Wilder Residence

The Wilder residence, located in Southside Samo District is home to Rai Island's notorious "Pack of Wilders". The house itself is old and fairly run down, the white paint peeling off of the one story house. There are several vehicles in the driveway - a light blue, beat up old dodge pickup truck, a maroon SUV, an old black car and a huge gray van with four rows of seats. The yard is littered with some old junk and the dark shutters on the curtained windows look like they're ready to fall off. The roof is in need of repair and the automatic garage door has been broken for at least fifteen years.

Keith Wilder walked up the cracked concrete walkway and into the front door, carrying his new friend Mehitahelle on his back. Upon entering the rundown house, he stepped over some of Joanna's toys that were scattered around the floor and dodged Casey and Raph as they barreled past him, wrestling with each other playfully over something or other. Bobby was smacking the old television set as the picture flickered in and out on the screen, while John and Terry sat at the table playing cards. Elaine was in the kitchen, preparing dinner. Her husband Al held her in his arms as she cooked, humming merrily. Their house was in shambles, but the atmosphere was fairly cozy nonetheless and Keith called out comfortably, "I'm home! Mom, I brought a friend who hit her head. Can you help me make sure she's okay?"

Mehi couldn't say anything. She was so embarrassed to have been brought here like this and sitting on Keith's back like a sack of potatoes that she was again beet red. She was so glad he hadn't said the reason she had hit her head was that he had surprised her and she had stupidly reacted instinctively by retreating.

She closed her eyes, wanting to pull Boo out of her backpack to give him a squeeze, but her position wouldn't allow it unless she wanted to fall and hit her head again. This time possibly hurting herself worse. Mehi was so nervous. She hated being shy in a new place. Why couldn't she be like her sisters? They both jumped right in talking to people and they had never had the problem of shyness. Of course, it had to be Mehi, the youngest of the three to get that. Her head really DIDN'T hurt that badly anymore. She hid her face against Keith's back, still blushing uncontrollably. PLEASE don't notice my stupid red face, she thought.

Mehi would probably have been less shy with fewer people around at one time, but she really liked how active the house was. Her own house felt empty much of the time as she hardly ever saw her sisters even though she knew they loved her. She left the house often to get away from the depressing emptiness. She liked the park because it never felt depressing, even when it was empty it just felt peaceful. She relaxed a little at the thought of the park, loosening her grip on Keith a little, automatically. She dared to look around the room they were in.

All at once, every set of eyes in the entire house was on the two who had just arrived. Elaine came out of the kitchen while Al grabbed a ziplock bag and filled it with ice. Casey and Raph shoved their backpacks off of the couch, making room as Keith walked over and deposited Mehitahelle as gently as he could. Bobby plopped down next to her, studying her with a huge smile on his face and Joanna brought her huge stuffed bunny over to her. Terry and John lowered their cards, but remained at the table. "She seems like a nice little girl." Terry commented absently. John nodded in agreement, taking a long, slow drag on his cigarette.

Keith sat on the opposite side of Mehi as Elaine bent down and examined the girl. "Hello honey, my name's Elaine." She said, taking the washcloth-wrapped ice bag her husband gave to her then, "But you can call me Mama Wilder. Everyone around here does. Now I understand you hit your head. Does it hurt really bad? Do you feel okay enough to tell me your name?"

Mehi fidgeted a little as all of them turned to look at her, beet red again. She gave the boy and the small girl a shy smile, and pulled Boo out of her bag. "I have a teddy bear too.His name is Boo...your bunny is cute." she said,giving Boo a hug." My sisters always tell me I'm too old to have him." Looking up at the lady who had to be Keith's mom, she said, very shyly in almost a whisper, "Mehitahelle...Thomas." she looked away. "n..no...my head doesn't really...hurt anymore."

Mehi was so embarrassed to be there that she felt like she should be sinking into the floor. That was about how much strength she felt as if she had. She shakily pushed her hair out of her eyes and looked down into her lap, wishing again that she was more like her sisters. She blushed harder.

