Pine Grove is mostly like every other city of its size, stuck somewhere in limbo between "large rural town" and "small city". The only feature that distinguishes it from all the others across the US is the military research station, which sits on the south of the town. Officially, its purpose is to monitor communications from all branches of the US Military. But among the civilian population of Pine Grove, speculation proclaims the site is responsible for everything from experimental weaponry to biological warfare development to (of course) alien autopsies and mind control.
Todd Harkin passed the conspicuously nondescript turnoff to the base on his way into town. Yes, after a hot 6 hour drive, he'd finally be back home in less than 10 minutes now. Then it would be time for three whole months of relaxing, drinking with friends, and his Mom's cooking. After another whole year of living and eating on a college student's budget, the home cooked meals were what Todd was looking forward to the most of all.
The Harkin family home is a two-storey, four bedroom house in Pine Grove's slightly-above-middle-class neighborhood. In a bigger city, it would cost a fortune and the family who lived there would probably have a maid and maybe even a gardener. But the Harkin family bought at the right time, and where nowhere near wealthy enough to afford a maid. Todd's father Patrick is an accountant, his mother Louisa is a high school teacher, his sister Jodie is a hairdresser, and his grandparents June and John had moved in (rent-free, of course) when Todd was 14.
Todd finally pulled his beat-up old station wagon into the driveway and killed the headlights. Stepping out of the car, relishing the feeling of being able to stretch his legs again. His Dad welcomed him inside and helped him with the few bags he brought back - everything else stayed in the dorm's storage until next year. They shook hands and conversed about the drive - it was good, traffic a bit heavy in parts, and yeah it was hot out. Inside, his Mom and grandparents welcomed him home, but his sister was out with her boyfriend so wouldn't be joining them for dinner.
Todd absolutely devoured the spaghetti dish his Mom had made in honor of his homecoming. Just one more year of college to go and he'd be out in "the real world" and he'd have to cook his own meals, Patrick reminded/threatened.
"Yeah, but until then I'm gonna make the most of the free food and board," Todd joked.
After dinner, Todd unpacked his things, said goodnight to his family - yeah, the drive really took it out of me - and dicked around on his laptop, gaming and chatting and YouTubeing, in his room until his usual bedtime of 1am. It wasn't like he was avoiding his family, necessarily - his was just not the type of family that spend all their time hanging out together.
11:30am seemed like as good a time to get out of bed as any. Patrick and Jodie were already at work, and Todd's grandparents had gone out for the day, likely hanging out with their group of fellow retirees. So Louisa was the only one around to greet Todd when he came downstairs for something that resembled breakfast.
"Well! Morning, sleepyhead," Louisa chirped from the kitchen. "Seems like you caught up on sleep, at least." Todd's Mom was hidden behind the fridge door, with shopping bags strewn around the floor behind her.
"Hey, Mom. Yeah, pretty good sleep." He was wearing his boxer shorts and no shirt, his lean physique on display with nobody to appreciate it. He stared blankly at the kitchen floor for a while, trying to wake enough to remember how to make cereal.
"Sit down; I can fix up something for you once I finish putting the groceries away."
"Hell, I'm not gonna say no to that." He took a chair at the table and checked up on his Twitter feed while waiting for his breakfast.
"Oh, and I went by that local, organic-y grocer this morning, too." Louisa emerged from the fridge with a plastic bag full of large oranges. "Thought we could have freshly squeezed juice for a change. What do you think?"
"Hmm?" Todd looked up. "Oh, sure. Sounds great, actually. Thanks, Mom." He smiled.
She nodded and flashed a small smile in return, then set about gathering the jug and orange juicer. It was so nice having the whole family back under one roof again. It was only a matter of time before Jodie will be moving in with Steven, and Todd would be finished college in a year, headed for Lord knows where. She was determined to make the most of it this time, before it was too late.
Louisa's new air freshener silently sprayed a burst of lavender-scented aerosol into the room. Louisa loved lavender, and when she saw the stall out the front of the supermarket was giving away free automatic air-fresheners, there was no way she was going home without one. Slicing up the oranges, she asked, "So, have you seen your little sister yet?"
"Nah, haven't seen her yet. But I think I heard her get home, maybe." Now he was starting to feel guilty about being so antisocial after dinner. He knew how much his Mom loved it when he hung out with his sister, even if all they really did was exchange banter and quotes from their favorite movies.
Todd stood up. "Okay, I'm gonna get some cereal while you're working on the juice. Starting to feel bad over here."
Louisa dutifully made space for Todd to get his favorite bowl and started juicing the oranges while he filled the bowl with a ridiculous amount of Froot Loops. But she bit her tongue. He was studying to be a sports physician, for crying out loud! He knows about good nutrition; just let him have his fun while he's on summer vacation.
Louisa kept the small talk coming as she worked on the juice. "Have you heard from any of your friends in town? Catching up with them this week?"
He frowned at his phone, and sighed. "Nah, they've all bailed. By some massive coincidence, everyone's got some kind of 'family thing' this week." His tone made it readily apparent he was not convinced.
"It's just one week," Louisa tried to console him. "They're not going to be busy with family all summer, right?"
Todd muttered a halfhearted grunt of agreement. He was more than halfway through his Froot Loops by the time Louisa had finished squeezing the half-dozen oranges it took to fill up the jug. She poured two glasses and put a few ice cubes in each glass. The cubes immediately split in the warm juice, making little cracking noises in the glass.
The juice looked too perfect - like something out of a commercial. Just the right amount of pulp, a bit of froth at the top, ice cubes dancing and clinking around together.
Louisa sat down across from her son and took a sip. "Oh wow! They're, like, super sweet - much better than the ones you get at the supermarket." A fresh, cold OJ on a hot summer's morning - what could be better?
Todd took a gulp and agreed. "I used to think all that crap about 'buying local because it's better' was just marketing hype, but if this is what they're growing here? Maybe they have a point."
Louisa fanned the top of her sundress. "I can't believe how warm it is already. Today's gonna be a scorcher."
Todd shrugged. "I'm okay for now. And so long as we stay inside with the AC, it can't really touch us."
