Postby jennifer » Wed Jul 09, 2014 4:28 am
I actually had this part written and sent to my proof reader before I got part 3 back. This was in my inbox this morning so I am posting it now. I hope everyone enjoys it.
Part 4:
Our outing started very peacefully. I shifted my weight back in the seat and let the harness take up my weight. I was anchored down pretty tightly. I gave my arms a few good pulls against the straps and quickly found I couldn't move. I could still move my legs back and forth a little bit despite them being bound together by the ankle cuffs. Still as securely as I was anchored to the seat that didn't do me much good.
Amy was sitting in the back seat with her headphones on. She had taken off her winter hat, but the vehicle was warm enough that she would be alright without it. My parents were speaking back and forth about the plans for the week ahead while I listened. I offered a comment now and again. Scott sat there in silence unable to participate in the conversation because of the bandana and scarf I had put over his mouth. I suppose I was a little more comfortable than my brother was. But after all he had asked for it. Besides there wasn't much either of us could do about it now.
Scott moved now and again testing the limits of how I had him restrained. However, he couldn't make any progress towards freeing himself. His hands were anchored far enough apart that they couldn't reach each other or his face. Even if he could with the mittens I had put over his hands, I doubted he would be able to do much to improve his situations. Still, my brother wasn't struggling much and he seemed pretty content to leave the situation as it was. I heard some clicking behind me. That was when all the trouble started. I couldn't verify this visually, because I couldn't turn around far enough to see the seat behind where I was sitting. I heard a few clicks then it started.
There was the sound of a guitar playing and then it followed with lyrics. "There's a hole in the bucket dear Ida dear Ida. There's a hole in the bucket dear Ida a hole."
I recognized the voice instantly when a middle aged woman joined in and sang the next verse of the song. The tape my little sister was listening too was a collection of silly songs that we had loved when we were younger. Apparently she had gotten to the end of the first side of the tape. Amy in her ability had opened up the tape player, turned the cassette over and managed to start it again. She was a very knowledgeable 4 year old. Unfortunately, while she had been doing that she had also knocked her headphones off of her head and onto the floor. The tape player Mary had gotten my sister had a speaker as well as a head phone jack and Amy was sharing her less than wonderful music with us.
At first I didn't say anything. I figured that she had taken off her head phones accidentally while flipping the tape over. I assumed that she would put them back on and all would be well. We listened as the tape when through that song and the next two on it before Scott finally piped up. He made quite a few muffled grunts through the gag I had put on him earlier in an attempt to communicate that he wanted my little sister to keep her music to herself. However, the sound coming from Amy's tape player was louder than anything he was able to make.
"Amy could you put your headphones back on please? I don't think Scott likes your silly songs." I shouted backwards at my little sister.
"Cannot reach. . . on floor." I heard her reply as she was straining against her car seats straps trying to reach the headphones that had fallen on the floor 3 to 4 feet away from the closest part of her body.
Then, I heard another thud. I wasn't sure what it was at first, but then I saw it as my father brought the van to a halt for red light. Amy had dropped the tape player in the process of trying to reach down to get the head phones. It was still playing at a fairly loud volume level as it had slid across the floor and was now situated off to the side of the seat Scott and I currently occupied.
"Mom, Amy dropped her tape player. Could we stop so you can turn it off?" I asked
"No dear, we're not stopping for a while yet. You and Scott used to love that tape when you were her age. It's not going to kill you to listen to it for half an hour." My mother replied.
The next 25 minutes seemed like an eternity. There wasn't anything I could do about the situation. Amy's tape kept blurting out annoying songs and there wasn't a darn thing I could do about it. The tape player was less than 2 feet from where I was sitting. However, there was no way I could reach it under my current circumstances. I was strapped into the seat too tightly and I couldn't get a leg over to try and kick it off since my feet were bound together. I pulled hard on the wrist straps trying to free one of my hands. I couldn't even put my hands over my ears. I could tell from Scott's reaction that he was about as happy about it as I was.
Finally, the tape stopped playing and the recorder's auto stop ended our misery when it came to an end. Amy was a little unhappy that her music was gone. However, our mother wasn't going to stop to relieve us of our situation so she wasn't going to stop for a 4 year old throwing a tantrum in the back seat either. After 5 or 6 minutes of crying, Amy laid back in the car seat and quieted down. I think sometime later she fell asleep. With the worst part of the trip over I decided to follow suit of my little sister and catch a little sleep myself. I was comfortable and there wasn't a whole lot else to do.
. . . . . . .
I don't know how long I was out of it truthfully. We were not near our destination yet when I woke up. My situation was exactly the same as it had been when I had closed my eyes. However, my parents and Scott were having a quieted conversation. I honestly don't remember what they were discussing and I looked over at him silently without interjecting. My brothers arms were still bound to his sides quite securely. However, in the time that I had taken a brief rest he had managed to dislodge the bandana and scarf from his mouth somehow and was now talking quietly with my parents.
