Chapter 16:
A New Guardian and Some Surprise Visitors:
(Friday May 12th, 2017; afternoon)
Rita Desjardin sat in her office very near to the gym and had just finished one of the major things that all teachers have to do but most dreaded doing, paperwork!
"And there we are, finally completed! Phew, I never thought it would end!" she said quietly, as she sat back in her chair, the stack of finished papers sitting on one side of her desk. She looked up at the clock mounted on the wall to her left; it was 2:31pm, and school was due to finish for the day in slightly less than half an hour from now.
With all her assigned paperwork done, and nothing more to occupy her for the rest of the day, Rita thought of her two favourite students to pass the time. Carrie was still staying with Jack at his apartment since the incident the week before, and Rita had clearly noticed the two had become even closer than before and were almost living like they were a couple. And while at the apartment, Jack had taught Carrie various things, including how to cook, which they would usually do every evening after they got back from school. However, she also knew that Carrie staying with Jack at his apartment was only a temporary measure to Carrie's housing problem and so a more permanent solution would need to be found as quickly as possible as to where Carrie would stay.
Just then, her thoughts were interrupted by her mobile phone ringing, and she picked it up, hitting the answer button before bringing it to her ear.
"Hello, this is Rita Desjardin."
"Hello, Ms Desjardin…I'm Detective Roberts of the Chamberlain Police Department. I need you to come down to the police station as soon as possible for some follow up questions with regard to the incident that took place last Thursday evening." came the voice of the young male officer.
"Of course, sir. I'll be over there in a short while." Rita said.
"Very good and, if it's possible to do so, could you please bring along the daughter of the woman who was arrested? I'd like to ask her some follow up questions too."
"I'll see what I can do officer, but I can't promise anything, especially considering all the things that she's been through, particularly within the last month."
"I fully understand, ma'am. If it's too much for her, then I won't push the issue. I'll see you in a short while."
"Okay, officer." Rita said, and she ended the call.
After putting on her jacket and grabbing her keys, Rita switched off the light, stepped out from her office and locked the door. She then made her way upstairs towards the student lounge, where she knew Jack and Carrie would be hanging out as they had free periods each Friday afternoon.
Entering the room and looking round, she found them sitting at one of the tables by one of the windows with Norma and Freddy. Jack had his laptop up on the table and he was showing them more photos of places he'd been to around Europe in the last few years.
"Hey you lot." Rita said as she came up.
"Hey Ms Desjardin." Norma said, when she saw the gym teacher approach.
"Jack's just showing us more photos of his trips round Europe." Freddy said.
"And which place are you showing them this time, Jack?" Rita asked with a smile.
"Prague, the Czech Republic's capital. I went back there for a second visit with my family in the early summer of 2012 when I was 14 years old. It's a really fabulous city to visit in the summertime, with plenty of fine tourist attractions, including Prague Castle, the boat rides on the Vltava River, the trams in the city, fantastic cafés and restaurants with really great food and a friendly atmosphere with lots of interesting places to see, so it's easily one of my favourite European cities. You should go there sometime." Jack said.
"You know, Jack...maybe I will." Rita said.
"He's just showing us a few photos and some videos of a very interesting restaurant along Wenceslas Square right in the very centre of Prague where drinks are served out to the customers on large model trains." Norma said.
"And it's a very clever way to serve drinks, to be honest." Freddy said.
"Shall I show some of them to you now, Rita?" asked Jack, as he was about to turn the laptop screen to Rita.
"Not now Jack, I actually need you and Carrie to come with me now. It's an urgent matter, so please bring your bags along with you as you won't be returning for the rest of the day, especially as there's only about 20 minutes of school time left." Rita said.
"Oh, okay." Jack said, as he set about shutting down his laptop.
"What's the problem, Ms Desjardin? Are we in trouble?" Carrie asked.
"No Carrie, don't worry, you're not in trouble. I'll explain everything when we're in the car." Rita said. So, Jack and Carrie packed up their things, grabbed their bags and, after saying goodbye to Norma and Freddy, they headed with Rita down the corridor to the main entrance.
(In the car, a short while later)
"So, the police need to speak to me again of what happened?" Carrie asked, in some concern.
"Yes Carrie, just a few follow up questions with regard to the statement you gave to the officers last week." Rita said, reassuringly.
"Will we find out what's gonna happen to my momma?" Carrie asked.
"We might, Carrie. After all, since last week, it's gonna be time we found out what the punishment for her is gonna be." Jack said.
Carrie looked down to the floor, unsure of how to process this information. But Jack gently took hold of her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze while he smiled at her. Carrie looked up into Jack's friendly eyes, and she smiled back at him.
"Here we are, you two." Rita said, as they pulled up to the police station.
After Rita parked just across the street, they crossed the street and entered the police station through the front door, went up to the front desk and asked to see Detective Roberts. After waiting for about two or three minutes, he stepped out from a side door. He was about 6 feet tall, and wearing shiny black shoes, dark blue trousers, a crisp white shirt, and smart a red tie with his police badge mounted on one side. His hair was light brown with deep blue eyes, he was clean shaven and had a strong muscular body showing clear dedication to daily exercise.
