First is Simon."

Simon waved to her.

"Simon is a really nice man. He just looks scary. He's a softie, though. And the skinny goofball next to him is Kenny. You met Kenny's mom last night. He lives here with us, and I'm sure he'll tell you that story sometime. The thing you have to know about Kenny is he is really silly but has a good heart."

Mindy quietly said hello to them both.

"So, last night after you fell asleep, we were all talking. We all want you to feel comfortable and safe here. One way we do that is we make rules for the house. Did you have house rules at your apartment?"

Mindy nodded.

"But were you a part of making those rules?"

That got her attention. Mindy stopped eating pancakes and stared wide-eyed at Sherry while shaking her head.

"Well in this house we are all family. And as such, we make rules together. So, we came up with a few last night, but I wanted to make sure you have a chance to vote on them and also to suggest any rules you may like. It that cool?"

Mindy looked at Sherry with awe. Slowly she nodded her head.

"Then let's all review the ones we came up with last night and then we'll see if Mindy has any new ones."

Sherry proceeded to go over the rules we had come up with, emphasizing that it was ok to give Kenny pops on the head. Mindy had questions about what 'corporal' meant, but overall understood what the rules were and agreed they were good. Sherry then asked her if she had rules to propose.

"Umm... Is the room I was in last night the one I will be staying in?" Mindy asked.

Sherry said if she wanted it to be that could be her room.

"And the bathroom connected to it?"

Sherry said yes.

"Then can we make a rule that no one can go into my bathroom? We only had one bathroom at our apartment and Michelle kept walking in on me."

Michelle apologized for that with a smile.

"It's ok. I just don't want anyone walking in on me," Mindy said shyly.

The table chuckled.

"Mindy, that sounds like a great rule. Can I make one little adjustment? Can you allow Ms. Ellie to come into your bathroom to clean it. She'll knock first, I promise."

Mindy said that would great.

"Then let me write that down as Rule #7..."

"Are you sure you should be writing it down, Sherry," Kenny asked. "You are trying to become a doctor, and it will do nobody any good to have a list of rules no one can read. Isn't there some sort of requirement in med school that you have to take a course in bad penmanship?"

"Fine, you jerk. Ellie, would be so kind as to take notes? I trust her penmanship will be good enough for your highness?"

"If it is half as good as her cooking, it'll be four times better than your chicken scratches."

Sherry rolled her eyes and continued. "Moving on. Mindy, are there any other rules you would like?"

Mindy obviously had another one but seemed too shy to ask. She looked up with big eyes to her sister, who told it was ok to ask. Mindy took a deep breath and quietly asked, "Can we have pancakes for breakfast every day?"

Sherry did her best to stifle her giggles.

"I don't know about every day, but I bet if you asked Ms. Ellie, she would make them at least once or twice a week. Let's not make that a rule because Ms. Ellie works hard, and we don't want to make her do too much."

"That's fair. But can Claude make the pancakes sometimes? These are so good!"

Now I needed a heart transplant, because that just melted mine.

"Mindy, I would be honored to make you pancakes," I replied solemnly. Then I turned to Ellie, "You have competition now. She likes MY pancakes."

Ellie stuck her tongue out at me.

"Any other rules," Sherry asked.

Everyone shook their heads.

"Then let's go over what we have going on today. First, thank you, Kenny and Claude, for making breakfast. I'm surprised how good it is. But on to other topics. We're going to have a lot of people coming and going today. Mike is going to drop a copy of Dad's will off this morning. Jason is supposed to be here this afternoon. Sometime today, Gabby is dropping off my stuff from the apartment. And Kenny's mom was going to stop by. In the meantime, we need to take Michelle and Mindy to get some things from their apartment. Michelle, Claude, and Kenny, what all do you guys have going on at school this week?"

"It's the last week before Christmas break, so most of our teachers are just showing movies and stuff, I don't have any tests scheduled," I replied with Michelle and Kenny saying they were in the same boat.

"Ok," Sherry said. "I'm going to call your school and Mindy's school and let them know what all happened. I'm probably going to ask for them to excuse you from classes for the week. We are probably going to have a lot to do. Has everyone eaten enough? Good. Why don't we all get showered, and everyone, remember to respect Mindy's bathroom rules. We'll meet back here in an hour. Cool?"

Everyone agreed and started to get up. Sherry asked Ellie and me to stay behind. When we were alone, she turned to me.

"Sleep well last night?" She asked grinning.

