"Mary, honey, we are 10 minutes from my brothers," Alwin reluctantly awakened his wife.
"What 10 minutes? Didn't I tell you to wake me up at least 30 minutes early?" Mary exclaimed, waking up from her sleep.
"Sorry, you were fast asleep, so I didn't wake you up," Alwin explained,
"Go slower. I don't want to meet my in-laws with gunk in my eyes," Mary ordered, wiping her drool and cleaning goo off the corner of her eyes.
"I already am. If I go any slower, I might get a ticket for driving too slow," Alwin said helplessly. Then he added, "Besides, it is just my brother and his wife."
Mary responded, "It's them I am worried about. Your sister-in-law already believes we're poor because we rely on each paycheck. I'd rather not appear tired and old in front of her."
"But isn't that true?" Ace's words hung in the air, momentarily freezing the atmosphere within the car. Sensing the tension, he hastily explained, "I mean the poor part. You are beautiful, Mom. All my friends think you are my Elder sister."
"You are lucky. I do not have time to deal with you," Mary spared her son's audacious tongue as she was busy using the rearview mirror to fix her hair.
Alwin hurriedly changed the topic, "Mr.Thomson from the neighborhood watch called. He said that the fire department subdued the fire on the hill before it could spread to the neighborhood. So our house is safe, and Ace's school is closed till Monday. They are hoping that the air would be breathable by then."
"That's a load off our minds," Mary said, doing her best with what she had, but she missed her makeup kit.
"Mary, I was thinking I should take leave from work so we can spend the week at my brother's ranch," Alwin proposed, thinking a week off at the ranch would be a good change of pace for his family from their busy lives.
"A week, Alwin? We do not have the clothes or the undergarments," Mary pointed out that they only brought the disaster preparedness bags and weren't prepared to spend a whole week at their relative's place.
"I am sure Pam would happily lend you a few of her clothes. Besides, their town has a mall now. We can buy temporary clothes and stuff there," Alwin tried his best to sell his idea to Mary.
"I think it's a great idea, Dad," Ace backed his dad, believing his uncle's ranch would be the best place for him to lay low with CIB crawling all over their neighborhood.
"Since the air in our neighborhood is unbreathable, we have little choice but to impose on them," Mary reluctantly gave her consent, as she didn't like the idea of imposing on their relatives for an entire week on short notice.
…
As Alwin pulled up in front of his brother's big ranch house, he noticed his brother and sister-in-law coming to receive them.
"Are they receiving us in their swimwear?" Mary asked, surprised to see Dan in his swim trunks and Pam in a white beach kaftan covering her swimsuit.
"Yes, they are," Alwin answered as he parked the car. He avoided glancing at Pam in her swimwear, conscious of his brother beside her and his wife beside him.
"Oh, man, the countryside is wild," Ace blurted out, staring at Pam's long legs, recalling that his aunt was a model before she married his uncle, the veteran turned wealthy rancher.
Danny Lander was the eldest of the two brothers. His Iron Valley ranch spanned over 120 acres, of which 40 acres was farmland that Ace's dad wanted to buy instead of their house. This 40-acre land's a goldmine, generating four times the income of Dan's entire livestock operation on the ranch. Initially started as a side hustle, Dan transformed the 40 acres into a thriving tangerine plantation. Now, it was the source of his wealth.
"Al, you guys made it," Dan said as Alwin parked the car.
"We saw it on the news, a thunderstorm and a wildfire at the same time. We couldn't believe it. Glad you guys made it out of there safely," Pam expressed as Mary stepped out of the car.
"Dan, you are naked," Alwin said as he avoided his brother, who came to hug him.
"About that, we're having a small pool party. We recently got a pool installed in our backyard. With summer around the corner, we figured it's the perfect time," Dan explained, clarifying why the husband and wife greeted them in their swimwear.
"Oh, congratulations, then," Alwin said, contemplating how one decision had changed his brother and his life.
"Dan, let's head in. So, they can change and join the party," Pam reminded her husband.
"We would love to, but we didn't bring swimsuits or clothes for that matter," Mary said, recalling the real reason why she did not like to visit the Iron Valley ranch. If they had bought the farmland instead of the house, they would not be struggling financially and her husband could have retired by now.
"You can borrow mine," Pam offered as they headed inside the house.
"Don't worry, guys. I will move our go-bags in the house," Ace commented aloud, seeing the adults leave, ignoring him.
"Ace, don't just stand by the car. Come say hi to your uncle and aunt," Alwin called over his socially awkward son.
"Ace, you've grown a lot since we last saw you," Pam exclaimed, noticing her healthy nephew had grown into an eye candy.
"Ace, what on earth happened to you?" Mary exclaimed, her eyes wide with surprise. She couldn't believe how snugly his school uniform fit around his muscular frame. 'Heck, he never had muscles like that before,' she thought, astonished.
"Son, did your uniform shrink, or did you suddenly bulk up in the past hour?" Alwin asked incredulously, eyeing Ace's transformed physique with confusion, wondering if they had somehow passed through a magical tunnel. Now, that would explain his son's transformation.
"My usual school uniforms were all in the laundry. So I am wearing my old uniform. It's too tight," Ace lied without remorse. The look of awe on Pam's face made it all worth it. As for his parents, they will get over it.
Ace never got the chance to change out of his uniform since he was too busy trying to make sense of what was happening with the mountain lions roaming the streets and then the thunderstorm followed by the wildfire.
"Al, your son has grown into one fine young man. Unlike mine, who wears a t-shirt to a pool party," Dan remarked, comparing his nephew with his shut-in overweight son.