Animal Therapy
Chapter Notes
Okay! So, I've had pretty severe writer's block lately, but finally found some mental
keys to polish off this chapter that has been sitting around 95% done for… a while. I
also have 21 good to go, and have only just started 22. Send good thoughts to the
muses to get fired up about this project again!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Lena's POV
"So, how did you like your first day?"
Sam's chuckle is as much feel as sound beneath my ear as she says with exaggerated exasperation,
"fine, it was great. You were right. Happy now?"
"Much," is my smug reply as I give a happy little wiggle to settle more heavily into her warmth and
wallow in the stroking over my head and back. Sam might be high-metabolism lanky to the point of
being skinny, but she burns like an open fireplace, I swear. While it can be suffocating in hot
weather, it's welcome right now.
As though a lullaby to lull us to sleep, the rain begins again, pattering against the fiberglass skin of
the RV. Regardless of the early hour, it's clear that neither of us is long for the waking world,
darkness closing in to rest bodies and minds.
I have a drowsy memory of stumbling into the narrow doorway on my way to the toilet in the
middle of the night, unfamiliar with my surroundings. Ruby woke with a snort, mumbling at me in
what I think was a question if I was okay. A stroke to her head and a word or two of what I think
was reassurance and her breath evened out, letting me finish my business. Barely awake, I still
noted that the rain had increased to a dull din that had me huddling against Sam's back, hoping the
noise wouldn't keep me awake.
Luckily, there is sun peeking through the edges of the window shades when next I'm aware of
myself.
I'm body sore and muzzy in the manner of too much sleep, aching for food, caffeine and another
trip to the toilet, not necessarily in that order. At least the bed isn't awful, but it's not great either. At
least Team Lanvers happily provided us with queen-sized bedding that smells nicely of lavender. In
the night I have wrapped myself tight to Sam's back for the radiant heater of her. The RV seems to
be reasonably well insulated, but there's an awareness of the cold beyond the thin walls that I'm not
used to. It's quiet though, so the rain stopped at some point in the night, that's nice.
"You've been restless."
Not expecting a very relaxed Sam to be awake, I half startle before protesting when she squirms in
my hold.
"No. Don't wanna move."
"Are you turning down a cuddle? Who are you?"
The tease makes me grumble sleepily, but at least now I can commandeer her torso, latching on
like a python to snuggle into her boobs.
"You were having a good dream, snuggles. I know those little noises. Did the farm live up to your
expectations?" Even though I know it's coming, I still feel a little embarrassed as Sam's teasing
goes wicked. "Or is it just Farmer Hotness?"
Oh, she is not getting in all the teasing here! Jabbing tickling fingers into those easily accessed ribs
earns me a completely undignified noise. "Sassy brat, you are just as charmed and you know it!"
Squirming and giggling, Sam tosses her phone onto the little shelf built into the cabinet beside the
bed and grabs me half in restraint and half in hug. Willing to play, I squirm and make giggly
protesting noises. If my little squeal as Sam rolls us doesn't wake the girls, I'll be shocked.
"If you are implying that Alex and her bold, shy eyes and She-Hulk build is catnip, well, I
suppose."
While I'm normally not a fan of morning kisses before I can at least hit the mouthwash, something
in the press of Sam's body, the taste and feel of her mouth, has me tense in the sexiest way. Grin
sly, Sam props herself up on her elbows and I relish the stroke of her warm fingertips on my face,
so gentle and loving.
"I admit that the fantasies have taken on a new life. Even the crunchy hay was starting to look
appealing."
We giggle naughtily together.
"But have no fear, babe, she's got the hook in her mouth already. All we have to do is reel her in
carefully."
Before I can comment, the RV shudders on its support feet and I know the girls are awake.
Groaning, I roll onto my back and call out. "Kids! You can come in!"
As though she'd been waiting impatiently for the summons, Lily bursts in to dive at the bed.
"It's so quiet here! Even school isn't this quiet. But the animals are waking up, hear them?"
It's hard not to hear them, a rising chorus of hunger I bet has our hosts getting ready for their day.
