sᴏɴɪᴄ ᴛᴏʏ: 𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐀𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞

      After a little fun at the amusement park, even the little brother was having so much fun that he was even a little tired and Karl had to carry him home asleep in his arms. The Draytons carried cotton candy, juice and a couple of souvenirs with them from the amusement park with a couple of plush toys that they won. One toy looked like a lion, and the other, or rather the other two, was a blue rabbit with green hues and a yellow duck, whose arms were sewn into each other, which made them inseparable friends, as the Draytons decided. And so Karl took everyone back to his home, and not only their parents were already waiting for them at home, but also their grandparents who had arrived. The truth is that neither Karl nor the Draytons suspected this. — Wow! Where did you have such fun? — Akira asked jokingly. — We just walked around the city and visited an amusement park. — Karl answered, and the Draytons only nodded in response. — If it weren’t for the toys in your hands and the cotton candy, then I would think that you walked the whole city up and down. — mom said and took Xuen from her eldest son’s arms. — I don’t remember the last time he was so tired. — Yes, we haven’t walked with him for a very long time. — the teenager sighed sadly. — Okay, let's not talk about sad things. Go to the living room, look who came to us. — Akira smiled mysteriously and went to Shuen’s room. Everyone looked at each other in confusion. It seemed like they weren't expecting anyone today. But there was no time to think, since they had already had fun and played enough. They took off their shoes and went out into the living room, where, oddly enough, the same grandparents that Akira and Eugene had invited to their place and with whom they wanted to introduce their relatives from Russia were sitting on the bed. By the way, the elderly parents did not look like narrow-eyed Japanese, no matter how stereotypical it may sound! Apparently they themselves partly belonged to the Russians, and maybe to someone else from other countries. Grandpa, by the way, had a box in his hands, in which, as you might guess, there was someone alive and making familiar sounds, more like the crying of a baby or the meowing of cats. How the old man and the old woman saw the Draytons, put the box on the pillow, and they themselves tried to get up because of their age and slowly approached to hug those whom they had almost never seen. Grandfather completely hugged Ivan as if he had known him for a long time and had not seen him for a very long time. — We finally met! You were little when we last saw each other! — the old man could not get enough of the fact that he met with a relative from Russia. Ivan himself stood rooted to the spot. No, he was glad to make a new acquaintance, but did not know how to gently say that he still had doubts about their relationship. Lili and David were also surprised and did not know what to do with themselves. To be honest, David was interested in the box from which strange sounds were coming, but the boy did not dare to go up and open it, because he did not want to be a rude person. — Karl, my boy, where is Xuen? — asked the old woman, looking for her youngest grandson. — mom said that he was with you all day. — He is very tired, grandma. We went to the amusement park today and this walk exhausted him. — the teenager answered. — Amusement park? It seemed to me that you stopped loving such places. We haven't gone there for a long time. — said Eugene. — I just didn’t have time to go there, dad. — James, finally let Ivan go. — asked the elderly woman, noticing that the hug was dragging on. — Yes, of course... Sorry, I got a little carried away. — James felt embarrassed for being so emotional. — It's okay. — answered the elder Drayton, smiling welcomingly. Meanwhile, the grandparents turned their attention to David and his mother. — How lucky are you? You uh... — Lili. Your son and I knew each other in the Far East, when we were both still young. We even still have a good neighbor with us, whom we both knew from childhood. — Nice to meet you. — the old man and the old woman take turns shaking the girl’s hand, after which they turn to the young man. — And you... — David. — Without waiting for an answer, David immediately introduced himself. — I’m very glad to see you too. I’m especially glad that our family is not as small as we always thought. — That's for sure. Well, except that our son has not changed a bit. He always dreamed of changing his surname to some American one when he moved to live in Russia, and sometimes, when he flew there, he often introduced himself under that surname that even we began to play along with him and also often called our family. — Granny explained. — Forgive me for not a modest question, but what do you have... In the box? — the boy asked a little shyly and his grandparents decided to show them the box. Inside was an adult black cat of the Bombay breed and her six kittens. So far, they looked more like little rats with their eyes closed and were trying to somehow get to their mother’s belly to drink her breast milk. — Do you like it?... This is our domestic cat. We hardly go anywhere without her... Two weeks ago she was completely lucky. — Grandma explained. — Kittens are okay too. Is it true? — Grandfather asked. — Yes, kittens are very cute. — agreed Karl, who, along with everyone else, looked into the box. — Grandfather, why didn’t you say earlier that the kittens appeared? — They wanted to give you and Xuen a surprise. Yes, and we decided to wait first. Until they grow up a little. — James admitted. — I think we’d better leave them alone for now. — said the grandmother, noticing that the cat was not happy with such increased attention. She closed the box and turned her attention to Akira. — Akira, you said that you have some kind of problem. What's happened? — Well... It’s not really a problem... — the girl didn’t know how to present the situation so as not to offend anyone. — No need... I'll explain everything myself. — Ivan interrupted, realizing that he couldn’t get out of the conversation. — In general... Karl and I met the day we first arrived here. He told the story that we were relatives. He even showed me photographs. I don't want to offend you all, but I have my doubts about this story. No, I believe the photographs, but... — You don’t have to continue, I understand everything. — James Daun nodded understandingly and looked at his son. — Eugene, you never showed those videotapes? — No, dad. I wanted to do this, but I decided to call you and mom first, and then there was no time. I had to work, and Carl decided to give them a tour of the city — Eugene scratched the back of his head guiltily. — What are you going to do with you?! Okay, let's go, onion grief! Let's get