Rental House Tour

The Rental House Tour is the last in the series of events of 31 August 2014, which had begun with the Catie Date Conversation Transcript and had continued with the IRL Tour of 14 Branchland Court. That afternoon, Chris, Catherine, and her cousin Al stopped by the Rental House to meet Barb and the beagles. Note that every time Catherine sneezes, it's an attempt to prevent Chris from putting his arm around her or kissing her.

Summary

 * Chris shows them his Lego version of Manchester High and some little figures of Catherine and himself.
 * They find that Chris has a picture of Catherine on his night stand.
 * Chris confirms that all of his Playstation 3 games have survived the fire.
 * Chris shows off his High School yearbook and talks about each of his gal-pals.
 * Chris talks about his dogs, who are horribly trained and cared for and who go berserk if they see someone they don't recognise.
 * Chris and Barb talk a little about Richard Weston.
 * Barb tells the story about how Cole almost died of an infection.
 * Barb explains how they're British royalty.
 * The background music, which appears to consist of orchestral versions of Beatles songs and other 50s/60s hits, lends the entire exchange an air of classic Hollywood melodrama, as if Katharine Hepburn were about to slap someone or burst into tears at any moment.

Introductions
Al : Hey Chris!

Chris : Yeah.

Al : Is it alright if I park right there?

Chris : That’s fine.

Al : Yeah.

Chris : You’re OK. Don’t worry about it.

Al : Damn, this is a…

Catherine : Yeah, you don't wanna get...[?]

Al : Yeah, this is a nice place.

Chris : Yeah.

Catherine : It’s a nice little neighborhood.

Chris : It’s two stories but only about two-thirds of the width.

Al : Yeah. So you’ve been livin’ here since when?

Chris : Eh, since last February.

Al : Oh.

Chris : [entering house] Hello!

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Howdy.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Hi Snoopy! Hi Clover! Hi mom.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Howdy.

<font color="#808000">Barb : Hi.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Um, Barbara Anne, this is, this is…

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Nice to meet you.

<font color="#000099">Chris : That’s Catherine and her cousin Al.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Glad to meet ya. I’m Big Al. (one or more of the dogs start baying)

<font color="#009900">Catherine : They're lovely, too... [?]

Dog: AROOOOOOOO!

<font color="#000099">Chris : Oh…

Dog: AROOOOOO!

<font color="#000099">Chris : Snoopy…

<font color="#DF0000">Al : There’s some, yeah they seem a little bit worked up there.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah, that’s Snoopy, and that’s Clover.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Strangers in their house.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Well howdy Snoopy, howdy Clover.

<font color="#808000">Barb : They’re part fox.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Huh huh!

<font color="#009900">Catherine : They are cute.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Oh, no kiddin’.

<font color="#009900">Catherine I love dogs, so (phone rings) I've gotta...

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah.

Dog: Bark!

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Alright, we’ll let you…

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah, we’ll let you get to…

Dog: AROOOOO! AROOOOOO! AROOOOOO!

<font color="#000099">Chris : …the door.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Ah, thank you.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah. Oh, actually and I had also got you a case…

Dog: AROOOOOO! AROOOOOOO! AROOOOOOO! AROOO!

[chaos]

<font color="#DF0000">Al : OK, OK.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Anyway, [?].

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Don’t bite me!

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Oh, thank you.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah, and I…

Dog: AROOOOOO!

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Hold the last one.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : I really need. [?]

<font color="#DF0000">Al : They seem pretty loud.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah, they get loud, when there’s new people.

Touring Chris's playroom
<font color="#DF0000">Al : Aw, cool! Dude, is this your room?

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah, that’s my work room.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Can I go in for a moment?

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah. Sure.

Dog: AROOOOO!

<font color="#000099">Chris : Hey now, doggies, calm down! That’s good. [To Al]: I had to pretty much prepare for Catherine’s staying over for a while longer at least. I had a second, I had, I made room for a second chair.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : So, so what is all this then?

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah, pretty much some random things, but that’s a high school I built based on the one from Heartlake High. I dedicated building that to Manchester High. Took me about a month to build that. Dog: AROOOOO!

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Really.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Well see Chris, you have, you spent a month to build that?

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Well see, that’s dedication right there.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : With your comics and stuff, you can do the same thing, if you can be dedicated. Like if you can work on that for a month…

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah...

