It seems like I haven't published a chapter in a while... but what nonsense am I saying? It's obvious nothing like that happened.
300k words.
Enjoy.
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"You know what? It really doesn't matter," Maddie said calmly, spreading her arms. "Because I already won, he asked me out first," she continued quickly.
"Oh yeah? Well, I'll take PJ on the best date money can buy," London retorted arrogantly, feeling offended.
"What? I-" I was saying, but Maddie immediately interrupted me.
"Yeah? Well, I saw PJ shirtless," Maddie exclaimed, drawing even more attention from the people in the lobby.
I knew listening to Bob was a bad idea. What was I thinking?
"Ah," London exclaimed incredulously, "let me-" and without shame, she moved quickly, grabbing my shirt and trying to lift it.
"Oh no, you won't," Maddie, also moving quickly, pushed my hand away from my shirt and started struggling with London to stop her from moving my clothes.
"Okay, stop this," I said, using enough strength to separate their hands and holding their wrists above their heads. "It's ridiculous that you're doing this," I said, stopping their yelling and movements.
"But-" Maddie and London said in surprising synchronization.
"Nothing," I interrupted, a bit annoyed. Now everyone in the lobby was watching us. "Let's calm down," I said calmly, slowly releasing their wrists.
Maddie and London, finally noticing the commotion they were causing in the lobby, nodded, embarrassed.
"Look, I really feel very flattered, but I've only been here two days. I mean, you barely know me, London I just returned your dog," I said, making Maddie smile proudly.
"That doesn't matter, you're cute," London easily argued.
"Okay..." I said slowly, impressed by her response. "So, think about it from your own self-respect. You two are really impressive girls, I'm sure," I continued, not really knowing them that well, a bit more Maddie. "And I'm only here for two weeks. Is it really worth fighting over that?"
"He's right," Maddie said, nodding slightly, embarrassed.
"Yes, we shouldn't fight," London added.
"Yes, thank you. Instead, we all can be friends," I said relieved, but at the same time, London and Maddie spoke again, in surprising synchronization.
"We have to divide the remaining days, no fight" Maddie declared.
"May the best girl win, no fight" London added seriously.
"Wait, I didn't mean that-" I said nervously, my words misunderstood.
"Since you two went out yesterday, today is my turn," London declared, ignoring me completely.
"And since tomorrow is New Year's, we'll take a break until Friday," Maddie continued, making London nod vigorously.
"Don't I have a say in this?" I asked, my words once again falling on deaf ears.
"So be it. May the best girl win," Maddie said, shaking hands with London.
"That will be me," London declared. "I'll pick you up in a couple of hours, PJ," she added before walking towards the elevators in the lobby.
Am I a trophy man?
"Not if I win first," Maddie exclaimed, walking away from her store.
"What just happened?" I asked no one, standing alone in front of the candy store.
"Actually, I work here," Maddie said, coming back and going behind her counter, embarrassed. "Can you... you know?" she asked, moving her hand slowly.
Am I a dog now?
Feeling a headache coming on again, I decided to return to the suite for a comfortable and hot bath. I would deal with whatever happens with the girls later.
After cleaning off the sweat, my family was already ready to go and have breakfast, even Gabe, who was clearly exhausted from his effort to shovel snow.
Again, the hotel's continental buffet breakfast, which was included as a gift from the Thomas family for our stay at the Tipton, tasted surprisingly good.
"Teddy and I are going to visit an art gallery. Does anyone want to join us?" Mom asked when we finished breakfast.
"Oh no thanks, honey," Bob immediately responded as if the mere idea of going to an art gallery was nonsense, completely ignoring the look Mom was giving him.
"Zack and Cody invited me to play Risk with other kids from their school," Gabe said, equally uninterested in the art gallery.
"I don't want you to get into trouble, or shoveling snow will be the least of your worries for the rest of the days left in Boston," Mom seriously warned the boy. "And what about you, PJ? Do you want to join us?" After staring at Gabe, causing him to shrink slightly in fear, Mom asked me.
"I'd love to, but I think I have another date," I said, immediately regretting it when I saw Mom's excited face.
"With Maddie?" Mom asked, trying and failing to hide her excitement, pretending disinterest.
Teddy, who was drinking the rest of her orange juice, slammed her glass on the table, obviously upset.
Sighing, I quickly shook my head. "No, it's another girl I met. I returned her dog. It's complicated," I explained.
"Oh yeah, her dog's name is the same as the hotel," Gabe added, excitedly remembering the small animal trapped in the elevator with us.
"Not just her dog. Apparently, her father owns the hotel," I explained calmly, causing Bob to start coughing violently, seemingly choking on his own saliva.
"What?" he asked incredulously.
"Yeah, I ran into her this morning when I went out for a run. She told me some things about her life, like when her dad lost all his money in a bad investment, but luckily, he got it all back," I explained calmly.
"Do you know where you're taking her? You definitely need money. I have to call the bank," Bob said, his attitude changing suddenly, becoming completely serious and trying to stand up, quickly stopped by Mom.
"Don't interfere," Mom said, hitting Bob's shoulder, warning him with just a look, like she did with Gabe a few seconds ago.
"Don't worry about it, Dad. I don't need money," I said, at least that's what I thought. Actually, given how the fight between London and Maddie had developed, Bob was very wrong. I wouldn't be taking her; it was the other way around.
