Chapter Three
Megan's Arrival
For Jennifer, Rick and Evelyn Tuesday passed by quickly but for Alex it seemed to drag on forever. When Wednesday finally came, the boy was as hyper as a cocker spaniel with too much sugar.
Jennifer was tried; suffering from the second day in a row without sleep. Once again she was the first person awake and had breakfast waiting for the rest of the O'Connell house-hold, including Jonathan who had come to spend time with his sisters. However, Jennifer was sure she wasn't going to be seeing too much of him since he would so find some pretty woman or a new casino that would take up his time.
After all the dishes were put away, Evelyn and Rick both had to go off to work. Evelyn to the museum and Rick to meet a potential buyer for some of the recently discovered 'treasure' from Egypt. Both Rick and Evelyn let together; as soon as they were outside Evelyn turned to her husband.
"I'm worried about Jennifer. Doesn't it seem like she hasn't been getting any sleep?" Evelyn asked as she slipped the hood of her raincoat over her head.
Rick shrugged. "Maybe, but I'm sure it's just a 'faze'. It'll pass and she'll be fine." Rick said, not wanting his wife to worry. Before parting, they shared a passionate good-bye kiss.
Back inside the O'Connell manor, Alex was bothering his aunt non-stop. "When are we going?" He repeated over and over, tugging at her shirt and running circles around her.
Jennifer sighed and looked down at her nephew. "Get ready and then we'll go, you mum told me that the train is due at noon so we have some time to kill but…" Jennifer began but her words fell on deaf ears because Alex was already upstairs, putting on his clothes.
Jennifer got the umbrella and her raincoat and Alex's raincoat and waited downstairs in the sitting room for him to reappear. Horus was perched on her shoulder, eager to go outside -even if it was pouring down rain.
Alex bolted down the stairs and ran into the sitting room. "I'm ready, see." Alex said and showed Jennifer is outfit. Jennifer nodded and tossed Alex his raincoat. "Put that on and we can go." Jennifer said as she slipped her own raincoat on.
"Do I have to wear the hood?" Alex asked, the hood of his raincoat clutched in his hand. Alex hated wearing the hood to his coat because it made his forehead itch and it almost covered his eyes.
Jennifer shrugged. "No, we have an umbrella but if you get wet you have to wear it." Jennifer said.
Alex clapped his hands and let the hood fall onto his back. "Ready!" He cried and headed toward the door.
Jennifer followed her nephew and opened the umbrella as they stepped outside. Jennifer, Alex and Horus stepped out from under the underhand and into the rain. The rain made echoing, dull sounding noises as they hit the umbrella, as if they were angry that they wouldn't be able to soak those under the umbrella.
The walk to the bus stop seemed to take longer than usual because Jennifer had to keep reprimanding Alex about splashing in puddles. However, by the time they arrived at the bus stop both of them were soaked and Jennifer had left the umbrella hidden in a bush because it was no use any more.
As Alex splashed in puddles and ran up and down the sidewalk, Jennifer shivered, seeking the semi-sheltering tree branches that grew around the bus stop. Soon, the bus came and Jennifer and Alex -as well as Horus- climbed aboard, Jennifer paid the fares while Alex picked their seats.
Alex chose seats in the back because he liked to stare out the big windows. Jennifer joined her nephew as the bus started the move; Jennifer sat down and felt the vibrating rhythm of the moving bus. It reminded her of the vibrating of the train, the train they were on when they had been captured by Anubis.
The ride to the train station was long, longer then the ride to museum which both Jennifer and Alex were used to taking. The train station lay outside of the main part of London city; the station was nestled in the pastoral setting of large pine trees and clear streams. However, most of the beauty was over shadowed by the road paved through it; the road was heavily traveled because of the train station. By the time the bus neared the train station, Alex was half-asleep with his head rested against Jennifer's wet shoulder. Alex's hair was plastered to the side of his head and Jennifer was sure she didn't look much better; Jennifer could feel her thick hair matted against the back of her head and itching her neck.