<font color="#DF0000">Al : …you can spend a month working on a comic book.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah. [Wants to change the subject] Anyway, yeah, I built this house on multiple houses. And here’s our minifigs, me and Catherine.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Awww.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah, I pain-, I painted a kilt on her.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah, it’s a Lego head on a…

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Oh, so that’s like the little kilt right there then?

<font color="#000099">Chris : Uh, it’s like a…

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Is that like bubblegum or…?

<font color="#000099">Chris : That’s denim skirt.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Oh. Oh.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah but, I used paper to make that.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Neat, yeah, and that’s little Catie. What’s that around her neck, is that like a little medallion, or…?

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah. Sonichu and Rosechu medallion. Uh, on my girlfriend, I eventually would give them.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Oh. Cool.

<font color="#000099">Chris : And custom minifigures of the hedgehogs.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : So did you make those yourself then?

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : So you seem to have an interest in arts and crafts, then.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yes.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Neat. So what’s…

[Catherine enters]

<font color="#000099">Chris : [cloying voice] Yeah, that’s you.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Is that me? Oh that’s even tinier than I thought. Oh that’s so cute.

<font color="#000099">Chris : And here, and here I am.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Oh, they’re cute. [giggles] That’s so cute. There you go.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : [Feigning awe] Dude.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Wow, you’ve got a lot of Lego. I didn’t realize you had that much.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : So, what, what’s in this case right here, is this…?

<font color="#000099">Chris : Oh that’s my medicine case. It’s got my prescription medicine…

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Oh.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : [?]

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah, yeah.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah, too bad you’re not staying, we could have watched Gigi.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Yeah I’m sorry, we’ve got to get out of here.

Next stop: the bedroom
<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah. Uh, at least let me show you the uh, my bedroom. It is right there.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : So, you go right ahead.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : So this is sort of like your office, then?

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah, kind of. Yeah. Here’s where I sleep.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Oh it’s a nice room. Wow, it’s a Skylanders.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : There’s a lot, how many…? [counting?]

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Catie, can I take a look for a mom-?

<font color="#009900">Catherine : [joking] No, you can’t.

[Al and Catherine goof around]

[Elevator music starts up]

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Wow.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Oh you have a nice set up in here, man.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : So is this your TV then?

<font color="#000099">Chris : Uh, that’s, yeah, that’s a 3D TV, from Sony. Playstation.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Dude, you got a lot of PS3 games!

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Did these survive the fire, or…?

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yes, they all did. Every last one.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Oh that’s fortunate.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Oh that’s good, yeah.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah. Oh…

<font color="#DF0000">Al : So do you have…?

<font color="#000099">Chris : …do you happen to have an interest in video discs as well?

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Dude, those things are so old - do you collect those?

<font color="#000099">Chris : Uh…

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Have you had those ever since…?

<font color="#000099">Chris : We had these, we had these a lo-, pretty much all my life.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Oh, Catie, take a look at the night stand there!

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah, this is pretty much our entire collection of…

<font color="#009900">Catherine : [Slightly horrified] Oh, I didn’t realize you kept my picture on your night stand. Oh wait, I think you did tell me that.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : You kept my picture on your night stand. That’s so cute...

<font color="#DF0000">Al : So what game system do you got, is that, uh, Sega…?

<font color="#000099">Chris : Sega Dreamcast.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Oh I remember that…

<font color="#DF0000">Al : And who’s that?

<font color="#000099">Chris : That’s my father.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Oh.

<font color="#000099">Chris : That’s Mr. C right there.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : So you keep that there too?

<font color="#000099">Chris : That’s Catherine and Mr. C.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Do you think he would approve of me?

<font color="#000099">Chris : How do you feel?

<font color="#009900">Catherine : I like to think so.

<font color="#000099">Chris : And that, then I think he does.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : He see-, he seems a little bit… interested in your best program here. [?]

High school reminisces
[music swells]

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah. Yeah. Yeah that’s uh, I ended up with two copies of the senior yearbook.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Why two copies?

<font color="#000099">Chris : Uh, uh, I think it’s because, uh, well, wound up, separate purchases, I think.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Oh. So somebody like, filled out a form wrong or something?

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah, I think so.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : So who were your gal-pals then, that you were talking about in high school? Were they, are they in here, or…?