"Any sign of people being awake yet?"
"Nope. But it's kinda early. Ruby was telling me about time zones, so it's earlier for them than us!"
In the doorway, Ruby leans against the frame and there's a familiar fondness at the edges of her
neutral expression. This seems like a good place for a compliment. "Well your sister is right. How
about we get ready and go see about getting into the clubhouse."
That gets us moving, dressing warmly in preparation to whatever awaits us outdoors. With the
shades drawn against the night, I was not prepared for the darkness of the early morning. With the
girls paused on the steps and Sam a roadblock on the ground, I'm clearly not the only one feeling
the press of the so very black night and the memory of Alex warning us against the local fauna.
When Ruby abruptly makes an animalistic snort, we all jump in fear. I don't even chide Lily for
hauling off and slap-punching her in the arm for that stunt. Still, it gets us moving, reassured by the
few lights left on around the village. There's even a convenient flood lamp shining dimly on the
short flight of stairs leading up to the clubhouse, which is thankfully unlocked. There are little
LED lights that keep the dim space from being terrifying and lead my hand to a switch that floods
the space with brightness.
Sam leads the way, which doesn't shock me as I've been listening to her stomach grumble since
before she was awake. The great room feels as empty as it is, the long night giving the space just
an edge of chill. For a moment, Sam looks indecisive before her expression squares up.
"Well, they did say to make ourselves at home."
Both Ariases are in go mode now, searching through cupboards and the big refrigerator. Full of
mischief, Ruby comes up from the fridge balancing one of the huge ostrich eggs in one hand. "Bet
you could make a big pancake with this!"
"Oh! Lemme see!"
There's no denying Lily's delighted demand and Ruby grabs a dishtowel as padding for the egg.
Frankly, I'm as curious as my daughter, both of us touching the frigid surface, bumpy and smooth
as rustic, glazed porcelain.
Luckily for our stomachs, Ruby finds plain chicken eggs and a carton of buttermilk that has Sam
delighted with the treat. Nia is clearly an organized and intuitive cook because there are pancakes
hissing to life in a pan inside ten minutes. Ruby swaps out the giant egg for plates and soon we are
digging into the miracle that is Sam's pancakes. The woman has a gift.
There is a click from a large coffeemaker near the sink that has not one, but two stainless steel
carafes in it. With a burble and a trickle, the scent of coffee fills the room.
"Bet we'll have company in short order," Sam chuckles as she wipes out the last of her batch of
pancakes.
Lucy's first, looking adorably startled and confused through her barely-awake haze. For a moment
she puzzles at us before making some sort of animalish noise and heading for the coffee. It's a
signal for the arrival of everyone else in short order. Monica approaches first, clearly interested in
what we've been eating, Kara hot on her heels.
"Oh, those smell so good…" the tweeny marvels and Kara looks like she's ready to drool. Sam's
voice is wry, but gentle.
"I could make some more for everybody."
"Really? Cool!"
That brings over Carol to place a hand on daughter and cousin both. "Could it wait for an hour or
so? Gotta tend the beasties."
"Of course. The batter gets better with a little aging."
"Excellent. You kids want to help us out? We have our morning Dawn Discussion, then we'll head
out."
"Dawn Discussion?" Lily questions and Carol chuckles warmly. Even as she opens her mouth to
answer, the raunchy banter I've been expecting since we arrived has at last started.
"Dawn Disaster is more like it!" Lucy crows as she throws a leg over a chair and sits down with a
thud that belies her small size. Alex's dry sarcasm is a thing of beauty.
"yes, thank you, Lucifer."
"The Double D!"
If looks could kill, Lucy would be on fire, and flashes her teeth in a feline grin. "What? Look,
Danvers, just because you have a filthy mind."
"Oh, look who's talking!"
"Down girls," Carol laughingly warns and the banter subsides. Turning her attention back to Lily,
she finishes what she was going to say. "Over our very busy summer, we realized that we really
needed a morning meeting to keep everybody informed-"
"And make sure we don't forget shi… stuff," Lucy chimes in as the gang clusters to the table with
carafes and mugs and milk.
