A Little Excerpt

Summer 2020

“So my parents have decided to move to their house in Rhode Island for the time being, since Covid and Evelyn Maeve graduated from high school,” Levi Cranston said to his friend and old neighbor, Rhody Bacaluso-Leyman, on the phone.
“Oh nice. So you guys still have that house as well?” Rhody asked.
“Yeah, my parents have had that house for years. They own like 2-3 other houses as well. Two in Valpo, one in Chicago, the one in Rhode Island, and one in Connecticut.”
“My parents only have the other house in Chicago that they go back and forth to. Now, since Jayne and I don’t live with them anymore, about 75 percent of their time is spent in Chicago. They stay not too far away from a couple of my friends who live in the Gold Coast, but technically they’re in Lincoln Park.”
“Fair enough. I’ve actually been thinking about the house in Rhode Island recently,” Levi remarked.
“Many fun times were had there,” Rhody replied. “Especially that one year when you brought me with you. Jack, Asad, and David had plans with their families, so it was just the two of us. And we were sick with the cold during the whole trip.”
“Best and worst trip ever honestly. It sucked since we were both so sick, but we got out of some family stuff, which I appreciated. I remember one day when everyone else was out doing things, you and I watched cartoons for the whole day.”
“And we had so much tea that day. We had a tea party.”
“Yes, it was indeed a tea party. And everyone came home to see us passed out on in the common area.”
“Did Mackenzie ever join you?”
“Mom wouldn’t let me take her.”