“We ought to get dressed so we can get over to my parents’ house,” Boon said.
“No, rush. Whenever you’re ready,” Daniel said. His words were immediately followed by a rumbling from his stomach.
“From the sounds of that, we better hurry,” Angelle said.
“I am starving,” Daniel admitted.
“Give us a second or two and we’ll be on our way,” Boon said.
Daniel watched as they both went toward the bedroom, but Boon soon walked right back out with clothes over his arm and went into the next bedroom down. A little later Angelle came out of the bedroom dressed and with her hair in a ponytail. She went into the bathroom and they could hear her brushing her teeth. By the time she was coming back into the family room, Boon was already dressed and waiting with socks on his feet.
“Shoes?” Angelle asked, looking pointedly at his feet.
Boon smiled at her. “Boots outside on the porch. I didn’t figure you’d appreciate the mud on the floor.”
“That was very thoughtful. Thank you,” Angelle said.
“My mama taught me that it’s just rude to track mud across somebody’s floor, and near dangerous to do it to your own mate,” Boon said with a grin, as he walked out of the house to get his boots on.
Daniel and Avaleigh followed Boon, but Angelle hung back for a minute, checking that the stove was off and that there was no lantern unintentionally left on.
Avaleigh watched her through the open door, then nudged Daniel.
Daniel nodded, smiling at her sudden signs of independence, and attention to things in what was obviously to them, going to be her home.
“You coming, hon?” Boon called out from the porch.
Angelle’s head turned toward the porch; she didn’t even see her parents standing there waiting. All she saw was Boon, who’d just used a term of endearment to refer to her, and it made her stomach all fluttery. “I’m coming,” she called back. She managed to smother the smile, but there was nothing she could do about the blush when she realized her parents heard Boon call her hon.
Daniel and Avaleigh descended the steps, then stood at the bottom of them, watching as Boon waited while Angelle locked the door, then joined her hand with Boon’s and they came down the steps together. Daniel’s arm rested around Avaleigh’s shoulder and he tightened his hold briefly, causing her to look up at him. They shared a knowing look, as Daniel nodded. “This could be good.”
“I think this is very good,” Avaleigh said.
~~~
Carolena sat on her deck with her feet up, sipping her coffee.
“Foouuuuaaahhhhh!” Carnage bellowed.
“Oh! That was a fantastic shot, my love,” Carolena said as she watched the gum ball soar through the air.
Carnage grinned at her and nodded. He stood across the deck from her, about three feet from the outer edge of theirback deck with a golf club in hand. He had a pile of gum balls he’d collected from nearby groves of Sweet gum trees, and was methodically working his way through them. He’d balance one precariously on a round cut of log, then stand back and line the gum ball up with his golf club, pull back and whack the hell out of it. He’d yell a warning that it was coming, “Foooouaaaahhhhh!”, then stand back and watch it go until it was out of sight.
“My do eet ‘gin,” he said, placed another gum ball on the small piece of wood he was using as a tee, and raised his club over his shoulder to whack it when he heard his name being called.
“Pop?!” Boon called from down below their raised home.
“‘Mon!” Carnage yelled. Carnage lifted his hands in the air and wrinkled up his face in an unspoken question to Carolena when Boon shouted for him, rather than just fly up and land on the deck.
“I don’t know. Ask him,” Carolena said, sipping her coffee again.
“Drop the stairs, Papa!” Boon called.
“My goff,” Carnage complained to Carolena.
“I know. But he obviously wants you to lower the stairs. Maybe he’s bringing you something.”
“Choc’ate,” Carnage said excitedly.
