CH 66
From the sensors around the house, Cameron and Delilah were picking up pigs to the west. So far in the last week they had counted 30 different ones and several of the same ones coming back. The thicker trees near the lake they were using for daytime cover. And from what they saw, alligators were collecting at the banks to grab pigs when they went to get a drink and cool themselves off. The pigs were active at night, only sleeping in heavier cover and risking cooling off in the lake mid day to avoid the alligators. For all the pigs seen west of the house, not a one had been spotted on the road around the lake.
Saturday was the pig hunt. Friday night all the families around the lake got together at the Connor house. Carol visited the sheriff to let him know they would be doing the hunt. Since this was in trees and brush, no vehicles would be used, except to get to the area on the road. They would be walking a line to force the pigs to hide in the brush right by the water.
John's plan was for Delilah, Jackie, Joan, Bob, Louise and Allison to walk part way to his Mom's house, then come back through the woods by the lake spread out to drive the pigs towards the house while he, Cameron, Sarah, Martin, Peggy, JJ, Daniel, Sonya and Mark came from the road by the house in a line to keep the pigs from running away. The fence around the house would keep them from running that way. The pigs would be free to escape into the lake where the alligators were waiting.
John stressed everyone had to wear their boots and keep a close watch for snakes. He also passed out all the radios they had. Claire would be in the house at the monitors to watch everything she could to assist the hunters.
Joan suggested that Bob stay over for the night, since he was coming back in the morning anyway. She got frowned at, Bob turned red.
"JJ gets to sleep with Peggy," Joan groused.
Allison poked Joan in the shoulder. "Yeah, and after Bob sends you into orbit, then you have to be apart from him, you got real grumpy your man wasn't around."
"DO NOT want to hear that!" John announced in a plea.
Cameron and Delilah patted him on his shoulders. "They are growing up, dear."
Sarah chuckled.
"We do want everyone awake and alert, that means everyone has to get some sleep and not be busy all night," Cameron added.
The kids grinned, John rubbed his face. Sarah was enjoying this.
To change the subject, John said, "We know those pigs are in and area two to three hundred yards from the house, and in the day they are 30 to 80 yards from the lake in the thickest tree cover. In that area, they have stripped must of the brush. The small stream there that goes into the lake they've made muddy, so watch your step. We go at nine to give those pigs time to settle down for the day."
"And we are going home tonight," Carol told Bob.
.
In the morning after breakfast, people were arriving and guns were being checked and loaded. Going down to feed the alligator, Peggy and Joan noticed she wasn't there. Neither were the smaller ones who were now getting about a foot an a half long. They went back up to the house and got ready go go. Joan had her rifle and pistol, with a full spare magazine for each. Joan made sure Bob had his rifle and a pistol each with a spared full clip also. Delilah got her group together. Since they had the longest walk, they left first.
Walking up the road, they kept a watch out for any pigs. Joan, Bob and Allison walked side by side behind Delilah, Louise and Jackie.
They had been walking along quietly. Thinking about the coming hunt, Bob asked, "Any deep thoughts?" as he looked at Joan.
Joan glanced at him and grinned. "Right now? My nips are aching for your lips."
"Really," Allison agreed.
"No grazing, Bob," Delilah said in a musical tone.
Jackie laughed. Louise's ears turned red as did Bob's.
They got to where John wanted them to be and filed off the road. "Remember, stay in line, and if a pig gets between us, don't shoot until it's safe," Delilah reminded them. She then had them spread 30 yards apart. Jackie on the land end, then Louise, herself, Allison, Bob and Joan 30 yards from the lake. Once they were positioned, she called on the radio to let John know they were in place.
John called back for them to start.
Delilah motioned forward, they walked at an easy walk, watching the ground ahead of them and at their feet. After a few minutes, Bob heard a rattling in front of him. It was a snake, coiled up and buzzing. He walked around it. The snake watched him, but didn't move.