Rita's eyes slowly widened, and she felt her cheeks colour a bit, when she saw the handsome man step out before her.
"Good afternoon there, I'm David Roberts. You must be Rita Desjardin. We spoke on the phone a short while ago." he said, as he extended his hand out while giving a charming smile.
"Oh y-yes of course! I'm Rita Desjardin." Rita said, as her brain at last rebooted as she shook David's hand, noting how strong and smooth it was. "This is Carrie White and her boyfriend Jack Sullivan. They're inseparable and never too far from each other." Rita said, introducing her two favourite students.
After shaking their hands, with Carrie being last, David cleared his throat and rubbed his hands together lightly.
"Well, it's nice to meet you all. Now how about we all go into my office, and we can speak about this matter in private?" he said. They agreed and went down a short corridor from the main reception area down to David's office. He sat behind his desk as Rita, Jack and Carrie sat down on the chairs in front of it.
Clearing his throat again, David took out a folder from behind his desk and set it down before him before he opened it.
"Okay then…so last Thursday morning, we received a call from you Ms Desjardin with regard to Margaret White, who attacked you with a kitchen knife after you confronted her for allegedly abusing her daughter and trying to kill her the previous evening. Am I correct?" he asked, as he looked up at Rita.
"Yes sir, that's correct." Rita said with a nod.
"And after you defended yourself and managed to subdue Margaret by knocking her out cold, you called 911 to request assistance from the police and paramedics." he asked, and Rita nodded her head in the affirmative.
"Yes, that's correct; after they arrived at the house, I gave them my statement about what had happened and left them to tend to Margaret before I headed back to Ewen High School. And later that afternoon, the police asked me to bring them to Carrie so they could get a statement from her about what happened and get pictures of her shoulder injury." Rita said.
"Very good...and, eh Mr Sullivan…when Carrie came to your apartment on the evening that the incident took place, you tended to her wound on her shoulder when she showed it to you?" David asked, looking over at Jack.
"Yes sir, I did. I've had advanced first aid training, so I was able to get Carrie's wound on her right shoulder disinfected and bandaged up after she showed her wound to me." Jack said.
Nodding his head, the detective closed the file. "Well, everything matches to the statements I've read or listened to, the photos of the crime scene and what officers who were there told me happened, so everything is pretty much…on track in that respect."
Carrie, who had been quiet the whole time, worked up the courage and asked, "What's gonna happen to my momma now? And to me?"
David looked towards the now nervous and uncertain looking Carrie, who's hand was being gently held by Jack, and he paused for what seemed like a long time, actually only a few seconds, unsure if he should break the news to Carrie or not.
"I'm not gonna lie to you, Ms White. Your mother's looking at some serious time behind bars, if not the mental asylum over in nearby Arkham, based on what I read in the reports I received about her earlier this week." David said to Carrie, who wasn't sure what to think now.
"When I was assigned to this particular case on Monday morning, I looked over all the reports of the past history we've had about her, including complaints from residents in Chamberlain and so on, as well as the more recent psychiatric reports following her arrest. Then I listened to the lengthy recorded statement you gave to the officers last Friday afternoon, twice in fact, so I'm fully aware of what she's been doing to you." he said, which made the eyes of Carrie, Rita and Jack widen.
"After I completed listening to or reading through the various statements and reports and looking over the photos of your wound or the photos that were taken at the crime scene, I personally went over to the house first thing yesterday morning and I looked over every square inch of the place, inside out and top to bottom. And during my search, I found the closet under the stairs you mentioned several times in your statement." he said, and Carrie's breathing increased as memories flooded her head of the torment her mother had put her through. Jack and Rita gently patted Carrie on her arms or her back to reassure her she was safe now, as the detective looked at her with deep sympathy.
"Ms White, I really can't imagine what you've been through in that place for all this time, as what I found in that old building was…to say the least, very disturbing." he said, as he shivered a little. "To even think of it now sends shivers up my back. But I want you to know, you'll never have to return to that awful place again." said David.
For Carrie, this was good news as it fully confirmed to her that Margaret would, finally, get the punishment she deserved for what she'd done to her all these years. Yet, at the same time she was now facing a future that was very uncertain.
"But…but where will I go? I've been staying with Jack at his apartment for the past week, but that's not a permanent solution." Carrie said, as she felt her worry start to rise.
"You'll stay with me, Carrie!" Rita suddenly announced, surprising everyone in the office. "I've plenty of space over in my house, and you can use the guest bedroom. You can stay as long as you need to, and even after graduation my door will always be open to you, no matter what happens."
Then she went a step further, which astonished everyone in the office.
"And I'll even become your legal guardian right now. I promise you, Carrie, I'll give you all the love you deserve and will do everything in my power to make you happy! You're like the daughter I've always wanted!" Rita said.
With tears in her eyes, Carrie near jumped into Rita's arms and hugged her with all her might.
"Thank you so much! I don't know what else to say except that I'd love to live with you and for you to be my guardian!" Carrie said, between sobs, as Rita also hugged her just as tightly while tears ran down her face too.