I've sat in on a lot of business meetings from life in boarding school to Luthor dynamics to life at
the club. This is absolutely no different, save the dress code, or lack thereof. Lucy has a laptop and
Alex a battered spiral notebook. For a few minutes they swap information about their day to day
lives here. It's both fascinating and boring. So, typical meeting.
Alex says something that gets a collective groan from the locals and refocuses my attention.
"No more putting it off! The rain has stopped for now and we need to get the new plastic on the
hoop coop." Alex is demanding, but not overbearing and she gives her family a 'really?' look as
they groan again. Exasperated, she turns her attention to us to explain. "We have new thermal
greenhouse plastic for the north side of the coop where we had plants. The chickens get that for
winter. We'll save the south side as backup, though I still have doubts it's going to survive another
snow season."
"We're hoping it will," Kara chimes in distractedly, still clearly in the process of waking up. "We'll
need it for starting seedlings, but the other two are pretty well trashed and the poles can just be
taken down."
Clearly ignoring the side explanations, Lucy forges ahead, her tone showing her lawyer past.
"Carol, can you call our Cali supplier about the ostrich feed? We'll need the chick starter for sure,
and I suppose we better get in what we can for the adults and adults-to-be."
"Didn't we need chick starter for the little dinosaurs too?"
Alex jumps back in with, "yeah. I need to get our guests into Salem for clothes anyway, so if they
can fill an order, I can pick it up."
"Done!"
"The rest of us are on winter housing duty. Just a little more buttoning up and we can get bedding
down."
The meeting is on in earnest now, Brainy adding in, "We are short on wood shavings for that task."
"No problem. Thanks to our lovely patrons," Lucy raises her mug at me with a grin, "we have
enough straw to finish the job. I'll get the hay fork on the Kubota and bring over one of the rolls.
Then we can get hay on top of that to give them something to eat and play in. Gonna be a boring
winter for them."
"Oh, hey, I forgot to ask yesterday. What is your stance on the cameras?" Alex abruptly asks and
every eye at the table is suddenly on me. Completely taken off guard, I automatically look to Sam,
who looks every bit as nonplussed. She finds her voice first.
"You know, we honestly hadn't thought about that."
"No, we haven't. But we don't want to hold back your filming either. It should be alright, I suppose.
What about you girls?"
It startles both daughters to suddenly be included, Ruby shrugging and Lily plucking at her lower
lip for a moment. "It could be fun, I guess. Can we show our friends at school?"
Leave it to my wild child to find the positive! "Darling, I think your friends at school would have
fun watching these videos later with you."
"Cool! Could we get chicken eggs?"
"Absolutely!" Alex agrees cheerfully. "You guys want to come along for feed duty? I could hitch
the wagon to the tractor and give you a ride."
That's signal enough for everyone to break to various tasks, Sam sending myself and the girls off
with a kiss and a grin. The grey dawn is waking around us, damp and cool. Really, I'm not dressed
to be out in this. Talking quietly between themselves, the Danvers sisters move like they share a
mind, muscling a large wagon from the barn. The thing is nearly the size of a compact car with a
slat-rail fence around three sides. While Kara hooks it to the awaiting green tractor, the girls follow
Alex back in. She's nattering on about different feeds, scoops of grain mixes getting tossed into
marked pails along with scoops of powder in some and green pellets in others. The whole time,
she's tracking her work on a clipboard.
"This smells yummy," Lily says with her head stuck into the top of a metal trashcan. There are a
bunch of them standing around, full of animal feed.
"That's because that is oats and molasses," Alex supplies with a smile as she slaps lids onto the
cluster of buckets. "You could toss boiling water over a scoop of that and eat it yourself!"
I don't even know where Alex found the two small pails she hands Lily, but my little is puffed up
that she gets to help. Ruby grabs another and shakes it as instructed, and Alex holds yet another out
at me.
That smile could get me to do just about anything.