"Well, you're all missing out. Teddy and I will go enrich our culture by enjoying art," Mom said proudly, linking arms with my sister, making Gabe laugh softly, stopping immediately when he noticed Mom's gaze again.
Several minutes later, almost all the family members had left the suite. Only Bob and I remained. Bob, who was in the living room in front of the gigantic TV, seemed in a trance watching some kind of infomercial in a loop with a big smile on his face.
"Dad?" I slowly asked when the infomercial started again.
"Yeah?" Bob asked, coming out of his trance.
"Are you okay?" I asked, concerned. Since we came up from breakfast, he had been lost in his thoughts.
"Sure, I was just thinking about the future," Bob declared, smiling dreamily.
"Okay," I said, puzzled, sitting down next to him on the sofa. "Do you mind if I change the TV channel?" I asked, making Bob immediately hand me the remote.
"No, go ahead," he replied nonchalantly. "Are you going to wear that to your date?" he asked suddenly, looking at my clothes.
"Yes, why?" I asked, surprised, looking at my clothes. I was wearing one of my many polo shirts in different colors, jeans, and regular shoes.
"Oh, no reason, it's just a bit, you know... plain."
"What?" I asked, surprised, looking at my clothes. I didn't see anything wrong with them.
"Oh, don't take it the wrong way, son," Bob quickly said. "You don't look bad, obviously. I mean, you're a Duncan," he declared proudly, putting his hand on my shoulder. "It's just that, you know," he continued slowly, pointing at my clothes.
Honestly a bit offended, I searched my clothes for the 'you know' Bob was referring to. I had no idea about style or anything related to it. The shirt, since I had bought it a few weeks ago like the rest of my upper clothes, fit a bit snug, but aside from that, again, I saw nothing wrong with it.
"I don't think it's bad," I said, defending my 'style'. "I feel comfortable, and it's more efficient this way."
"Efficient?" Bob asked incredulously. "What do you mean by efficient?"
"I mean, if I have enough shirts for two weeks, wearing one a day, I don't have to worry about thinking about what to wear for two weeks. I just have to grab the next one," I explained quickly.
Bob stared at me incredulously for a long time. "There's a limit to what the Duncan genes can do," he declared sarcastically.
"Oh yeah, mock me," I said, a bit offended. "But my system works."
"All right, all right, just try to make a good impression," Bob said, strangely nervous.
It was strange because usually, there was no reason for Bob to be so interested. Pride was a reason to be interested, but in this case, it was obvious that London's surname was much more interesting than 'the Duncan genes.'
"Good impression?" I asked, amused, already getting an idea of what Bob had in mind.
"It's just that the Tiptons have a chain of hotels across the United States," Bob finally said, a bit embarrassed.
Yes, I knew what was happening. "You want me to put in a good word about my father who owns a pest control company?" I asked
, amused, seeing Bob's face light up immediately at my words.
"Yeah!" Bob exclaimed right away. "I mean, yes, it would be pretty good for the business," he continued, scratching the side of his face, much calmer.
"Of course, Dad, if the opportunity arises, I'll obviously put in a good word for 'Bob's Bugs Be Gone.' Don't worry," I assured him, and he nodded seriously.
"I'm counting on you," Bob said, relieved, putting his hand on my shoulder.
As if Bob's last words were a switch, the suite door was knocked on.
Widening his eyes exaggeratedly, Bob pointed to the door and whispered, "She's here."
For some reason, this felt wrong. Ignoring Bob's strange excitement, I went to open the door.
"PJ," London said, standing on the other side of the door with a big smile, "Oh," she lost her smile for a second.
"Hey, nice to meet you, Bob Duncan of Bob's Bugs Be Gone," Bob said, shaking London's hand before I could ask what was wrong with my clothes again. Bob, smiling formally, introduced himself, "Oh, and I'm PJ's father," he added as an afterthought.
"Funny, it rhymes," London said, smiling honestly. "Are you ready?" she asked, maintaining her strangely similar smile to Billy Sparks, the chicken boy, still occasionally looking strangely at my clothes.
"Yeah," I said slowly, patting Bob's arm as a farewell, and stepped out with London. "So, do you have something planned?" The elevator was still open when I left the suite.
"Oh yeah," London responded, checking her face with the same small hand mirror she had when I met her. "But I'm going to cancel it all. We're going to do something much more fun than that," she said, smiling cheerfully. "Let's go shopping!" she exclaimed excitedly.
"Shopping?" I asked, intrigued.
"Oh yes, let's go shopping. You obviously need clothes," she said, still smiling cheerfully.
What? Not again.
"I don't need clothes. I have all I want," I said, feeling offended once again.
"Oh, PJ, needing and wanting are two very different things. It's funny you don't know that," London said seriously. "For example, this scarf, I bought it a couple of days ago. Did I want it? Yes. Did I need it? Yes," she continued, completely sure of herself.
"Your point?" I asked, puzzled.
"None, it's just that it's very cute, isn't it?" London responded, smiling widely.
"Yeah," I replied, amused by her relaxed attitude. "So, shopping?" I asked, not feeling entirely comfortable with the whole 'competition,' but being in Boston for two weeks and on vacation was the perfect excuse to go out and explore the city.
