Back In The Old Town For Thanksgiving
By: CNJ
PG-13
3
Claudia:
It was sooo good seeing my
family again! In Minnesota, we'd already gotten a sprinkling of snow. Here
it was cold, but hadn't snowed yet. Janine was also back in Stoneybrook
for Thanksgiving. She's in her senior year at the Virginia Naval Academy.
"How's Granite U?" Janine
asked, giving me a hug.
"Great," I told her as our
family got ready to eat. "They got a little snow there last week." As we
ate, I told them more about Granite U. and that Liza Barry was there. I'd
actually met Liza in high school and she'd gone to Burkeview High, Stoneybrook
High's rival. I wondered if Liza was with her family now. "I can't wait
to see Lynn," I added. Lynn is my four year-old cousin.
"Your aunt and uncle are
coming for Thanksgiving," Mom told us as she finished her rice.
"Good..." Janine and I said
simultaneously. After we ate and did the dishes, I told my parents I was
going over to Kristy's parents for a while where my BSC friends were all
meeting, then headed there. It was blustery and windy.
It was soo good seeing my
BSC friends again! The next few minutes were full of yowls, screams, and
a few tears as we all greeted. By then, all the original BSC members were
here.
"Just want to announce that
the Next Generation of the BSC is off and running!" Kristy told all of
us. "And in addition, they have two new members, inducted last week!" Hey,
good! They're up to seven members now. We had a little food and stood in
the Thomas family room, catching up. Mary Anne and Mona sat next to me
and told me about NYC and Staten U. I was reminded of some of the parties
and get-togethers we used to have back in middle and high school. That
gave me an idea.
"Hey, everyone..." I called.
My friends looked over at me. "Why don't we have a sleepover for old times'
sake?" My friends looked at each other for a minute, then nodded.
"Yeah..." "Sounds good..."
"Where should we have it?"
Abby asked.
"What about here?" Kristy
suggested. "My folks wouldn't mind. We could rent a movie and use the family
room." We talked more and I remembered the monthly sleepovers we'd had
back in high school. We would have them usually the first Saturday of the
month and either watch a movie, play games like Uno or Dominoes and eat,
eat, eat.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dawn:
A lot had changed in these
past four and a half years, I realized on Thanksgiving Day as our family
was ready to sit down. Verna Baker and Richard were united since the summer
after tenth grade. Mom was an architect now and was much happier in this
career than her previous one. But some things haven't and one thing that
hasn't is that Mom and I are vegetarians. Granny and Pop-pop still sometimes
bicker, but not as much as they used to. All in all, it was a peaceful
affair. It felt odd, yet like a good vacation being back in Connecticut
after three months in the desert at Tucson U.
"Dawn, you're getting tan
again," Mom commented.
"Yep, I'm back in the sun,"
I smiled. Arizona is almost like being back in California, but without
the beaches. When I took off from there on Tuesday, it was seventy-seven
degrees, bright, sunny and dry. I'd almost forgotten to bring my jacket
and it was a good thing I did bring it because it was only forty-two degrees
here and mostly cloudy. After we ate, our parents and grandparents had
coffee in the living room while Mary Anne and I went out for a walk and
some sister bonding. It was windy out and we paused once in a while to
watch the colorful leaves twirl around the sidewalk like little tornadoes.
"Sometimes, there's just
so much beauty in the world, my heart feels like a huge air balloon," Mary
Anne said softly. "And then I worry I'll explode or go crazy with it all."
"You mean the leaves?" I
asked.
"That's one thing," Mary
Anne nodded, her dark eyes having an expression I couldn't quite decipher.
Mary Anne is a quiet person, but has some really deep things that go through
her head. We watched the leaves a while longer. They really are pretty,
I thought.
"How are the leaves in New
York City?" I asked. "Are they as colorful or just dingy?"
"A mix," Mary Anne told
me as we started back. "In some of the parks, like Central Park and Battery
Park, they're bright and beautiful. But in some of the crowded inner city
streets, they're still colorful, but it's like a smoky colors. I suppose
it's because of the pollution."
"Yeah..." I agreed that
pollution was one thing we all needed much less of. We talked a little
about our first weeks in college. "...it was a little like being back in
California, but without the beaches and the buildings were different."
Then Mary Anne told me about
New York City life. "...the whole first week was like a dream of buildings,
a millions places and so many people from all over. It's like I'm living
the terrific dream I've had since I was twelve of living in New York and
now the dream is my real life and coming back here made me realize that
Stoneybrook has shrunk into a dream, a past dream. It's incredible."
"We really are adults,"
I sighed. "It's kind of that way with me, since you point it out. Like
our childhood and teen years are a past dream and adulthood is our lives.
Wow." By then, we'd gotten back to the house on Burnt Hill Road. We watched
the leaves a few minutes longer before heading inside.
