Under the shade of the front porch, Michael leaned against the wall as he watched the little red tracker on his phone get closer. The ride share app wasn’t perfect, especially when the dot stuttered every few moments, sending it back a several roads or jumping it forward. Well, it might not be the app. Even with the new screen, he wasn’t sure how much internal damage had been done to the phone. But it called so that was enough for him. Either way he was more focused on the incoming arrival as he ran a hand through his smooth black hair. Though he had suffered, he had to admit Shelly did a fantastic job.

His green eyes flickered up as he watched a black car pull partially into the driveway. The vehicle was forgettable, but his eyes lingered on the passenger seat before he pushed off the wall and walked forward.

Long legs swung out of the door and soon were accompanied by a tall figure as Alexander emerged from the short car. His yellow eyes sparkled in the sun as his dirty blonde hair hung roguishly in his face complimenting his devious smile. He took a few steps forward so that the driver could leave before he opened his arms wide.

“Baby did you miss me?”

Forgoing a verbal response, Michael jumped forward and pulled Alexander into a tight hug and passionate kiss. It caught Alexander off guard for a moment before he vigorously responded. The humid summer was forgotten as Alexander wrapped his arms around Michael’s waist and pulled him closer, erasing what little distance remained. Michael nibbled at Alexander’s bottom lip before the moment was broken by the sound of a kicked open door.

“You guys coming in or not?” Shelly barely leaned out as she refused to step out of the air conditioning. It was the only thing kept her from dragging the two in.

Once more Michael didn’t respond, as he tried to recover the moment and ignore the scene that was about to happen.

Alexander had no such hang ups as he looked over with a slightly bitten smile. “Just a moment.”

Again, Shelly looked between them before she shook her head and sighed. The sound of a closing door followed.

“You better behave.” The warning was clear as Michael dug his nails a bit into Alexander’s shoulders. “If both of you start messing around too much, I’m sending you back to Packland.”

“She can’t be that lively.” Alexander finally loosened his grip a bit as a cool breeze passed between them.

“Ha.” As much fun as the last few days had been, Michael wasn’t sure what kind of batteries Shelly ran on that made her so…energetic. “Let’s get in before Mom comes out.” Turning, he kept a grip on Alexander’s hand as he led his partner into the house.

The front room had been specially rearranged by Shelly for this interview as Mama Clarke’s chair faced the couch directly with two more kitchen chairs brought to the side of it for Shelly and Hunter. Not that Michael planned on using it. The coffee table had been moved from its spot in front of the old couch. This left an open space that showed off the ancient patterned carpet from his childhood. According to Shelly this was the best way to ‘interrogate’ a suspect. But Michael had many doubts as he led Alexander over to the couch.

However, Alexander didn’t follow, instead he walked over to Mama Clarke. “Hi, Ms. Clarke. I’m Neil Kitt, Hunter’s Boyfriend. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” He wasn’t sure if he should shake hands as he stood there for a second. Goldie showed some interest as he sat up and looked over the young man. A small series of soft barks followed before the dog walked around and sniffed Alexander’s pant legs then finally laid back down.

“I see, so you’re the one who stole my son’s heart.” Following the sound of his voice, Mama Clarke looked up casually. Her gaze fell nowhere in particular, but old habits die hard.

“I’d rate him a 6 on my personal scale.” Shelly quietly added in as she leaned into Mama Clarke’s ear. Both men caught it as Michael shot her a glare from behind Alexander.

“Shelly, don’t be rude.” Mama Clarke quickly turned towards her with a scowl. Scolded, Shelly leaned back and pouted. “Neil, are you standing in front of me?” Her attention returned to the new person in the house as Alexander shifted his bag a bit.

“Yes, mam’.”

“Why are you doing that? Go take a seat.” She lifted a hand and motioned for the couch. Alexander nodded but then caught himself.

“Yes, mam’.” He responded.

“Please, call me Mama Clarke. Everyone around here does it.”

“Or mom.” Michael chimed in from his standing spot.

“Don’t get a head of yourself.” Mama Clarke lightly scolded, but she couldn’t stop a slight smile from coming to her lips.

“Yes, Mama Clarke.” Alexander fixed his response before looking over at Michael with a smirk.   