"Oh yes, I'm thinking maybe some suits, shirts, and slightly tight pants, obviously. Some sweaters, vests, watches, and shoes, enough for the days you're here in Boston," London listed, giving my clothes another quick inspection and placing her hand on her chin. "I like your style, but it's branded," she added with a look of disdain.
"Don't you prefer to do something else?" I asked, concerned. "Shopping for clothes just for me sounds like a boring idea."
"Ah," London exclaimed, completely opening her mouth in surprise. "There's nothing better than shopping," she declared, offended, raising one of her fingers. "Well, maybe giving someone who needs it a makeover is like charity," she added cheerfully.
As she finished speaking, the elevator doors opened, and we found ourselves once again in the hotel lobby.
"Mosby," London said, approaching the hotel manager with her calm smile. "Call the pilot and cancel the flight," she declared as if it were nothing, causing Mr. Mosby to nod completely calmly at the idea of calling a pilot.
"Flight?" I asked, following London out of the hotel, intrigued.
"Yes, in my daddy's helicopter," she said nonchalantly, taking some keys from one of the hotel workers and entering a luxurious red car.
"Helicopter," I murmured before also getting into the car on the passenger side.
"It's still early. If we go quickly, we'll have enough time for a couple of hours of shopping," London said, strangely preparing her hands to start driving. "Not as much as I'd like, but I'm sure we can do it in time."
As she drove, London talked to herself, listing what I could understand were clothing brands.
"So, how much do you plan to spend?" I asked. I had told Bob that she had invited me on the date, but I couldn't let her pay for clothes for me, even if I didn't need them.
"None of that, daddy pays," London declared nonchalantly, laughing as if it were a joke.
"I can't let you pay for everything, especially if we're just buying clothes for me."
"It's nothing, I assure you. I don't even think I'll need to switch cards," London said with some disdain, waving her hand.
"A thousand dollars?!" A few minutes later, inside one of the most luxurious malls I had ever seen, I exclaimed as I looked at the small tag on a suit. Just one suit from this store cost almost as much as my car.
"Only a thousand?" London asked, surprised, taking the tag from my hand. "Wow, men really have it easy; their clothes are so cheap," she said, laughing, placing the suit in front of me before tossing it onto my shoulder.
"Oh yes, definitely," London continued, taking many more garments without even checking the price of each one and tossing them to me without even turning around.
As she continued, London kept throwing clothes at me until it became difficult to catch whatever she threw.
"I think that's enough for now," London said several minutes later, having gone through the entire store, looking at the small mountain of clothes in my arms.
Finally, thanks.
"At least in this store," she added, looking around the store.
"What?" I murmured, incredulous. Despite the fact that the clothes on my arms practically weighed nothing, I was already extremely exhausted for some reason. "We have much more clothing than I can wear in two weeks, London. There's no need to go overboard," I said nervously, deciding not to add up the total in my head anymore.
"Overboard?" London asked, finding my words amusing. "It's just a couple of shirts, pants, and suits. This will only last you about four days," she said confidently, making some sort of calculation in her head. "You need much more clothing for when you have to get rid of this," she said, pointing to the clothes with complete tranquility.
"Get rid of?" I asked, scared by the implications.
"Of course, you can't wear the same outfit twice, silly," London declared as if it were completely obvious. "Come on, daylight is wasting," and she continued walking through the store as if nothing had happened.
After a couple of seconds in shock at the millionaire girl's way of thinking, I walked behind her, thinking we were done in that store and prepared to take the clothes to the register to pay for everything.
"Go in there, we need to see if they fit you," London said, taking a seat on a sofa oddly placed in the store, pointing to a door—the fitting rooms. "Come on," she said, clapping her hands twice and smiling as always.
Seeing that London's expression didn't change at all, I accepted my fate and walked to the fitting room.
What followed were several minutes of trying on different clothes and outfits, coming out of the fitting rooms to get London's approval or disapproval. At some point, other store workers, including both women and men, also joined London, apparently giving their own opinions before the girl made her verdict.
Putting on the last outfit, a blue suit with white pants, I had finally finished trying on all the clothes London had chosen for me. "Definitely," London and the workers at her side said in unison as soon as I left the fitting room. Somehow, they had managed to get a tray full of chocolate-covered fruits and a larger sofa.
No more customers?
"You'll wear that, where are your old clothes? We need to burn them," London asked cheerfully, getting up.
"Oh, we took care of that," one of the store workers declared calmly, smiling professionally.
"They threw away my clothes?" I asked, completely ignored as the workers moved in unison, following London's orders to carry the accepted clothes.
"London, I really appreciate this, but I think it's enough. I don't feel right making you spend thousands of dollars on me," I said seriously, walking out of the store with several shopping bags.
"But it's my turn," London said, for the first time since we arrived, losing her smile.
"I know, but I think we could be having a much better time doing something else, maybe just walking," I said hopefully.
"Walking in a mall without buying anything?" London asked, completely incredulous.
"Yes, maybe chatting and looking at some stores, maybe buying something that really catches your eye," I continued. "You know, getting to know each other."
Nodding slowly, apparently processing what I had just said.
