Chapter 10
The workshop was a doityourselfer's dream. Every tool imaginable and a few that described description festooned walls and work benches. Most of the space was taken up by Alan's latest project - a sleek looking sports car or at least the beginnings of one. Em hefted the big heavy bag of her bits and pieces on one of the benches.
"Where do you want this?" Gordon had gallantly carried in the old television for her. "What antique store did you get this thing out of? It weighs a ton."
"It was my grandma's can ya believe it?" The two looked at the old fashioned 32 inch screen that had to be at least 10 inches thick - a far cry from today's ultra thin all wall models.
"Vacuum tubes?" Gordon teased tentatively. Things had been stilted between them since he started dating Charlotte seriously.
"Not quite." Silence of the uncomfortable sort fell between them.
"Um Em, I've been meaning..." Gordon fumbled for some kind of apology. He wasn't sure for what but something.
He was interrupted by the timely, or untimely presence of Alan bouncing into the room.
"Hey Em!" he said brightly. Alan liked Em.
"Yo. Big Al!" High five's were exchanged. That was one of the reasons Alan liked Em, no one else called him Big Al...he was always the kid, the baby to his family. Em always treated him like an equal.
"Hey neat stuff. What are you guys going to blow up?" Alan picked up a piece of fiber optic cable and began to chew on it.
"Don't they feed you around here?" Em said patiently and pulled the cable from his mouth. "This is going to be my senior science project."
"So, like I asked. What are you going to blow up?" Alan teased.
"This is going to be an aquarium entertainment center. You put fish into it like a real fish tank and they swim around and do fish stuff which is pretty dull. Right?"
"Just as lively as watching your clothes in the dryer." Gordon added. Em hadn't really told him her plans, and this was going to be interesting. She always had a fiendish twist to her projects.
"So, I had a little fiber optic cables here and there and a simple computer program that adds a few more fish to the tank..." she paused for effect and lowered her voice to a sinister whisper. "maybe some sharks, divers, submarines, mermaids."
"Neat! Add a sea monster!" Alan enthused.
"For you Alan, a rusting Volvo 2010 on the ocean floor with the radio on full blast."
"Sounds great!" Gordon enthused. "Let's get cracking!"
"You gonna be long? I got to tune the pipes." Alan looked at the pile of scrap on the bench.
"Couple of hours?" Gordon looked over at Em. He had been promising the use of the workshop and the welding equipment for over a month now. Something always seemed to get in the way of their conflicting schedules. Either he had a date with Charlotte, or Em had to stay home with her mother, or just the heavy senior class workload got in the way.
"Uh depends on how well the welding goes. I did most of the little soldering jobs at home." Em grinned at Alan, "Tuning pipes huh? Would that be bagpipes?"
Alan laughed. "Not quite. I leave the music stuff to Virgil and Gordon..."
"Gordon?" Em raised a brow. "He isn't musical."
"Ah he's a bathroom tenor. You should hear the stuff he's been caterwauling..."
"Alan..." Gordon began warningly.
"Looo-ooove of my life..." Alan began to sing off key. "Yooouuuu..." His voice trailed off as Gordon chased his little brother out of the room.
"Little brothers..." Gordon huffed as he turned back to Em. She already was putting things into place on the work bench. The back of the old television was taken off and she was rooting around with bolt cutters. "Uh what do you want me to do?"
"You can set up the welder. I'll be doing a slow weld, so it doesn't need to be at it's hottest. You just do that. After all it's my project. Don't need your help." The last sentence was muttered. Gordon singing love songs in the shower...that was a bad sign. Charlotte had been looking pretty pleased with herself lately. If her father hadn't made Charlie stay with Mom tonight she would have had to cancel this welding session - again.
Em was fairly competent as a welder, it was only Mr. Tracy rules that made it impossible to do the work without Gordon there.
"Hey Em." Gordon began. This was the perfect opportunity to talk to his friend. He missed having her confidence. The thing with the Naval Academy was going to come to head soon. He'd need as much backup as he could get.
"I sent off my application to the Naval Academy last October. I should be getting an answer soon."
