Summer was watching an old movie from the 1940s on her TV. She was a sucker for those romantic melodramas they made back in her parents' day; the ones with the overwrought acting and convoluted plots about star crossed lovers. This one was called "The Doubtful And The Desperate" from 1948 starring Ham Johnstone & Peggy Wolffit. The movie had reached it's climactic confrontation scene and Summer was gripped by the "will they or won't they?" ending.
"Sylvia...ever since I met you I've felt so desperately gay"
"Oh Roger...don't say that! I'm nothing compared to Constance! She's the one you should be with, not me!"
"Oh pshaw with Constance! She means nothing to me! No woman does...except you, Sylvia!"
"But I am but your poor stenographer, plain and unsophisticated!"
"You were never just my stenographer...ever since I removed those cumbersome glasses from your face and let your hair down you've transformed into much, much more of a beauty than the Constance Glenhills or Paloma von Stehrenburgs or Lady Florence Fortescues of the world! I rejected them all and instead I pledge my heart and soul to you, Sylvia!"
"Oh Roger!"
"Could you?"
"Yes?"
"Would you?"
"Yes"
"Might you?"
"Oh yes, Roger! Just say the words"
"Would you...marry me, Sylvia?"
"Say yes, Sylvia! Say yes!" said Summer, her stomach tightening in anticipation.
"Oh Roger...of course I'll marry you!" said Sylvia.
"That's my girl!" he replied with a broad smile across his face. "Cigarette?"
"Why thank you!"
THE END
The music swelled up into a romantic crescendo and Summer took out a paper tissue from a box next to her and dabbed the corners of her eyes so that her eyeliner wouldn't smudge. Those movies always got to her.
Do relationships happen like that in real life? A poor, humble working girl with a kind heart and a rich, powerful man who's lonely and wants to share his life with a special someone coming together to overcome the social hurdles and triumph over all? It's all so romantic but reality is that this girl is dating her housemate and he's not exactly a Gregory Peck, Gary Cooper or Ham Johnstone. But he's cute and fun... she thought as she got up to switch off the TV. Speaking of her boyfriend, she decided to go and see him in the study; he was finishing up a work project this morning so she had left him to it and watched the tear jerker movie instead.
He wasn't in their bedroom so Summer guessed he was in the study but as she got closer she could hear strange noises coming from within. It was Travis' voice alright but what she could hear were these gutteral, sub-human grunts.
"HNGUH! HNGUH! OH YES! HNUGH! HOO-RAH!"
And then that was followed up by Travis saying odd things in a voice that sounded part satisfied and partly in some kind of discomfort.
"HNGUH! YES! YOU CAN DO THIS! YOU'RE A TIGER! GRRRR!"
"Travis are you OK in there?" said Summer, with a note of concern in her voice.
"HNGUHHHHRURRRRH!"
He hadn't heard her so she turned the door handle and gingerly opened the door. Peeping her head through the gap she saw Travis standing in the middle of the room, facing a mirror. He was wearing only a pair of underpants and was flexing in front of the mirror.
"Travis?" she said, trying to get his attention. He heard her voice, immediately stopped flexing and spun around to see her. It was if he had suddenly become self-aware of where he was, what he was doing and what he was wearing. The bullish facade soon evaporated and was replaced by awkwardness.
"Summer! I can explain..." he squeaked.
"You're a tiger, are you?" she responded.
"It's...a confidence building exercise!"
"Sure it is. But Travis, it's 11am and you're still in your underwear!" She said, looking him up and down in disapproval.
"We haven't got anything scheduled for this morning, have we?"
"That's not the point! I've been up for hours, made breakfast, cleaned the bathroom and managed to fit in a movie by now. You're still in your boxers and grunting in front of a mirror!"
"It's a Saturday, we've got nothing booked and how I choose to spend my morning is my affair!" he said, mustering up some dignity that had gone when he was interrupted by Summer.
Travis went over to the single bed that was in the study and sat down. Summer came and joined him.
"So what's this confidence building exercise you're doing? What's it for?" she asked.
"Oh just a general perk yourself up routine. I read about it in a magazine and thought I'd try it." Travis replied. He was being evasive right now because he was actually doing the routine to prepare himself for the biggest undertaking he was going to make in his life up to this point: He was going to propose to Summer. The beginning of the idea came from Suzy and Neil's wedding, where he saw Summer looking unbelievably beautiful in her bridesmaid's outfit and and in his mind he recoloured her powder blue dress into white and it all seemed to fit perfectly...he wanted to marry Summer from that point on. He had left the proposal for a little while, so that their wedding wouldn't be too close to the Humphries' and now seemed the perfect time to pop the question. He had been psyching himself up in the mirror to calm the butterflies in his stomach.
