Our front lawn

My nephew got a new job in Florida that starts on Monday of NEXT WEEK. As he lived in NH, he had very little time to get ready for his move to Florida. Yesterday, for an overnight stay, he stopped by at our house with his girlfriend in his Toyota Camry that was packed to the ceiling. 

We took them out for dinner at Brava! (an Italian restaurant chain at the mall). Nephew was really excited about his new job, also excited about being able to avoid a harsh winter in NH. He is a very talkative person, so of course, he talked nonstop. 

After getting home, the visit turned horriby wrong. Apparently, Nephew and his girlfriend slipped outside without our knowledge and they accidentally got locked out. We had already gone to bed. Newby wore a sleeping mask and the doorbell light was to my back (we had moved our bed to another wall a while ago, but we did not move the doorbell light...a very unfortunate mistake), so we did not see the doorbell light flashing. When I got up at 4:30 AM to let the dogs out, I realized their car was gone. At first, I thought they decided to get an early start on the road, but when I checked the guest room, I realized their stuff was still there. So I woke Newby up and asked what was going on. He said they wanted to go to the drug store for something for the girl's cold, but somehow he missed the fact that they never came home. Then he checked his iPhone and found a text message from Nephew saying that they were locked out, they were going to find a hotel, and would see us in the morning before they left for Florida. 

Oh, I was totally mortified, totally appalled, and very, very upset about the whole thing. And I was totally grateful and impressed that he had a good head on his shoulder (he's in his very early 20's) and knew to get out of a bind quickly. He kept insisting it was no big deal, the bed was very comfortable, they finally a good night's sleep in days, and that the room came with free breakfast...

Before I knew it, we found ourselves bidding the young couple goodbye and wishing them a wonderful new life in a tropical state...sigh!