Jack and Detective David couldn't help but smile at this heart-warming scene. David was particularly impressed by the fact this woman before him had jumped at the chance to become Carrie's legal guardian without hesitation.
"She's just an incredible person to do something like that. Not to mention very beautiful too." David thought to himself as he, as discreetly as he could, examined Rita's long toned legs, flat and strong stomach and the red that caught his attention as soon as he first saw her.
Jack glanced at David and saw him giving appraising looks towards Rita, his surrogate big sister and felt a level of protectiveness come over him. He knew Rita was a grown woman and could take care of herself easily, just as she had told him a few days before, but he kept his eye on the detective just to be on the safe side.
After Rita and Carrie managed to get all their different emotions of the moment under control, they sat back in their seats and the questioning continued.
(15 minutes later)
"Well, everyone…I guess that's about it." David said, reaching the end of his questions. They had covered everything that had happened, and he was satisfied there was nothing more to go over and everything had been covered. David had also promised to help Rita with the necessary documents she needed to become Carrie's legal guardian.
"Thank you very much for your help, Dave." Rita said, as she, Carrie and Jack stood up and got ready to leave.
"You're welcome, ma'am. And before you go…I just want to give you this. In case you need to get in touch with me again." he said, as he handed Rita a small card with his contact details on it. "If you ever need assistance from me, don't hesitate to call and I'll lend help in any way I can." David said, as he smiled at Rita.
Rita took the card with a smile on her face, not believing she had gotten the contact details of this handsome man without even asking for them.
"Thanks, I'll be sure to do that." she said with a smile, one that David returned.
"You're welcome, and I'll be sure to make a start on those documents today." he said.
"Many thanks again." Rita said, and with a final goodbye and shake of the hand, Rita, Jack and Carrie left the police station while David set about getting to work on the documents.
(In Rita's car)
Jack couldn't help but smile as they drove back to his apartment, knowing his adoptive big sister had a crush on the handsome detective. He knew this as Rita still had a big smile on her face as she drove along.
"So, that detective was nice." Jack said. "I could see the eyes you were making at him from when you first saw him."
"What are you talking about? I wasn't making "eyes" at anyone." she denied, but not fooling either Jack or Carrie.
"There's nothing wrong about that. He had to be a good person." Carrie said, as Jack nodded in agreement.
"See, even Carrie agrees with me. And I noticed how you were looking over his body. And he was checking you out as well." Jack said.
"R-really?" a now blushing Rita asked, as Carrie began to wonder.
"Yes, when you and Carrie were hugging in his officer, I could tell from the look on his face that he liked what he was seeing, but don't worry it wasn't in a creepy way or anything like that. I think any man would be lucky to be with you, right Carrie?" Jack said, and Carrie nodded in agreement.
"Aw thanks, that means a lot you two." a happy Rita said.
(Three minutes later)
They soon arrived at the main entrance to the parking lot in front of the apartments, and saw a stretch Lincoln Town Car, painted in a smart white livery, pull out from the gate, turn right and head down the street away from them just before they pulled into the parking lot.
"I wonder who'd use a stretch limo like that to get to and from these apartments." Carrie said, as Rita turned into the parking lot.
"No idea, but it's the first time that I've seen a limo like that driving about here in this town." Jack said, as Rita parked and switched off the engine before unbuckling her seatbelt and opening the door.
"Come on, Carrie. Let's get those boxes with your things in them loaded into the van and then we'll take them over to my house." Rita said.
"Okay." Carrie said, as she and Jack got out of the minivan. After getting their bags out of the back, Rita locked her van and they went inside.
As they entered the main entrance and headed to the elevators, Jack noticed three teenage girls sitting on one of the couches very near to the main reception desk with their luggage sitting on the floor in front of them. Then the three girls looked up at him as they approached, and Jack suddenly stopped in his tracks; he recognized these girls!
"Hey, big bro..." one of them said.
"Wait a minute…Catherine?! Grace?! Louise?! Is that you?!" Jack said in surprise, as all three girls suddenly looked into his eyes. There was a pause, and then all three girls, smiles of delight and joy on their faces, quickly stood up and threw their arms round Jack.
"How are you three?! What are you doing over here? I've missed you so much." asked Jack, in delighted surprised at seeing his triplet sisters again.
"Hey Jack, it's been way too long!" Grace said, throwing her arms round her older brother and hugging him tightly.
"We've all got so much to catch up on from the last few weeks!" Louise said, as she and Catherine both threw their arms round Jack too and hugged him just as tightly.
"I know! I know!" Jack said excitedly, as he hugged his triplet sisters. Then he turned to look at Rita and Carrie, who were looking at him with bemused and surprised looks.
"Hey Jack...who are these girls?" Rita asked.
"Rita, Carrie…these girls are my triplet sisters, Catherine, Grace and Louise." Jack said, as he introduced his sisters one at a time. Both Rita and Carrie were surprised; they knew that Jack had three sisters but thought the three of them were supposed to be back over in Ireland.
"Catherine, Grace, Louise…these two are Rita Desjardin, my gym teacher over at Ewen High School, and Carrie White, my best friend." Jack said.