So I find myself in the misty dawn, my ass parked on a plastic bucket of livestock food, clinging to
the raw wooden rail next to me as we bounce along behind the small tractor. The feeding is a little
alarming only in that the animals are so eager. Alex dumps a portion into a plastic trough for the
big donkeys and shoos the alpaca out of the small, covered enclosure to cluster around another
feeder, this one much larger. Then more grain is poured into a low feeder for the sheep and minidonkeys
to shoulder their way in for a spot at the table. Lily's small buckets are dumped into yet
another trough so that the big white dogs can crunch up the kibble noisily.
"We'll come back in a few minutes and let the big guys out. That way the shrimps and woolies get
a fair share. They're getting way more food right now to fatten up a bit and grow more hair for
winter."
The trip out on the pastures has been nice, though I could do without the… smells. The worst one
of which grows stronger as we approach a wall of wood and cattle panels.
The deep grunting and snorting from within gives away what lies behind that barrier. From my
vantage point on the trailer, I can see down into the muddy crater occupied by two enormous
swine.
"It stinks," Lily complains bluntly and even as I wince a bit at her manners, she's not wrong. Alex
grimaces herself, hoisting yet another bucket to dump it, getting as much splattered across the pig's
huge heads and ears than gets in the trough.
"Yeah, I'm not happy with the condition of their pen, but the bigger they get, the more terrifying
they are. Thankfully, it's less than a week before we have an appointment with the butcher."
That's an unexpected bombshell, but Alex doesn't notice as she continues to ramble as she checks a
blue plastic barrel with weird-looking spigots on it at head height to the pigs.
"The pushy jerks broke the pig-mobile we built to move them in and we haven't been able to come
up with a good alternate. I still have no idea how we're going to get them into the stock trailer…"
We must all look a little stunned and upset because Alex pauses, and doesn't quite sigh, but it's
close.
"It was hard for me at first too, to accept that we're raising these guys and a bunch of the chickens,
for food. But they have a pretty nice life here with fresh air and good food and low stress. Yes, the
pigpen is a mess, but we've learned a lot from these two on how to do better in the future."
She must realize that there's not much more she can say on the subject, and even as we city girls
are disturbed by the reality of living animals that will soon be food, isn't that the truth of it?
Seeing something in my expression, Alex nods and her voice is businesslike as she finishes her
thought. "Anyway, if there's two unbreakable rules here, it's respect one another's personal space,
and steer clear of the pigs."
We hang back at the trailer while Alex walks over a bucket to dump it over the side of another pen,
the noises within much higher pitched. When she returns, I note that her cheerful expression is a bit
strained.
"I spaced out on it yesterday, but do you girls think you can help me with something? See, the new
kittens need to interact with people so they don't go wild and they got skipped over yesterday and
they grow so fast that we really can't do that. Just be gentle and let them come to you. There's toys
and treats and stuff in the cage."
After a quiet aside with Kara, Alex climbs back into the wagon and we're off again, back towards
the geometric shapes of the village and barns, veering off to the white tunnels of the hoop houses.
Jumping down, Alex shoos me off my seat and grabs it. "I'm going to see if I can get the ladies
squished into the coop so that we can get the plastic done after breakfast. Hang tight for a minute."
After a racket of squawking and clucking and some cussing from a clearly exasperated Alex, she
appears at the far end of the long tunnel of plastic.
"Bring your pails, Lily! We've got eggs!"
Feet from the door, the smell strengthens and I pause. Smirking, Ruby follows Lily into the mess
of disheveled straw, hay and wood shavings with clusters of food/water stations and nest boxes like
islands. A few chickens still wander about, watching us alertly.
"The white eggs are pretty easy, but we have some brown layers and even green!"
Lily's eyes round in amazement at Alex's statement. "Really? I didn't know there were green
chicken eggs."
"There are, and they're gorgeous. If you check in all the corners and cracks and along the walls,
there's usually some strays, but keep those separate, okay?"
"Why?"
"Because they might have been there for awhile and they go to the pigs. All the old eggs do.
There's almost always more than we'll eat, but winter is coming and there will be a lot less, so we
keep more hens than we need."
