Chapter 19:
A Birthday to Remember (2):
Once at the bowling alley, they went up to the reception desk and, after collecting bowling shoes, went over to the two lanes reserved for them; Jack and Carrie, Rita, and the triplets were at Lane One while Tommy and Sue, Heather and Roy, and Norma and Freddy were right next door at Lane Two.
At the seats, they changed into their bowling shoes and got ready to start their session. Carrie had never gone bowling before and wasn't sure how she'd do, but Jack reassured her that he would be there to help her along each step of the way.
"Are you ready, Carrie?" asked Jack.
"Yes, as ready as I'll ever be." Carrie said, as she stood up, her bowling shoes now on. It felt a little strange to be wearing shoes like these, since she had been used to wearing normal shoes when going out and about on her day-to-day business.
"Well, let's get started then." Jack said, as they stepped up to the lane.
"Have you gone bowling before and are you any good at it?" Carrie asked.
"Yes, I've gone bowling many times. I'd say I'm quite good at it, though not like a champion. I just play it for the fun and enjoyment of it." Jack said.
"Oh, okay." Carrie said.
"Good luck to you all." Sue said, as she stepped up first in Lane Two and picked up the bowling ball as she was going first, from what was shown on the screen over the lane.
"And to you too." Catherine said, as she stepped up first, a bowling ball in her hand too. Then she swung her arm back and took a few steps forward, before swinging her arm forward and thrusting the ball down the lane, as Sue followed closely. The two balls rolled along the lane before crashing into the bowling pins. Catherine's bowling ball rolled a little to the left and knocked down five pins out of ten with a loud familiar clatter, while Sue's managed to knock down six out of ten pins on her first go.
"Oh, not bad Snell. But just wait until later in the game." Catherine said, as she reached for another bowling ball.
"Oh, we'll see about that." Sue said with a smile, as she reached for another bowling ball too.
Once the pins not knocked down were ready, both took their second goes; Catherine managed to knock down another four pins, and Sue managed to knock down three out of the four remaining. Then the machines at the end of the two lanes came down and began to reset the pins, ready for the next round.
"Catherine seems to be very good at bowling." Carrie said, as she took hold of a sparkling purple galaxy bowling ball in her fingers on her right hand.
"Well…she does go bowling with her friends quite often at a bowling complex not too far from where we live, along with Louise and Grace. They've done it many times, and as a result…they're very good at it." Jack said, as he watched Carrie line up ready to take her first go, while Norma got ready at the next lane. Soon, the bowling pins were stood back up ready for the next person to take their goes.
Carrie took a deep breath and thinking "All right…here we go.", and swinging her arm up, she took a few steps forward and thrust the bowling forward down the lane. The bowling ball managed to stay in the middle of the lane and it knocked down eight out of ten pins with a loud clatter. When she saw most of the pins fall down, Carrie's jaw dropped and a smile appeared on her face.
"Well done, Carrie!" Jack said in excitement, as Carrie, after a brief pause, jumped up and down for joy. It was unbelievable; the first time she'd ever gone bowling, she'd very nearly managed to score a strike on her first go.
"That's incredible, Carrie! Well done!" Rita said, just as excited, as she too congratulated Carrie on her unexpected hit. The triplets too stood up and congratulated Carrie.
"How did you do that, Carrie?" Norma asked, looking over in astonishment.
"Oh, just beginner's luck." Carrie said. It was true; she hadn't used her telekinetic powers to make the ball do what she wanted it to do.
"Well, let's see what I can do." Norma said, as she had her first go; the bowling ball managed to knock down seven of the ten pins.
"Oh, not bad Norma, that's very good. Much better than me in fact." Freddy said, as Norma turned to him and smiled.
"Thanks, Freddy." she said, as she reached for another bowling ball.
And for the next two hours, they enjoyed themselves as they bowled. For Carrie, this was one of the best times she'd ever had in her life; she really enjoyed the game of bowling and got a little better as time went along and managed to score some good points on the screen.
At one point in the middle of the first round, she managed to get two strikes in a row which impressed everyone at the two lanes who didn't expect Carrie to achieve something as impressive as that.
As for Jack, the birthday boy enjoyed a good time bowling with his friends, triplet sisters and gym teacher; just like Carrie, he too got two strikes in a row not long after they started their second game. He told his friends it was just luck, as he never achieved something like that before when bowling back in Ireland. But everyone was very impressed with his achievement and congratulated him.
Rita also displayed what she was capable of doing at bowling; though she only scored one strike in the whole game, she showed she was quite good and could achieve scores just as good as her students and the triplets. At one point, she went head-to-head with Heather and managed to knock down seven pins, while Heather only managed to down four.
In between the first and second rounds, they took a break for a little while and ordered food and drinks. Sitting at the comfy seats encompassing the two lanes, they sat together and enjoyed each other's company while they ate and talked of the first game they had just played.
"For someone who's never gone bowling before, you sure played a good game, Carrie." Grace said, as she munched on a slice of pepperoni pizza.
