A Fallon Dinner

Sunday Evening, January 20th: Oakwood Park Neighborhood

“Careful, careful…No, Watson, no!”

“He’s fine, Pey. Leave me him alone,” Sean Tarver told his older sister, Peyton, while the wiggly dog crawled up his chest to lick his cheek.

The blond-haired, blue-eyed eighteen-year-old attempted to carefully turn his body out of the sedan’s front seat in preparation to place his injured right foot outside the car. Several complications didn’t help. First came the bulky walking boot the doctor required him to wear. Second, his paranoid family members, who included his older sister, Peyton, and his mother, Bridget. Thirdly, sat the remains of Friday afternoon and Saturday’s blizzard on his grandparents’ one-car driveway. The most minor complication in the teen’s mind came from the excited Watson. The brown-and-white beagle, with a dash of black, considered the car ride a fun adventure.

“Let’s switch, honey. Take Watson, and I’ll help pull Sean out,” Bridget suggested. “I have more experience after all this.”

“Don’t act like I haven’t been doing my fair share, Mother,” Peyton reminded, stepping partly back in the snowbank to stare over the car’s roof at her mom.

Sean shook his head at the college student with a model-like figure. At twenty-one, Peyton took more after their youngest aunt than their mother with her long, wavy caramel blonde hair, blue eyes, medium-sized breasts, and a toned ass. However, unlike Bridget or Brandy, the coed’s occasionally uptight attitude and lack of wild side put the young woman who rarely misbehaves closer to the other aunt, Beverly. Although there had been signs over the past month that Peyton truly took after their grandmother.

“I didn’t say that you didn’t,” Bridget responded, sighing. The last month had been a hectic, stressful time in their lives.

“Do you need help out there?” Pepper Fallon’s call came from the side door, near the top of the driveway, by the single-car garage.

“We’re fine, Mom!” Bridget snapped, showing anything but. “Actually, if you can grab Watson, that would be great.”

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” a voice sounded from the home’s front door.

No one needed to look over to check the identity of the young man with short, sandy-brown hair and light-brown eyes, who rushed out the front door while putting on his winter coat. As Peyton’s male best friend, he was also the son of Bridget’s late co-best friend, Cassandra Singer. Finna and Pey planned to make the two-hour drive to Arbor Corners, the location of Zurbrugg College, in the morning. Spring semester classes always started on the Tuesday after Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Usually, the pair and their other best friend, Lana Stratton, would’ve gone back to their rented homes several days ago. Unfortunately, two significant events made Peyton feel required to stay back home until the last possible day. First, Sean suffered a Lisfranc injury to his foot while saving the life of Whitney Diamond during a trip to Wasp Lake to remember Cassie Singer on the tenth anniversary of her ****. Second, Bridget’s marriage to Leonard, a fellow doctor, had finally collapsed when she requested a divorce from her selfish, no-show husband on New Year’s Eve, at a charity ball held in Cassie’s honor.

While Peyton returned to Arbor Corners for a couple of days to see her friends, Finn had made the back-and-forth trek repeatedly over the past three weeks. With a new literacy foundation on the way to honor his mother’s legacy as a teacher and bookworm, he’d been giving final approval to several projects. Recent allegations against Clive Stratton, Lana’s father and part of Finn’s second family, had also drawn his presence. The young man spent most of his time in Honey Hollow at the Stratton home, where he had his own bedroom. However, after realizing he hadn’t seen his maternal grandparents nearly since starting college, Finn began to spend an evening here or there at their house, which sat a block behind the Fallons.

“Okay, little buddy, go to Grandma. Go!” Peyton instructed Watson after placing him on the driveway. Despite lugging his retractable leash behind him, the ecstatic beagle raced over toward the side door.

“Here, let me get the wheelchair in place,” Finn told Bridget, as Peyton stepped back to give them more space.

“Oh, come on!” Sean whined. “The doctor said two weeks, so that would’ve been until Friday.”

“Dr. Polani said two weeks minimum. So, we’ll take it through tomorrow. Or do you want another complication, buster?” Bridget questioned, adding a dash of sass.

Unzipping her coat for better movement, Sean held in a groan at his mother’s curves. A popular obstetrician and gynecologist, Bridget usually turned heads wherever she went with her long, wavy caramel blonde hair, blue eyes, large breasts, and a curvy ass. A former cheerleader captain in high school, her peppy attitude, great sense of humor, and killer curves meant she’d be a prime target for men with her back on the market. Coupled with a notorious high school past for sexual activities, Bridget had already turned down multiple date offers in the few weeks since the bombshell divorce announcement at the charity ball.