As the bus pulled up to the "train station bus stop", Jennifer shook her nephew awake. "Alex, we're here." She whispered and brushed a lock of wet hair off his forehead.
Alex slowly opened his eyes and then sat up, realizing what his aunt had said. "Yay! Megan!" He yelled and jumped up, running down the aisle of the bus.
Jennifer, Alex and Horus left the bus and watched it disappear in the distance before running into the station to get out of the rain. Despite the foul weather, the train station was as busy as it always was. People pushed past each other, not even caring whom the passed: just another face in the crowd. Businessmen and women carried real leather or imitation leather briefcases as they filed out of trains or into them. Alex looked around the station in awe; Jennifer was sure the boy had never been in a train station before, but she wasn't sure. Jennifer had never been found of trains or train stations; they reminded her of things in her life that she didn't want to be reminded of. Like when she was nine and she discovered she was adopted and had run away from home. She had taken a train and had gotten to the coast of Georgia before someone cared enough to come and retrieve her.
Jennifer and Alex looked around the station for some sort of a map or someone who could tell them exactly when Megan's train was due. Finally, Jennifer was able to discover that Megan's train wasn't due for another hour.
Alex and Jennifer sat down on one of the benches, out of the way of all the hurried passersby. Alex sighed and then turned to face Jennifer. "I'm hungry. Is it almost lunch time?" The boy asked.
Jennifer looked up at the station's clock and shook her head. "No, it's only ten o'clock. When Megan gets here, then we'll all eat something together okay." Jennifer said.
Alex nodded and asked if he could hold Horus. Horus climbed onto his outstretched hand and flapped his wings.
For an hour, Jennifer and Alex managed to keep themselves entertained as they waited for Megan's train to arrive. When it was finally time and the train arrived, Alex leapt off the hard bench and ran toward the coming train.
"Alexander O'Connell, stop right there!" Jennifer called as she stood up and followed her nephew.
Alex stopped and turned around to wait for Jennifer. The train slid to a complete stop and the stewardesses opened the train doors for the passengers to exit the train.
"Where's Megan? Do you see her?" Alex asked as he jumped up and down to try and see above the crowd of people.
"Alex, I don't even know what Megan looks like." Jennifer muttered, calming the boy down.
"What if she missed the train, or got on the wrong one or something?" Alex asked, turning to his aunt.
"I'm sure Megan didn't get on the wrong train." Jennifer said, reassuring her nephew to some point.
"There! I see her!" Alex cried and began pointing.
Jennifer followed Alex's gesturers to see a girl, just a little taller then Alex -because of the age difference- standing in a blue pastoral dress that fell past her ankles. Her blonde hair was curled and tucked under a bonnet that matched her dress. In her hand was a new looking leather suitcase with a tag that gave her name and address.
Alex ran ahead of Jennifer and over to his friend. They yelled each other's names before embracing quickly and then pulling away, embarrassed as younger kids get.
Jennifer joined her nephew and was quickly introduced to Megan. Megan shook Jennifer's hand and greeted her in French, to show Alex that she could speak French as well as English.
Jennifer picked up Megan's bag. "Is this the only bag you have?" She asked, motioning to the bag with her other hand.
Megan nodded. "Yep, that's it." Megan answered.
The three of them -including Horus- exited the train station; Megan and Alex hadn't stopped talking to each other since they had started walking toward the exit. Megan was telling Alex all about life in Paris, and Alex listened to everything with eager ears.
When they reached the exit of the station, Jennifer saw -to her disgust- that it was still raining. "Megan, do you have a raincoat?" Jennifer asked. At the same time Jennifer pulled the hood of Alex's raincoat over his head; Alex groaned but didn't argue back.
Megan shook her head. "I didn't think I would need one, boy do I feel stupid." Megan said, wrinkling her face in displeasure.
"That's all right, you can use mine." Jennifer said and took her raincoat off and handed it to Megan.
Megan said 'thank you' and put Jennifer's raincoat on. Then, the three of them -including Horus- exited the station and headed to the bus stop to wait for the bus.