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah, they’re in, they’re in there, mostly, uh…

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Now did this get water damaged during the fire?

<font color="#000099">Chris : Um…

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Put in the fire.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : It seems like the pages are a little bit wrinkled, or…?

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah, yeah, I think that one did get some water damage.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah.

<font color="#000099">Chris : You might have better luck with this copy which is only smoke-damaged.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah. Did they, so the insurance company, are they compensating you for all this damage? Cuz like…

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : …when stuff like this gets damaged, it’s priceless, you know? I mean…

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Yeah.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah. Oh yeah, I bookmarked the beginning of the senior section there.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Aw, did they, did they sign your yearbook at all?

<font color="#000099">Chris : Um…Oh I might not have thought about it.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah, there’s some people…

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah plus we didn’t, I don’t think we got these yearbooks till after graduation.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Oh that’s unusual.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Oh that sucks.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : So where are you in here?

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Which one is your gal-pal then?

<font color="#000099">Chris : Um, there’s a number of them, uh let’s see, [flipping through yearbook]…There I am. <font color="#009900">Catherine : Oh, there we go.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Oh!

<font color="#009900">Catherine : In a little tuxedo.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah see, I like it man, you look very…

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Very smart.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : You know, you know what you remind me of there?

<font color="#000099">Chris : Who?

<font color="#DF0000">Al : You should, you should, you know like Frank Sinatra, one of those old singers.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Oh, I like Frank Sinatra.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : That, that would go on stage, and he’d talk, and the smooth voice and he’d talk to the ladies…

<font color="#000099">Chris : [takes on persona] Good evening ladies and gentlemen!

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah, yeah!

<font color="#000099">Chris : We’ve really got a big show for you tonight!

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Yeah.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah, like from one of those, uh, old black-and-white movies, you know? But yeah, you look smooth and classy, man.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah. Oh uh, Kellie Andes, uh, was my high school s-, sweetheart that I fell in big like with…

<font color="#DF0000">Al : So, so which one is she?

<font color="#000099">Chris : [spelling] A…A L E, um, yeah.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : This says Kellie Lynn Andes right there.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah. Yeah.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Oh, that one?

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Can I have a look?

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Oh, she’s very pretty.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah. Well not as pretty as you, right Catie? Right Chris?

<font color="#000099">Chris : No, she’s…

<font color="#009900">Catherine : [laughs] Did you just call him Catie?

<font color="#000099">Chris : [chuckles]

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Oh I’m sorry, I’m sorry.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : I have to sneeze again, sorry.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : I’m a little big dyslexic myself. Sometimes I mix up words and stuff.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Uh, well.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : I say something when I mean to say something else. So.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : [Sneezes] Excuse me.

<font color="#000099">Chris : [spelling] C B B…

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Must have caught a cold on the plane.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Oh I hope not.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : It happens all the time. Every time you travel.

<font color="#000099">Chris : [browsing] Oh and, it's B E V... … Oh shoot, [trails off]. Oh, Sarah Bev-, Sarah Bevel.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Oh that, that one right there.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Oh she’s very pretty too.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : You have lots of pretty friends, haven’t you?

<font color="#000099">Chris : [Smugly] Eh, yeah.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Dude, you gotta go back to whatever it was you were doing back then, you got all the girls. Well I mean you have Catie now, so I mean…

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah, I’d rather, I’d rather stick with a winner.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : It’s good to be a winner, I think?

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Hm, G O… Tiff-, there she is. Tiffany Gowen.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah right there, the blonde at the bottom...

<font color="#009900">Catherine : She looks a little bit like, em, Cameron Diaz.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah, yeah.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : I think it’s the hair, but she does look a little bit like Cameron Diaz.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Do you have any guys that you hung out with back in high school, or…?

<font color="#000099">Chris : Uh,…

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Or was it mostly girls?

<font color="#000099">Chris : Not, not, it was mostly girls.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Mostly girls?

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah. I did have, uh, one, um, uh, I hung out with in my freshman year when I was vars-, when I was, uh, co-water boy/manager of the varsity basketball team. <font color="#DF0000">Al : So wait, you were manager of the basketball team?

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah, varsity.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : That’s pretty cool.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Thank you.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Hey, is this the bathroom?

