AN: I am the authoress formerly known as kat tru; unfortunately I am unable to access that account so I'll be putting my work under this penname now. It has been a long time since my first foray into writing Christy fan fiction, Unseen Scene as kat tru, and while many asked for a continuation of that story and I have thought about it, so far the inspiration has not come; maybe someday it will. This is an idea that has been with me for a very long time; and now finally I have at least "gotten down on paper", so to speak, the beginning of it. It is an AU on Christy, using the TV series. But rather than starting back in Christy's time this first chapter kept bugging me to be written; saying that the whole thing needed to start here. I do not have everything set in stone yet of what shall happen, but all I know is that it is going to be one heck of a ride…
Disclaimer: I do not own Christy or anything therein; they are the property of the Marshall-LeSourd family.
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The Paths We Make
Chapter 1: Invtitation
Invitation
By Shel Silverstein
If you are a dreamer, come in,
If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,
A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer…
It you're a pretender, come sit by my fire
For we have some flax-golden tales to spin.
Come in!
Come in!
Thomas Mulligan was not sure what to make of it when his girlfriend of three years invited him to her family reunion.
"It'll be fun!" Maggie had said enthusiastically.
He was not so sure. Maggie had not even introduced him to her parents yet and now he was about to be inundated with at least one side of her entire family.
As he steered his SUV along the winding dirt road – if you could really call it a road since it was mostly overgrown by weeds and was obviously scarcely used – he wondered why her family insisted on having the reunion so far out in the middle of nowhere.
Maggie had been peering out the windshield when suddenly her arm shot up, pointing ahead of them and quickly said, "There!" She was pointing to a turnoff area where many other vehicles were parked. "We park there and walk the rest of the way."
Tom did as she instructed. "How far is it from here?" he asked as they climbed out.
"A mile, maybe less." She began pulling the items the brought out of the back of the vehicle.
His eyebrows shot up and he eyed the large cooler, picnic basket and two folding chairs they had, along with a few smaller items in two backpacks.
"Isn't that kind of far to haul all of these things?"
Maggie had already put her backpack on her back, picked up the basket and one of the chairs; she glanced over her shoulder at him as she headed toward the trail. "Oh, come on, Tom! Where's your sense of adventure?" She turned back around to face the trail. "I know for a fact that in 1911, when there wasn't a proper road, two 18 year old women walked all the way from El Pano to where we are going, which is seven miles by the way. And half the way they were fighting a rain storm!"
Tom stared after his girlfriend for a couple of moments before finally hiking his backpack further up his shoulders, tucking the other chair under his arm and picking up the handle for the cooler to pull it on its wheels.
The trail was little used but still obvious enough that you would not accidentally leave its path. Every once in a while Maggie would point something out to him, a type of plant and its medicinal uses, or an animal, and at one point a very old and rundown cabin that she told him had been home to some of her ancestors somewhere along the line. Over the years Tom had learned that Maggie's family had kept and unusually close track of their family tree and in very close contact with far extended members of their family, even very old close family friends. He knew that Maggie, off the top of her head could list off what probably amounted to about 99% of her ancestor, relations and family friends dating back around 100 years. Maggie had explained that while a smaller portion of her family would have at least annual get-togethers, a reunion like this one only occurred every five years. She had been able to talk of little else for months; Tom had heard enough names and relationships that his head was still spinning. He had always known how important Maggie's family was to her, but he had not realized how much so until she began talking about the reunion.
She had stopped a few feet ahead of him on the path and waited until he caught up; then began walking beside him. "Stop worrying so much!" She bumped her shoulder against his, grinning. "My family's gonna love you!"
Tom managed a weak smile.
