CHAPTER TWO: And She's Not Alone...
A FEW weeks had passed in the Evergreen Forest. Today was a lovely Tuesday afternoon in the middle of June. The sun was shining brightly throughout the coniferous forest. Birds were singing, crickets were chirping, and the temperatures were quite warm...not quite muggy, but still more than warm enough. All in all, it was a perfect day to spend an afternoon outdoors.
But yet, in spite of the beautiful early summer weather, not everyone was in a particularly bright mood. One woman was spending the afternoon indoors, feeling a little down...
Melissa Raccoon sat alone at the kitchen table of the Raccoondominium, drinking a cup of her usual afternoon tea. She had just finished cleaning up the kitchen, and now it was time to sit back and relax a little bit. Ralph had decided to take the day off from their job at the Standard, which she certainly appreciated. She really did love her job as the Standard's photographer, but it was always nice to have a few days every now and then for relaxation and personal time. She was glad Ralph had started doing this more often over the past decade...
For that matter, there had been a bit of excitement earlier today: their little son Michael's good friend, Chester Marmor, had come to spend a few days at the Raccoondominium. Chester's parents, Don and Shirley Marmor, were celebrating their tenth wedding anniversary, and, on recommendation from some family friends, had decided to visit the Porkono Mountains to celebrate the occasion. Melissa couldn't help but remember how she and Ralph had made just such a trip for their 20th anniversary the previous year. She couldn't help but smile fondly remembering that trip and all the naughty fun she and Ralph had gotten up to in their hotel room together...
Michael had once slept over at Chester's house, and since the two were close, Micheal had eagerly suggested that his friend stay over at his house while his parents were away, since this was a "grown-ups only" trip. Chester had spoken to his parents about his friend's offer, and after a phone call to the Raccoondominium, the Raccoons and Marmors mutually agreed that he could stay with Michael. They had dropped him off earlier this afternoon on their way to Evergreen Station.
Michael was rather delighted that his young friend was going to be staying with him for a few days. Right now, the two kits were upstairs in Michael's bedroom, watching some of his old Thomas the Tank Engine tapes. Chester's parents didn't actually own a television, so he had been really keen on getting to see some with his friend.
Melissa could not help but grin remembering how happy Michael had been to see Chester and how excited he was knowing they would be staying in the same house for the next few days. "Chester is such a good friend to my little boy," she mused to herself, taking a sip from her teacup. "I wonder if Ralph and Bert were that close when they were little...?" She was certainly glad that even though her little kit had some troubles interacting with others and could be a little shy when meeting new people, he still had a few good friends who would look out for him and care about him. "Chester's in good paws with us. We'll make sure nothing happens to him..."
But then, a frown occupied Melissa's face again. She let out a sigh as she gazed out the window. Sure, it was a lovely day outside, but she just couldn't feel in a particularly bright mood. "My hunch was right..." she sighed again. "Michael and I really are all that's left of my family..."
She couldn't help it; over the past few weeks, her thoughts would periodically return to her family-or rather, her lack of one. Despite all her hard efforts digging around on a genealogy website the past few years, she had turned up nothing. There was no indication that there were any lost members of the Mulligan family out there. She had come to the sad conclusion that must be because there were none, and that meant Michael was her only living family member. Realizing how futile her search had been, she had recently decided to give up her search.
It had been a hard decision for her, but Ralph had supported her choice. Though she felt frustrated that her efforts had been in vain, her husband had reassured her that she had tried her hardest and even if she may not have a family, he and Michael would always be there for her, and she would never have to feel alone. Ralph's words were touching and reassuring, for sure...
"And yet..." Melissa muttered under her breath, "I still can't help but think about it. I can't help but see how Ralph has so many family members to talk to and yet I have none. I will never get to know what it's like to have blood relatives you can talk to every now and then..." She also thought of her little Michael, and how he had asked her a few weeks ago why he had never met any members of her family. She hated having to tell him that they were all dead and buried save for her, and that he would never meet any of them. She hoped it hadn't affected him too much, and it didn't seem to, but one thing she noticed was that he had become more curious about her lost family. He had begun to ask questions about them and what they were like. She told him she would tell him more in due time, but still, he seemed to be really interested in knowing. "I wonder if I should tell Mikey more about my family? He knows a little about my father, but not much else...Should I tell him about my Uncle Scott...?"