"Nonsense," A languid voice said smoothly from a recliner, revealing Fred, "A girl can have whatever she wants. However long she wants. And any man foolish enough to say otherwise deserves to be smacked upside the head." All at once, every male in the house nodded in agreement. Elaine brushed back the girl's hair and her eyebrows shot up at the heat from her face. She gave her the ice. After a few minutes, she realized that Mehi was probably more flustered than actually hurt and she shooed the boys from crowding her.

Mehi looked up at the lady. She was still having difficulty thinking of her by name, or the familiar way she suggested Mehi address her. And then too, how had she known that so many people were making her more shy? The only one she was beginning to be comfortable with had been Keith.

She knew she would get along with his sister very well.And probably his mom as well. How would she get along with the others?
Mehi smiled gratefully at Keith's mother, relieved. Responding to the other boy's comment, she said, "Well....I'm twelve now and Keylee is working on making me give him up." She looked away from everyone. "I never see them...or maybe I should say I don't see my sisters very much." She tried to appear less nervous but she felt like she had a permanently red face. "I don't spend much time at home." She wasn't really sure if they wanted to hear anything she was saying so she just became silent. She looked at Keith and gave him the smallest of smiles. She felt a little better knowing he was nearby. He just seemed so easy to be around.

"Well you're welcome to come over to our house any time you want. If it's too far to walk for you, I'll send one of more of the boys to come pick you up. Just call us whenever you want to come over." Elaine said, scribbling down their home phone number and handing it to Mehitahelle. Bobby decided to head over and play tea party with Joanna and Casey and Raph decided to play Super Mario Bros 3 on the Nintendo, sneaking curious glances occasionally at the two still on the couch.

Elaine returned to the kitchen with Al in tow and Terry and John resumed their card game. Once again, all was normal in the Wilder residence. Keith leaned over, studying Mehitahelle carefully. "Are you feeling any better? You look pretty red. Are you hot?" He asked in concern.

"t..thank you.." Mehi smiled a little at her. "I..I'm sure I would...like that.." she said still red. Was she ever going to stop this confounded blushing?? She breathed a little easier when everyone left to do their own things, but she was too embarrassed to notice the curious looks she was still getting.

She was relaxing at least until Keith leaned over and asked her if she was feeling better. Immediately her face got hotter as she answered, "y...yes I'm feeling better.....n...no...I'm not....hot." She looked up at him, her hair totally covering her eyes and her braided pigtails falling behind her shoulders.

Keith's expression brightened and he smiled at her. "Well, considering my mom is already preparing dinner in the kitchen, would you care to eat with us? She makes delicious food. The best in the entire Samo District!" He proclaimed, grasping one of her hands in his. His other hand brushed the hair out of her eyes. "There, now isn't that better? I like being able to see your eyes. They're quite pretty." At that moment, the phone rang and Fred - who was lounging right next to it - didn't move a muscle. Not out of laziness, but because, the twins, Bobby and Joanna all rushed forward to grab it. Casey was the victor this time, taking a deep breath and loudly donning a bad Texas accent, "YEE-HAW! Welcome to Roadkill Grill where you kill it an' we grill it! Today's specials are the Possum Patty, Scorched Sidewinder and the Hot Hot Hasenpfeffer! That's rabbit stew fer all those idjuts out thar- Oh, Patty, it's you. How are you? Uh huh, yeah, he's here. Terry~ it's your giiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirlfriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiend~!!"

"um...I guess I could...if your...family's okay with it?" she blushed more. She really was tired of her constant blushing. She was looking at Keith's face when he took her hand in his. She didn't notice this because at almost the exact second his other hand was moving her hair out of his eyes and she was suddenly able to see his face quite clearly. She blinked and looked away, her cheeks still red. Had he really just said he liked seeing her eyes? And even more amazingly...had he just added that he thought they were pretty? Mehi was definitely not used to a boy complimenting her and it made her blush all the more.


Hearing how one of the boys answered the phone, Mehi involuntarily smiled, then she started softly chuckling, her face obviously more relaxed. Even her permanent blush was starting to fade as the boy finished speaking and handed the phone off to yet another boy. She was trying to prevent herself from bursting out in laughter.