So my kids set about in their impromptu easter egg hunt while Alex putters about the nest boxes
and feeding stations. There's an easy grace to her, in the way she moves and holds herself. Before I
really think about it, I walk over and speak quietly. "You really love this, don't you?"
Oh, that smile! What a delightful weapon it is, hitting me in brain and knees and the soft places
between.
"I really do. Sorry about the stink. After doing this for months now, and working in an ER for
years before this, I don't even notice rank anymore."
"Do you miss it?"
Before I fret over being pushy, Alex shrugs. "Surprisingly little, to be honest. Though this winter
I'm going to look into maybe setting up a small clinic just for locals. Or something house to house,
y'know? We'll see. Shame to let the skills get rusty."
"I-"
Before I can add anything, Lily is squealing with delight that she's found a green egg. It takes a bit
of gentle persuasion to get her to give up the four eggs she found scattered, but the bounty in the
nest boxes proves an excellent distraction. I admire her bucket of them, ignoring the shudder up my
spine at the feathers and speckles of… things stuck to a few of them.
"Don't worry, Miss Lena, they get a little scrub before they get eaten. Promise."
The playful tone sounds almost… flirtatious.
Sam's POV
Nia was sweetly persistent that I couldn't help with the cleanup from breakfast. Brainy and Lucy
had crowded me out and now I'm feeling at a complete loss. My family and Alex had been absent
from the meal, the latter swung through to collect a plate and vanish again. My guess is that they're
in the barn, but I find myself sitting on one of the wooden lounge chairs near Kara's tiny house.
The quiet still grates on my nerves, so used to the overstimulation of city life. But here it's soft
sounds, the trees sighing in the breeze, a passing car, one of the big livestock dogs barking off in
the distance, Lily's piercing laugh muffled in the barn. I must zone out because the strangely quiet
thump of heavy boots on the deck rouses me with a start.
"You seem a little jumpy there, Sam," Alex says very seriously, but there's a hint of mischief to her.
"Do you need some help relaxing? As a very serious medical professional, I subscribe," that grin is
pure shenanigans as she reaches into her coat and I brace myself. "Kitten therapy."
Dangling from her cupped hand is a sleepy bit of fluff who blinks and meows.
"You don't strike me as the formal sort, but I thought you might make an exception for a friend of
mine."
The kitten is a tuxedo with the cutest white mustache and toes.
"I know you're not allergic, because I asked, so put your hands out."
I have no idea what part of my brain makes me obey, but a moment later, there is a warm little
kitten in my hands.
"We've been calling him Mustache as a filler name."
"Of course you are," I tease and lower the kitten to stand on my chest. With my hands cupped
around his ribs, he can't go anywhere, but looks sleepy enough to not even try.
"Lily has exercised them well and he's probably more interested in sleep than escape."
I'm more delighted with the furball than I thought I'd be.
It doesn't take much more than a coaxing ask for Alex to get me to my feet to return my new pal to
his family. Even the short walk across the street to the barn is too much for little Mustache, who
goes limp in the cradle of my hands.
"Aww, you like him," Alex teases and I give her a wry look.
"It's a mammal thing."
She has a great laugh, warm and open. I recognize the oversized stall completely enclosed in wood
and the wire screen hardware cloth, my daughter's voices coming from within. Alex gestures me
through the screen door, but remains outside. When she asks Ruby if she'd like to help with
something, she leaves her spot near where Lena has taken advantage of some hay bales and piles of
blankets for a little nap. I sit near my Luthors and gently tuck Mustache into the cuddle puddle
with his siblings.
"Just four of them, huh?" I ask Lily, who pets the sleeping kittens with clear fascination.
"Yeah. Aren't they neat? There are some kitties at school, but not little ones like this. Alex said
they were only six weeks old just yesterday. The mama won't come out, but I've seen her peek a
couple times and she's very pretty. She's gray like Foggy and has orange eyes."
She hums to herself while petting the furry piles of young cats and it makes me smile. She's such a
great kid.
"They have silly names."
That makes me chuckle as I join her in sprawling out in the surprisingly comfortable straw. "They
do. What would you name them?"