Joan got a surprise, a medium sized alligator, five, six foot long was on land, making like a log. It laid still as she approached. She was about to walk behind it to give it a wide berth, and saw a bigger one near the shore eyeing her. She decided to walk almost over to Bob to get around them.
Seeing Bob eye her, Joan said, "Two gators are on land over there. Watch out for them and pass the word."
Bob nodded and walked a little closer to tell Allison, who passed the word along.
.
When the pigs wandered into the area and took their first drinks of lake water and got in to cool off, a couple were snapped up by alligators. Many alligators sensed prey in the area. They followed the prey. By the time the pigs found the stream to cool off in, enough pigs had been taken by alligators that more were drawn to the area. Large and small, on the shore and under the water just off the shore, alligators lay in wait to get a nice chunky pig to munch on. Joan's gator and the little ones also sensed this and moved near where they sensed prey. Most of the alligator population at this end of the lake was waiting for a tasty treat to grab.
.
John heard Delilah's report about alligators closing on the area. He warned everyone as he moved his group towards the lake. A squeal sounded as they closed on the power house. A small pig was flopping around. The large rattlesnake there had bitten it, and was waiting for it to die so it could eat it. A couple other pigs headed towards the lake, away from them. John and Cameron moved to the sides to stay clear of the rattlesnake awaiting his meal. The box was closing.
.
"John, there are much more than 30 pigs," Claire said as she looked at the sensors. "More are coming from the west, Delilah's group is driving them. I also noticed many alligators, some are on land near the lake."
"Delilah told us about the gators, how far is our line from the pigs?"
"About 50 yards. They are moving some towards the lake, but no panic yet. some are on the woods side of the fence in the yard. "
They were almost to the end of the fence to the yard. Just under the water in the lake, Joan's alligator lay in wait as did many of her little ones. Some were on the land just beyond. One pig, looking for a way around the fence, moved towards the water. Several joined it. Pigs coming near the water to get around the fence, Joan's alligator struck. Shooting out it grabbed the lead pig by the head, and pulled it back into the water as it squealed out it's terror. A couple small gators shot from their hiding places to snap down on another pig's legs.
The pigs bolted and ran away from the lake. Seeing them coming, John's group opened fire. Pigs fell and the squealing and shots threw the pigs into panic. They ran to escape the threats. A group ran east and were shot down by Delilah's group. The survivors turned an ran back, a couple ran too close to alligators and were brought down, squealing loudly in panic.
Gunfire and squealing filled the air as the mass of pigs became smaller as they frantically searched for a direction to flee in. Some rammed against the fence to bounce back. A few pigs ran in hobbling steps with small alligators clamped into their legs. Pigs that ran to hide in the brush at the shore were snapped up by waiting alligators. A 150 pound pig frantic to find a place to hide went into the water. The jaws of a large alligator clamped around it. it let out one last squeal and was dragged under. A few air bubbles rose to the surface and blood stained the water.
At the upper end of the fence line, Sonya ran out of bullets for her rifle and pulled her pistol to keep shooting the pigs racing around. Cameron was out also, and shooting with her two pistols. John had his pistol out, picking off targets.
Pig blood in the water drew more predators. Gar, turtles, and more alligators came to take advantage of the feast. Watching the area where the pigs had been nesting, John saw plenty of dead pigs, and more alligators than he thought was in the entire lake coming to feed on them. When the squealing finally stopped, John had everyone head back to the road. With so many alligators running around looking for their share of the feast, it wasn't safe to be around here.
For days, the water held a red tinge to it. The nearest John could tell, there had been over 200 pigs in the area. Now, there were none, but plenty of alligators. He didn't think their alligator would be hungry for a while.
.
Sunday, scavenging birds came to get their prizes and so did a couple bears. Any concerns about dead pig carcasses rotting away and stinking was unfounded. The whole area was filled with scavengers. The bodies that were not dragged into the lake were being picked clean to the bone.
