by Katie Bradford
Kevin Morse had dragged his feet about flying to New York City. It certainly wasn't his favorite place to go and the only reason he was there now was his company needed him to attend the conference being held there in Manhattan. He'd flown in the night before so he'd be fresh the next day.
The Conference wouldn't be totally unpleasant however. It was being held at the Beekman Tower Hotel which was going to cost the company a mint. They were not only eating the cost of the hotel but they were flying their top notch executives in from all over the world. It was to be the biggest conference they had had in years.
It was the first day of the conference and Kevin was sitting in the ballroom, which the hotel staff had graciously set up especially for the company, waiting for the meeting to start. His briefcase was lying open on the table in front of him, full of notes he had brought with him from the office. His mind had been so absorbed with reviewing some of these notes that he hadn't noticed the man walking towards him.
"Kevin?" the familiar voice asked. "Kevin Morse?"
Kevin looked up and smiled. Standing up, he extended his hand out to greet his old friend.
"John Pearson! You old son of a gun what have you been up to?"
"Not a lot." John gripped Kevin's hand in greeting. "You?"
"Not much, not much," he replied looking down at the table briefly before returning his gaze to his friend. "Have a seat. That is... unless you're with some other people," he said looking about the room for someone that might be looking for John.
John chuckled. "No. They sent me to represent our branch all by my lonesome. I guess they have full confidence in my ability. Fancy that."
"Oh that's dangerous." Kevin laughed.
Kevin had first met John over ten years ago during a similar meeting over in Bristol. They had become fast and steady friends as they sat through an entire week of meetings together. When it was time to return home they vowed to stay in contact with each other. Which they had.
Kevin had even taken his family overseas on a trip five years before and stayed with John and his daughter Gabby. Of course Katie hadn't been living with him then so it had just been he and Annie plus Crystal and young Jimmy who was just a mere baby at the time. John had been a wonderful host. He and twelve-year-old Gabby had carted them around everywhere! They'd all had the best time. It had been very hard to leave and return home when the time came. And although they had stayed in touch there had been no more visits.
Now five years later they were fortunate enough to be brought back together even if it was to endure long days of meetings. At least they had evenings to catch up on old times.
One late evening towards the end of their grueling week of meetings Kevin and John were having dinner together in the hotel tower. Their conversation had long turned from business and they were now chatting about their families.
"And then there was the time," John chortled between bites, "that Gabby took the car off without permission and ran out of petrol! I had to call a bloody cab just to go get her! Talk about furious. She had a nice blistered bottom that night I'll have you know!"
"Sounds like something my Katie would do," Kevin snorted. "We've had several similar situations happen since she came to live with us last year."
"Now your Katie is how old?" John asked curiously.
"Seventeen. She graduates this year," Kevin replied proudly.
"I thought as much. My Gabby's seventeen too." John wiped his mouth. "I thought our girls were about the same age."
"Sounds like they are two peas in a pod, John." Kevin snickered. "They both seem to get their bottoms warmed quite often."
"Ah, but I tell ya Kevin," John paused looking off into the distance, "that little girl is my life. I don't know what I would have done without her after her mother passed."
Kevin nodded his head, "I know what you mean. I thank God every day for allowing me to have Katie back in my life."
"Can't live with them..." John started.
"...And ya can't live without them," Kevin finished.
Both men laughed at the old saying as they sipped their after dinner coffee.
"You know, old man..." John's brows furrowed slightly as he set his cup down, "I was wondering if maybe we should get our two girls together. You just said they're like two peas in a pod."
"Oh, I don't know, John," Kevin smiled, shaking his head. "Katie's been quite a handful this past year. I'd hate for her to get over there and cause you any trouble."
"Kevin," John laughed, "have you forgotten I have raised the other pea for nearly ten years by myself? I think I can handle both girls for a couple of weeks."
Kevin thought through John's offer and finally nodded his head in consent. "You know maybe something like that might calm her spirits a little. I mean she'd see a different country and I assume you would enroll her in your school there. She'd learn a little bit about your educational system over there. I like the idea, John. And I think Katie will too."
John grinned. "Wonderful. I know Gabby will be excited. We can set up all the details tomorrow. I'm getting a little tired right now and I still need to put a call into my girl before I go to bed. What about you?"
"Yeah I better call Annie and make sure Katie's behaving herself." Kevin winked good humouredly.
