"Ladies and Gentleman, this your captain speaking," the captain said over the intercom nearly two hours later when the plane landed in Tulsa. "I'd like to welcome you to Tulsa. The time is eleven o'clock, the current temperature is 76 degrees, and the weather is cloudy with, as you can see, rain. The rain should lighten up by noon but it should be cloudy for the rest of the day. If you live in Tulsa we'd like to welcome you home. Otherwise enjoy your stay in Oklahoma. Those staying with us to Denver should remain in the gate area until boarding at eleven thirty-five."
Ginger unbuckled her seatbelt and stretched. Kris was still looking out the window, her seatbelt buckled in her lap. "Kris, babe, it's not going to change if you keep staring at it," Ginger said. Kris turned around and stuck her tongue out at her sister. Zac stood up and Ginger followed closely behind as they left the airplane and went into the terminal. Apparently Taylor had driven to the airport and parked in long-term parking, so nobody would be there to pick them up. Ginger felt a bit of relief from that; she wasn't quite ready to see Diana yet.
This thing with Diana was getting as bad as seeing a mother-in-law and her and Zac weren't even engaged yet. Ginger knew Diana thought she was a bad influence, but all Ginger had ever done was try to be as nice as possible and she didn't know how much longer she could hold that up. Now that she was stuck living with Diana for at least a year until Zac graduated and they could move into their own place, the thought of being nice really started to grate at her insides.
"Don't be so nervous, babe," Zac said, taking her hand as he walked through the airport as if he was already at home. She nodded.
"I know. I can't help it."
"Where are we going for our bags?" Zac asked. "I was completely not listening when they said it."
"Um�five, I think," Taylor said. "Kris?"
"What?"
"Do you know where we're going for our bags?"
"Who's going where now?"
"Was anybody listening??" Zac asked. He looked at Ginger for hope but she shook her head. "Well, let's go to five and hope Taylor isn't as stupid as he looks."
"Hey!"
"Let's go," Zac said, pushing Ginger in the direction of baggage claim. Taylor and Kris fell behind as Zac and Ginger walked faster.
"You know it takes forever for the blasted bags to get there, Zac," Ginger said. "I don't know why you're walking so fast."
"Maybe the idea of a half an hour car ride with my brother after two hours on a plane with him is getting to me."
"Don't you two share a room at home?" Ginger asked. Zac paused.
"Yeah."
"How exactly are you supposed to live together in the same room if you're dreading a car ride with him?"
"It's not like we're both ever in the same room at the same time except when we're sleeping." Ginger shook her head. "What?"
"This is ridiculous, Zac."
"What is?"
"Nothing. Never mind. I'm not fighting with you about it." He sighed and they reached the baggage claim. Just as Ginger thought, they had to wait a couple of minutes for the track to start circulating. They got their things and left, going to the long-term parking garage where Taylor's car was parked.
Ginger had seen his car before but Kris hadn't and when she saw it she couldn't help but let out a "Holy shit" when Taylor stepped up to it. Neither boy noticed and that was a good thing.
"I know; could they be any richer?" Ginger whispered in her sister's ear. Kris nodded. "It's scary. Wait until you see the house."
"Let's go," Zac said from the car. "You can jabber on the way home." Ginger gave him a look but climbed into the back seat with him with Kris took the front seat with Taylor. Ginger slid up next to Zac and put both her arms around one of his. He was looking out the window as Taylor pulled out of the parking lot.
"Are you happy to be home?" she asked. He looked over at her.
"Very happy." She smiled.