The wereleopard dropped his backpack onto the ground before sinking into the soft couch. Contrary to Shelly’s plan, Michael took up residence next to Alexander as he slightly leaned against him.

The air remained awkwardly quiet for a few moments as everyone got their bearings. As to be expected it was Shelly who broke the silence first.

“So, this is the boyfriend.” As Mama Clarke’s eyes, she carefully scrutinized him. Because of the weather and his own lack of formal clothing, Alexander had dressed causally. The top two buttons of his green and white stripped button down were undone to reveal the top of his tan chest as series of tokens hung from his neck. One of which matched the braided black and white bracelet around his wrist. Forest green shorts cut perfectly at his mid-thigh as they clung nicely to his toned legs. A pair of dark brown leather sandals finished off his look as his toes slightly nudged the carpet.

When compared to the baggy t-shirt and old shorts Hunter was wearing, it was definitely an improvement as Shelly unwillingly gave a small stamp of approval.

“That would be me.” Alexander gave a breezy smile and nodded.

“I don’t believe it. I don’t. There’s no way.”

“Shantelle.” Mama Clarke warned her wildest child, but Shelly couldn’t stop herself as she shook her head.

“I know Hunter. On a good day I’d rate him an ok catch. But this is like a donkey with a horse, it’s quite amazing.”

“Don’t be rude to my son.” With firm knowledge of where Shelly was, Mama Clarke easily knocked the woman across the shoulders.

Letting out a little whine, Shelly still had a hard time holding her tongue.

Luckily, Alexander was quick. “Good luck on my part.” He laughed and put an arm around Michael’s waist. “It was a chase but well worth it.”

“A marathon, no doubt.” Shelly responded.

“He made me fight for it.”

“Hold on, you had to catch Hunter?” The meaning of the conversation finally caught up to her as she looked between her little bro and the handsome young man. “He didn’t throw himself at you?”

“Unfortunately, no.” Alexander’s laugh was warm and vibrant. It easily turned him in to a bright approachable youth. But for Shelly it farther added to her confusion.

But before she continued her question tree of disbelief, Mama Clarke cut in.

Once she had control of the conversation, everything followed a comfortable pace. The list of questions she had was long as Alexander easily answered everyone. From how they met to what he did, Mama Clarke got it all and Shelly kept an eye on his expression to make sure he didn’t lie. But slowly her eyes began to itch from all the small displays of affection as the boyfriends.

 From looking lovingly to each other to holding hands and small kisses, she felt like she had fallen right into a romcom and it was giving her hives. Was she allergic to couples now?

Finally, when Hunter slid into Neil’s lap, she felt the older sister need to interrupt and plop in between the two.

“Alright, alright. Leave room for Jesus, kids.” With her arms crossed, she remained unmoving even as Michael shot her a look which she ignored. “Trust me, you’ll have time to fool around later.”

“Please don’t say that in front of mom.”

“You shouldn’t get handsy in front of her either.” Shelly shot back as Michael rolled his eyes but leaned against her instead.

Mama Clarke said nothing before she took back up the conversation. It had evolved over the last forty minutes, from pressing details into casual chatter about family.

With everything progressing smoothly, Shelly finally gave up her spot as the dividing wall and went to go get a few snacks when there was a knock at the door.

“I’ll get it!” She nearly shouted as she hopped from the kitchen with half a bowl of pretzel sticks.

“Peter!” Swinging open the door, a small group of people had gathered outside as Shelly threw her arms around Peter, their longtime childhood friend. For a second, they both wobbled before Peter could steady himself and hugged back with one arm.

“Hey Shelly. Sorry, we’re late, there was an accident on the highway.” Peter sheepishly responded.

“No, No, you’re right on time.” She pulled in a man who, from his brown hair and brown eyes to tan polo, could be the poster child for average. This was definitely apparent when stood next to Shelly who radiated energy with her perfectly paired vibrant summer outfit, wild dyed blonde hair that curled around her face like a halo and dark smooth skin. For a moment Michael wondered if when he first created these two all the energy had gone to Shelly.

“Quickly lively today aren’t you Shelly?” Another voice spoke up from behind the two as a woman followed in after Peter. A soft chuckle mingled with her words as she looked from the pair in the entrance to Michael and Alexander. Quickly memoires flooded into Michael’s mind of Peter’s wedding and his wife Imani.