Unlike nearly every other mother and son, Sean knew way too much about his mother’s history and high sex drive. Up until three weeks ago, he’d only moan and groan at overhearing her and her friends during wine nights reveal their past shenanigans. Since early New Year’s morning, Bridget’s sexuality brought other kinds of moans and groans to her son’s mind. The pair had crossed the line no mother and son should ever cross, and they both loved that they had.

With everything happening, along with Peyton’s presence, the illicit lovers hadn’t been able to do much since returning home. However, Bridget’s promise to help further Sean’s experience with Whitney’s help meant they’d pick up again soon when they had the house all to themselves. For now, the unconventional mother focused on setting Sean up with girls for sexual trysts.

“Do you have him? I can help pull,” a sixty-four-year-old man asked, reaching out for a wheelchair after Finn lifted it up the couple of concrete steps on the front porch.

“Let Finn handle it, Theo. He’s an expert at this point,” Seamus Fallon told his close friend and next-door neighbor, Theodore Day.

Sighing in frustrated embarrassment, Sean noticed Virginia Day peeking out of the kitchen doorway in worry. Longtime neighbors, the Days were like extra family members, thanks to their daughter’s status as Bridget’s other childhood co-best friend. Besides Tinsley, their son, Teddy, had served as Brandy’s missing brother in a home with only three daughters.

Now off his leash, Watson barreled out of the kitchen at full speed to meet Sean, as Finn lifted him over the door’s threshold. The happy beagle turned around in several circles before he attempted to jump on Sean’s lap.

“Simmer down, buddy. You just saw me in the car,” Sean laughed, while struggling to remove his scarf and jacket.

“How you holding up? I hear your little helpers have been driving Pey crazy,” Seamus noted, grinning at his grandson.

“Now he finally takes after his mother,” Theo cracked, earning him a hushed scolding from his wife, who walked over to hug the injured teen.

“Here, I have a few of your favorites,” Virginia whispered, slipping pieces of candy into Sean’s hand.

“Dammit, Ginny,” her dentist husband exclaimed in exasperation at his wife’s never-ending candy antics.

“Hush. The poor boy has been through a lot.”

Using his hand to hide his grin, Sean rolled his eyes at Peyton, who directed Finn to roll Sean over to where he could see the television in the living room.

"My little Seanie Boy!"

Wiping her hands on a towel, Pepper exited the kitchen with a broad smile. Immediately, she countermanded her granddaughter’s order, telling Finn to push Sean over to the dining room table. Usually, an 8-person table that seated three on each of the long sides, along with the head and foot of the table. However, the chair at one end had been replaced by a card table. That’s where the concerned grandmother had the baby of the family placed.

“Everyone, take your seats. Dinner will be served in a minute.”

“We’re eating already?” Peyton questioned.

“Somebody arrived twenty-five minutes late.”

“I’m sorry, Mom,” Bridget apologized, recognizing that tone. “It took longer to get Sean…Watson into the car.”

“Watson wasn’t the one complaining,” Peyton muttered, taking a seat next to Finn.

“And then Gabby called.”

“Is something the matter?” Seamus chimed in.

“No, no, she just wanted to check on me,” Bridget reassured. “You know how she is. It took forever to get her off the phone. Jules demanding to speak to her beloved didn’t help.”

“The screaming over the line sounded like a horror film,” Peyton revealed, shaking her head.

“Breaking hearts every day. Just like your mom,” Theo joked.

“Did Mom or Aunt Tinny have a junior stalker?” Peyton inquired, earning a glare from her younger brother.

“There were a few boys who wouldn’t take no for–Oh, you meant that as a joke, didn’t you, dear?” Virginia realized, bringing in one of the large bowls of mashed potatoes.

“Are you sure you don’t need more help?” Bridget asked, starting to stand up while her mom brought in a bowl of corn.

“Sit down. You need one day to be waited on,” Pepper declared, glancing at her husband.

“Let your mom mother you, Bee.”

Although slightly annoyed over being treated like a little girl again, Bridget also appreciated the recent gestures by her parents and the Days. The first Sunday dinner was a surprise two weeks ago, when the four parents arrived at Bridget’s house with groceries. Shortly afterward, another pair appeared with a stack of pizzas, prompting the stressed mother and wife to break down in tears after a few rough days. She already had a strong feeling that a new tradition had begun, which might last until Sean left for college.

