by Kailin Gow
“Great!” I said. “It’s pretty much the best one I’ve got.”
“Well,” Dan said, gesturing for me to hand over my luggage so he could carry it for me, “It suits you. Fiery red head with a fun and cute personality.”
I blushed. “Thanks,” I said.
“Just stating the truth,” Dan said. “With a name like that, and looks like yours…forgive me for sounding like a cliché, but are you here to become an actress?”
Meecham and I turned toward each other with big eyes. How did he guessed?
“Well…” I began.
“Sookie is a very talented actress,” Nadine jumped in. “Meecham, too. We all met years ago at Musical Theater camp at Broadway, and has been best friends every since. Like sisters!”
Meecham, Nadine, and I put our arms around each other huddled together and laughing because we were so happy to be together, reunited again at least for this summer. “Sisters!” We all said at the same time, laughing and jumping up and down. “For Summers and Forevers!”
Chapter 2
Sookie
“Sookie!” Nadine poked me after Dan and John deposited Meecham and my luggage in Nadine’s bedroom at her Malibu beach house. “I have to tell you something…”
“I’ll see you around,” John said to Meecham and I.
“You’re leaving so soon?” Meecham asked.
John scratched his head and blushed. “Afraid I have to. I left a few projects unfinished before hopping on the plane for the conference in New York and then getting right back on to come here.”
“You’re going back to San Francisco again?” Nadine asked John.
“I have a very short stopover here before I get back on the plane to fly to my dorm at Stanford,” John said.
Nadine turned proudly to us and announced, “John is a genius, if you didn’t know already. He’s in the graduate program at Stanford, but he’s already working for some promising start up technology companies in Northern California.”
“But,” John laughed. “I’d rather stay down here and bask in the bright sunshine of Malibu. I can’t decide whether to pursue a music career or a football career, if the technology business doesn’t work out.”
My mouth dropped. This hottie was too good to be true. “You’re into music?”
John blushed. “I wished. I want to be. I play the guitar and sing a bit.”
“Really?” I asked. I turned to Meecham and Nadine. “We really want to start a band, but we need a guitarist and a male vocalist.”
John’s smile widened. “That would be really cool. I always wanted to be in a band.”
“All those music lessons Dad paid for is finally being put to good use,” Dan said.
I turned to Dan. “You took music lessons?”
Dan laughed. “For years, but I didn’t really take them that seriously…not like John, who took everything seriously.”
“Do you play the guitar too?” I asked.
“No, I play piano,” Dan said.
“Keyboard too?” Meecham asked.
“Sometimes,” Dan said.
John put his arm around Dan. “He’s a gifted writer and composer.” Then John started singing… “He writes the music and lyrics that the whole world sings….”
Meecham and I joined in. “He writes the music that makes everyone listen…”
Nadine joined in until John, Meecham. me, and her were singing together in acapella:
“He writes the music that springs from the heart
He writes the music we can all take part of…
This Dan old boy, writes the music…
He writes the Dream.”
Dan laughed as we stopped and clapped.
“Hey,” Dan said. “That was pretty good.”
“I know, right?” I said.
“That wasn’t bad at all,” John acknowledged.
“Not bad at all,” Nadine said, clapping.
“So…guys, want to be in our band?” I asked.
“A real band?” John asked.
“With performances and gigs,” I said. “Meecham and I need something more than internships and whatever to pay for our college and graduate school tuitions.”
“Plus,” Nadine put her arms around my shoulder and Meechams’, we are born to sing and perform. It’s in our DNA, right sisters?”
“Yes,” Meecham and I said.
“Come on!” I said, shoving John. “Live a little. There must be more to life than just school, technology conferences, and work!”
It was as if a lightbulb turned on in John’s eyes as his blue eyes became brighter. “True.”
“And you, Dan,” I said, shoving him too. “I don’t know what you do for a living or for fun, but when was the last time you get an opportunity to be part of something big…something that can change people. Change history! Rock history. They say indie alternative garage bands are going to be the big thing soon and the next decade. It’s happening now in Southern California. Some in Seattle, but the record stuff is out here in areas like Orange County and the Valley.”
“That’s true,” Dan said. “Music videos are the newest thing. All the kids are watching them. Hmm…Dad might be interested in this.”
“Your Dad?” I asked. “Why?”
Dan laughed and said, “Have you heard of the restaurant chain, BJ Bar and Grill?”
“Yes,” Meecham said. “Nadine brought us to one last summer when we were out here.”
Nadine and the boys exchanged looks and burst out laughing.
“What’s so funny?” I asked.
“Their father…my stepdad owns the chain,” Nadine said.
“Our headquarters is in Orange County,” Dan said. “It’s where we grew up.”
“So you’re familiar with garage bands and the indie rock scene?” Meecham asked.
“I used to DJ at UC Irvine where I went to undergrad,” Dan said. “I’m familiar with the indie rock bands there. Played a bunch of their samples on air.”
“Unbelievable!” I said. “And at first I thought you were just the uptight suit type.”
