Disclaimer: Chapter 1 plus we don't own the lyrics to this song.. review and we'll continue to update...
The boys carefully and cautiously made the normal half hour trip down to Glen Oak, in a mere two hours. The pulled up out front and saw that there was no chance of getting in the driveway, so the drove around the block and parked at Ruthie's and Peter's. Then they ran to the house cutting through backyards and coming in the house via the kitchen with an overnight bag.
Meanwhile, the adults had had a round of coffee and gotten all the kids in pajamas and in sleeping bags. They had gone back into the living room, and settled around the fire once more with fresh cups of coffee. The house was eerily quiet as the boys went upstairs and changed out of their wet clothes. They looked around and went up to the attic, and there were all the kids passed out in various positions. They boys laughed and went back into the kitchen. As they moved toward the only other room that could hold the ever growing massive family; voices could be heard from the living room, laughter intertwining with words. All familiar sounds, to the two young men who had grown up in this house with ever changing residents. They recognized Lucy's laughter mixed with their big brother Matt's voice they could tell he was telling a funny story just by the tone of it. They crept down the hall and peered around the corner where the pocket doors had been left open about two feet. They took a quick peak before taking a seat outside the doors and smiled at each other. It was their family, spread out around the living room, Mom and Dad, brothers, sisters, sister-in-laws, and brother-in-laws.
"…Oh yeah I remember when that happened," Ruthie laughed to Matt.
"You do I thought you would be too young to remember when that happened."
"I just remember getting carried out of church by Dad."
"Yeah that was funny, I was really nervous about preaching in front of the cameras and then you go and stick a Tic Tac up your nose." Dad was smiling away as he told the group.
"I don't know if you ever told me about that story Honey," Peter looked quizzically at his wife.
"Wasn't one of my finer moments Dear," Ruthie giggled back.
Sam and David started to giggle but stopped themselves. They loved to hear stories about when their siblings were younger; they hadn't heard that one either. Ruthie stories were always great; she was always into something when she was a kid. What other stories didn't they know because they hadn't been around yet? They got more comfortable on the floor, and prepared themselves for a long night on the floor just out of the way of the door incase anyone looked out into the hall. It was story time, something neither boy had had in a long time.
"Hey I've got a memory." Eric sadly stated and hugged Annie. They kids had almost guessed what was when they saw the look pass between their parents, as Annie nodded her okay with it.
They had just fallen asleep, how this could have happened so soon. They had just come back to stay at the house. Annie got out of bed, and ran towards Matt's room just to see her Dad coming out. He gave his only daughter a look, a look that said it all. Eric came out a moment later and Annie ran to him and buried her head into Eric's shoulder crying.
Eric called all the children to a family meeting later that morning. "Kids, your mother and I have something we need to tell you." He glanced at Annie who was in no condition to talk, just holding Ruthie, as tears streamed down her face. "Your grandmother passed away this morning." Mary and Matt got up at those words and ran to their Mom and embraced her. Lucy sat their shocked; Lucy had special connection to her Grandma. Simon was too little to really understand, he did but there were so many questions. Eric sat down next to Lucy and gathered her in his lap… she was a little too big to do that but that would be okay this time. Simon slouched into his father, looking and praying for understanding and comfort.
David looked at Sam; their family didn't talk about that day too much. They never really thought about their Mom's mom, because they had never met her other then the home video that was given to Mom and them when they were born.
"I remember that too, I also remember people coming over after I woke up from a nap." Ruthie added her memory fuzzy.
"Yeah, you and Simon fell asleep in the limo. We got back to the house, Grandpa went missing." Lucy said
"Yupp. Then he came back and we ate pie in the kitchen." Mary added.
"Then we all broke into song, because Ruthie had been asking all day to sing Grandma's favorite song. We kept putting her off." Eric added.
"Hello muddah, hello faddah
Here I am at Camp Granada
Camp is very entertaining
And they say we'll have some fun if it stops raining." Annie began to sing as the rest of the family joined in.
"Well, that helped but, let's move onto something a little more up lifting," Matt called whipping a tear from his eye from laughing because he remembered all the words.
"How about the first time we all meet Carlos," Mary questioned.
"Yeah when was the first time you guys meet Carlos," Peter asked.
"It was around Christmas time when I was about a sophomore in high school. I was helping out with Dad at a soup kitchen…" Mary started
"Excuse me? It was deemed a punishment, or something after the way you fought with Lucy! Don't act like you wanted to be there because you didn't." Eric interrupted.
"Okay, Dad. Like that was really important. Anyway this young man a few years older then me came up to get food and started talking to us. He was hot." Mary started again.
"Was hot? What am I not now?" Carlos interrupted giving her a joking glare.
"Of course you're still hot. Stop interrupting me. After talking to him for awhile we found out that he didn't have any family around here and that he was lonely during the holidays. So I invited him to the house for Christmas dinner. Mom and Dad weren't too sure about it but they invited him in also. We all had a great Christmas that year, and then Carlos moved away." Mary rambled off seeing as how people kept interrupting her and; she wasn't the best story teller in the family.
"Hey I got a good one how about when prayed and prayed for a Dog," Simon asked with a sad tone in his voice, he still missed Happy.