"That's good." She put her head against his arm and looked outside. They passed the city that she was now calling her home, although she wasn't used to it at all. She didn't know the name of any of the streets or how to get through them. She didn't know the name of the suburbs or how many malls there were. It scared her that she knew so little about her home. Back in Tampa�back in Tampa she could get you from one end of the city to the other without blinking an eye. She knew the names of all the interstates and major highways, which roads had the most traffic and which roads could get you around the traffic if you were in a hurry. Here all she knew was that there was an airport and a way to get to her new home, but she didn't know how that happened. Taylor looked the most relaxed Ginger had seen him in her entire life. They came to Tampa straight from Europe with two day's worth of clothes while the rest of the family took the rest of their things. Zac had been home for a few hours a week beforehand, but all he did was tell his sister which of Ginger's things went where before he had to hop on another plane back to Europe for some last-minute things he was not informed of until he got home.
Taylor began to talk to Kris about home and she listened intently. She'd never been to anything quite like Tulsa before. She wasn't exactly proud to say she spending the summer in Oklahoma�her Hispanic heritage was the polar opposite of what she'd known Oklahoma to be.
"Come on, I'm sure you have boonies in Florida," Taylor said. Kris shook her head.
"No, we don't."
"Kris, you've been to the boonies. Remember when you went to visit that college and you met that guy who didn't know what Tampa was?" Ginger said.
"Oh yeah�"
"We have plenty of boonies in Florida. We just don't see any of it," Ginger explained. "Wait, why are we talking about the boonies? You guys don't live in the boonies."
"No, but we have friends in the boonies," Taylor explained.
"You have friends?" Ginger asked. "No way." Taylor looked at Ginger blankly through the rear view mirror.
"How weird do you think we are?" Taylor asked. "Of course we have friends." Ginger thought about it. Zac had never mentioned any of his friends back home. He'd mentioned he had a friend in the rental car business that gave him a free car whenever he came to town, but other than that, they just didn't seem to be the type to have friends. Being gone all the time and hardly ever being at home wasn't exactly the ideal way to keep friends.
"Zac?"
"Hmm?" he said, looking at her. He was staring out the window again as Taylor drove what must be the familiar route home.
"Since when have you had friends?"
"I've always had friends." She gave him a confused look. "What? Just last week I saw Tim Jones for the first time in ages."
"Tom Jones?" Kris said from the front seat. "You know Tom Jones?"
"Tim, as in Timothy," Zac corrected. She made a face and turned back to the front. "Did I not tell you about that?"
"I had no idea you had friends! You never talk about them, it's easy to think they just didn't exist," Ginger said.
"How's Tim doing anyway?" Taylor asked. "Is he still with that Megan girl?"
"No, they broke up a month ago, I think. He mentioned something about it."
"Really? Damn, I thought they were going to get married they way they were acting. Wow, what happened?"
"She cheated on him. It was a big deal, I think it was his brother or something like that." Taylor glanced back at Ginger through the rear view mirror. "He was pissed off more than anything, but I think he'll give her another chance."
"Are you nuts?" Taylor said. "If that ever happened to me I would never give her another chance." Ginger's mouth dropped for a moment, long enough for Taylor to see it but not long enough for anyone else to. "That's, like, sacrilege or something."
"Yeah, I know."
Ginger let go of Zac and leaned her head against the window. They were about halfway home. A weird silence came over the four people in the car until Taylor started humming something under his breath that only Zac recognized. Zac started humming it as well until suddenly they both broke out into a loud rendition of "Oklahoma!" and scared the shit out of both Kris and Ginger.
"Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain�" Ginger shook her head but smiled anyway. They were home and they were damn proud of it.
"Hi Mom," Zac said, falling into his mother's outstretched arms when they arrived home. Ginger and Kris hung back away from the door while Taylor was unloading the two suitcases from the car. "Ugh, I am so glad to be home."
"Zac, get your lazy ass over here and take your suitcase! I'm not your slave!" Taylor yelled. Zac groaned and walked over to the car and grabbed his suitcase, leaving Ginger and Kris in Diana's direct vision. Ginger stuck her hands in her pockets and looked away.
"Hello girls," Diana said, walking up to them. She said a not-so-courteous hello to Ginger before quickly turning to Kris. "You must be Kristina. It's so nice to meet you." Ginger's head snapped over. "Taylor's told me so much about you."