The triplets smiled and, letting go of their brother, went over to Rita and Carrie to shake their hands and talk to them.
"It's nice to meet you both at last. Jack has told us so much about you. Thanks for all that you've done for our brother." Catherine said, as she shook Rita's hand.
"Yes, Jack had told us so much about you two. After all, you've done for him, I feel like we're practically family." Grace said, as she had her turn to shake Rita's hand.
"Oh, it's no problem at all. Your brother's been a huge help to me and to Carrie especially since he arrived here in early April. I've started to see him as the younger brother I've never had, which makes you three my younger sisters, so call me Rita." said the gym coach warmly as she then shook hands with Louise.
The triplets then turned their attention to Carrie, who was shuffling nervously.
"Carrie, it's so nice to finally meet you at long last." Louise said, as she shook Carrie's hand before giving her a hug, much to Carrie's surprise.
"Indeed, whenever our brother called us and our parents on Skype within the last few weeks, he always spoke about you and how you'd been getting on since he first met you." Catherine said.
"Really?" Carrie asked, as she shook Catherine's hand.
"Absolutely. When we heard about what you were going through over here, and how difficult things were for you, we all decided we wanted to help you in any way we possibly could." Grace said.
"Oh, thank you very much for your help, and it's really nice to meet you three too. I can say quite happily that your brother has done so much for me ever since he arrived here…" Carrie said, as she then reached for and shook Grace's hand, "…but I thought you three were supposed to be with your parents over in Ireland."
"Well, they WERE supposed to be over in Ireland. Girls, could you tell me why you've come all the way over here?" asked Jack.
"Well big bro, how about we tell you all about it upstairs in your apartment? That way other people here won't hear everything." Catherine said to her brother.
"All right, come on let's get upstairs then." Jack said and, as his sisters grabbed their trolley cases, as well as any other bags they had brought with them, they went round the corner and towards the bank of elevators.
(2 minutes later)
Jack opened the door, and they entered the apartment and went straight to the kitchen area, as Jack pointed out the two spare bedrooms just off to the side to his sisters where they could put their bags. The Triplets were very impressed with the large apartment that their brother had been staying in, and thus called home, since April and they were just a little bit jealous that he had this big space all to himself.
After putting his school bag and laptop bag back into the master bedroom, Jack went to the kitchen area, filled up the kettle and put it on to boil. He'd just gotten out his near-empty box of teabags from within one of the cabinets when his sisters came into the kitchen, and each of them placed a very large white rectangular cardboard box onto the kitchen island before him.
"And what's all this?" Jack asked, as he reached for one of the boxes and looked over it before opening it.
"Well, we've brought you over a few things from home…cookies, chocolate, butterscotch and caramel brownies, and cinnamon rolls, all your favourites, as well as a few cupcakes too. Mom and we baked them in the main bakery along O'Connell Street just yesterday, and I'm pleased to report that they all survived the journey over here without any damage." Grace said.
"Many thanks." Jack said, as he opened the boxes one by one and looked over the mouth-watering variety of baked goods inside. Just as Grace had said, they were all in one piece. Not even the different coloured icing piped on top of the cupcakes had been damaged in any way.
"And we didn't eat any of them on the trip over here. We promise." Louise said.
"That's because we had our own box of them that we enjoyed on the flight over here." Catherine said.
"And here's a fresh box of teabags for you as well." Grace said, as she placed a box of Irish teabags onto the counter along with the boxes of baked goods.
"Ah perfect timing with these. I was starting to run a bit low on the teabags I brought over with me." Jack said, as he looked over the box of newly arrived box of teabags.
"And here's a little something else for you." Catherine said, as she handed Jack a crisp white envelope. Jack took the envelope, opened it and read the letter inside.
Hi Jack,
We're very sorry that we can't be over there to see you.
Please take care, do your very best and make the family proud.
Love mom and dad.
Jack felt himself smile as he read the message. Though he was a little disappointed that his parents couldn't come over here to see him, he knew they had jobs to do back home and so understood why.
"But can I just ask, what's in all those boxes in the room with the two single beds where Grace and I will be sleeping?" Louise said. Jack's face suddenly fell; in the excitement of seeing his sisters again, he'd completely forgot why he, Carrie and Rita had come over to the apartment for in the first place.
"Oh, those boxes have all of Carrie's things in them. She's been staying with me since last Thursday evening." Jack said, as his three sisters gazed suspiciously at him, all wondering what had taken place since the previous week.
"I can explain everything about that." Carrie said suddenly, noticing the looks on the faces of the triplets as the three suddenly turned their heads to look over at her. "If we could go over to the couch and sit down, I could explain everything that's happened." and so Carrie and the triplets did.
As Jack and Rita prepared tea and the baked goods in the kitchen area, Carrie explained to the triplets everything that had happened to her the previous Thursday, and even pulled her t-shirt collar aside so as to show them the knife wound on her shoulder, which no longer needed to have a bandage over it. The triplets were all shocked to see the injury on Carrie and hear what happened to her the previous week, as well as what her private life had been like under Margaret's rule.