The same height as her husband, the woman radiated a gentle energy as her light brown hair perfectly framed her face in a soft curly mass contained only by a white hat. In her arms, their youngest child Ekon sat and looked around at all the next faces. Imani’s gold eyes quickly fell on Neil as she gave a nod before returning to Shelly.

“I hope we didn’t knock at a bad time.” Her tone was light and musical, a refreshing break from Shelly hard and fast-talking ways and Mama Clarke’s knowledgeable accent.

“Never. In fact, you have arrived at the perfect time. The interrogation of Hunter’s boyfriend had started to turn into a discussion of petunia pruning. I fear that he’s almost won Auntie over, I need back up.”

“We can hear you.” Michael half laughed as he yelled from the couch, but quickly stood up to go greet his friend. With the door closed, the two eldest children ran quickly over to Goldie and hung off the calm old dog.

“How are you, man?” Peter and him shared a brief hug before the atmosphere shifted into casual conversation.

The support Shelly had been waiting for never arrived as Alexander easily won over Peter due to their shared profession of IT. Peter worked for a small business out of Orlando as the IT lead and Alexander easily kept up their conversation as Shelly for a moment wistfully sighed before giving in and accepting Neil fully as one of their own.

Ekon happily hopped down from his mother’s arms and went over to his Auntie Clarke who let him climb up into her lap where he received ample amounts of attention. The other two children, Amari and Tyson, were kept entertained by Goldie who happily played along. Shelly had pulled Imani into a conversation next to Mama Clarke who would occasionally weigh in.

It was hard not to let out a sigh of relief as Michael observed the scene a little while long. This was all going better than he could have hoped.

The once quiet house was now filled with lively conversation as Michael slid off to the kitchen so that he could finish preparing lunch.

“What are you making?”

Michael didn’t flinch as he turned to look at Imani with a lazy smile. “Nothing much. Chicken stir fry. I wasn’t expecting you, Peter and kids, but I think it should be enough for everyone.” He flicked his large pan over the eye to spread the oil. “Freed yourself?”

“Shelly’s sulking with the kids.” With a tilt of her head, she motioned to the front room. Michael couldn’t see, but he took her word for it as he continued with his work.

“Maybe they’ll tire her out.” Testing the heat with his knuckles, he found the oil was hot enough as he tossed in his marinated chicken. “I doubt it though.”

Imani hummed along. “Do you need any help?” It was a little weird for her to do nothing, but Michael just shook his head.

“I already prepared everything this morning.”

“Smart.” With nothing to do, she leaned against the counter. “It’s been a while, how are you doing Hunter?”

“Could be better, could be worse.” He smiled.

“That’s all of us isn’t it?” Imani replied with her own smile as she played with an orange. “You’re still working for…” She thought for a second. “An extermination company, right?”

“Ah, not quite. I’m thinking quitting.” The slightly sweet caramelized smell of teriyaki began to waft up from the skillet as he flipped over the pieces of meat.

“Oh, to do what?”

“Not quite sure yet, though I’m thinking a desk job at the same company. I don’t think I’m cut out for field work.” He gave a small laugh.

“Where’s this office? Is it close to where Neil works?”

“I think it’s remote position. Though Neil has his own weird living arrangements right now.”

“I see, and you two are thinking of getting married, right?”

Michael paused for a second as his pan sizzled beneath him. Technically they were already married, but he hadn’t really taken into account doing anything rash like that for Neil and Hunter. At least for the moment. “It’s complicated I guess.”

“Ah.” Neither a positive nor a negative just an acknowledgement as Imani nodded. “Just remember if you plan anything, send us some invites. After all you attended our wedding how could we not return the favor?”

“It might just be an invitation for you.” Michael teased as he quickly flipped through what memories Hunter had of this wedding. From the looks of it, the man got slightly wasted and had a best man speech that could only be described as heartfelt and horribly embarrassing.

“Afraid Peter will return the favor?”

“Not afraid. I know. The man puts on that air of mildness, but I swear he was worse than Shelly when we were kids. A true little shit.” Leaning over, he half whispered this as if their target of gossip could hear him over all the noise.