"...and that is why Aunt Muriel is having everyone around to her place this weekend." Summer said, her anecdote reaching an end and Travis barely catching any of it as he was lost in thought.
"Hmm, Summer...you'll be glad to know I'm going to get dressed now." he said.
"OK, I'll leave you to it. See you in a bit" she said, standing up and giving him a cute wave with her fingers. Another thing he loved about her, all those little gestures.
He got up and got dressed and then snuck out of the house to go on a little errand around the corner. He wanted to pick a flower from the community garden and use it as part of his proposal. Everything was in full bloom and the apple tree was covered in juicy looking fruit. He saw the gardener...one of a group of semi-retired people who, for a modest fee paid by the city council, tended these small lots...and approached her for some advice on flowers.
Her back was towards him as she watered one flower bed and she didn't notice him approaching.
"Excuse me" he said, tapping her on her shoulder.
"AARGH!" she cried out in shock and she stood up, bolt upright and quickly spun around to face him.
"AAARGH!" Travis said, also in shock.
"What the hell are you doing?" she cried out at him. "Keep your distance; I have pepper spray and am prepared to use it!"
"Whoa, calm down! I'm a local...I live in that house right there! I just wanted to ask you a question about these flowers!"
The gardener looked at Travis suspiciously and then said "Wait, do you live with two girls; a skinny blonde and a Japanese girl?"
"Yes! That's right. The blonde girl is my girlfriend" Travis replied.
"She's your girlfriend? Seriously?" said the gardener with incredulity.
"Yes, seriously. Well, she's more than just my girlfriend...or at least I'm hoping she'll be more than that by the end of today. You see, I want to propose to her and I thought giving her a single flower...like a rose...would be a nice addition."
"Have you tried a florist?" replied the gardener.
"Not yet. I thought it would be more special if it were from this garden that's right on our doorstep. Keep it local."
"Do you have a ring for her?"
"Not yet...."
"So no ring and you want a free flower from here. Hmmm"
"Hey, I'm not a bum! Look, do you have any flowers here that I can have or not? If it's a matter of payment I can sort that out..."
The gardener still had a suspicious look on her face but she was willing to indulge this young man.
"OK then, young man...what's it to be? A red rose?"
Meanwhile, back at the house Liberty had entered the study and saw Summer was sitting on the edge of the bed, seemingly lost in thought.
"Summer, are you OK?" she asked.
"Oh, yes, Libs...just daydreaming, that's all" Summer replied, snapping back to attention.
"Mind if I join you here?" asked Liberty.
"Yeah, sure"
Liberty sat down on the other side of the bed and took a look around the room. "Where's Travis?"
"He said he had to step outside for a few minutes. He didn't say why. Say, Liberty, he's been acting weird this morning. I won't tell you what I caught him doing in here but it's part of a series of strange behaviours I've noticed him doing these last few days." said Summer.
"I can't say I've noticed" said Liberty. "What kind of things has he been up to?"
"I hear him talking to himself in the bathroom. Sometimes in here as well and he locks the door when he's doing so."
"Maybe he's got a speech to prepare?"
"That's not all: He's getting more uptight when we're alone together and he was getting really nervous about his bank account as well. I'm worried, Libs.....that he wants to break up with me!"
"O......K........" said Liberty, worried for her friends and in particular Summer who seemed very uptight about Travis' behaviour. "I'll put on a pot of coffee...looks like we could do with some!"
As Liberty made a pot of fresh coffee she thought about the possibility of Travis and Summer breaking up and that made her upset, mainly at Travis who she thought would be throwing away the best relationship he would ever have.
As she got on with making the coffee, Travis came in through the front door quickly. Liberty noticed he had his hands behind his back and she knew he had something in them but couldn't see.
"Is Summer still here?" he asked.
"The last I saw of her she was in the study. Say, is everything OK with you guys?" asked Liberty.
"It will be..." he replied, enigmatically, and he walked past her still trying to keep what he was holding from her eyes. He went into the back garden, put the single rose under the loveseat and went back inside the house, where he bumped into Summer in the hall.
"Hey, Summer. You're just the person I want to see" he said.
"I am?"
"Sure! Do you have a few moments for a talk?" he asked. Summer's stomach tightened with fear and angst.
"Erm...yes..." she said with trepidation.
"It's a really nice day today...how about we talk in the garden?" he added. Summer nodded. He seemed upbeat but with a hint of nerves in his voice. It was hard for her to guess correctly what his mood or intentions were.
