Authors Note:
Hello all,
Chapter 40? Wow time flies.
I hope you are all enjoying the story so far, and I thank you for all of your support. Things are really starting to heat up and get interesting.
I want to offer you all the opportunity to check out my YouTube channel, KiltedEngineer, for things related to my fanon, as well as some cool video game playthroughs (including an in progress blind run of the original Resident Evil for Halloween); I hope to see you there.
Well, here we go.
Chapter 40
Five hours had passed since the Kanker families reunion with their long lost friend, Rodeeia. The sun had begun it's journey over the horizon, ushering in the beautiful hours of twilight. It's normally yellow rays had transformed to shades of pink and red, shining powerfully over the small community as if it were fighting the other stars of the universe for its place in the sky.
At first glance, the street known as Woodland Avenue appeared very similar to that of Rethink Avenue back in Peach Creek; the exception being that it was a through way, not a cul-de-sac. The avenue was lined with modest sized ranch houses of multiple colors, each fronted by lawns covered in green grass.
The Williams residence itself was located in the center of the block. The one story house was fronted by brown masonry bricks, with light blue vinyl siding gracing the sides and complimenting the grey shingled roof. Having finished up dinner around an hour ago, the guests, as well as Rodeeia, had gathered in the spacious living room for a spot of after dinner tea. Rodeeia, as well as Katie, had taken their place on the loveseat, while Tabby, Lee, and Lindsay sat on the couch. Marie and May had opted to take a seat on the small throw rug gracing the center of the room, giggling happily as the adults conversed about memories past.
After finishing up another fun story regarding Tabby's childhood in the city, Marie decided to comment with a laugh.
"Wow Mom," said Marie, "You really were a bad girl."
"Yeah," said Lee, "All the time you spent yelling at us for acting up when we were kids, and you were worse then we ever were."
The girls and Katie shared a giggle as Tabby rolled her eyes. Lee turned towards Lindsay.
"And who knew your Dad was a such a little rebel," said Lee as she elbowed Lindsay in the shoulder, "Especially considering how nervous and overprotective he is about you nowadays."
"That's exactly why he's so overprotective," said Tabby, "Buying old mopeds, ATV's, and gas scooters from a random junk man and riding them wildly around the neighborhood just to impress people ain't the smartest thing in the world. Why do you think I waited so long to tell ya's about all the trouble we got in when we were kids. It was all in good fun, but very dangerous and incredibly stupid, and I didn't want you girls copying it thinking it's cool."
Tabby paused.
"Not that you didn't anyway," said Tabby, "You live and learn, and I'm so glad you girls turned out to be respectable, responsible, young ladies with your own life ambitions. Besides, you wouldn't be Kankers if yas didn't get yourselves into trouble or act bitchy every once in a while."
Rodeeia laughed.
"Ain't nothin' wrong with that," said Rodeeia, "I can tell these girls are sweethearts just by lookin' at them, but they got the T girl sass and fists to back it up when they need to."
"Even better," said Tabby, "They got Roddy's fists. He trained all three of them in self defense."
"Oh shit," said Rodeeia in a surprised manner, "Now I definitely wouldn't ever want to get on their bad side."
Rodeeia turned towards May.
"Especially her," said Rodeeia.
"Me?" asked May.
"Hell yeah," said Rodeeia, "Look at those built legs, tough arms, and powerful body. You ain't fooling me, I know you an athlete. You fight in the ring?"
"No," said May in a shy manner, "I play softball."
"Annamae is a star pitcher for her schools softball team," said Tabby, "And even though she doesn't do organized fighting, I'd hate to find myself face to face with her in the ring. She looks cute and acts shy, but she's a tough cookie, I'll tell ya that."
Tabby paused.
"I have no idea where she gets it from," said Tabby, "I always hated sports, and even though Roddy played baseball when he was little, he admits he was never a great athlete. Her talents are only ones that are a mystery."
"Shit," said Rodeeia, "Sometimes I think Trel and Jayden aren't related to me at all. Me and Ty loved sports so much that we were married on the basketball court, but the boys want nothing to do with it. Trel's into science, test tubes, beakers, space and all that stuff, and Jayden ain't interested in anything unless it has to do with drawing. It's like we speak two different languages, and while it's hard to relate sometimes, I'm happy with them doing anything their heart desires as long as it ain't bullshit that's gonna put them in jail."
There was a slight pause, at which point Rodeeia turned her attention to Katie. The redheaded woman appeared to be in a state of distress; in lieu of smiling, Katie simply stared forward, her eyes appearing glassy as if she had something heavy on her mind.