"You told your father?" Em adjusted the heavy welding glasses over her eyes.
Gordon sighed. How well she knew him. "No. Not yet."
"What are you waiting for Flash? The earth to swallow you up first? Buck Rogers to come and save your butt?"
Gordon flinched from the sarcastic tone. Em could have been a bit more sympathetic. Charlotte certainly was more than supportive, but she herself admitted to having logic clouded by feelings. Feelings for him.
"You want advice. Tell your father. The more you put it off, the worse it gets." She turned away from him and got on with the job at hand.
"Gee thanks." He said flatly. Charlotte had squealed with delight when he'd told her his plans and then listened with rapt attention as he explained his problems. She had even cried on his shoulder, making him feel responsible and determined and adult.
Em bit her lip in concentration. Poor Gordie, she knew just how he felt. Dad was dropping broad hints about her going to the local college, but she had her sights on one of the best engineering schools in the country. This project, if she ever got it finished, was well worth an A and a great boost to her grade average.
She and Gordon had barely gotten back on speaking terms after she had told him off about dating Charlotte. She was so totally bad for Gordon, but all he could see was her pretty ways and superficial manners. Manners that certainly disappeared with her older sister. Em had even caught her sister rooting around in her room. The excuse of looking for a shirt to borrow was ridiculous and they both knew it. Why couldn't she have someone like Alan for a younger sibling? He was a little dippy and car mad, but decent for a kid.
She turned to her friend. He'd always be her friend even if was making a big mistake. "Look, Flash, if you want I'll be with you when..." her peace offering was interrupted by the dulcet tones coming from Gordon's cell phone. It was the same tune that Alan had said Gordon sang in the shower.
"Hi!" His face lit up like a thousand watts and then fell just as suddenly into a serious mode.
"Hey what's the matter?" He listened attentively for a few minutes and stared almost sightlessly at Em. "Ah yeah, I can come for a few minutes. I'll be there soon."
He closed the phone and looked at Em as if seeing her for the first time.
"Ah look, I gotta go and see someone. I'll be back real quick." He shifted nervously from one foot to the other. Crossing the rules in the Tracy household was just as easy as putting your head in the lions mouth, only the lion was his father. But, Charlotte sounded desperate...
"Gordon...I have to get this work done." Em heard the whine in her own voice and frowned, she sounded just like Charlotte trying to weasel out of responsibility.
"Alan is home and you know what you're doing." Gordon sounded a bit cross.
"Yes I do. Oh go on." Em returned just as crossly. "I told you I didn't need any help."
His face softened and he kissed her quickly on the cheek. "Thanks, you're a pal." He left quickly.
Em touched her cheek thoughtfully. "Yeah a pal." she whispered.
Gordon drove a little faster than was smart. So, it was no surprise that the cop was less than sympathetic about his garbled story of a crying girlfriend and his other girl left alone with power tools.
"You get a ticket anyway, Bub. And try to sort out your love life huh?" The policeman shook his head. He'd seen too many accidents that were only the product of teenage angst. If a hefty fine would help towards cooling the redhead down to drive safely it was worth it.
Charlotte peered out of the curtains nervously. Timing was everything in this her latest coup, and Gordon was late. Or maybe she had overplayed her hand? She had managed to sabotage her sister's attempts to be with Gordon over the last few months, and now she was ready to sever the ties even further.
She had picked out a particularly horrifying incident from Martha's diary concerning her mother and set out to duplicate it. Their mother had gotten her hands on some big scissors and decided that Martha's hair was too long. Martha had been too frightened to move or cross her mother while she was wielding the shears. In no time, hair as abundant and as beautiful as Charlotte's was now was chopped to bits. Nowadays, her mother was merely content with snipping at her sister's hair with little blunt thread cutters. No wonder her hair was always a mess. However, she wasn't willing to go so far as what happened to her sister. The big scissors had been put into her happy mother's hands and she wasted no time cutting up everything in sight. Charlotte regrettably and carefully cut off a few of her curly locks, mourning the loss of a perfect hairdo, but sacrifices had to be made. She heard Gordon's car pull up in front of the house and with a determined look on her face turned on the waterworks.