Pepper even insisted on filling up a plate with turkey, corn, and rolls for her grandson. A simple eater at these family meals, she knew he didn’t care for any of the other side dishes like his sister. While placing the plate in front of him, the former emergency room nurse paused to listen for a moment before grimacing. She’s barely gotten herself seated when–”

“What the hell?! You started without us? They started without us, Fawn! Look at this disrespect.”

“You’re thirty minutes late, Dee,” Seamus pointed out, while his wife rolled her eyes.

“Thirty min…Nu-huh! We’re thirty minutes early, Dad!” Brandy Fallon insisted. “Mom said six o’clock.”

“I told you we would eat at five o’clock.”

“Five?! When the hell did we start eating at five around here? Shit, back in the day, I’d starve until like seven, eight, or nine at night. And that was on a school night!” Brandy complained, flinging her coat onto the couch. Fawn placed hers in the front closet.

“You never starved when we worked late, dear,” her mother reminded her.

“That’s because I had to go next door and beg like Oliver Twist for a scrap of food.”

“I don’t recall any begging. More like cabinets slamming,” Theo said, tapping his chin to remember.

“I did expand your shelf to two when Teddy left for college, dear,” Virginia reminded.

“Yes, you ate all the neighbors out of their houses. Now, sit,” Pepper ordered.

“What the—Where?!”

“I think we’re at the kids’ table,” Fawn responded, pulling out a folding chair around the card table from Sean. “Hiya doing, buddy?”

Ignoring his aunt’s best friend’s ruffling of his feathers, Sean watched with amusement as Brandy sputtered over the demotion. This should be good.

“Move it. The two college kids sit at the kiddie table,” the thirty-year-old ordered. While her parents often claimed she wasn’t an accident, Bridget recalled the moment when she found out she’d have another sibling a decade younger. Beverly liked to point out that the word accident had been used.

“Wait, aren’t you still taking college classes?” Finn asked before eating a spoonful of green beans.

“Don’t turn on me, kid!” Brandy warned. “Move it”

“Sit down and take care of your nephew,” Peyton countered, holding a knife out slightly.

“Whoa! Easy there, PJ,” Brandy responded, holding up her hands while backing away. The reference to Peyton as Pepper Junior had Bridget giggling on the other side of her daughter. “You'd better sign this one up for therapy, Bee. I get the feeling becoming a divorced child is turning her all American Psycho-y.”

Pepper’s glare went toward her husband, who choked on his food at the remark.

Sean glanced with admiration as his aunt moved to the seat on the empty side of the card table. A gorgeous woman with long, wavy, golden blonde hair, blue eyes, medium-sized breasts, and a tight ass. Considered the wild child of the Fallon family, Brandy took after her father, a retired private detective, the most. Although her daredevil ways also came from copying Tinny.

Beverly preferred to call her youngest sister the family fuckup, based on her inability or unwillingness to settle down. Brandy had bounced around from one college graduate program to another all over the country after a lengthy undergraduate stint at Zurbrugg. She usually picked the programs based on location rather than any career ambitions.

“Yes, what is happening with those classes we’re supposed to pay for?” Pepper inquired. “Your father and I wondered if you might have left to return to your studies.”

“Don’t drag me into this, Pep.”

“I told you. I’m taking this semester off.”

That caused Bridget and Peyton to palm their faces.

“It’s not like that. I’m…doing something in Honey Hollow for a few months. A paying something,” Brandy insisted, but refusing to reveal the subject.

“You have a job?!” Virginia squealed, sounding like a cross between a shocked and proud mother.

“We don’t know what she’s doing, and for once, Fawn is refusing to give us anything,” Pepper noted, staring at her daughter’s co-best friend.

“I recommended against this course of action, Mrs. Fallon.”

“Bull…shit. Fawnie's been at my side, providing valuable help,” Brandy countered.

“Don’t. Just don’t. I only called Wrenn for you,” Fawn clarified, referring to the other third of their childhood trio.

Wrenn’s name getting dropped piqued Sean’s interest. Turning, he studied Fawn’s reaction to his grandmother’s follow-up question. Short and slim, with a charming, if not mischievous personality, most people who saw Fawn with Brandy might never guess that she worked as a librarian at Honey Hollow High School. Although the black 1960s-style cat-eye eyeglasses leant to the hot nerd look.

More of a cute-how woman compared to Brandy’s sexy model vibe, Fawn had shoulder-length, dirty blonde hair, green eyes, medium-sized breasts, and a toned ass. Once a regular babysitter of Sean in his toddler years, he’d been thrilled when Fawn not only moved back to Honey Hollow five years ago, but would be in place when he finally attended high school.

