Chapter 303) Pivotal Moments

With another ‘let’s do this!’ look at Rhys, Sam rung the doorbell, just moments later Bevin Mellencamp, Samantha’s mother, opened, pulling both of them inside and into a tight hug.

Some small talk ensued, they were shown into the living room, both relaxed as her mother seemed to be a whole new person after her abusive and controlling husband, who had made her and their daughter’s life a living hell, had died a few months ago of a sudden catastrophic heart attack. Sam and Rhys had attended the funeral, a very small crowd, not surprisingly nobody cried, afterwards they all parted ways. It had been months of radio silence between mother and daughter, Rhys and Sam just assumed Bevin was getting her affairs in order, maybe enjoying the new-found freedom from her tyrant of a late husband, so neither Sam nor Rhys bothered her. Then, one day, out of the blue a dinner invite came. Rhys knew that Sam desperately wanted at least her mother at their wedding one day, while they had not even set a date yet, it was clear that they would eventually tie the knot. So, he pushed her to agree to the dinner and now, here they were, as uncomfortable as it was, things looked promising.

Until a man entered the living room, unfamiliar to Rhys and as he could tell by her reaction, Sam didn’t know him either. Both stood by, mouth agape, when he now kissed Sam’s mother, who smiled like a shy schoolgirl before turning to Sam and Rhys.

“Guys, this is Damon McIntosh. Damon and I got married last weekend on a whim. Yes, I am Mrs. McIntosh now. Damon, this is my beautiful daughter Samantha and her fiancé Rhys Cameron.”

“WHAT?!” Sam blurted out.

“Huh?” made Rhys.

“Very nice to meet you both. I understand this seems sudden, but your mother and I go way back. Obviously until recently she was unavailable to me, but things changed. You have my word I will do all I can to make her happy, and I would love to get to know you both better.” undeterred, Damon continued to politely shake the new arrivals’ hands.

“Way back? Like, did she babysit you or something?”

“Rhys!” Sam nudged him, shaking her head at him, frowning.

“Sorry.” he shrugged.

“Rhys is right, there is a bit of an age gap, but I am very happy now. I am sure you both understand that. Well, shall we eat? I made your favorite, Sam. And your favorite dessert, Rhys. Probably not as good as you are used to, but I tried my best. Come on guys, let’s sit.” Sam’s mother continued the happy note.

The dinner was surprisingly pleasant, Damon was entertaining and funny, and it was obvious that he and Bevin were in love.

Once they left that evening, on their way to the parked car, Rhys asked Sam how she felt about all of that, she huffed and told him.

“Pissed! If my mom knew a guy like that, why did she stick with my asshole of a father, and made me suffer him too! Damon is awesome! Not to mention how easy on the eye he is! After being married to Archie Bunker for two decades plus, my mother suddenly married a HUNK! She should have divorced my father and married him a decade or so ago! Then I would have had a great step-parent, too, like you have in Lana. I just can’t wrap my head around my mother getting married on a whim in Vegas! To a man I didn’t even knew existed until tonight! My mom? Seriously? Who is she these days?”

“Well, I don’t know who she is, but I can tell you what she is: a LOT happier than I have ever seen her! In a way I am glad she didn’t dump your father. Your dad was an ass, but had he not been, you and I would never have met. I might not be the hunk your new stepdad is, but I like to think I can make you happy. At least now we know your mom will come to our wedding and even have a decent date to bring who won’t ruin everything like your father always did when we had them over for family dinners. Yikes.”

“If things keep going the way tonight did, I might have Damon walk me down the aisle!”

“Yah, as long as you still remember whom to say yes to at the altar.” Rhys frowned.

“Aww – Rhys-y is jelly! You know you are my one and only!” giggling, she kissed him, before they got into their car and drove home.

Sulani
Cameron Estate

Blake spit his sip of coffee back into the cup, coughing hard, eyes watering. His vampiric grandmother Maeve just materializing in front of him had startled him. That was forbidden, per vampire laws, something she usually abided by, so if she did break that important law, it had to be major and important. Maybe an emergency?

“Blake Everett Cameron! You and I have to have some words! She is pregnant! And it is your fault!” Maeve ranted, confusing Blake even further. Huh?

“Excuuuuuse me?” chimed in Blake’s wife, Mila, eying her hunky actor husband angrily. He sure had enough fans and even fellow actors, directors and what not willing to go there with him. She would know, she was an actress as well and got similar offers aplenty. Offers she always refused. Had Blake … slipped up? No way, right?

