Growing pt.12
Adam put his boots on and then his coat. Junior did the same.
"Where are you going, Junior?" Elizabeth asked.
"I have chores," Junior answered.
Junior followed his father outside and they did their chores.
"Daddy, I'm all done," Junior said as he walked into the barn.
"I'll be done in a second," Adam answered.
"Ok."
Cece and Racer ran in and Junior played with them for a minute.
"Ok, I'm all done. Let's go inside." Adam said.
"Ok," Junior answered. Adam picked Junior up and carried him inside. Adam warmed Junior up and then they waited for the rest of the family to arrive. Celia arrived and picked Brian up.
"Can I have a kiss from you?" Celia asked. Brian shook his head and smiled. Junior ran up smiling.
"I'll give you kisses. I'll... I'll give you mine's and his." Junior answered.
"Ok."
Celia picked Junior up and they hugged. Junior gave Celia two kisses and then buried his head in Celia's neck.
"Oh, I'm gonna miss you," Celia whispered.
"Why will you miss me?" Junior wondered.
"I finished college and I'm a nurse now. I've got my passport and everything. I'm gonna go to other countries and help people. I'm gonna go do some good."
"Will you visit us?"
"Of course I will. You guys are my family. I love you very much."
"I love you too."
Celia kissed Junior's forehead and sighed.
An hour later, they decided to open presents. Junior opened his and smiled at the new pair of PJs.
"Thank you." Junior gasped as he held them up.
"Who got them for you?" Adam wondered.
"Um... grandma?"
"Which one?"
"Grandma Beth?"
"That's right, Junior. I made them by hand. They might be a little bit big, but you'll grow into them." Elizabeth explained. Brian opened his gift and saw that he also had PJs. He smiled and held them up.
"They'll work great on cold winter nights," Kate answered.
Junior climbed onto Kate's lap and hugged her close. Kate opened her present and saw that it was a new dress.
"Oh, mom, it's beautiful." Kate gasped. The dress was simple. It was light blue at the top and changed to forest green towards the bottom.
"You welcome, honey. I figured you've had enough hand me downs. I made this a couple of months ago when we had the money. I saw the colors and thought of you." Elizabeth explained. Junior touched it and smiled up at Kate.
"It's pretty," Junior said.
"You should wear it to church on Sunday," Adam suggested. "Show those ladies how special you are."
Kate smiled and shook her head. Junior and Brian received toys and clothes and were happy with what they received. When they were done, the women went to the kitchen and made lunch while the men and boys cleaned up in the living room. Adam put some wrapping paper on Brian's head and Brian giggled and pulled it off. He crumpled it up and put it in the bag with the rest of the trash.
"Here's more trash," Junior said as he put it in the bag.
"Is that all?" Adam asked as he looked around.
"Yeah. Can you help me with my toy barn?"
"Sure."
They grabbed the box with the barn in it and they opened it and pulled out all the pieces.
"Let's put this together on the coffee table," Adam said.
"Ok," Junior answered. They placed all the pieces onto the coffee table and together, they put the barn together.
Kate walked in and watched the two and she smiled. She watched as Brian tried to help and Adam picked him up and held him while helping Junior.
"Where does this piece go?" Junior asked.
"It's for the roof. We don't need it just yet." Adam answered.
"Ok."
A little while later, they finished the barn and Junior unpackaged all the toy animals for the barn. Brian looked at them and Junior handed him a cow. They played till it was time to eat. As they sat at the table, Junior could see that everyone was slightly sad. He looked up at Kate and he touched her hand. Kate smiled at him sadly and Junior sighed.
"Come on, guys. It's not like I'm gonna be gone forever. I'll write and maybe even call whenever I can. We all knew that this was gonna happen. Let's let it happen." Celia said. "It's not a reason to be sad but to be happy. Who knows what I'll be able to do. Just think about all the things I'll be able to do. All the people I can help."
Everyone smiled at Celia and the mood was much better. When they had finished eating, everyone pitched in and helped clean up and then they sat in the living room and talking. Brian quickly fell asleep on Kate's lap, but Junior didn't. He was listening to the family around him as they talked.
"Patrick and Laura are getting a divorce. Patrick is just too much. She'll be moving back home to Arkansas with the children." Mary said.
"Good. Maybe this will be a slap in the face for Patrick." Adam sighed.
"Daddy, what's divorce?" Junior wondered.
"It's where a married couple signs an agreement to no longer be married."
"Oh."
SOon, Junior fell asleep and when he woke, it was to his father getting up and carrying him. He looked up at Adam who smiled.
"DO you want cookies or some pie?" Adam wondered. Junior nodded and smiled. They walked into the kitchen and had dessert.
"Want a sugar cookie?" Kate asked. Junior took one and ate it. He made a face but still finished his cookie. "Did you like it?"
"No," Junior answered. "Sorry."