“Forget Brandy’s latest clusterfuck. How are you feeling?” the school librarian asked.

“Cluster–”

“Yes, how are you feeling today?” Pepper inquired, calling down from the other end of the table.

“Uh, Grandma, you just took me to my follow-up appointment on Friday. You know that, right?” Sean questioned, growing concerned about the woman in her seventies. She’d even picked him up from school to drive over to the same office building that held his mother’s practice.

“Damn, that’s a burn, Mom.”

“Your grandmother is not getting forgetful, honey. She knows from her job how quickly things can change, especially if a patient isn’t following their doctor’s advice,” Bridget explained.

And there it was. The issue that had turned Sean’s already complicated life even worse. Two nights after turning from Wasp Lake, the injured teen had woken up in **** pain. His anguished screams brought his mother down to his basement bedroom, while Watson’s barking alerted Peyton on the second floor. Having fully broken the second metatarsal and partially fractured the third metatarsal bones in his foot from his fall at Deadman’s Drop, tests revealed that Sean had managed to break the third fully.

Asked if he’d been overly active since his trip to the ER, the busy teen received a scolding from Dr. Polani and his mother. The latter had been eye-roll-inducing since part of his wild activities came from fucking her and Whitney while at the cabin. The result had been a new cast, an even bulkier walking boot, likely an extra week in the cast, and an order to stay off his foot as much as possible.

The resulting need to use a wheelchair at school brought more attention, more embarrassment, and even more mothering from the panicked Babybees, who Whitney had assigned to serve as his candy-stripers. The only positive was a two-week break from the junior varsity cheerleaders serving as his chauffeur to and from school. That suffering would return on Tuesday with the start of a new semester.

“I’m fine. I am, Grandma!” Sean insisted. “You heard Dr. Polani. He thinks I should still be able to avoid surgery and have my cast off in maybe another three weeks.”

“Yes, but he also issued a stern warning to avoid needless activities. I even believe he suggested a list of things to avoid,” Pepper recalled. “I hope you remember what not to do.”

“I doubt he’ll be allowed to forget after your little assistant jotted them down,” Bridget said sarcastically.

Sean groaned at the experience on Friday. However, his sister hadn’t heard about the extra guest on the doctor trip, as Peyton had rushed around town before the blizzard hit that afternoon.

“Assistant? Who are you…No, no way!”

“I don’t even know how she got the hall pass to show up at my class to wheel me to the nurse’s office,” Sean admitted. “I think they’ve been stealing hall passes. Crap, I probably need to look into–”

“No, you don’t,” Fawn interrupted, placing her hand on the teen’s arm.

“You?”

“Fawn what?” Brandy asked, glancing around the table in confusion.

“You’ve been giving the Babybees hall passes to run around the school?” Peyton questioned in shock.

“Just one pad,” Fawn defended.

“Nice going…Hang on! How the fuck does the librarian get school passes to hand out?” Brandy challenged.

“If you shake your tush in front of Manske before asking, a girl can get anything,” Fawn revealed, smirking.

“Oh, I love how devious you can be at times,” Brandy praised, falling to notice her nephew’s look of disbelief.

“Wait, I’m still confused. How in the hell did Kizzy manage to go to your doctor visit? Did she forge a note?” Peyton questioned.

“I don’t think so. Miss Zee’s office was crazy hectic when we showed up to sign me out for the trip. I guess a flu bug has started going around. I saw Fern Dunnage crumpled up, moaning on a bed. Chris Schipper had to help Aidan Thirlby into her office. And then, Kip Peavy staggered in…Oh, hell. They ran a con on Miss Zee, didn’t they?” Sean groaned when he realized how Kizzy had managed to distract the nurse into signing her out as well. “Crap. I hoped they didn’t poison Fern to get her in there.”

“And you let her get into your car, Grandma?” Peyton challenged.

“She is a very insistent girl. Also, I’m retired from dealing with insistent girls. Brandy wore me out,” Pepper admitted, shrugging her shoulders.

“I call bullshit. Mom has taken a shine to your second-in-command, Miss Tarver.”

“Don’t make me…’” Peyton warned, holding up the knife in her aunt’s direction.

“Like that butter knife scares me,” Brandy replied before lowering her voice to a whisper directed in Fawn’s direction. “I think she’s still pissed about the second-favorite niece designation. I had to do it. Brynn’s a fragile soul.”