"Thanks, it's just beginners' luck to be honest…and the fact they put up the barriers on either side of the lane to keep the bowling balls from going off helped quite a bit too." Carrie said, as she sipped a large cup of Pepsi.
"Yeah, there's that too." Louise said, as she took a bite out of her hotdog.
"Have you had a good time so far today, Carrie?" asked Jack, as he munched on a chicken wing after dipping it in some barbecue sauce.
"Of course, Jack. I've had more fun today than I've ever had in my life before." Carrie said, as she showed the smile Jack loved.
"I'm really very glad you're having a good time, Carrie. It's certainly helping to make this day a happy one for me." Jack said, as he smiled back at Carrie. For Rita, seeing Carrie, the girl she was soon going to be a guardian to, so happy after the events of the day so far really brought a smile to her face. The fact Carrie admitted to having had so much fun during the day made Rita feel that things for Carrie really had turned around since Jack had arrived here in Chamberlain, and that thought made her happy.
"But are you looking forward to the second round of bowling, and then dinner later on, Carrie?" Rita asked, as she sipped her cup of Coca Cola.
"Yes of course, Rita." Carrie said, as she was by now fully used to calling her gym teacher by her first name instead of just Ms Desjardin.
"Are you hoping to score another strike or two in the next round?" Sue asked.
"Well, yes I hope I can do that." Carrie said, as she took another big sip of her Pepsi before she took another bite of her burger.
"Shall we get started on the next round soon?" Louise said, as she finished her hotdog before taking a sip of her cup of Coca Cola.
"Yeah, let's do that." Jack said, as he stood up.
By half past four, they finished up their long bowling session and were leaving the bowling alley. They had all had a good time over the past few hours, and had done quite well while they bowled. In the second round, Carrie had managed to get another strike on her fourth go and Jack had scored another two strikes in a row quite late in the game. The others had also done quite well, and some of them had also scored some strikes, including Sue, Tommy and Norma towards the end of the second round.
"Oh, that was fun!" Carrie said to Jack, as the group left the bowling alley, satisfied with how the two games they played had gone.
"I very pleased you had a great time bowling, Carrie. And I'm very impressed by how well you scored today." Jack said.
"Thanks, I guess it's just beginner's luck." Carrie said.
"So…now what shall we do? There's still an hour and a half until our dinner reservation." Norma said, as she looked at her watch.
"Well, I'd like to go round the mall and look round in the different shops to see if there's anything else I'd like to buy." Jack said.
"Sounds like a good plan to me. And shall we all meet up outside The Red Grill restaurant at, say, five to six?" Tommy suggested.
"That seems like an idea." Sue said in agreement, and, agreeing to meet up in front of the restaurant just before 6:00pm, they all headed off in different directions, either to shops just down the mezzanine or to the upper floors.
Jack, Carrie and the triplets took the escalator up to the fourth floor and wandered about, looking for shops that caught their interest.
"How about we have a look in here?" Carrie suggested, as they passed one of the bookshops that Jack hadn't yet set food in.
"Yeah, let's have a look at what's in here to buy." Jack said, as they went inside. Soon, they were browsing through the shelves in the different sections, looking for books that caught their interests. At one point, Jack was looking through the section on transport, in particularly steam railways, and saw a railway book he'd been keeping his eyes open on the lookout for some time; British Railways Steam Locomotives 1948 – 1968; 2nd edition.
As he flicked through the pages, he admired the grey images of the steam locomotives on the pages, and there were sometimes multiple drawings or diagrams for each steam locomotive, depending on subvariant, valve gears used and so on. There were five sections for the four companies that joined together to create British Railways, as well as one section for the standard steam locomotives built by British Railways.
"That looks interesting." Carrie said, as she had a glance into the book.
"It is…and I'll definitely buy this." Jack said, as he tucked the book under his arm before he and Carrie moved on to another section.
They moved onto the military history section where Jack spent a few minutes browsing for books he wanted to buy, before moving onto the checkout where he paid for the book Jack already picked out, as well as one Carrie had chosen. They then stepped back outside where the triplets were waiting for them.
"Well, did you two get what you wanted?" Louise asked.
"Yes, I did." Jack said, patting the side of his laptop bag.
"And I got something I've wanted too." Carrie said, as she held up a bag with her purchase safely inside it.
"Good, and shall we continue on then?" Catherine said.
"Of course, let's go." Carrie said, and they continued on down the mezzanine.
By 5:50pm, they were up on the fourth floor and making their way slowly towards The Red Grill restaurant where they would meet up with the rest of the group before going in for dinner. They had met up with Tommy and Sue who were coming out of one of the other shops not too far from the restaurant and were heading there too.
"So where in The Red Grill are we eating?" Sue asked Jack, as they walked along.
"They have some private rooms there and I've made the arrangements for us all to dine in one of them. And it's one that has windows where we can look outside." Jack said.
"Good. Last time Sue and I ate there, we were able to sit at a table by one of the windows where we could look outside at the snowy weather at that time." Tommy said.
"And what's the food like there?" Carrie asked.
"The food is typical of anything you're likely to find in a typical steakhouse, including steaks and burgers, chicken, ribs and chops and so on, with a good selection of sauces and sides to choose from too." Tommy said.
"And their desserts are very good quality too. It had almost every kind of dessert you can imagine there, including pie, cake and ice cream." Sue said.
"Well, we'll see about that Sue. I'll reserve judgement until we try out what's on offer there for ourselves." Grace said.
"All right then." Sue said.
They soon arrived in front of the steak house with time to spare and waited outside the door for the rest of the group to arrive. They didn't have to wait for very long, as soon they came along the mezzanine towards them. Heather had a bag in her hand, as had Norma, while Rita, Roy and Freddy didn't.
"Ah, there you are." Jack said, as they came up.
"We were just beginning to think you'd all forgotten about us." Catherine said.
"Oh, no. We were just delayed a little by a queue at the shop we were at." Heather said, as she held up the bag she was holding.
"Yeah, and I had to get something too." Norma said, as she held up the bag she had.
"Fair enough, so shall we all get inside and get to our table? It's almost 6:00pm." Jack said.
"Sure, come on. Let's go." Rita said, and they headed into the restaurant's reception area.
Soon they were led to their reserved private room by one of the waitresses and were comfortably seated at one long table with five chairs on each side and one at each end. At one side of the room was a large wide window that overlooked the parking lot and town of Chamberlain to the west and the hills beyond, over which the sun was slowly beginning to set, though it was still fairly high in the sky.
As soon as everyone was comfortably seated at the table, the two waitresses assigned to attend to the room handed out menus to everyone.
"I think you picked quite a nice place for a birthday dinner, Jack. I've never been to a place like this before." Carrie said, as she opened her menu.
"Thanks Carrie." Jack said. He was seated at one the end of the table with Carrie sitting to his left with the window behind her, while Rita was sat to his right and everyone else occupying the other seats along the table, with Tommy sitting at the other end of the table with Sue sitting to his left.
"So, Jack, Carrie…what are you thinking of ordering for this evening?" Rita asked, as Jack and Carrie looked through their menus.
"Well…to start off with I'll have the cream of asparagus soup, followed by a 12 oz ribeye steak with the cognac peppercorn sauce. And a steak is something I always like have on my birthday." Jack said.
"And I'll start off with the BBQ chicken wings, followed by the bacon and BBQ burger." Carrie said.
"Sounds like a nice selection of choices you two. I think I'll have the crab cakes for starters and for my main I'll have the chicken supreme." Rita said.
Soon the waitresses came round after a few more minutes and took everyone's orders for drinks, starters and their main courses. When she gave her orders, Carrie was a little surprised to see the waitress take down the order on an iPad instead of on a paper pad. But then again, she realised it was often a lot easier to use modern technology to send food orders directly to the kitchen instead of taking it there personally.
"Thank you. Your drinks and starters should be here very soon." one of the waitresses said, as she and the other waitress took the menus away.
"Thanks for that." Jack said, before he turned his attention to Carrie.
"Well Carrie…did you have a great day today?" he asked.
"I did. In fact, I had a better day than I've ever had in my life before. I've had so much fun, going round all those tents and seeing those models, going on those rides and enjoying all those nice things we got from those food vans." Carrie said, as she smiled.
"I'm glad to see you had a nice time today, Carrie. That's really helped to make my day a memorable one seeing you happy." Jack said, as he smiled and gently placed his hand on Carrie's upper right shoulder. Rita felt herself smile too as she watched the interaction between her favourite student and adoptive younger brother.
"I'm also quite glad to see you had a great time today, Carrie. Seeing you smile and laugh loudly when you were on the bumper cars this afternoon really brought a smile to my face. I really think that it's really helped out of that shell you were trapped in before Jack arrived here in Chamberlain." Rita said.
"Thanks, Rita. Jack's been a real big help for me since he arrived here. And I'm really grateful for him for doing that, and for his sisters helping me as well over the last few days as well." Carrie said, as she smiled at her gym teacher.
"Well done on that, Jack. I'm very proud of you and your sisters for helping Carrie." Rita said.
"Oh, it's not a problem Rita. I was just happy to step up to the plate when no one else was willing to do it." Jack said, in his usual modest way.
"That's a really good thing you did, and I think your parents would be very proud of you if they had seen what you've done for Carrie." Rita said.
Then the conversations of everyone at the table was interrupted by the waitresses arriving at the table with the drinks they had all ordered, as well as the cutlery, all wrapped in crisp white napkins. Jack had ordered a large glass of Coca Cola while Carrie had a large glass of Club Orange, and Rita had gotten a glass of peach flavoured iced tea with ice cubes in it and a wedge of lemon on the rim of the glass. After being given their drinks, Sue turned her head towards Jack while raising her glass.
"Well Jack…happy 19th birthday." she said.
"Happy birthday!" the others round the table said in agreement, as they too raised their glasses. Jack simply smiled, raised his glass and said "Thanks everyone" before he and they all clinked their glasses together, said "Cheers!" before they took sips from their glasses.
Very soon, after no more than 15 minutes or so, they were all served their first courses. The waitresses stepped out from the busy kitchen pushing wooden trolleys, with brass fittings and all polished to a very high shine, before them. Stopping by the table, they laid out the correct starters in front of everyone, asking beforehand who had ordered what.
Jack's bowl of cream of asparagus soup was placed before him. He leaned in a little and took in a deep sniff; it smelt really nice and there were some pieces of fried crispy bacon and fully cooked asparagus tips in the middle of the steaming soup, which would add a nice level of texture and saltiness to the taste of the soup.
"Now this looks delicious." Jack said, as he reached for his soup spoon.
"It certainly looks good." Carrie said, as she placed her napkin on her lap.
"Well, come on you lot…let's dig in before it all gets cold." Rita said, and they all agreed as they picked up their knives and forks or spoons before they tucked in.
For a few moments, they were all silent as they ate away, all too busy savouring their food than to talk to each other.
"Hmm, this is good." Roy said, as he munched on his BBQ spare ribs with dip.
"Indeed, the food here is fantastic." Heather said, as she savoured the different flavours in her shrimp cocktail.
"I agree. So far I'm very impressed with it." Catherine said, as she swallowed another bite before reaching for her glass of 7Up and taking a big sip from it.
"I think we're in for a good dinner tonight." Grace said, as she took another sip of soup.
"I agree. It's been a while since I last ate here and I've forgotten how nice their food is." Norma said, as she ate another spicy shrimp with a dab of spicy cream sauce and savoured the rich flavours.
"It seems you picked quite a good place for us all to eat at tonight, Jack." Rita whispered to Jack, as she took a sip of her iced tea. Jack chuckled for a moment before he spoke.
"Thanks, Rita. I liked the look of this restaurant the moment I laid eyes on it, and so I felt this would be suitable for tonight." Jack said, and giving a smile, Rita turned back to the crab cakes on her plate.
It didn't take very long, but soon everyone at the table had finished their starters and the two waitresses took the dirty dishes back into the kitchen. When that was done, they began to talk again while waiting for the next course to arrive, and they didn't have too long to wait. After about 10 minutes, the two waitresses stepped out of the kitchen with the same two trolleys and wheeled them to the table. When Carrie looked on one of the trolleys, she noticed the main courses weren't there but there were small glasses with what looked like scoops of pale green ice cream in them and small spoons sticking out of the glasses.
"What are these? This isn't the main course." Carrie said slightly surprised, as the waitresses placed one of the glasses in front of everyone.
"Oh, there's no need to worry, Carrie. This is just a palate cleanser before the main course is served out to us." Rita said.
"That's right. This'll help you to really enjoy the next course, as it'll clean your tongue so you can taste the main course better." Jack said.
"Oh, okay. I was just wondering why we were suddenly being served what looked like ice cream before the main course." Carrie said, now that she fully understood.
"I made that mistake once before…and I'm sure we all have." Sue said, as most of the others, including Tommy, nodded in agreement.
"Well, let's dig into these before they melt." Jack said, as he picked up his sorbet spoon and tucked into his sorbet scoop while the others quickly followed suite. Jack took a taste of the sorbet as it melted over his tongue; it was a citrus lemon and lime sorbet and he liked the sweet refreshing taste as it melted over his tongue.
"This is nice. I've never tried this before." Carrie said, as she savoured the sweet cold taste.
"I think this is a very good pallet cleanser. And one of many different sorbets I've tried in my life." Rita said, as she too savoured the sweet taste.
After less than five minutes, they had finished their pallet cleaners and set down their spoons in the empty dishes.
"That was nice." Carrie said, as she wiped her lips with her napkin.
"Yes, I think that certainly helped to clean off my pallet…ready for the next course." Catherine said, as she took a sip of her drink.
"Hmm, and I think it was nice to have something like this before the main course is served." Louise said.
"And it shouldn't be too long before the next course is served to us." Tommy said.
"You know, it's been a while since I was last at a dinner which had a pallet cleanser course like this served." Sue said, as she looked at Jack.
"When was that?" asked Jack, as he took a sip of his cola.
"At a wedding of one of my mother's closest friends down in North Carolina about three years back." Sue said.
"That must've been quite an event." Grace said.
"It was. We had quite a great time down there. And I'd do it all over again if I could." Sue said, as she smiled at those memories she held so fondly.
"Hmm, I bet you would." Jack thought to himself.
It wasn't too long before the waitresses took the used sorbet dishes into the kitchen and brought out some fresh drinks from the restaurant's bar to those who ordered them. As they waited for their main courses, they all chatted together as they'd done between courses. At one point, Carrie briefly looked outside the window; the sun, though it was still reasonably high in the sky, was slowly setting nearer and nearer to the horizon as the day neared its end. The clouds that had been present earlier on had now cleared away, leaving the sky a bright blue that was slowly turning a slightly darker shade of blue every few minutes as night came closer and closer.
Soon, the main courses were served out to everyone at the table, along with sides, condiments and dishes of rich sauces that had been prepared within the kitchen during the course of the day. Jack's ribeye steak, well done, was placed before him as Carrie's burger was placed before her at the same time. They both smiled at their meals as their eyes looked over them.
"Now this looks really nice." Carrie said, as she placed her napkin on her lap and reached for her knife and fork.
"Yeah, come on, let's dig in before it all goes cold." Jack said, as he too reached for his knife and fork. And with everyone agreeing to that statement, they did. A silence descended over the table, only being interrupted by the sounds of cutlery clanking off plates as they ate, sounds of cooking coming from inside the kitchen and music being played in a different part of the restaurant. Jack really enjoyed his ribeye steak, as well as the peppercorn sauce, triple cooked chips and the vegetables served on the side.
"How's your burger, Carrie?" whispered Jack, as he turned to look at Carrie at one point.
"It's delicious. I think this is one of the nicest placed I've ever eaten at." Carrie said, as she wiped a bit of sauce off her lips with her napkin.
"I'm very glad to hear that, Carrie." Jack said with a smile, as he continued on with his meal. He noticed how everyone else seemed to be enjoying their food, judging from the smiles on their faces and how they commented to the others on how good their food was as they savoured the flavours and tastes of what they'd ordered.
"How's your chicken supreme, Rita?" asked Jack.
"It's delicious…just as nice as any chicken I've ever had in my life." Rita said, with a smile as she ate. Jack smiled back and carried on with his dinner too.
It wasn't very long before everyone at the table had finished off their main courses, leaving empty plates, used cutlery and empty glasses at each place. They were all feeling satisfied from such a good dinner, and now many of them were eager to see the dessert menu.
"How are you feeling after that dinner?" asked Jack, as he looked at Carrie.
"That was a great dinner. Probably one of the nicest I've ever had in my life." Carrie said, as she reached for her glass of soda and drained the last of it.
"I think the food here was great, and certainly some of the best steakhouse food that I've ever had." Jack said.
"I agree. This is the first time I've eaten here, and I can safely say that I'll definitely come back here again. But, maybe for a special occasion…considering the prices of the food here." Norma said, as she gulped down the last bit of soda in her glass.
"Oh, I'd agree with that, Norma." Freddy said, as he slumped back in his chair and sighed.
"Feeling a tad full after that meal, Freddy?" asked Rita, as she looked over at him.
"Just a little bit, Ms Desjardin. But I think there's plenty of room left for dessert." said Freddy, as he glanced over at her and nodded.
"All right, Freddy. But just don't overstuff yourself." Rita said.
It wasn't too long before the waitresses came out and took the dirty dishes back into the kitchen, before they then back and handed everyone a copy of the dessert menu. Opening it, they could see there was a good selection of desserts of offer, including chocolate fudge cake, apple pie, lemon cheesecake, pecan pie and crème brulee, and all served with a good selection of ice creams and sorbets.
"Now this is quite a good selection…hmm, I don't know what I'll have this evening." Louise said, as she looked over the menu.
"I know what I'll be having…it'll be the lemon meringue pie with bourbon vanilla ice cream." Catherine said.
"And I'll have a slice of apple pie." Grace said.
"What are you having, Jack?" Carrie asked.
"I think I'll have the…it'll be the apple cinnamon pie with ice cream for me. What do you think you'll have?" asked Jack.
"I'll have one of the ice cream sundaes. That's what I'm in the mood for now." Carrie said, as a smile came across her face.
"And what'll you have, Rita?" Jack asked, as he turned his attention to his surrogate big sister.
"I'm gonna have a slice of pecan pie, with some whipped cream on the side." Rita said with a smile, as she looked at Jack.
"Sounds delicious." Jack said, as he looked back at his menu.
It wasn't too long before the waitresses took the dessert orders, leaving everyone to sit around and wait for their desserts to arrive. Outside the window, it was a really nice evening outside, with a clear cloudless sky and the sun slowly getting closer to the to the horizon, though it still had some way to go to fully set, as night drew ever closer. On the streets, the number of vehicles going by became fewer as more people headed off home after a busy Saturday in the mall or at the military re-enactment show.
"So, how did you find today, Jack?" Rita asked.
"Well Rita, I think this is the best birthday I've had in a long time. And I'm really pleased that the weather was perfect for today as well." Jack said.
"And how did you enjoy today, Carrie?" Rita said, turning her attention to Carrie.
"I had one of the best times of my life today, Rita. And I hope I can do it again in the future." Carrie said, as she looked at her future guardian with a big smile on her face. And Rita couldn't help but smile too, knowing well that Carrie had at last finally broken out of that shell she had been trapped in for so long and was able to socialise with people her own age with a level of confidence she had never had before in her life.
"I'm very pleased to see you had a good time today, Carrie. And I'm also very pleased to see that you finally had a chance to take part in a social event like this before the end of high school. But the social events aren't over for you just yet, Carrie; there's prom in a week from now, and then there's the graduation ceremony taking place the week after, and there's going to be post-graduation parties taking place immediately afterwards." Rita said.
"Have you any ideas what these graduation parties are gonna be like or where they'll be held, Rita?" asked Catherine, as she injected herself into the conversation.
As Rita and Catherine began talking about the graduation parties and what they were like, Jack turned his attention to Carrie.
"Are you looking forward to prom next week, Carrie?" asked Jack.
"I am, and I'm pleased to report that my homemade prom dress is finished at last." Carrie said, as she smiled.
"Excellent, and I'm looking forward to seeing it next week." Jack said, with a smile. Then, the waitresses arrived from the kitchen with all their desserts, again being served on the trolleys.
(A little over 30 minutes later; 7:30pm)
At last, with full stomachs and very satisfied from a good dinner, the group left The Red Grill steakhouse, with Jack paying for the meal, including tips. But he didn't mind doing that though, considering how much money he had available.
As they make their way down the escalator to the main entrance on the ground floor, Jack couldn't help but notice how active the mall was, even at this time of evening. Many of the cafés, coffee shops, restaurants and other eateries were very busy with young people of high school age socialising with each other. Jack's thoughts flashed to Dublin, where many of his friends from his secondary school would no doubt be doing very similar things these young people were doing, if they didn't have their all-important Leaving Cert exams coming up in the very near future.
Arriving at the mall's main entrance, the group paused and looked over to where the military re-enactment show had taken place earlier that day; there were a good number of police officers, and even some soldiers from the U.S. National Guard, patrolling around in the grounds, keeping a close eye on the marquee tents and tanks inside, ready for more customers to arrive for the second day of the show the following day.
"Well, who'd like to come over to my apartment for a drink?" asked Jack.
"Yeah, I'd like that. And we've plenty of time for it too. I told my parents I'd be back home at about 9:00pm." Heather said.
"And I told my parents I'd be coming home at about the same time, so I'm up for that drink." Roy said.
"All right, what about you Tommy and Sue?" asked Jack.
"Of course, I wouldn't mind a drink right now." Tommy said.
"Yeah, might as well take you up on that offer." Sue said.
"Sure, I'll take a drink if you're offering one." said Freddy.
"Certainly, just as long as there's no alcohol in it though." Norma said, as she showed her peppy smile. And everyone chuckled.
"Hey, don't worry, Norma. There's no alcohol in my apartment. Come on, let's go." Jack said, as the rest of the group went across the street.
(In the apartment, a few minutes later)
Once the group had been served their drinks, a selection of soft drinks, they sat down and relaxed while Jack showed Norma, Freddy, Heather and Roy round the apartment, while the triplets snuck off to get the birthday cake that they'd hidden in one of the two spare bedrooms earlier on in the day; all three were eager to give their brother one last birthday surprise before this day was out.
"This is one fine apartment, Jack. But it does seem a little bit…on the big side for one person." Freddy said, as he took a sip of his glass of Pepsi while Jack showed them round the master bedroom.
"I know it is Freddy, but now with my sisters staying with me, it doesn't seem that big a place anymore. Anyway, when my parents and I were making the preparations for me to come over here a few months back, this apartment was all that was available for me." Jack said, taking a sip from his can of Coca Cola.
"I see, but I see you've made the best of it." Norma said, as she looked round.
"Yeah, I did. And at least it's my own place…for a short while at least while I'm here in the States." Jack said, as he looked wistfully around.
"Well, you're a very lucky man in that respect, Jack. Many of us at Ewen High are still living at home, and yearning to move out into our own places." Roy said.
"Hey, don't worry you lot. You'll all get a chance to move into your own places one day…as will everyone else in Ewen High." Jack said.
"Yeah, I guess you're right there, Jack." Heather said.
Then Louise appeared at the open door.
"Hey, you guys. Come on, Jack, we've got something out here for you." she said, as she disappeared from view. Curious as to what she meant, Jack, Freddy and Norma headed out and were greeted by "Surprise!" from the triplets, Rita, Carrie, Sue and Tommy as they showed off the nicely decorated two tier birthday cake sitting on the counter of the kitchen island.
"Just one last surprise for your birthday, big bro." Catherine said.
"A b-birthday cake?" Jack said, in astonished surprise.
"We had this specially made for you in one of the mall's bakeries. It's chocolate fudge with that rich buttercream icing you like." Louise said.
"Many thanks." Jack said, as his eyes looked over the cake; the outside of each tier was decorated with a simple chocolate frosting, with the lower tier being slightly darker than the one above. There were a few chocolate swirls piped onto the cake and even a few white chocolate swirls along the top and sides of the top tier. Jack brought up his camera, which he still had with him in its carry bag round his shoulder, and took a few pictures of the cake. Then Rita took a few pictures of Jack and Carrie with the triplets and the others standing round the cake as well.
"Well, come on…what are we all waiting for…let's dig in." Grace said, as she put some forks and plates onto the kitchen island and picked up the knife.
A few minutes later, with everyone having been given a slice of cake, they sat down in the living area and tucked into their slice.
"Hmm, this is a very good cake. It's so soft, moist and luscious!" Norma said, as she savoured the rich taste of the cake.
"Well, it's almost as good as the similar ones our mother bakes in her bakery business at home." Catherine said, as she took another forkful of cake.
"Hey…this cake is still very nice. As is the frosting in it, by the way." Sue said.
"Yeah, I know." Catherine said.
Then Heather, sitting on one end of the couch, noticed the triplets, sitting at the kitchen island, all seemed to have a sort of gloomy look on their faces.
"Hey…what's up you three? Why the forlorn looks on your faces?" she asked. The triplets looked up at her from their slices of cake, and were silent for a moment.
"Well Heather…it's just that next Friday, prom night, marks five years since our grandmother on our mom's side, and our last living grandparent, passed away." Louise said.
"And we're just feeling a little down at the thought that we won't be back home to remember her with the family on the day." Grace said.
"Oh, we're so sorry about that you three. But…I'm sure your family will understand that." Tommy said, reassuringly.
"Yeah, don't worry too much you three." Freddy said, reassuringly.
They were silent for a few moments as they enjoyed their sodas and slices of cake, while outside the low sounds of the odd vehicle passing could be heard.
"So, Jack…I expect you had quite a good time today." Rita said.
"Indeed, I did, Rita. I think it's the best birthday I've had for quite a long while." Jack said with a smile, as he settled back into his armchair.
"Do you think you might go to the military show tomorrow?" Norma asked.
"I don't know if I will, Norma. But I'll give it some thought. I'm sure it won't do any harm though." Jack said, as he finished his can of Coca Cola.
"Hey come on, Jack…if the military show is going to be on tomorrow as well, you might as well take advantage of it being there." Sue said.
"Yeah…I guess you're right, Sue." Jack said.
"Has your mother ever made any…big cakes in her bakery business, Jack?" Roy asked.
"Yes, her business has turned out its share of very large cakes. One very memorable one that comes to mind took place just last year." Jack said, as everyone else leaned in, barring the triplets as they knew the story their brother was going to tell. Catherine had her laptop on her lap and turned it on.
"Last year, 2016, to mark the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising, a special order was placed with the O'Connell Street bakery for a large chocolate cake made in the form of Dublin's General Post Office, the GPO, along O'Connell Street, which served as the headquarters of the uprising's leaders in 1916." Jack said.
"Where's the GPO in relation to the bakery?" Sue asked.
"Just down the street a few hundred yards. And I do work certain days in that bakery, as do some of my friends from my school and…" Jack said.
"Not forgetting the three of us at times, by the way!" interrupted Grace.
"Of course…" Jack said, as the others chuckled briefly. "Anyway, I and my school friends who worked there were among those asked to help with that particular cake. We arrived a little before 9am, dressed into the appropriate clothing and got to work on that cake. And that was the start of a VERY long day."
"The whole day?" Norma asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, we finished a little after five…after a full day of scurrying, fetching, mixing, assembly and cake decorating. And it wasn't just us…a few of those who worked at the bakery were also asked to help with the cake. By the time we were all finished, we had a really impressive cake, which resembled the GPO to a T, that weighed about 70 pounds." Jack said.
"Seventy POUNDS?!" everyone, except the triplets, asked in surprise.
"And here's the cake in question, everyone." Catherine said, as she turned her laptop screen to show everyone. Right there on the screen was the cake, sitting on a table by the back of the bakery on the ground floor; Jack was standing off at one side of the cake, wearing his baker's whites and hat, that showed evidence of that day's work. He looked quite tired, despite the proud smile on his face. In the background of the photo, they could see an open door with a van outside, ready to take the cake away to whoever had ordered it.
"WOW! Now THAT is one big-ass cake." Roy said in utter astonishment.
"You look quite tired in that photo, Jack." Rita said.
"Yeah, I was, Rita…and, after a long day like that, boy was I very glad to get into bed that night!" Jack said, as he smiled at that memory.
"Hmm, I bet you were!" Heather said, with a chuckle.
"That's a very impressive cake that you and your friends made, with a lot of care and attention to detail, but who ordered a cake like that, by the way?" Sue asked.
"Well…it was the Irish government of course, for the special commemorative banquet for the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising. Quite a few Irish government ministers no doubt enjoyed that cake after that dinner." Jack said.
"I bet they did!" Norma said, quietly.
"And was it made in the bakery's upstairs kitchens?" Carrie asked.
"It was, and was assembled on the first floor throughout the course of the day, one component at a time as they were finished." Jack said.
"But how did you manage to get it all down to the ground floor without a major disaster occurring?" asked Tommy.
"Well, the bakery has a special dumb waiter system built for moving cakes of that weight and size between the different floors as needed, without having to carry something like that down the stairs, and eliminating the potential for a messy disaster." Jack said.
"Of course." Tommy said, in understanding.