With that the two parted ways for the evening, but true to their words made plans the next day for their daughters to meet in mid-October.
"What?!" Gabby yelled at her father "NO! I don't want her to come! Why the hell did you set this up?!"
John Pearson was none too impressed by his daughter's reaction to the news that Katie Morse would be coming to stay with them for a couple of weeks.
Despite having a great time with his old friend he was exhausted from his week in New York and on the long flight back all he had thought about was getting home to see his daughter and telling her the exciting news - this was not the reaction he had expected.
"Now calm down a moment," he said as patiently as his tired nerves would allow. "You and Katie are the same age, and Mr. Morse and I feel that you could both learn a great deal from the experience."
"I don't need to learn anything!" Gabby sulked with her arms tightly folded.
"With that attitude I beg to differ. And it's not just that Katie will be staying with us, but you will also have the opportunity to go and stay with her family. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"
"Not really," Gabby scowled, "they might be freaks."
"Oh what utter rot, Gabrielle! Any normal polite person would be thrilled at the idea of going to the States for a two week holiday! And do you honestly think I'd pack you off to stay with people I don't know and trust?"
Gabby gave her father the side-eye. "You're just trying to get rid of me!"
John Pearson was taken aback by the accusation, how could she think such a thing. He leant in close to his daughter, forcing her to look him in the eye. "Do you know how hurtful that is? Do you honestly think for one minute that I would want to get rid of you? That I don't want you in my life? That I don't want anything but the best for you?"
Gabby kept her arms tightly folded and pouted. No she didn't think that, she thought the opposite in fact, which was exactly why she didn't want to share her father with anyone else, especially a stranger.
"Well do you?" he asked her again, intent on getting an answer.
"You're always on my case about something or other."
"But if I didn't care about you, I wouldn't bother to care about what you got up to. And you jolly well know it."
Gabby shrugged, still trying to avoid eye contact. She vaguely remembered the Morse family coming to stay when she was younger. There was a girl her own age she was forced to play with, Jewel or Crystal or something. She remembered a little girl who was the apple of her father's eye and couldn't put a foot wrong, a little girl only too happy to tell tales, a right little princess - gag! The chances of Katie being exactly the same were highly likely and she feared that this 'opportunity' was one where her father wanted her to learn some manners. What if her dad took one look at Princess Katie and wished she was his daughter? Gabby couldn't stand the thought.
"And they aren't strangers," her father continued, "don't you remember the Morse family coming to stay?"
"Not really, and even if I did I don't know who this Katie girl is!"
"Well if you'd like to stop sulking for a minute I have something here that will at least ease your concerns somewhat," he sighed, reaching into his pocket and placing a bit of paper on the table. "Mr. Morse has given me Katie's email address so you can be in contact with each other before she comes to stay. You can find out a bit about each other's lives, what bands or clothes you both like - whatever twaddle it is you girls talk about." He tried to catch her eye again hoping for some semblance of acceptance.
"So, young lady, does that make it better? Do you still think I am trying to get rid of you?" Mr. Pearson persisted.
"No," Gabby mumbled with a definite huff.
"Then why did you say it?" Mr. Pearson asked, not content to let the hurtful matter drop.
Gabby shrugged again. "Dunno, I just did."
"Well don't!"
"Fine! Whatever."
"And while we're on the subject of things I don't want you to do, can you please stop saying 'whatever' at the end of every sentence. And you can stop sulking while we're at it. I've been away for a week, I've had a long flight and the last thing I want to deal with is teenage angst."
Gabby rolled her eyes but allowed her arms to drop to her sides.
"Better," Mr Pearson said, "if only slightly."
"I still don't want her to come and stay though."
"Why on earth not?"
"Because I'm going to have to show her around and crap, I have my own life too you know!"
Mr. Pearson's eyes shot up quickly at the language his daughter was using, but Gabby chose to ignore the warning she was given and instead proceeded to give him a piece of her own mind.
"I'm going to have to put everything on hold. And what about school? I'm going to be lumbered with the new kid, and I'm blowed if I'm going to go to some American High School and be the new kid myself. And why? Because you and some old crony of yours think it would be a 'good experience,'" she mimicked her father with her final words and glared at him.
John Pearson felt his jaw clenching at the ingratitude of his only child. He had been away for a week and some small part of him had hoped that her selfish outlook on life would have dissipated, that she would have missed him and welcomed him home with open arms. He wondered if Kevin was faring any better - probably
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