SF Chapter 15: The Bicycle Thief III
"I'm going to meet cousin Leonard this weekend and keep writing," Daniel commented, then went back to having breakfast in peace.
It was enviable how he could switch off his worry so easily.
"Anyway, the limo gets here at four." Jay glanced at his wife and picked up the car keys. "This morning I thought I'd go over to the club and hit a few balls."
"No. What about the fan in Manny's room?" Gloria asked, making a fan motion with her hand.
Jay dismissed it with a wave. "Oh, yeah - call a guy."
"Nooo." His wife disagreed with the idea. "You're supposed to do it with him. It's important that we teach him how to do things for himself," she explained. "In my culture, men take great pride in doing physical labor."
"I know. That's why I hire people from your culture," her husband pointed out sarcastically.
"You're too funny." Gloria gave a mocking laugh, then walked over to her husband and smacked his arm.
"I'm going to share that one with my next husband while we're spending all your money," she mocked, making a money gesture with her hand.
"Waaait," Daniel yelled. "Don't forget about your blond son, Mama Gloria. He loves suits."
Jay just stared at him.
"What? The tools are in the back," his son gestured over his shoulder.
"I know, smartass," Jay replied as he went to get them.
[Gloria and Daniel commentary]
Gloria was sitting with Daniel on the kitchen bench. "In Colombia, there's a saying: if you have two stubborn burros that don't like each other, you tie them to the same cart."
"The ceiling fan is the cart"
"We could try that too with Mom and Aunt DeDe," Daniel suggested. "Maybe lock them in a room. Put a knife in there, just in case…"
Gloria turned to him, then looked forward again. "Not a bad idea. In Colombia, we would do that."
If Jay were present, he would scold these two maniacs. Probably.
[Commentary ends]
----------------------------------------------------------
Daniel was riding his bike back to Claire's house when he spotted his brother.
"Hey, Charlie."
"Daniel, this better be good. I was having a great nap on the deck," Charlie commented.
"Wow, you better remember that word after you see her," his brother scolded him, then continued with the explanation of his plan.
"Here's the thing: Phil had already mentioned doing something since she's moving, and she seemed to agree - not just politely."
"So step one: I'll ring the bell, say I'm having some problem with my bike, and that I remembered her house number-"
"Daniel?" Desiree - exactly the woman they were conspiring about - appeared, pushing a white bike.
"Oh, Desiree," Daniel smiled.
Noticing his brother's nudge, he gestured toward him. "Haaave you met Charlie?"
"Hi," she said, smiling at him.
"Hey," Charlie returned it with his famous smirk.
"Uhm, Phil helped me a little while ago," she started. "He thought someone had taken his bike when we came back."
"Turns out one of my neighbors saw it lying here on the sidewalk," she pointed ahead, "and put it in my garage. If you could-"
"Yes, of course he can return to Phil," Charlie patted his brother on the back.
"I've been walking around here for a while," he added casually. "Maybe you could offer something to drink?"
"Sure. How about wine?"
"Couldn't be better."
And the two of them went into Desiree's house.
Daniel stood there, conflicted. "Man, this script is weak even for a porn movie."
"The actors, however..."
"And here I was, with an awesome plan," he muttered, a bit dejected. He then walked off carrying both bikes, one in each hand, toward his sister's house.
----------------------------------------------------------
Claire gave her husband a puzzled look. They were in front of their garage.
"I don't understand. Why are you trying to sneak around and hide things from me? I actually think it's pretty funny."
Phil looked relieved. "You do?"
"I do, yes." Claire smiled. "I mean, you steal a bike from some poor kid and then the bike gets stolen from you. It's hilarious."
"Classic me, right?" He opened his arms, laughing.
Claire was about to ask more questions when she saw her brother approaching. "Oh, here comes the culprit!" she remarked, noticing he was dragging two bikes with him.
"Okay, can I at least know what I'm being accused of?"
[Daniel and Phil commentary]
Daniel turned to Phil, who was sitting with him on the Dunphys' couch. "Let's get the story straight."
"You bought a bike for Luke. You saw a similar one minutes later and thought it was Luke's, so you stole it, to teach him a lesson.
You passed by Desiree's house, and she asked for help because she didn't have her house key."
"You helped by climbing into her bedroom. When you came back outside, the bike was gone. You went back to the store and bought a new one.
Then you talked to Luke and found out his bike was actually in the garage."
"And I came back with the third bike because it was in Desiree's garage."
"That is... pretty much it," Phil agreed
"Wow, that was a better script. And I completely ruined the climax by taking the blame," Daniel said, making a thoughtful face.
"But don't worry, P-money, we're bros," he added, knowing Phil would never cheat on his sister.
Phil laughed in relief and bumped fists with his brother-in-law.
"So, how was her bedroom?"
"Smelled like lotions, oils, and candles," Phil replied.
"Oh damn, Charlie owes me big," Daniel remarked.
[Commentary ends]
----------------------------------------------------------
The following night, after the afternoon party, Daniel was with Brenda on his bedroom balcony, which had an incredible view of the ocean. But neither of them was in any condition to appreciate it.
"Dani," Brenda called out as she finally caught a rare moment to breathe. They were locked in an intense kiss.
"Mhm," he murmured, lowering his mouth to her collarbone to at least let her speak. One of his arms was firmly around her waist, while the other had already slipped under her shirt.
"I need to take a shower," she whispered, basically sealing what they were going to do afterward.
He stopped the bite and looked at her. "Why? You smell delicious."
"Dani..."
"Fine," he agreed, but bit her ear and warned, "but if you take too long, I'll invade the bathroom and we'll do it there instead."
she rolled her eyes, "you a such a perv."
"Thanks!" He smirked, receiving a nudge from her.
"It was not mean as a compliment!"
While Brenda went to take a shower, Daniel did the same. His bedroom had two bathrooms, and even mirrors on the ceiling, though they were hidden with a protective cover. He wouldn't want to scare the girls the first time.
and he would only show all the bedroom features to the more... liberal ones.
After he finished his shower, he waited a little longer until Brenda came out of the other bathroom.
"Whoa," he gasped, a little surprised, seeing that she was wearing a rather short nightgown.
She, in turn, noticed that the bedroom lights were dimmed, there was music setting the mood for what they were about to do, and he was holding two glasses of strawberry champagne.
"At least you are a very considerate player," she mocked, taking one of the glasses and downing it in one go.
"Hey," he called her attention, "can I turn the lights back on fully?" he tried.
"Shut up," she said, starting a long kiss, and he slowly pulled her toward the bed.
-----------------------------
If you enjoy it, please leave a Review and Power Stones
You can also support me on patreon and read up to 21 chapters ahead, plus 32 chapters of Modern Family: Francis Jacob Pritchett
https://[email protected]/Japa_Madrid