The last hour and a half of the ride was pretty uneventful. Amy was asleep. Scott and I couldn’t move enough to itch our noses. My parents didn't have much going on either. I remember when we made the final turn off on the snowy road. My parents lived out in the rural country, sometimes the county didn't get around to plowing the road they lived on. So, my grandfather would get out his tractor and clear it for his neighbors. However, right now that hadn't been done either. Still there had been more than enough traffic in the last few hours to clear the way enough for us to get through.
As we turned into the driveway, there were the normal vehicles posted around the place and a few that I didn't recognize. I had known there would be a few extra guests this year. My father found a nice patch of driveway not too far from the end of the sidewalk. He brought the van to a halt there and turned off the ignition. It was already midafternoon by the time we had arrived. I looked off to the left side of the vehicle and saw several figures approaching us down the shoveled sidewalk. I knew one of them instinctively. The other two I had seen before, but I didn't know them on a first name basis.
My mother after, undoing her own seatbelt had come around the side of the van and opened the sliding door. She had got straight passed Scott and myself and started helping my little sister get out of her car seat. My father on the other hand climbed out of the vehicle and circled around to greet the lead figure in the procession approaching us with a big hug. Amy was tearing herself away from her car seat with excitement trying to meet the ladies coming out the van. Scott and I were stuck.
"Grandma, Grandma!" My little sister exclaimed running up and clinging to the old woman's leg.
"Well, my child look how you've grown." The woman said looking down at her granddaughter. She knelt down breaking away from my father and returned the child's embrace.
"How is he?" My mother asked as the woman lifted Amy up onto her hip.
"He is as well as can be expected at this point. Stubborn as ever and in high spirits. Thank you so much for making the journey. I am sorry Sean and Mary had to miss this. But I understand." My grandmother explained.
"Well, what can we help you carry in dear?" The second woman in the procession asked.
"I need to get my two oldest out of the van and they can do most of the lifting. But if you want to help there is plenty in the back. Lots of presents this year Karen. It's good to see you." My mother commented.
The third woman in the line took a bag from my father my mother and the woman I will refer to as Karen came over and started to help Scott and myself extricate ourselves from our current situation. It was a slow and long process undoing everything. For some reason, my mother left my hands for last. If she had undone them first, I probably could have freed myself in a few minutes.
"Sheesh you have these two strapped in good and tight. I don't think they could be safer." Karen commented helping us get out of the harness.
"I had nothing to do with it. My eldest got them the harnesses for Christmas and they strapped themselves in completely." My mother explained.
"Well it's good to know they are safe at least. I am guessing that it was a peaceful ride down for you folks then ?" The woman asked my mother.
"Oh when you use a configuration like this it's always a peaceful ride. No back seat fighting, or arguing. Just a nice blissful ride down." My mother explained.
Out of the vests, Scott and I took a few minutes to stretch. We had been tied down for quite a duration on the long drive down. However, we didn't get long before my mother was handing us luggage and we were stuck making trips back and forth up to the house. Our first trip in was a real sight to behold. While the ladies helped us with our first trip the remainder of the unload fell to Scott and myself. They had to return to their duties in preparing Christmas dinner. It was no small feat cooking a large meal for 27 people. Scott and I made our way into the living room to drop off the gifts we were carrying under the tree.
My grandmother had gotten a 12 foot tall live tree fresh cut from her woods nearby. She never had an artificial one in her life. It was the biggest I had ever seen. The whole house was decked out in the spirit of the season inside and out. I think she had used every Christmas decoration she owned and asked her company to bring a few more. I hadn't ever seen it this decorated in all my life. Scott and I wanted to put our presents under the tree, but we couldn't get anywhere near it. There was a mountain of presents and we just added to the huge pile. It was really overkill for Christmas.
I had mixed feelings about everything I was seeing. On the one hand it was the biggest Christmas celebration I had ever seen. On the other, I knew the reason for it deep down. This was probably going to be my Grandfather's final one. The man was dying and everyone here, with the possible exception of my little sister knew it. He had cancer, it had caught up with him in his old age. He had lost a sister to it a few years earlier. The condition was inoperable and my grandfather refused to seek any chemo treatment for it. He had watched his sister waste away on that poison and dye miserable in the hospital. Instead he had come home and decided to just make the most of the time he had left. It wouldn't turn out to be as long as any of us wanted. The following May we would bury him.
I was sad my older siblings missed this holiday. I understand why they had, but it still hurt. At the time though my Grandfather's condition was buried deep in the back of our minds between everything else that was going on at the moment. I apologize to dump that, but as I said when I started this story there was a lot going on in the background and I wanted all of you to be aware of the circumstances. It was on our second trip out to the van that my brother spoke to me.
"Jen, help me get these mittens off. I cannot grab hardly anything with them on and I don't want to have to bite them to free my hands." Scott explained.