Moments later the path broke through the trees into a field. There were several buildings around them, including what looked like a church. And all around tables were set up with food, pictures, items from days gone by; people were milling around, talking and laughing. Children ran in between the adults, playing games; many of the toys they used were old fashioned, including a hoop and stick, marbles, a cup and ball-on-a-string; some were working on crafts projects being taught by older children or adults. There were cries of welcome when the pair were noticed and many came over to hug Maggie and be introduced to Tom. His head was soon reeling with names, faces and relationships. Maggie was saddened to learn that her parents and brothers were running late, but she shook it off and, grinning, led her boyfriend by the hand over to an old woman in a wheelchair.
She brought them to a stop in front of the woman who looked to be in her 90's or so. "Hi, Granny Alice." Maggie leaned over and kissed the old woman's cheek.
"Granny Alice's" wrinkled face spread into a wide smile, her eyes sparkling brightly. "Well Little Maggie, as I live and breath! How are ya dear heart?"
"I'm wonderful, Granny." She turned to Tom, pulling him forward slightly. "Granny Alice, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend, Thomas Mulligan. Tom, this is my great-great aunt, Alice Spenser."
He nervously reached out his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am."
Alice laughed creakily as she took his hand and tugged on it to pull him closer, which he acquiesced to; allowing her to pull him into a hug. "Now, no need to be so formal, young man." She released him enough in her fragile embrace to look him in they eye. "Ya be the first boy that Maggie's ever brought home to us!"
Her great-great niece blushed and rolled her eyes. "Granny…"
Alice released Tom waving a hand at the young woman. "Now, no need to get all embarrassed, dear one, it's good ya bein' to picky."
Maggie tried to hide the ever darkening color of her cheeks; she cleared her throat as she slipped her hand through the crook in Tom's elbow. "I was about to take Tom over to the pictures and tell him about our family."
"Wonderful idea, sweets!" The old woman waved her hands, shooing them off.
"She's a very interesting lady, your great-great aunt," Tom said once they were far enough out of hearing range.
"Granny Alice is the oldest living member of our family. She's the only one who can still remember the people I am going to tell you about."
"So you were serious about telling me of your family?"
Maggie looked at him in surprise. "Of course I am. Even if they weren't my ancestors I would still love their stories because they are just so remarkable!" She bit her lip, a little shyly. "It has always been my favorite part of these reunions; hearing and telling these stories."
She brought him to a stop in front of the very long table, that was covered in photographs and sketches; they seemed to be in chronological order with towards the end pictures of people here at the reunion. She had stopped them so that they were looking down at the first image. It was a photograph of three young women who appeared to be in their late teens. They were standing on a beach, all looking rather wet and ragged, but all were grinning widely. The one on the left was the tallest; she had long light colored hair with riotous curls, her eyes sparkled with mischief. The woman in the middle was the shortest with slightly darker hair that fell in stringy bits around her face; her eyes shone with a warmth and kindness. The third woman seemed to be right between the other two in height; she had dark hair that managed to be the least ruffled; her eyes glowed with a quiet shyness.
Tom's eyes ran over each face, observing them closely. "Who are they?"
"Heather MacNeill, Christy Huddleston and Melissa Atteridge." Maggie was smiling down at the three women fondly. "They were around 17 or 18 when this was taken. They had met in high school and became best friends. Their friendship was considered odd because they were all so different. But in the end there was one thing that they all had in common, even if they didn't realize it for a long time." She looked at her love. "They had adventure in their souls, and a great desire to help others." Her gaze returned to the photograph. "I often wonder if any of them realized how remarkable their lives would turn out, or how their stories would touch the lives of their descendents…" She looked back up at him. "Would you like to hear their story?"
Tom, who had become intrigued by her words, nodded.
Maggie grinned before looking back at the photo. "Now, where to begin?" She pressed her lips together. "Hmm…Perhaps not at their school years…but maybe…on a very special train ride that Heather and Christy took after their first semester of college…One that would take them from Ashville, where Christy was born and they both attended school, to this very ground we stand on, where Heather was born and they both would begin the adventures of their lives…"
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Well, I hope that that was alright writing-wise and with me starting in modern times, sort of following how the book was written and the movies were done. In the next chapter we'll actually get to see our old friends. Please let me know what you think!