"Hey," said Rodeeia, "You alright over there Mama K? It's definitely not like you to be quiet, especially when everyone else is laughing."
At the sound of Rodeeia's words, Katie seemingly broke out of her trance, turning her attention towards Rodeeia with a smile.
"I'm okay," said Katie, "Just tired, that's all."
"You, tired?" asked Rodeeia, "Says the girl that would never shut up or sit still when we were kids. Remember that one time you helped me watch Hadassa while my parents were out? Between you and her, the house was nearly turned upside down, inside out, and round and round. And I ain't just quoting Diana, that shit was nearly true!"
Katie giggled.
"Maybe so," said Katie with a smile, "But at least we had fun...and even came up with a new flavor of ice cream. You and Tabitha were such spoil sports, you never even tried Kadassa Karamel!"
Tabby rolled her eyes.
"Jello, Vanilla ice cream, mint chocolate chip, cheese, and an entire bag of sweet caramels melted together," said Tabby, "And those are just the ingredients you remember putting in. I wasn't touching it with a ten foot pole."
"Awwww, you remembered," said Katie, "I'm actually quite surprised."
"How could I forget," said Tabby, "I was the only one in the house with enough sense not to try it when you brought it home. I spent all day taking care of three people taking turns vomiting over the toilet."
Katie giggled slightly, as did Rodeeia.
"I will say this," said Rodeeia, "Even though you were nuttier than a jar of crunchy peanut butter, you were always great with people. All of the little kids loved you and thought you were the coolest thing ever, especially when you used to read your books about "Katie's World" to them. You should have kept writing and published them as early childhood teaching tools, they were top notch!"
Katie sighed.
"I guess," said Katie, "Too bad I lost focus on what was important to me in life. It's too late for that now."
There was a brief bought of silence as the women gathered their thoughts. Eventually, Rodeeia decided to break the silence as she rose to a standing position.
"Alright," said Rodeeia, "Now that we're all acquainted and have food in our bellies, it's time to finally get down to business."
Rodeeia turned towards Lindsay, speaking in the manner of an assertive sport coach.
"Little T, front and a center," said Rodeeia, "Time to go out back and work on some coordination drills."
Lindsay bit her lower lip.
"Uh, I don't know," said Lindsay, "Me and Annalee were..."
"Bring her along," said Rodeeia in a playful manner, "As much as you try, you ain't getting out of this one. You're stuck with me for the next three days, and I'll be damned if I see athletic potential going to waste before my eyes."
Rodeeia began making her way towards the kitchen.
"Let's go," said Rodeeia, "It's gettin' late, and we only got a little bit of daylight left."
After sharing a slight glance of confusion, Lee and Lindsay rose to a standing position. They then proceeded to follow Rodeeia through the kitchen, on their way towards. the door leading out into the backyard.
After observing her sister and friend make their exit, Marie decided to makea proposition of her own.
"Looks like they've got something to occupy their time for the rest of the night,"said Marie, "I'm gonna go out to the trailer to grab our pajamas and sleeping bags. We canget them set up in the den now so we don't have to worry about it later."
Marie turned towards May, twirling one of her ponytails as she did so.
"Wanna come along?" asked Marie
"Actually, I think I might go check out the action out back," said May, "Rodeeia seems pretty smart when it comes to sports, and I might be able to get a few pointers from her."
"C'mon, it will only take a second," said Marie, "And it's not like I can carry all of our stuff myself."
At that moment, Marie delivered a subtle wink in May's direction, a wink that managed to succeed in convincing May to come with her to the trailer under mysterious, non verbal pretense.
"Okay, okay," said May, "Sheesh, I'll help ya if it will make ya shut up."
"Whatever," said Marie as she proceeded to make her way towards the front door, peering towards her mother and aunt as she opened it, "We'll be back!"
With that final statement, the two youngest Kanker sisters passed through the threshold, and disappeared into the front yard. As the door closed, Katie rose to a standing position.
"Sorry to leave you hanging, but I gotta pee," said Katie, "Or as you and Daddy always said, hit the head."
As Katie giggled at her statement, Tabby remained completely silent, focused intently on the front door. Unbeknownst to the girls, Tabby's keen eye had picked up on Marie's subtle wink, piquing her curiosity regarding the girls true intentions.
"You go ahead and do that," said Tabby, "I'm gonna go get a cig."
"Kay," said Katie, "I could use one too, I'll join ya out there as soon as I get back."
"Whatever," said Tabby as she proceeded to make her way towards the front door.
