SATURDAY, MAY 24

Tony Banks, one of the drum technicians hired by Mike Ciprari to handle Lukas' new drum kits, stepped back from the toms he'd tuned and said, "Since you've been using the Evans Hydraulic drumheads, Mike had me pick up a new set but clear. That way you can set the LED lights inside the drums to whatever color you want instead of the drumhead determining the color you see. I tuned your 10-, 12-, and 14-inch toms differently. Which do you like better?"

Lukas pulled the sticks from his hip pocket and tested each tom. He played crescendos, drum rolls from the rim to the center of the drumhead and back again, rimshots, and then played the drums from left to right and back again. The drums sounded incredible to Lukas' discerning ears. Playing them made his heart race and wish Michael and Matthew were there for the full band to play together. "Mike," called out Lukas to the co-founder of SJC Custom Drums, "these drums are fucking killer, man. I lov'em!" Mike smiled at the enthusiastic teenager and newest SJC artist. If Jonathan Daniel of Crush Music was right, At the Majestic was heating up. Their few but spectacular live performances have drawn the attention of the music industry. Hell, even the number of views those shows were getting on YouTube have continued to accelerate as demand from audiences to see the boys live grew. Launching this new line of drums and hooking up with Lukas and the band could prove to be as impactful a business move, as the custom drum kits for Josh Dunn of Twenty-One Pilots, Tré Cool of Green Day, and Jay Weinberg of Slipknot.

"I think I like the sound of the 14 inch the best. What did you do to that, Tony?"

"I tuned the drum higher with the resonant head one-third lower than the batter head. Then I applied these clear dampening gel pieces to the edges of the drumhead," explained Tony. Then with a smile he added, "I thought that would be the one you'd pick. It's the way Tré sets up his kit." He pressed his finger to the trigger on his power drum key causing the motor to rev. Nick and I will tune all three kits to these specs." Nick nodded then headed off to the studios to work on the other two kits.

Lukas approached Mike who had just finished assembling the new Gibraltar double-bass curved drum rack. "I've never seen a black Gibraltar drum rack. This is so cool."

Mike stood and explained, "You haven't seen one because they've never made one. But to feature your new drum kit, we couldn't imagine using a chrome rack when your drums use black hardware."

"Thanks," gushed Lukas, "I never imagined any of this ever happening. I mean, at the beginning of the school year, it was just me and Simon messing around in his family room. Now...wow."

"It looks like all that messing around is paying off." Mike was banking on it paying off for him too.

Simon and Zach climbed the steps to the stage. Simon hopped on his bass and Zach went to the band's soundboard. Stone and Jess wanted to check the sound while Asa and Keith were setting the lighting and placing the cameras. While the drum kits were being built and the lights and sound prepared for the video shoot, Mike and Lukas returned to the loft to meet with Lindsey who was watching their four-year-old son Cove and preparing notes for the video shoot.

About a half-hour later, they were ready to get started. Keith and Asa had Mike and Lukas positioned so Tony could be seen adjusting the drums in the background.

Stone snapped the clapboard and moved off camera. Keith called out, "Action."

"Hi! This is Mike Ciprari of SJC Custom Drums here with some big announcements. First, I want to introduce you to the latest artist to join the SJC family, Lukas Meijer of At the Majestic. You may not know Lukas and the band yet, but you will soon. He's the first teen artist we've signed and in conjunction with his signing, we're launching the Lukas Meijer custom walnut drum kit. Tony's back there putting it together and we'll take a closer look when it's finished. Lukas, tell us about yourself and the band."

Lukas smiled nervously and took a deep breath. He was surrounded by friends, and Mike, who he knew from their show at Dodger Stadium, wasn't a stranger either. Lindsey had him practice his answers and coached him on his responses so this should go smoothly. "Thanks Mike. Yeah, I'm 14-years-old and I've been playing drums for as long as I can remember. Simon Novak, our bass player, and I grew up together and his dad taught us everything and all different instruments. We've been playing together ever since. Then we hooked up with Michael and Matthew during this school year and formed At the Majestic. It's been kind of a whirlwind after that."

"Lukas is being modest. The boys play as a two-, three-, four-, or a five-piece band adding Zach Schultz as their fifth member. The band may be young, Michael being only 11, but already they've opened for some of the biggest acts in the business. Acts like Kahlid, and the Hella Mega Tour at Dodger Stadium for Green Day and Weezer. You can check out their live performances on their YouTube channel. What else have you and the band been up to Lukas?"

"Well, we all play lacrosse, and we really enjoy hanging out with all our friends."

"You guys have any plans for a summer tour?"

Lukas laughed for the camera having rehearsed all of this earlier, "No, we're actually heading to visit family in Denmark and then we have some local shows here in East Harbor. But we do have a new single being released this week. It's called 'Lost and Found'."

"And when he gets back from his family vacation, you'll be able to follow him on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube performing drum covers and giving online tips and instruction for you up and coming drummers. Lukas, I think Tony's about ready, let's take a look at the new Lukas Meijer customer drum kit."

Glamor shots of the drum kit were taken to be matched with Mike's voice over describing the product. Lukas watched, still not believing this was his new kit. The drums had a high-gloss lacquer finish over the stained wood allowing the woodgrain to show through providing texture and depth to the finish. The stain at the batter end of each drum was green, Lukas' favorite color, then faded to black next to the resonate head. The drum rims had a glossy-black finish to match the black and silver SJC badge affixed to the side. The black drum rack made the green pop. Lukas began considering painting his cymbal stands black to match.

Next, they wanted to shoot video of Lukas playing the drums. Without Michael and Matthew, they settled on playing the original two-piece arrangement of 'Betrayal'. Keith and Asa had different light settings prepared so each time Simon and Lukas played the song, the camera angles and lighting would be different making for interesting cuts. Everyone's favorite was when the lights were turned down low and the LED lights inside the bass drum illuminated the "@" on the front drumhead and the lights in the toms gave Lukas a green glow. It looked awesome on camera. They also filmed Lukas playing solo in the studio with his headphones on.

Everyone was hungry for lunch by the time they finished. But before they adjourned and headed to the Maple Street Café, Jess merged the sound and video to show Mike rough footage of the day's shoot.

