abby baker, billy cash, cheryl ducroy, and dave elwood met in preschool and remained close friends.
as time went by they became increasingly inseparable.
they called themselves “the four o’s”. most people who knew them, if they thought about it at all, assumed that that was short for “the four amigos”.
but it was actually short for “the four ordinaries”.
as abby, billy, cheryl, and dave had grown up, they realized that everyone in the world - at least everybody they knew - wanted to be rich and famous, to be great artists, to change and conquer the world, or any combination of these things. and not only did they want to be these things themselves, their parents wanted them to be these things also, and strongly encouraged them and spared no expense in encouraging them.
the secret dream of the four o’s was just to be ordinary folks, to have steady jobs, pay their taxes, and raise families.
the dream began to unravel rather quickly on an unseasonably warm winter day in their senior year at state college.
abby was meeting dave at the gang’s favorite spot - a mcdonalds just off campus, frequented mostly by the local townspeople and not students. the other two were in class.
abby arrived first and ordered her usual - a crispy chicken sandwich, a small fries, and a large diet coke.
as she was putting the order down on the table - a table beside the window that members of the gang always took if it was available - her phone vibrated in her jacket pocket.
who can that be, she wondered. she took the phone out of her pocket and the caller i d said - brown, terence.
uncle terence? why would he be calling her? it could not be anything good.
she answered it. hello, uncle terence?
yes, abby, this is uncle terence, whom you have not seen in eleven years, since you and your mom spent a month in my cabin in the mountains, where i have lived as a hermit for thirty-three years, as i do not approve of so many aspects of modern civiliziation.
well, that is all well and good, uncle terence, abby replied, but, what, if you do not mind my asking, is the reason for this particular call?
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