The workshop was a doityourselfer's dream. Every tool imaginable and a few that described description festooned walls and work benches. Most of the space was taken up by Alan's latest project - a sleek looking sports car or at least the beginnings of one. Em hefted the big heavy bag of her bits and pieces on one of the benches.
"Where do you want this?" Gordon had gallantly carried in the old television for her. "What antique store did you get this thing out of? It weighs a ton."
"It was my grandma's can ya believe it?" The two looked at the old fashioned 32 inch screen that had to be at least 10 inches thick - a far cry from today's ultra thin all wall models.
"Vacuum tubes?" Gordon teased tentatively. Things had been stilted between them since he started dating Charlotte seriously.
"Not quite." Silence of the uncomfortable sort fell between them.
"Um Em, I've been meaning..." Gordon fumbled for some kind of apology. He wasn't sure for what but something.
He was interrupted by the timely, or untimely presence of Alan bouncing into the room.
"Hey Em!" he said brightly. Alan liked Em.
"Yo. Big Al!" High five's were exchanged. That was one of the reasons Alan liked Em, no one else called him Big Al...he was always the kid, the baby to his family. Em always treated him like an equal.
"Hey neat stuff. What are you guys going to blow up?" Alan picked up a piece of fiber optic cable and began to chew on it.
"Don't they feed you around here?" Em said patiently and pulled the cable from his mouth. "This is going to be my senior science project."
"So, like I asked. What are you going to blow up?" Alan teased.
"This is going to be an aquarium entertainment center. You put fish into it like a real fish tank and they swim around and do fish stuff which is pretty dull. Right?"
"Just as lively as watching your clothes in the dryer." Gordon added. Em hadn't really told him her plans, and this was going to be interesting. She always had a fiendish twist to her projects.
"So, I had a little fiber optic cables here and there and a simple computer program that adds a few more fish to the tank..." she paused for effect and lowered her voice to a sinister whisper. "maybe some sharks, divers, submarines, mermaids."
"Neat! Add a sea monster!" Alan enthused.
"For you Alan, a rusting Volvo 2010 on the ocean floor with the radio on full blast."
"Sounds great!" Gordon enthused. "Let's get cracking!"
"You gonna be long? I got to tune the pipes." Alan looked at the pile of scrap on the bench.
"Couple of hours?" Gordon looked over at Em. He had been promising the use of the workshop and the welding equipment for over a month now. Something always seemed to get in the way of their conflicting schedules. Either he had a date with Charlotte, or Em had to stay home with her mother, or just the heavy senior class workload got in the way.
"Uh depends on how well the welding goes. I did most of the little soldering jobs at home." Em grinned at Alan, "Tuning pipes huh? Would that be bagpipes?"
Alan laughed. "Not quite. I leave the music stuff to Virgil and Gordon..."
"Gordon?" Em raised a brow. "He isn't musical."
"Ah he's a bathroom tenor. You should hear the stuff he's been caterwauling..."
"Alan..." Gordon began warningly.
"Looo-ooove of my life..." Alan began to sing off key. "Yooouuuu..." His voice trailed off as Gordon chased his little brother out of the room.
"Little brothers..." Gordon huffed as he turned back to Em. She already was putting things into place on the work bench. The back of the old television was taken off and she was rooting around with bolt cutters. "Uh what do you want me to do?"
"You can set up the welder. I'll be doing a slow weld, so it doesn't need to be at it's hottest. You just do that. After all it's my project. Don't need your help." The last sentence was muttered. Gordon singing love songs in the shower...that was a bad sign. Charlotte had been looking pretty pleased with herself lately. If her father hadn't made Charlie stay with Mom tonight she would have had to cancel this welding session - again.
Em was fairly competent as a welder, it was only Mr. Tracy rules that made it impossible to do the work without Gordon there.
"Hey Em." Gordon began. This was the perfect opportunity to talk to his friend. He missed having her confidence. The thing with the Naval Academy was going to come to head soon. He'd need as much backup as he could get.
"I sent off my application to the Naval Academy last October. I should be getting an answer soon."