Melissa's Uncle Scott had been dead for many years now, a casualty of the Vietnam War, and a big part of the reason why she came to Canada in the first place. She had been just a little younger than Michael was now when he was killed, and so did not honestly have very many memories of him. She tried her best to remember him in happier times, and not think about how fearful Scott had been when he found out he was being drafted into Vietnam service, or of how outstandingly depressing his funeral had been. One thing that bugged her was how Scott had been engaged to be married when he was killed. She only had a few memories of her, but she still remembered her name. "Emily Thomas," Melissa nodded her head. The weird thing was that after Uncle Scott had been drafted, she never saw her again. Emily had not even shown up at her fiancee's funeral, and Melissa had no clue where she had gone or whatever became of her. All she could remember was her father once telling her that Emily had left town shortly after Scott had been drafted. "I wonder why she never came to his funeral?" she wondered to herself. "Ah well, it's best not to try to overthink this..."
The more and more Melissa thought about it, though, the more she wasn't sure it was a good idea to tell Michael about his family. She knew her son was a bit of a sensitive child and could get upset or have his feelings hurt easily. She wondered if telling Michael about his depressing family past would unintentionally scar his childhood...
It was at that moment that Melissa was interrupted from her thoughts by a warm paw being placed on her shoulder. "Hi, honey," came a gentle voice. It was none other than the voice of her husband, Ralph. He had been in the living room reading a book, but must have gotten up and walked up to her in the kitchen while she had been in the midst of her thoughts.
"Oh, hello, sweetie," Melissa managed to flash a small smile, but it was clearly a bit forced.
"Is something the matter, Melissa? You've been rather quiet today," he observed.
"Oh, nothing's wrong, dear. I've just been doing a lot of thinking today..."
"Thinking about what?" queried her husband.
"Oh, you know. This and that. Nothing that you would find particularly interesting," she remarked, glancing back down at her teacup.
"...I see," responded Ralph, placing his paw to his chin. He couldn't help but feel he knew what was on her mind. "You're thinking about your family again, aren't you...?"
Melissa chuckled. "You know me too well, don't you, dear?" she quipped, taking one last sip from her afternoon cup of tea. "Yeah," she continued, looking a little down again. "Yeah, I have, Ralph. I know it might be silly for me to feel bothered by this, but I do..."
"It isn't silly at all, honey," Ralph warmly replied, now taking a seat at the table and placing his arm around her for support. "I know it's always bugged you knowing that you don't have any other living family save for our little Michael. And I know how hard it must be for you to give up in your search," he remarked in his most gentle of tones. "But remember what I told you a few weeks ago? You're not as alone as you think you are. You still have Michael, and I know he'll always love you. And I may not be related to you," he went on, "but you know I will always love you and always be there for you when you need me. Don't worry!"
Melissa did smile; it was always nice to hear Ralph giving her reassurance when she felt upset. "I know that, Ralph, it's just...this is something that has been bothering me for a long time. It's not like it's something that's just gonna go away, you know?"
"I understand," answered her husband kindly. "I imagine if I didn't really have a family like you, it would probably bug me too..." An encouraging smile came across his face. "But you know you can't dwell on that forever. You have a very good life and there's still so much more you can accomplish! I know they may not be alive anymore, but I'm sure your family members would say you've done them proud and they would be honored to have you as part of their family tree."
That was a really thoughtful thing for Ralph to say. Melissa knew her husband was most likely right. She was a very successful and accomplished photojournalist, a loving wife, and a devoted mother. Surely her ancestors would have been proud of what she had done with her life. "Well, that's true, Ralph. I'm sure I'll get accustomed to it in due time, but there is one little thing bugging me..."
"Oh, what's that?"
