Chapter 37
Annie's Tales -- Part 3
The long 4
th
of July weekend had finally arrived, and with it five days off for Annie Strauss. Although the golf club was booked solid with several parties, those not directly involved were free. With her direct supervisor leaving for a three-week trip to Moscow, Annie only had to finish up the paperwork Natalya had left behind for her to file or FedEx off. She was finished well before close of business on the 30
th
, giving her until Tuesday morning off. Although Annie didn't have any serious plans, she did want to spend time on the beach, which she'd not been able to get since Memorial Day.
Thursday had started out bright and sunny, but the temperatures were only in the low sixties following the latest cold front to move down the coast. It had rained off and on the previous two nights, but the weather forecast for the rest of the week through the holiday weekend was for warming temperatures and no rain. It promised to be a beautiful weekend all in all. Annie had not slept in that morning as she usually did when not going to work, instead waking with her alarm and getting busy around the house. Once a load of laundry was in and the dishes from the night before completed, she took inventory and then headed for the grocery store. By ten-thirty she was back home, with the groceries put away, and the rest of the day free. She had put the first of the cases of beer she'd bought for the weekend onto the lowest shelf of the refrigerator to begin to cool. The others she moved to the laundry room off the kitchen, before returning to retrieve a cold can of Sprite from the fridge. Looking out the window from the kitchen, Annie saw her son and four of his friends gathered in a loose circle in the backyard, towards the gazebo that she'd seen so much action in of late.
Annie popped the soda can's tab and then took a drink, all the while watching the boys. She was confused as to what they might be doing, so she leaned across the counter and called to her son, "What are you boys up to?"
Tim looked up from what he and his friends were doing and replied, "Setting up a camera." He jogged over to the window. "We're setting up a camera to make a time-elapse video of an ant hill," Tim explained. "Once set up, we're going to drop a bit of sugar, salt, and some other stuff and see what the ants use first and what they ignore."
"Something for class?" Annie asked.
"Not really. Just applying some of the stuff we learned last year. Ricky's going to edit it and Andy's going to make a sound track of some kind. We hope to have something close to ten or fifteen minutes to put on YouTube, just for fun."
"Sounds interesting. Are you boys going to be here for lunch? I just went to the store. I could make something."
"Thanks, but we might be going down to the beach later," Tim replied. "We'll get something on the boardwalk."
Annie nodded, giving the other boys a look. She recognized two, Ricky Freeman, who her son went to school with, and Ray Dalton, a friend of Tim's also from school, with whom Annie had recently been so very intimate with.
"Who are those other two boys?" Annie asked Tim through the window's screen. "I don't recognize them."
"The blonde one's David Price. You remember him. I went to school with him," Tim explained. "The other's Andy McCoy. He was in classes with David, Ray, and I, last semester. The Media Studies and Introduction to Direction courses."
"Well, you guys enjoy yourself," Annie said. "I got some beers cooling in the fridge, and I'll call in a couple of pizzas later, if everyone wants to hang out tonight. Just let me know."
Tim headed back to his group, saying over his shoulder, "Thanks, mom!" Annie watched a few more minutes and then headed for the front room and the
National Enquirer
she left sitting on the end table. Tim stuck his head in a half hour later to let her know that they were heading down to the beach and wouldn't be back until later. Thus, Annie finished her tabloid and then gave her sister a call. Together, she and Charlotte had a girl's night out and enjoyed dinner and a movie out at the mall.
When Annie returned home, she found her son and his friends sitting around the front room playing cards, drinking beers and shots of vodka, and passing around a joint. The stereo was on and playing loud music, a Soundgarden song, "Black Hole Sun" if Annie had to guess. "Apparently, I'm missing out on a party," she muttered as she passed through to the kitchen, stepping over the stretched-out legs of one of the boys. A look to the clock on the wall showed it to be nearing ten.
"Hey, Mom!" Tim called over the music. "Wanna join us?" His voice was already heavily slurred, she noticed.
"No, thank you," she replied. "I'll just hang out in my room."