"So, your mother's gonna be going away in a very secure place for a very long time now?" Catherine asked Carrie, as Jack and Rita brought the teapot, milk and baked goods over to the coffee table.
"Yes, and Ms Desjardin's gonna be my legal guardian once all the papers for that have been printed off and signed." Carrie said.
"We've just been down to the police station and they're gonna be helping me with getting all the necessary documents sorted out...hopefully within the next week or so." Rita said, as she sat down on the comfy armchair.
"Did Jack bandage up your wound when you showed it to him?" asked Grace.
"Yes, he did, and he did a very good job of it too, due to what the doctor said at the surgery when we went to see her first thing the next morning." Carrie said.
"And did you…sleep with our brother?" Louise asked, as she and the other two leaned in, eagerly awaiting the answer.
"Yes, I've been sleeping with him in the same bed every night. And…I've actually found I like it very much. Each evening, I always find it very comforting to sleep with Jack. He makes a great pillow to lay my head on." Carrie said, as she smiled. The triplets turned and looked towards their older brother with slightly amused grins on their faces.
"Hey, I've seen those looks before; DON'T tell mom and dad about this…I'd like to do that myself, thank you very much indeed." Jack said, while looking at his sisters rather sternly, as he sat down beside Carrie.
"All right. We'll let you do that." Grace said, still somewhat amused at the thought of her older brother sleeping with a girl.
"But you don't need to worry, big bro. You did a good thing helping Carrie. I think mom and dad will understand." Catherine said.
Soon, with the tea poured into the mugs and different baked items doled out onto the plates, they settled down and set about talking.
"So, why are you three over here?" Jack said, wondering why his sisters were over here in the United States instead of being back home in Ireland.
"Well, we're over here because mom and dad sent us over." Catherine said, as she sipped her tea.
"Really? Your parents sent you three over here?" Rita asked.
"Yes, they wanted the three of us to experience an American prom night." Louise said.
"They've already made the arrangements with Ewen High School to get us the prom tickets. We arrived at Bangor International Airport just a little over an hour ago after an uneventful six-hour long flight over from Dublin and took a stretch limo to get here that had been specially arranged for us." Grace said, taking a bite out of a cupcake.
"So THAT was the reason we saw a stretch limo pull out from the parking lot just before we pulled into it." Rita said, as the realisation hit her.
"Yeah, but what about your summer exams at home?" asked Jack, knowing that the summer exams for all secondary school students all over the Republic of Ireland were due to start to the end of May and go on until the start of the second week of June at the latest.
"Oh, you know dad and his connections, big bro." Catherine said.
"He was able to make the necessary arrangements for us to do our summer exams early before we could come over here to see you." said Louise, with a smile on her face.
"Oh yes, of course, silly me." Jack said, suddenly remembering.
"And we've got some BIG news from your school that may interest you, which your friends and classmates asked us to pass onto you." Louise said.
"Which is?" Jack said, as he leaned in expectantly.
"You know your French teacher, Ms Owens?"
"Oh, the really bad tempered one that we all call "The Witch", yes...what about her?" asked Jack.
"Well, you'll be pleased to hear that…just last week...she was sacked." Louise said, as big smiles drew across the faces of her and her sisters. Their older brother was silent for a moment before a smile drew across his face too while the jaws on Carrie and Rita dropped a little.
"Oh, joy! Oh, great joy! What did the old goat do this time?" Jack said, obviously pleased.
"Well, in the early afternoon of Wednesday 3rd, during lunchbreak, she reprimanded one of the girls in our year, Jenny Walsh, in the corridors for what turned out to be a very minor thing not worth fussing over. When Jenny objected…for whatever it was she was being accused of, Ms Owens slapped her, very hard, across the face and Jenny hit her head hard against the wall before falling to the ground with a bloody cut on the side of her head." Catherine said. Rita, Carrie and Jack gasped when they heard that.
"Oh...my god..." Carrie said, after she heard it.
"Oh dear, I just knew that something like that would happen one day." Jack said, as he sighed heavily.
"Oh, my goodness. Is Jenny all right?" Rita asked.
"Yes Rita, she's fine, but this all happened in a crowded school corridor where everyone there was looking towards Ms Owens, considering her notoriety in the place. Even we saw it. Many of the others there were even recording with their phones what was going on when the incident happened." Grace said.
"Not only that, but Jenny's older brother, Steve, who's in Sixth Year like you Jack, saw everything that happened and...he took offence to that. He advanced on Ms Owens with quite a murderous look on his face, grabbed her by the neck, pushed her very hard against the lockers...much to everyone's shock...and told her...quite viciously I might add, that he was reporting her to the principal for what he had seen her do it his younger sister. It was a shock to see someone do that, but all the same we were all very impressed to see someone finally stand up to Ms Owens." said Catherine, much to Jack's surprise who didn't expect anyone in school to stand up to Ms Owens like that.
"And, what happened afterwards?" Carrie said, wanting to know more.