"It's ok, Junior. At least you tried it and were honest."
They all ate dessert and the boys played till everyone left. When they had left, Kate walked over and sat down on the floor with them. Brian walked over to Kate and started pushing her. Kate tickled him and Brian laughed and cooed. She grabbed Junior and started tickling him.
"Stop, mommy. No tickles." Junior exclaimed. Adam walked over and picked Junior up.
"Let's tickle mommy," Adam suggested.
"Ok."
They sit down and Adam moves next to Kate and starts tickling her. Junior and Brian join in and Kate laughs till she can't anymore. When they were done, Kate and Adam got the boys ready for bed and they cleaned up the house.
"I want to stay up." Junior moaned.
"You always want to stay up, but it's late and you need your rest," Kate answered. Junior groaned as Kate put him in his bed. Kate rubbed Junior's belly and then kissed his forehead. "I love you."
"I love you too."
"Go to sleep."
Junior huffed but did as he was told. Kate and Adam put Brian to bed and then they went back downstairs and went to bed.
Soon, it was 1958 and with the new year, brought a lot of good and a lot of bad. January came and went quietly and softly and February brought troubles of its own. Brian's birthday was a good day for everyone. It was the celebration of Brian's first year on the earth and everyone spoiled him with gifts and love.
"Where does time go? It seemed like yesterday, I was giving birth to Junior." Kate sighed.
"Time goes way too fast. Soon, the boys will be men." Adam answered.
"But not for many years."
"Yeah."
They kissed and watched as Junior and Brian played together and giggled.
Celia spent as much time as she could with her family until the day she left. It was a bittersweet day for everyone as they said goodbye to Celia.
"We'll miss you," Mary said.
"I know. I will too." Celia sighed. The sisters hugged and then Celia hugged Adam. "Be good, little brother. I don't want to hear how troublesome you are."
"Hey, I always behave myself," Adam answered. "Be safe and take good care of yourself."
"I will."
Kate and Celia hugged and then Celia hugged Brian and Junior close.
"We'll miss you, aunt Celia," Junior mumbled.
"Oh, I know you will. I'll miss you guys too. I'll visit when I can and I promise to write." Celia answered.
"I wish I could write."
"One day, you will."
They hugged again and then Celia hugged Jane and James.
"We're very proud of you, Celia," James said.
"Thanks," Celia replied.
"The Lord will protect you and take care of you. But we will miss you." Jane sighed.
"So will I."
They hugged and everyone watched as Celia walked onto the bus and they watched as it drove away.
"I miss her already," Junior said as Adam picked him up.
"So do I." Adam sighed. "But she's gonna save lives and help a lot of people in a lot of places."
"I know."
They went home and Adam went to work at the mine. They were working in a section of the mine and they could hear it groan and become unstable.
"We're not gonna be able to work in this section for very long. It's unstable." Tom sighed.
"Yeah. I don't like it either." Adam agreed. "Let's get out of here and then we can close it up."
"Agreed."
They started to walk out of the area when the area in front of them collapsed.
"Get back!" Adam exclaimed as the two ran back the other way.
When it was over, Tom and Adam looked at the pile of rubble in front of them.
"We weren't far from the main tunnel and that section was reinforced," Tom said.
"But we're still trapped." Adam sighed.
"Let's try to move some of these rocks."
They moved some rocks but it wasn't enough.
On the outside, everyone knew about the cave in and soon, they called Kate.
"Is he ok?" Kate wondered.
"We don't know, ma'am. We'll know soon." The man on the phone answered.
"Thank you for letting me know."
Kate hung up and looked at Junior and Brian.
"I'm taking you to your grandparents and then I'm going up to the mine. There's been an accident." Kate said as she grabbed the boys' coats and boats and got them bundled up.
"Is daddy ok?" Junior wondered.
"I don't know."
"I want to go with you."
"No, Junior. It's too dangerous."
"I still want to."
"No. You're gonna go to your grandparents where you'll be safe and taken care of."
"What about Racer and Cece?"
"They'll be fine here."
"Ok."
Kate took the boys to the car and put them in. Cece ran over with Racer and they jumped into the car. Kate sighed and shook her head. She got in the car and drove to her parents. When she arrived, she saw them outside waiting.
"We heard about the accident," Jonathan said. "Your mother will watch the boys and I'll go with you."
Elizabeth picked up Junior and Brian and the dogs got out and roamed around. Jonathan and Kate drove away and Elizabeth took the boys and the dogs inside.
"Let's have a snack," Elizabeth said as she sat the boys at the table. She gave the boys a snack and the two ate quietly and looked out the windows.
Kate and Jonathan arrived and saw Jane and James waiting.
"Do they know anything?" Kate wondered.
"Not yet. They're still trying to get through. They say that it doesn't look too bad, but they don't know how many cave-ins there could be in that tunnel." James explained. "They'll find him and he'll be ok."
TBC