Melissa stood up from the kitchen table and stretched her arms, grabbing her now empty teacup off the table. "Michael..." she whispered.
"Michael? What about him?" pondered Ralph, getting up as well.
"He knows so little about my side of the family," she sighed as she walked over to the sink and placed the teacup in the suds to soak. "I mean, he is a Raccoon, but he's also a Mulligan too. Yet he knows so much about your side of the family and hardly anything about mine. You remember how he asked me why he never met any of my family?"
"Yes," her husband answered matter-of-factly. "I remember how it bummed you out having to tell him about your family..."
"Well, he's been very curious about my family lately," she sighed, now scrubbing the teacup clean. "You've heard him. He's been asking so many questions about my family members lately. He wants to know more. But I don't know if I should. You know my family story, Ralph, it's...rather depressing. I don't want to upset Michael...That's why I've tried to avoid talking too much about them around him..."
"True, it may be depressing, but it is part of who he is. That's your call whether or not you want to tell him about that now, but I do think he has a right to know about both sides of his family..."
Ralph always seemed so logical to her, but Melissa just worried whether or not it was a good idea to let a young child know so many sad family stories at such a young age. She really did not want to discuss or traumatize her little boy..."I know, but I don't want to upset him..." she repeated herself, turning off the faucet and standing aside, facing her husband now.
"Well, it might, but you never know..." Ralph shrugged. "But I do think it would be good for him to have a better idea of who he actually is. Like you said, he mostly just knows one side of his family. Even if he can't meet them, it might be a good learning experience to understand your side of the family more," he smiled. "Of course, that's up for you to decide, not me..."
Melissa did manage to crack a smile. "You know, I think Ralph's right," she mused privately. "Sure, it might depress Michael to know how sad a family history he actually has, but then again, it might be better to let him know more. I remember my father didn't spare the details on his traumatic childhood..." Still, she wasn't entirely sure if it was a great idea...
"You know, I'll give it a thought, dear," Melissa replied, sounding a little more optimistic. "Thank you for trying to cheer me up, Ralph..."
"Heheh, no problem, as I always say, I know you would do the same for me," Ralph grinned as he outstretched his arms. The raccoon couple shared a gentle hug, Ralph giving his wife a few affectionate pats on the back. "You know, it's a lovely day outside, honey. Melissa...I was thinking...perhaps we could go for a walk through the woodlands together? That always helps ease my mind..."
Melissa and Ralph pulled back from each other a bit. "Hmm, I don't know Ralph..."
"We can take the boys with us, too," beamed her hubby. "Michael always loves to go exploring in the Forest with us. And I think he'd have a lot of fun spending more time playing out in the woods with Chester!"
"Maybe so," Melissa shook her head, "but I honestly don't feel like going for a walk today. I don't know, I'm just not in the right mood, sweetie. I feel like staying around the Raccoondominum today..."
"Oh, I see," Ralph looked a bit disappointed; he thought something like that would help brighten up her day. "You sure?"
"Yeah..." Melissa nodded her head very slowly. "You go on ahead, dear. I think I need some time alone right now...and besides, I remembered I had some things I needed to do around the house." She wasn't making up an excuse; she really did just remember she had some things she wanted to do today.
"Well, okay," her husband agreed as he let go of his wife. While it was always nice to get out and stretch his legs and just enjoy the crisp Forest air, it was definitely more than a bit of a bummer knowing he'd be alone this time. He thought it was a good opportunity to have a nice little family outing together. "What exactly do you have to do, anyways?"
"I think the vegetable garden needs watering," Melissa pointed out the side-window at their garden. "It hasn't rained in a while and I think the tomatoes are looking a bit wilted. I think they need a little more TLC if we're going to pluck any prize-winners at the Fall Fair this year!" she chuckled.
"Ah, I see," Ralph trailed off as he and Melissa walked off into the living room. "Well, I'll only be out for a little while. I was thinking maybe I could go drop by Bert and Maxie's place and see what they're up to..." He opened the front door and stepped out. "See you later, honey," he waved back to her. "Hope you feel better soon!"