“Shelly has told me the stories.” Imani nodded. “Several times.” With a sigh, she added as Michael nodded.

“She might have told you her stories, but I have a few of my own.” As he cooked Michael used both memories he had received and the new things he made up to talk shit about Peter with Imani. She shared her own tales of Peter and a sense of ridiculous comradery grew until lunch was done.  

Peter and his family took up the kitchen table that had been dragged over to the front room while Shelly sat on the ground beside Mama Clarke in her chair. Michael and Alexander took up the couch. Between everyone they easily polished off the pan full of food and rice.

A bit disappointed that there weren’t seconds, Alexander looked around for something to snack on while the trio of friends cleaned dishes.

“We should go to Easter Island Golf, I swear the renovations just finished and it’s beautiful.”

“Your tour guide is showing.” Michael teased as he put up the dried dishes.

“Look, I want to make sure you two get the full Easter experience.” Shelly smiled as washed a plate.

“What about Easterland Putt Putt? That one was my favorite as a kid.” Peter suggested.

“That is because you’re a feral racoon Peter who loves trash.” Shelly didn’t even bat an eye as she continued to wash. “There’s also a shaved ice stand and outdoor bar nearby. I say we go be adults and have some fun out on the town.”

“Not right now, right? It’s going to be a bit hot.”

Shelly’s face perfectly encapsulated the expression of ‘no shit sherlock’. “Yea, right now. In the beautiful 98 degree afternoon sun we should go play mini golf.”

“I’m in for the Easter Island one.” Alexander cut in as he lazily leaned against Michael’s back. After rummaging around, he had managed to find some left-over barbeque that he devoured while watching the others work.

“That’s two votes.” Shelly stopped for a second until a knowing smile crossed her lips. “No, it’s three.”

“Who’s the third vote?” Flicking his drying towel, Peter looked between them.

“Hunter, of course.” Shelly said this so matter-of-factly that Michael almost didn’t catch it.

“When did I cast my vote?” Michael shifted a bit in Alexander’s arms.

“When Neil said Easter Island.”

“We’re not attached at the…” Michael trailed off, then sighed. “Fine, I vote for Easter Island.”

“Imani, back me up.” Losing to the group, Peter could only hope his wife would provide some help.

“Your father will definitely take us to Easterland.” Imani smiled as she sat at the kitchen bar. “I agree with Shelly. I want shaved ice.”

“Traitor.” Peter laughed but easily gave in with a shrug. “I can never win, I guess.”

“We’ll keep score too.” Imani added as the friends froze.

“Absolutely not.” The worst thing they could do was keep score while playing minigolf. If they wanted to retain their friendship, not keeping score was a necessary rule.

Alexander chuckled and looked over at Imani. “I’ll keep score if you want to do it with me.”

With their plan set, time quickly passed as they hung around and played catch up. As the sun began to set, they took separate cars to drop off the kids with Peter’s family before piling into Shelly’s car to drive to Easter Island Golf.

 

 Four large grey stone cut bunny heads sat in front of a background of lush greenery. Palm trees swayed in the light breeze as well-maintained shrubbery half hide the mini golf from street level. Every so often the bushes would break revealing a peek of players as they walked under tiki hut arch ways and around tiki rabbit statues. The light nostalgic sound of ukulele carried on the wind as it filled the attraction.

They pulled into the parking lot and two other sibling building came into view as a little enclosed shop mimicked a tiki hut with the sun-dried palm fronds over the roof and bamboo lined the sides. A sign for Easter Island Ice sat in front of the building  as a set of parrot wind chimes chattered with each opening of the door. Opposite the ice, an open-air bar was slightly off set from the golf course. A few people had already gathered in the cooling evening air to drink and chat under strings of lights and torch fire. The Easter Island Tiki bar was carved into the bamboo fence that surrounded the luau style area.

“It must be 8:15.” Shelly hummed as she looked towards the golf course. Michael followed her line of sight and stifled a laugh.  

A cloud of pink bunny shaped smoke blew out of the large rumbling volcano that presided over the entire golf course.

“Icy or booze?” Both were options as Shelly looked to her friends.

“Icy for me.” Michael sighed. He had to be responsible as Alexander agreed. Imani was interested in a Blue Hawaiian from the Tiki Bar while Shelly had her heart set on the Peep blended drink.