"I mean, I bet that besides my name, you don't know much about me," I said, even though it was the same the other way around. Wow, I knew her father had tons of money and they owned the hotel chain, but apart from that, I knew nothing else. London couldn't be that shallow, right?
"You're a cute guy," London declared confidently.
"Well, thanks, but again, that's not much," I said, slightly embarrassed.
"Okay, fine, let's try your idea," London said nervously before clapping her hands twice.
"Allow me," an extremely well-dressed person wearing sunglasses, who appeared to be just anyone, suddenly arrived at my side, seriously extending his hand.
"Oh, don't worry about him; he's one of the shopping carriers my daddy hired for me," London said, completely carefree, smiling cheerfully.
Handing over the bags I was holding to the strange man, I scanned the people around us again. I hadn't noticed because they were dressed to match the luxurious place, but at least a dozen people around us were dressed like this man, constantly checking the area. They were definitely bodyguards. How long have they been following us?
London, still smiling innocently, seemed to be mentally preparing herself, breathing as if she were about to start something dangerous.
"Are you ready?" I asked, looking at the now extremely serious London.
"Yeah," London replied, nodding firmly and narrowing her eyes.
As we walked through the mall, now apart from the painfully obvious bodyguard team several steps behind us, I could also notice how many people we passed stared at me. Was it really that important to have such well-arranged clothes?
"Definitely fashion, maybe in a magazine, Vogue, Elle, Runway, or Marie Claire, you know, the most important ones," London finally began to calm down and chat without a problem, almost not trying to shop at the stores we passed by.
"That sounds like a great goal," I admitted, now much more comfortable.
"I know, right?" London said, smiling cheerfully. "Hey, look, Au Bon Pain. I don't think they sell chocolate shakes there, but they have coffee," she pointed to a place that appeared to be a luxurious café.
"I'd love to have some coffee," I said, walking towards the place.
"You know, I've never been so far from clothing stores," London said, amused. "I didn't know there were actually more stores besides clothing ones," she admitted with her innocent smile. "Your experiment is working very well."
The café, unlike Michelle's café, smelled extremely good, but like the extroverted girl's store, it was full of people. "Do you think your father's workers would like some coffee?" I asked, noticing how the men split into two groups, one entering the café with us and checking everyone inside, and the other group forming a sort of perimeter outside the store.
"Oh, I don't know. They usually don't talk unless I talk to them first," London said, genuinely intrigued, before waving her hand to call one of them over.
"Yes, Miss?" the closest of the men quickly arrived, completely serious, and asked.
"Do you want some coffee?" London asked calmly,
causing the previously emotionless man's face to change to surprise. "So..." London continued after a few seconds without getting a response.
"Yes, we'd love some coffee," the man finally replied, genuinely surprised, smiling gratefully.
"Why didn't you say so before?" London asked, as always, smiling innocently, then returned her attention to the small queue about to end at the café counter.
Previously, with what little I had known about London, I found many similarities with Regina. Similarities that, with my new ability to 'read' lies, I discovered did not represent at all that they were alike. London, having been born into a family with what seemed like inexhaustible resources, lived in a bubble of innocence and ignorance but did not despise those who were 'below' her, which distinguished her from Regina.
"Hello," I finally said, greeting the barista behind the counter as our turn came, who was focused on her cash register.
"Hello, welcome to Au Bon Pain. What can I get you... today?" the girl said, stopping for a moment to reappreciate the clothes London had chosen for me.
It was just clothes.
"How about thirteen black coffees," I said slowly, making sure the bodyguard agreed with the order. "And..." I paused, pointing to London.
"I want a cappuccino," London said, hugging one of my arms and smiling at the barista.
"That's all, thank you," I said, confused by London's sudden possessiveness, trying to ignore the pressure on my arm as I took out my wallet. After all the money London had spent on me, the least I could do was pay for the drinks.
"Oh yeah," oddly taken aback by my words, the girl quickly started entering the order into her cash register. "Your total is one hundred eighty-four dollars."
Coughing in surprise at the total, I almost dropped my wallet as I took it out of my new pants. Almost two hundred dollars for fourteen drinks. I had completely forgotten the type of mall we were in.
Painfully taking the last bills from my wallet, I paid for all the coffees, leaving the rest as a tip.
"You didn't have to pay for this," London said, finally releasing my arm from her strangely strong grip.
"It was my turn to pay for something," I said, trying to regain the feeling in my arm and thinking I would need to go to an ATM to withdraw more cash.
"All right, thanks," London said with a slight smile.
"It's nothing compared to what you spent on me today," I said, a bit embarrassed.
"I told you, it was more like a gift for me. I had the chance to help someone in need," London declared, extremely proud of herself.
When the drinks were ready, London's bodyguards entered in turns to get their drinks, each giving me a small nod of gratitude as they returned to their posts with their hot beverages in hand.
"We already talked about what I want to do in the future. What about you?" London asked, resuming our conversation as we sat at one of the tables in the café.
Unlike what I had expected from this day, the 'date' with London turned out to be surprisingly pleasant. It was fun to hear certain points of view from London on some topics, completely generated from her 'bubble of privilege.'
After finishing our drinks, we returned to the hotel. During the ride back, I could see the 'undercover' cars following London's, and I wondered how I hadn't noticed them before.