"I'm sure I will, be back soon," Melissa cracked a small smile and waved goodbye to her husband, closing the door behind her. With that, she grabbed her sun hat and placed it on her head, tying up her tank top at the same time to make sure it wouldn't get dirty out in the garden. "I suppose gardening could take my mind off my family for a while...or at least clear my head..."
As she walked into the kitchen to fetch her gloves, a thought occurred to her. "Perhaps I should ask the boys if they want to help me out? I know Michael likes tending the garden..."
Upstairs, Melissa opened the door to her little son's bedroom, the former bedroom of her once-houseguest Bert. She immediately noticed that Michael was sitting on the floor in front of his television set, gazing up at it. And there was Chester on Michael's bed, lying flat on his stomach, kicking his feet back and forth in the air. Peanut, her son's bulldog, was lying on the floor next to the bed, fast asleep. Sure enough, as she had speculated, they were watching one of Michael's Thomas the Tank Engine tapes.
She remembered this was one of the tapes his Aunt Nicole had bought for him at a thrift store in Spruceton for Christmas one year. Melissa remembered this one quite well, it was one of her kit's favorites. In the episode Michael and Chester were currently engrossed in, it had been a cold winter's evening on the Island of Sodor. The engines were snug in their shed, but couldn't get any sleep, so they decided to pass the time by telling a story. Thomas volunteered, and told his friends a story about an old narrow-gauge engine named Duke who worked on the Island many years before. He was the oldest and wisest engine on his railway-named for the Island's resident Duke-and primarily worked with two younger engines named Stuart and Falcon.
Stuart and Falcon were both pretty mischievous, and often found trouble, much to Duke's dismay. Although they did look up to him, they both teased him often by calling him "Granpuff". Duke decided to keep them in order one day by telling them the story of another engine who worked on the line before them who misbehaved and received a terrible punishment for his lack of behavior. The young engines behaved much better after that, and they spent many years happily working the line.
Unfortunately, things had gone south for the little engines. Eventually, their railway ran out of money, and was forced to close down for good. The engines were auctioned off, and people quickly bought Stuart and Falcon. Nobody, however, wanted Duke as they thought him old and not very useful anymore. Stuart and Falcon promised "Granpuff" he could come live on their new railway some day, but they didn't honestly believe that would ever happen. And so, Duke was left behind. His driver and fireman had placed him in a shed, covered him with a tarp, and said goodbye to him. Duke decided to go to sleep to pass the time...and many years passed. Winter weather caused mudslides to rain down on the shed, and over time foliage buried Duke's shed completely from view. It was as if neither it nor he ever existed...
And that was the end of Thomas' story for this episode. Not all the engines were happy with how it had ended, however.
"'That's not a happy ending!' cried Percy.
'Ah,' murmured Thomas, 'there will be one. But that'll have to wait until next time...'"
As the images of the engines with their nameboards flashed across the screen-which happened after every single episode, Michael and Chester were discussing what they had watched. They hadn't heard her open the bedroom door...
"Wow, that was really...sad," Chester spoke up, actually looking a little saddened by what he watched.
"Yeah, I know," agreed with his friend. "How could they leave Duke behind? That wasn't fair..."
Melissa had to agree with the two boys; this actually was a pretty sad episode. "It's pretty sad how we treat our elders sometimes, isn't it?" she concurred. Michael and Chester, both surprised, glanced at her. "Hi there, boys," she waved at them.
"Oh!" Michael quickly stopped his tape. "Hi, Mom! We didn't hear you come in!"
"Hello, Mrs. Raccoon," said Chester politely. "Why are you dressed up like that?"
"Oh, you'll see. I just thought I'd come up and check on you two," she explained.
"I have a question, Mrs. Raccoon," the albino kit continued. "What's a 'generator'?"
"Generator?" Melissa was confused by his question, until she realized he was asking about something he had seen in the tape. The poorly-behaved engine Duke had warned the younger locomotives about had been punished by having his wheels removed and being converted into one. "It's a machine that creates electricity, Chester."
