Author's note: This is yet another one of my LW writing experiments. If you read all seven chapters of
Shadow Lake Estates
I recommend that you click away now, as this will be redundant for you. If you didn't read that story, or if you read the first few chapters and decided it was too complicated to bother reading any further, then this story is for you.
If you clicked on this story because you saw who wrote it, and you're anxious to scroll to the end and leave your one-bomb and semi-literate attempt at a witty insult, please feel free to do so. Unlike some notable authors, my feelings aren't hurt by comments or ratings, so I not only allow anonymous comments, but welcome them with open arms. Obviously, I'd prefer constructive comments, but I cannot deny whatever gets you through the day and fills your heart with joy.
Finally, here is a legal disclaimer especially designed for Whackdoodle: All persons, fictional or nonfictional, either resembling or not resembling characters that are either fictional or nonfictional, within the confines of this fictional story, acting in accordance with the author as specifically and unambiguously depicted through the excruciatingly-crafted words used in this story, who engage in sexual contact of any type during the course of this fictional story, with "sexual contact" defined as any contact that results in the genitals of any fictional character coming into contact, whether brief or prolonged, accidentally or intentionally, with another fictional character's body part or parts, was born no earlier than eighteen years to the exact second from the time at which you, the reader, are reading this fictional story.
Oh, also, there is hardly any sexual contact in this story. Enjoy.
*
At the end of a frantic and stressful week, the Price family's first weekend in their new neighborhood had arrived. Dan shuffled across his backyard toting a heavy cooler filled with beer and soda with one hand while a pair of lawn chairs dangled awkwardly around his other arm. Shuffling alongside him, his wife Denise held a large covered casserole dish. Trailing behind them were their children, Holly and Alex, each clutching a lawn chair of their own. The look on the younger child Alex's face was one of pure excitement and bewilderment, while his older sister appeared as though she were already planning her escape.
Art was stationed near the keg when he spotted his new neighbors slowly approaching through his backyard. He quickly excused himself, took his wife by the arm, and hurried toward them. "Welcome to the neighborhood!" he shouted to them. He extended his hand toward Dan, who was forced to drop his lawn chairs in order to reciprocate. "Art Clevinger," he said with a handshake that was a little too firm. "This is my wife, Roxanne."
"It's so nice to meet you," Roxanne said with an East Coast accent. She had a classically beautiful face and a flawless smile. "We're so glad you could make it!"
"Your timing couldn't be better," Art said. "Our Fourth of July party is pretty much the highlight of the year around here. You'll have a chance to meet all the neighbors. Well, except for the assholes who didn't want to come."
Roxanne thrust an elbow into his side. "You'll figure out eventually that my husband has no filter." She looked toward Denise and lunged toward her to seize the casserole dish from her hands. "Here, let me take that. If you were waiting for my husband to act like a gentleman, you'd be waiting here all afternoon, trust me."
Art laughed and reached down to pick up the lawn chairs Dan had dropped. "Come on," he said. "Let me introduce you to the rest of the folks."
All eyes seemed to be on the Price family as they were ushered through the crowd. After finding a place for their belongings, Dan cracked open a can of beer. Family by family, the Prices were introduced to their new neighbors.
"Dan and Denise, this is Bill and Kara Thompson," Art said. "They live just next door."
The couples exchanged handshakes and greetings.
"And who are the two troublemakers you've brought with you?" Denise asked Kara with a sly grin, nodding toward the two young children maintaining a safe distance at their mother's side.
Kara smiled. "This is Matt," she said, gently placing a hand on her son's head. "And this little one," she said, referring to the young girl clinging to her leg, "is Ella."
"It's nice to meet you, Ella," Denise said, sweetly. She turned to her son. "Alex, it looks like Matt is around your age."
"I'm nine," Alex responded. Matt nodded his head and smiled.
Noting the baseball cap on Matt's head, Dan asked, "Do you play baseball?" Another nod. "Well, Alex here just started playing ball last year. Didn't you, Alex? He really loves baseball."
"Is that right?" Bill said. "We'll have to get him signed up for little league. I'm the coach for one of the teams. You'll love it out here, Alex. We play baseball all year 'round!"
Alex gave him an uncomfortable grin and nodded.
"So, where are you from?" Bill asked.
"Just outside of Kansas City, Missouri," Dan responded.
"You're a long way from home, Toto," Art noted.
Dan forced a chuckle. It wasn't the first time he had heard that lame line. Soon, more people surrounded the new neighbors, each offering a handshake and a friendly smile. There were so many new names to remember, it soon became overwhelming. At last, after the formalities had ended, the women, men, and children split off into their own little groups. The men stood in a circle around an array of coolers, clutching their beers.
"So, what do you do for a living?" Bill asked Dan.
Dan hesitated for a moment and took another sip of his beer. Although it was a question considered to be commonly polite, he found it oddly intrusive as of late. "I used to own my own business," he said, "but now I guess you can say I'm between jobs. Denise is the new breadwinner in the family."
"So, you got yourself a sugar-mama!" Art said, patting Dan on the shoulder. "Good for you! I need to find me one of them!"
The other men nodded in sympathy. "Times are tough," Bill noted.
"This economy sucks monkey nuts," Art added, punctuating his sentence with a loud belch. "Thankfully, I work at that firehouse down the road, and those jobs are tough to outsource."
The men chuckled. "I had a landscaping business," Dan continued. "It was a really great business, and we were really doing well when the housing market was at its peak. But then the market collapsed, and a lot of my customers just disappeared. Thankfully, Denise had just finished up with her degree. She got an opportunity to come out here, and we just couldn't pass it up. I'll find something out here eventually."
"I'm sure you will," Bill reassured him.
As the afternoon turned into late evening and the sun began to fade behind the mountains, leaving a spectacular canopy of oranges and reds in its wake, the party revelers grew a little more boisterous. Polite conversation turned off-color, and comments were made that would have been stifled earlier in the day.
Throughout the day, Dan couldn't help but notice the way that several of the husbands were looking at his wife. They didn't do it rudely or overtly, but he caught several of them subtly checking her out. Although it made him feel uneasy, he could hardly blame them. Denise was a knockout, and she looked particularly gorgeous that day. After Holly was born, she had let herself go, physically. She no longer watched what she ate, and there was simply no time for her to exercise. She had just begun to get back into shape when she announced she was pregnant with Matt. They hadn't planned to have more than one child, so he was a surprise, to say the least, born nine years after his sister.
After Matt was born, Denise was more determined than ever to whip herself back into shape, both physically and mentally. She had graduated from college with a degree in business, but became pregnant with Holly soon thereafter, putting her career on hold. With Dan's thriving landscaping business providing plenty of income for the family, Denise decided to go back to school after Matt was born to get her Master's degree.
That is when their lives took an unexpected turn. The economic downturn, combined with increased competition, brought Dan's business to its knees. Suddenly, for the first time in their marriage, it became difficult to make ends meet. Not only did their finances suffer, but their marriage did as well. They began arguing more often and their sex life practically disappeared. Even Holly and Matt began to suffer as a result of all the stress in the house.
