Chapter 1: Arrival

Roger parked the car in the driveway of the beach house as fat drops of rain came pelting down. The sun, obscured by the overcast sky and down-pouring rain, was setting and what little daylight they had was quickly being diminished. Roger noticed the other car in the driveway and was curious who it belonged to. Sitting next to him his sister Miranda was more interested in the torrent as she eyed the rain with obvious dismay.

"Maybe we should wait for it to let up some?" Miranda asked, looking to her brother.

"I don't know about you, but I'm tired and hungry and my legs are cramped from the long drive. Who knows how long it will take for the rain to let up? I'm sorry, but I don't want to wait." He took Miranda's hand in a comforting gesture, looked into her azure eyes, and smiled. "Anyway, a little water never hurt anyone, so let's just get this over with, ok?" Miranda hesitated, but then gave her assent.

"I'll get the bags, all you have to do is get to the house," Roger said as he got out of the car. He quickly grabbed the two duffel bags, the one suitcase, and the bag of groceries in the back seat. Using the shoulder straps of the luggage, he managed to carry everything in one trip. He made it to the front porch as quickly as possible. Setting everything down, he then looked in his pocket for the key to the front door.

Meanwhile, Miranda was still in the car taking a couple moments to work up the nerve to brave the deluge. Finally she took a deep breath, opened the car door, quickly got out, slammed the door shut, and made a dash through the falling drops until she made it to the safety of the sheltering porch. As soon as she arrived, an intensely bright streak of lighting made a crack in the sky and not more than a second afterwards a loud boom of thunder exploded through the air so loud the vibration shook the ground and rattled their teeth.

Miranda yelped in fear and grabbed a firm hold of Roger's arm. Roger stood silent for a few seconds, a little in awe of the power of the storm. He then turned to Miranda and gave her arm reassuring pat. He studied his sister in that moment. The humidity had added some curl to her normally straight ebon hair that beset her gorgeous face. Rainwater dripped from her damp shoulder length hair onto her pink tee shirt, the wetness on her shirt made it less opaque and allowed him to clearly see the black lace bra she wore under it and the nice shape of her small firm breasts. She probably thought she looked a mess, but she was breathtaking.

Miranda gave him a sheepish look and said, "Sorry, you know I've never liked thunderstorms."

Roger smiled at her and said, "No problem; that lightning even shook me up some!" Roger stared at his sister brimming with the love he felt for her. Someday she was going to make some man incredibly happy. Not just because of her looks but for the amazing woman he knew her to be. The thought evoked a pang of emptiness inside him as he contemplated that he would never find the right woman for him. "I'm sorry I made you get out of the car, I just wanted to get inside before it was completely dark. Also, I'm curious as to who that car belongs to." He said as he turned his head and pointed to the car with his chin.

Just then the door to the house opened and a woman stood in the doorway. She wore white shorts and a purple tank top. She was not too tall, and looked to be in her early to mid thirties. Roger thought she was a handsome woman. She had long auburn hair, hazel eyes, and full lips. She was a few pounds overweight, but the weight was distributed in good proportion, and the plumpness of her body added to an overall quality of ripeness about her. She had a voluminous bosom and clearly wasn't wearing a bra as her nipples could easily be made out through her top. Roger, trying to be polite, managed not to stare at her breasts and focus on her face, though it was awfully difficult.

Before either he or Miranda could say anything, the woman spoke, "Oh my, I thought I heard someone out here!" Her voice had a deep seductive quality and was satiny smooth. "Please, come in before you get any wetter!"

Roger and Miranda shared a confused look, but the rain was coming down even harder and the wind was blowing, so they decided to quickly get inside. Roger grabbed the luggage and Miranda the groceries. Once inside, they set everything down in the foyer. The house looked pretty much the same as it did when they were here last year. The living room was spacious and stylishly decorated with white walls and carpeting, beige furniture, a big screen television, a grand fireplace, and large bay windows. Off of the living room was a set of double doors made of glass panels and brass knobs that led out to a broad deck and beyond that was the beach. The house had a very fresh and open feel.

To the left there was a large kitchen, pantry, and a dining room with a big glass table set in brass. To the right was a hallway that led to a game room, two regular bedrooms, and one master bedroom. Everything looked neat and tidy, but there was some evidence that the place was being occupied.

The mysterious woman handed each of them a towel. Roger and Miranda both thanked her and dried themselves off. "My name is Julie Thaliana," she said offering a handshake to each.

"I'm Roger Sowell and this is my sister Miranda." Roger said shaking her hand, and then Miranda did the same. Then he said, "Ummm... I am also confused. This is our beach house, at least for the next couple weeks... unless I am mistaken?"

"Oh dear, I was afraid that was who you were when I saw you." Julie said looking a bit embarrassed. "I work for the company that owns this house and the past two weeks were my allotted time in the time share. A friend of mine at the company told me you would all be in Europe for the summer, and I thought since no one would be using it and I was having such a nice time here, I didn't think it would hurt if I stayed." Her cheeks turned a bright crimson.

"Our parents are vacationing in Europe," Miranda explained, "but they told us we could come and stay here in their place."

"I see. I am so sorry to have infringed upon your time. That was so wrong of me! I'll pack my things and leave immediately." She turned to go down the hallway to the master bedroom.

Miranda stared after her a moment then turned to her brother. "Roger, it's pouring outside and the road conditions are terrible. We can't make her leave in this!"

Roger nodded. "I don't mind letting her stay a little while longer if you don't."

Miranda shook her head indicating she didn't. "Miss Thaliana, wait!" Miranda said, meeting up with her at the door to the room. "The weather is just awful right now, we couldn't make you leave in it. Please stay until the rain lets up."

Julie gave her a big smile. "You two are so sweet! But I can't impose on you, after what I've done."

"Don't worry about it. It's no big deal, really!" Miranda assured her. "It's not like we had any plans tonight or anything. Just stay until the weather improves."

"Well, as long as you don't mind, I would really appreciate that. That is very generous of you, Thank you."

"Your welcome," said Miranda.

"I'll tell you what," Julie said, "I was just about to fix dinner before you came, why don't I make a nice home cooked meal for all us? It would be the least I could do for the kindness you showed me."

Roger materialized out of no where. "Food?" he asked.

Julie nodded. "I make great crab cakes, and I just bought some fresh crab meat, there's enough for all of us."

Roger was practically drooling. "That would be wonderful!" He said. "I'm starved!"

"I can probably have dinner ready in about half an hour, if that's ok?" Julie asked.

"That's fine," said Miranda while Roger looked a bit pained, he was starving and ready to eat now. Miranda elbowed her brother. "Since the weather is so bad, we probably would have stayed in and only ate junk food. This is much better, thank you Miss Thaliana!" Roger nodded his head enthusiastically, he could at least agree with that. Even if he had to wait a little while, it would be worth it to have a real meal.

"It's my pleasure. All I ask is, don't call me 'Miss Thaliana', please call me Julie." Roger and Miranda nodded their heads in acquiescence.

Julie went to the kitchen and got busy making dinner while Miranda went and set the table. Roger busied himself by putting away the groceries he and Miranda brought. It was typical food they liked to have around the house if they couldn't find something better; hot dogs, sandwich meats, cheese, bread, chips, some snack cakes, beer, and soda. After he was finished, Julie asked him if he would mind making the salad, Roger was happy to help, at least he could munch on some veggies while he made it.

Soon the aroma from the oven was driving Roger crazy. The crab cakes smelled wonderful, he couldn't wait to dig in. Finally Julie announced that everything was ready and they sat down at the dining room table to eat. Roger helped himself to two crab cakes, some salad, and some mixed vegetables. The food was terrific and he managed to tell that to Julie in between mouthfuls. Miranda also complimented her on the meal.

Julie beamed at the praise, "Thanks you two, you made my day." She said.

During dinner they chatted and learned more about each other. Roger surmised that Julie was much of a free spirit. She was single, never married and had no children. She was an artist and loved to paint, she hadn't been able to sell any of her work as of yet, so she worked at the advertising agency where Roger and Miranda's father worked.

"I'm not much for the corporate scene, but they like my work and the job pays good money plus the perks!" She said indicating the beach house with a smile.

Roger and Miranda told Julie some of their lives. They were attending the same college, Miranda was nineteen, majoring in business, and had just completed her freshman year, Roger was twenty-one, and about to begin his senior year majoring in pre law. They were both on break from classes during the summer and when their father offered them the two weeks at the company beach house, they thought it would be a nice get away.

"You're parents didn't offer to take you to Europe with them?" Julie asked.

"Ha!" Roger scoffed, "They prefer to vacation alone. We used to go on vacations together, for the past four summers we have come here, but now that both of us are in college and spend most of time away from home anyway, they don't feel any guilt going off without us."

"They've never been too comfortable around us," Miranda explained, "they've always focused on their careers, Dad with the company and Mom as a lawyer, they never spent much time with us. We spent most of lives being looked after by relatives and sitters, and then when Roger became old enough they just left him in charge."

"Oh, that's such a shame, but I'm sure they still love you very much."

"Maybe," Miranda said, "but it still hurts when you feel like you're parents' jobs are more important than you."

"Yet you two are following in your parents' footsteps in regard to your studies." Julie observed.

"Well, Miranda is adept at business, and I've developed a predilection for the study of law." Roger said, "I suppose it's a legacy we inherited, but not through any concerted effort from our parents, it was part genetics, part environment. We had a penchant for these fields and we've been exposed to them all our lives. So, yes, we are following in their footsteps, but we are taking advantage of what we know, in order to have successful careers."

"Are you also going to follow in you're parents' footsteps by putting your careers before everything else, before your friends and family, before love?" Julie asked.

"Maybe love isn't for everyone," Roger said somberly, "maybe focusing on my career is the best thing I can do. I don't know if I am good at being with people socially."

"I enjoy being with you Roger," Julie said, "and your sister must also, after all, you both go to the same college and now you two are taking your vacation together."

"Well, Dad offered the place to both of us; I guess he felt some guilt for going off to Europe without us, and both of us love coming here." Miranda said as Julie smiled in understanding. "Roger can be a pain sometimes..." Miranda added with a quirky grin. Roger gave her a surprised and innocent "Who, me?" look then broke out in a grin. "But all in all he is okay to hang out with." she finished.

"Ditto sis," Roger said. Then he added, "This is a great place to go on vacation and it's big enough that we won't get in each other's way. Coming here with our parents, even when we vacationed together we weren't really together; we learned how to stay out of their way. We know the area here and we each have our own haunts we like to frequent." Roger looked at his sister appreciatively, "But it's also nice to hang out with my little sister sometimes too." He admitted and Miranda smiled warmly.

"Well I've only known you guys for a short time, but in my opinion you're good people. I think both of you are great to hang out with." Julie said.

"Thank you, Julie. That's nice of you to say." Roger said, he and Miranda looking pleased. Actually, he felt the same way towards Julie. There was something about her... she had a friendly, playful quality that he found charming, yet he could also sense a feeling of melancholy emanating from her at times. It was strange, he barely knew this woman, but he periodically felt like he wanted to comfort her. He could tell that Miranda was fond of her too.

After dinner, the three of them went over to the capacious sectional sofa in the living room to continue talking for a while. They each had a beer with them to drink. The thunder and lightning had let up by this time, but the rain was still continuing to steadily fall. When Julie excused herself to go to the bathroom, Roger and Miranda discussed the idea of inviting her to stay the entire night, both thought it would be a good idea.

Upon returning from the bathroom Julie said, "Well kids, this has been a really terrific evening. I want to thank you again for your kindness. I feel as if I made a couple of new friends, I hope we can stay in touch! But now I think I should be on my way."

"Julie," Roger began, "it's still raining and it's very dark out. We don't want anything to happen to our new friend. Like I said this is a big place, there is more than enough room here, we would be happy if you stayed the night."

"Really?" asked Julie.

"Of course," Miranda said.

Julie hugged both of them. "You two are just the sweetest kids I've ever met!"

Roger and Miranda returned the hug. "We like you too." Roger said laughing

They all got a second beer to drink, sat back on the couch, and resumed talking. Julie took her sandals off and pulled her legs up under her on the couch, Miranda mirrored her action, and Roger took his shoes off as well and put his feet up on the coffee table. Then Julie pulled her purse over, opened it, and took something out. Roger raised his eyebrows in surprise when he recognized it as a joint.

"You guys won't freak out on me if I light up would you? I'm not a pot head really. I just enjoy it occasionally, especially when I'm all ready having a good time."

"It doesn't bother me." Roger said, "I never saw the harm in smoking pot once in a while." He smiled.

"I know," replied Julie. "I mean, I never touch the harder shit that can really fuck you up, but c'mon, this stuff isn't any worse than alcohol or tobacco." Julie pointed to their empty bottles of beer on the table.

"Yeah, I agree with you," said Miranda.

Julie lit the joint and inhaled. Roger soon started to smell a strong herbal scent. Julie exhaled then said. "If something makes you feel good, and you are not harming anyone else doing it, then I don't think it's right to be told you're not allowed to do it. I don't believe in telling people how they should live their lives. Truth in advertising is what I think is important, the government's roll should be to make sure we have all the information possible on whatever the fuck we are putting in our bodies then let us make our own decisions, stupid or wise." Julie looked a little chagrin. "Sorry, didn't mean to go off on a rant there. I just have strong feelings about this. When my father was diagnosed with cancer and had to go in for chemotherapy, it would make him so nauseous and the only thing that would make him feel better was smoking marijuana. I was his primary caregiver and I supplied him with the pot. At first I had to go to fucking drug dealers on the street to get it, eventually I learned to grow my own. Here was this thing that made my dad feel better and I had to go through so much trouble because it was illegal.