I'm glad you stuck with me this far. I might even give a sneak peak for the next chapter..
Hoagie, Lucy and Nathan made their way back to the little house after almost half an hour outside, at the grave inbetween the trees.
No-one spoke whilst they walked, everyone having their minds somewhere else.
Nathan thought of his grandmother, who he never knew. He had thought the grave possesed a rugged beauty, with the simple granite stone, and the two trees standing guard.
Lucy's mind was occupied with the books she found earlyer in the basement. They intrigued her.
Why would you stuff away books like that? It was almost if her granddad didn't like to look at the books, and had stored them away to forget.
Hoagie thought about his late wife, love and mother of his child. It's not fair, he thought.
Why did she had to go so early? 20 years now, and still, I ponder that question..
Because everyone was thinking their thoughts, and no-one watched the road, Lucy slipped on a muddy spot. She shrieked, and grabbed Nathan in a futile attempt to stay upright.
The only thing she succeded in was getting both her and her brother very dirty.
"Gee, thanks Lucy. I really apriciate that." Nathan said, sarcasm lining every word.
"It wasn't my fault! The ground is slippery!" she said in her defence.
Nathan was about to tell her otherwise, when Hoagie interveined.
"It's no-once fault. Let's not waste words or dirty looks. You're both already dirty enough."
He could not help, but cackle at his own joke. When both Lucy and Nathan looked at him, he tried to explain.
"'Dirty looks?' When you both just fell in the mud?"
Both Nathan and Lucy kept staring at him.
"Nevermind..." Hoagie muttered, abit saddened that apperantly, only his daughter had inherited his sense of humor.
After they had made their way back to the cabin, Nathan and Lucy wanted to step inside.
"Wait a minute you two!" Hoagie said, his voice raised a bit, because Nathan and Lucy had ran the last stretch of land. When both of them looked back, Hoagie had caught up with them again.
"There is no way you are going inside like that. No sir. Get your boots off, and your coats. Then get to the bathroom and clean yourselfs. And try not to make my clean floor dirty, or you will be cleaning it spotless again." Hoagie said to them.
Neither Lucy nor Nathan felt like cleaning. They didn't even clean their own rooms, untill forced to by either of their parents. So they did as they granddad told them, and got to the bathroom.
Nathan did, accidentaly ofcourse, unfortunately drop a clump of mud on the floor. However, he didn't notice this at all.
Hoagie smiled weakly, when he quickly swiped up the mud, making the room look as spotless as before they left. He then proceded to the fireplace. The fire was dead, so Hoagie threw some logs togeather, and tried to ignite them.
After a couple of increasingly frustrating minutes, and even more snapped and broken matches, he finaly got the fire started.
He sat down in his favorite chair, and closed his eyes for a moment. However, the moment soon turned in a long time, for Hoagie fell asleep, in his chair before the fire.
Meanwhile, Lucy was already changing hin her room. She had showered first, beating her brother to it, and gloating to him through the locked door.
Nathan was underneath the shower, getting warm and clean again. Both Lucy's and Nathan's clothes lay next to the washing mashine, a stinky pile of rags. Or so it seemed from afar.
Haogie twisted and turned in his sleep. He seemed to have a bad dream...
Oohh.. Ah, and the sneak peak is more of a hint of sorts.
In the next chapter, we will pass into Hoagie's mind... Into his dream :)
