CELEBRATING THE BEGINNING
by
RM
Chapter 1
The Chapters
“Now arriving at gate 12, flight 618 from New York,” a voice said over the speaker system.
“I’m late,” Nancy mumbled as she hurried down the long corridor leading to terminal A.
She slid to a stop near gate 8, when she noticed Ned Nickerson, her fiance’, getting to his feet and heading for gate 12. He was dropping his parents off to catch a flight to Virginia. She quickly walked up to him and put her hand on his arm, brushing his cheek with a kiss.
Ned smiled. “I knew you’d get here just in time.”
“So,” Nancy grinned sheepishly. “Did your parents get off okay?”
“Yeah,” Ned put his arm around her shoulder. “I think it’s nice they wanted to see my dad’s aunt.”
“I agree, but are you sure your parents don’t mind you having houseguests?”
“I’m sure. They know how packed the hotels are at this time of year. They trust us, as long as we don’t trash the house,” Ned replied rolling his eyes.
Nancy giggled and grabbed Ned’s hand. “Come on,” she said as she pulled him toward gate 12. “They should be getting off the plane any time now.”
Nancy and Ned made their way to the gate and stood among a small crowd of people waiting for the passengers to disembark. Nancy leaned back against Ned and he wrapped his arms around her in a snug embrace.
She smiled as she thought about how much fun they were going to have. There was so much to do. She was especially excited about them skating on the lake. She was brought back to the present when Ned gently squeezed her shoulder.
She looked toward the gate and immediately recognized Frank’s wavy brown hair as he came toward them. A moment later, Joe followed. As soon as they came through the gate, Nancy and Ned waved. They saw Frank smile and motion for the others to follow him.
“Hey, stranger,” Frank said as he gave Nancy a hug. “It’s good to see you again.”
“You too.”
“Hey,” Joe interrupted as Nancy stepped back from Frank. “Don’t I get one?”
“Sure,” Nancy said and gave Joe a hug.
When Nancy pulled back, Frank grabbed the hand of an attractive girl standing behind him. “Nancy, Ned, I hope you remember Callie.”
Callie had shoulder length light brown hair. She was five foot seven with green eyes.
“It’s so nice to see you again,” Nancy said.
“Thanks for the invitation,” Callie said.
“And this,” Joe began putting his hand on Vanessa’s shoulder, “is Vanessa Bender.”
Vanessa had short dark brown hair that was cut in a bob. She had blue eyes and was almost six feet tall.
“It’s so nice to finally meet you,” Vanessa said. “I’ve heard so much about you both from Frank and Joe.”
“It’s nice to meet you too,” Ned said. “We’re glad you were able to come along.”
“We should probably get our luggage,” Joe said.
“By the time we get there, the luggage will be arriving,” Nancy said. “Come on. It’s this way.”
As they walked along, Frank asked, “Are you sure you’re up to all of us as houseguests?”
“Sure,” Nancy said.
“My parents won’t mind since they just left for Virginia.”
“And my dad is working on a case. Besides, he knew we’d all have a good time together and would be spending most of our time out of the house.”
As they reached the baggage claim, Callie said, “I heard Frank and Joe say that there’s a carnival here. It sounds like fun.”
“It will be,” Nancy said. “We can go ice-skating, go on a hayride and then, of course, there’s the New Year’s Eve Ball.”
“A ball?” Vanessa asked. “I thought it was just a party.”
“It’s an annual dance at the country club. It’s very formal and can almost top the celebrity parties,” Ned said.
“The ball sounds like fun,” Callie said dreamily.
“Oh, it is,” Nancy admitted. “It’ll be a night to remember.”
Frank and Joe grabbed their luggage off the conveyor. They set the bags on the floor by the girls. Once they had all the bags, Nancy glanced at the clock on the wall behind the ticket counter. It was almost midnight.
“It’s getting late. Why don’t we meet for lunch tomorrow?”
“That’s a good idea,” Ned said. “Besides, we’ll have to get our tuxedos for the ball.”
“I’m glad you remembered,” Nancy said. “I forgot you need to wear one for the ball.”
“You never said it was so formal that I needed to wear a tuxedo,” Joe complained.
“But just think how dashing you’ll look,” Vanessa said with a smile.
“Really?” Joe gushed, while grinning from ear to ear.
“Sure,” Callie added. “Or you’ll look as goofy as ever.”
“Thanks a lot,” Joe grumbled.
“Come on,” Nancy interrupted. “Let’s get the stuff out to the cars.”
After they loaded their bags into the trunks, Frank and Joe climbed into Ned’s car, while Callie and Vanessa settled into Nancy’s. Ned closed the trunk of his car and looked at Nancy.
Nancy took Ned’s hand in hers. She looked up at him. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Ned put his gloved hand against her cheek. “You will.” He leaned forward and gave Nancy a kiss. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
* * * * *
Nancy drove to her house and helped Callie and Vanessa carry their things inside. She led them upstairs to the guestrooms they would be using. As Nancy helped them unpack, she heard the front door close. A few moments later, she heard footsteps on the stairs. She turned to the door as her father, Carson Drew, stepped through the doorway.
Carson had gray hair and was wearing a black suit as if he’d just come from a funeral. “I see your friends arrived with no problems.”
“Right on time, Dad,” Nancy said. giving her father a hug and a kiss. “You remember Callie Shaw and this is Vanessa Bender.”
“It’s nice to see you again,” Callie said with a wide smile.
“Thank you for allowing us to stay here,” Vanessa added.
“It’s no problem. It’s the least I could do.” Carson tried to stifle a yawn. “Try to keep the noise down to a minimum.” He winked at all of them. “I have an early court appearance tomorrow.”
“All right,” Nancy said. “Good night.”
“Night,” Carson said and moved away from the door.
Once they were alone, Vanessa said, “Your dad’s nice.”
“Thanks,” Nancy said.
Callie pulled a long bag out of her suitcase. She asked, “Is there someplace I can hang our dresses?”
“Here,” Nancy said taking the bag from Callie. She went over to the closet and hung it on a hook inside the door. Nancy turned back to Callie and Vanessa. “Would you like some soda?”
“That sounds good,” Vanessa and Callie answered in stereo.
“Then when I get back, you can fill me in on all the dirt you have on Frank and Joe.”
“It’ll be my pleasure to fill you in on Joe,” Callie said with an evil grin.
“I thought you would,” Nancy said with a laugh.
* * * * *
As Ned drove the Hardy’s to his house, once again Frank asked, “Are you sure your parents don’t mind us staying here?”
“Look, they’re fine with it. All they said was to make sure the house is still standing when they return next week. So relax.”
“All right,” Frank said as Ned pulled into the driveway.
They grabbed their bags and followed Ned inside. He led them up to the second floor and pointed out the rooms they could use. As Joe went into one room, Ned followed Frank into the other. Ned sat at the desk as Frank started to unpack.
“It is really nice of you to let us stay here.”
“It’s the least I could do. Besides, you’ve helped me before, so I could at least put you up for a few days.”
“So,” Joe said coming into the room. “What’s there to do here in River Heights?”
“Not much at this time of night,” Ned said. “But I do have a pool table and a dart board in the basement. We can play a few games if you want.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Frank said. “We definitely need something to unwind.”
“Let’s go then. Just follow me.” Ned led the way to the basement.
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Disclaimer
The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The Hardy Boys Fan Fiction authors of the Hardy Detective Agency have just borrowed them for an adventure or two. The authors promise to put the boys back when they are done with them. The authors do claim copyright to the original characters in this story. Please do not borrow original characters without express permission of the authors.