Clearly, Lily hasn't thought of that and she hems and haws until I bail her out.
"Well, there's lots of famous cats that can inspire us. Like Garfield or Tom or Figaro."
And though he knows we're talking about him, the little tuxedo stirs and yawns, bringing his head
up so that I can rub a fingertip over his skull. The tune comes to me unexpectedly and I see a small
smile tip Lena's mouth where she remains snuggled into her straw and blanket nest. I'm not a great
singer, but I can passably carry a tune, unlike Lena.
"I'm Abraham De Lacy, Giuseppe Casey, Thomas O'Malley, O'Malley the alley cat," I croon the
old Disney tune from the Aristocats and Lily gasps.
"Mommy! He can't be O'Malley! He's not orange!"
There's no missing Lena fighting down the urge to laugh and her eyes open just a bit. I leave her to
watch quietly, cracking up over Lily's childish disgust.
"Well Mustache is a silly name and Alex told me that I could change it," I tell Lily in a haughty
tone and she makes a face.
"Why do you get to name him?"
"Because he likes me best."
That seems to be the keyword for Mustache to stretch with a huge yawn and attack his beige
brother, Himmy. Typical of young creatures of all statures, my little tuxedo buddy has a very short
attention span and races off while his brother does his best to finish waking up. He's marked like a
fluffy Siamese, only in brown over his nose, ears, toes and tail. Little Marshmallow is the same
way, only she is brushed with white on legs and face, which makes her a little funny looking in a
cute way.
"What about Mousetache?"
It takes real effort not to laugh at Lily's suggestion and I can hear the warble of repressed
amusement in my voice. "Well, it's a bit of a mouthful and shortening it down to Mousey doesn't
really suit him. He needs a dramatic name," I think for a moment before getting excited, "like
Zorro!"
In true swashbuckling fashion, Mustache rockets out of the hay cave to race up my back and launch
himself off my head. It happens so fast I can't even react, just watch him fall into the chasm
between me and Lily, nearly bouncing off her surprised face. Well, if the litter was slow in waking,
they're up now! Like excited quarks, they are off.
"Monsieur Mittens," Lily tosses out with a passable, if cheesy, French accent. "Because of his little
white paws."
"What, no ridiculous royal name like Prince Hairy? Since you know, he's hairy."
Lily has gotten far too good at her sister's art of the silent sass. After a moment, she speaks up, her
voice carefully normal. "He could be Alfred, since there's already a Batman."
"Oh, that's a good one!"
Suddenly Ruby's voice is on the other side of the low wall and wire hardware cloth, teasing, "that's
better than the cliché 'Jeeves'."
"That's it!" I exclaim joyfully and catch the excited feline molecule to pin him gently to the straw
and play 'murderous predator' with him. "Prince Hairy Alfred Jeeves of the Adorable Mustache."
Lily's giggle joins her mother's as Lena stiffly sits up from her improvised mattress. Lily launches
herself at her for a hug and I smile sappily.
"I was locked in here with these vicious brutes by Doctor Alex for inpatient kitten therapy."
Lena's guffaw is rough with sleep and her smile slow. "Kitten therapy."
"Shall I release you from your squalid prison, Mom?" The sarcasm is gentle from Ruby and I paste
on a mockingly horrified expression.
"And release these monsters into the world? Never!"
"You guys are a riot," Alex's voice reaches our ears a moment before she appears next to Ruby.
"Enjoying your incarceration?"
"I was framed, I tell ya!" I cry out with mock anger, shaking my fist. Which is invitation enough
for the young prince to pounce.
After a few more minutes of hyperactive kitten shenanigans, there is some sort of signal outside of
our human perceptions that sends the quartet back into their hay cave where their shy mother is
holed up.
"Okay, that's our signal to leave," Alex announces to sounds of protest from all of us. "Oh, there
will be plenty of opportunity to play with them, no fear. We just have to give them space to chill
too. Particularly their mom. I have the boards out and cleaned up a bit if you'd like to see them."