Dan moved closer to me and said, “I can be fun when I want to be.” His voice was softer and even deeper. But it was meant mostly for me.
“I’d like to see that,” I said, feeling my cheeks grow red.
“I’m here all week,” Dan said. “Staying with my new stepfamily. Dad wants us to spend this week bonding.”
John laughed. “Bonding? Sorry I have to miss that, Bro. I have to head up to San Fran to get some stuff done, and maybe I can get back at the end of this week to do some ‘bonding’, too.”
The two brothers exchanged looks, and I exchanged looks with Meecham and Nadine.
Seems like the sudden wedding, marriage, and insta-family thing came at a big surprise to the boys and Nadine too.
“Well, see you at the end of this week,” John said, giving each of us a hug.
“We’re on about the band still?” I asked him.
“Sure,” he said. “I’m in. I need to get the stress out some way, and playing in a band sounds a whole lot more fun than playing poker with the guys.”
“Somehow, I think you have other ways to blow off stress than just playing poker,” Dan joked.
John shot him a cutting look before waving “bye” to everyone.
Dan took that cue to say his good-byes, too.
And then we were finally alone with Nadine.
Chapter 3
Sookie
“So Nadine,” I said. “What was it you had to tell me?”
“Before we get into that, Nadine. Why didn’t you phone us to tell us your “never again getting married Mom” just got remarried?” Meecham asked.
“And that you are having your ‘bonding’ week with them this week while Meecham and I are here?” I asked. “I mean…would we get in your way? Is Dan and John and your new stepdad supposed to be here in your beach house while we’re here?”
“This used to be just a girl’s pad. Where we can just
walk around in our ugly old pajamas with green avocado face masks on and our hair unwashed, uncombed,” Meecham said. “Now Sookie’s going to be all self-conscious.”
“Not to mention Meecham is going to have to wear a bra instead of letting it all hang out in just a t-shirt and shorts while sunbathing on the deck.”
“And the hot tub?” I asked. “It’s going to get awkward when we sit in the hot tub while trying to extract blackheads from each other.”
Nadine shook her head. “Hold on hold on. First of all, like John said, he won’t be here until the end of the week. And Dan? He pretty much seem to hang by himself. And Mom and new Stepdad…they’re in total honeymoon newlywed phase. They are literally shack up all day and night, oblivious to the existence of us kids. So why this bonding…when they should just go off on a honeymoon and leave us kids alone….is beyond confusing.”
“Oh, and when did we ever sit in the hot tub to pop each others’ pimples and extract blackheads. So gross. Ewww!”
I looked at Meecham and said, “I think we talked about doing that, but we didn’t really.”
Meecham shook her head. “Um…I think we never did go through with it. We thought it would be a good idea of using the steam to open our pores and well…good use to it to remove blackheads.”
“Okay, that would be gross and unsanitary,” Nadine said.
“Yeah, that’s why we didn’t really go through with it” I said.
“Good, because someone’s got to clean the hot tub,” Nadine said, “And usually if it’s not Mom…it’s me…so no, please don’t!”
“Talking of which,” Meecham said. “What do you have to eat?”
“What?” Nadine asked. “How can you think of food right after we were talking about gross things like popping pimples and cleaning the hot tub.”
“What?” Meecham shrugged. “A person’s got to eat, don’t they? It’s been hours since we ate on the plane, and now, it must be late dinner back in New York.”
Meecham walked over to her suitcase, opened it, and pulled out a casual pair of shorts and a t-shirt. I did the same thing. She went behind a screen to change, while I went into the bathroom.
When I came out, Meecham was on her usual bed chatting with Nadine.
“So, it’s perfectly fine you and Sookie stay here as always while you finalize your apartment in Venice,” Nadine said. “I’m just so happy you two finally decided to move here for good!”
“It’ll just be a week or two,” Meecham said. “Now that you have a whole new family living here…brothers and a dad…I think it’s better that Sookie and I have our own place. Our New York apartment will be sold, and we’ll have the means to find a place of our own. Plus Sookie and I will be going to USC for school…possibly working close to there…”
“I get it,” Nadine said. “You need your own place. Have your own lives.”
“But what about you?” Meecham asked. “Now that you’ve graduated from college. What do you plan on doing?”
“You mean, get a real job besides being a beach bum?” Nadine asked.
“Nah,” I said, pulling my hair into a ponytail. “That’s job been filled by me already. Nadine’s too talented to just sit on the beach all day to catch some rays.”
Nadine laughed. “That sounds like a song that Danny Boy can write for us.”
“You mean…” I started singing…
Meecham joined in.
“Beach bum baby, beach bum brat.
Isn’t it wonderful to be that lazy cat?
You stretch out all day
Just worried about what to play
Shimmering, glimmering, in the sun
Just chasing that endless rainbow of fun.
Beach bum baby, beach bum brat.
Isn’t it wonderful to be that lazy cat?
Nadine threw one of her throw pillows at me, which I easily caught.
“Are you calling me lazy?” she asked, acting insulted.
“If you aren’t doing anything more than wasting away the days and your talents lying on the sand on the beach…” I began.
