Chapter 4
They continued to look through the photo albums. Another daughter, 'Gladys Ann' was born in 1963. As the years progressed, they could see the children growing and themselves getting older. Hurricane Cleo in 1964 toppled some trees in the backyard with the photos showing part of the fence gone too. Artie's hair was thinning, and Maddie's hair styles changed somewhat. Other people, unknown to them, started appearing in photos; they might have been neighbors or new friends but the descriptions didn't say except the occasional name.
By 1967 a brace appeared on one of Gladys' legs which became a mainstay for many years to come. Jayne had started school, Artie got a promotion and wore a suit now, there were a couple new cars, and of course family vacations. One photo showed a birthday cake leaning over to one side like the Tower of Pisa with a caption 'Jayne helps bake Robert's birthday cake'. Jayne wasn't happy, but everyone else in the picture was laughing and leaning at the same angle in sympathy with the cake. This photo marked the point where the pictures were now in color.
"You didn't tell me you got a new camera!" Maddie mocked.
"I was going to keep it a surprise as long as I could" Artie said with a wink.
Robert and Artie starting going to Boy Scout meetings; one photo had them both in uniform so Artie must have been a leader of some sort. Gladys started school. The opening of something called Disney World in 1971 was heralded by family photos as well.
"It looks like a ride park of some sort" Maddie said. "It's probably related to those Disney cartoons somehow."
Everyone continued to get older, Jayne joined the Girl Scouts and Robert played a couple of different sports in high school. Occasionally a report card would sneak into the album; Robert and Gladys got good grades while Maddie struggled. Artie put on some weight, and Maddie's red hair started changing color a bit as she must have fought against the first signs of gray. The pictures started to break down into three basic groups: Robert's activities, family functions and Gladys' successes over her leg, including at least two surgeries according to pictures of her with a cast.
Time marched on and the photos caught glimpses of the parade. The backyard went through several makeovers, the house appeared to have been reroofed, and there was even a pet snake named 'Bella' that belonged to someone. Robert graduated high school and went on to college to study to be an engineer, while it appeared Jayne dropped out of school and got married, and Gladys graduated and started studies to be a nurse. Jayne got divorced with a photo of her ceremoniously throwing some golf clubs in the trash. Robert graduated with a degree as an engineer and went to work for the Orlando Sanitation Department too; a picture showed proud father and son in suits for his first day on the job.
After a few hair changes Jayne got married again. Robert got engaged, and Gladys graduated and put on her whites for the first time. Maddie's mother was still going strong and could often be seen hugging her grandchildren. Jayne divorced for a second time, and Robert had a beautiful wedding to a blond girl; Maddie had thrown in the towel and was letting her hair go gray; it still looked wonderful, Artie thought.
"I'm getting hungry" Artie said. "Shall we explore the kitchen and see what wonderful food there is in the 21st century?"
"Sure, sounds good to me! I hope we don't eat pills for our food now."
They got up and walked into the kitchen. Artie didn't recognize most of the appliances, but they marveled at the refrigerator that served drinks and ice through the door. "I never dreamed of an icebox that could do that" Artie said. With all the wondrous gadgets at their hands, they ended up taking cold sandwiches back to the living room to continue the journey through the photo albums.
With some food in their system they were ready for the next big shock. There was a photo of Robert with his wife, who now had a bump of her own. 'Betty expecting' was the caption.
"Artie, we're going to be grandparents before we're even parents!"
"No Maddie, we did it in the right order. We're just getting it all at one time is all."
The next pages revealed that Robert and Betty had twins, Jayne may have gotten married again and Gladys stood next to 'Chuck' in several photos. The vacation photos were now mostly of Artie and Maddie, with occasional guest appearances by some of the kids; Gladys got married to Chuck.
A few photos later showed Artie's retirement after 35 years on the job. He had a party hat on while lying in a hammock. 'No more work' it was captioned. The next photo had him fixing the house gutter while Maddie and her mom looked on. It was simply labeled 'New Bosses'.
"I see I didn't stay in the hammock long. Time to take care of all those little projects I guess" said Artie with a sigh. Then a thought occurred to him. "I wonder if your mother came to live with us?"
"We probably have the room. Had the room. You know what I mean."
Gladys and Chuck had a child to join Robert's three, and they were all gathered around Maddie's mom for a "Happy 90th" photo. It looked like the photo was taken in a care facility or retirement home of some sort. It was dated 1997.
"Still hanging in there" Maddie said hopefully.
In 1999 the photos took a turn as Maddie started appearing in a wheelchair and later always in bed.
"Honey, I'm sorry. I don't know what happened but it doesn't look good" Artie said.
"That's okay dear, we know I make it to 2001. I just wish I knew if I was sick or had an accident. What about my mom?" That question was answered somewhat when a photo showed Maddie's mom celebrating the New Year in 2001 with Artie and Jayne.
That was the end of the books.