(A little while later)
After half an hour of socialising and talking over the events of the day, and how nice dinner had been, Norma and Freddy and Heather and Roy decided to leave for home, leaving Jack and the triplets with Carrie, Rita, Sue and Tommy back at the apartment.
"So, Jack, apart from mentioning that you'll probably buy that large house just outside of town…have you thought of anything else you might do with your share of the money your family won recently?" asked Sue.
"Now Sue, I don't think you should be asking questions like that." Rita said.
"Hey, it's all right, Rita. Those two have proven they can keep a secret. Beyond those who were in this room, no-one else in the school knows." said Catherine.
"Okay, but make sure nobody else finds out about it." Rita said, and they all nodded at her before Jack turned to Sue.
"Yes Sue, and I've got that answer to that right here." Jack said, as he reached into his laptop bag and pulled out the book he'd bought before dinner, British Railways Steam Locomotives 1948 – 1968; 2nd edition. "As you might know, I've got a big interest in railways and British steam locomotives and I've been thinking of setting up a business somewhere in the UK of building brand new steam locomotives as well as replicas of lost examples that should have been preserved, but sadly weren't." Jack said. Carrie, Rita, Sue and Tommy stared at Jack for a moment; they hadn't been expecting that answer, though to the triplets that answer was no big surprise, considering their brother's love of trains.
"Are you sure you'd want to do something like that, Jack?" Carrie asked.
"Most certainly, and building brand new steam locomotives in this modern age of electronics isn't at all unusual." Jack said.
"Isn't it?" Tommy asked, as his eyebrows went up in surprise.
"Of course; a few years back in 2008, the first brand new main line steam locomotive built in the UK since 1960, No. 60163 Tornado, an LNER Peppercorn A1 4-6-2, was completed and now the people responsible for building her are working on a second project to build another lost steam locomotive, an LNER Gresley P2 2-8-2, in the form of No. 2007 Prince of Wales." Jack said.
"But would things like that be on a small, cottage industry like scale?" Sue asked.
"Of course, and will public donations, but…and with the massive fortune I have at my disposal…I want to take that idea and do it on a much larger industrial scale that's privately funded. I'd also like to take locomotive designs that didn't prove successful and redevelop them so that they can perform to their full potential, as well as build steam locomotives of brand-new designs and experiment with existing ones." Jack said.
"I think that sounds like a good idea, Jack. I'm sure such an idea would also bring quite a lot of employment to wherever in the UK you plan to set up this business." Tommy said.
"It would, as I'm sure would the job of rebuilding lost railways closed down and torn up in the 1960's, which is another thing I'd like to do." Jack said.
"And would you try build every single steam locomotive than ran on Britain's railway system if you were to open that business?" Rita asked.
"Oh no, because that would mean building at least 40,000 steam locomotives, if not more. But what I'll do is build a good chunk of those lost classes, although if the classes are small enough, which many of them were, I will build replicas of every single example." Jack said.
"Well Jack…whatever you want to do with that money you have is entirely your business and I wish you luck at whatever it is you do." Rita said, with a smile.
"Thanks, Rita." Jack said, while smiling back at Rita.
"Hey guys, while I've got my laptop up, I'd like to show you all photos of the private jet the three of us flew over on a few days ago." Grace said.
"Sure." Carrie said, as she, Jack, Rita, Sue and Tommy looked over to Grace.
"Jack, you're gonna love this jet when we show you the pictures!" Catherine said.
"Hmm, oh I'm sure I will." Jack said, as he looked over to Grace's laptop.
(Meanwhile; over in the school gymnasium)
Chris Hargensen was angry; her perfect life and the reputation she had spent years building up in Ewen High was completely ruined. Her father had been fired from his law firm for sweeping the records of his daughter and her boyfriend under the rug, and he probably would never be hired again. Her boyfriend Billy was in police custody, as were his two lackeys, and would be facing a very long time behind bars for his actions.
Not only that, all the other remaining girls in the "Ultras" were all suffering the consequences for their actions brought to light by someone they hadn't seen coming only two months before.
"Jack Sullivan…this is all your fault!" she muttered through gritted teeth. "If it wasn't for you coming here and poking your nose into business that wasn't yours, then I wouldn't be suffering like this! Me and the other Ultras would still be ruling this school and everyone in it!"
Using all her might, she hauled up a bucket full of pig's blood and then positioned it in the rafters of the gym hall right over the stage where the Prom King and Queen would be crowned on prom night. The thrones had already been set up and placed side by side, ready to receive the lucky two who would be voted King and Queen. Before Billy had been beaten by Jack, he and his two lackeys had managed to get the blood from a farm just outside of Chamberlain, and Chris was determined that it would be put to good use.
At last, with the full bucket in place and the rope connected to it and placed where she wanted it to be, Chris quickly got down from the catwalk over the stage and made her way down to the exit doors, with an evil smirk on her face.
"Well, Jack…you and your girlfriend Carrie White are in for a really big surprise. I'm gonna make sure that prom night is one that you'll never forget." and giving an evil laugh, which echoed all-round the empty gym hall, she turned and headed out the door.