"I knew what it meant, Mommy!" Michael smiled brightly.
"Well, I didn't," shrugged Chester. "So they turned Smudger into...that..? I hope that doesn't happen to me!" he shuddered.
Melissa giggled a bit. Children could be so silly sometimes. But that was something she liked about them. She missed the days when she was young where it seemed like anything was possible and not beyond the stretch of imagination..."Oh, Chester, you don't have to worry about that. Nobody is going to turn you into a generator. You're a raccoon, not an engine!"
"I don't know..." Chester seemed a little unnerved by that thought.
"Mommy, are you going out to work in the garden?" Michael innocently asked his mother.
"Yes, I am. Good eye, Mikey!" she grinned at him. "Your father just went out for a walk, and I thought I'd water our vegetables while he was out..."
"Can I help, Mom?" Michael jumped up, his eyes lit up. He loved helping his mother out in the garden.
"That's what I was coming up here for! I thought I could use a few young paws to help me out," she chuckled. "I think you boys are just right for the job, huh?"
"Yay!" her son chirped. Chester, however, wasn't so sure.
"I don't know, Mrs. Raccoon. Mama said I shouldn't stay out in the sun so long. I might burn..." It was true. Chester, being an albino raccoon, had no pigment in his skin; he was far more susceptible to getting badly sunburned than most were...
"I understand...but didn't your mother pack your special sunscreen for you?" Melissa asked him. She specifically remembered hearing Shirley Marmor say something about his special sunscreen over the phone when they were discussing Chester staying over a few days earlier.
"I think so," shrugged the white raccoon boy again. "I think it's in my pack somewhere. But I don't know if I wanna go out there. I want to know what happened to Duke..."
Melissa knew that she and Michael had seen this tape many times and knew exactly what would happen in the next story, but this was Chester's first time seeing it, so he had no idea what was going to happen. Still, she knew the tape wasn't going anywhere; they could always get back to watching it after tending to the garden. "It's okay, Chester. The tape will still be here when we come back in! You can find out what happened next later..."
"Okay..."
"C'mon! Let's go, Mom!" Michael chirped happily, tugging on his mother's tank top. He was quite eager to help his Mom out.
"We'll be heading out there soon, my little cutie pie," she tenderly patted him on the head.
Instantly, Michael blushed, feeling embarrassed she called him that in front of his friend. "Mommy!"
"Oh, I'm sorry, sweetheart," Melissa chuckled. "I forgot that you don't like being called that when others are around..."
Chester couldn't help but giggle a little. "Cutie pie, huh?"
Michael groaned. "I bet your Mom calls you funny names too!"
Chester nodded knowingly. "She does, she does..."
"Well, c'mon, boys!" Melissa called out as she exited the bedroom and headed down the hall towards the stairs. "We've got quite a bit of watering to do!"
"Coming, Mommy!" Michael said as he ran out to follow her. "Peanut, are you coming?"
Peanut opened her eyes, but quickly closed them again. It was rather clear she had no intention of going anywhere...Michael turned back to Chester, who was now fiddling with the pack he brought with him. "Are you coming, Chester?"
"I'll be down soon," he nodded as he continue to fumble around in his pack. "I've just got to find my sunscreen so I don't burn..."
"OK, Chester," his friend beamed. "Do you know where the vegetable garden is?"
"Of course; I saw it when Mama and Papa dropped me off!" he laughed. "I'll be down in a bit!"
Soon, Michael and Melissa were in the vegetable garden together, tending to the tomatoes. They had filled up the watering can from the spigot on the side of their tree home, and were giving the succulent red fruit some much needed water.
"I wonder if any of these will be a prize-winner, Mommy?" the young kit curiously asked his mother.
"I guess we'll see. With a little loving care, we might have one!"
At this moment, Chester walked out to join the two in the garden, having finished putting on his sunscreen. "I still don't know if I should stay out here real long, Mrs. Raccoon..."
"Don't worry!" beamed Melissa to the albino kit. "We won't be here long. Just going to water the tomatoes and plant some carrots!"