“I’m going to be working with Mom,” Nadine said. “Helping her with event planning and stuff like that.”
“Is that how she met your new Stepfather?” I asked.
Nadine sighed. “Yup. He had an event in Vegas that coincided with her birthday celebration, and apparently they also decided to get hitched.”
“I don’t blame her,” Meecham said. “Mr. Stepdad is a handsome older man, and your Mom had been a widow for so long. It’s too bad she didn’t find him earlier. You’d have grown up with two very handsome brothers who probably would’ve introduced you to all their equally hot guy friends.”
Nadine blushed. “So you think my stepbrothers are hot?”
Meecham and I looked at each other and said, “Duh?”
“Okay, yeah,” Nadine said, looking uncomfortable. “They are too good-looking. Girls come onto them all the time, and well…it’s annoying. I mean, when I’m walking with them, I basically get pushed out of the way when a crowd of girls come over to give them their phone numbers or ask if they can have their pictures taken…like they’re rock stars or something.”
“They’re perfect for members of a boy band,” I said. “Our band.”
Meecham and Nadine smiled widely. “I guessed we can use their good looks for the band,” Nadine said.
We nodded in agreement. “Exactly.”
“Now,” Meecham said, getting up off her bed and going over to open the door. “What do we do about food?”
She swung the door open, and as if appearing out of nowhere, Dan stood there wearing a Ralph Lauren polo top and Bermuda shorts. He looked more preppy than rock star at the moment. “Did I hear you mention ‘food’?” he asked. “I was about to invite you all to one of our restaurants. I’d already checked the refrigerator, and there’s nothing in there except old humus, ketchup, cheese, and nothing we can eat or want to eat.”
“Going out to a restaurant sounds good,” Meecham said.
“You like barbecue ribs and hot wings?” Dan asked.
“Yes,” Meecham said. “I’m starved.”
“Then you’ll like The Pit,” Dan said. “It’s in Santa Monica. I’ll drive you there.”
“Is Ms. Winters and your Dad coming?” I asked.
Dan looked embarrassed. “No, I knocked on their bedroom door, and heard some noises. I think they just want to be alone…”
We all looked at each other. “Okay, too much information,” Nadine said, looking disgusted.
“Awkward,” I said.
“Well, guys,” Meecham said, assuming her grown up voice. “That’s what happens when grown ups get together, get married, and…”
“Move in together,” Dan said.
“Only they have kids who are already semi-adults,” Nadine said.
“Young adults,” Meecham said.
“Could be any age,” I said.
“It’s still awkward,” we all said together.
“Like a twisted grown up version of the Brady Bunch kids,” Nadine said.
“At least we can drive and have a car to get out of the house occasionally, especially when the parents want to get together,” Dan said.
“Especially that,” Nadine said.
Then she turned to smile lovingly at me and Meecham, “I just realized how lucky I am to have you two here. It would be doubly awkward if I had to go through this adulting with my mom and my new stepdad alone.”
“I’m in the same boat,” Dan said. “At least you weren’t the one to hear what went on behind their bedroom door.”
We all looked at each other and burst out laughing.
Bonding. I guess this was what it was like to bond as new siblings in a newly formed family. Whatever it was, it felt good…like Meecham and I, who were literally orphans, had found our family, too.
Chapter 4
Sookie
“So, that is how a good barbecue rib is supposed to taste,” Meecham
said, patting her full stomach.
“I think I ate a whole side of a cow,” I said.
“I did eat a whole side of a cow,” Dan said, taking a swig of his beer.
“Between the two of us, we took on an entire cow,” I joked, taking a swig of my soda.
“The best-tasting ribs I’ve ever had,” Nadine said between bites.
A large African American man wearing a chef’s outfit walked up to our table with a basket of fried onions. “Compliments of the chef,” he said heartily, “Mr. Donovan.”
At that, Dan turned around and recognized the Chef. “Walt!” He got up and shook the Chef’s hand. “How are you, man?”
“Dan Donovan!” Walt the Chef said, laughing. “Better than ever! Pleasure having you stop by The Pit.”
“Why wouldn’t I?” Dan said, patting Walt’s shoulder. “Best ribs in town. I miss having these right at home.”
“We can have these delivered to your home, Mr. Donovan,” Chef Walt said.
“I would love that,” Dan said. “I’m staying close by this week. Malibu, not Newport.”
“New place?” Chef Walt asked.
“You could say it is,” Dan said. “More like new family.”
Chef Walt’s mouth fell open. “You got married?”
Dan laughed, shaking his head. “Not me. No, no no, not even a remote possibility.”
“That would have been a shocker,” Chef Walt said. “You’re still young…about 24 or so?”
“Twenty-five,” Dan said. “I graduated from USC’s MBA program last week.”
“Sorry I missed your graduation,” Chef Walt said.
“Not your fault,” Dan said. “I know you’ve been busy running this new restaurant. You did a great job. It’s one of our best performing restaurants.”
“Thank you,” Chef Walt said. “I try my best. They like my homestyle cooking here, I guess.”