As Terry swatted towards his younger brother - who tossed the corded phone to him - Fred went back to reading his magazine...which looked suspiciously like a beat up old copy of Hustler. "Of course it's all right, Mehi. We'd love to have you stay for dinner." Keith answered sweetly. "Keith would love to have you stay..." Casey began, with Raph finishing, "...forever." Then the two boys chuckled and returned to their game. Bobby looked over at Keith and Mehi on the couch, questioning, "Are you two gonna have sex?"

"You don't even know what sex is, Bobby." John said, blowing out a cloud of cigarette smoke. It was quickly dissipated by the ceiling fan above the table. "Wanna find out?" Fred asked, waving the magazine at the nine year old. Terry, still on the phone, snatched the lewd publication from the lazy boy and smacked him in the head with it, then admonished john for 'leaving his shit lying around'.

Mehi was only just starting to relax, but she was still extremely shy about being there. She gave Keith another little smile, and almost didn't hear the comment that his brothers made. She didn't however completely miss it and she turned a delicate shade of red, as the comment following that....from obviously a very young boy effectively stopped all trace of laughter and wiped the smile completely off her face as her eyes widened in shock.

Her blush deepened until her face felt like it was on fire. She was really embarrassed now and she squeezed Boo tighter, trying not to die right there that second. She really felt like she was about to have a breakdown of some sort. It could either be an embarrassed laughing fit or she could just freeze where she was.

Fred caught Keith's little girlfriend blushing like a tomato during the picking season and smiled at her, absently rubbing his head where Terry had rapped him with the magazine. She was a rather pretty girl. It was no wonder Keith liked her. And when he looked at little "Bongo" as they all called him, he knew that the younger boy was probably already planning out how he was going to ask her to marry him. Then he'd be happily planning out their dream wedding. Hopefully, his little obsession with getting married and living happily ever after wouldn't scare this one away too. Fred sincerely hoped that Keith would at least wait a week before proposing to her.

But with the look in those smokey blue eyes, Fred knew that at best it would only be three or four days at best. Pity. He really liked seeing his little brother happy. After all, Bongo was practically useless when he was going through his moments of heartache. All he'd do was mope around and bawl. Oh, he helped little Suzette carry her barbies to the Salvation Army for the donation drive? She thanked him, but she liked the other neighbor boy. He used to play pretend wedding with Melody, but she only wanted to marry him for pretend. All the adults around kept telling him to just enjoy being a kid. But Bongo was always the 'delicate' one, the crybaby. And boy, did he cry...

No, Bongo needed some help if he was going to keep this one. Because when Bongo was happy, he was the more helpful and caring soul you could ever ask for, a doting brother, a loving child. So Fred decided that he was going to help his younger brother. With his help, Mehi would fall head over heels for Keith and Keith in turn would be happy. And Fred loved to see Keith happy because he cared about his little brother...and because he knew Keith would return the kindness without question. After all...what are big brothers for?

He motioned Keith over and whispered in his ear, "You like her, don't you? I can tell she really likes you too." At Keith's nervous, yet hopeful expression, Fred smiled warmly. Bingo. "You know, I can't help but notice how shy she is around so many of us at once. Why not show her around the house, then take her to your room so she can relax with you for a while? And whatever you want to do, don't ask her to marry you right away. That scares them off. You want to build trust with her first. Then you two can fall in love and live happily ever after." Perfect...

Keith was stunned. He hadn't expected Fred to have noticed what had gone wrong with his previous attempts, let alone suddenly decide to help him! Oh, I cannot believe this! My brother, Fred, deciding to help me in courting the lovely Mehitahelle. I know we've not known each other for even a full day yet, but it's true. I've already started to fall for her. She's so lovely, so pure. So innocent, I doubt she has any inkling that she's already pulling on my heart strings. And my brother...he's finally feeling that brotherly bond! I feel so close to him right now! Keith thought to himself, careful not so let his tears start flowing, lest he upset Mehitahelle.

