Chapter 18:
A Birthday to Remember (I):
(Friday May 19th, 2017; afternoon)
It was 3:05pm; another school day at Ewen High had come to an end, and all the students were leaving the building and making their way back home. Jack and Carrie were with their friends and Jack's triplet sisters were on their way over to The Cup A' Joe for some much-needed refreshment after their long school day. For the triplets, it was the end of a long eventful week, and their first full one in the United States; after going over to Ewen High School on Monday morning with Rita, Carrie and their older brother in Rita's minivan, they collected their prom tickets at the main office without any trouble at all. Then after the day's first classes began, the three girls spent most of the rest of that day within the library working on their laptops or reading, either their own books they brought with them or books that caught their interest in the library. That was the same routine they had throughout Tuesday and on Wednesday too.
The only major distractions to this initial routine while their brother was attending his different classes within Ewen High were the lunch breaks; they would meet up with their brother, his girlfriend and their friends either inside the cafeteria or outside at one of the picnic tables, if the weather was pleasant, to have lunch and socialise. While the triplets were there, Jack introduced them to other people he met, which included some teachers, and everyone there made the triplets feel very welcome to Ewen High School and Chamberlain, the state of Maine and the United States.
On Thursday, they changed the routine around a bit; after lunch on Thursday, they went over to have a walk round one of the nearby parks to walk off the lunch they'd eaten before they went to one of the coffee shops. After getting some refreshments, they sat down and worked on their laptops for a while until it was nearly 3:00pm, and then they went back to Ewen High School to meet their brother and his friends there.
In that week, Margaret White, having been diagnosed with severe mental illness, including severe undiagnosed schizophrenia, bipolar and a narcissistic personality disorder, had been found guilty of numerous acts of child abuse to her daughter, Carrie, over the years, as well as the more recent attempted murder, and had been sentenced to spend the rest of her life in psychiatric care in the maximum security wing at Arkham's notorious mental asylum, which was about 10 miles due north up the road from Chamberlain, as punishment for what she'd done to her daughter. There had been no need for Carrie to testify at the hearing, as the lengthy and detailed statement she'd already given to the police, not to mention her mother's heavily deteriorated and delirious mental state, was more than sufficient enough to convict her mother on all charges.
When she heard the news of her mother's conviction and imprisonment on Wednesday evening, from a police officer who came over to Rita's house and told them the news not too long after Margaret was convicted, Carrie was very pleased and relieved to hear the news that justice had finally been served for her. Yet at the same time, she did experience a strange mixing of emotions on hearing the news; she was elated to know her main abuser was finally behind bars, but she was also sad as Margaret was her mother after all. Yet she also knew something like this had to happen, that her mother had to pay for what she had done to her over the years.
After hearing the news of her mother's imprisonment, Carrie sat down with Rita that evening in the living room of her gym teacher's home and spoke with her about her mixed emotions and how she felt about hearing the news of what happened to her mother. After listening to Carrie express her feelings about what happened to her mother, Rita smiled and reassured Carrie that there was nothing for her to worry about; she had received the justice that she really deserved, and that her mother would get her comeuppance within the Arkham Mental Asylum for what she had done to her over time. After talking with her gym teacher, Carrie felt much better.
Once the news of Margaret's imprisonment was released to the residents of Chamberlain in the press, either on the radio, in the papers or on the TV via the evening news, as well as the information of just how badly she had treated Carrie in that old house over the years, it caused some shock among many of the residents within the town of Chamberlain. People who'd been ignorant of what had happened apologized to Carrie for not helping her sooner in the past. Not only that, but quite a few of Carrie's fellow school mates also apologized, not only for their stupidity, but also for not realizing earlier what she had gone through in her private life.
Carrie was, quite understandably, a little wary of the apologies from her school mates and teachers as well as other people within the town of Chamberlain for a short time at first, but once she saw that everyone all genuinely meant what they said, and with Jack's support, she accepted their apologies.
(Back to the present)
"I'll be glad to get something to eat here after the long day we've had." Heather said, as the group approached The Cup A' Joe.
"Indeed. And with the last of the tests having been completed, I think that we've all earned it too." Norma said, as she brought her hand up to conceal a yawn.
"Let's just hope the place isn't too busy today." Catherine said.
They approached the door and went inside; they were lucky to see it wasn't too busy at all, as they had hoped. There were only two elderly couples sitting together in one corner chatting together over a cup of coffee. Looking to the counter where two attendants were waiting, they could see there were still plenty of cakes and different varieties of pastries on offer behind the glass screen, as well as cold drinks and sodas in the drink's cooler with the glass front placed against the back wall behind the serving counter.
"Looks like there's still plenty on offer here this afternoon." Sue said, as she looked at the selection available under the counter.
"Let's get our favourite slices of cake before they're all gone." Jack said, as he and Carrie made their way over to the counter.
"Sounds like a good idea to me." Tommy said, as he and Sue followed behind.
Soon they were sat together at the three tables that were lined up together along the back wall, having gotten the drinks and whatever pastries or slices of cake they wanted. Now comfortable seated, they tucked into their refreshments as they began to talk.
"So, Jack…what's the plan for your birthday tomorrow?" Sue asked, as she looked towards Jack. With his 19th birthday taking place the next day, Jack had already made all the necessary arrangements he wanted for the day earlier in the week.
"Well Sue, the plan is that we all meet in front of the mall at 10:30am tomorrow morning, where we'll attend the military re-enactment show within the mall's large parking lot and go around to see what's there within the various stalls, marquee tents and attractions. Then in the afternoon, we'll be going bowling in the Strike Pin Lanes bowling alley on the mall's third floor followed by dinner in the evening in The Red Grill steakhouse on the fourth floor." Jack said.