They also had a plague of alligators. On the other side of the west side fence in the yard where the pigs had been, John counted 15 large alligators, and smaller ones were all over the place. And that was just within easy sight. Down in the front yard, Joan's alligator laid, feet laid back, eyes closed. Right, she'd learned how to climb the fence. She was probably digesting all the pig she ate. John decided to leave her in place. Getting ready for their Sunday BBQ on the lake, the alligator in the yard only opened one eye to see them going back and forth, then went back to sleep. A look at the sensors where the pig nest had been showed other lazy gators sleeping as birds worked steadily at cleaning the pig bones of any remaining flesh.
.
A couple hours later after they had gone out on the lake, Dr. Weston came to the house. She saw the cars in the driveway. She parked and noted something odd. Just beyond the fence around the yard, there were alligators all over the place. One had even gotten into the yard. That could be dangerous. She went up onto the porch and knocked on the door. She waited, no one came to the door so she knocked again. She peeked in the widows and didn't see anyone. Going back to the door, she knocked louder. With all these cars, someone had to be here. She did get a response. Behind her, she heard a hiss.
The alligator in the yard wasn't sleeping any more. It was just beyond the steps, eyeing her. Her heart went into her throat. Moving to the side, she put some distance between herself and the alligator. It climbed the steps and opened it's mouth to hiss again. Dr. Weston ran off the porch to land in the yard and raced to her car. She quickly got in. Looking back, the alligator had moved to the edge of the porch, and was watching her. She got on her phone.
"Driftwood Sheriff's office."
"Yes, this is Doctor Weston, I'm at the Connor's house by the small lake. I had an alligator chase me!"
"One of the Connors there?" he asked.
"No, no one's here but alligators!"
"The gator that chased you, it's in the yard, bout eight feet long or so?"
"Yes! I'm afraid to get out of the car."
"Is there a pontoon boat at the dock?"
"NO... nothing is at the dock."
"That means they are out on the lake. You should probably come back later."
"What about that alligator that's on the porch now?"
"Probably Joan's gator. If it chased you, then it thinks you don't belong there. You really should come back later."
"You don't seem concerned they have an alligator on their porch."
"That thing's like the family pet. At least it's not in the house again."
The alligator jumped/fell off the porch and came towards the car. "I think I will." She hung up and reversed back up the driveway.
The alligator stopped and watched her back away. Once she was out of sight, it returned to it's spot in the yard, laid back down and closed it's eyes.
.
The kids and the Mer kids had a fun time jumping off the boat, then climbing back up on to do it again. As normal, some mer men brought fish to cook. In the water under the boat, Joan and Bob did get some make-out time in. Of course, Jackie had to comment loudly on it. Joan and Bob ignored her and Bob eased Joan's aching nips. Everyone had a good time and a good meal. The leftovers, they put in a pan for the alligator in case she was hungry. Cameron, Delilah and John worked with a few Mers on getting each other's language down. It was a fun Sunday afternoon.
.
Sunday night, Delilah caught her charter plane to Collinsport. Jackie was upset she couldn't come, but she had school in the morning. The charter planes were better. It was faster, you didn't have to go through airport scrutinization and the seats were more comfortable. You weren't packing in tight even if there were others on board. Already having her name from previous flights, all Delilah had to do was agreed to charge Cameron's bank for the fee. The money would spit out of thin air and become digital funds.
Upon landing, Barnabas met her at the airport private terminal and they rode a limo up to the mansion where two other shiny black cars were parked. One was a Mercedes, the other a Rolls Royce. Feeling a bit of haste, Delilah opened her own door an told the driver, "Get my bags, please."
Barnabas got out and quickly followed her. Again, Delilah didn't wait for pleasantries. She didn't knock, she opened the door and strode in. In the sitting room across the foyer, Mrs. Collins was sitting on the other end, a man in each side of her.
"What are you doing?" she asked as she strode across the floor, Barnabas hurrying to stay with her.
Mrs. Collins looked up. "Excuse me, who are you?"
"This is Delilah Connor," Barnabas told them. "She will handle Elizabeth's finances, no charge."