First things first though, Fred had suggested that Keith give her a tour of their home. Fred was a very observant guy, so his observation that Mehi was uncomfortable had to be spot on. She was still blushing deeply -but was so incredibly cute that way!- when he offered her his hand. "Mehi, we have some time to ourselves before dinner is ready. Would you like to accompany me around our house? I'd love to show you around if you'd like a tour." Keith leaned in a little closer to her ear and whispered, "Plus it would be just you and I. My family tends to be a little bit intimidating sometimes."

Mehi smiled slightly, reaching up to take the hand he offered to her. "y..yes..that does sound nice." she said, very careful not to tell him exactly how nervous she was around so many of them. standing, she looked around, still blushing. "I...like your house." she said. "It seems like everyone is so much closer than my own family. She played with the end of one of her braids shyly.

She looked at the boy she had seen smile at her. Somehow she did not like his looks. He seemed a little creepy to her and she thought he kind of had the look of a shark moving in for the kill. Mehi had always trusted her first impression...and for now it was telling her that this was someone to keep her eye on. She would never believe anything he had to say and she would be keeping a close eye on him

She knew that when she was more comfortable around these people that she would probably be butting heads with this boy despite the fact that she was a perma blusher. She was known for speaking her mind back in California and she would do it here too..once she was comfortable enough, that is.

Once he had helped her off of the couch, Keith began to show her around the house. It obviously wasn't going to take him a long time to do so, as the place was small, but he was happy to do it anyway. The fact that he was showing Mehi around made it even better. Her hand felt nice in his.

First, he motioned around the living room-dining room area. It was all one space with beat up old furniture, old tan carpet and cracks in the light blue walls. The dining room table was enormous, with twelve chairs around it, most of which obviously didn't go with the table. There was a bunch of Joanna's toys, backpacks, a baseball and other random junk strewn all over the place. Keith turned to Mehitahelle with an apologetic smile, "Sorry about the mess."

Next, he showed her the kitchen. It wasn't very big - considering both his parents were in there cooking dinner. It had the essentials, stove, refrigerator, sink, pantry and so on. Right now, the kitchen was filled with the scent of spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread with melted cheese and fresh fruit. Then he showed her the bathroom in case she needed it. "Do you want to see the bedrooms next, or the basement? Or we could go to the garage if you like?" Keith asked Mehitahelle.

She pushed her hair out of her eyes, and she smiled again. She didn't mind Keith holding her hand either. In fact she was rather enjoying it. As he showed her around the small home she willingly walked beside him, her feet moving automatically. Her hand felt warm in his, and she looked up, accidentally meeting his eyes and she couldn't help but notice the unusual blue color of them now that she had actually looked closely. She froze for a moment, like a startled deer unable to move, and the only thing that did move was her long, light brown hair. It fell in her face again as yet another dark blush covered her cheeks. After a few minutes she was able to speak, still looking into his face. She blinked shyly. She just couldn't look down no matter how bad she wanted to right then. Mehi did finally manage it though and she was very much relieved. It felt awkward to have been staring at him like that and she hurriedly started walking again.

Mehi had been enjoying the tour and she had taken in every word he had spoken and memorized each room. She was certain that she would remember it all if he wanted her to come back ever. The deep red blush had faded before she said anything. "I wish my house looked as lived in as yours." she said. "and I want to see whichever rooms you want to show me....in whatever order that you want to." She blushed slightly this time and looked away from him again, a tiny smile still on her face. She really was embarrassed. Mehi felt like she had been staring and she didn't like that feeling.

She squeezed Boo in her other hand, close to her side. Almost immediately Mehi felt better-the teddy bear always was a huge comfort to her. So far she loved the small house that Keith's family lived in. She liked it, in fact, better than her sisters' big house that hardly seemed like anyone ever lived there.

Oh yes, Mehitahelle was definitely the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. The way she had gazed into his eyes just then, unable to look away, was proof of it. And she was already starting to open up to him more. "Well, my house is definitely 'lived in'." Keith chuckled lightly, leading her towards the garage first, "Most everything here has been broken at least once. My brothers weren't the most gentle boys to grow up with and there's always some kind of rough-housing going on around here."