"Plant carrots?" Chester groaned. "You didn't say we were gonna do that..."
"Mom found some seeds in the kitchen," Michael smiled.
"I brought some gloves for you too, Chester. Lots of bugs around here and you never know what might try to bite you!" explained Melissa as she handed Chester the smaller pair of gloves, a spare pair for Michael.
"Ooh, I know. What if a spider tries to bite me? I hate spiders..." Chester shuddered a little.
"Well, hopefully, nothing'll happen," Melissa tried to encourage the albino raccoon, as she handed Michael the watering can so he could sprinkle a bit on some of the tomatoes.
"Chester, did I tell you I once won a prize at the Fall Fair?" Michael happily chirped to his friend.
"I think you did," he shrugged. "What was it for?"
"It was for a tomato!" Michael giggled. "Mom hung it up on our fridge."
"He won the prize for the largest tomato," explained Melissa. "He's hoping one of these tomatoes will be a prize-winner too. You should have seen him, Chester, he was so excited when the judges picked his tomato!"
"I bet," the albino raccoon remarked. "I remember Mama won a prize last year. She won it for the best pie."
"I remember that," the older raccoon nodded. "Chester, are you excited for the Fall Fair?"
"No, not really," Chester shook his head.
"Why not? I can't wait! Mommy and Daddy said I could help put up Mr. Schaeffer's booth this year!" Michael certainly seemed quite excited for the Fair this year.
"Oh, well, it's just that...I don't like the Ferris wheel," Chester sighed as his young friend handed him the watering can. "I got sick on it last year..."
"Well, Chester, you know you don't have to ride the Ferris Wheel if it makes you sick," remarked Melissa. "I'm sure you'll still have fun..."
"I guess," sighed Chester.
Soon, the trio had finished watering the tomatoes, and now it was time for them to plant the carrot seeds. Melissa handed Michael a spade. "Here, Michael. I think you can handle digging up the dirt?"
"Of course, Mommy!" Michael proudly said as he proceeded to dig at a patch of dirt.
Melissa smiled as she opened up one of the carrot seed packs. "Boy, Ralph was right. It sure is a lovely day outside today, isn't it, boys?"
"It sure is!" Chester managed to smile. "I just hope my skin doesn't burn..."
"Yeah, it's a very nice day!" Michael smiled. "Mommy, can you please give me some seeds?"
"Of course, Michael. Since you asked nicely," his mother grinned as she passed him a seed. Michael dropped it in the hole and began to pile the dirt back on top of the now planted seed.
"Say, Mommy?" Michael glanced back up at his mother.
"What is it, honey?"
"Mom...Are you going to tell me more about your family soon...?" he asked her in his most innocent, cute tone.
Melissa sighed. She was fully anticipating him asking her about that again. "...Micheal, you know you've asked me that maybe...ten times in the past couple weeks?" she let out a chuckle.
"Yeah, but I want to know, Mom!" Michael pleaded. "You told me about them that one night! I want to know more about them!"
"Michael, honey, you know I told you I would tell you more one day, right?" she tried to dissuade him.
"I would like to know about your family, Mrs. Raccoon," Chester spoke up, now evidently interested in what she had to say.
"C'mon, Mommy! Please...?" Michael gave her his cutest face.
Melissa thought about what Ralph had told her earlier...and even though she was still not sure it was a good idea considering her son could be a little sensitive, she figured maybe it wouldn't hurt to let him know a little more about her family history. "Besides," thought Melissa, "how can I say no to that adorable little face?" "Okay, Michael. I suppose I'll tell you a little bit about my family...What do you want to know?"
"Tell me more about your uncle!" chirped the kit. "You told me you had an uncle. What was he like...?"
"Well," Melissa placed a finger to her chin, thinking of how she could explain things to the two kits..."First of all, Michael, I have told you I haven't always lived in the Forest, have I?"
"I think so."
"You didn't, Mrs. Raccoon?" queried Chester.
"No, I didn't. In fact...I'm not from Canada, originally."