“Wasn’t me!” Blake automatically said.

“I SURE hope not! Say, Blake – and you too, Mila – have you EVER gotten around to getting that retched poodle of yours neutered?!” Maeve ranted on.

“Uh oh …” Blake instantly knew what must have happened. Oh boy. They recently watched his grandmother’s precious poodle, a female apricot colored purebred poodle with a pedigree as long as the Golden Gate Bridge.

Moreover, being dog lovers themselves, they let her play with their own poodle, a silver-gray purebred but much less pedigreed male they bought not long after Maeve got hers, because Blake’s kids – still in the last year of Grade School then, about to graduate high school now – just absolutely LOVED grandmas’ dog, and … well … Oh boy. Silver and Peach got along fabulously right from the start, but not long after Maeve had dropped her off before going on a brief tour with Rett, the dogs both had acted a bit weird. In between their normal interactions, Silver kept shooting Peach those certain looks … the kind every Cameron male knows too well. And the way the females that weren’t Camerons by birth had become Camerons at some point. Uh oh!

“Uh oh! UH OH!? My beautiful, precious Peach has been desecrated by your dismal cretin Silver! I thought you were WATCHING them! So did you just sit there and let them do their thing watching it happen, or did you NOT watch them after all?! THERE HE IS! You should be ashamed of yourself, you bad doggie! Poo-kaka! Yuck!” Maeve ranted, pointing at the now confused dog.

Seeing Maeve usually meant treats and snuggles and playtime aplenty, hearing her voice had woken him from deepest slumber to hurry over to greet her, her yelling at him was making absolutely no sense to him. Weird hoomans! He acquitted that with a dismissive snort. Bad dog? Bad hooman was more like it! Poo-kaka THAT!

Mila couldn’t help but burst into laughter, and if looks could kill, she would be lying dead now, but she just couldn’t help it, forcing a serious face she quickly grabbed Silver and hurried out of the room with him in her arms. Blake’s grandmother, Blake’s family, Blake’s problem. Besides, Maeve’s tendency for drama and her explosive persona in adverse conditions were legend. When waters were calm, she was a loving woman who would give the shirt off her back for her loved ones. Including Mila and even Silver. AFTER she got the upset out of her system. Best to avoid her until then or you may suffer hearing loss.

“Ahem … well, grandma, one could argue that you didn’t mention Peach was in heat – and you didn’t get her spayed either. If you had, this would have not happened … just saying … “

“Really? REALLY?! Really Blake!? Cut into my prized puppy because YOU are irresponsible?! You are such a man! This is such a man-answer! Are you not aware that it is a much more invasive surgery for a female as opposed to just a quick snippy-snip and then go home for a male? Mansplain THAT fact away, I dare you!”

Blake cringed at the thought of said ‘snippy-snip’ imagining himself under the knife. Ouch. Yikes. His poor dog. No way he was going to do that to his sweet lil puppy. Gruesome, the thought!

“Grandma, I am sorry. We’ll take the puppies and deal with them when the time comes.”

“LIKE HELL YOU WILL! You have already proven that you cannot be trusted with my precious Peach! As if I were to let you have a go at her precious little babies! Each of them is probably worth more than your house and we both know that wasn’t cheap! You’d probably hand them out for free to these Neanderthalic island buffoons here! They are mine. All mine. Your grandfather won’t like this, a house full of puppies, but I will defer all his complaints to you!”

With that, poof, grandma Maeve was gone again.

“Man, my family. Chase has it right, we Camerons really don’t know how to be normal.”

Author's Notes: This is still "clean-up" after the new neighborhood stories ran amok in my game. None of the deaths were natural and of old age and the widow's marriage before her late husband is cold was not my doing, as a matter of fact, neither was Rhys and Samantha's engagement, but I have mentioned that before. I was also not really trying to breed any more dogs at this point, but while I am not so sure what will happen here, I adore these two poodles and am not mad about it happening. What was my doing even though it has gone unmentioned so far was Blake's family moving back to Sulani. The parents seasoned actors for decades now and both kids most likely ending up in that career, plus the fact they are so close to their family makes DSV a better location, but I really needed the room to move some new blood in, so the Cameron kids have someone to fraternize with (maybe more one day). Plus, Blake, Mila, Sheridan and Reed seem to LOVE Sulani, unplayed, one or all 4 of them ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS pop up there. If you are such a high level celeb I guess you can live wherever you like and just private jet it to job sites. Just trying to work all that into the storyline in some fashion that makes sense.