CHAPTER 4

Scene:  The day after Angie had arrived at the Lake house

The lake was calm and there was just the hint of a slight breeze every once in awhile rustling through the leaves.  Sitting back on her bench near the lake as the afternoon progressed, Angelica found her mind drifting back to various memories of the life she had here at the Lake, living with Bette.

It had been a difficult transition for her at first.  It was a new place, with no immediate family near by other than Bette, and Angie had withdrawn into herself as she dealt with the huge change in her life.  In time however she slowly had met a few other kids who lived near by and had made the adjustment to living in her new surroundings.  It turned out, that life wasn’t so bad after all living here “in the middle of no where” as she had once labeled it.

One memory in particular that brought a smile to her face was the time Bette had acquiesced and allowed her and some friends to have a sleep over outside in a tent down near the lake. 

Scene:  Many years ago, soon after moving from LA.

Bette had always been over-protective of Angelica, but saw how much her daughter had wanted to partake in this activity, so she had relented and purchased the necessary tent, sleeping bags and accessories that were required.  Besides, they would still be here at home, on their property so Bette was fairly comfortable knowing she wouldn’t be far away.  Angie had made some friends and Bette wanted to do everything she could to help her adjustment to their new house and surroundings.

The night of the sleep over arrived, and after getting everything set up and the girls settled down in the tent for the night, Bette had returned to the house to read for a bit before turning in herself.  Not long after the she had turned out the lights, she heard the sound of thunder in the distance.  As the loud crashes of thunder got closer and closer to the house, Bette wondered to herself how long the girls would last down at the lake.  She got her answer not long after that thought had crossed her mind.  Just as Bette was coming down the stairs to go out and check on the girls, the door to the house flew open and three dripping wet teenagers came scrambling in.