"Who would have thought that going to the mall and not buying things would be so interesting?" London declared innocently as she walked beside me, once again taking my arm. "Maybe I'll try it again someday," she said seriously.
"You totally should," I declared, amused, quickly taking the shopping bags from the hotel worker who was closely following us. "I got it, thanks," I said to the man.
"I usually let them take my purchases up. It's easier that way," London said innocently, stopping me by the shoulder.
"Really, there's no need. I can carry them myself," I assured the worker, who seemed nervous.
"Of course you can," London said cheerfully, pressing my arm with her hands.
As we entered the hotel, we almost immediately ran into Maddie, who seemed to be on her way out. "Maddie," I said cheerfully in greeting.
"Wow, hey," she said, obviously taken by surprise, stopping for a moment to look at my clothes. "You look good."
"I know, right?" London exclaimed excitedly.
"Thanks, London thought it would be a good idea to go shopping, and she got me this," I said, lifting the bags, making London smile proudly.
"Of course you went shopping," Maddie declared ironically, smiling.
"I told you it was better than just going for chocolate shakes," London said proudly.
"Well, it doesn't matter. I'll see you in a couple of days," Maddie said, completely unconcerned, smiling. "Happy New Year, I will win," she declared calmly, staring at London as she walked out of the hotel.
I had completely forgotten about the 'competition.'
"Sometimes she can be scary," London said seriously, losing her innocent smile and releasing my arm, which somehow had enough strength to cut off circulation.
"Well, I have an appointment with the manicurist. See you," London said cheerfully, smiling as if nothing had happened while she walked away from the lobby.
It was amusing to see how London lived completely carefree.
Back in the suite, just like when I left, only Bob was present, sitting on the living room couch, still watching TV, completely comfortable with some junk food spread out in front of him.
"Hey, oh hey," Bob said, surprised as I took off my coat. "Look at you," he added, getting up and walking toward me. "Is that more clothes like that?" he asked, pointing to the bags in my hand.
"Yeah, London ended up taking me shopping," I said, slightly embarrassed. "Don't mention it," I added, stopping Bob, who seemed about to make fun of the situation.
"Well, she did you a great favor. Now you look like a true Duncan," Bob said proudly, shaking my shoulder.
"You really abuse that," I said sarcastically, also taking off my jacket. "I'm going to put all this away," I continued, feeling embarrassed by the number of bags I had with me as I walked to the room I shared with Gabe.
"If you keep growing at the rate you did these past few months, that shirt will rip in no time," Bob declared amused as I returned to the living room after carefully putting away the clothes. I sat down next to him, taking a bowl full of chips.
"So Gabe will have new shirts if he ever wants them," I replied.
"Yeah, I can see that," Bob agreed, laughing. "So..." he added slowly, focusing his gaze on the TV. "How did it go?"
"I talked to her about 'Bob's Bugs be Gone,'" I said immediately, deducing the reason for his interest. "She thinks it's very brave of you to deal with pests."
"Do you think she'll talk to her father about it?" Bob asked nervously, forgetting his attempt to appear casual.
"I don't know," I responded. I really didn't know. Having spent almost the entire day with London, getting to know her a bit, I doubted very much that Bob's company's information would stay in her mind.
"I hope she does. They have a hotel in Houston and Austin. The Tipton chain would be one of my best clients," Bob said hopefully, once again turning his attention to the TV.
It wasn't long before Teddy and Mom arrived, laughing boisterously.
"Oh my God, who are you, and what did you do with my son?" Mom exclaimed dramatically upon seeing me on the couch next to Bob.
"Dad, be careful, who is he?" Teddy asked, matching Mom's exaggerated acting, feigning concern.
"You two are so funny. It's just clothes," I said, slightly frustrated, raising my arms.
"Just clothes," Teddy and Mom repeated incredulously. "It's actually sad," Teddy said, shaking her head in pity.
"Don't worry, PJ," Mom said, sitting next to me with the same pitying look as Teddy, placing one of her hands on my face. "I'm sure you'll find someone who can ignore your total lack of fashion sense."
"This really hurts my feelings," I said seriously.
After the female members of my family continued to tease me, they made me show them all the clothes London had chosen for me.
"That girl did you a great favor," Mom said cheerfully, still inspecting one of the garments.
"She said it was like a gift for her," I said, amused, recalling London's reasoning.
"I totally understand her," Mom said resolutely, looking at the clothes I was wearing once again.
I didn't dress that badly.
The next day, after everyone had breakfast, dressed in one of the outfits London had given me, chosen by Teddy, we left early for the Thomas's house, this time taking a taxi from the hotel.
"Ah, young PJ," Alfred said cheerfully a couple of seconds after I knocked on the Thomas's door. He was wearing an apron over his always present incredibly formal clothes. "I assume this is your family. Nice to meet you all. Allow me to take that," he said, professionally taking a bottle of wine from Bob's hands and letting us into the house.
"Ah, Alfred, yes. This is my mother Amy, father Bob, and my siblings, Gabe and Teddy," I said, greeting him back and introducing each family member.
"Ah, the Duncans, come in, come in," Dottie said, carrying a bowl that looked like a salad, energetically greeting each person as they entered her house.
"Look at you, PJ, so handsome," Dottie said, hugging my neck tightly with her free hand.
