Chapter 108

• I quickly changed, getting ready for the day and headed out into the hallway. I noticed the door to Bella's room was open as I passed by peeking in. Her bed was already made, though not quite as crisp looking as Doreen did it, telling me in an instant she had done so herself, far earlier than Doreen would have as I doubted she was even up making her rounds yet. Especially after last night. The memory of that bringing a smile to my face along with a little consternation. I had broken a personal rule about fooling around with the hired staff. The last thing I wanted to do was complicate things for my parents. They both liked Irene, Andy and Doreen immensely, though even that thought held me for a moment as I remembered the video camera, and the fact that Bella had recorded god knows what going on long before I had come down to the rec room. Once again, I shook my head considering that. Mom...dad. Even they had seemingly changed a lot since Bella's arrival. If we had all changed this much in so short a period of time, what would things be like in six months? The mind boggled.
• And I was wrong about something else too as I headed down the stairs towards the kitchen. The smell of freshly brewed coffee reaching me long before that. Irene was obviously in attendance, no doubt planning out dinner for the evening. I knew dad would most likely leave for work straight from the hotel they had stayed at. Mom at some point, after lounging around a bit, doing some shopping first before heading home, wouldn't be home until sometime late in the afternoon. And for me...especially on Tuesdays, I wouldn't be home until almost seven or seven-thirty, just in time for dinner as things usually went.
• Yeah...it was going to be a long day. Which I was thinking about when I reached the landing and nearly collided with Doreen carrying a load of freshly cleaned wash back up the stairs.