One man frowned. "Did you say Connor?"
"That's right," Delilah told him and came over to look down on the paperwork before Elizabeth. "My husband is currently involved with a project with Barnabas here, and it is in our best interests that wealthy scumbags like you don't suck their funds away and drive the Collins into bankruptcy." Delilah said as she looked over the paperwork.
"How dare you!" the older man with the diamond rings said.
"I dare plenty, so watch yourself," Delilah said as she looked through the papers. She then said, "Thank God you didn't sign these yet, Elizabeth. If you failed to meet any terms, then here it states you agree to give up all your assets and property to Mr. Greedy here."
"Where does it say that?" Elizabeth asked.
Delilah showed her, "Right down here in this tiny writing at the bottom."
Elizabeth gaped at the man trying to look regal. "You would do that?"
"It is our standard procedure," he said in a haughty tone.
Delilah took the papers over to the fireplace and threw them in. "This is my standard procedure," she stated. She morphed out a plasma canon and blasted the papers with a small charge to burn them. The men stared at her.
"You can be barbecued, or you can leave. Choose," she stated.
"You wouldn't DARE!" the older man stated.
Delilah eyed him. "Go ahead, try me."
"I think we should go, Sir," the other man said and got up.
The older man made a show of pushing his chair back to get up. He walked over by Delilah and said, "You have not heard the last of me! I will strip you and any of your family of everything you have!"
"Ahhh, sir..."
"SHUT UP, Garfield!" the man snapped.
Delilah told Mrs. Collins, "I'll be right back." She turned and followed the men out.
Going outside, they lined up perfectly, with the Rolls Royce as a backstop. One plasma bolt incinerated both men and the drivers and only badly scorched the Rolls Royce. Delilah picked up their smouldering bits left over and put them in the car. She made sure the windows were down on both cars, then turned to see Barnabas watching.
"Is there a cliff around here?" she asked.
"To the left, there's path that lead to a cliff," Barnabas told her.
Delilah picked the Rolls Royce up on it's side, then hefted it up and carried it down the path. At the cliff, she looked to see the top overhung the large rocks of the shoreline. Good enough. She threw the car over the cliff. It splashed down in the ocean. Once it sank out of sight, she went and got the other car and threw that one over the cliff.
Returning to the house, she saw Barnabas waiting outside. "No one threatens my family," Delilah stated.
They went inside to see Elizabeth was looking lost. Delilah sat down by her. "Don't worry, Mrs' Collins, We'll set everything straight. You don't know how to handle finances, correct?"
"Roger always did that," she agreed.
"OK, myself and Barnabas will do it. While we do it, we will show you what we are doing and explain everything to you. Do you have a list of account numbers and monthly costs?"
Elizabeth shook her head. "Roger had all that in his office upstairs."
"Then lets go look to see what we're dealing with, OK?"
.
Upstairs, Daniel was working at his school work. He then hear a familiar voice. "Don't worry about having a key, I'll get the door open." Daniel got up and peeked into the hallway. "Mrs. Connor!" he called happily and ran out to meet her.
Delilah met him in a hug as he ran up to her. "How are you doing," she asked, scrubbing his head.
Beaming her a smile, he said, "I'm doing fine and I'm behaving myself! Did Jackie come with you?"
"I'm sorry, Jackie had to go to school, but since I was coming," She pulled a folded up paper out of her pocket, "Jackie gave me a note to pass to you. I think she expects one in return."
Daniel nodded, "Will you take it back to her for me?" he asked.
"Of course I will. Your mother and I are busy now, so go do your school work."
"OK, thank you Mrs. Connor!" Daniel said and ran back in to read the note from Jackie. Sitting down at his desk, he opened it up.