"Yeah, that sounds like an idea." Sue said.
"Yes, it sounds like a fairly good plan to me." Roy said.
"Yeah, I think that you've made a good choice for the place to go for dinner, Jack. Sue and I have been to The Red Grill steakhouse once before…not too long before last Christmas. It's a really great restaurant with a very friendly atmosphere, and the food that they serve there is fantastic." Tommy said.
"It is. I'd highly recommend the place and the food it serves. The staff who work there are very good too, though the place is a little bit on the pricy side." Sue said.
"Oh, that's not gonna be too much of a problem, Sue. Don't worry." Jack said, knowing the vast fortune he had at his disposal.
"Will there be anything else at this re-enactment show besides plenty of military things and tanks and such?" Catherine asked.
"Yes, there's gonna be a few fairground style attractions there for the weekend, such as a coconut shy, funhouses, bumper cars and a house of mirrors to name but a few." Norma said, as she looked through one of the pamphlets she had.
"So that means there's going to be plenty of things for everyone, so don't worry." Freddy said, as he took a sip of his soda.
"Good." Grace said, as she took in another forkful of chocolate cake.
For the next hour or so, the group sat together in the coffee shop and just chatted with each other while the world went by outside. From the speakers in the room, tracks of the latest music played at a low volume, yet it was loud enough so anyone in the coffee shop could hear the music without too much bother.
Then a little after 4:30pm, Jack felt a short buzzing from his smartphone and, fishing it out from its pocket on his safe travel bag he was wearing under his waist jacket, he looked at the text message.
"Who is it?" Carrie asked, as she finished the last drop of her soda.
"It's Rita…she's just finished up with her Friday afternoon sports training group and wants you, I and the triplets to get back to the school as soon as we possibly can." Jack said, as he put his phone back into its pocket.
"Okay then." Carrie said, as she stood up from the table with the triplets following suite.
"We'll see you all in front of the mall at 10:30am tomorrow morning." Sue said, as Jack, Carrie and the triplets picked up their bags and left the table.
"Roger that. See you tomorrow morning!" Jack said, as he Carrie and the triplets headed over to the door and left the coffee shop.
"See you in the morning!" the other said, as they watched Jack, Carrie and the triplets leave.
(A short while later)
Within a few minutes, they were aboard Rita's minivan and were on the way back to the apartment block. Catherine was sitting up in the front beside Rita while Jack, Carrie and Grace were sitting immediately behind, and Louise was sitting alone in one of the seats in the back of the minivan with her laptop bag on her lap.
Jack and Carrie were eager to get some rest after their long day at school, especially as it felt like time had just dragged on for the whole day and they were tired because of it. In the back of the minivan, Carrie had her suitcase with some of her things in it as she wanted to spend the night with Jack and his sisters at the apartment, which Rita was more than happy to agree to.
"A hard day today?" Rita asked with a smile, noticing how the teens in the minivan were yawning or were resting in the seats.
"Yes…time today just seemed to go more slowly than usual, not to mention the fact that we had a maths exam in the last period before lunch. In fact, I'll be very glad to get a good long sleep tonight." Jack said, as he yawned again while covering his mouth with his left hand.
"Well, make sure you all get an early sleep tonight if you're all going to have a good day at that re-enactment show tomorrow." Rita said.
"Sounds like a good idea to me, Rita." Louise said. Even though the triplets hadn't had any classes to attend in Ewen High like their older brother had to, they were all still quite tired after their long day as well.
"Will you be able to join us for the whole day tomorrow, Rita?" asked Jack.
"I certainly will, Jack. After all, as tomorrow's your special day, I wouldn't miss it for the world." Rita said, with a smile.
They soon arrived back at the apartment complex and, after unloading their bags and thanking Rita, and saying they'd see her first thing in the morning, headed inside and made their way up to the sixth floor to the apartment.
After changing into more comfortable clothing, Jack put on the kettle and, while it boiled, they debated very briefly about whether to go out for dinner this evening or get a takeaway like they did the previous Friday. Then, realising they would be going out for dinner the next day anyway, they decided to get a takeaway for tonight. Soon, the kettle boiled and after Jack popped a teabag in the pot and filled it up with the hot water, they had a cup of tea and unwound after their long day.
(That evening; 6:30pm)
They sat at the coffee table enjoying their Friday night fast food dinner; just like they had done the previous week, they were enjoying a K.F.C. party bucket complete with some extra sides and chips, some sauces and a bottle of Pepsi, just like they'd done the previous week. They had also gone to a burger place very close by and bought their favourite burgers from there and then brought them back to eat in the apartment.
The TV was on, and they were flicking through the different channels to see what was on, but so far, they hadn't found anything worth watching that interested them. But then they came upon the 1975 blockbuster movie Jaws, a film Jack and his three sisters really liked.
"Hmm, I could get used to having food like this each Friday evening." Carrie said, as she bit into another piece of fried chicken and savoured the flavours and moisture in the meat and the crispiness of the skin.
"I don't blame you for thinking like that." Catherine said with a smile, as she started munching on a corn on the cob. They were all quiet for a few moments as they ate. Then suddenly, Louise remembered something she'd been wanting to ask Carrie for a while.
"When's your birthday, Carrie?" Louise asked, as she took another bite of her burger.
"It's on June 3rd, but because of what momma was like and the way she raised me in that old house…I've never celebrated my birthday before...or even Christmas for that matter." Carrie said, with a sad sigh. Jack and the triplets looked at her with looks of shock and genuine pity showing on their faces.
"Really? June 3rd is just a little over two weeks away from now tomorrow. The day after the graduation ceremony takes place." Catherine said, as she bit into another piece of chicken.
"And exactly two weeks after my birthday." Jack said slowly, as he took a sip of Pepsi.