"Not long after, Ms Owens was detained in the main office, while an ambulance and the Gardaí...that's what the police in Ireland are known as...were called to the school. Jenny was taken over to the nearby hospital at once to be cared for while Ms Owens was immediately arrested...much to the joy of many of us in school, including quite a few of the other teachers I might add, and taken in for questioning. Jenny and Steve's parents were informed about the incident and they came to the school shortly afterwards. Later on, when the Gardaí took copies of the videos recorded of the incident, either from everyone who'd been there or from the CCTV cameras in the corridor, and took statements from everyone who witnessed what happened, Ms Owens was charged with assault of a minor causing serious bodily harm." Grace said.
"So…Ms Owens is ruined then?" Rita asked.
"Oh she sure is, Rita...she SURE is; she's been stripped of her teaching licence and is looking at five years or so in prison, at the least, for what she did. She also lost her pension and was only a year away from retiring when she slapped Jenny." Louise said.
"Well, it serves her right I guess, especially for all the bullshit she's given people over the years in that place." Jack said.
"And what about Jenny? Is she feeling all right?" Carrie asked.
"Yes of course, Carrie, she's gonna be fine; she had to have stitches on the wound and after two days of much needed rest in the hospital, due to a minor concussion from when she hit her head, she was discharged on the afternoon of Friday 5th and, on doctor's orders, had to take a week off school. She'll be returning next Monday morning." Catherine said.
"And what of her brother? For grabbing a teacher by the neck like that?" Rita asked.
"He was lucky; he received only a very mild reprimand from the school principal. But what he did was understandable considering what Ms Owens had done to his sister. Jenny and her brother are quite close." Catherine said.
"And where in Dublin do Jenny and Steve's parents work, as a matter of interest?" Rita asked.
"They actually work at our mother's bakery along O'Connell Street, their father as a master cake decorator and their mother as a top-class pastry chef. And they're both very talented at their jobs and have helped us at various tasks in the bakery on the days whenever we work there." said Louise.
"And so, when they were informed of the incident and had to go there...your mother didn't mind them going at all?" Rita asked.
"Not at all, Rita...she knew full well when the news came in, they had to go and see what happened. They're family friends after all, and so she fully understood why they had to leave early that day. And there were other pastry chefs there who took over for them for the rest of that day, so nothing got ruined." Grace said.
They sat in silence for a few moments as they enjoyed their tea and choice of baked goods, though Rita had a mug of coffee instead of tea.
"Can I just say you three…these butterscotch brownies are really good. But some of my favourite brownies have macadamia or pecan nuts on top of or mixed in with them. They add a really nice crunch." Rita said, as she savoured the brownie and the dense sweet richness of it.
"Thanks, Rita. The reason there's no nuts in these brownies is our mom knows Jack would share these with his friends here and she didn't know if any of them had any nut allergies or not, so she left the nuts out of these baked goods…just to be on the safe side, you understand." Grace said.
"Ah, a very wise thing." Rita said, as she took another sip of her coffee before finishing off the brownie she had in her hand.
"And how are things with mum's business back home?" asked Jack, taking a sip of his tea.
"All's well. Business within all 20 bakeries is as good as it's always been." Grace said.
"Oh, you know grandma's old friend, Marie Ryan? Well, she retired from her job at the main bakery along O'Connell Street just a little over two weeks back." Louise said.
"No kidding? She must've been nearing the age of 75." Jack said.
"Oh, very close. She'll be 75 years old in just a few weeks from now…the end of June." Louise said.
"What job did she have at the bakery?" Carrie asked.
"She worked in the kitchen, helping to bake things. It was something she loved to do. She knew our grandma on our mum's side for close to 60 years before our grandma died...they both met in school when they were teenagers...and she had helped our grandma set up the business back in '65." Grace said, as she sipped her tea.
"Back in 1965? Wow, that's more than 50 years she worked there." Rita said, amazed.
"Oh, it was; in fact, it was 52 years this year, just over a month and a half ago. Very impressive record, and it shows just how dedicated she was to the job." Louise said.
"And was she given a retirement party in gratitude for the work she did there?" Rita asked.
"She was. It was held at the bakery, and a lot of people who had worked with her over the years came by to give her a good send off in appreciation for her work, the three of us included. Her family was there as well, her husband, her two sons and their wives and kids. There was even a photographer from one of the Dublin newspapers there as well, and the story of her retirement occupied quite a few pages of the next day's paper." Catherine said.
"She was a little bit disappointed that you were unable to attend her retirement party, Jack. But at the same time, she knew you were over here as part of your schoolwork and so she understood why." Louise said.
"Well never mind, I'll no doubt be seeing her again in just a few short weeks." Jack said.
They were silent for another few moments with their hot drinks before they spoke again.
"So, how was your flight over here? Did any other passengers cause you any trouble on your trip?" asked Jack, as he sipped his tea. The triplets looked at each other, smiled broadly and nodded, as if to say, "Let's tell him now."
"No, not at all. In fact, there were no other passengers on the flight with us at all, as the three of us flew over here on a private jet." Catherine said. On hearing that, Jack did a spit-take into his mug and coughed briefly as the mouths of Carrie and Rita dropped in astonishment on hearing that. Obviously, this little piece of news was clearly unexpected amongst them.
"You didn't tell me that you had a private jet, Jack." Carrie said, looking at Jack in slight amusement from what he had done.