"He has?" Kris said innocently. "I hope it's been good things."
"Of course," she said. "Come on inside, I'll show you around." Ginger's mouth was to the floor in confusion. Diana led Kris inside the house and Ginger immediately turned to Zac who was walking up the driveway with his suitcase.
"Did you see that?" she snapped.
"See what?"
"Your mother!! She completely snuffed me and started being all nice to Kris! She has never once said a polite word to me but the moment she sees Kris it's all 'Oh, I've heard so much about you. Come inside, I'll show you around!' That's bullshit!"
"Ginger, I'm sure she didn't snuff you." Ginger huffed and stormed inside the house, leaving Zac and Taylor outside by themselves.
"Nice one, Zac," Taylor said, sarcastically patting his brother on the back before walking to the house. Zac went inside and up the stairs, finding Ginger roaming the hall, looking around.
"Forget which room is yours?" Zac asked.
"No," she snapped. "I'm just looking." He made a face and detoured into his room, putting his suitcase down. The rest of his things from Europe were still in their suitcase on the other side of the room. In the hall, Ginger found her room. She really had forgotten which one was hers but she wasn't about to admit that to Zac. She opened the door and went inside, a large smile on her face. It was great. Some of it would have to be switched around to make use of the space she had, but that could be done once everything was unpacked. It was probably crowded just because she hadn't unpacked. Once the room was just hers and not shared with Kris she could put up the posters and the things Kris didn't exactly care for. Looking around, everything she wanted on the walls was already there and in the place she wanted it. Her dresser seemed to be freshly stained and her bed was pushed to the far corner where she wanted it. The only thing she could really think about changing was the location of her television (something she'd gotten from the Hanson family), which was put on top of her desk. The desk had a laptop computer that she'd gotten as a graduation gift from her parents two weeks beforehand that she had shipped last minute out here.
"And last but not least, this is where we've got you staying for the summer�" Diana said, opening the door. Ginger turned around. "Oh, you're in here. Well, that's about it."
"Thanks, I would have gotten so lost so fast if I didn't get a tour," Kris said, smiling.
"I'll let you get settled." Diana didn't say anything else as she left. Ginger huffed again and turned to one of the unopened boxes. She opened it, finding it to be a box of clothes.
"She's really not as mean as you say she is," Kris said, going over to one of the boxes with her name on it.
"Yeah, to you. Did you even notice how she completely snuffed me and when you two came in here she looked at me and went 'Oh, you're here.' She hates me, Kris. I don't know, I've only done my best to try to impress her, but the damn bitch hates me." Kris rolled her eyes.
"Maybe if you didn't call her a damn bitch she wouldn't hate you so much," Kris quietly suggested.
"Shut up," Ginger said.
"I'm just saying�" Kris looked around. "Wow, Zac did a good job on your room."
"Yeah, I think Jess did it though. Have you met the rest of the family yet?" Kris shook her head. "Why not?"
"They're not home."
"Oh. Well that's a good reason. Did you see Zac and Taylor's room?" Kris nodded. "Isn't is so campy? It's like our room only two guys live in it. It's like they're supposed to be best friends but it's so obvious they're not."
"Yeah, I know. It's all brotherly and shit. It's so not them." Ginger smiled for the first time since they arrived in the house. She hung up another shirt in the closet. "Hey, bitch, don't be taking up all the closet space. I'm living here with you a whole summer."
"Pfft," Ginger said. "You don't need closet space."
"Get out of my closet space!" Kris pushed Ginger out of the way and started to cram all of her clothes to one side of the closet.
"Hey!" Ginger pushed her sister and they both landed on the floor.
"Now that is what I like to see," Zac said from the doorway. Ginger was sitting on top of her sister on the floor, wrestling a hanger out of her hand. Ginger looked over, gave her boyfriend a look, then smiled and continued to fight.