one more thing before you forget again. — Grandfather headed into the corridor, continuing to grumble quietly, and Eugene followed his father. The mirror in the corridor turned out to be another door, and a sliding one. And behind it there was a large storage room with old things. It was a pity to throw them away, but everything was put on each shelf in order. Among the old and not yet needed things was a video camera with old video cassettes and films. — Here they are! — Eugene exclaimed and first of all tried to pick up the video camera, grandpa took out the tapes and father and son left the pantry, closing it behind them. All that remains is to insert the cassette into the connector for the VHS video camera, connect it to the TV, and configure the TV itself for the camera. It was difficult to do this, because they had not done this for a long time and had not reviewed the old videos for a long time. — Are you worried? — David asked his daddy. — No... Well, maybe just a little. — You all don’t need to worry at all. Grandfather is certainly grumpy, but mostly very kind and cheerful. — the younger Daeun tried to defuse the situation. — Yes, and even if there was confusion in this story, many years have already passed, we can remain friends. Your parents will understand everything, David and I are not going anywhere either. Because we love. — Lili said and hugged Ivan together with her son in order to calm him down a little. Oddly enough, it worked. — I don’t want to interrupt this nice scene, but we’re all ready. — said Eugene, who really did not want to spoil such a moment and looked at the Draytons quietly envious. Everyone took their seats and James started recording from the cassette. — Are you sure this thing even works? — a child’s voice was heard on the recording, and then the face of a boy appeared, standing very close to the camera. — It looks like your father has been tricked again. At this point, the subject of the dispute turns to another boy, who very much resembled James Down. — Of course it works, Mike! Do you see the red light burning? — I see. So what? — asked another boy, who looked a little like Ivan in childhood. — Dad said that if this light is there, it means the camera is now filming. — And what do you propose to remove now? — M-m-m-m... Let's try to make our own movie. — Let's! I'm sure I'll be the main character of the film! — Hey, I want to be the main character too. — Well, don't be greedy! We’ll take turns filming each other, now while you’re filming me. — Fine, fine. The person remaining in the frame coughed into his hand a couple of times, preparing to say out loud what came into his head: — Soon this whole world will submit to me and I, the most terrible mole Urban, will take over the whole world. Muhahahaha. — he imitated a villainous laugh. — Wait, are you playing the villain instead of the hero? — Well, yes. And what? Everyone loves villains. The whole Daun and Drayton family, sitting on the chair while watching, laughed. Even his little brother laughed along with the others, even though he didn’t understand what they were saying. — I recognize my father. He was such a fan of movie villains and still is. — said Ivan. — It’s surprising that you like heroes more than villains. You look like your father. — Lili remarked, narrowing her eyes slyly. — It’s surprising that your favorite character is the villain, although you can’t tell by your character. — Ivan also noted, pretending to be offended. — Not a villain, but a neutral actually! — Considering how many things this “neutral” has done, he can safely be called a villain! David watched his parents argue and could hardly restrain himself from laughing, because he knew that this was nothing more than a joke. Suddenly, the argument was interrupted by outside voices and everyone remembered that the recording had not ended yet. — Mike, James, what are you doing?! — someone’s voice was heard, after which the camera began to shake, as if the operator was actively waving his hands. “Didn’t they tell you that you couldn’t take the camera?!” — Well, dad! Uncle Herman said we can take the camera! — Mike answered, upset that his and his brother’s movie fell through. — You were only allowed to look at her. Do you know that it is very expensive?! — the speaker’s face was not visible, and the lens was aimed at the boys, but judging by his voice, he was almost furious. — Uncle Pasha, we just decided to make a movie. We promise nothing will happen to the camera. We will be very careful. — James assured, but the man was not bowed down. — Sorry guys, but I don’t want to take that risk. — Pavel answered, after which he began to turn the camera, trying to turn it off. This is where the recording ends. The recording, after a couple of seconds of interference, switched to nature. Apparently they then continued filming in the forest when they went on a picnic, as the Draytons suggested, and they were not mistaken. The camera, having photographed a couple of trees, lightly turned to a mobile iron box on legs, on which kebabs were heated and fried. And young Mike and James at that time, apparently, were playing catch and running around the field, taking turns touching each other and running after each other. Judging by their cheerful faces, they liked this game. David was surprised by the picnic post. — Mom, dad, why haven’t we ever had a picnic? — he turned to them. — Understand! We wanted to have a picnic someday. Even for your birthday, we once wanted to go somewhere outdoors. But before, when we still lived there, we didn’t have enough money, and in Krasnogurbinsk, given that winter comes earlier there, you can’t normally go to a picnic, although the salaries there are high. — Ivan explained. — We haven’t had a picnic for a long time, not even once in our lives. — Karl intervened. — Although I myself wouldn’t mind going into nature, relaxing, spending the night in tents and eating barbecue. And at that time another recording was playing on TV from the video player. Young Mike and James were sitting in their room and playing the Mega Drive, and on the screen it was clear that they were apparently playing “Sonic the hedgehog 2” and at the moment they had reached an area somewhat reminiscent of a factory with gears, where the enemies looked like crabs and mantises. — Nobody knows what they are playing? — Karl asked, since unfortunately he himself had not seen this game or played it. — I think this is Sonic Hedgehog 2. — Lili explained. — But I have never heard of such a game and never played it. I only know about Heroes. Forces and Shadowlands. — said Karl. — What kind of Shadowlands are they? — David asked. — A new game that came out a month ago. There the plot is very confusing and there are a couple of plot twists. I'd rather not spoil it. Suddenly they haven’t played yet. — Karl explained. — That's it. Let's look further! — Eugene asked to stop talking.