"Well Carrie…there's actually a very good reason for that; I actually didn't know we HAD a private jet until just now." he then turned his attention back to his sisters. "What do you mean by "private jet"? How on earth could mom and dad afford to send you three over here on something like that? We're well off, but we're not THAT well off." asked Jack in astonishment.
"Well not anymore, big bro. And there's a very good reason for that. Just a few weeks ago, in mid-April not long after you left, mom and dad decided to try their hands at the lottery…and they won!" Catherine said excitedly, as the other two girls nodded while smiling.
"Ah, that makes sense why they came over on a private jet!" Carrie thought to herself, as her eyebrows raised in understanding.
"How much exactly?" asked Jack, as his eyebrows raised in interest.
"The biggest win in lottery history ever…€800 quadrillion." Louise said. Jack did a double take, as though unable to believe what he'd been told.
"W-wait, a-are you sure? €800 quadrillion?" Jack said, his jaw having dropped, as had the jaws of Rita and Carrie on hearing that.
"Yes, we're very sure about that, big bro. That's 800 with fifteen zero's and that makes our family THE richest on the planet. Hence why the three of us flew over here on a private jet." Louise said.
"And mom and dad have divided it up among us all; they have €80 quadrillion each, while you and the three of us have received €160 quadrillion each." Grace said.
Jack let out a long low whistle after he heard that. €160 quadrillion was certainly a lot of money and it would certainly keep him up for the rest of his life. But then there was the thought of what should he do with it. Maybe buy a really big house with lots of space so he could build an enormous model railway with it, which was something he had always wanted to have. Deciding he would worry about that as time went on, he turned back to his tea and cake while talking with the others.
"My goodness. €800 quadrillion is certainly a lot of money to have. You could buy the whole world for that." Carrie said.
"Well Carrie…we could, but we won't. I think the world's got enough problems of its own without us running it too." Catherine said.
"And all that money was tax-free, was it?" asked an astonished Rita.
"Absolutely Rita…unlike over here where you have to pay tax on lottery winnings, we got every single penny of it. Because in Ireland, the lottery is seen as a game of chance, so that means you don't pay any kind of tax on lottery winnings." Louise said.
(That evening; 6:30pm)
Jack, Carrie and the triplets sat round the coffee table, enjoying their Friday night fast food dinner. After talking with each other over tea and baked goods, they set to work at moving the boxes of Carrie's things over to Rita's house not too far away. On arrival, the boxes were placed into the guest bedroom upstairs, but Carrie decided to wait until the following day before she moved into Rita's house as she wanted to spend the evening with Jack and his sisters, something Rita understood and agreed to with a smile.
After Rita dropped Jack, Carrie and the triplets back at the apartment, the five had ordered fast food from the places across the street, including a large pepperoni pizza, with garlic bread, from Dominos as well as a party bucket full of fried chicken, with sides as well as a large ice-cold 3-litre bottle of Pepsi, from K.F.C. Grace had her laptop set up and they were watching Disney's The Lion King (1994). Carrie was having a good time; it was the first time she was able to socialise with her boyfriend and his sisters in a homely environment just as though she was a part of their happy family while enjoying the feast before them.
"Hmm, this is good. Just like home." Catherine said, as she munched on a slice of pizza.
"Do you always have a takeout or go out for dinner on Fridays?" Carrie asked, as she reached for another piece of fried chicken. She already knew the answer, as Jack had already told her the previous week, but she just wanted something to keep the conversation going.
"Absolutely, whenever we can. It's become a tradition in our family." Louise said, as she finished a slice of pizza.
"Did you two do anything nice last Friday?" asked Grace, as she took another sip of Pepsi.
"Yes, we did…" Jack said, and he told them of the barbecue restaurant he, Carrie and Rita went to for dinner the previous week.
"That sounds like a great place to eat." Catherine said, taking a gulp of Pepsi from her glass.
"It is a good place. It serves really nice food. You three should eat there at some time while you're here." Jack said, as he dug into a corn on the cob.
"You know I think we might do just that." Grace said.
They were all silent for a few moments, apart from the movie on Grace's laptop, as they ate away. After finishing a piece of garlic bread, Louise spoke again.
"Jack, when will we be able to meet the friends that you made over here?"
"A lot sooner than you think…Carrie and I are meeting with them over in the mall tomorrow morning for breakfast." Jack said, as he refilled his and Carrie's glasses with Pepsi.
"Are they decent people?" Grace asked.
"Oh, they are. Particularly Heather Shyers and Sue Snell, two of my former bullies who apologised to me a few weeks ago." Carrie said.
"Well, I'll reserve judgment until we see them tomorrow and get a chance to know them." Catherine said, as the other two girls murmured in agreement.
"And where in the mall are we meeting them for breakfast?" Grace asked.
"At a very good Irish restaurant called The Paddy Leprechaun. It's a buffet restaurant that specialises in serving traditional Irish food, especially breakfasts, as well as traditional American food. Carrie and I went there for breakfast last Saturday." Jack said.
"It's a very nice place, with great food. I'd highly recommend it." Carrie said.