"I had trouble falling asleep. I went downstairs to watch TV and Michelle..."

Oh, that's what this is all about. Both Sherry and Ellie were grinning widely at me.

"Go to hell. I take it you saw us on the couch. Nothing happened. I'm not that big an asshole."

Ellie broke out laughing.

"I'm sorry, Claude. I have just never seen you so nervous around anyone before. You really like her, don't you?"

I know I was blushing. I wanted to get away from this conversation, but I knew I could trust them.

"Yes, I do. But it doesn't matter. Dad killed her mom. She wouldn't want anything to do with me."

They stopped laughing then and gave me a look I had often seen adults give children. It was that, 'Just wait until you're older look'.

"Don't give me that condescending look. If I was old enough to do the fight with Dad, I'm old enough for you two to just spit it out. What are you trying to tell me? I should just forget about it and move on?"

Sherry took my hand.

"Claude, we're sorry. We were just teasing you a little. But in all seriousness, that is not what we are telling you. She likes you too. It's obvious. But she is in a very delicate place right now. We're just suggesting you take it slow for the moment. Let her grieve and process all the changes happening to her right now."

"So, I should just ignore my feelings," I said depressingly.

"No," Ellie replied. "Don't ignore them, just control them for right now. Just keep being the supportive friend you have been. When she is ready, she will see what she is feeling. Don't try to push things. Let it happen naturally. And I am speaking from experience. All my past relationships were a disaster. I rushed into them, never got to know the person first, and it ended in tears and heartbreak every time. Now, as strange as it sounds, even though it's only been one night, I feel I have found my soulmate. Simon and I had no choice but to let things progress naturally. We never even thought we would progress beyond longing for each other. But that gave us time to let our feelings truly develop. We are going into this with our eyes opened. Because we were forced to wait, we got a chance to really get to know each other. And that makes everything so much sweeter. Do you understand what I am trying to tell you?"

I thought about what they were saying.

"What you are saying is to respect what she is going through right now, just be the friend she needs, and don't try to force a relationship before it's ready. Basically, if I just be there for her, she will come to me when she is ready?"

Sherry smiled.

"You got it, Ace."

"But, again, why would she come to me anyway? Why would she want to be with the son of the man who killed her mother?"

Sherry rolled her eyes at me.

"Damn it. Because of the new rules of the house, I have to call you Kenny for a minute." Then she popped me upside the back of my head. "There. Stop being an idiot. I saw you two on the couch last night when I came down for a drink. No woman will cuddle up like that to a man she wasn't at least a little attracted to. If I hadn't told Ellie and Simon to take some time for themselves, I would have run to pool house and grabbed her to look at you two. It was the sweetest thing I have ever seen. Claude, she likes you. Anyone on the outside can see that. But like we said, she is going through so much right now. Think back to how you were after Mom died. Would you have been in any shape to get into a relationship?"

I admitted I wouldn't have been.

"Well, she is in the same boat. Only worse. Think about that time after Mom died. You had been preparing for her death for months, Michelle did not have that luxury."

I couldn't argue, as I had said almost the exact same thing the night before.

"You still had a family, as fucked up as it was, she doesn't. Sure, she doesn't have the threat of Dad looming over her, but she doesn't have a support system that she can trust yet. She doesn't realize the support she could get from the five of us. You had that very early in your grieving process. Most importantly, you did not have a younger sibling that had no one to rely on but you, she does, and at only fifteen. Now all she can think about is protecting Mindy. She isn't even allowing herself time to take care of herself. Mindy is the only thing she can think of right now. She doesn't have the capacity to think about whatever feelings she may have for you. But she will. So, be patient. If you keep being the wonderful person you are, she will come to you. I promise. She really does like you."

I had a little hope. What they were saying made a lot of sense, and I had pretty much been telling myself the same thing, minus the part that she might actually like me. It seems the best thing I could do is keep doing what I was doing. Just curb my expectations for a while. I could do that. But something they said bothered me.

"I get what you are saying," I began, "but one thing you brought up makes me worried. You said she is not even allowing herself to grieve. That can't be healthy. Shouldn't we do something about it?"

Ellie spoke up then.

"Unfortunately, there's not much we can do. People grieve and process loss differently. Some break down immediately. Others ignore their pain and let it build up inside. Often, we see what we are seeing with Michelle, they put all their focus on making sure everyone else is ok, Mindy in this case, and they use that to avoid what they are feeling themselves. Usually, it will finally build to a point it can't be ignored anymore and it all comes crashing down on them at once. Our job is to be there for support when that happens."