That gets us moving! I like the barn. It's weathered without seeming as though its ready to collapse
on us, and been cleaned up fairly well. Most of the stalls are crowded with supplies, but there
seems to be some manner of organization to them. Even the smells are low, the alpaca and their
guardian llama having been moved to the larger barn next door.
"When we're in town tomorrow, we'll have to pick up some safety gear for you guys. Though, if
we hit the others up for some of their gear, we might have you covered."
Even as I worry a bit over what Alex could possibly mean by safety gear, we all get a good look at
the wood. There are four planks both on the table and resting on some sawhorses nearby, cleaned
of dirt, sawdust and much of the stringy bark. One of them has even been roughly sanded, if that
orbital sander resting on it is any indication. The whole place reeks of cedar, a bit overwhelmingly
so.
"Wow," Lena says reverently and runs her hand over one of the big planks. "It's so beautiful."
Honestly, the damn thing is big enough for a regular table. How big is Alex thinking of going
anyway?
"I'd like to sit fifteen if it can be managed, though two pieces would be more manageable. Shame
though, because one big sea of wood would have been gorgeous."
Oops. Apparently that hadn't been an inside thought then.
So we're given earplugs, disposable dust masks and various sanding tools and put to work. Poor
Lily looks ridiculous in her oversized plastic earmuffs and safety glasses, still dressed in Lucy's old
flannel shirt. Alex stays with her, the two of them delicately playing sandpaper over the live edges
of the wood to smooth it while the rest of us use power tools. When we get tired and bored, Alex
gets a consensus of how the boards should fit together to be the most pretty. Then she brings out a
circular saw and slices off part of each of them and we shove them together in order.
"It's going to be a gorgeous table," I say and Ruby chuckles.
"And it will easily sit fifteen!"
As the girls have gotten bored, Alex comes up with the idea of creating a tree swing with the offcuts.
So one piece is quickly trimmed down and four holes drilled in it before we range through
the supplies looking for rope. After Alex shrieks like the girliest girl over a spider, blushing
fiercely, a coil of rope is found and we're trooping out into the gloomy day.
"I'm not complaining about the show," I murmur into Lena's hair as I hug her in watching. Having
found a jutting branch some twenty feet up, Alex was focused on throwing a wad of rope over it
while the girls cheer her on. The second length goes up easier and Alex kneels in the wet grass with
Lily close so that she can put the seat at a comfy height. Then a lot of sloppy knots and there is a
proper rustic tree swing ready for playing with. Right on cue a heavy truck sounds close by and
Alex excuses herself to race off.
"They're so busy," Lily says where she sways lazily on the new swing. "And it's not even
lunchtime yet."
The noises from the road quickly draw us over to watch the show, which is a good-sized delivery
truck stacked with empty pallets. Brainy hovers over his cameras while Alex looks over a
clipboard and Kara and Lucy tote out two metal beams nearly as long as Lucy herself. They slot
and screw them down to the lip of the tractor's front scoop while Alex finishes the clipboard with a
signature and helps the driver take off the straps from the stacks. With a roar, the tractor comes to
life under Lucy's deft hand and Kara's careful directions, the new prongs acting as a forklift to pull
the stacks down and set them on the road. They remove about half of the load, Lucy heading
straight for the low barn with the last load.
"Why all the pallets?" Ruby calls out and the sisters Danvers smile matching smiles. For all that
they look nothing alike, mannerisms and expressions prove them family.
"For firewood!" Alex calls out as she effortlessly lifts a wooden pallet to smack it down atop
another pile, the sisters stacking the pallets like shuffled cards. It's as impressive a show as
expected.
Ruby hasn't finished with questions yet. "How much firewood do you guys have?"
"Not enough by far. But there's a truck coming that will solve that!"
I can only nod to Lena's soft, "how much firewood are they expecting to need that many pallets?"
Nia appears then, calling out merrily, "so is this a bad time for lunch?"
"It's never a bad time for lunch, little sister two!"
We all linger for a few more minutes for Lucy to shuttle the other stacks away from the weather,
which has started to get drizzly and gloomy again. Then it's a mass migration off to the clubhouse
for the next culinary adventure.
We're getting spoiled.