Monday 6th August
A number of drivers were packed up ready to leave by 10 in the morning, and many of them were going to the same place. Home.
If you'd gone to the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport, you would have seen Patty, Shermy, Eudora, Violet, Schroeder, Five, Marcie, Harold Angel, Pig Pen, Frieda, José Peterson, the Browns and the Van Pelts all queued up in a line for the next flight to Minnesota. As for the others, Pierre and Violette were in a different queue for a flight back home to France, Peppermint Patty was with her father, who had come to watch the race, and they were driving off south on a road trip to Florida. Cormac went home with his parents, Joe Agate went home with his parents, and Thibault joined him, avoiding his own parents, who were as bad as he was, if not worse. Franklin stayed with his team, as his parents had been there the whole time, and Morag had disappeared somewhere, seemingly without trace.
This was of course, as she intended. In actuality, she was taking a bus to Charlotte, North Carolina, in order to do some research at the public library. Roy's father would be looking too, and seemed to be doing a better job of it. He and Roy had travelled to San Diego, California, and while Roy was enjoying the sunshine and sightseeing with his mom, Frank was busy following the man with the Ferrari, person #2. His connections had managed to get him a name, and his task was now to find out what he does for a living. Frank had promised Roy to let him know what he finds, so Roy was free to enjoy his holiday in peace.
For the first week, the small town of Birchwood, Minnesota, sleepy and quiet for the past six months, was now bubbling with activity. Schroeder was enjoying being back at home, practicing Beethoven on his piano, although he wouldn't be able to play in peace for long. Lucy rested he elbows on the piano in front of him. She listened to him playing for a few minutes, before very audibly clearing her throat with an "Ahem."
Schroeder looked up in front of him and saw her. "How long have you been there?" he asked.
"Only for the past three songs." Lucy smiled back at him.
"Do you like my music, or is there something about me that has you twinkling your eyes like that?" Schroeder asked dismissively.
"Oh, sweetie, you already know the answer to that." Lucy replied.
"Yeuch!" Schroeder stuck his tongue out in disgust, as he turned away and went back to playing part III of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. When he finished that, and saw Lucy was undeterred, he walked off into his room and listened to some records, slamming the door closed so Lucy would get the message.
Elsewhere, Mr and Mrs Brown were helping the Van Pelts set up for a reunion party that everyone in the neighbourhood was invited to. Mrs Brown helped to put up bunting, and organise the chairs and tables, while Mr Brown helped to cook some of the food. That evening, they were joined by Pig Pen and his family, Schroeder's family, as well as Patty's and Shermy's. Violet and her family were invited, but declined to attend.
The party itself was a great success, with everyone involved enjoying it, some a little too much, as Shermy's dad would attest to, once he was sober enough to stand up. The rest of them were all gathered at the table, waiting to have cheesecake for dessert, as Mrs Van Pelt asked Charlie Brown a question.
"Are you enjoying this racing business?" she asked.
"Well kind of. I'm not sure if you've seen, but as much as it is fun, it can be quite dangerous."
"Oh we know about that." Pig Pen's parents piped up.
"You said you were sending letters to the organisers to stop racing on ovals, right?" Pig Pen recounted.
"That was after the big crash a few weeks ago." Pig Pen's mother added.
"Yet the organisers refuse to acknowledge that we are there, let alone take any action." Mrs Van Pelt added.
"Have you tried talking to the press?" Charlie Brown asked. "One of our friends has a journalist dad. He's very helpful, and a good listener."
"He's talking about Roy's dad." Mr Brown whispered to his wife.
"Oh. We didn't think he'd have much clout, so we didn't try him, but if you say so…" Mrs Van Pelt replied.
"Anyway, we're just glad you're here, safe." Mrs Brown said.
"Thanks, mom." Charlie Brown and Sally replied.
The party continued with music late into the night, and all of the guests went home happy, drunk, or both. The rest of the week proceeded much like a normal week at home, with Schroeder playing music, Snoopy getting up to his usual antics on top of his doghouse, and Charlie Brown failing to fly a kite. That Saturday, Charlie Brown and the gang had some fun playing baseball, and, since there wasn't enough players for an actual game, they enjoyed not having to lose for once.
Baseball on Saturday was followed by church on Sunday, and on Monday, both the Browns and the Van Pelts went holidaying to Winnipeg, where, among other things, they visited the St Boniface Cathedral, the Manitoba Museum, the Forks, and the Assiniboine Park Zoo. Additionally, they also visited Lake Winnipeg, where Linus, Sally, Rerun and Charlie Brown skimmed stones while Lucy wished she was anywhere but there.
The other kids in the neighbourhood also did some day trips of their own, exploring some of the sights the Twin Cities had to offer. Peppermint Patty was enjoying her time in Florida with her dad, being able to surf the Atlantic, explore downtown Miami, and visit Cape Canaveral, where as well as seeing a satellite launch, she also got to speak to a couple of NASA employees, who proudly wore their NASA lapel pins as part of their uniform, though Peppermint Patty thought nothing of it.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, Roy's dad Frank had gone and left his wife and son in order to chase a different lead, while Roy and his mum enjoyed a week in San Francisco.
The Browns and the Van Pelts returned from Winnipeg before the end of the week, while Franklin and his parents returned home after two weeks vacationing in New York. Snoopy had managed to find a guitar in a skip while Schroeder was dog-sitting him, and Charlie Brown wasted no time in practicing playing it.
News of Snoopy's find spread to both Franklin and Pig Pen, and over the course of the third week the three of them practiced to their heart's content, with Franklin on Electric guitar, Charlie Brown on bass, and Pigpen on drums. Schroeder had heard they were practicing, but clearly wasn't interested in playing modern music, so he kept on playing Beethoven.
Roy's father Frank continued to gather details, as Roy and his mother spent their third and final week of holiday in Los Angeles, while Peppermint Patty and her dad had travelled up to Atlanta, Georgia, to sample some of the sights there.
Morag continued to be busy digging through the records of Charlotte Public Library for any more details on the four names who met with the sport's bosses. She had good enough leads for three of them and was only missing their names, which, she hoped, Roy's father would be able to provide.
As the week drew to a close, most of Charlie Brown's neighbourhood, as well as all of the other drivers, spent some time to exercise in order to be ready for the race which was now less than two weeks away. Most of them did some running, while Rerun played soccer, and Peppermint Patty partook in a variety of sports as part of her exercise regime. It would all be worth it in the long run, as before long, it would be time to return to the race track.
