A gazebo sits near the edge of a cliff, amidst a field of miniature sunflowers. The ocean hurls itself at the base of the cliff below. Serenity looks around at the vertically challenged flowers and walks up a small cobblestone path leading to the gazebo. As she enters the gazebo, she looks around at her surroundings. The gazebo is made of metal, a simple ironwork pattern. She loved the top of the gazebo, for it reminds her of one of St. Basil's onion domes in Moscow. In the center of the gazebo sits and aged teak table and four chairs, set for high tea. As her eyes finish roaming, they settle on her mother. As usual, her mother is sitting perfectly: legs crossed, smoking a cigarette. Her long, dark, wavy hair is down and a slight breeze blows a few strands out of her face.
"Sweetie, what's so wrong with visiting them, anyway? They're just people," Serenity's mother asks softly.
"Mom, I know they're just people, but they're just so . . . so . . . happy." Serenity sighs.
Her mother leans over and whispers, "they don't bite, you know."
"Are you sure about that mom?" Serenity replies. "The stories I've heard about Joe . . . "
"SERENITY!"
"Sorry, mom, but . . . "
"But nothing." Her mother leans over her again and places a hand on Serenity comfortingly. "They'll be great; you'll like them. Trust me."
"I just . . . " Serenity interjects.
"Darling," her mother starts, cutting her off. "You'll be just fine. Now, it's time for you to go. You're landing in five minutes."
"Huh?" thinks Serenity, looking confused.
"I love you, sweetie," her mother says, rising from the table.
"I love you, too, mom."
Serenity's mother touches Serenity's cheek, walks out of the gazebo, and heads down the path. Serenity watches her mother walk away and softly smiles.
"Ma'am, Ma'am . . . " The flight attendant shook Serenity gently. Serenity opened her eyes and focused on the flight attendant. "Ma'am, we'll be landing in Orlando in five minutes. Please, buckle up."
"Oh, ok. Thank you," Serenity said, smiling. As she was disembarking the plane, her cell rang. Serenity answered her phone, "Hell's Hot House Bar-n-Grill. We fry the bad boys just the way you like 'em!"
"When are you going to grow up and answer a phone correctly? I swear, you and Chris never learn . . ."
"Good afternoon, Jacqueline. What on Earth could you possibly want now? I'm deboarding!" Serenity said, cutting her off effectively.
"Oh, good! I caught you at the perfect time! Listen, I got held up at work, so I sent someone to pick you up. Just look for your name. Gotta go. Bye!"
"I . . . you . . . but . . . urgh! I hate it when she does that!" Serenity yelled at her phone. As she walked out of the gate, she looked around to try and find whoever was going to pick her up. Finally, she saw two men holding a medium-sized poster board with her name on it.
At first, she didn't recognize the men. The one on the right was short, wearing baggy jeans, a T-shirt, dark sunglasses, and a bucket hat. The one on the left was a definite contrast. He was wearing slightly baggy jeans, a gray wife beater, a black button-down shirt, light blue colored sunglasses, and . . . cornrows!
"Cornrows! Jesus! What next?" Serenity thought. All of a sudden, it hit her. She knew who these guys were! "It can't be . . . Jacs would not do this to me! Wait a minute. Yes, yes, she would pull this on me! Ah, Hell," Serenity thought. "Why me!?!"
As she walked up to the men, the short one ran up to her and all but knocked her down in a wild attempt to hug her. "You're here! You're here! You finally came!" he squealed, and looked back at the tall one. "She came! She came! She came!!" he squealed again, and bounced around.
Serenity raised an eyebrow and looked at the tall one. He mouthed, "Pixie Stix." She mouthed, "Again?" and he just shook his head and smirked.
While Serenity was watching the short one bounce around, the tall one took the initiative and introduced himself and his companion. Expecting a stream of Ebonics to come out of his mouth, she was presently surprised when she heard a soft, southern accent. "You must be Reni. I'm Justin, and that human bouncing ball over there is Chris."
"Ah, I should've known," Serenity replied.
"So, do you need to go to baggage?" Justin asked.
"Unfortunately, yes, I do."
Just looked at her quizzically, and Serenity clarified herself. "I'm not exactly looking forward to spending a week around that. Is he like that all the time?" she said, pointing to where Chris was still bouncing around.
"Not always. But I still feel sorry for you. I remember when he lived with me. I don't want to go through that again! So you have my complete and utter pity," Justin said with a smile.
"Thanks . . . I think," Serenity said as she smiled back.