<font color="#000099">Chris : Oh yeah.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah, you mind if I take a leak real quick?

<font color="#000099">Chris : Go ahead.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah, hey Catie, I’ll get here and then I’ll go downstairs and join up with you guys, so.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Alright.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : I’ll be out in just a minute.

Chatting with Barb
[toilet flushes]

[sink runs]

[door squeaks open]

[20th Century orchestral music is heard]

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Hello.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : [Oh watch?]

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Oh, are they gonna eat me alive now, or…?

<font color="#000099">Chris : [unintelligible] he wants to buy a bunch of ours.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah, the uh, vinyl records y’all got, I collect them, so.

<font color="#808000">Barb : You can go through 'em.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Sure.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : ...'Cuz I know you loved your records.

<font color="#808000">Barb : Right now they’re all in a tractor-trailer.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : In a tractor-trailer?

<font color="#000099">Chris : Not really, no, they’re in a storage unit or downstairs.

<font color="#808000">Barb : They’re not downstairs.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Oh, oh.

<font color="#808000">Barb : I put ‘em on a tractor-trailer.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Oh, OK, well I guess, when the Rainbow cleaners, some of them got taken to their facility. Well not all of them, there was a bunch of them at the s-, at the unit.

<font color="#808000">Barb : Oh.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah.

<font color="#808000">Barb : At your storage unit?

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah.

<font color="#808000">Barb : Oh, OK.

<font color="#000099">Chris : [to dog] Oh, hi baby girl. He’s a kisser. [baby voice] He likes to kiss.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : They’re so cute. I’m sure they’ll get used to me eventually.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : They just don’t know who I am or why I’m in their house!

<font color="#000099">Chris : Snoopy, Clover, that’s Catherine. Catie. You saw her picture?

<font color="#009900">Catherine : [giggles] You showed your dogs my picture? That’s so cute.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : They like the picture or what, or…?

<font color="#000099">Chris : Uh well, they sniffed it. They smell everything.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : That's the ticket.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah, they got, we got separate to pee and poo on the paper.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Yeah, try not…

<font color="#000099">Chris : On the black thing.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : …to stand on it.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah. They what? Oh, yeah, I guess that makes sense then, on the paper…

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Try not to stand on it or anything.

<font color="#808000">Barb : It’s, it’s awfully inconvenient to take them outside and have to pick it up.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah. Yeah.

<font color="#808000">Barb : I’d rather have it inside, to pick it up.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Oh yeah, and then it’s closer so you can clean it up without going as far away.

<font color="#808000">Barb : I’m 72 years old, and I don’t.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Fair enough.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : You’ve worked enough in your life, so…

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah. I told, I told mom about, uh, how you have a lot of interesting stories from your travels in the European Brish - British areas.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Yeah.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Hey mother, tell her, tell her something about the Weston name. Or some of it.

<font color="#808000">Barb : 400 years ago, the king declared the name Weston, W-E-S-T-O-N, not I-N or E-N, but O-N, to be part of England’s royalty forever.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : That’s interesting.

<font color="#808000">Barb : So Christian…

<font color="#009900">Catherine : There’s a lot of uh, there’s a lot of names like that in England, and um… Well you go, you go back through the um, the old records and stuff and you see…

<font color="#808000">Barb : Well my cousin…

<font color="#009900">Catherine : …lordships, and you see…

<font color="#808000">Barb : Well my cousin was the one that put together a pilgrimage…

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Wow. That’s a piece of history right there.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : It certainly seems, Christian seems like a pretty good son. He was talking about how he helps you out around the house and all, and such.

<font color="#808000">Barb : Oh my gosh.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah.

<font color="#808000">Barb : I couldn’t, I couldn’t survive without him.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Yeah.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah. Well I hope he takes care of Catie just as well. So.

<font color="#000099">Chris : I’m pretty sur-, I’m fairly confident I will. I had practice.

<font color="#808000">Barb : [cackles] He’s had a lot of practice. His father died three years ago.

[Music actually switches to a sadder tone]

<font color="#009900">Catherine : I know. We heard. I’m terribly sorry.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah. Sorry. I apologize for your loss. That’s gotta suck. So.

<font color="#808000">Barb : Yeah. Yeah you, you never get over it.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Not really, no.