Meanwhile

      A police car arrived at the Drayton house. Jimbo got out of the car and approached the door of the house, first of all he rang the doorbell. Nobody answered him. Then he knocked, but there was no answer either, and he even shouted: — AW!!! IS ANYONE AT HOME!!! Amy moved the curtains by the kitchen window slightly to see who had come. Jimbo felt that someone was watching him, sharply turned his gaze, and Amy quickly covered herself with the curtain, hoping that he did not notice her. — What are you doing there, Amy? — Mephiles turned to her, and she-hedgehog just shushed her and said in a whisper: — Quiet! There, some policeman came to our house. Apparently he came because we were making noise at night. — Wait, but we had a disco with music and dancing last night, and today is the second night. — Mephiles wondered out loud. — Or maybe the neighbors suspected something at our house? — Rouge suggested. — Dont clear. But for now we must sit quietly and not make a sound, and don’t turn on the lights. Maybe he will think that there is no one at home and leave. — Amy suggested. — I wonder how? After all, this is a policeman. He can, for example, knock down a door and rush inside if someone doesn’t open it. — Rouge explained. Amy jumped from the windowsill and covered Mephiles's painted mouth, then whispered through her teeth: — Quiet, you! At this time Jimbo was still standing outside and freezing, and he knocked on the door, now with his hands, now with his feet, now ringing the bell. — Open it already!... Am I supposed to freeze here? — Uncle, why are you knocking and shouting there? — a boy in a red jacket and blue cap addressed him from a neighboring house. — Can’t you see from the darkness in the windows that there’s no one at home? — Don't bother me, boy! Don't you see that I have an important consequence here? — he tried to call the boy away not so rudely. — And in general, go to your home already! Your mom is probably worried already? — But don’t you dare touch my mother! — the boy got angry and made a snow ball and threw it at the policeman’s shoulder. — Why are you throwing yourself? I’ll write an application to your parents now! — Jimbo was indignant and went to the fence between the areas, after which he took out a notebook with a pen. - So! What's your father's last name... Eh... Damn, he's not writing again! — the policeman tried to draw and paint with a pen on the notebook paper, but the pen generally did not write well in such cold weather. At one point, he nevertheless signed the paper, but when he looked to where the boy was, it was already too late. It was as if he had evaporated. — What are you making noise there? You don't let me sleep! — Stephanie screamed. — DO NOT INTERFERE WITH WORK!!! — Jimbo shouted back. — DON'T YELL AT MY DAUGHTER, BUT IT'S TOO SMALL FOR THIS!!! — Dennis shouted, defending his daughter. — YOU KNOW WHAT... — the policeman wanted to object and pulled out a pistol. — YOU WILL PICK UP YOUR WEAPONS ON MY SON AND GRANDDAUGHTER ONLY OVER MY CORPSE!!! — Andrew intervened. — GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE I COME DOWN AND HIT YOU ON THE HEAD WITH A SHOVEL!!! — YOU HAVE NO RIGHT, I'M A POLICEMAN!!! HIT ME AT LEAST ONCE AND I’LL YOU... — before he could shout, Rouge jokingly rolled a rubber ball under the dog door under the porch at Jimbo’s feet. He slipped and fell backwards onto the porch. Stephanie, Dennis and Andrew, looking at this from the windows, immediately could not contain their laughter and laughed at him. The policeman stood up and shook himself off the snow. He turned towards the house, but the light in the windows was still in the dark and did not burn. — OKAY, I'M LEAVING!!! BUT KEEP IN MIND, IF I SUDDENLY FIND OUT THAT SOMEONE STILL LIVES IN THIS HOUSE, THEN I WILL BE BACK HERE!!! He gets into his car and drives away from here. — And what came over him? What makes him think that someone lives there if the Draytons are on vacation? — Dennis wondered out loud. — I don’t myself understand. — Andrew pretended as if he didn’t know and closed his window with a grin.