Hey Daniel,
I don't have much time, Mom's leaving soon, I just wanted to say hi. To answer a question you must have, NO, I do not have a ridge on the back of my head from hitting that beam. Still hurt though. I do got some news. JJ and Peggy got married when they went to Nevada. There went the 'have to wait till your 18 rule', hehe. Joan heard this and immediately called Bob to let him know they could marry whenever he wanted. I thought Dad was going to faint! Gramma Sarah was laughing her butt off. We all found out Dad married Mommy One - Cameron when they were only 16 and didn't even tell Gramma. Gramma giggled something about 'karma'.
We had another pig hunt, just our family, the pigs were getting close to the house. We got help too! I swear every alligator in the lake came to chomp down on those pigs. I saw one pig squealing and trying to run with small alligators latched onto his back legs, that was funny! I shot him to put him out of his misery. OK, I shot a lot of pigs. We had them boxed in, so if they ran from us, the alligators got them. I never knew we had a 15 foot alligator in the lake, he's HUGE!
It's like somehow, a gator told all the others 'free pork and ham, come and get it!' Joan's gator got in the yard again, I think she's sleeping off her big meal. There's gators all over the place, I think she came in the yard so she can sleep in peace. I swear, she looks fatter. Little ones are getting big, about a foot and half long. One got stuck in the fence, they are too big now to squeeze in between the links.
School is going good, Joan and Allison are going to be football players after they graduate this year. Yes, Austin picked them up. They are really happy, they love crashing into people. Now Joan is pressing Bob to get himself a job.
I heard your Dad died, I'm really sorry about that. (HUG). Please be good and do your best!
your friend, Jackie
Daniel read the note twice. There really wasn't anything personal in it, but it did make him chuckle a couple times. Plus, this was Jackie. For some reason the song that guy sang came back to him. Jackie was indeed a golden haired surprise. Being used to the shitty girls he normally saw, she was completely different, actually did things and she was lovable.
"What do you have there, Daniel?" Miss Evans asked as she came in.
Daniel beamed, "I got a letter from Jackie, her mother brought it," he said and showed it to her.
Miss Evans read the note and asked, "How old is this girl?"
"Fifteen this year, I think," Daniel said. "Jackie is really awesome! She's way better than any of the high class girls Dad was trying to hook me up with and she does amazing jumps and tricks with the mermaid tail she has. She looks real graceful swimming with it..." He went on to tell her everything he knew about Jackie.
"I see," Miss Evans said evenly. She got it, Daniel was in love with this girl. "You said her mother brought you the note?"
"Yes, she's with Mom now, doing something."
"The woman here is Delilah Connor."
"That's right, Jackie's second Mother. Jackie looks just like her," Daniel agreed.
Miss Evans could see why Daniel was enraptured by this girl. Blonde and busty always attracted boys. "Doesn't it bother you she seems to be a bit on the violent side? She also lives around those dangerous alligators."
"Jackie's not violent, well, unless you get her mad. In Texas where she lives, they had a problem with wild pigs, so they had to try to keep getting rid of them so those pigs don't eat up the crops and ruin land."
"They live by this lake that's alligator infested?
Daniel bobbed his head. "They go swimming in it too! It's really cool watching Jackie and her sisters swimming in their mermaid tails. They all have the cowboy outfits too! Tall boots, wide brimmed hats, the leather jackets, and the pig hunt I went on with them, carrying her rifle and a pistol on her hip, she looked just like one of those wild-west gunslingers!"
'Dear God, Daniel was enthralled by a barbarian girl!' Miss Evans thought.
.
At Roger's desk, Delilah went over all their expenses and immediately trimmed down a few. Barnabas was the trustee for Daniel in his will, something Mr. Bigshot had failed to mention. He'd also acted like Elizabeth owned everything. She didn't, it was all left to Daniel. She noted Roger was paying for this Maggie's apartment and all her bills. She highly suggested Barnabas stop that and cancel the expensive golf club membership, unless he played golf. She called John Henry to see if he could straighten out a couple things, which he was happy to do.
In an afternoon, she helped get things worked out and Elizabeth was able to breathe a sigh of relief. Elizabeth insisted she have dinner with them and stay here instead of getting a hotel room.
Delilah was planning to fly back tonight, but decided to stay. She wanted to get a feel of why things got so screwed up here. One thing she noted was when she went into the kitchen to help with dinner, the 'chef' and his helper had a two person table. Asking about this, they told her they ate in the kitchen as servants should. Delilah went to talk to Elizabeth.
Elizabeth was in her 'drawing room' working on a sweater when Delilah found her. Delilah came in and sat down in in a chair across the small table. "Mrs. Collins, I have a question. You have that big dinning room table, why does the cook and the maid eat by themselves in the kitchen?"
Elizabeth eyed her. "You really don't know?" she asked.
Delilah shook her head.
"It has been long custom for the help to dine separately from the family and guests," she explained.
Delilah winced and asked, "Isn't that rather boring?"
"That is the proper way, the way we have always done it," Elizabeth said.
"So, Daniel's teacher ... where does she eat?"
"In her room, I imagine."
Delilah paused to get what she wanted to say right, then said, "Mrs. Collins, at home, we all eat together. Reason being, is it's more fun, and even if they are servants, treating them like they are part of the family helps make them feel important, and they work harder and become very loyal. Yes, it is unusual, but knowing that also helps them feel like they are truly accepted, and special to you."
Elizabeth looked off at nothing for a moment, then said, "I have never considered that."
"Please do. Would you be willing to try it, just one time? You can say you wanted to get everyone together to thank them all for their efforts," Delilah coaxed.
"That is a grand idea," Elizabeth said. "I must say, very unconventional also."
"If I or my family were conventional we wouldn't be where we are." Delilah told her.
"Speaking of that, I want to thank you for partnering with Barnabas on his project. The help your family is giving him has been priceless. I heard your husband John not only is supplying money for him but also found ways to cut the costs of rebuilding that factory for use."
"We do what we can, and John and Cameron both have a good businesses sense about them," Delilah told her.
"Do you have a part in their business?" Elizabeth asked.
Delilah shrugged. "I help my heros out wherever I can. Mostly, I'm a mother, which I love being, and help with jobs that need to be done."
"Your heros?" Elizabeth asked.
Firmly, Delilah said, "Mr. Collins, I wouldn't even be alive today if it wasn't for them, let alone be a mother, being able to make a movie, be on TV in our own show, sing on stage ... so many things I can do now. John and Cameron made it possible. They even welcomed me into their family. So, yes, they are my heros."
"I see, you have the upmost respect for them."
"I do, I even sang a song for them when we were in Gibraltar. Do you know the song, Wind Beneath My Wings?"
"Yes, that is a lovely song."
"In my case, it's all true."
Elizabeth held up a finger. "I believe we have a copy of that concert you did in Gibraltar, it's in our video files. In fact, we have few videos that were recorded. You my dear, have a lovely singing voice, and you are a good showman."
"Thank you," Delilah beamed.
"Since we are going to invite everyone to dinner with us, perhaps we should view some of those videos together after dinner?" Elizabeth asked.
"I am sure they will appreciate that," Delilah told her.
.
All the servants were shocked. Mrs. Collins wanted everyone to attend dinner in the dinning room. Never had that happened before! They were worried that this might be a 'last dinner' before they were let go. Rumors spread, and they all heard about the giant movie screen sized TV being put up in the sitting room and more chairs being brought in. Something was going on, and they ached to find out what it was.
Elizabeth had Delilah help her make a video to show her songs onto another disk for the show. Delilah did and selected songs from their various charity concerts as well as the Gibraltar concert. Elizabeth had fun putting this together.
Delilah was having fun also. After she was done with the video, she helped set the long table, which was now filled with place settings. Once the table was set, the maid insisted she could do the rest. Delilah went up got cleaned up and put on a medium blue dress with silver piping. She brushed her hair and took the time to put it up in a braid with a silver clip on the end.
In the mirror she saw a little girl in a frilly 1700's dress behind her.