"You look beautiful too, Dottie. Let me help you," I replied, taking the bowl from her hands.
"You have many good things to learn from Don, but being a flatterer is not one of them, I assure you," Dottie playfully scolded me, tapping my shoulder.
"Who arrived?" Dr. Thomas asked excitedly from the kitchen, also wearing an apron. "The Duncan family," he said, opening his arms joyfully. "Come in, come in."
"I was just finishing up dinner, but I think the cookies are ready. Would you like one?" Dottie asked kindly, now with her hands free, looking at Gabe.
"Oh yes, please," Gabe responded immediately, acting strangely sweet like a child, taking Dottie by the arm and walking to the kitchen.
The Thomas's kitchen was filled with various dishes spread out, ready to be served.
"Are you expecting more people?" Mom asked, approaching to help Dottie.
"Oh yes, we always invite all our friends. PJ met many of them on his last visit," Dr. Thomas responded cheerfully.
"This time, we had several confirmed guests, so we're dining in the patio," Dottie said, affectionately hugging Gabe, who was happily eating cookies.
"Isn't it snowing?" Teddy asked, taking one of the cookies in front of Gabe.
"Oh yes, dear, but we have a tent with gas heaters. Don't worry about anything except enjoying the dinner," Dottie responded kindly, obviously enjoying the presence of children in her house.
As Dottie had already mentioned, the dinner and the preparations were virtually complete. There wasn't much else to do. Shortly after my family arrived at the Thomas's house, the couple's other guests began to arrive, causing us to move from the kitchen to the patio.
The Thomas's patio, like their house, was easily gigantic, allowing for a tent much larger than the living room of our house back in Medford to shield us
from the cold winter wind.
Besides the tent in the patio, the Thomas's had also hired waiter service. Quickly, the large table in the Thomas's patio filled with people who, without having to wait long, were served appetizers and drinks by the hired waiters.
"Here in Boston, as well as in New York, your main pest problem isn't insects but small rodents. So, to disinfest a large building like, for example, the Tipton Hotel, you have to hunt them down to their nests," Bob, who had been asked by the Thomas's other guests about his job, spoke without any shame.
"Look who arrived," Dottie said cheerfully from the back door of the Thomas's house, accompanied by Dr. Grey and Meredith, who had her long face again, obviously uncomfortable being there.
"PJ," Meredith, the last one, completely surprised to see me also present, immediately changed her expression and quickly walked over to where I was sitting with my siblings.
"Meredith," I said, standing up to greet the girl who happily came to give me a hug.
"What are you doing here?" she asked joyfully, squeezing my torso.
"I crashed the dinner," I admitted dramatically, making her roll her eyes. "Oh, let me introduce you. Meredith, this is my sister Teddy. Teddy, this is Meredith. She helped me choose the clothes I brought for you from Boston."
Teddy, who was reading one of her magazines, completely uninterested in the adults' conversations, cheerfully greeted Meredith.
"Is that the latest Seventeen?" Meredith asked, interested, seeing the magazine in my sister's hands, quickly sitting next to Teddy, seemingly ignoring her own social discomfort being with someone closer to her age.
"Dr. Grey," I said, taking the opportunity to greet the woman since Meredith was now more comfortable talking to my sister. She was waiting with Dottie, waving at the other people from afar.
"PJ," she said, taking my hand in a firm handshake, her always serious face showing a barely visible smile. "I didn't know you had arrived in Boston until just a few hours ago. Yesterday, we had an incredible total colectomy. I would have been more than happy for you to watch it from the gallery. You would have loved it."
"I'm sure I would have," I replied kindly. "Doctor, let me introduce you to my parents," I said quickly, noticing my mom's interested look. "Mom, Dad, this is Dr. Grey, one of, if not the best, general surgeons currently in our country."
While my parents introduced themselves kindly to the always serious Dr. Grey, I saw Dottie behind her, happily observing Teddy and Meredith getting along, laughing occasionally at an article in my sister's magazine.
"Grandma Dottie, can I have more cookies?" Gabe, taking advantage of Mom's distraction, sweetly asked Dottie.
"Oh, absolutely, honey. Go to the kitchen and tell Alfred to give you more," Dottie replied, stroking my brother's face, making Gabe run into the house immediately.
"You know he's just using your kindness to take advantage of you, right?" I sarcastically asked Dottie.
"Obviously, but let's not let him know that. It's nice having kids in the house," Dottie replied sweetly, placing her hand on my face before walking over to where Dr. Grey and my parents continued talking, mostly mom.
The evening continued, and Meredith and Teddy quickly got along wonderfully, whispering and laughing about who knows what, occasionally pointing at me in their secretiveness. Gabe, not having anyone his age to entertain himself like our sister, kept up his façade and managed to get Dottie to give him many things, focusing all her grandmotherly love on him.
Engaged in many different conversations with the Thomas's guests, I fortunately could ignore the lack of people my age. With so many doctors present, there were great and interesting conversations to be had.
"Your son is a genius rarely seen," one of the guests, Dr. Eaton, who had been giving the medical diagnosis class that Dr. Thomas and I had infiltrated on my last visit, told my parents.
"We know," my obviously proud mom said, puffing out her chest.