<font color="#808000">Barb : My sister and…[?] um, her husband…

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yes, yeah, Harriet and Tom.

<font color="#808000">Barb : …had to have surgery on this area.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Oh, that’s terrible. Oh, poor doggie.

<font color="#808000">Barb : He has a growth that’s blocking the flow of whatever fluids, and as a result, it’s causing constant infection.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Oh that’s awful.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Sounds awful.

<font color="#808000">Barb : So, he’s gonna get operated on at the end of September.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : In September?

<font color="#808000">Barb : I, I wonder if it’s life-threatening, cause this area here…

<font color="#000099">Chris : They didn’t mention that.

<font color="#808000">Barb : …there’s a hole in the brain right there.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Well that’s…

<font color="#DF0000">Al : A hole in the brain?

<font color="#808000">Barb : There’s a hole that goes right in the brain. My oldest son, um…

<font color="#000099">Chris : Cole.

<font color="#808000">Barb : …almost died from a sinus infection, in California…

<font color="#000099">Chris : I didn’t hear this one.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Oh my goodness.

<font color="#808000">Barb : …shortly after he went out there to college. He - he had a sinus infection.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : That’s awful.

<font color="#808000">Barb : And he couldn’t - couldn’t shake it.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : I’m so sorry.

<font color="#808000">Barb : He um - so he went to the doctor, and the doctor said "you’re just in time".

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Well that’s good.

<font color="#808000">Barb : For a few hours. He wouldn’t’ve made it a few hours... [?]

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Wow. That was…let’s see…

<font color="#808000">Barb : That’s when I really learned…

<font color="#009900">Catherine : …when he first went to college, so he would, he would have been about eighteen, nineteen?

<font color="#808000">Barb : Yeah, he was about nineteen.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : I don’t, I have no idea how old he is now, so I don’t know how long ago that would have been.

<font color="#808000">Barb : He’s, yeah he was born in ’63. <font color="#009900">Catherine : OK.

<font color="#808000">Barb : And Christian was born in ’82.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Uh, 40, 51.

<font color="#808000">Barb : ’82. I bought mailbox numbers 63 and 82.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Mm hmm.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Oh!

<font color="#808000">Barb : I had trouble, I had trouble remembering it and I started…

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Well that’s a good trick.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Well that’s handy.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah, we like number games as well as word games.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Oh that’s lovely.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah, hey, tell ‘em your anniversary date. Or wedding.

<font color="#808000">Barb : 6-7-80.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : 6-7-80, that’s easy to remember.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah.

<font color="#808000">Barb : My husband and I got married, we were married 31 years.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : That’s a long while.

<font color="#808000">Barb : And um, two months after we were married, he had triple bypasses, and the doctors told me that he would not have lived two more weeks.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Wow.

<font color="#808000">Barb : If he hadn’t had…and if he hadn’t had married me he’d never’ve known.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Cause you made him go to the doctor.

<font color="#808000">Barb : It was very suddenly. Because he was, uh, an engineer at GE and he did hard core negotiating to sell their products.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah.

<font color="#808000">Barb : To sell their products. So.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : (to Snoopy) Oh, I'm not me. Do you want to smell me?

<font color="#808000">Barb : It wasn’t easy…

Dog: AROOOOOO!

<font color="#000099">Chris : Snoopy, calm down.

<font color="#009900">Catherine Alright, fair enough.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Calm down, little boy, calm down. I think they’re probably easier if uh, if I was sitting down.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah, I don’t know if we have much room here.

<font color="#000099">Chris : It was…

<font color="#009900">Catherine : We can’t stay too terribly long.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah we’re gonna head out in a few minutes anyways, so…

The fire and its consequences
<font color="#808000">Barb : The couch belongs to the dogs. They saved us from the fire.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Yeah, Christian said they woke you up.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah, they woke me up, then I woke her up.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah.

<font color="#808000">Barb : I got, I burned both feet, because I didn’t have any shoes on.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : You had to walk through the fire then?

<font color="#808000">Barb : Well I had to extinguish it, try to put it out, and what happened was, uh…

<font color="#000099">Chris : More over on... [?]

<font color="#808000">Barb : The flecks from the... insulation... in the wall.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : The flecks from the insul-, like, they were drop-, pieces of insulation were dropping down?

<font color="#808000">Barb : Yes.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : And they burnt you on the foot?