Travis led the way into the garden and Summer nervously followed him.
They sat down together on the love seat and Travis didn't say anything initially. He looked around the garden, up at the sky and then reached down under the seat to check the rose was still there and then looked at Summer.
"You know..." he began "...that I've always thought of you as the grooviest chick I've ever met. You're just swell..."
"Thank you. I really dig you too." Summer replied. She was waiting for 'but...'
"To be frank with you, Sum, I've always kinda been into you since we met" he continued.
"Since high school?" she interjected.
"Wait, we were in high school together?" he asked, incredulously.
"Sure. I mean, you were two years ahead of me but...oh, you didn't notice me back then?"
"No...I mean, two years is a big gap at school. My class schedule and yours and, besides, when I was 17 you'd have been 15 and that's a bit weird. Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, so I dig you a lot, Summer and living with you has been erm...a lot of...erm...I mean...joy. Lots of joy."
Summer felt relieved when she heard this. "Aww, Travis, that's so sweet of you to say"
"Yeah, well, it's how I feel about you...so....soooo...." he said, stalling for time as he summoned up the courage for what he was about to say next.
"Hmmm?" said Summer, cocking her head slightly to one side in anticipation. She knew there's going to be an "and" or a "but" from him.
"Well...you know when a guy and a girl really dig each other and that feeling just doesn't go away for months well....you know, a man's gotta decide whether he's going to make her the...erm...lost my train of thought. Heck, Summer...." he said, getting off the bench and going down on one knee. "...will you...marry me?"
Travis reached under the loveseat for the rose he had put there earlier and handed it to Summer. She let out a yelp and clasped her hands over her mouth. Travis could hear a muffled "oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh" from her. Eventually she took her hands from over her mouth and started to fan her face with them. Travis looked at her expectantly, wondering if she would say yes. He gently placed his hand on hers and looked at her, lovingly.
"Would you?" he said.
Summer couldn't speak, she just nodded.
"I guess that's a yes, then?" said Travis. Summer nodded some more. "Well, that's just swell! We did it! We're engaged!" he continued.
A tear rolled down Summer's cheek and Travis gently brushed it away. Then they felt drawn to one another and they sealed the engagement with a kiss.
"Hey, this is good...thank you" he said.
"Oh my gosh..." Summer eventually managed to reply. "This is all....well...wonderful. Oh can we tell Liberty? And there's so much to plan and I have to be off to work in a bit..."
"Relax, baby, we can leave the planning until another day. Let's tell Liberty first and see how she reacts" he replied.
Summer couldn't wait: She found Liberty emptying the trash around the front of the house and ran up to her.
"Summer, what's up? Did Travis...." Liberty began.
"...propose to me? YES! Liberty, we're engaged!"
Liberty was lost for words for a brief moment. She eventually stumbled out "congratulations!" before giving her friend a big hug. "Did he propose to you in our garden?"
"Yes! Even getting down on one knee and giving me a rose!"
"Well, this is wonderful news and there we were worrying that he was going to dump you. Now can I be a bridesmaid? Can I, can I?" said Liberty, now gushing excitement as much as Summer.
"Yes...and not only that; would you be my Maid of Honour?" replied Summer.
Liberty agreed and the two of them started to plan the wedding right there and then; outside the house and next to the trash can. They were spilling out idea after idea so much that they lost track of time and Summer realised, all of a sudden, that she was going to be late for work so she dashed off without even saying goodbye to Travis; who'd been on the phone to his folks telling them the news.
Once he had put the phone receiver down he noticed Summer pacing up and down along the front porch. She had let her hair down as well so she must be full of nerves and excitement he thought. Then she knocked on the front door. "Probably locked herself out" he muttered. "OK, I'm coming Summer."
Once he opened the door he also muttered "I just spoke to my folks, Sum, and they're elated and they said to congratulate you..."
"Oh...that's....nice of them." came a halting reply. Travis looked at Summer...only it wasn't her. Similar sweater, similar skirt and long, blonde hair the woman at the door looked a lot like Summer but wasn't her at all.
"Oh...I thought you were my girlfriend, actually my fiance now. Sorry." stammered Travis.
"You must be Travis" said the woman, looking him up and down. "I'm Karen, Summer's cousin. Is she in?"
"You just missed her, she's gone to work. So you're Summer's cousin? Oh yeah, she mentioned about a family get together at Aunt Muriel's."
"That's my grandma" said Karen. "Shoot. I missed Summer. Do you know when she'll be back?"
"Very late, she works at a restaurant and she does the late lunch and dinner shift. Do you want to come in and have a coffee?" asked Travis.