He showed her the garage. The door was welded shut and there were two makeshift bunks and a hammock within. The workbench and toolboxes had been converted into makeshift dressers and there was a drum set and a few guitars set up with speakers and microphones. "Terry, John and Chuck sleep out here, though Chuck worked really hard and got into Valevay High School. He's going to be coming home during the weekends, so it won't be so bad."

After that, he lead her into the basement. It looked like a typical basement with a washer, dryer and a larger freezer. There were also several shelves of home-canned vegetables and supplies. Two different areas of the basement were curtained off, one for Fred, the other for Casey and Raph. Then he lead Mehitahelle back up the stairs, asking, "Do you think it's too cramped here?"

Mehi answered as she followed Keith back up the stairs. "No...I..don't think it seems too crowded," she said, smiling. She was so much more relaxed at the moment than she had been. She was interested in hearing about his family since she hadn't been here long and the only people she knew were her sisters.

so...you have one brother that goes to Valevay? I'll never remember all of your family." she laughed at herself. "I have a lousy memory when it comes to remembering people's names." She blushed and looked at her hand that was holding her bear. She didn't think she could look at him again. She was just so embarrassed, but she still managed a small smile at the floor. "I'll be starting at the public school." she said

"That's okay, you'll get all their names memorized eventually." Keith said, pointing out his parent's room, then Joanna's room, "I'm in the public school system myself. I could have skipped all the rest of the way past high school and have gone straight to college, but I wanted to enjoy going through life with people my own age." Then he led her into the room he shared with Bobby. It was small, with two beds and two dressers, but it was comfortable. He plopped down on his bed and patted the space next to him for her.

Mehi tipped her head to the side as she studied him. "you must be pretty smart." she said. She looked around the room they had ended up in. She took in everything about it and when she looked back at Keith she saw that he had sat on one of the beds and was now patting the spot beside him. She blushed when she realized he wanted her to come sit on the bed with him.

Mehi was still blushing as she sat were he had indicated, turning to face him. She then averted her gaze to her hands in her lap, holding her bear tightly, and blushing even more furiously. She leaned her head over a little so that her loose hair concealed most of her face from view, her messy braids falling the same direction as the rest of her hair, almost blending together.

Keith nonchalantly brushed her braids behind her shoulders, then tilted her head to make eye contact with him. He pushed the hair out of her eyes and studied her closely. "I like it when you look at me, Mehi." He said softly, "You don't have to be so shy with me."

Mehi didn't know what to do when Keith brushed her braids back, but when he touched her face, tilting it so she had to look into his eyes again-this time it was no accident-and she was so embarrassed she wanted to close them. She didn't though, instead she blinked.

When she felt him move the hair out of her eyes, the blush already on her face spread and deepened to almost a brick red. She could just feel her cheeks change temperature and she couldn't do anything but stare back at him. This boy...was something else. Even her almost painful shyness didn't seem to be putting him off. She didn't realize how close to him that sitting where he had indicated had actually put her to him. She didn't think her blush could possible get any darker. She didn't trust her voice to answer him so she just gave him a small, shy smile.

He could feel his heart start beating harder in his chest. Mehitahelle was just so shy that he couldn't help but smile at her. What was a boy like him to do in such a situation? What would his brothers do? Of course, my brothers... Keith thought, answering his own question. Without releasing his gentle hold on her chin, he slowly leaned forward and placed a soft, chaste kiss on her lips.

Mehi blinked when Keith smiled at her. He really looks awfully cute when he smiles like that. She was a little curious about why he was looking at her with the expression he had on his face. It looked almost like he was thinking about something. She fidgeted a little, pulling her legs up under herself. She was completely caught off guard when Keith brought his face to hers and..did the unthinkable and kissed her.

Mehi let out a surprised squeak as all the air escaped her lungs and she stared at him. She was so surprised she almost slipped off the bed and onto the floor. Luckily she stopped her fall by throwing her arms around his neck and holding on for life as she steadied herself again. She was rather surprised that she hadn't actually panicked but, she really hadn't minded. How was she going to let him know that she wasn't freaking out right now? After all her blush had just increased in temperature by about ten degrees and on top of that, she couldn't believe she was still so darn close to him.