"Do you have any idea what you want to do to celebrate?" Grace asked. Carrie, in the midst of eating some French fries, paused a moment and swallowed before she spoke.
"I don't know, Grace. It still seems such a long way off…but I'll give it some thought. There's plenty of time until then." Carrie said.
"Well…let me know what you want to do to celebrate, Carrie. I could take you out for a nice meal." Jack said, as he smiled at Carrie. She smiled back, liking the thought of going out to eat in a nice restaurant when her special day came.
(Next morning; 8:20am)
Carrie and Jack slept quietly in the double bed in the master bedroom, having turned in a little after 11:30pm the previous evening. They were sleeping in each other's arms with the quilt over them and Carrie was resting her head on Jack's left shoulder and had her arms round Jack's shoulders and on his chest, while Jack had his left arm round Carrie's shoulders too and his right hand on Carrie's while holding her close to him.
Then they opened their eyes and slowly sat up before sniffing the air; there was the smell of bacon and sausages cooking in the air and from the kitchen was the sound of sizzling in the frying pan and the sound of the extractor fan over the hob whirring away.
"Hmm, something smells good." Carrie said with a smile, as she pulled herself out of bed with Jack following close behind.
Stepping out into the kitchen, they saw the triplets, all of them dressed and all wearing aprons, working round the cooker preparing a traditional Irish breakfast.
"Hey, good morning you two!" Catherine said, as she lay the table for breakfast.
"Good morning." Jack and Carrie said as they stepped into the kitchen, still in their pyjamas.
"Good morning, are you hungry?" Louise said. She was standing at the hob and cooking some black and white pudding in the frying pan.
"Oh, we sure are!" Carrie said, as she sat at the table.
"Happy 19th birthday, big bro. We're preparing a traditional Irish breakfast to start your special day." Grace said, as she filled the teapot with hot water from the kettle before bringing it over to the table beside the bottle of milk.
"Thanks." Jack said, as he too sat at the table beside Carrie. Outside the windows, the sun was shining brightly and there were no clouds in the sky. For his 19th birthday, Jack couldn't have asked for a better day.
Soon, with the cooking completed, they all sat down at the table and tucked into their good homecooked Irish breakfast.
"Hmm, this is good. Very good." Carrie said, as she tucked into her breakfast.
"There's nothing better than a homecooked full breakfast…as our dad always likes to say." Louise said, as she sipped some of her tea.
"And I can see why. It tastes fantastic." Carrie said, as she took a bite of toast topped with some bacon and a fried egg.
"It's a perfect day outside for your birthday and the military re-enactment show too, Jack." Catherine said.
"Indeed, it is. Could've scarcely asked for better weather than that." Jack said, as he glanced over to the windows at the glorious weather outside as he put some brown sauce on the side of his plate.
"All the stalls are set up outside the mall in the parking lot for the show today, and there seem to be more stalls and areas for whatever events are being held today." Catherine said, as she sipped her glass of orange juice.
"There seems to be quite a few different food trucks being set up in the parking lot too." Grace said. They paused and listened for a moment; in the distance towards the mall, they could hear the sound of generators starting up to provide power for the food trucks.
"What time does this event start again?" Carrie asked.
"At 10:30am exactly and it goes until 5:30pm this evening. And the same time for tomorrow as well." Jack said.
"As soon as we finish breakfast, we should get ourselves ready to go." Louise said
"All right. As it's gonna be a nice day, I'll be wearing shorts today." Jack said, as he cut through a sausage.
(a little later; 10:35am)
Having gotten themselves cleaned up, including having showered and Jack having a shave, and dressed into clean clothes suitable for an early summer day, they headed down in the elevator and over to the mall's parking lot. Carrie was dressed in a cream-coloured t-shirt, light brown shorts and a pair of white sandals while Jack was dressed in a white t-shirt, slightly darker brown shorts, his waist jacket, light cream socks and a pair of dark blue Nike sneakers. He also had his camera and laptop bag over his shoulder. The bag was empty as Jack knew it was inevitable that he would buy things at the stalls such as books he always had been looking for.
After joining the short queue at the set-up entrance, they paid for their tickets and went in. They saw that the people or committee responsible for setting up this military re-enactment show had really pulled out all the stops for this event; set up within the mall's large parking lot were a large number of large crisp-white marquee tents, with the sellers inside them all set up and ready to do business with the crowds that were expected to turn up for the weekend's event, while outside, and lining one side of the mall, were more stalls with their own shelters and sellers with more things to sell, including books and model kits.
Among the stalls, there were many re-enactors all dressed up in replica military uniforms from throughout the ages; ranging from Roman legionnaires in their familiar body armour with their shields and helmets all the way to the brightly coloured French and British uniforms of the Napoleonic Wars to the British dark green World War I battledress and helmets all the way to U.S. soldiers in their familiar uniforms from World War II to the Korean War and Vietnam with all different sorts of hand-held weapons from a whole variety of different countries, including some portable anti-tank weapons and mortars of different calibres with barrels of different lengths, that all looked to be the authentic items but probably weren't.
Walking around within the grounds were a number of security personnel, including some police officers from the Chamberlain Police department, all of whom were keeping a close eye on things at this weekend event. There was even a special area set aside close by for ambulances with the paramedics and medical personnel set up close by, just in case any emergency happened during the day that would need medical personnel on the scene quickly.
There were also other attractions and distractions set up as well, including some bouncy castles for the kids, fairground like stalls where different varieties of carnival games were set up for people to enjoy as well as a coconut shy, a house of mirrors, carousels, Helter-Skelters, shooting galleries, bumper cars and plenty of other attractions.
"Looks like we'll have quite the day here." Carrie said, as she looked round in sheer awe at everything around her.