"I mean it completely seriously. I'm excited to see what the future of medicine holds with someone like PJ leading it," Dr. Eaton said dreamily. "What do you think of the idea of PJ coming to study at Harvard when the time comes?" he asked, raising his glass to drink more wine.
"I think it's an incredible idea," Mom responded immediately, blinded by pride and excitement.
"We believe it's PJ's decision. Whatever he chooses, we will be more than happy to support him," Bob quickly responded, stopping Mom.
"But of course, rest assured that if PJ decides to study here, I will personally write a letter of recommendation and speak with the admissions committee," Dr. Eaton said.
"Oh, Joseph, you don't have to worry about that. I am more than prepared to do it myself," Dr. Thomas, who seemed to be listening to the conversation, said arrogantly, smiling widely.
"Of course you are, Don, of course you are," Dr. Eaton said, laughing loudly. "But two letters and good words never hurt," he added, winking at me.
"Or three," another doctor present quickly took the opportunity, causing many of the doctors I had conversed with to offer to write a letter of recommendation.
"All of you can forget about your letters; with mine, PJ has more than enough," Dr. Thomas arrogantly exclaimed, causing the other doctors to fall silent for a second before exploding in unison, discussing with Dr. Thomas.
"Ahem," Dottie loudly exclaimed, standing up, effectively silencing the noisy doctors. "It's almost time," she declared, waiting for everyone to quiet down, nodding to one of the waiters next to a television connected inside the house.
The television immediately showed the Times Square ball and hundreds of people around it waiting.
When the ball dropped and everyone celebrated on the television, we also celebrated in the Thomas's patio.
It was officially 1991.
The adults toasted, we ate various desserts, and enjoyed the music and other much calmer conversations.
As the night went on, people began to say their goodbyes and leave the Thomas's house. "I think it's time for us to go too," Bob said after Mom rested her head on his shoulder, exhausted. Besides us, only a few people were left.
"Dottie, Dr. Thomas, thank you so much for inviting us," Mom said, standing up with Bob's help, clearly tired.
"Oh, nothing of the sort, dear. This is your home," Dottie said kindly, standing up and taking Mom's arm.
"Thank you for coming to spend this occasion with us," Dr. Thomas added, also standing up to see us off.
Since there were relatively few people present, saying goodbye didn't take long.
"PJ, go get your siblings, please," Bob said while helping Mom put on her coat.
Teddy, Meredith, and Gabe had gone inside the house several minutes earlier, excusing themselves from the uninteresting conversations at the table.
"Hey, buddy, put on your coat. It's time to go," I said, shaking Gabe, who was asleep on the Thomas's sofa.
"So soon?" Teddy, who was sharing another sofa with Meredith, asked disappointedly.
"Yes, put on your coat. It's cold outside," I replied, still shaking my impressively sleepy brother.
"What?" Gabe finally asked after several seconds of shaking, opening his eyes.
"We're leaving," I said, amused, watching the boy struggle to keep his eyes open.
"There's really no problem; it's very difficult to find a taxi at this hour," Dr. Thomas, followed by Bob, Mom, and Dottie, said, talking to Bob.
"All right then, thank you, doctor," Bob said, nodding.
"Bah, don't mention it," Dr. Thomas said, taking a key from his key rack next to the door.
"Are you ready, kids?" Mom asked.
"Can Meredith come with us?" Teddy asked anxiously while putting on her coat, looking at Mom.
"Oh, honey, it's New Year's. I'm sure Meredith wants to spend it with her mother," Mom replied affectionately, making Meredith snort instinctively. "Tell you what, if her mom gives permission, of course she can," Mom added, puzzled by the girl's response.
"Thanks," Teddy said quickly, rushing out to where Dr. Grey was, followed closely by Meredith.
"Can you carry that?" Bob, pointing to Gabe, who had fallen asleep again after putting on his coat, asked me amusedly.
"Sure," I replied, equally amused.
Not long after, the girls, followed by Dr. Grey, returned to where we were waiting.
"Are you willing to have Meredith for a sleepover?" Dr. Grey asked Mom.
"Of course, if you agree," Mom replied, likely puzzled by the woman's manner of speaking.
"Oh, absolutely. I have rounds in a couple of hours. If she can go with you, I could sleep at the hospital," Dr. Grey said, checking her watch with some relief. "In fact, I have a surgery scheduled for first thing in the morning. Could Meredith—" the woman was saying, but Mom interrupted her.
"Of course, no problem at all. Meredith can stay with us as long as needed," Mom said easily, smiling kindly, though I could see she was getting angry with the other woman, just like Dottie, who didn't hide her frown.
Fortunately, Meredith, who theoretically should have been the most affected, completely ignored her mother's words, celebrating with Teddy while they planned what to do.
"That's perfect," Dr. Grey said, clapping with more excitement than she had shown during the entire dinner.
"Yes, it is. You have nothing to worry about; they will have a great time together," Mom assured, putting her hands on the two girls' shoulders, showing more of her annoyance with Dr. Grey.
"Oh, clothes," Dr. Grey suddenly remembered. "I think I can send something to the Tipton Hotel for Meredith," she added seriously after thinking for a few seconds.
"Nonsense. Teddy has clothes to lend her," Mom quickly said, shaking her head.