They gave me a lot to think about. I thanked them and went up to take my shower. As I left the kitchen I heard Sherry whisper to Ellie, "Ok, we're alone. I'm ordering you to give me the scoop. And spare no details." They both giggled quietly and huddled up like two little schoolgirls. I was happy that Simon and Ellie were finally able to be together. And from the smile on Ellie's face, she was too.

=============

After showering, I headed back to the kitchen. Simon, Michelle, and Mindy were already sitting at the table. Kenny, Sherry and Ellie must have still been getting ready. I stood just outside the doorway and listened to the conversation. Mindy was asking Simon all sorts of random questions. Then giggling at all his responses. I think she just liked the way he talked and was doing anything she could to get him to speak. Simon did not seem to mind at all.

"I see Simon is being a chatterbug again," I said to Mindy as I sat down. "Sometimes he talks so much we need to put a muzzle on him. One time he was talking and talking and we all left. When we came back an hour later, he was still just talking and talking."

"Nah uh. Simon only speaks when he has too. So don't pick on him," Mindy scolded me.

Simon laughed out loud at that.

"Is good. Thank you, Ms. Mindy. Very wise. Mr. Claude being mean. All your attention on me. Make me happy, Mr. Claude jealous." He continued to smile at her and Mindy beamed.

Kenny came in about then and joined us.

"You know, I've been thinking. I know we just got this table, but we should look at getting a round one. Mindy, do you know the story of King Arthur?"

Mindy nodded.

"Then you know all about the Knights of the Round Table. Well, we are all like those knights, so we should have a round table, right."

Mindy again nodded vigorously.

Turning back to me he said, "Claude, has it ever occurred to you we live in this gigantic house, and almost everything we do is centered in the kitchen or the pool house?"

"Funny you should mention that. I was talking to Sherry a while ago about that same thing. When we are home, we are either in our rooms, the kitchen, the gym, or the pool house. Well, the parlor too, but I don't want to think about that." I replied.

Sherry came in then.

"Think about what?"

"Kenny was just pointing out how most of our time here is in the kitchen or the pool house," I told her. "Oh, and he thinks we should get a round table so we can be like the Arthurian Knights."

Sherry thought for a moment.

"I think a round table that will fit our growing family would be too big for the kitchen. But you're right, Kenny, the kitchen and pool house have been our main areas. Maybe we should look at remodeling or expanding on them. Something to think about later."

Ellie came in at that moment, and she apologized for keeping everyone waiting. Sherry shushed her.

"Don't be silly. Most of us just got here. Anyway, let's get started with our day. Ellie, I know you had planned a big meal for today, but can it keep for a day or two?"

Ellie responded it could.

"Great. I have a feeling with everyone coming and going today, it is going to get really hectic here. So, can we have stuff for grazing throughout the day? That way people can grab what they want as time permits."

"I have just the thing, Sherry," Ellie responded.

It was so nice not to hear the Master and Mistress anymore.

"I can make chili in a slow cooker, and everyone can just grab a bowl when they feel like it. I'll also whip up some cornbread and leave out crackers."

Kenny was drooling by this point.

"Ellie, don't tease me. Are you talking about the chili you made after the fourth of July? The one WITHOUT beans?"

When Ellie nodded, Kenny let out a cheer.

"Oh Mindy, are you in for a treat. Do you like chili?"

Mindy nodded.

"Well, Ellie makes the best chili. Not too spicy but exploding with flavor. You and Michelle are going to love it."

Sherry tied to get the conversation back on track.

"Kenny, you think with your stomach. Moving on, Claude and Kenny, can you give Michelle and Mindy a quick tour of the house and grounds? Then Simon and I will take the girls over to their apartment to get whatever they need. I need you two to stay here in case Gabby comes while we are at the apartment. Help her unload everything and please try to talk her into staying for a while. At least make sure she gets lunch. When we get back, Mike should be stopping by. Kenny, your mom is stopping by after work, do you know when she gets off?"

Kenny said around 3:30.

"Ok, so she and Jason will probably be coming over around the same time. That could be good. So, everyone clear on what we doing right now? Any questions?"

Surprisingly it was Simon who spoke up.

"If may, Ms. Sherry? Maybe stop and get board games or other distractions?"

Sherry stared at him. They were having another one of their silent conversations. I wish I knew how they did that.