"It certainly looks like we will." Jack said as he smiled broadly, noticing the slowly growing smile on Carrie's face.
In between the stalls and lined up against the wall were a large number of authentic military vehicles used by the U.S. Army, including a number of M4 Sherman tanks of a few different variants with various types of cannons in the turrets, from early variants with short barrelled 75mm guns all the way up to later variants with long barrelled 76mm and even including a few examples fitted with 105mm cannons, as well as a few fitted with bulldozer blades in front of the tanks and even a few flamethrower versions - which were the CWS-POA-H5 variants used by U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps in the Pacific in World War II with a co-axial flamethrower, easily identifiable as there was a second barrel fitted in the turrets a little to the right and above the main guns - and a few other tank types, including a few M26 Pershing tanks. All the tanks were standing on steel mats to keep their tracks off the tarmac parking lot.
"Wow, this is incredible. I've never seen anything like this before." Carrie said, as they walked along with her looking over everything as they passed.
"You're right there, Carrie. I've never seen tanks like these up close before." Jack said, as he paused to look over an M26 Pershing with the re-enactors around it dressed in authentic WWII U.S. tankers uniforms and helmets - which almost resembled helmets that professional players in American football would wear.
"And are these the original tanks?" Carrie asked one of the re-enactors.
"Yes ma'am, they are. All the armoured and non-armoured vehicles that you'll see here today are the original machines which are, in all cases, equipped with the very same cannons that they had fitted to them when they were withdrawn from service all those years ago. But, with these vehicles no longer needed by the U.S. Army, the cannons have long since been deactivated." one re-enactor said.
"Why are they not running?" Louise asked, as she noticed Jack start taking some pictures of the tank before him with his camera.
"Because their steel tracks, even though they have rubber pads fitted to them, will very likely just rip up the tarmac in the parking lot if we ran them…and then we'll have to pay the mall for the cost of the repairs." the re-enactor said.
"Ah, that makes sense." Catherine said.
"But can we sit on the tanks if we ask?" asked Jack.
"Certainly sir, but you need to ask us before you do." another re-enactor said.
"Well, may I then?" Jack said. After being given permission, he gave his laptop bag to Carrie before he climbed up a stepladder and onto the front of the M26 before sitting on the tank's left side over the assistant driver's position in front of the turret. He rested his back against the forward gun mantlet, where he was able to look along the length of the long barrelled 90mm cannon. Bringing his camera up to his eyes, he took a picture of the cannon and the direction it was pointing in.
Then Sue and Tommy, Freddy and Norma, Heather and Roy as well as Rita came up to the tank, having noticed Jack sitting in a relaxed position on the front of the tank with his back against the turret front.
"Morning Jack, having a good time up there?" Norma called with her peppy smile, as she looked up at Jack.
"Hi Norma, hi everyone. I'm just having a look up here and getting a picture of this long gun's view of where it's pointing." Jack said, as he patted his hand on the cold, olive green-painted steel of the long-barrelled cannon.
"Are you going to go into the turret?" Sue asked.
"No, I wasn't planning to, even though I am tempted to go into the commander's position in the turret I'm leaning on." Jack said.
"Oh, I'm afraid we can't allow people to do that sir, but we can allow people to sit on the outside of the tanks instead." another of the re-enactors said.
"That's all right." Jack said, as he clambered off the tank and back onto solid ground.
"Is this tank a combat veteran of World War II?" Roy asked.
"This tank is a combat veteran, but of the Korean War, not World War II…although it was built during the last months of World War II." said the re-enactor.
"And where did it serve?" asked Jack.
"It served with the U.S. Marines in the fierce and intense battles within the Pusan Perimeter in August and early September of 1950 before taking part in the Inchon landing in mid-September 1950. It knocked out a small number of North Korean T-34-85 tanks between Inchon and Seoul before taking part in the fierce street to street battle with the Marines against the North Koreans within Seoul at the end of September. It then served with the U.S. 1st Marine Division, landing at the port of Wonsan before playing a major part in the fights leading up to and during the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir. It took part in the epic fight there in freezing sub-zero winter weather conditions and in very difficult terrain against the Chinese Communist Forces before being withdrawn from the port of Hungnam in December 1950." another of the re-enactors said, and it was a man who obviously knew the history of the tank.
"So, this is a very valuable tank then?" Tommy said.
"Absolutely, sir. And it's a machine we intent to look after to the best of our ability." the re-enactor said, as he proudly patted the side of the tank.
"And are there any other tanks here that took part in any other wars?" Norma asked.
"Yes, there are. We've actually got an original British Centurion Mk III Main Battle Tank here today which also took part in the Korean War, more specifically the Battle of the Imjin River in April 1951, where it helped to cover the retreat of the British 29th Brigade during their fight against the attacking Chinese forces in that particular battle. Again, this tank is in running order, but we're not allowed run it here today." the re-enactor said.
"Wow." Jack said quietly, as he realised how important many of the tanks here really were.
A short while later, having spoken with some of the re-enactors and having tried on some of the different varieties of steel helmets and held some of the infantry weapons in their hands, or even sat on some of the tanks in small groups or posed with the heavy Browning M2 .50 calibre machine guns fitted on the backs of the tank turrets, as Jack took plenty of pictures all the while, they moved on to see what else was there. More and more people were arriving, and the crowds were slowly growing all the time.
"I almost forgot to say…happy birthday, Jack." Rita said with a smile, as they walked along.
"Thanks Rita, and I think that this is the perfect event for it. And something that really interests me." Jack said, as he looked around at the events taking place around him.
"I know, and it appears you've struck it lucky today, considering by how much is here and what's on." Sue said, as she smiled at Jack. They soon reached a large open area blocked off by metal barriers, and there were piles of old crates and bales of hay set up around some of the lights and within the parking spaces.