"Sure...you can fill me in on what's going on. Fiance, eh?" she said, stepping in to the house and having a look around.
"Actually I popped the question about an hour ago so you're one of the first to hear the good news" he replied. He indicated for her to sit down and make herself comfortable and then he went to make coffee.
"Have you been seeing each other long?" Karen asked.
"We've been dating for a few months but we've known each other for years. So are you from out of town or do you live in Sim City?"
"Recently moved here. I've been meaning to catch up with Summer since we haven't seen each other since her high school graduation...when was that? '63, '64?"
Travis returned with the coffees. "So you've known her since she was a little girl?" he asked.
"Since she was born. I'm six years older than her so she's always been a kid to me." Karen replied.
"I bet you have some stories to tell about her!" Travis joked.
"Oh do I! She was always Little Miss Goody Two Shoes!" said Karen, forcibly making her point.
Travis was about to ask a follow up question when there was another knock on the door. It was another stranger, another woman standing on the porch.
"Excuse me, I'll just see who that is" said Travis, getting up and answering the door. It was another young woman but this time with shorter, darker hair and wearing a light tan suit with knee boots.
"Hello?" said Travis.
"Is this the residence of Miss Summer Holliday?" asked the woman.
"Yeah, it is...she's not in right now..." replied Travis but before he could say anything else the woman yelled "Karen!" and pushed past Travis. Karen got up from the sofa and went to hug the newcomer.
"Yessie! You here as well?" said Karen.
"Sure am...is Summer here?"
"No, she's at work. This is her boyfriend..."
"Fiance..." interjected Travis. "Hi, I'm Travis. And you know Summer, how?"
"I'm a cousin" replied Yessie.
"Another one?" asked Travis.
"Oh there's loads of cousins in our family, Travis" said Karen. "I'm a first cousin and Yesenia..."
"Call me Yessie" said the newcomer to Travis
"Yessie here is Great Aunt Mabel's granddaughter. Mabel was Muriel's older sister, do you see?"
"I think so...have a seat; I'll make more coffee..."
Suddenly Travis tensed up with having two attractive women he'd never met before in the house and making themselves at home. He returned with the coffees and sat next to them.
"So what's this I hear about you and Summer getting married?" asked Yesenia "When's the day? Are you going to have a big or a small wedding? What's the signature colour?"
Travis sighed "Well, I don't know yet...I only asked her to marry me this morning, so..."
"Well Summer will have that all planned out already!" Yesenia continued. "She's got this wedding plan folder she's had since she was 8..."
"Wait, what?" said Travis.
"Oh Little Miss Summer has this wedding malarkey all planned out, Travis...you're just along for the ride" said Karen. "Hey, where's your bathroom?" Travis pointed down the hall and Karen got up to go. Meanwhile, Yesenia was sitting there looking at him with a big smile on her face.
"Oh don't mind Karen, Travis, she's always been the spiky one in the family. She's never really forgiven Summer for telling on her parents that she caught Karen smoking in the back garden one day. Summer was only 9 at the time but she was always a goody two shoes. Is she still like that?"
Travis took a gulp of coffee and nodded. "Oh yes. One of the reasons I love her; she keeps me on the straight and narrow."
"I can tell there's a rebel struggling to get out inside of you, Travis. Lucky Summer, unlucky me" said Yesenia with her smile becoming wider.
Travis gulped. He suspected Yesenia was hitting on her. He was actually hoping Liberty...or at least Karen...would enter the room right now and sit in between Yesenia and himself. To make matters worse, she crossed her legs suggestively and her skirt rode up to reveal more leg.
"Don't be shy, Travis" she said. "This big gap seems silly so move on up and I'll reveal more secrets about Summer.
Travis didn't want to be a bad host so he shuffled next to Yesenia, making sure he kept a bit of distance between them.
"So...these secrets about Summer...." said Travis, nervously.
Yesenia lowered her voice to just above a whisper. "You should have seen her at her high school graduation...you see, she was dared into bringing in a bottle of brandy and..."
"Travis, I have to say this is a swell place you guys live in." said Karen, returning to the room. "Now Yessie, I know what you're doing...this is our Summer's beau so you leave him alone!" Karen sat down on the other side of him and the back and forth between Yesenia and her left Travis with a sore neck as he looked left and right to keep up with their conversation. He was also getting overwhelmed by the amount of family gossip that was gushing from these two...he needed help.
That help came in the form of Liberty, who had returned from goodness knows where, Travis thought.
"Hey, Trav. I thought I heard voices in here: Who are our guests?" she asked.
"This is Karen and Yesenia; Summer's cousins." he replied.