"You told your father?" Em adjusted the heavy welding glasses over her eyes.
Gordon sighed. How well she knew him. "No. Not yet."
"What are you waiting for Flash? The earth to swallow you up first? Buck Rogers to come and save your butt?"
Gordon flinched from the sarcastic tone. Em could have been a bit more sympathetic. Charlotte certainly was more than supportive, but she herself admitted to having logic clouded by feelings. Feelings for him.
"You want advice. Tell your father. The more you put it off, the worse it gets." She turned away from him and got on with the job at hand.
"Gee thanks." He said flatly. Charlotte had squealed with delight when he'd told her his plans and then listened with rapt attention as he explained his problems. She had even cried on his shoulder, making him feel responsible and determined and adult.
Em bit her lip in concentration. Poor Gordie, she knew just how he felt. Dad was dropping broad hints about her going to the local college, but she had her sights on one of the best engineering schools in the country. This project, if she ever got it finished, was well worth an A and a great boost to her grade average.
She and Gordon had barely gotten back on speaking terms after she had told him off about dating Charlotte. She was so totally bad for Gordon, but all he could see was her pretty ways and superficial manners. Manners that certainly disappeared with her older sister. Em had even caught her sister rooting around in her room. The excuse of looking for a shirt to borrow was ridiculous and they both knew it. Why couldn't she have someone like Alan for a younger sibling? He was a little dippy and car mad, but decent for a kid.
She turned to her friend. He'd always be her friend even if was making a big mistake. "Look, Flash, if you want I'll be with you when..." her peace offering was interrupted by the dulcet tones coming from Gordon's cell phone. It was the same tune that Alan had said Gordon sang in the shower.
"Hi!" His face lit up like a thousand watts and then fell just as suddenly into a serious mode.
"Hey what's the matter?" He listened attentively for a few minutes and stared almost sightlessly at Em. "Ah yeah, I can come for a few minutes. I'll be there soon."
He closed the phone and looked at Em as if seeing her for the first time.
"Ah look, I gotta go and see someone. I'll be back real quick." He shifted nervously from one foot to the other. Crossing the rules in the Tracy household was just as easy as putting your head in the lions mouth, only the lion was his father. But, Charlotte sounded desperate...
"Gordon...I have to get this work done." Em heard the whine in her own voice and frowned, she sounded just like Charlotte trying to weasel out of responsibility.
"Alan is home and you know what you're doing." Gordon sounded a bit cross.
"Yes I do. Oh go on." Em returned just as crossly. "I told you I didn't need any help."
His face softened and he kissed her quickly on the cheek. "Thanks, you're a pal." He left quickly.
Em touched her cheek thoughtfully. "Yeah a pal." she whispered.
Gordon drove a little faster than was smart. So, it was no surprise that the cop was less than sympathetic about his garbled story of a crying girlfriend and his other girl left alone with power tools.
"You get a ticket anyway, Bub. And try to sort out your love life huh?" The policeman shook his head. He'd seen too many accidents that were only the product of teenage angst. If a hefty fine would help towards cooling the redhead down to drive safely it was worth it.
Charlotte peered out of the curtains nervously. Timing was everything in this her latest coup, and Gordon was late. Or maybe she had overplayed her hand? She had managed to sabotage her sister's attempts to be with Gordon over the last few months, and now she was ready to sever the ties even further.
She had picked out a particularly horrifying incident from Martha's diary concerning her mother and set out to duplicate it. Their mother had gotten her hands on some big scissors and decided that Martha's hair was too long. Martha had been too frightened to move or cross her mother while she was wielding the shears. In no time, hair as abundant and as beautiful as Charlotte's was now was chopped to bits. Nowadays, her mother was merely content with snipping at her sister's hair with little blunt thread cutters. No wonder her hair was always a mess. However, she wasn't willing to go so far as what happened to her sister. The big scissors had been put into her happy mother's hands and she wasted no time cutting up everything in sight. Charlotte regrettably and carefully cut off a few of her curly locks, mourning the loss of a perfect hairdo, but sacrifices had to be made. She heard Gordon's car pull up in front of the house and with a determined look on her face turned on the waterworks.