I help my brother slip out of the thumb less mittens and we began making more trips back and forth to the house. One the third one we brought in the first part of our own luggage.
"You young ones will be down the basement this year. The house is packed and we decided all you kiddos are going to be sharing down there. There is pliantly of heat. I hope that is alright. Get your stuff unloaded then get washed up. We're going to be eating in about 45 minutes." She explained while she was checking several post on the stove.
Scott and I followed our Grandmother's instructions and took our belongings down to the basement of the house. It was a larger room set up rather comfortably. The main room had an area with carpet, a television set and some older furniture off in one corner of the basement. There were a few walls set up to divide the space further into several small rooms that branched off from the main room. The one closest to the stairs housed the hot water heater, furnace, and my Grandmother's laundry room. There was a large room for storage off to one side and a third room that served as a play room for my parents when they were younger. At the far end was a door that lead into the way to the root cellar and where my grandmother's pantry and freezers were.
Aside from the small living room area there was also a large open area with a ping pong table set up and half a kitchen against one wall. It had a small fridge, several cabinets, a sink and a stove. Scott and I deposited our stuff over in the area by the carpeting and television. The main room was huge and could accommodate 15 people comfortably. There was also a full bathroom off to the far corner walled off for privacy. After we made a few more trips back and forth, we began to shed our outer layers and start getting washed up for Christmas dinner.
We had quite a spread and the women of the house had got to great lengths to prepare this feast. The main dishes were turkey, ham and roast beef. We also had salad, mashed potatoes, fresh backed rolls, several vegetables, stuffing and several other sides. Desert we had cake, Christmas cookies, brownies, peanut brittle, candy and pies. I don't think anybody went hungry. The dining room was too full with all the adults. So, the children would be eating at the kitchen table. My grandmother had both leaves in her table and had set up two card tables just to accommodate the adults. The whole of us gathered in the living room and my little sister got the honor of saying grace.
Amy ended up reciting something she had learned in Sunday School, but it served the purpose it needed to and most of the adults complimented her on the effort. Afterwards everyone found a seat and sat down to being eating. The children's table was well populated. Scott, Amy and myself were the ones from our family. Kyle and Tom were both absent this year, for reasons similar to my eldest brother. Lucy was still around. There were a few other new faces as well. There was a boy named Mitch with short auburn hair and blue eyes. He was a tall well-built lad a year or two my senior. There were also his two younger brothers Timmy and Alex. They shared his blue eyes but had blond hair after their mother.
The boys were twins around 10 or 11 years old at the time of this story. Like me they were a little shorter for their age. Both boys sported a face full of red freckles and wore their hair long. Timmy had his down to his shoulders almost in a rather unkempt mess. Alex actually wore his tied back in a short pony tail. It was a strange sight, but it seemed to be their defining style. Both of the boys were wearing black jeans and the same ugly Christmas sweater. You could tell they were twins and their mother's wanted you to know it. The trio were the sons of one of my parent's cousins. Give the situation the way that it was there was some extended family spending this week with us.
Despite their appearance, all three of the boys were reasonably well mannered for their age. The final occupant at our table for Christmas Dinner was my Grandfather. He had made his way down from the room he now spent a good deal of his time residing in on the second floor of the house. He was dressed nicely and carried a cane with him. Still it hardly touched the ground. He looked strong and you wouldn't have known about his condition unless someone told you. His face bore a warm smile as he took a seat between Alex and Amy at the table.
The 8 of us shared a wonderful meal and talked of things to come over the following week. Amy was very excited to see him as most of us were. We left his condition out of the conversation. It wasn't what any of us wanted to talk about and it kept it hidden from my little sister. Something that we all wanted to do. I wasn't sure if Timmy and Alex knew either, but it didn't matter. We left the matter unspoken. We shared one of the most wonderful meals I ever remember all with good cheer and happiness.
Afterwards, Lucy and I helped clean up and work on the mountain of dishes from the meal. Most of the boys headed off to clown around down the basement. But that was alright with us. Our role in the family as better defined. Mitch followed my Grandfather outside to help cut and get some wood for the living room fire place. The old man was stubborn about taking any help. However, the older boy probably did most of the work allowing my Grandfather to be useful where he could.
It was getting into the early part of the evening when everything was finished. It had been customary part of our holiday to open gifts after Christmas dinner. However, given the monumental size of the task it was decided that would have to wait another day. With the work done and the living room very full of adults exchanging holiday greetings and conversation, Lucy and I decided to be kids and headed downstairs to see what was going on. Most of the fun would be starting shortly.
I am breaking the story here as it's a good stopping point in the action. Sorry to get somewhat off topic, but it's good to have the background explained somewhat. I apologize for the mixed mood of the story, but it's important to what is going on. I hope everyone is enjoying it so far. I should be putting out parts a little quicker now. Thanks for reading.
Jennifer