Lakeside

All Smiles

POV CHANGE: Delilah Matthews

The minute we were done talking to Sebastian we left my lawn and went over to Trudy’s house. Daisy decided that since the three of us might be headed to jail tonight she should spend some time with her husband. It was down to two for the time being so we decided to relax in the living room. Trudy and I started reminiscing about the good ole times when Charlie and Vernon were friends, when life was just…good. All of a sudden Charlie and Vernon burst through the door with genuine grins plastered upon their stubbly faces. 

“Is everything okay?” I asked quizzically. 

They remained silent. 

“What’s going on?” Trudy blurted displeasingly hoping her comment would end their vow of silence. 

They remained silent. 

“C’mon aren’t you going to tell us?” I grinned hoping sweetness would be a better approach. 

The silence continued for what seemed like hours though it was only about a minute and a half. 

“Charlie and I are good again!” Vernon let a chuckle roll of his tongue. 

I had to do a double take to make sure it was really our husbands standing in front of us; our smiling, giddy husbands.

POV CHANGE: Vernon Thompson

The second Charlie handed me the envelope filled with all the money he owed me I knew we’d be alright. Frankly, if he hadn’t come over I think I would have dropped the debt sooner or later. 

We talked for a few minutes then went over to the Matthews’ to talk to the deputy. He had a gleam in his eye that’s meaning I couldn’t decipher. All of a sudden, interrupting our interrogation with the police officer was the arrival of Charlie’s sister, Addison. I hadn’t seen her in years. She used to come down to the lake a lot but it’s been a while; it’s too bad really, she’s a hilarious lady! The last time she came down to the lake Charlie was fishing at the end of the dock and Addison went out to where he was and the two of them started dancing. It was the highlight of the weekend, especially because Charlie is an awful dancer, I have a video to prove that one! 

Eventually Charlie finished talking to Addison and we decided to go tell our better halves that everything was okay and that Charlie are no longer in a feud. At first we just smiled and Trudy wasn’t too enthused with the fact that we were withholding information from her but then I cracked and she was in shock. 

“What do you mean you’re good again?” Delilah had to do a double take to make sure what she was witnessing was real. 

“Charlie paid me the two thousand dollars so now there’s no reason that we can’t have a good rest of the Fourth of July, well, after we find Dylan and Chloe. Right Horsey?”

“Right.” He confirmed with a smile. 

POV CHANGE: Daisy Trenton

Following the play by play I got from my coconspirators I decided I should try and find Otto. The quilt train had recently picked me up and I’m not sure when I’m getting off so I might as well spend some time with my husband, after all it’s only a few weeks before Otto and I head down to Florida to enjoy our retirement. In the time that it took to find my happy hubby at the end of the Thompson dock I also managed to get a huge sliver in the bottom of my foot. Normally I wouldn’t make a big deal of this sort of thing, normally I’d just have Otto or Trudy take a needle and pick it out, normally. But this isn’t normal, far from it actually, two of my good friends have quarreling husbands and families for that matter and somehow I got dragged it, at this point nothing is normal. To be honest, I don’t think normal exists anymore. The the shard of wood stuck in the bottom of my foot had defeated me, as juvenile as this sounds I couldn’t help but cry a little bit. 

“Are you okay?” He asked as he removed a tear from my cheek with his cracked fingertip. 

“Ye-yeah, I’m fine, just a sliver that’s all.” I sucked back the tears, swallowed hard and stared blankly ahead. 

“Oh, okay.” 

I didn’t reply to him, I wanted to spend time with him today, I really did, but I couldn’t, I mean, there’s a pretty good chance I’m going to get arrested later today and I can’t look in his eyes and lie to him all day. I had left Otto alone on the warmth of the dock, clueless, and another ton of guilt to the rest I had stock piled from the supposedly righteous crimes I committed with the help of my best friends. Reality set in as to how much pain the sliver that had impaled me minutes before caused and I limped into the house to find Trudy.

“Hey Doctor Thompson, I have a huge sliver in my foot do you think you could operate?” I joked.

“No problem, just a minute.” Trudy laughed along with me.

She disappeared into the bathroom to grab her tools for the operation and I walked into the living room and plopped onto the soft red couch and mentally prepared myself for Trudy to get the nuisance out of my foot. Trudy reappeared with a needle, Neosporin and a band-aid, eventually the sliver was out, though I wasn’t cured of all my ailments, the guilt was still laying heavy on my chest.