"I'm not gonna lie," said Mike of what he saw on the MacBook screen, "I knew this was going to be better than what we shoot with our iPhones. When I talked to Jonathan, he told me that you were the team that shot those videos for the band and to expect this to be top quality work. He was right, I can't wait to see this edited. I really appreciate you guys taking the time to help us out with this."

"No problem," said Asa, "we owed Lukas and the band big-time after helping us with our final project for school." The others agreed.

"That's that movie you shot of the band, right?" asked Mike.

"Yeah," answered Keith, "and it's premiering at the Outfest Los Angeles Film Festival in August."

"Look, I don't want to get your hopes up too much, but Jonathan is building up hype around this movie of yours. If it is as good as your other work, don't be surprised if some of the bands managed by Crush Music aren't calling you up for their next music videos."

"Awesome," said Asa, giving Keith a high-five.

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Christian set his bowl of ramen on the table next to his drink. "Thanks again guys. This has been an awesome birthday present. You didn't have to do it, but I really appreciate it." The other boys arranged their drinks and meals on the table and took their seats.

"You're welcome," said Oliver.

"Plus," added Craig taking a seat beside Oliver, "it's the least we could do after you guys were so cool when we came to visit. I can't believe we're finally moving here."

"Me too," added Michael before slurping up another mouthful of ramen.

"But we still feel guilty about taking you guys away from the band's big day," added Craig.

"Well, it's really Lukas' big day," said Michael. "If we were around, we'd just be in the way. Anyway, we were so excited you guys were arriving before we left for Europe, we just had to hang out. Besides, I wouldn't miss an opportunity to celebrate this cutie's birthday again." Michael kissed Christian on the cheek.

Matthew joined his charges for the day and dropped a bag of desserts in the middle of the table. They saved him a seat at the head of table. Using his fork, he moved the halved soft-boiled egg aside and poked around in the noodles and pork belly. He was by far the least adventurous of the boys when it came to trying new foods. This was not the fifty-cent packet of ramen he was used to.

"Thanks for compromising Matthew," said Michael. He knew this wasn't what his big brother would have picked for lunch. If they'd chosen burritos or hamburgers, Matthew would have been fine, but not anything with egg halves floating in it. "I really think you're gonna like it."

After a morning seeing the exhibits at LEGOLAND California and an hour or so at LEGOLAND Water Park, the boys popped over to The LEGO Movie World to have lunch at Everything Ramen. It would never have been Matthew's first choice, but the four boys he chaperoned all wanted ramen. This was a day for Craig and Oliver to treat Christian and Michael since they didn't have a chance to get Christian a present for his birthday. Matthew knew he was just their transportation. It was fine with him. April was out of town visiting family and the Force didn't have practice, so he didn't have anything else to do.

"This place is so cool!" said Craig. Michael agreed and the two boys started recalling their favorite LEGO attractions.

"I knew those dweebs would like this place," joked Oliver to Christian.

"Hey! I heard that," said Craig.

Michael added, "I'm sure those geeks like Legos as much as us dweebs do."

"Maybe not as much as you two do, but we like them well enough," Christian laughed.

"Hey," remembered Michael, "you were going to show us the house your mom and dad bought."

"Oh yeah!" Craig pulled his phone from his backpack and found the real estate app that had the listing and photos. "Now, I don't mean to be bragging," Craig apologized ahead of time, "but we're really excited to be moving here and wanted to share this with someone and you guys are like our best friends."

"Don't worry. It's cool," said Michael.

Christian added, "We're happy for you too. We won't say anything to anyone."

Craig handed his phone to Michael.

"OH MY GOD!!" exclaimed Michael. He elbowed Christian who almost choked on his ramen when he saw the overhead photo of the property.

Set atop of one of the hills at the edge of East Harbor and Vista, the new Kendall residence had panoramic views of Vista, East Harbor, and the hills to the east. When the boys swiped through the photos, the interior of the five-bedroom, six-bathroom home seemed gaudy with marble columns and floors, but the outdoor living areas were unbelievable. Whether out on the massive deck with the built-in fire pit and outdoor kitchen or the level with the inground pool and patio surrounded by palm trees, the property and views were outstanding.

"So, here are the coolest things about this house," said Craig. He and Oliver both leaned in conspiratorially. "There's a nanny's quarters -- it's like a little apartment and a big bathroom and we get that as our bedroom. It even has its own door to the deck!"

"Tell them about the other building," urged Oliver, full of excitement.

"So, there are three houses on the hill, but our property includes the complete east side of the hill between the roads." Craig pointed out the area between Deeb Road and the "L-shaped" Deeb Court. "At the bottom off this road here is another building. It's two-stories. Half of the building is a huge garage almost big enough to drive a tractor trailer into. The other half is like a two-story apartment. The first floor has a kitchen, pool table and a movie theater space. Upstairs is a living room and a huge area where we can set up a workout room. And get this, the floor is padded like a weight room."

Christian gushed, "I think this is the coolest house I've ever seen!"

"Well," added Oliver, "as soon as we're allowed to have a sleepover, you two are going to get an invitation."

"I don't want to sound stupid or anything," said Craig, "but we've never had friends like you two. It's really cool that we have friends we can share stuff like this with."

Oliver continued the thought. "Yeah, neither of us have ever had really close friends until we met you guys."

"We feel the same way," said Michael taking Christian's hand in his. "I mean, yeah, we've got a lot of great friends in East Harbor, but I don't know, the four of us just really seem to connect."

"You nerds need to eat up," teased Matthew. "I think you'll want to see more of the park before we have to go home."

The boys nodded and took another bite.

Then Craig surprised everyone. "I'm gonna miss the ranch." He looked up to see the look of shock on everyone's face. "What?"

Oliver put his arm around Craig and gave him a squeeze. "You gonna be alright?"

"Yeah..." he said. "It's just that I'm going to miss our special place."

"Tell us about it," suggested Matthew sensing the boy would feel better if he shared what was important to him.

"Well, the first time Oliver spent the night we camped in the field behind the house. After we unpacked our stuff, we went exploring." Craig laughed. "You shoulda been there. The Gallatin River runs along the foothills of some mountains and through our ranch. We started hopping along the rocks and found a Western Tiger Salamander. It was over a foot long and Oliver was so scared of it."

"Hey!" cried Oliver, playfully shoving Craig. "You weren't supposed to tell them that part."