<font color="#808000">Barb : I on the bottom, I stepped on them.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Um, well OK, I didn’t hear that. I thought, I thought the worst damage to your feet was from you had to walk all over that wet grass cause it was raining that morning.

<font color="#808000">Barb : Well I didn’t know that I had damaged my feet…

<font color="#000099">Chris : Oh. [stress sigh]

<font color="#808000">Barb : …until later.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : So you saw the fire, you grabbed an extinguisher, you’re lucky you had one on hand.

<font color="#808000">Barb : He grabbed an extinguisher, pulled the thing out, and handed it to me.

<font color="#000099">Chris : I remember from training, you know, you pull the pin first.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Yeah.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : And then you handed it off to your mum.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Sounds like you were both pretty brave to fight the fire like that.

<font color="#808000">Barb : We didn’t have any choice. I had to hold, I was able to hold it just long enough for him to get his head together, take the dogs and the cat, and uh, we got out.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Actually our cat Lucy came to us. She was upstairs.

<font color="#808000">Barb : Was she?

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah, you remember, she came downstairs and met us, and then she ran out of the house with us.

<font color="#808000">Barb : That’s right, she did.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah I put the leads on the dogs.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Yeah.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : You’re all very lucky to have gotten out of that.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : I’m so sorry for your loss.

<font color="#808000">Barb : That’s OK, it hasn’t been totally bad.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Things happen, life happens, you know?

<font color="#808000">Barb : I think for a reason.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : You just get through it, so.

<font color="#808000">Barb : I think for a reason.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah.

<font color="#808000">Barb : Yeah, we’ve learned a lot. [Laughs] Yeah, we did some hardcore negotiating, with uh, State Farm.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Excuse me just a moment.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Uh yeah, sorry. Yep, yep, get through there…

<font color="#009900">Catherine : …in your way.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Hard core negotiating, what, they didn’t wanna pay out or somethin’, or…?

<font color="#808000">Barb : They don’t…the adjustor is a woman, and she hates the ground I walk on. She dislikes me terribly, cause I’m too old and too smart. See I’m not the typical 72-year-old woman.

Barb and Catie talk sewing
<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah I’ll just remember it and I’ll save it.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Um…

<font color="#009900">Catherine : He uses that for work. Pretty much.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah, that’s mostly a work phone, I wouldn’t want people, but you can contact me through Catie.

<font color="#000099">Chris : OK.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Yeah. It's- it's- we’re always in touch.

<font color="#000099">Chris : OK, so you know I should contact him on the inquir- inquiry about the records.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Uh, you can al- you can always let me know and I’ll pass the message.

<font color="#808000">Barb : I appreciate you driving her there.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah.

<font color="#808000">Barb : That was a good security move.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Well her phone, [Catherine: “Car.”] her car broke down, so there was hardly any choice, I was the only guy who could, so.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Yeah, so.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : But yeah.

<font color="#808000">Barb : Well, it was good security.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah, yeah everything…

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah, yeah, I mean, I didn’t, I didn’t know Christian or anything, I hadn’t met you all at all, and they were talkin’ pretty serious, like it seemed, so I thought I would get to know your family as well, cause if these two were gonna get hitched, it’s gonna be one family, so.

<font color="#808000">Barb : You’re just as beautiful as he said.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Oh thank you. You’re very sweet.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah, so.

<font color="#808000">Barb : Yeah, you are. You are.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Thank you.

<font color="#808000">Barb : I understand you sew a little bit?

<font color="#009900">Catherine : A little bit, not very much. Um, basically just enough to put, like, a button on my shirt, or, or um, like, stitch up my pants.

<font color="#808000">Barb : I have a trainload of [felt?].

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Oh, I’m terribly sorry.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Well, [drowned out]

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Christian said you used to sew, or you sew occasionally…?

<font color="#808000">Barb : I used to. I’m, I’m going to, after I get settled back in the house.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah.

<font color="#808000">Barb : I’m gonna start designing and sewing.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Mm hmm.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah. I told, I told her about the A-skirts you put together.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Oh yeah, you can make an A-line skirt out of an old pair of jeans. You just cut um, you, you rip the side, the seams in the middle, and then you use the leg to cut it off about here, and you use the legs to make the panels.

