It’s Friday, again, folks! Today I get to post my fifth installment of When Life Hands You Lymes. Yay! It’s also the last day of the month, therefore y’all should be watching for my Month In Review post that I’ll be (hopefully) posting later on today. Enjoy!
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| Thanks to my sister, Mariah, for this picture |
“Do you know what it’s like to go swimming in that freezing water?” Shivering, I grabbed Katie and squeezed her in a cold, wet hug.
“Maddy!” Squealing, she squirmed out of my grasp and then shook herself off. “I can’t believe you just did that to me. If you’re silly enough to go swimming in there, you should at least use your brain cells to know not to come up and grab me. I know where you sleep.” Her frown wasn’t too convincing.
“And she knows where you keep your journal.” Darrick shrugged, as if his case was made.
It was true, I did know where she kept her journal, but I would never read it. Isn’t that a law of the sisters, Never look in each others journals?
“Darrick, I can not believe you would say something like that!” Katie turned to him, her mouth hanging open. “Buster brown, you’d better tell me right this instant that you’ve never looked at my journal before!”
There were a couple people standing around, and they turned to look at my sister as she shook her fist under Darrick’s nose.
“Hey, hold on there.” Darrick put his hand up and then took a step back.
Katie took a step forward. This little dance continued until Darrick was up against the wall. I knew they weren’t really mad at each other. They’re just like that sometimes and seemingly forget that they’re in public and others can see them. Siblings. They’re great, but kinda weird at times. I wouldn’t have them any other way, though.
The kinks had gotten worked out at the hotel before our guests arrived, and our whole family was on what we call a ‘company high’. That’s the way we get when we have a business function on. It’s a mixture of adrenaline, excitement and friendliness tempered with professionalism, or at least it normally is. I look at Katie and Darrick again, then raise my eyebrows when I catch their eyes. Instantly they back away from each other and shake hands.
“Truce.” They say in unison.
“Guys, that was embarrassing!” I say as we pad down the hallway to the elevator together. “Do you realize you were down there acting like kids?”
“Hey, you know you’re the one who started it.” Darrick pressed the up arrow and we waited for the elevator to arrive.
Katie covered her face with her hands, then shook her head, laughing. “Yeah, that was pretty childish of us, wasn’t it?”
“Don’t worry though.” I gave them a smug laugh. “No one will have any clue who you are after you’re dressed in your company polo’s with your hair done.”
“Don’t tell us we look that horrible.” Darrick absentmindedly reached up and combed his hair with his fingers. “And besides, you look just as bad as us.”
It was true. I am anything but a graceful-post-swimmer. Some girls look great with their hair all wet. I look like a drowned rat (as Katie so lovingly tells me).
“Come on, we need to hurry up and get ready for this afternoon!” Katie’s quick strides took her to our room as soon as we arrived at the third floor. Even with our tight time schedule, we’d been able to squeeze in a half an hour swim before helping with registration and greeting people. Swimming and jogging always make me feel more alive. Darrick and Katie had been planning on joining me in the pool until they felt how cold it was. Then they chickened out and chose the hot tub instead. The amount of exercise they got sitting there for a half an hour is mind blowing. When I pointed that out to them, though, Katie reminded me yet again that she knows where I sleep and Darrick threatened to take my picture and display it up on the projector during the conference. Yeah, no, that is so not going to happen.
Then the people started checking in. Cue scary music. Actually, it’s not really scary, but it is crazy-busy. Like, imagine running from one person to the next, talking to them, smiling, welcoming them. Assuring them that it’s ok they got here early or late. Yes, the meeting will be amazing. No, the dinning room is not open yet.
It’s simply amazing how the answers came out of my mouth. I know I don’t lie, yet some of the time I didn’t even think of what I say before I realize I’ve already answered. It’s not that I’m insincere in the least, it’s just that some times when there’s so much stimulation, my mind goes on automatic and I can answer with confidence that ‘yes, roast beef is yummy’, and I don’t have to think about it.
Right before midnight, I fell into bed exhausted. No chatting with friends tonight. I calculated that I most likely talked to about two hundred people during the course of the afternoon and evening. Yes, some of those (many, in fact) were just hellos and a friendly wave, but there were also some longer conversations thrown in there as well. At supper time instead of sitting down and eating, I went from table to table, asking people how their food was, if they were enjoying themselves and how the trip to the hotel went. I managed to snag a few bites to eat before the meal was over. Even so, I felt ravenousness before bedtime and chowed down on a snack bar before brushing my teeth.
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So, blogging friends of mine, What do y’all think of how the story’s shaping up? I’d be delighted to hear any of your thoughts and feedback!
Noveltea 
I know this is a stupid ? But do you always get along with your siblings. I noticed the ” thanks to my sister mariah for this picture ” underneath the picture on this post and that triggered the question if you always get along with your siblings. I know this is a rude question but i realy am curious to get along with your siblngs. The concept of me and my crazy brother together is like the idea of putting ketchup and coleslaw on your pizza
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Btw, realy good story
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The story has one problem. On the first to lines of this part of your story were indented you only Indent at the beginning of paragraphs. Well, your typing could be a LOT worse. I often forget to even put the indentions in my writings.
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Great chapter. I'm enjoying the sibling relationship. You're establishing a neat trio of characters with Madalyn and her siblings. The story is starting to settle in to a good pace. I like that Madalyn is the kind of person that likes to joke, ie. the wet cold hug. She seems like someone I could get along with. I'm very much the same. The story is shaping up nicely. Can't wait to see where the journey goes next week. Have a great weekend, Aidyl.
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“Isn’t that a law of the sisters, Never look in each others journals?” Haha, truer words never spoken! 😉 Good job – and I love the picture your sister got. Great idea. 🙂
Rebecca
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I like it! I had to laugh about the wet hair description =)
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Well, no, we don't always get along together, but mostly we do. 🙂 We're all great friends with each other and love hanging out together. Our family works together a lot, so we have to know how to get along together. Being with my family is one of my favorite things. =)
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Thanks!
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Yep! That's actually because of the formatting on my blog. Thanks for pointing it out though.
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