Chapter 6
Thanksgiving Day 2017
In the living room of the McBride's, Lincoln, Lucy and Clyde sat playing games on their phones while Clyde's grandma Gayle chatted with Howard and Harold after eating thanksgiving dinner just twenty minutes ago. To avoid the hassle of spending hours in the kitchen preparing the meal, Howard ordered a catered dinner that was delivered yesterday afternoon and stored in the refrigerator.
"Mom, you said you had some good news to share when you called yesterday," Harold asked Gayle.
"That's right," she reminded herself, "I've given it some thought lately and decided to move closer to you. I'm visiting a place called Sunset Canyon next week since I read there's some vacancies."
This announcement caught Lincoln and Lucy's interest since their grandfather resided at Sunset Canyon. The McBride's faces lit up with broad smiles but Clyde's smile was the widest.
'Mom, that's great news," Harold remarked gleefully.
'That means you can visit us more often," an elated Clyde exclaimed.
The woman whom Clyde affectionately referred to as Nana Gayle briefly gazed through the living room window then raised herself from the armchair.
'Harold, Howie, I'm sorry but I should get going," she declared.
Everyone else stood at the same time and walked with Nana Gayle to the front door.
"Bye Nana Gayle, it was nice meeting you again," Lincoln declared.
"Nice meeting you as well," Lucy said in a softer tone of voice.
Lincoln already met Nana Gayle a few years ago at Clyde's eight birthday party
Nana Gayle gave a warm smile to Lincoln and Lucy before landing an affectionate kiss on her grandson's right cheek.
"Take care Clyde," Gayle said.
With that said she gave Harold and Howard a warm embrace then departed.
The next day school wasn't in session so Lincoln and Clyde kept a low profile, spending the entire day watching TV or reading comics, even taking naps at two pm along with Lucy. Harold's dermatology practice stayed close but Howard had to go into work.
Later Albert stopped at the pharmacy to pick up his medication after work and noticed a middle aged lady with a beehive hairstyle wearing sunglasses standing next to her car in the almost empty parking lot while stepping out of his car. Albert could tell by the troubled expression on her face that she needed assistance with something so his instinct told him to stop and find out.
"What seems to be the problem miss," he called out with a concerned tone while approaching the woman.
"I have a flat tire and my tire pump isn't working," she explained
"Wait right there, I'll grab mine," Albert told her and rushed to the station wagon to retrieve his air pump.
"It's the tire near the driver's seat," the beehive lady stated.
Albert spent a couple of minutes pumping air back into the tire without breaking a sweat as the grateful woman stood a few steps away watching him.
'Thank you so much for your assistance, I'm Myrtle Connelly," she told Albert when he finished the job.
'It was no problem," Albert replied modestly then a few awkward moments passed between them.
"By the way I'm Albert Morgan," he finally spoke
"Nice meeting you Mr. Morgan, you're such a life saver," Myrtle replied earnestly then paused for a bit, "We could meet for coffee sometime to show my appreciation."
Her last sentence took Albert by surprise however seeing the look of gratitude on Myrtles face Albert agreed and gave Myrtle his cell phone number which she recorded in his contacts and quickly jotted down hers on a yellow post it in her handbag which Albert placed in his shirt pocket.
For some reason Myrtle wouldn't leave Albert's thoughts and one week later he called her and arranged the meeting at a coffee shop to talk, eventually leading to a relationship between the two surprising his grandchildren when he broke the news to them.
Saturday December 16
Only five days remained before the schools in Royal Woods, including the community college would close for the Christmas holidays on Thursday twenty first. Naturally every student couldn't wait for the blessed day to arrive. The McBrides always did Christmas shopping the weekend before Christmas Eve to avoid the heavier crowds at the mall and Lincoln and Lucy were also tagging along. They received extra money from Clyde's dads to buy their Christmas presents and were instructed to buy a nice present for themselves.
"We can go into Reiningers and surprise Leni,' Lincoln remarked once Harold started driving.
The McBride van pulled into a parking spot after Harold spent two minutes trying to find one available. They headed into Reininger's first then approached an associate named Fiona. Before Lincoln could ask her if Leni was available, her distinctive squeal was heard.
"EEE Lincoln, Lucy, Clyde you're here," Leni gushed excitedly
Leni speed walked up to the group and instantly squeezed Lincoln, Lucy and Clyde into a tight embrace.
'Its so nice to see you again," Leni blurted out
'Ugh Leni, can't breathe," Lucy managed to utter.
Quickly releasing the younger kids from her strong grip Leni stood back a few inches.
"It's so nice to see you too Leni," Lincoln said relieved his spine wasn't being crushed anymore.
"How are you Leni?" Howard and Harold asked in unison.
Leni responded she was doing fine then apologized for having to leave because it was her lunchtime.
In Reiningers Lincoln purchased a new pair of sneakers with orange, blue and white colors and Lucy bought herself a necklace with a skull motif. They purchased gifts for their three older sisters and Lily and for each other and Lincoln bought kitchen utensils for Clyde.
The next day with Lincoln, Lucy and Clyde assisting, Howard and Harold managed to embellish the outside and inside of the house with Christmas decorations and the Christmas tree.
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Friday December 22
'I can't believe it's the last day of school," Luna chirped happily with Lori sitting beside her drinking coffee.
'I totes can't wait for the school party in the auditorium," Leni replied.
Albert sat in Rita's chair at the dining table, smiling while the sisters conversed with each other.
A few minutes later they finished eating breakfast and Lori rose from her chair.
"Leni, Luna, let's go, see you later Pop-Pop," Lori announced.
"Enjoy yourselves at your party Leni and Luna," Albert called out.
"Thanks Pop-Pop," they said in unison.
A few hours later, the class parties held at the middle school ended once the dismissal bell rang at twelve thirty p.m. All the students wished their teachers and friends a happy holiday and teachers wished the same for their students. Lincoln, Clyde and their friends walked towards the school bus with the other students who remained in a cheerful mood, talking animatedly about how they intended to spend the holidays with their families.
Upon reaching home Lincoln and Clyde saw the McBride family van parked outside and figured Lucy was home since Harold said that morning he would pick up Lucy in the afternoon. The boys, relieved they didn't have any homework or studying helped Harold with dinner.
Next chapter: A little bit of Christmas and New Year celebrations