Megan's Arrival
For Jennifer, Rick and Evelyn Tuesday passed by quickly but for Alex it seemed to drag on forever. When Wednesday finally came, the boy was as hyper as a cocker spaniel with too much sugar.
Jennifer was tried; suffering from the second day in a row without sleep. Once again she was the first person awake and had breakfast waiting for the rest of the O'Connell house-hold, including Jonathan who had come to spend time with his sisters. However, Jennifer was sure she wasn't going to be seeing too much of him since he would so find some pretty woman or a new casino that would take up his time.
After all the dishes were put away, Evelyn and Rick both had to go off to work. Evelyn to the museum and Rick to meet a potential buyer for some of the recently discovered 'treasure' from Egypt. Both Rick and Evelyn let together; as soon as they were outside Evelyn turned to her husband.
"I'm worried about Jennifer. Doesn't it seem like she hasn't been getting any sleep?" Evelyn asked as she slipped the hood of her raincoat over her head.
Rick shrugged. "Maybe, but I'm sure it's just a 'faze'. It'll pass and she'll be fine." Rick said, not wanting his wife to worry. Before parting, they shared a passionate good-bye kiss.
Back inside the O'Connell manor, Alex was bothering his aunt non-stop. "When are we going?" He repeated over and over, tugging at her shirt and running circles around her.
Jennifer sighed and looked down at her nephew. "Get ready and then we'll go, you mum told me that the train is due at noon so we have some time to kill but…" Jennifer began but her words fell on deaf ears because Alex was already upstairs, putting on his clothes.
Jennifer got the umbrella and her raincoat and Alex's raincoat and waited downstairs in the sitting room for him to reappear. Horus was perched on her shoulder, eager to go outside -even if it was pouring down rain.
Alex bolted down the stairs and ran into the sitting room. "I'm ready, see." Alex said and showed Jennifer is outfit. Jennifer nodded and tossed Alex his raincoat. "Put that on and we can go." Jennifer said as she slipped her own raincoat on.
"Do I have to wear the hood?" Alex asked, the hood of his raincoat clutched in his hand. Alex hated wearing the hood to his coat because it made his forehead itch and it almost covered his eyes.
Jennifer shrugged. "No, we have an umbrella but if you get wet you have to wear it." Jennifer said.
Alex clapped his hands and let the hood fall onto his back. "Ready!" He cried and headed toward the door.
Jennifer followed her nephew and opened the umbrella as they stepped outside. Jennifer, Alex and Horus stepped out from under the underhand and into the rain. The rain made echoing, dull sounding noises as they hit the umbrella, as if they were angry that they wouldn't be able to soak those under the umbrella.
The walk to the bus stop seemed to take longer than usual because Jennifer had to keep reprimanding Alex about splashing in puddles. However, by the time they arrived at the bus stop both of them were soaked and Jennifer had left the umbrella hidden in a bush because it was no use any more.
As Alex splashed in puddles and ran up and down the sidewalk, Jennifer shivered, seeking the semi-sheltering tree branches that grew around the bus stop. Soon, the bus came and Jennifer and Alex -as well as Horus- climbed aboard, Jennifer paid the fares while Alex picked their seats.
Alex chose seats in the back because he liked to stare out the big windows. Jennifer joined her nephew as the bus started the move; Jennifer sat down and felt the vibrating rhythm of the moving bus. It reminded her of the vibrating of the train, the train they were on when they had been captured by Anubis.
The ride to the train station was long, longer then the ride to museum which both Jennifer and Alex were used to taking. The train station lay outside of the main part of London city; the station was nestled in the pastoral setting of large pine trees and clear streams. However, most of the beauty was over shadowed by the road paved through it; the road was heavily traveled because of the train station. By the time the bus neared the train station, Alex was half-asleep with his head rested against Jennifer's wet shoulder. Alex's hair was plastered to the side of his head and Jennifer was sure she didn't look much better; Jennifer could feel her thick hair matted against the back of her head and itching her neck.