The group lined up along the barriers and saw between 30 to 40 re-enactors close by, all of whom were dressed up in World War II uniforms, specifically uniforms of the U.S. 101st Airborne Division, identifiable by the "Screaming Eagles" patch on their left arm sleeve, as well as German Army uniforms, including the notorious steel helmets.
"And what's all this for?" Heather said.
"I think it's for the re-enactment battles going to be fought in here. It's a military re-enactment show and so an area is needed to have the "battles" that are going to be recreated here." Jack said, as Heather and some of the others nodded in understanding.
"Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please…" came a voice over the P.A. system set up all round the area, "…the first re-enactment battle will take place at 11:30am between the Germans and our boys in the 101st Airborne Division."
"The 101st Airborne Division? Isn't that the division that had that famous Easy Company as seen in the Band of Brothers series?" Freddy said.
"It is indeed." Jack said with a nod, as Rita looked at her watch.
"It's just a little after eleven now, so there's still some time before we see that battle take place. So shall we all go around to the different stalls and food trucks before we meet back here at a little before half past eleven?" Rita said, and all agreeing, they headed off in different directions to the different stalls.
(With Jack, Carrie, Sue and Tommy)
Jack, Carrie, Sue and Tommy were in one of the large marquee tents looking over all the different tables at what the different vendors had on offer. For Jack, going to a military re-enactment show offered him the chance to get hold of rare military books and model kits he had always wanted to have but never could get hold of in the shops.
He was looking through some of the books on one of the stalls, searching for one he wanted as Carrie, Sue and Tommy also looked over what was on offer.
"Ah ha, and here's one I've been looking for in the shops back home for quite some time." Jack said, as he lifted up a book.
"What is it?" Sue asked, as she, Tommy and Carrie looked over as the dark blue book, priced at only $15, that Jack held in his hands. He looked like the cat that got the cream, judging from the pleased look on his face.
"It's a book of the order of battle of the armies and different units that fought in the Korean War. I've never been able to find one at a decent price; all the places I looked in or websites like Amazon, this book was too expensive." Jack said.
"How much exactly?" asked Tommy.
"In one Dublin bookshop, they could get it at about €150, whereas on Amazon it was about €120." Jack said, as Carrie let out a low whistle.
"And that's a lot of money for a book of…how many pages?" Carrie asked.
"Slightly less than 300 pages." Jack said.
"And only fifteen bucks is a bargain by comparison." Sue said.
"And for a book that's in such good condition too. Not even the pages have a mark on them." Jack said, as he flicked through the book. Then he gave a nod, his mind made up.
"I'm definitely gonna buy this, sir." he said to the man behind the table, as he handed the man a $20 bill.
"Very good, sir." the older man said, as he took the bill and then handed Jack back a $5 bill in change.
"Thank you, sir." Jack said, as he placed the book in his laptop bag and closed it up before turning to face Carrie, Sue and Tommy.
"So, where shall we go now? To one of the food trucks?" Tommy asked.
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea to me." Jack said.
"Before that though, I just want to go and have a look at all those models over at the other end of the marquee." Sue said, indicating to the end of the tent where she wanted to have a look. So, they went over to have a look at the large, and well detailed, scale models sitting on display. The group were amazed at how well made many of the models were, and how they were carefully weathered to such an extent they could almost resemble a shrunken version of the original authentic vehicle.
"These models are just incredible the way they've been made. The people who built them must've plenty of talent to make something like this." Tommy said, as he looked over a large 1/100 scale model of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier, the U.S.S. Enterprise. The model had working electric lights and working catapults along the long flight deck on which sat F4U Corsair and F6F Hellcat single engine propeller driven fighters.
"I know; I've seen more than my share of models like that over the years." Jack said, as he too looked around another model, a 1/48 scale Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress painted in silver with the tail painted in bright yellow, and with the markings of a bomber of the U.S. Eighth Air Force in 1944 - 45.
"Have you built any models of this size, Jack?" Sue asked.
"Not quite this big, Sue. Most of those I've built are at a scale of 1/72, though I have made a small number at a scale of 1/48." Jack said.
"Because smaller models are easier to store once built?" Carrie asked.
"That's right, you got it." Jack said, looking over another model, an F-51D Mustang. Beside it was a large 1/48 scale model of a late-war British R.A.F Avro Lancaster four-engine heavy bomber, with propellers that could turn whenever a large bomb fitted under the fuselage was moved forward.
Then, as Carrie turned and prepared to step out of the marquee, she was stunned when she found herself face to face with a statue of an American general standing by the exit. He was wearing a shiny helmet with four shiny silver stars on the front, a chest full of medals and a stern look on his face that seemed to demand the highest levels of respect from the men who served under him.
"Who's this?" Carrie asked, when she realised it was only a life-sized statue.
"Ah well, well, it's General George S Patton himself!" Jack said, as he raised his camera and took a photo of the statue.
"A World War II general?" Sue asked, as she looked over the authentic statue of Patton.
"Absolutely! He commanded the U.S. Third Army in its drive across France and Germany in 1944 and 45. A great commander of tanks and soldiers." Jack said. After a few minutes, where he took some photos of Carrie, Sue and Tommy standing beside the statue, either by themselves or altogether, and then he had a picture or two taken of him standing by the statue, they left the marquee and headed to one of the food trucks.
(11:31am)
A few minutes later, with cold slushy ice drinks in their hands, now quite necessary as the weather was already starting to get quite warm, the four met back up with Heather and Roy and Norma and Freddy very close to the temporary arena where they would watch the re-enactment battle take place.
"Phew, I didn't expect it to get warm this early today." Norma said, as they arrived back and leaned on the metal barriers. She looked up into the blue and cloudless sky for what seemed the hundredth time, where the sun was shining brightly. She was thankful that she'd put on some sunscreen before she left the house earlier on and that she had her baseball cap on and her sunglasses to protect her eyes from the glare.
"Well, we are already starting to get into early summer, Norma, and so it is gonna get warmer from now on." Freddy said with a smile, as he took a sip of his Coca Cola.
"I know, but I didn't expect it to be this warm today." Norma said, as she looked back at the sky, as she took a sip through the straw from her cup of lime flavoured Slush Puppie, gratefully allowing the cold icy mix to flow down her throat.
"Okay everyone, this is it! The first battle of the day is about to begin between the Germans and our boys in the 101st Airborne!" came the announcer's voice over the loudspeakers, and cheers arose from the audience. Carrie felt herself clap and cheer on hearing that announcement too, just like everyone else.
Within the set-up arena, the "Germans", wearing uniforms of the Waffen SS, were on one side while U.S. troops wearing the uniforms of the 101st Airborne Division waited for battle on the other side. The crowds gathered round, cameras in their hands, waiting for the fight to begin.
When the starting pistol was fired, the battle commenced. The sounds of the shooting were loud and sharp, with the smoke from the weapons drifting in thin grey clouds over the parking lot. Soon the smell of burnt gun powder drifted into the noses of everyone standing by and watching the battle.
"I've never smelt anything quite like that before." Carrie said, as the acrid burnt smell wafted into her nose, and she coughed a bit.
"Yeah, it's…something I can't describe." Jack said, as the smell wafted into his nose too. They watched as the soldiers took cover behind the obstacles, raised up to fire their weapons or to throw fake grenades before ducking back down again.
The actors who got shot and "killed" had to lay as still as they could on the ground as the battle raged around them, though as Carrie could see, some did a far more convincing job at playing dead than others who got shot.
Eventually though, the American paratroopers prevailed against the German soldiers by the end of the battle, and everyone cheered when the paratroopers led the surviving enemy soldiers away hands raised high in the air, while all the "dead" soldiers came back to life and re-joined their units.
"So, what did you think of that, Carrie?" asked Jack, as he looked at his smiling girlfriend.
"That was…loud, but very exciting." Carrie said, as she looked at Jack.
"I'm glad you liked it. I've been to a few of these shows myself at home where they have battles like that between actors in period dress, only they didn't have the wide variety of tanks and armoured vehicles that these people have here." Jack said.
"Do you want to have a look at some more of the vehicles here?" Heather asked, as she and Roy came up beside Jack.
"Sure, there's some just over here I have to have a proper look at." Jack said.
(A few minutes later)
Soon they were stood in front of a British Mk III Centurion tank as another of the re-enactors gave them, and a few others who gathered round, a talk on this particular tank. This was the tank mentioned earlier that had fought at the Battle of the Imjin River in the Korean War. It still had the armoured side skirts over the tracks and had the crew's gear, as well as two sets of six barrelled smoke dischargers, mounted around the turret.
The long 20-pounder (84mm) cannon stuck out in front of the tank, almost like an elephant's trunk made of cold, olive-green painted steel, and raised about 10 degrees in the air, giving the tank quite an impressive appearance, as though it were about to go and do battle with its enemies.
"I wouldn't have minded seeing this tank, or any of the other tanks here, running about today." Tommy said, as he climbed onto the tank and sat on the left side of the long cannon.
"Well, we can't, unless the people who brought them here want to spend a small fortune on repairing the asphalt in this parking lot." Sue said, as she too clambered onto the tank before standing on the engine deck behind the turret.
"Is this the only Centurion tank you have in your collection?" Rita asked one of the re-enactors.
"No, miss; we've actually got a few other Centurions, all with different thicknesses of armour and with different main guns, as well as other different variants of them in our collection, including some armoured recovery vehicle versions, some with bulldozer blades at the front that can be raised and lowered hydraulically and some bridge-laying variants. Among the main battle tank versions, we have a few of the Israeli variants known as Sho't Cals fitted with more powerful with diesel engines and 105mm cannons, and those we have in our collection saw extensive combat service with the Israeli Armoured Corps in both the Six Day War in June of 1967 and the Yom Kippur War in October 1973, and even in the Lebanon back in 1982." the re-enactor said proudly.
"These are great tanks, and they served the British military and the British Commonwealth quite well for many years, even as recently as 2003, from the Korean War, the Suez Crisis, Vietnam, Northern Ireland and the Falkland Islands all the way through to the Gulf War in 1991. And other wars in between, including the Indo-Pakistani Wars, various wars in the Middle East - including the Six Day and Yom Kippur Wars, and during the South African Border War. In fact, a modernised, up-gunned and up-armoured variant of this particular tank, known as the Olifant, is still in service in some numbers with the South African Army today. Not only that, but the armies of both Israel and Jordan still use the chassis of these vehicles as heavily modified armoured personnel carriers and combat engineering vehicles to this day." Jack said, as he sat up on the turret roof by the commander's cupola.
"How many of them were built?" Norma asked, as she sat down on the front of the tank on top of the closed hatch over the driver's compartment.
"Somewhere in the region of about 4,500, maybe slightly less. And they were also used by Australia, who used them extensively in Vietnam, by Switzerland, Canada, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden to name a few." Jack said, as he clambered down off the tank. Bringing his camera up to his left eye, he took a few more snaps.
"Say, Jack…at what time are we going to the bowling alley?" asked Roy.
"I've gotten a booking for us at 2:30pm, for two hours." Jack said, as Roy looked at his watch; it was 12:26pm.
"Ah, good. We've a little over two hours to go round here until then." he said.
"Yeah, and I want to have a look in some more of the marquee tents here. I want to see what else is on offer to buy." Freddy said, as he too climbed off the Centurion's engine deck.
"And I'd like to have a try on one of those Jeep and D.U.K.W. rides." Jack said. Close by, there was a number of authentic World War II U.S. Jeeps and D.U.K.W. amphibious trucks, somewhere between 15 and 20 of each, with volunteers waiting to give people rides around the parking lot for $2.50 a ride.
"Sounds like a good plan to me. How about we all go out and enjoy ourselves here before we meet up at the main entrance to the mall at about quarter past two?" Rita suggested, as the others gathered round her.
"Sounds like a fair plan." Grace said, as she looked to Catherine and Louise, both of whom had sly looks on their faces. They had something they needed to do, and didn't want their brother to see it just yet. A little earlier on in the week, they had made arrangements with a bakery in the mall to bake a special cake for their brother's birthday, and earlier on that morning, Catherine had received a text that the cake was ready for them to collect.
Getting it back to the apartment wouldn't be a problem, as the triplets each had their own cardkeys so they could get back inside anytime they wanted. And with their brother and his friends going to be occupied here at the show for the morning, they could easily sneak the cake into the apartment without being detected.
They had told Rita about their plan earlier on in the week, and she agreed to make sure Jack stayed at the show while his sisters went into the mall, bought the cake and moved it to the apartment as discreetly, and as quickly, as they could before they came back.
"Will you be able to hide the cake somewhere in the apartment without Jack finding it if he has to go back there to get something or drop something off?" Rita asked the triplets before they set off.
"Don't worry, Rita. The cake doesn't need to be refrigerated so we'll be able to hide it without him finding it." Catherine said.
"He also never goes into the rooms we sleep in at the apartment, so there's not much chance of him finding it." Louise said.
"And besides, he'll probably be spending most of his time out here or inside the mall later instead of going back to the apartment." Grace said.
"Okay you three, good luck on getting the cake. When you're done, get yourselves back here as soon as you can. It might make your brother suspicious if you're gone a long time." Rita said, as the triplets turned and set off to the mall's main entrance.
So, they all dispersed to go enjoy themselves, and Jack went with Carrie over to one of the nearby food trucks, where some people had just walked away from having bought what they wanted to get.
"So, what can I get you, Carrie?" asked Jack, as they arrived at one truck that served a wide variety of candies and chocolates. Carrie stared, mouth slightly open, at the bright colourful sight of candy before her.
"I'll try…this." Carrie said at last, holding up a large plastic tub of pink candy floss.
"Fair enough, and I'll have this." Jack said, as he picked up a box of fudge with three flavours in it, vanilla, zesty lemon and salted caramel. After Jack paid for their purchases, they went over to one of the picnic tables set up not too far away.
Carrie opened up the tub of candy floss and tried a small bit. She savoured the sweet flavour and how the soft fluffy texture melted almost instantly when she placed some in her mouth.
"I've never tried candy floss before…this is delicious." she said, as she tried another bit of it while a big smile spread on her face.
"I'm glad to know you like it. I know my sisters always like to have candy floss at events like this…as do I, by the way." Jack said, as he opened the box of fudge and tried a small piece of zesty lemon. It melted in his mouth, and he savoured the lemon flavour.
"Hmm, this is really good fudge. Really good." Jack said.
"Can I try a piece?" Carrie asked.
"Sure." Jack said, as he presented the box to Carrie. She chose a piece of salted caramel fudge and popped it in her mouth. Jack watched as a smile came across on Carrie's face as she savoured the sweet and creamy flavour.
"Mm, that's delicious. I've never tasted anything like that." Carrie said, as she savoured the sweet flavour, with a little hint of saltiness coming through every now and then.
For the next hour and a half, the group of friends went around the re-enactment show and enjoyed themselves. In the meantime, the triplets managed to get the cake from the bakery in the mall back to the apartment without a problem, or Jack suspecting anything. When they arrived back, they went to Rita and informed her "mission accomplished." Rita was pleased to hear they'd managed it, which meant the surprise for Jack wouldn't be ruined.
At one point, Jack and Carrie went on the bumper cars and they had a blast! For Carrie, who had never been on bumper cars before, this was a level of fun her mother would never have let her experience. Jack was at the wheel of the bumper car, and every time Jack bumped into another car, including the one driven by Sue and Tommy, both of them enjoyed a good laugh.
At one point, Jack and Carrie came upon a stall set up where people could shoot air guns at paper targets fitted to a board. Both of them had a try, with air guns shooting pellets at these targets which were a bullseye with red in the middle of the circle. Carrie, aiming carefully, managed to get quite a few direct hits on the red of her target, while Jack simply emptied his pellets into his target which shredded it up. After they finished shooting up their targets, they went over to a nearby food truck where Jack bought iced drinks for Carrie and himself.
At many of the tables and stalls where they were military reenactors with their gear and weapons, Carrie and Jack tried on the different helmets and held the different weapons in their hands while posing for photos, which either Jack took with his camera or had one of the reenactors take. For Carrie, it felt a little strange to wear something like an army steel helmet, but she knew that it was all in the fun of the day and she really took the chance to try on whatever helmets she could and take into her hands whatever weapons she could see before her.
Jack and Carrie also all went on rides on the WWII Jeeps and D.U.K.W.s, as well as looked at the other period military vehicles, both armoured and un-armoured, that were displayed all around the carpark. Among the different vehicles on display were a number of M29C Weasels - a light utility vehicle with wide tracks that was also amphibious, various armoured cars including the M8 Greyhound, tracked artillery tractors of a number of different sizes and types - including some that were tanks with their turrets removed, amphibious vehicles like the Landing Vehicle Tracked (L.V.T.), GMC CCKW 2.5 ton trucks - known as "Deuce-and-a-half's", a number of different American half-track types, some of which were fitted with a variety of weapons - Browning M2 0.50 calibre heavy machine guns mounted in a powered quad arrangement, 75mm and 105mm guns and even some mortars, and various self-propelled artillery pieces - from short 105mm guns all the way up to long-barrelled 155mm and 203mm howitzers, many of which were fitted on the modified chassis of Sherman tanks, and various self-propelled anti-aircraft guns.
Carrie was particularly fascinated by the D.U.K.W. (also known as the Duck) as she'd never seen such an unusual-looking vehicle before, which was basically a six-wheeled cargo truck with a boat hull fitted round it. She was even more surprised when Jack told her these vehicles were amphibious and could drive quite well in water. He told her there were half a dozen identical D.U.K.W.s in Dublin giving tourists Viking tours around Dublin, and that he'd been on those tours on about three occasions before. He also mentioned that there were similar Viking D.U.K.W. tours done by very similar vehicles over in London as well.
Once finished on the rides, they went through the different marquee tents looking at whatever model displays were there, as well as to see what things of interest might be there to buy. Carrie was completely fascinated by the many different models and dioramas on display, as was Jack, and how well many of them of all different sizes were built and painted. Some of the dioramas on offer looked like the builders had spent a great deal of time building them, considering the level of detail in each one. Two particular highly detailed models that caught Jack's attention were 1/100 scale models of the famous German Battleship K.M.S. Bismarck, and the famous British battlecruiser she sank in the Battle of the Denmark Strait on the morning of May 24th, 1941, H.M.S. Hood. Both models were lit up by electric lights, including red and green navigation nights, and their gun turrets could be traversed, and the gun barrels raised and lowered by remote control. The propellers and rudders of both models were also under remote control, as the builders of the two models happily demonstrated this to anyone who was interested.
At one diorama, about 10 feet by 7 feet which depicted a scene at the Battle of the Somme sometime in 1916, which included miniature zig-zagging trenches full of soldiers recreated in immense detail, early tanks and representations of shells exploding on the ground amid blackened shell craters, Carrie was surprised to hear the builder had managed to build it in about a month and a half, and that he'd built it with the help of extensive research, including photos, from both ground and air, taken from during the Battle of the Somme back in the summer of 1916.
After he bought three model kits he'd been wanting to have in his collection for some time, P-47N Thunderbolt single engine late-war fighters in 1/72 scale, Jack and Carrie left the marquee tent and went over to an ice cream van standing not too far away from them.
"Fancy an ice cream, Carrie?" asked Jack.
"Yes please. I think in this warm weather I need one." Carrie said, with a smile. And, with a smile on his face too, Jack and Carrie went over to the ice cream van where there was a very short queue. A few short minutes later, they stepped away from the van with a cone with soft serve ice cream and a flake in their hands.
"Hmm, this is really nice. I should have more of these more often." Carrie said, as she ran her tongue over the soft white vanilla ice cream and the red strawberry sauce drizzled over it.
"I always like to have these as often as I can during the summer." Jack said, as he too licked the ice cream, which had some delicious butterscotch sauce drizzled over it. They made their way along, licking their ice cream and really enjoying it.
(A little later)
Soon though, with the time nearing 2:05pm, and having looked in virtually all the marquee tents and tried out many of the rides, and with Jack having bought a few things too, including a U.S. M1 helmet for $20, they all headed over to the mall's main entrance, ready to meet with the others and go upstairs for bowling. Jack took a brief look at his camera; from the little counter in the bottom left of the screen, he could see he had already taken almost 600 photos so far today. He knew before the day was out, he'd certainly be taking hundreds more.
"Well, we're all here Jack." Rita said, once everyone was together.
"Are we all ready to go bowling?" asked Jack, as he turned to everyone.
"Yes!" they all said at once.
"How many people did you say would be going bowling when you made the reservations earlier this week?" Sue asked.
"I said there would be about a dozen of us going today…which is in fact the exact number in people the group right now. But before we go over to the bowling alley, I'll just head back to the apartment and drop off most of the stuff I bought earlier today, including this helmet I bought while there's still some time." Jack said.
"Good idea, Jack. There's no need to carry everything you've bought so far today around." Rita said, while hoping deep down that Jack wouldn't find his birthday cake when he went back over to the apartment.
"Will you be very long at that?" Catherine asked, keeping her own concerns hidden as best as she could.
"No, I'll just head over, drop off my stuff in the main bedroom and then I'll be right back here. I shouldn't be too long." Jack said.
"Okay, just hurry back as soon as you can." Carrie said, as she smiled at Jack.
"Will do." Jack said, as he headed for the escalator going down to the next floor. But once he was out of sight, Louise turned to Rita.
"I hope he doesn't find his birthday cake when he gets back to the apartment." she said, sounding a tad anxious.
"Remember what you and your sisters said earlier about him not going into your rooms? Well, there's a chance he won't find it." Rita said, reassuringly to Louise.
Rita was right; Jack arrived back at the apartment and placed most of the stuff he bought at the military re-enactment show into the master bedroom. Shortly afterwards, after taking a short time to use the bathroom, he left the apartment with his camera and laptop bag at his side. He was so anxious to get back to the mall and meet up with the others, he never even considered that there might be a birthday cake hidden somewhere in the apartment.
The whole ordeal took no more than 10 minutes and he arrived back at the mall and met up with the others just inside the mall's main entrance.
"All done, Jack?" Sue asked, as Jack approached the group.
"Yep, I've dropped most of the stuff back and ready to go." Jack said.
"All right, let's go." Rita said, and they went inside the mall and headed up the escalators to the third floor.