"At least I didn't tell them how you screamed like a little girl when the salamander broke free and fell in your lap!" All the boys were laughing hard at Oliver's expense.

"Salamanders are so cool!" added Michael. "Back in Oregon, Matthew and I used to ride our bikes over to Gales Creek to catch salamanders. There were these really little skinny ones called the Clouded Salamander. You could practically see through them. Then there were fatter ones that were a bit longer called Columbia Torrent Salamanders. But the biggest were the Cope's Giant Salamanders, but the biggest we ever got was about seven inches long. I can't imagine one over a foot long. Matthew probably would have screamed if we had found one that big."

"Watch it, squirt," teased Matthew.

"More and more every day!" Michael announced. That cracked the boys up again. Their laughter could be heard by others over the LEGOLAND crowd.

"The river was your special place?" asked Christian bringing the conversation back to Craig's story.

"No," answered Oliver reminiscing about the times he and Craig spent together exploring the ranch. "Down the river a ways there is a place where we cross and climb up this rock slope to an outcropping. From there you could see over all the trees into the entire valley and see the entire ranch."

"Oh man," Craig recalled, "we used to carry firewood up there and build fires and just listen to nature."

"That sounds really cool," said Michael, thinking about how special a place like that would be for him and Christian.

Being cheeky, Christian took the conversation one step further to joke with his friends. "Did you ever do it up there?" The four younger boys leaned into the table conspiratorially while Matthew, embarrassed by the topic, looked to see if any of the families in their vicinity were listening in on the conversation.

"Of course!" admitted Craig with a smile.

Oliver had a shit-eating grin on his face too. "Yeah, after that first camp out when we christened the field behind the house, we did it outside all over the ranch!" This time Craig shoved Oliver out of embarrassment.

"Alright you guys," said Matthew flexing his authority. "Finish up and let's hit the park." The boys slurped their remaining noodles and broth then bussed their table.

"I told ya you'd like the ramen," said Michael, taking his big brother's hand.

"Who said I liked the ramen?"

"You were the first one finished. If you didn't like it, you wouldn't have eaten it all." Michael reached out and snagged Christian's hand and walked between his two favorite people.

"Water park or more exhibits?" asked Craig.

"It doesn't matter," reminded Christian, "we all have season passes now. I'm sure we'll be back a lot!"

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It was a holiday weekend, but enough of the boys on the lacrosse teams were in town that they decided to get together and workout. Since Will lived closest to the high school lacrosse fields, it made sense for Jordan and Curtis to meet at Will's and ride their bikes together to practice.

"Did you hear who's running practice today?" asked Curtis. The boys left themselves plenty of time to get to practice, so they were riding slowly, chatting and enjoying the beautiful southern California weather before they took the field for a hot, sweaty workout.

"Isn't Robert McCall running practice since Simon isn't going to be there?" asked Will.

"No," replied Curtis, "I heard they had a family reunion to go to. Michael mentioned something about Derek having a married gay cousin that his parents wanted him to get to know better or something like that."

Will thought through the rosters of the high school and middle school teams. "Well, if Robert and Simon aren't going to be there, and Michael and Lukas are with Craig and Oliver, that doesn't leave many others."

Jordan provided what he knew. "I think Sam and Gregory will be there, and Lewis. I think Caleb and Preston from the JV team will be there too. They'll be seniors next year and probably playing varsity full-time."

"That's cool," said Will. "It's not like it really matter to me. After last season, I'm starting to really like lacrosse. Kinda sucks that we have to wait until next season to play more matches."

"Maybe we can set up scrimmages with some of the club teams since they play year around," offered Jordan.

"Well, I'm just glad about one thing," noted Curtis.

"What's that?" asked Will.

"We're in for drama-free summer practices," stated Curtis.

Jordan reacted grunting, "Huh?"

"Trajan's family is doing something this weekend so he won't be at practice then he's heading for Seattle for the summer," announced Curtis.

"Are you serious?" asked Will. "Did you confirmed that he really is going?"

"Yep," said Curtis. "My mom called his mom about something, and his mom said Trajan was going to stay with his cousins in Seattle while she and his dad were in Italy. No Trajan this summer means we don't have to put up with his drama, bitching, or whining."

"Thank gawd!" said Will. Jordan nodded in agreement.

----------------------     

MONDAY, MAY 25

With so much luggage and so many bodies going to Europe, Lars and Carol calculated it would take at least three vehicles to get them to the airport. It didn't make sense to drive three vehicles and leave them in long-term parking for the entirety of their vacation. Instead, Lars and Carol decided to round up drivers for their trip to the airport. They were originally going to fly out of Los Angeles since it was faster to fly from LA to Denmark. However, once they realized the commute to a Los Angeles airport was at minimum an hour longer than to San Diego's airport, they felt it wouldn't be fair to ask the drivers to commute the extra hour to save an hour of travel time. Therefore, they decided to fly out of San Diego instead. Ultimately, it was for the best. The travel time from San Diego may have been longer, but the flights were cheaper.

The night before their flight, they were even happier to be flying out of San Diego. The hour or so saved by not having to drive to LAX could be spent sleeping in a bit later. They didn't have to leave East Harbor until 7:30 am and would still have plenty of time to get to the airport in time to check bags, make it through TSA, buy snacks at the newsstand, and get to their gate on time. The extra time to sleep in was necessary since Lars had underestimated how riled up the boys would be, especially since they had company.

Sitting at the dining room table, Michael was too excited to even think about food. He sat there picking at his cereal because Lars wanted him to try to eat something. The boy looked over at Christian and their overnight bedmates, their friends from Montana. To Michael, the other three seemed to have earned an appetite from the night's activities.

Laughter from the kitchen drew Michael's attention. Lukas and Simon were joking around when they were supposed to be helping Matthew clean up the kitchen. The oldest Meijer boy was trying to get them back on task unsuccessfully.

Michael was feeling so many things this morning. First, he was traveling to Europe for the first time in his life. There was so much of this world he wanted to explore, and this would be his first big adventure. Over the next month, he would see his family's farm in Denmark, then visit Christian's hometown in Norway.