"Perfect then," Dr. Grey said, showing more excitement than during the entire dinner. "I'd better go. Behave, I don't want to hear that you did something I didn't raise you for," she warned, fixing Meredith's hair. "Dr. Thomas, Dottie, as always, a pleasure. Thank you for your hospitality. Bob, Amy," she said, starting her goodbyes in her usual serious manner. "PJ, always a pleasure. If you have time in the next few days, I'm sure I could show you some interesting surgeries."
"I'd love to," I replied, a bit uncomfortable, noticing the looks Mom and Dottie were giving the other woman.
"Perfect," Dr. Grey said, nodding as she took her keys and calmly left the house to her car, since she had already said goodbye to everyone.
Like Dr. Grey, my family, with the addition of Meredith, also left the Thomas's house, who were kind enough to lend Bob their new SUV to drive back to the hotel.
On the way back, I could notice how Bob and Mom occasionally talked in whispers while checking the car's rearview mirror, obviously about Meredith, who, fortunately, along with Teddy and Gabe, was completely asleep.
The following day, after we all had breakfast together at the hotel buffet, the girls, along with mom, went for another spa day while Bob, at the request of a strange engineer and consequently Mr. Mosby, was dealing with a family of raccoons living in the hotel boilers.
For some reason, Gabe wanted me to accompany him to the Martin family's suite, the suite the twins shared with their mother, who had become close friends with my brother over the past few days.
"Why do you want me to come?" I asked again as Gabe knocked on the door of the small family.
"You'll see," Gabe said playfully.
"Gabe, you're late, Maddie is going cra—" one of the twins, the calmer one judging by his attire, Cody, opened the door and started speaking immediately upon seeing my brother. He stopped when he saw me, closing the door to prevent me from seeing inside. "PJ, you brought PJ," he added incredulously and obviously scared.
"Yes, who better than my brother to answer all the questions?" Gabe said calmly, smiling without a hint of embarrassment.
"What is going on?" I asked, seeing how the boy struggled to prevent me from looking inside his house.
"Oh, we're just helping to—" Gabe was responding, but Cody anxiously let go of the door and quickly covered my brother's mouth.
"Nothing," said the nervous boy.
"Ok, then thanks for letting us in," I said, while the boy and my brother were fighting noting that since Cody was stopping Gabe from continuing, there was no one to block the door.
"Was that him? Is he here? We're behind schedule," Maddie, obviously nervous by the speed at which she was speaking, said with her back to me, fully focused on a board alongside the other twin.
"I think if we move this, there will be more time for the walk where you can use these themes" Zack said pointing with one of the markers.
"Interesting, but I would like the walk to start when the lights in the park turn on, that's the best time" Slowly Maddie, denying, responded.
In the center of the board was a photograph of me, connected with threads to various things, clearly some kind of plan.
This felt wrong.
"PJ is here," Cody shouted a second later, running to my side.
"PJ!" Maddie shouted, surprised, as she jumped in place and pushed the board in a failed attempt to hide it, almost knocking Zack over in the process as he quickly covered another part of it.
"Should I be worried about this?" I asked without receiving any response, slightly nervous, seeing the board's content.
"I tried to stop him" Cody ashamed said.
"I can see that," with a forced smile said Maddie, standing next to Zack and trying to cover the entire board with her back, opening her eyes wide and gritting her teeth.
"Maddie has a lot of questions," Gabe said maliciously, calmly walking behind Cody. "Who better than you to answer them?" he asked, feigning innocence.
"What is happeni—oh, good morning, PJ," Mrs. Martin said, stepping out of her room and stopping when she saw me standing in her living room, rigidly walking alongside her son and Maddie, who was helping cover the board.
"Did he see it?" she asked Maddie with a rigid smile on her face.
"I don't know," Maddie responded, matching the woman's rigid smile.
"I think he definitely saw it," Zack added, mimicking Maddie and his mother's behavior.
"He obviously saw it," Cody exclaimed, exasperated.
"I saw it," I replied, still feeling slightly strange.
---
Author Thoughts:
This is the last chapter 100% focused on the development of Boston and I would like to say a couple of things about it:
I hadn't thought about this Boston development at all until I read your comments and knowing the story and its sequel I thought, "why not? It could be interesting" so I did a little research (I watched several chapters to fully remember the personality of the characters, as well as several summaries on YouTube and video essays about the show) but I forgot an essential part of my writing process, which is planning.
I always have a general outline planned for what I am going to write in the future, for example, I had 100% planned for Teddy and Meredith to meet and become friends, but the development of Maddie and London was not something I planned in advance and that blocked me.
So, I did what I could and flowed with what I had already done, but I haven't felt completely comfortable with what I've done, so I hope you won't be surprised when the rest of the trip is slightly summarized the next chapter, as I said, I decided that the next chapter will not be 100% development of Boston.
By the way, I'm also sorry if anyone thought there would be a lot more development with any relationship between PJ and Maddie or London, as I said from the beginning of this mini arc in Boston, most of it would be completely filler as I developed the end of the first arc .
Another chapter has passed, so new thanks are in order. I would like to especially thank:
RandomPasserby96
keyakedo
11332223
Once again the top changed, congratulations.
With that said,
I think that's all. As always, if you find any errors, please let me know, and I'll correct them immediately.
Thank you for reading! :D
PS: PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW.