Chapter 6

Two months later.

We sat at the dinner table, and Mom and Dad made an announcement.

They were going to have a baby. I almost passed out from the shock.

Adam thought it was awesome, because that way he would no longer be the baby in the house.

Me on the other hand, I was speechless. "When did you find out about this?" I asked in disbelief.

"Just yesterday," Mom said, looking really happy.

It was three days before school got out. That meant a little less than three weeks before Kyle had to leave to go back to Australia. After he came back from the hospital, things got a lot better between us. We had hooked up once or twice, but half the time there was no need to. We were cute together. Before long, he would have to leave, to go back to Australia, and spend three months before we could see each other again. I tried to put the thought out of my mind.

"This is really exciting. When's the due date?" Kyle asked.

"September 27, and we are not sure whether or not it is a boy or girl, but we can't wait to find out!" Dad said, looking happier than he had seemed to be in a really long time.

"That is really awesome Dad!" I said, really happy.

"Well, we are also going to go up to the cabin during winter break. We will stay there until Kyle has to leave, and when he leaves, we will return home," Mom said, looking sad about Kyle leaving. We had all come to consider him a part of the family.

We agreed, remembering that Kyle would be leaving. We were sad. I was probably the saddest though. Kyle and I were really close, almost as close as Courtney and I were. In fact, Mike and him had become best friends, so the four of us were all like a little group. Things were so perfect, and then they were almost over.

I went up to my room, and dug around in my closet until I found what I was looking for. My duffel bag. I pulled it out, and unzipped it, taking out everything. I threw it in the wash, then the dryer, and before long, I was packing.

I had most of my clothes out of my closet, and drawers, and in piles on my bed. I was packing a lot of my clothes for the trip out. We would be spending two whole weeks out there, and while there, I try to do as little laundry as possible. At the end of the second week, Kyle would be leaving, and once in Australia, he would have a few days to get ready for school again.

I packed everything, from bathing suits to heels to skirts to my oldest, favorite sweatshirt. I have to use more than just my duffel bag too. I finish packing, and then go downstairs with all of my bags. I find Kyle down there, putting his bags with the others in the front hall.

"Hey," I say to him.

"Hey yourself."

"You packed already?"

"Yeah."

"Cool, so am I."

We went into the living room, and sat there together, talking about everything that had happened since he first came.

I remember the way I felt when I first saw him. I had thought he was totally hot, and I fell for him right away.

When I asked Kyle what he remember the most, his answer surprised me. He remembered the time we were standing at the top of the Cleopatra, looking into the water.

Together, we sat there for a long time, thinking, talking, and remembering.

I sat in the back seat, sandwiched between Kyle and Adam, and some bags. Most of our stuff fit in the trunk, with some on the top, but we all managed to fit. We were driving to the cabin in the woods. The family's cabin in the woods. I knew Kyle would love it.

We hadn't been to the cabin since last year, during winter break. I remembered why Mom had reminded me to pack all my gifts and stuff, we would be spending Christmas and New Years out there.

The house was beautiful, actually more like a lake house. The family owned the creak that ran through the back yard, and part of the lake that was in the distance. Otherwise, the rest of the land was woods. We had cleared some trails, but everything else was natural.

I fell asleep, leaning against Kyle's chest, with Adam's head on my lap, him fast asleep. Before long, the entire back seat was asleep, dreaming.

Husband and wife sat in the front two seats, not speaking, just listening to orchestra music that quietly flowed out of the speakers of the car.

Mom looked behind her. Seeing first her youngest son, Adam. He looked so peaceful lying on his sister's lap. Just wait until he sees the rest of the world, she thought to herself. He will still be as wonderful as always though.

Kyle was the one who woke me up. I felt him moving under me, trying not to wake me, but he did anyway.

I sat up, stretching my arms a bit, and yawning.

In the front seats, Dad was driving, listening to the radio, and Mom was asleep. I carefully lifted Adam up, and leaned him against the door, making sure it was locked.

Kyle was digging around in a bag near him. I leaned over, "What are you looking for?" I whispered.

"I'll show you when I find it."

It was a deck of cards. We spent the rest of the trip dozing and playing cards.

Dad pulled off the highway, drove through a little town, and then continued down the road for a mile and a half. He pulled into a gravel driveway, and continued down to the cabin. He stopped in front of the cabin, and we all piled out, stretching our legs, and taking things out of the car.

Mom stopped us though.

"Nothing goes in the cabin until it's clean," she says.

I went up the stairs, and opened the door. I immediately started sneezing. "I perfectly agree with you, it's gross."

So we set to work.

Mom dusted and cleaned the living room, Kyle did the bedrooms, Dad did the rest of the rooms, Adam did the porches, and I did the kitchen.

When you walk up the stairs to the porch, you find a hammock to your left, a swing to your right, and rocking chairs all in between. The back porch is the same way, if you are walking out the back door.

Once inside, there is a very small hall with a coat closet, and on ahead is the living room. Out of the living room there is a hall. To the right, it goes: bedroom, bathroom, and then study/library. On the left, it goes: bathroom, bedroom, bathroom. Mom and Dad have the bedroom on the left, and us kids have the one on the right. Halfway down the hall, there is a ladder that pulls down from the ceiling, leading up to the attic.

At the end of the hall is the kitchen, which takes up the whole back side of the house. The whole kitchen is made up of windows, then there is the door leading to the back porch, with the back yard. In the kitchen, far off to the right is the washer and dryer.

Even though it is winter, in California it is still almost eighty degrees.

I scrub the counter tops, wash the windows, run the dishwasher with all of the dishes, mop the floor, then go out to the car. I take all of the groceries and things inside, throwing everything else that was already there into the garbage.

I heard Adam give a yell from outside, and I hurried out.

He was taking some things out of the car, and obviously needed some help.

We were taking stuff out of the car, as everyone else gradually began to join us.

I picked up my bags, and went to the kids room. I went inside, and dropped my bags on the bed by the window.

There were three beds in there. One on the wall where the door was, and the other two were on either side of the chest of drawers.

I unpacked, a progress that took almost a half hour. There was a chest of drawers between my bed and Kyle's, with a lamp at each end, and a mirror above it. I used the drawers on the right side, filling the top one with beauty products, etc.