<font color="#000099">Chris : It's easy to do.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : And it works very well. It’s very easy. It’s just you need a sewing machine to do it.

<font color="#808000">Barb : Yeah.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : But you could sew it by hand, but it takes ages.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Hm. [Bizarrely inflected] She can sew more than a button.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah. Alright.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Well, I mean…

<font color="#808000">Barb : I taught my oldest son to sew, when he was growing up.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : My roommate knits. My roommate is from Texas and he knits.

<font color="#808000">Barb : Every, every boy needs to know how to sew and how to cook.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Exactly. Cause you’re not gonna have a woman all the time. Makes you self-sufficient.

<font color="#808000">Barb : Hey, what if a woman can't cook for kids, so…

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Exactly.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah.

<font color="#808000">Barb: [?]

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Mm hmm.

Barb's family heritage
<font color="#808000">Barb : In my family, I was the, I was number one as far as, there were eight children, five girls, and uh, um…

<font color="#DF0000">Al : You were the eldest? You had to take care of the rest?

<font color="#808000">Barb : I was five, number five of eight.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Ah.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Oh, so you were almost in the middle.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah.

<font color="#808000">Barb : Yeah, I had a, I had a good spot.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Mm hmm.

<font color="#808000">Barb : I had to fight both ways.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : [Laughs]

<font color="#808000">Barb : I had to change diapers both ways. [Laughs]

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah.

<font color="#808000">Barb : Well I had two sisters and a brother younger than me. I have s- one sister and brother still with us, and it’s nice. I just talked to her last night.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Well I think I uh, told Catie about how Barbara Anne wanted to be an English teacher...? Enjoyed some English literature I think?

<font color="#808000">Barb : Yeah.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Yeah.

<font color="#808000">Barb : Yeah, I enjoy literature.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah. She likes a lot of Shakespeah.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Yeah, I do like Shakespeare.

<font color="#000099">Chris : She also enjoys The Tudors, uh, HBO program through Netflix, all about King Henry VIII.

<font color="#808000">Barb : Oh, Henry VIII. Anne Boleyn, his wife…

<font color="#009900">Catherine : One of, yeah, one of six.

<font color="#808000">Barb : Well, she couldn’t produce a boy.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Mm hmm.

<font color="#808000">Barb : So he killed her.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Yeah.

<font color="#808000">Barb : But he drummed up all these excuses that the maids helped him to put together.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Yeah. Well he was the king, he could say whatever he wanted about anybody, and they wouldn’t dare say no, it’s not right. So.

<font color="#808000">Barb : Yeah. He was just a murderer.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Mm. A little bit.

<font color="#808000">Barb : The first, the first Queen Elizabeth was her daughter.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Mm hmm.

<font color="#808000">Barb : Yeah.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : That was uh, the last of the Tudors.

<font color="#808000">Barb : We’re blood kin to them. I suppose we got blood kin to every Wes-, blood Weston in the world.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : That would be an interesting thing to research, like go through old records and things like that, and actually draw a line and be able to say, this is exactly where that went.

<font color="#000099">Chris : I still don’t know the missing link between Richard Weston and Mary Boleyn.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Well Weston’s not exactly an uncommon name in Britain. I mean it’s not super-common, it’s not like Smith or anything, but there are a lot of people with that name.

<font color="#808000">Barb : I suppose there are. There are.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Oh, and I uh…

<font color="#808000">Barb : You’ve done a lot of important things in the, 400...

<font color="#009900">Catherine : 400 odd years, yeah, done a lot of things and made a lot of children.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Oh yeah, in our thinking ahead, I did mention to her that uh, I promised you our first daughter would have the middle name Weston.

<font color="#808000">Barb : Yeah.

<font color="#000099">Chris : So to continue that tradition. And royalty.

<font color="#808000">Barb : [?]

<font color="#009900">Catherine : It does.

<font color="#808000">Barb : So, you’re part Scottish?

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Yeah, on my mother’s side. My mom’s Scottish and my dad’s Italian.

<font color="#808000">Barb : Our biggest [?] combination.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : It’s an interesting one.

<font color="#808000">Barb : Yeah, it is.

Time to go
Dog: AROOOOOOO.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Ah, Snoopy, calm down.

<font color="#808000">Barb : Calm down. [Laughs]

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah. They’re visiting right now, but I’m thinking she’ll be good more often.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah.