"I see what you're saying," Sherry responded. "That's a good idea. Ok, Kenny and Claude, after we leave for the apartment and you are waiting on Gabby, can you two go rearrange the pool house living room so it is more conducive to playing games?"

We said we could.

"Then let's get to it."

Kenny, Michelle, Mindy and I left for the house tours, but Simon, Ellie and Sherry stayed at the kitchen. I asked what they were doing.

"I need to talk to the two of them about some logistics. Nothing to worry about, I'll fill you in later."

I shrugged but was feeling uneasy. For the first time in a year, Sherry was lying to me.

============

Kenny and I took the girls around the house. Mindy was shocked. I don't think she had ever been in a house this big before. Michelle hid her reactions a little better, but she was a little overwhelmed with the size as well. We ended the house part of the tour with the basement. Mindy had a blast sitting in the seats of the theatre.

"This is just like being at the movies. Do you watch a lot of movies here?" she asked.

"You know, we don't, but we should," Kenny said. "I think I'm going to talk to Sherry about us having a movie night once a week down here. How does that sound to you?"

Mindy enthusiastically agreed.

"What are your favorite types of movies?"

Mindy got quiet. She was embarrassed to tell us. I picked up on that and came to her rescue. I knelt down and quietly spoke to her.

"You know, Kenny, Simon and I watch a lot of martial arts movies, and Sherry and Ellie like those silly romantic movies with all the kissing and lovey-dovey stuff," I scrunched my face in disgust and Mindy giggled and agreed the lovey-dovey movies were gross. Looking around, I leaned in secretly. "But the ones I really like are the Disney movies."

I really had Mindy's attention now.

"You know Lilo and Stich, Alladin, even the really old ones like Sleeping Beauty or Cinderella. My favorite, though, is Lady and the Tramp. Yep, that one is my favorite by far. Would you help me in suggesting one of those? I don't want Kenny to tease me."

Mindy agreed immediately.

We moved through the game room and into the gym. Mindy ran up to one of the hanging bags and started punching it.

"Whoa, little one," Kenny said. "You're going to hurt your wrist hitting like that. Let me show you how to do it right."

Kenny gave her a quick lesson in how to punch so you don't hurt your hand or wrist. As he was doing that, I was watching Michelle smile at her sister. After instructing Mindy on how to punch he then placed her in front of the bag. He moved around the back and stabilized it.

"Ok, little one. Just like we practiced. Hit the bag with everything you got."

Mindy concentrated on everything Kenny had showed her, and let loose. For a tiny girl, she actually hit the bag with a decent amount of force. Not as powerful as Kenny made it out, though. Once she hit the bag, Kenny jumped back like he had been thrown and landed on his butt.

"Wow, you may hit harder than Simon. I'm going to have watch out for you."

Mindy just continued giggling and asked if she could try again.

"Maybe Kenny can take you down here later and you can try some more, but unfortunately we need to continue on the tour."

Mindy looked a little disappointed but agreed. I noticed as we left the basement, she was holding Kenny's hand. He looked a little surprised but went with it. Leaving the basement, I looked back at the punching bag. It gave me an idea for later.

We moved onto the grounds. As we went through the kitchen, I saw that Simon and Sherry had left, but Ellie was finishing up the dishes. I told Ellie we could have taken care of them after the tour, but she just told us "Is good". We all laughed at that and went out the glass door to the pool deck. Mindy spun to Kenny with big eyes.

"You have a pool?"

Kenny nodded.

"Umm, I have had a few swim lessons, but I'm not that good." She was ashamed to admit that but was fascinated by the pool. Kenny didn't miss a beat.

"That's ok," he said. "You just so happen to have two almost professional swimmers living here."

What the hell was an almost professional swimmer? Still, he had her attention.

"Yep, Claude and I are some of the best swimmers in Louisianna, and we would love to teach you to be one too. Want to become an almost professional swimmer too? Can you work hard?"

She said she would, and we continued on. We showed them around the deck, the grounds, and the pool house. Then moved to the garage.

Mindy had not let go of Kenny's hand since the basement. When we entered the garage, however, Kenny was forgotten and she ran up and down looking at all the cars. When she saw the Gallardo, she froze. Even though we would have to wash and rewax it later, it was worth it to see her touching every part of the car. Pressing her face up against the glass to look inside. She was trying to figure out what the spaceship looking car was. Kenny grabbed the keys out of the key box and pressed the remote to unlock it. Mindy jumped back hearing the car chirp, but Kenny told her to go ahead and sit inside. Which she did. Kenny got in the passenger side.

Seeing the two clearly occupied for the foreseeable future, I noticed Michelle was no longer by me. I saw her slowly walking to the end of the garage. She had seen the Stingray and was enthralled. I walked up beside her.

"You like the Corvette?"

Mindy never stopped looking at the car. "I think my Dad had one like this. Mom told me he had saved for years to afford it. His was red, though, and not in as good shape as this one. Mom was so sad when she had to sell it after he died. I think it was the very last thing she sold of his."

I patted her on her shoulder and said, "When you get your driver's license, you are welcome to drive it whenever you want."

She looked at me shocked. I smiled at her reaction.

"It's fine. As far as I know, my father only took it out once after it was completed. A car like this deserves to be driven. Out of all the cars here, this one is the one I am most eager to drive. Come to think of it, now that Dad is gone, Simon can take us out on drives in it."

Michelle's shock kept growing.

"You guys would let us drive one of these?"

I told her of course, why wouldn't we?

"Can I ask an inappropriate question? How rich are you guys? I mean I knew you had money, but you never acted like the other rich kids. And you're best friends with Kenny, who, from what I hear, doesn't have a lot of money. But I looked at the house, the cars, all the art work; you guys seem to be the 1%."

I laughed at that.

"I'm not sure we are part of the 1%, but my family does have a lot of money. I'm not really sure how much money we have. I know we have a lot of different trusts, each of us kids have some big one that we get access to at 25, but my father never went into details about how much we really have. I know it sounds elitist, but I have never really thought about the money. I guess it is easier to do that when you have money. Still, money doesn't make a person, what they do makes a person. Look at Kenny, when you look at the two of us, we are complete opposites regarding money. But he's still my best friend, and it has never been an issue between us. He's a great guy and if I had let money decide who I would be friends with, we never would have been friends."

"You're a confusing guy, Claude. Do you know that?"

I laughed and asked how I'm confusing.

"Some of the girls at school come from a lot of money, and they make sure everyone knows it. Putting others down because of their clothes or other petty things. Those ones are easy to ignore. Then there are the ones who pretend like their money doesn't matter to them, but it is obvious it does. They're actually worse than the ones who flaunt their money. The ones who pretend it doesn't matter to them still find ways to make those of us who are poor know we are 'less than' them. They do it subtly, but the jabs and putdowns are still there. Then there's you. You're not pretending. You really don't care about the money, do you?"

This made me pause.

"I'm not sure if I can say I don't care about the money. I think it's more that I don't think money should play a role in who you are friends with or how you should think of others. I know that I have a good life financially, but the last year has really driven home the point of money doesn't buy happiness. I may have had all my needs taken care of monetarily, but I would give most of it away if we could have avoided all the shit that went down."

Michelle was about to respond when she was almost knocked off her feet by Mindy barreling into her and wrapping her arms around her sister.

"Michelle, this place is awesome! Can we stay here? Please," Mindy begged.

Michelle told her that they had some things to sort out still, but she would see what she could do. That seemed enough for Mindy, and we all went back to the house.

As we left the garage, Michelle whispered to me, "I would love to take a ride in the Corvette, if that's ok."

============

No one was in the kitchen when we returned. Even though I had eaten less than two hours ago, the smell of the chili cooking made me hungry all over again. Kenny was affected as well. He checked to see if Ellie was around, and then snuck over to the slow cooker. He was about to lift the lid, when...

"Kenny! You touch that lid and I'll dig the paddle out of the trash myself!" Ellie pronounced loudly as she entered. "Now get away from there."

Kenny had to try to defend himself. "Oh, Ellie, I was just making sure the lid was tight. With all the incredible smells in here, I assumed the lid must have come off." Kenny gave his innocent look again.

"Don't try that innocent act on me, young man. I know your game. Now scoot!" Ellie advanced on him, brandishing a wooden spoon like a mace. Kenny knew that this was a battle he would not win. He held up his hands and slowly backed away. Mindy was laughing and saying not to cross Ms. Ellie. Sherry and Simon observed the scene as they came in.

"What's the goofball done now?" she asked.

Ellie said she was just practicing a little culinary defense. Sherry shook her head.

"You girls ready to go?" They nodded.

"Then let's get to it."

She, Simon and the girls left the house. I grabbed Kenny to go rearrange the pool house. Ellie stood guard over the chili, wooden spoon and all.

It only took about fifteen minutes to set up the pool house living room, so we went back to the kitchen to keep Ellie company. The smells had increased as Ellie had started cooking the corn bread. It was difficult to concentrate on anything with the aromas of Ellie's cooking. To distract ourselves, I asked Ellie if there was anything we could do. Everything was cooking, so she asked us to help clean up the kitchen. We all looked at each other, as if we were in a Mexican standoff. It reminded me of the finale of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Each of us frozen in place, bodies taunt, carefully eying the other two. Suddenly, Kenny and I both leaped from our chairs and dashed towards the end of the counter. Ellie was right behind us.

This had become a little game the three of played when we were alone and cleaning. Whoever got to the sound system in the kitchen first, got to choose the music. This was no small matter. We had very differing tastes in music. Ellie, not surprisingly, loved classical music. Kenny had a thing for country, which was one of the few things we disagreed on. I don't know if Kenny really liked country music, or if he just knew how much Ellie and I hated it. But if he won this race, we would all be listening to songs about broken down pickup trucks and dead dogs. For me, it was all about classic rock. Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, The Who, Aerosmith, Deep Purple, it didn't matter to me, I loved them all. But Led Zepplin would always hold the top spot for me. Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham; who, besides maybe the Beatles, could hold a candle to them? I was operating on little to no sleep. Classical music would put me in a coma, and if I had to listen to Kenny's country music, I would probably commit suicide.

Needless to say, I sprinted as fast as I could to win. Ducking under Ellie I got to the system first and did the victory dance (another part of our game). They both groaned good naturedly, and I hit my playlist.

I think Kenny and Ellie actually like classic rock, as I have caught each of them many times over the years listening to my playlists. Still, it made the game more fun when we pretended to be bummed if our music wasn't chosen. We spent the next forty-five minutes cleaning, dancing around, singing along, and just having a great time. As we were finishing, I heard the gate alarm.

"That must be Gabby. Kenny, can you help me with the unloading?"

I had to laugh as Ellie changed the music as soon as we left. Score one for Ellie. She just smiled at me. We buzzed Gabby in, and she pulled up in front of the house a minute or two later.

"Hey, Gabby. Have any trouble finding the place?"

"None at all. But I am in desperate need for a bathroom," Gabby said smiling, shifting from foot to foot.

I laughed and showed her into the house, pointing to the bathroom. Kenny was unusually quiet. I turned to him, and it took everything I had not start laughing. Kenny was just staring after her. He reminded me of that old cartoon wolf who kept drooling over the pretty lady. Oh yeah, Kenny was in love. I nudged him and told him to stop staring.

"Dude, that's Sherry's roommate? Why hasn't she ever been over to the house?"

I asked him if he would have invited someone over, knowing my father could be home.

"Fair enough, but... Wow!"

"Yeah, but she is seven years older than you, and Sherry would make sure no one ever found your body if you tried anything with her," I replied.

"Ok, I see your point, but man, she is hot."

Gabby came back and I introduced her to Kenny and Ellie, then we began to unload all of Sherry's boxes from the Suburban. We were about halfway through when Sherry returned with Simon and the girls. Sherry did all the introductions and told us to leave the rest and come inside for a bit. The girls each had a couple of suitcases, and Simon was carrying what looked like half of Toys 'R Us.

Kenny and I grabbed their suitcases, while Mindy followed Simon to the pool house with all the bags. While her eyes were red from crying, she was all smiles now. I felt for the little girl. This had to be an emotional rollercoaster for her. Being at her apartment, knowing she would never be there again with her mother, had to hit hard. That's a feeling that can't be described, it's something you must experience to understand. Then she gets to go on a shopping spree for a bunch of toys. That's a lot of highs and lows for such a short period of time. She seemed ok for right now, but everything was going to catch up to her eventually. I just hoped we were around to help her through it.

Ellie let us know the chili and cornbread would be ready soon. We all sat down. Sherry told me later, all of us sitting there was one of the funniest things she had ever seen. She described it as a bad dating reality show. I was mooning over Michelle. Kenny was drooling over Gabby. Simon and Ellie were still ga-ga over each other. We're all lucky the pheromones in kitchen didn't kill us. But everyone had a good time.

Gabby agreed to stay around for a while, much to Kenny's delight. We all helped unload the two SUV's and bring the boxes and suitcases to their respective rooms. And then we sat down for some chili. It was as good as it smelled, and the cornbread was even better. I was a little worried that if Mindy moved in with us she would end up weighing 500 pounds. That kid could eat. She loved it all though. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. That happened when Mike showed up, but not alone.