But this trip meant so much more to Michael. Most importantly, he was meeting his grandparents for the first time. He'd only confided in Christian about being nervous to meet them. The Grant family was never accepting of him--not the way they were of Matthew. In a way, the anticipation of this trip had opened an old wound that could only be healed by his Meijer grandparents. Since he learned of this European vacation, Michael had been preparing himself to meet and impress his farmor and farfar.

The backdoor slammed shut and around the corner came a small boy dressed only in white briefs with different colored dinosaur and blue trim. Michael glanced over and said, "Morning Connor."

"It's Cooper," grumbled the boy.

"No, you're Connor," said Michael confidently.

Oliver and Craig laughed when Connor stomped his foot in frustration. He and his twin were positive they would get Michael this time. They thought if only one showed up he wouldn't be able to compare to tell them apart. To be even more clever, they traded undies before Connor headed next door. "How come you can always tell us apart? We thought only Craig could do that!"

"Dude," said Oliver, "I told Michael is just as smart as Craig. He's got you nailed, bro."

The backdoor slammed again just before Cooper walked in in his brother's blue and white checkered briefs. He read the room and asked glumly, "It didn't work, did it?"

The older boys laughed harder. The twins' favorite joke was to confuse people about who was who. It always worked...well, almost always. They reasoned Craig tell them apart because of his intelligence. Connor and Cooper found it hilarious that their mom and dad couldn't. Dr. and Mrs. Kendall fell for their schemes all the time. But this, this was new and crazy. Someone they just met had learned to tell them apart so quickly.

Poor Michael, being the closest to the twins' age, became the target of their trickery. But to their dismay, Michael, who had only known them for a couple days, had them pegged no matter how many times they tried to trick him.

"Don't worry you two," Michael consoled. "There are plenty of people around here that you'll get to play that trick on."

At about seven, Zach's parents arrived in their car with Alexis and Alex following right behind in the Transit she picked up from the theater parking lot. To get everyone to the airport, Dorothy and Earl would drive Carol and Lars' SUVs and Alexis would drive the Transit with the luggage.

"Okay boys, grab your luggage and carry it out to the Transit," ordered Lars. He picked up Lukas' luggage and waited for the boys.

Oliver and Craig wanted to help. They grabbed Zach and Carol's luggage. It was the least they could do for the family that had welcomed them into their home, or rather, homes.

"Dad? I can carry my luggage," said Lukas.

"No, I've got it," answered Lars. "Would you hold the doors for everyone?"

"Boys!" said Mr. Kendall sharply. The twins knew by the tone in their father's voice he was speaking to them. "You stay inside. You don't need to get in the way." He approached Lars, Carol, and Zach to bid them an enjoyable vacation. "And thank you so much for the use of your homes while you are away. Amanda and I look forward to having you over to our new home when you get back."

Finally, the adults finished, and Lukas opened the front door to let his father and the other boys out, each loaded with luggage, then Lukas ran ahead to open the door to the Transit. Pulling the right door open, an arm reached out and grabbed the front of Lukas' hoodie with a loud "RAH!" It scared the crap out of the blond teen. Lukas let out a scream that woke neighbors two blocks away. The other boys jumped in fright from Lukas' scream. The adults, on the other hand, burst into laughter.

The door opened wider and Lukas saw who was inside. "Scott!" scolded Lukas in frustration. "What are you doing here?"

Scott opened the other door and pointed to his luggage.

"Wait. What?" puzzled Lukas. "Are you going with us?"

"YES!" said Scott. He jumped from the van and gave his friends hugs. "Zach and the 'rents sprang this on me last night. They wanted it to be a surprise for you guys and didn't believe I could keep a secret. That's why they waited until the last minute to tell me."

"Hey, why not, Scott's family too," stated Zach "Why shouldn't he come with us to Denmark?"

"Thanks Zach!" Lukas punctuated his joy by giving Zach and his dad huge hugs.

"Alright, enough dilly dallying," commanded Carol. "Let's load up and get this show on the road!" With Scott and Alex's help, everything was loaded and ready for departure.

The boys shared hugs with Oliver and Craig who wished them safe passage on their journey. The boys took seats in the SUVs anxious to get to the airport.

"Alex," called out Craig just as the boy was climbing into the Transit with his mother. "We're going to be here a couple weeks before we can move into our new house. You'll come by to hang out, won't you?"

Alex's face lit up at the invitation. "Of course!"

"Alex," said Alexis, "why don't you ride with the boys so Carol and I can talk business on the way down."

"Okay!" Alex gave Craig and Oliver fist bumps on his way to join Matthew, Michael, and Christian in the SUV with Lars and Earl up front. Simon, Lukas, and Scott rode with Zach and Dorothy in the other. With Alexis driving the Transit, the moment Carol's seatbelt was buckled, the caravan headed for the airport.

Craig and Oliver went back into the house where the rest of the family was settling in for breakfast. They joined them at the table when the twins spoke up.

"Are you sure those other boys are gay?" asked one twin.

"They sure don't seem like it," stated the other.

Memories from previous nights with Simon, Lukas, Michael, and Christian flooded Craig and Oliver's memories confirming without a doubt that those four were also, in fact, very gay.

When the older boys didn't respond to the twins, Amanda asked, "Why do you say that?"

"They never talk about it," answered one twin.

The other added, "Nope, not once."

Those comments drew Oliver and Craig's attention.

"You know," said Oliver, "that doesn't mean our friends aren't gay. It just means that down here it isn't a big deal like it is back in Bozeman."

"Yeah, Oliver's right," added Craig. "When we're here, we don't have to talk about it much either, because no one else does. Back in Bozeman, everyone was all bent out of shape about who's gay and who isn't, taking sides, defending or bullying, and all that shit."

Craig didn't even realize he cussed in front of this parents and little brothers. But with the seriousness of the conversation and seeming that the older boys were discovering something about themselves and their new hometown, Amanda and Will let it pass.

Craig continued, "Here, we only had to let people know we were a couple, not just friends, but it wasn't any different than seeing a guy and a girl together and their clarifying their relationship status. Other than that, we don't have to talk about it here because here no one considers it different. It just is. People see it for what it is, just as normal as everything else."

Cooper swallowed another spoonful of Capt'n Crunch. "Good!" he said emphatically.

When Connor didn't add his two cents, Dr. Kendall asked, "Why is that good?"

"'Cause it will be easier for us to find a boyfriend," explained Connor.

"Oh," said Amanda. She still didn't believe the twins when they said they were gay and especially when they claimed to be boyfriends. She believed it was a phase from having Craig and Oliver together under the same roof. "So, you two are going to get yourself boyfriends now?"

"Oh no," corrected Connor. "Just one."

"That's all we need," explained Cooper. "We share everything..."

"...just like you taught us," finished Connor.

The twins already had a boy picked out. The previous evening, they had walked to the Maple Street Café with their mother. At the Mallway, the twins met a boy sitting by himself next to the water fountain eating an ice cream cone. After Connor and Cooper got home from the Café, they agreed they wanted that cute boy with sandy-blonde hair and hazel eyes, that boy who's lips tasted of chocolate ice cream, that boy named Jack, to be their boyfriend. From Jack's blushing cheeks and the tent in his shorts after the kisses, the twins were certain he was game.

----------------------     

Carol was more wound up than usual. She enjoyed helping with the boys' business, even if it was on top of her partnership in a financial investment firm. However, this was the first time she'd taken a vacation from both. She also felt the added responsibility for recommending Alexis as manager of Saberspace. After the work ethic and skills Alexis exhibited in her part-time capacity, Janette promoted Alexis to a leadership role for both the launch of Saberspace and oversight of the construction of the music store. Carol was confident that Alexis was the right person, but she also felt responsible for Alexis' success or failure. Leaving right after Alexis' promotion, Carol didn't feel like she'd set Alexis up for success.

"And don't forget," reminded Carol, "the high school's DECA members are coming in on Thursday for training on the on-demand printing for the band and school gear. With that, we've got orders from the band's online store to fill and we should be able to make the Saberspace online presence live to start taking orders for school apparel too."

"The training is Tuesday, not Thursday, and the Saberspace online store is populated and launched. We just haven't made the public announcement to drive customers to the site." Alexis glanced over at Carol and smiled. "Carol, I've got this. I know I'm not experienced enough to lead these projects independently, especially when it comes to building the brands, having difficult conversations with personnel, or creating a work culture. The more I learn from you and Janette, the more I understand what I need to look to the two of you to direct and teach. However, right now this is all organization and process. Those are my strong suits and if they weren't, the two of you wouldn't have hired me for this role."

Carol blew out a big sigh. "You're right. I just want to make sure you are successful and feel a bit guilty about leaving you. I feel like I'm throwing you into the mess of the two startups and skipping town."

"Well," laughed Alexis, "in a way, you are. But that's why I'm taking on these new responsibilities. Because you were leaving and needed someone to step in and help. Majestic Enterprises is growing fast and you, Janette, and the team can't do it all by yourselves. There's going to be more hiring and more growth. I'm just really proud to be part of it and will work hard to live up to your trust and expectations."

"You will," assured Carol.

While Alexis was reassuring Carol that she'd be okay while Carol was out of town, Lars was doing the same thing with Alex.

"How long are you going to be gone?" asked Alex for the tenth time. Ever since he heard that Dr. Meijer was going on vacation, he'd been a bit clingy and worried. It only confirmed Zach's assessment that Alex suffered from a crush on his doctor.

Lars turned the best he could to face the uneasy boy in the second row of seats. His seatbelt didn't cooperate much, but at least he could look at Alex when he spoke to him. "You'll be fine, Alex. I know your mom is working days now and you're used to hanging at our house. Mrs. Greenfield said you could stay at her house with Sam during the day and even spend the night anytime you want. And I'm sure she will gladly help you with a baking lesson or two anytime you ask. It's just for a couple of weeks or so."

Lars paused for a moment before he continued. "You know, Craig and Oliver have finally moved here, and Connor and Cooper are here for the first time and don't know anyone at all. Maybe you can show them the things that helped you settle in when you moved here. Take them around to see where everyone lives. They are about the same age as Derek and Jack. Maybe you could introduce them. I'm sure they would appreciate it. And now that school's out, maybe you and Josh can spend a day or two together."

"I know," whined Alex, "it's just...well...I'm gonna miss the guys too."

Lars studied the boy's face before he answered. "Think of it as a challenge. The challenge is for you to engage others. You ask for baking lessons. You ask to spend the night. You make plans to see the other guys and help Oliver, Craig, and his brothers feel like they belong here. Take the initiative and I want to hear all about it when I get back. With all the success you and your mom will have, we'll have to have a celebratory dinner for you both."

Alex's expression brightened as Lars explained the challenge. By the end, he was excited. Nothing Lars wanted him to do was difficult. It was true, he let things happen--Josh making plans, waiting to be invited to hang out with buddies from school, and such. But he felt like he was good enough friends with the guys to reach out and make plans too. "Okay! I can do that!" he told Lars.

"Besides," Lars noted, "I think your evenings are going to be busy with your mom looking for a new place for the two of you to live. I'm sure she's looking forward to getting out of that tiny apartment."

----------------------     

Alejandro's phone rang and he answered immediately. He was expecting Michael's call. "So! What's the plan?" he asked, happy to see Michael's smiling face on the screen.

"Wait...wait..." Michael turned and held the phone at arm's length, so everyone could lean in and say "hi" to Alejandro. Alejandro returned the waves and said "hey" to everyone before the phone swung back to framing his best friend's face.

"So, when are you going to be over here in Europe?" Alejandro didn't know if he'd ever been more excited. The closer Michael's trip got, the more he realized how much he missed his East Harbor friends and how lonely he felt. He'd made some friends and was still working on getting to know Abraham and Eli, but he didn't have any friends in Segovia like he had back in the states. He was desperate to see them again.

"We're going to be boarding here in about 10 minutes or so. Our flight leaves and 10:01 and we'll fly to Salt Lake City. We'll be there for about an hour and a half and then fly from Salt Lake City all the way to Amsterdam! It's a nine hour and 40-minute flight, but because of the time zones, we'll be landing at 8:15 tomorrow morning! Then it's only an hour flight to Billund where our grandparents will pick us up."

"So, you'll be here tomorrow morning!" said Alejandro excitedly.

"Well, we'll be in Europe, but we'll still be pretty far away from you."

"Yeah, but like I said before," reminded Alejandro, "it's a lot easier to get abuela to let me fly two and a half hours to Billund than it is to let me fly over ten hours to California!"

"Yeah," laughed Michael, "I bet it is. Oh! They just called us to line up to board the plane. I'll call you in the morning!"

"Cool! Talk to you tomorrow!"

Michael put his phone on Airplane Mode and hoisted his backpack to his shoulder. The boys joined the others and prepared to board the first leg of their journey.

----------------------     

Where Carol and Lars felt the drudgery of making a trip to Europe and knew well the jet lag that would come with the nearly ten-hour flight across nine time zones, they took joy in the excitement of those making the trip for the first time.

Zach, Scott, Matthew, and Michael were amazed by the size of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner that would take them overseas. The two-aisle cabin configuration of the plane offered three seats along each side of the fuselage and a row of three seats down the middle of the plane. Lukas sat between Simon and Scott, the experienced travelers allowing Scott to have the window seat. It was by no means a huge sacrifice. There wasn't going to be much to see, especially at night. Across the aisle from them sat Zach and Lars. In the next row back, Christian and Michael were seated across the aisle from Carol and Matthew.

A thrill went through Michael's body when the large aircraft took flight. He knew some about Denmark and its history, but there was one fact that captured his imagination. Billund was the world headquarters for LEGO and the home of LEGOLAND Resort! If there was only one thing they did, one place they explored outside of Lars' hometown, Michael wanted it to be LEGOLAND Resort. But he had one other mission, the most important of all. He was going to Denmark to meet his new grandparents. Grandparents that would love him for being himself. He just knew it. He loved his new family more than anything in the world. It was a big, mixed-up jumble of Meijers, Novaks, Schultz, and now Olsens with Christian in his life. But to know there were more, his Meijer relatives still in Europe, made this trip even more special.

Michael's daydream about what meeting his grandparents would be like was interrupted by Christian. It startled him, but he quickly pulled his earbuds from his ears and turned his attention to Christian.

Christian had his Netflix movie on pause and his own earbuds in hand. "Remember what I said, it's going to be easy to stay awake for the entire flight. We'll be landing in Amsterdam at about eight in the morning their time, but it will only be about 11 in the evening our time. To adjust to the jet lag, tomorrow we don't want to fall asleep until we go to bed. Staying awake tomorrow will be a lot easier if we can get some sleep on the plane."

Michael nodded and Christian went back to watching his movie. Turning to the window, he leaned his head against the fuselage and watched the clouds drift by. His stomach grumbled. Thinking back, in all of his excitement, he hadn't eaten much today and it was nearly dinner time back in California. Reaching under the seat in front of him, Michael retrieved his backpack. Opening the seat tray, he pulled out a bag of trail mix -- an assortment of peanuts, cashews, almonds and dried fruit that he loved -- a bottle of water, and a map he'd printed. Dropping the backpack to the floor between his feet, Michael spread the map on the tray and munched on the trail mix. It was easy to imagine a flight path that would take them across the United States, but Michael had taken a shoelace and laid it across his globe. With his left thumb on Salt Lake City and his right on Amsterdam, the shoelace traced over very little of the US. From the KLM web site, Michael found the flight map and printed it off. Then he marked off each hour of the flight so he could get a rough idea of where they were while in flight.

Checking the map of the flight path again (as if he didn't already have it memorized), upon takeoff, the plane headed northeast into Wyoming, then Montana. Clipping North Dakota and Saskatchewan, they would traverse Manitoba then out over Hudson Bay. Crossing a bit of northern Quebec and southeastern Nunavut, the flight would take them across the Labrador Sea and Greenland before breaking out over the North Atlantic Ocean. The next land mass they would pass over would be the British Isles. Then with a hop, skip, and a jump over the North Sea, they would land in mainland western Europe.

Michael guessed they had just crossed Lake Winnipeg and were on their way towards Hudson Bay. A sense of adventure stirred his heart. Below them was northern Manitoba, an area that was nearly entirely wilderness. Hundreds of lakes and millions of acres of untamed forests, he could only imagine how beautiful and peaceful it must be. To his disappointment, the cloud cover hid it all from his view. He settled back in his seat and pulled up another lesson on his iPhone.

----------------------     

Carol nudged Matthew and offered him a snack from her bag. He smiled and accepted a granola bar and a bottle of water. He put his tray down and set his phone and snack on the surface. "I was getting hungry. Are they going to serve any meals on this flight?"

"Yes, but since the flight is so long, they try to space them out. They'll have a meal soon and then a snack when we get closer to landing. That's why I brought plenty of snacks for everyone," said Carol with a smile.

Matthew still missed his mother terribly, even if he worked hard not to show it. But Carol, well, he couldn't have asked for a better substitute. He loved this crazy mishmash of a family, and he adored his little brother, but with all the confusing changes in his life the last couple of years, he couldn't imagine life without Carol. Her encouragement to pursue his dreams, the motherly love she showed at all the right moments, and most importantly, being his trusted confidant--a role that Michael might have played if he were older, a role Carol, however, had earned.

Carol leaned towards Matthew to keep their conversation private and spoke under her breath. "I spoke to April's parents."

Matthew froze as a chill went down his spine. It wasn't that he felt like he was in trouble, but Matthew felt April's parents were a bit on the wild side and had no idea what might come out of their mouths. He slowly turned to Carol attempting to read her face.

"What? You think they are too liberal for us to relate to? You do know that Lukas and Simon have been sleeping together for years, right? Trust me. We've come to terms with sexually active boys."

A smile broke out over Matthew's face. He took a bite out of the granola bar and turned back to Carol. "So, what did the doctor and his wife have to say?"

"Well, I just wanted to make sure we, the parents, are all on the same page when it comes to you and April sleeping over at each other's house."

Matthew blushed several shades of red when his mind flashed back to the night of Christian's birthday. After April lost her virginity in the shower, they'd spent the night naked in his bed. Round two before they fell asleep and a third time around before they joined the others for breakfast. As much as everyone tried to pretend April sleeping over was an everyday occurrence, the adults were clearly caught off guard. Afterwards, he'd had the talk with Lars about being safe and using protection and Carol's chat about relationships and protecting himself and April emotionally. Zach even checked in to see how Matthew was doing after the talks with Carol and Lars. Matthew thought the topics had been dropped until this past Friday when Matthew spent the night at April's.

Carol continued. "You and April are two of the most grounded, level-headed teens I've ever met. At the same time, you two are also young and very attractive so it would be stupid if we didn't expect that your relationship would become sexual."

Matthew listened carefully and tried to figure out where the conversation was going so Carol's point wouldn't catch him off guard. No matter how much he loved and trusted Carol, what teenage boy was comfortable having a conversation with his mother on the topic of his sex life.

"Don't look at me that way," laughed Carol. "You and I are coming back from Denmark early so you can return to baseball practice. While your father is still in Europe, I'm not sleeping over at your house and I'm not going to make you sleep over at my house just to keep an eye on you. That means you'll have that house to yourself at night and I'm certain April will join you from time to time. I just wanted to know what her parents' thoughts were on the two of you having the house to yourselves if she spends the night and how frequently they are comfortable with that."

A snicker escaped Matthew's lips.

"What?" asked Carol innocently. After her conversation with Jack and Heather, she had a decent idea of what was going through her eldest son's head.

"Sometimes I think they would be happier if we slept together every night, especially at their house," confided Matthew.

There was something about April's parents' attitude that made Carol feel the same way.

Matthew leaned closer and continued, "It's almost like they're jealous. I just don't know if they are jealous of April and me for being young and in love, or..." The next part was hard for Matthew to admit since it was only a feeling that he had. "Or if they're both just jealous of April."

The look on Matthew's face confirmed to Carol that the implications she read into that statement were intended.

"Has Dr. Evandale..."

"No! No, he hasn't," explained Matthew, "but there are times when they look at me like...like...I don't know. Like they want to just rip my clothes off or invite me to their room with the two of them. It's kinda creepy. I mean, I'll be over there watching a movie and April will get up to go to the bathroom. When I glance over at her parents, they're staring back at me like hungry wolves."

This turn in their conversation unsettled Carol. "Do you feel threatened by them?" she asked.

"No," he said thoughtfully. "No, it's just weird."

"Look Matthew," said Carol shifting in her seat to better face him, "I'm not going to lie to you. You're a smart boy and I'm guessing your intuition is correct. The question is, how are you going to feel or react if they act on their desires?"

Matthew faced forward and relaxed back in his seat. He didn't know how to answer that question. "I don't know. How do you honestly know how you are going to feel about something before it actually happens?"

"True," admitted Carol. Maybe she was asking too much from a 16-year-old. "As a teenager, you don't have a lot of experiences to draw from. Here's what I want you to think about. Plan how you are going to react in case something comes up. What will you say? What will you do? If you plan it in advance, imagine yourself doing it, practice saying it, then you'll be prepared in case it happens."

"You know," said Matthew turning his head to face Carol again, "that sounds a bit like preparing for a baseball game. The coach tells us to visualize execution and success."

"Yeah," agreed Carol, "it is kinda like that. But you'll do that in many areas of your life. Getting ready for a business meeting, a big test, sporting events, and yes, even difficult conversations. Some parents use this for preparing their kids to turn down drugs and alcohol when offered. It just makes doing the right thing easier if you practice it before you must do it for real."

"Yeah, I guess it would," said Matthew, pleased that he was able to keep one small secret hidden away from the world. He wasn't ready to admit that Jack and Heather had sparked a curiosity deep within. Was it a curiosity about being with two, much more experienced, adults? Perhaps a stirring of bisexuality and experimenting with an adult man? Or was it from a suppressed need to be punished, to be taken and used like a sex doll by adults the way his little brother had been? These thoughts excited and scared the boy.

----------------------     

Christian's movie was ending and now that they'd had some food, he was thinking a nap would be in order. When he closed his Netflix app, he heard Michael talking to himself. He listened, but the noise generated by the plane's engines made it difficult to understand what Michael was saying. Careful not to interrupt Michael, Christian looked over to see what his young boyfriend was doing.

On Michael's iPhone, he saw the Duolingo app. Michael was learning Danish in preparation for meeting his grandparents. Christian's heart fluttered with the love he felt for this boy. He was certain that no one knew how important it was to Michael to make a good impression on his new, extended family. He loved the boy for the effort he put into everything, even when he'd told Michael repeatedly, they would love him just the same no matter what. 'Just how long has he been working on learning Danish?' Christian wondered.

He saw Michael let out a sigh and tap to return to the home screen and switched language to Norwegian. When he saw the progress Michael had made through the lessons, Christian reached out and grabbed Michael's hand. He smiled at the boy when Michael looked up.

"Jeg elsker deg så mye (I love you so much)," said Christian.

Michael smiled brightly having understood what Christian said. He hadn't heard his love speak his native tongue very often. It sounded like music to Michael's ears. He hoped he would hear Christian speak it more often. "Jeg elsker deg også (I love you too)," said Michael.

----------------------     

TUESDAY, MAY 26

It was clear and sunny at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, better known as simply the Schiphol Airport, when KLM flight 9594 landed, waking the sleeping boys.

Michael rubbed his eyes and noticed the wet spot on Christian's shoulder where he'd drooled. He mumbled, "Sorry."

Christian looked and rubbed the spot as if it would make it dry faster, then wiped his own drool out of Michael's hair.

Everyone grabbed their carry-on bag and gathered at the gate once they exited the plane. Groggy, they stood quietly and yawning and shaking the sleep from their bodies.

"Welcome to the Netherlands," said Carol. She'd traveled here more than a few times for work. It was one of her favorite places outside the states. "We've got an hour to kill and it's time we get ourselves on European time. So, we're going to head down the concourse to the Dutch Kitchen and have some traditional Dutch food for breakfast."

Yesterday the boys would have been all in and raced to the restaurant. This morning, they were barely aware of what was going on. The hostess pushed some tables together for the large group and had them seated in no time. Carol ordered a strong, dark, Dutch coffee for the adults and orange juice for the boys. For breakfast, she asked them to bring out plates stacked with pannenkoek and wentelteefjes and assorted fruit toppings.

"What did you just order?" asked Scott with a large helping of skepticism. The others sought answers to similar questions.

"Well, pannenkoek is the Dutch version of a pancake. They are about 12 inches and thin; not cakey like American pancakes. They are served with fruit toppings. The other difference is pannenkoek here in the Netherlands are traditionally served for dinner, not breakfast. Wentelteefjes is the Dutch version of French toast. The idea of wentelteefjes is finding a way to keep stale bread from going to waste. By adding the milk and eggs to the bread, it softens up and makes it more enjoyable to eat. And just like Michael likes, they often add cinnamon to the batter."