“Or she’s found out about the other thing, and is waiting to strike,” Fawn suggested, seeking to worry her BFF.

“N-No, she couldn’t have,” Brandy insisted, thinking about her drunken hook-up New Year’s Eve with Spencer Vine, Pey’s old crush.

“Wait, she knows about the dance-off!” Sean pointed out loudly.

“Don’t you dare bring that up,” Peyton yelled down the table. “Or you can tell our grandparents about this Dr. Sean stuff.”

“Let your brother’s social life be,” Bridget told her daughter.

“Can we please stop talking about me?” Sean begged.

“Do you mind if I ask about your new classes?” Pepper queried. Bridget nodded, while Brandy mumbled about it being a safe harbor.

Sean proceeded to list the classes he’d chosen as electives in what he hoped would be a fun last semester of his senior year. Short Fiction with Miss Resto didn’t surprise anyone, considering the teen’s bookworm reputation. Nor did Creative Writing with Mrs. Brass. Pepper did interrupt to recall how much she liked and appreciated Topaz. Finn reminded the table that she’d not only been a great cheer coach, but an outstanding advisor to the school newspaper.

Seamus appeared particularly interested to learn that Mr. Grummitt had a class on Honey Hollow history this semester. Brandy teased her mom that Sean might find out more of the dirt her dad had dug up as a PI. Gym brought comments about Sean’s foot, while Bridget fidgeted in her seat when his Psychology class got brought up. That one chapter on a specific complex might be awkward for her son. Trouble arose when Sean complained about being assigned to a shop class instead of the study hall he should have had.

“I’m going to have to go down to the main office first thing on Tuesday morning. Even if I wanted to take Woodworking, I can’t possibly be safe in that room with this cast on. Not to mention that Coach Grimm hates me because–”

“Choppy waters, choppy waters ahead. Steer clear,” Brandy whispered.

“More like hurricane waters,” Fawn noted.

“Well, I’m sure that they’ll let you switch to a different course,” Bridget announced cheerfully with a clap. “Unfortunately, Sean only has Psychology with Newt and Short Fiction with JoJo.”

Seamus cringed as he watched his wife. All the adults at this table knew why the basketball coach had it out for two of his daughters, plus Tinny. The rumors of what happened over twenty years ago weren’t a pleasant subject around the house.

“Very well,” Pepper said, picking at her dinner. “I understand that both of your friends have a new significant other.”

“I don’t know if I’d call them that,” Sean responded, telling the truth. The whole situation felt almost as surreal as screwing your own mother. “JoJo has gone on a couple of dates with Kyler Hogan. He’s considered to be Charlie Cork’s sidekick. I can’t say I like either of them. Charlie is viewed as Fletch’s archrival when it comes to getting girls.”

“Ah, yes, Fiona’s son. Takes after his mother in colorful ways,” Pepper acknowledged, smirking at Ginny, who giggled.

“Totally. That’s why I like the kid,” Brandy declared.

“You don’t even know him!” Peyton shot back.

“Fawn told me that he chased after you for a few minutes at the ball,” her aunt revealed.

“Did he now? Nothing wrong with a younger man, dear,” Pepper teased, watching her granddaughter scowl and mutter. “Now, tell me, Sean, why did Joanne select this boy?”

“I guess because he’s a bulky wrestler,” Sean divulged, cringing at the additional reasons that his best friend praised muscular men for having.

“That girl does seem to have a type,” Fawn noted, shaking her head.

“What do you think, powerfucking?”

“Aunt Brannndeee!” Sean shrieked, basically sitting between the two BFFs.

“Ignore her. Tell your grandmother about Newt’s new girl,” Bridget prodded, smiling at the memory of Samantha Denton’s recent shocked expression when she came to work one morning to reveal that her son had a date lined up.”

“Uh, I don’t really know her that well. Maybe one or two classes over the years. Trivia Snodgrass is kind of a band geek, to be honest.”

“Trivia? Would a unique name,” Pepper stated.

“Cough Band slut Cough,” Brandy spat.

“What?" Peyton questioned.

“I told you that in confidence!” Fawn squealed, reaching over to slap her co-best friend. “That means don’t announce it at the dinner table.”

“When have you ever known me to keep great gossip like that to myself?”

“She does have a point,” Bridget agreed, taking another bite.

“I don’t even know why Fawn thought…Very well. Which of the youngersters’ dating lives should we discuss next?” Pepper asked.

“Finn’s!” Sean, Peyton, Brandy, and Fawn all exclaimed.