Very soon, they had completely polished off everything they ordered and, after cleaning up and throwing the empty containers and used napkins into the bin, and putting the half full bottle of Pepsi into the fridge, Jack popped the kettle on again. Soon, he had a full pot of tea prepared and brought it over to the coffee table, with mugs and the bottle of milk too and carefully set them down, along with some of the baked goods his sisters had brought over with them from Ireland.
"Oh, I'll sleep well tonight." Louise said, as she poured some tea into her mug.
"Tiring trip?" asked Jack, as he sat down on the couch.
"Indeed, and the uncertainty of whether we'd be going to the right place." Grace said.
"And also, we were up since seven this morning, Irish time, getting our bags ready to leave from Dublin Airport in the private jet in the afternoon." Louise said.
"Indeed, you'll certainly sleep well tonight after all that." Jack said.
"What are your parents gonna go with the money they won?" Carrie asked.
"Well, our mother first took the opportunity to replace a lot of the older kitchen appliances we have at home with newer more modern ones. A lot of the older ones were starting to show their age or were close to being near past their best." Grace said.
"And our dad isn't sure yet at what he'll do with his share of the money, but he's thinking of replacing our older lawn mower with a new, more modern one." Catherine said.
"And before you ask, big bro; no, dad hasn't retired from his job. He has no intention of doing that just yet." Louise said, as she bit into a brownie.
"But mom's certainly going to use her share of the money to expand her bakery business by upgrading a lot of the baking machines and do more to expand the number and quality of the products she sells." Catherine said.
"Fair enough." Jack said, as he sipped his tea.
They were all silent for a short while as they sipped their mugs of steaming hot tea and ate choices of rich delicious pastries. Then, just as she finished her first bite of cake, Louise suddenly remembered something.
"And will there be shops in the mall where we can get prom dresses?" she asked.
"Of course, there's more than a few good shops over there specialising in clothes for special events, such as proms and weddings." Carrie said.
"Excellent, and have you bought your prom dress already, Carrie?" Grace asked.
"No, because I actually bought myself the materials to make one instead." Carrie said. The triplets looked at Carrie in some astonishment.
"You're actually gonna MAKE your own prom dress?" Catherine said, in surprise.
"Of course, I think that it'll be much more special in that way." Carrie said.
"Now I think that's a great idea! Have you finished it yet?" Louise said.
"No, it's not finished yet, Lou. But I'm getting there, there's still some details I need to add, but I should have it done very soon." Carrie said.
"I can't wait to see it when you're finished making it." Grace said, taking another sip of tea.
"Well, it shouldn't be too long until it's finished. I have some more details to add to it with some things I bought in a reputable fashion shop in the older part of Chamberlain just last week." Carrie said, as she took another bite of cake.
(Later; at 11:35pm)
"Well, shall we go to bed now?" Catherine said, after her umpteenth yawn. The others all murmured in agreement, as they were all very tired after such a long day too. So, after standing up from the couches and bidding each other "good night", they went to their respective bedrooms. As Carrie went into the master bedroom, Jack turned off the TV, went over and checked the front door to be sure it was locked, and then switched off the lights before going into the master bedroom.
"Your sisters are quite nice, Jack." Carrie said, as she stepped out of the bathroom already dressed in her pyjamas.
"And it was an unexpected surprise to see them too. It was something I never expected to happen." Jack said, as he went into the bathroom.
"What's it like to know you're suddenly the richest man in the world?" she asked.
"It's…a rather unexpected surprise, I'll be honest. And there's the thought of the things I could do with that kind of money." Jack said, as he put some toothpaste on his toothbrush.
They were quiet for a few moments, and then, finally finished in the bathroom, Jack stepped out while switching off the light. He went over to the bed and climbed in beside Carrie, before pulling the warm duvet over himself.
"Thanks for not telling your sisters about my telekinetic powers." Carrie said, as she settled her head on her pillows.
"Oh, it's no problem at all, Carrie. They probably wouldn't have believed me, even if I had told them. But if you want to tell them, or even show them what you can do with your powers, then that's entirely your business." Jack said.
"Thanks very much." Carrie said, with a tired smile before yawning again.
"Are you eager to get to sleep tonight?" Jack said, looking at Carrie.
"I am…I could sleep like a log tonight, particularly after the long day we've had." Carrie said, as she yawned again while struggling to keep her eyes open.
"Well…let's get to sleep then. After all, we're meeting our friends for breakfast at the mall in the morning." Jack said, as he settled down under the covers and rested his head on his pillows.
"Okay, let's do that then." Carrie said, as she turned off her bedside light before turning to put her arms round Jack as she did every night since they began sleeping together. Jack turned off his bedside light and, after giving Carrie a kiss on her forehead, whispered "Goodnight," to which Carrie also whispered back "Goodnight," before they snuggled together and fell into a deep, and welcome, sleep.
Note 1: Here's where I got the inspiration for that massive lottery win; business/2013/0717/92 quadrillion accidentally makes man a quadrillionaire
Note 2: It's HIGHLY unlikely even €1 billion would be on offer to win in any national lottery, but in this A.U. well…anything's possible, innit?