"YUM!" added Michael with a smile.

Scott and Matthew both laughed in relief, worried that Carol had ordered something with cold fish or some other national "delicacy".

"I guess breakfast is breakfast wherever you are," joked Matthew.

"In western Europe and back home," agreed Carol, "but not everywhere. Right Christian?"

The waitress served the coffee and juice and set out the toppings for the pannenkoek and wentelteefjes: syrup, Nutella, and strawberry, raspberry, and blueberry jams.

Lukas waited for the waitress to leave before asking, "What's a traditional breakfast in Norway?"

"Well," said Christian, "unlike most places, in Norway they don't make a big deal out of breakfast. It's more like a morning snack than a meal."

"What would be a typical breakfast snack?" asked Carol. Norway was one place her travels had never taken her.

Christian looked down the table at Scott and Matthew before answering timidly, "A piece of toast topped with scrambled eggs and smoked salmon."

Michael saw the reactions at the other end of the table and stuck up for his boyfriend. "It's not like salmon for breakfast is weird. Back home you can go to a deli and get lox and cream cheese on a bagel for breakfast. You've heard of lox before. It's just another word for salmon."

The first plates of food arrived at the table and the boys dove in. While they were serving themselves, Carol continued the boys' culinary education. "Well, in many ways Denmark is more like a Scandinavian country like Norway than a mainland European country. For example, Danish is a Scandinavian language like Swedish and Norwegian. What's breakfast like in Denmark, Lars?"

Wanting to get a rise out of the boys, Lars went right to the dish he thought would be least appetizing. "In Demark, many people eat øllebrød for breakfast."

"What's that?" asked Matthew. He was starting to worry about eating enough to maintain his body mass before returning for baseball.

"Well, it's rye bread porridge. It's typically made with rye bread and a dark beer, then flavored with apple or orange juice, cinnamon, honey, or malt syrup, and maybe cream."

Scott scrunched up his nose. "People really eat that? I thought Danish people would eat Danishes or something like that."

Everyone at the table laughed, but Matthew defended Scott. "You mean Danishes aren't Danish?"

"Well, really they are Austrian," explained Lars. "It's just the Austrian bakers made them popular in Denmark. But for a typical breakfast, Danes typically have a dense bread, like rye, or some sort of dense roll, and they top it with a soft cheese and fruit, or meat and cheese. But, like I said, porridge or oatmeal are popular too."

Food in their bellies and lively conversation had the group wide awake and excited about their day. Their next flight was on a 737. This time they sat together in groups of three, with Matthew joining Christian and Michael, and the three adults together.

Approaching the Billund airport Michael checked his notes and the position of the sun. They were coming in from the west which meant LEGOLAND would be just off to the south, the direction his window faced. LEGOLAND was next to the airport, so it should be easy to spot right before the plane landed. As the plane descended, Michael pressed his nose to the window to watch for LEGOLAND. Christian, almost as excited as Michael, tried to move the younger boy out of the way so he could see too.

"There it is!" said Michael, pointing to the buildings and rides. From the plane, it looked like any other amusement park, but Michael knew it was the heart of the LEGO universe.

"Where?" said Christian pulling on Michael's shoulder. "I can't see!" But it was too late. The plane was too low. Trees and buildings blocked their view. They felt the impact of the landing gear on the runway. They finally made it to Denmark.

From the gate they headed to baggage claim with Lukas leading the way. He couldn't wait to see his grandparents. The closer they got to baggage claim, the faster Lukas walked extending his lead on the others. Michael was a close second. He would have been right there with Lukas, but he was too busy scanning all the faces hoping to spot his new grandparents. When he would notice he was falling behind Lukas, Michael would adjust the backpack slung over his left shoulder and hurry to catch up to his brother.

"Farfar!" shouted Lukas. He ran, dodging travelers as he headed towards his grandfather. A farmer all his life, Lars' father was a solid man. It took every bit of his strength to stay upright when Lukas leapt into his arms.

Isaac Meijer, "Big Isaac" when Lukas was around, held his grandson tightly and swung him around. "Ã...h lille Isaac," he said tearing up, "hvor har jeg savnet dig. Du er vokset sÃ¥ meget!" (Oh, Little Isaac, how I've missed you. You've grown so much!)

Michael caught up to the reunion and felt a twinge of jealousy seeing the joy Lukas brought to his grandfather. The last person to look at him that way was his mother.

A hand touched Michael's shoulder. He turned to face a strikingly beautiful older woman. It was obvious where Lars had gotten his looks. Michael was speechless. He didn't know what to do or say, so Lore took the lead. "Min elskede (My love)," she said, "velkommen hjem (welcome home)." Michael dropped his backpack and shared a loving hug with his grandmother.

To Michael, the hug felt like home. He held tightly to Lore until the others caught up. When he released her, Michael took Lore by the hand. Lukas was relegated to a mere one-armed hug from his farmor. "Farmor! Farmor!" called out Michael utilizing this new language skills for the first time. He pulled Lore by the hand to where the others stood. "Farmor, dette er min bror Matthew og min kæreste Christian. (Grandma, this is my brother Matthew and my boyfriend Christian.)"

"Matthew," greeted Lore before taking the teen into her loving arms.

"Hi, grandma," was all Matthew could think to say. The hug felt welcoming and loving. The teen was feeling and thinking so many things that he couldn't express. But it just felt right.

"And Christian," greeted Lore, "I've been looking forward to meeting the boy that stole my young grandson's heart." Christian blushed and returned Lore's hug.

Michael felt two hands grip his waist before he was tossed into the air and spun around to face Isaac, his grandpa. "Hmmmm... Du er en solid lille dreng, Michael. Jeg bliver nødt til at sætte dig til at arbejde på gården, mens du er her. (You are one solid little boy, Michael. I will need to put you to work on the farm while you are here.)"

His grandfather spoke quickly using vocabulary Michael hadn't learned yet. But the smile in his eyes and the loving tone in his voice was all Michael needed to understand. "Farfar!" he said, and the two embraced as if they'd known each other their entire lives.