As the bus pulled up to the "train station bus stop", Jennifer shook her nephew awake. "Alex, we're here." She whispered and brushed a lock of wet hair off his forehead.
Alex slowly opened his eyes and then sat up, realizing what his aunt had said. "Yay! Megan!" He yelled and jumped up, running down the aisle of the bus.
Jennifer, Alex and Horus left the bus and watched it disappear in the distance before running into the station to get out of the rain. Despite the foul weather, the train station was as busy as it always was. People pushed past each other, not even caring whom the passed: just another face in the crowd. Businessmen and women carried real leather or imitation leather briefcases as they filed out of trains or into them. Alex looked around the station in awe; Jennifer was sure the boy had never been in a train station before, but she wasn't sure. Jennifer had never been found of trains or train stations; they reminded her of things in her life that she didn't want to be reminded of. Like when she was nine and she discovered she was adopted and had run away from home. She had taken a train and had gotten to the coast of Georgia before someone cared enough to come and retrieve her.
Jennifer and Alex looked around the station for some sort of a map or someone who could tell them exactly when Megan's train was due. Finally, Jennifer was able to discover that Megan's train wasn't due for another hour.
Alex and Jennifer sat down on one of the benches, out of the way of all the hurried passersby. Alex sighed and then turned to face Jennifer. "I'm hungry. Is it almost lunch time?" The boy asked.
Jennifer looked up at the station's clock and shook her head. "No, it's only ten o'clock. When Megan gets here, then we'll all eat something together okay." Jennifer said.
Alex nodded and asked if he could hold Horus. Horus climbed onto his outstretched hand and flapped his wings.
For an hour, Jennifer and Alex managed to keep themselves entertained as they waited for Megan's train to arrive. When it was finally time and the train arrived, Alex leapt off the hard bench and ran toward the coming train.
"Alexander O'Connell, stop right there!" Jennifer called as she stood up and followed her nephew.
Alex stopped and turned around to wait for Jennifer. The train slid to a complete stop and the stewardesses opened the train doors for the passengers to exit the train.
"Where's Megan? Do you see her?" Alex asked as he jumped up and down to try and see above the crowd of people.
"Alex, I don't even know what Megan looks like." Jennifer muttered, calming the boy down.
"What if she missed the train, or got on the wrong one or something?" Alex asked, turning to his aunt.
"I'm sure Megan didn't get on the wrong train." Jennifer said, reassuring her nephew to some point.
"There! I see her!" Alex cried and began pointing.
Jennifer followed Alex's gesturers to see a girl, just a little taller then Alex -because of the age difference- standing in a blue pastoral dress that fell past her ankles. Her blonde hair was curled and tucked under a bonnet that matched her dress. In her hand was a new looking leather suitcase with a tag that gave her name and address.
Alex ran ahead of Jennifer and over to his friend. They yelled each other's names before embracing quickly and then pulling away, embarrassed as younger kids get.
Jennifer joined her nephew and was quickly introduced to Megan. Megan shook Jennifer's hand and greeted her in French, to show Alex that she could speak French as well as English.
Jennifer picked up Megan's bag. "Is this the only bag you have?" She asked, motioning to the bag with her other hand.
Megan nodded. "Yep, that's it." Megan answered.
The three of them -including Horus- exited the train station; Megan and Alex hadn't stopped talking to each other since they had started walking toward the exit. Megan was telling Alex all about life in Paris, and Alex listened to everything with eager ears.
When they reached the exit of the station, Jennifer saw -to her disgust- that it was still raining. "Megan, do you have a raincoat?" Jennifer asked. At the same time Jennifer pulled the hood of Alex's raincoat over his head; Alex groaned but didn't argue back.
Megan shook her head. "I didn't think I would need one, boy do I feel stupid." Megan said, wrinkling her face in displeasure.
"That's all right, you can use mine." Jennifer said and took her raincoat off and handed it to Megan.
Megan said 'thank you' and put Jennifer's raincoat on. Then, the three of them -including Horus- exited the station and headed to the bus stop to wait for the bus.