<font color="#000099">Chris : And y’all can get to know her, and I, they let me sit between them and hug them.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Oh that’s nice.

<font color="#000099">Chris : They’re so sweet like, they’re so sweet like that, in other ways.

<font color="#808000">Barb : Yeah, they’re good dogs, they really are.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah.

<font color="#808000">Barb : They’re very, very protective.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Beagles usually are. They’re very, they like their families. They like to be very protective of their... Their pack.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah. Well anyway, uh, I, I’m Catie’s ride, and I got some stuff to do, so…

<font color="#808000">Barb : Yeah.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : So probably should be heading out, yeah.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Nice meeting you.

<font color="#808000">Barb : Nice meeting you too.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah.

<font color="#808000">Barb : I look forward to seeing you again.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Certainly.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah. And that, and this is like, we just went out to eat, and we just dropped in unannounced, and we don’t wanna, yeah we won’t take up too much, too much time. Good meeting you, Mrs. Chandler.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Partially, partially, partially unannounced, because I had thought about bringing her over here anyway.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah.

<font color="#000099">Chris : At least to meet her, and, you know, watch Gigi, but we couldn’t do that, [Catherine sneezes.] cause um, cause your car’s in the shop. Oh bless you.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Excuse me. Thank you. I must, I must have caught cold on the plane.

<font color="#000099">Chris : I hope not.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : It happens to me every time I fly. You’ve got 200-odd people in one little little tiny plane for about an hour.

<font color="#808000">Barb : Is it a long flight?

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Yeah, I have to fly to Chicago, and then catch another flight, so.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Well cool, I’ll…

<font color="#808000">Barb : [something about Cole] ...I took him to San Francisco, California when he was about seven years old.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Yeah. That’s a long flight. I think that’s about, what is that, five hours?

<font color="#808000">Barb : I don’t quite remember [?] [Laughs]

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Yeah, but it’s a long flight.

<font color="#808000">Barb : It was painful. It was painful.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Yeah. You get stuck in an airplane, you get all that air recycled. There’s somebody gets sick, it happens to me all the time.

<font color="#808000">Barb : Yeah it does.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : I’ll probably be fine in a few days.

<font color="#000099">Chris : If not there’s always chicken noodle soup.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Yeah, definitely.

<font color="#000099">Chris : They like chicken noodle soup. They’ve had some! [baby voice] Chicken noodle soup. Wasn’t that good, doggies? Yeah.

<font color="#808000">Barb : Anything with chicken in it…. Well, we’ll let you go now.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Alright, thank you for, thank you for your hospitality.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yep. Nice place. Nice place y'all got here, so.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : [unintelligible] over there.

<font color="#000099">Chris : OK, well hey, um, Catherine, before you go…

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Yeah?

<font color="#000099">Chris : I wanted to let you know: What am I doing in a place like this? Waiting for the most honest, true, and awesome woman to come around in my life.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Oh my god, you’re so sweet!

<font color="#000099">Chris : I’ve had that, I’ve had, I had that in my head for the long time since I’ve…

<font color="#009900">Catherine : I’ve got to sneeze again. Sorry. No I don't.

<font color="#000099">Chris : [chuckles]

<font color="#009900">Catherine : It went back into my forehead.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : I hate it when it’s like you’re like 90% ready for sneezing and…

<font color="#000099">Chris : I’m so glad this is working out very well.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Me too. Sorry, we’ve got to get going or I need to, I need to get my things back.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : OK.

<font color="#000099">Chris : OK.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Hey Chris, we’ll both be pretty busy, but you and Catie can talk over the internet and we’ll see if we can work something out.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : You’ve got my number now, we can text all you like.

<font color="#000099">Chris : You know where to phone me, yes?

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah, we’ll see if we can work something out over the next couple weeks.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Maybe meet up again.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah. Hopefully, uh, Catie, you know where we are, you can come over yourself if you feel like it.

<font color="#009900">Catherine : Yeah, well I would let you know, obviously. I wouldn’t just turn up, that would be so rude.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah, OK. Yeah, anyway, yeah, we wouldn’t want to interrupt nothin’. Nothin’ like that.

<font color="#000099">Chris : Yeah, that’s understandable.

<font color="#DF0000">Al : Yeah. OK, well it was nice meet- [audio cuts off]