The party split to get their respective refreshments before heading into Easter Island mini golf.

With a total of 36 holes, the place divided into even 18-hole courses that they could choose from. They decided to leave the decision to the two SOs. One course was more difficult than the other while the other featured shooting the gold ball through the volcano. It wasn’t a hard decision as they grabbed their clubs, balls and, for the two lunatics, a score book.

For order, they simply went alphabetical as Michael kicked them off. His first hit nearly knocked the ball into the river that wound through the entire property as Alexander hopped over to grab it. After adjusting, Michael managed to keep on course as he sank the hole in two strokes. Imani followed and, much to the verbal surprise of Shelly, finished the hole in a single beautiful stroke. Since Alexander was keeping score with her, he couldn’t be overshadowed as he also got it in one hit leaving the last two friends with a feeling of dread.

This feeling would continue as Michael casually played and occasionally messed up simply to flirt with Alexander.

“Oh, I think I need some help lining this up.” Michael teased and Alexander didn’t hesitate to jump over as Shelly felt her eyes roll into the back of her head for the third time since they started playing. Imani causally leaned against Peter as she chuckled at Shelly.

“I thought you two were bad.” With a sigh, Shelly shook her head and leaned on her club. “Is this a requirement? The constant PDA?”

“If you got yourself a SO, you could find out.” Michael suggested as Alexander followed him over to the side of the hole after scoring.

“I’m good. You four are more than enough.”  

The game passed quicker than they realized as they reached the second to last hole.

Before them sat the volcano. Another puff of bunny smoke blew out, this time colored blue. The course cut through a small hole in the volcano and went into an unseen green. Little tiki bunny carvings bounced around the base of the volcano; a fresco that showed a scene of the bunny accidently painting a golf ball rather than a proper egg as they all looked on in mild confusion.

“This place is truly something.” Alexander laughed as he lined up the first shot. The husbands had switched places as Michael relaxed on a carved wooden bench.

“The owners take theming very seriously.” Even before the revitalization, Easter Island Golf never half assed it’s display. This might be due to its position as one of the oldest attractions in Easter, or it might because the owners vehemently hated Easterland Putt Putt and wanted to drive the place out of business. Shelly could never say. But either way after the revitalization it had been thrown up a notch, especially with the sibling bar and shaved ice.

“Do they have a bunny that dances the hula?” He raised an eyebrow before hitting the ball perfectly into the hole.

“How did you know? Once a week, Sunday’s Lazy Luau. Two for one drinks and live entertainment.” Shelly winked. “Though friends of mine can get a 15% discount anytime of the week.”

“Hey, why didn’t you tell me that?” Peter spoke up.

“Because you’re Peter. However, Imani, just tell the bartender that you know me alright.”

“You like my wife better than me.” With a deep sigh, Peter shook his head as Imani comforted him with an arm around his waist.

“I also like Neil better than Hunter.” Shelly added. “I’m an equal opportunity friend jumper.” Turning she yelled after Alexander. “Hey, do you want to replace your boyfriend as my little bro?”

Alexander stopped and turned around with a cocky smile. “What does that require?”

“You’ve already met the requirements once. Just call me Big Sis.”

“Cheap.” Michael laughed.

“Ok Big Sis. I’ll be your new little brother.”

“Perfect, perfect. Same offer to you Imani. You can be my sister. Just kick Peter to the curve and join us cool kids.” Shelly could barely keep from laughing as she cockily stood and pointed to herself and Neil.

“I’m already your sister though since Peter is your little bro as well.” Going over to the hole, Imani started her round. “Don’t be mean to Hunter and Peter.”

“But it’s so much fun.”

“Shelly.” Imani chuckled as she looked over her shoulder. “I’ll tell Auntie P.”

“Right, right. I guess you’re all my siblings then.” Crossing her arms, Shelly acted like it was some grand struggle before hopping over to lean on Peter. “Since it’s like that, continue to support me little bro.”

Peter nearly stumbled as the larger woman knocked against him but caught himself and just gave an exhausted sigh. He didn’t move her though.

The last two holes wrapped up quickly and they left the mini golf for some victory drinks at the Tiki Bar.