"Cousins? Wow, nice to meet you. I've heard that Summer comes from a large family. Has Travis told you the news?" said Liberty, sitting down opposite them.
"Oh yes" said Karen "Exciting news. We're just getting to know the groom to be"
Both Karen and Yesenia dominated the conversation; telling story after story about Summer and what the extended family was like. Often the two cousins couldn't agree on various events and happenings over the years so much of the talk was them disagreeing over the finer details. Travis was trapped between them but eventually it got too much for Liberty, who could slip away with the excuse that she was going to make more drinks.
"You know, Summer's really lucky to have found a guy like you, Travis...you're such a good listener" said Karen.
"And cute as well" added Yesenia.
"Keep your hands off of him, Yessie. You're insatiable!" Karen rebuked her. "Anyway, we must be getting along now; tell Summer we'll see her at Auntie Muriel's get together."
"I will...and it was nice meeting you two" said Travis, diplomatically.
They both got up and headed for the door; Travis was graciously ushering them out when Karen, all of a sudden, turned to him and gave him a big hug that seemed to go on a little too long for his comfort. Yesenia, did likewise but she added a kiss on both of his cheeks. As they departed, Yessie gave him a cheeky wave and a wink.
Once the front door was locked, Travis slumped against it. "I need a drink after all that!" he gasped.
Liberty poked her head around the corner and saw Travis leaning with his back against the door. "Have they gone?" she asked.
"Yes, and where the hell have you been the last 20 minutes? I was trapped between those two!" he replied, indignantly.
"I thought you were enjoying all that attention from two young ladies." said Liberty, with a cheeky grin on her face.
"Let's get a drink in town, I'm exhausted!" he said, instead of answering Liberty's point.
"Blah, blah, blah, Summer's so annoying, blah blah blah, there was this guy I dated...no, you dated...no I dated him first blah, blah, blah...I couldn't stand it after a while!" said Travis to Liberty just before they went into the nightclub.
"No wonder Summer doesn't see much of them" replied Liberty.
Travis suddenly had a shocked look on his face. "Oh my God...what kind of clan am I going to be marrying in to? What if they're all like those two? What if Summer turns into one of them!" he said, a nervousness in his voice.
"Let's get a drink before you go down that rabbit hole!" said Liberty, grabbing his arm and guiding him in.
There was a buzzing vibe in the joint and it was more crowded than usual. The housemates were usually found here 3 to 4 times a week; not always drinking but usually dancing, soaking up the atmosphere and catching up with friends, old and new, near and far. One friend who was present was Julia, now sporting her new, trendy look with her hair worn loose instead of in her trademark plaits. She looked almost completely different from her usual nerdish, almost schoolgirl look and looked more like a swinging dolly bird.
Of course, Travis had to break the news of the engagement with her. "I asked Summer to marry me today" he said.
Julia said nothing at first, but just gave Travis a blank, neutral look before saying "I thought you'd done that already."
"No, I did it today"
"Are you sure?"
"I was there"
Julia again said nothing but looked off to one side with a look of someone trying to do advanced calculus in their head. "In that case, congratulations." she said, eventually. She held out her arms in a gesture of wanting to hug Travis and he stood up and stepped closer to her but Julia wasn't very good with physical displays of affection, especially in public, so her hug maintained a 4 inch gap between them and she just lightly patted him on the back before breaking off.
Travis headed home at 9:30 and left Liberty to party on at the Blue Velvet. He wanted to get home in time to catch Summer before she came home and went straight to bed. At 10:20 she entered the house, exhausted and hungry.
"Travis, how nice to see that you're not in bed yet" she said. "If I wasn't so tired and hungry right now I'd jump into your arms...I can't believe we're going to be married!"
"Tomorrow you can jump into them." he replied and he fetched her some leftovers from the fridge.
Summer took the plate and sat down, wolfing down the food. "My own fault" she said "I should have eaten better at lunchtime but I was too nervous and excited to eat properly. Hmmm, this is just what I need!" she said, taking a bite of a sandwich. "So, how was the rest of your day?" she asked him.
"You wouldn't believe who came round here today" he replied.
"Who? Someone I know?"
"Two people: Karen and Yesenia."
"My cousins? No way! Well, I can see a way...it's Aunt Muriel's get together tomorrow. So, what did you make of them?"
"They were....uhm..." he began to reply. Summer swallowed the morsel of food in her mouth and then interjected.
"...a pair of bitchy gossips?" she said.
"I hate to speak ill of your family, Summer...." he replied, diplomatically.
"Welcome to the clan, Trav" she said.