"Hello," Delilah greeted.
"Thank you for helping Barnabas and giving Daniel hope." the little girl said. "I am not so worried now."
"You're welcome. Are you Sarah?"
"I am. Thank you."
The girl then disappeared.
At least she was happy. Maybe she could move in now.
.
Delilah went down to the dinning room to see people were gathering. One middle aged man looked up at her. His jaw dropped. "Are you Thing Two?" he asked.
Delilah laughed as Mrs. Collins scowled at him. "I am! I've also been called the Bulldozer back when we played college football," Delilah said as she came down the stairs. "I take it you're a fan?"
He nodded. "Gary, Gary Carpenter, I'm the Gardner here. I was there at that karaoke competition you and Thing One sang at."
"Delilah Connor, It's nice to meet you, Gary." She held out her hand. He shook it.
"This is unbelievable!" he gushed. "I've always wanted to meet you! You look as good now as you did back then, I swear you haven't aged a day!"
Delilah blushed. "Why, thank you, Gary."
"How do you do it? If I had to put an age on you, I'd swear you were twenty."
Delilah grinned. "Come now Gary, you know we women have our secrets."
"Yeah. Hey, is the government finally leaving you alone?" he asked.
"More or less. Lately, our involvement with them is pretty much like everyone else, paying taxes," she said.
He chuckled. "Ain't that the truth!"
Miss Evans came over. "Gary, you know Mrs. Connor?"
"I know of her, this is the first time I've ever seen her since that contest," he told her. "She can also play a guitar like a master, and she's been on a TV show too, Saving Atlas!"
"Hey, Mrs. Connor!" Willy called.
"Hi, Willy, keeping away from the alligators?" she asked with a crooked grin.
Willy's face drooped. "Oh yeah! I never wanna have THAT happen again! I was really scared!"
"You sounded like it."
Barnabas grinned. "At least Joan saved him."
Off to the side, Daniel giggled.
Miss Evans cast him a glare. "Daniel someone being attacked by an alligator is not funny!"
"It was," Delilah said. "We heard Joan yell from outside she had a problem, then Willy was screaming." She giggled then raised her arms over her head. "Here is Joan in the yard, holding Willy over her head like this to keep the alligator from biting him. The alligator's trying to climb up her to get to him, she's wiggling around to keep the alligator off her, and yelling, 'Stop it, stop it!' as Willy's screaming his head off."
Everyone stared at her. Miss Evans asked, "That alligator didn't try to bite Joan?"
"Naw, that alligator is like Joan's dog," Delilah said off hand. "Bob and his mother got a scare the first time Joan swam out in the lake to get in their boat, and the alligator followed her. Joan can just about ride it like a horse. She went out to get it off the fence once when it was stuck. She was feeding it by herself for a while, but now the other kids feed it too, and the little ones she had."
"There is a lot of alligators where they live," Willy agreed. "Rattlesnakes too, you have to watch where you're walking."
"It is a wild area," Barnabas said. "Also a very pretty land, but not without it's hazards."
"I guess so," Gary said.
A bell was rung. the maid announced, "Dinner is served."
Elizabeth took one head of the table, Barnabas the other. "Please, everyone be seated," she said, remaining standing herself.
Looking over the table full of people, she said, "When you lose someone, it's hard. It also makes one think more about those around you. I wanted everyone to get together so I could tell you how I truly appreciate all of you. Every one of you does fine work and I want to say thank you for all your efforts. After the meal, I'd like to show you a video of some of the wonderful music that Mrs. Connor here has played over the years." Elizabeth then sat down. Everyone applauded her with bright smiles. She blushed. That had never happened before, and it made her feel good.
After a lively dinner, they went in to see clips of Cameron and Delilah singing Waterloo at the karaoke contest, Delilah singing her thousand year lullaby, and the whole first concert in Gibraltar. Afterwards, every servant stopped to thank Mrs. Collins for the wonderful evening.
Elizabeth was very happy she has listened to Delilah and did this.