Michael was surprised. He had no idea his mother was not a native-born Canadian. "You're not from Canada? Where did you come from, Mom?"
"Well, I was born in America," explained his mother.
"America?" Chester raised an eyebrow. "Is that the country we're neighbors with?" Chester hadn't learned much about geography yet, but he did know that.
"Yes, it is. That's where I was born, and that's where I lived when I was about you boys' age."
"Where did you live in America, Mom?" asked her son.
"I grew up in a place called Kentucky," responded Melissa.
"Ken...tucky...?" Chester tilted his head, confused by what she had just said. "What's...Kentucky...?" It was clear he had never heard that name before in his life.
"Is that one of the US states?" Michael asked. He knew a little more about geography than his friend; Melissa had personally taught him a bit about America as well as his home country.
"Yes, it is. That's where me, my father, and my uncle lived. I can show it to you boys on a map if you like."
"What was your uncle's name, Mrs. Raccoon?" Chester asked.
"Scott," exclaimed Melissa, remembering him fondly. "He owned a junkyard and loved to work on cars in his spare time."
"Uncle Scott?" Michael was now intrigued, he could hardly believe his mother was letting him know so much more about herself and her family. "What was he like, Mommy?"
"Your great-uncle...was a wonderfully funny man," chuckled Melissa. She could hear his laugh in her mind right then and there, and though it made her smile, it also made her feel a little depressed knowing how he met his end..."He was always laughing and playing jokes on people. He loved to tease your grandpa, his big brother..."
"What happened to him, Mom?" Michael wanted to know. "You said I'm your only family..."
Chester was confused. "What do you mean, Mikey?"
"Mommy told me all her family is gone," his friend informed him, a bit sadly. "I'm all she's got..."
"Oh, that sounds bad, Mikey..." the albino kit glanced down at the ground. "I can't imagine not having a family..."
"Your great-uncle Scott...he...He died many years ago, Mikey..." sighed Melissa. It was very hard for her to tell him that.
"Why? What happened...?"
"I was just a little girl when he died," she went on, slowly. "He...He was killed in a war, Mikey..."
"Killed in a war?!" Michael was shocked, he had not expected anything like that. He knew what war was...at least, the very basics of it, and the thought of it scared him a little. But he felt he wanted to know more. "How did that happen...?"
Melissa noticed Michael's surprise, but she could still see his natural curiosity shining through anyway. "He reminds me so much of myself when I was a kit..." "He didn't want to fight in the war, but he didn't have a choice. People made him fight anyways. He died a hero, though," she explained. "The last thing he did before he died was save a friend's life..."
"People can make you fight in wars?" exclaimed Chester in surprise.
"In America, they could back then," responded Melissa. "That's how I ended up here. Those same people were trying to make him fight as well. They were going to take me away from him, and he took me to Canada so they couldn't do that..."
The very thought that their parents could possibly be taken away from them forever by strange people scared the two kits more than a little. Nonetheless, Michael was at least glad he knew more about his mother's side of the family than he did before. "...Is that when you met Daddy, Mommy?" he asked, curiously.
Melissa giggled. "Heheh, no, honey! Haven't I told you before? I didn't meet your father until I was much older," she chuckled. But she did notice the worried expressions on the kits' faces. "I really hope I didn't upset you boys too much telling you that...?"
"I'm a little upset," Michael admitted, which was what Melissa had been worried about. Her facial expression sank immediately. "But I'm glad you told me more, Mommy...I didn't know bad things like that happened to you and your family..."
"My life hasn't always been great," she sighed, "but at least everything worked out. I'm happy with how things are going now," she smiled.
"Can you tell me more about your family later?" her son asked, hopefully.
Melissa was relieved that it hadn't seemed to bother him that much, and that perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to let him gradually know more details as time passed. Perhaps he could handle it. "Sure thing, sweetheart," she smiled brightly as she patted him on his head and tussled with his fur. "Let me know when you want to know more, and I promise I'll tell you more..."
"Thanks, Mom..."
"No problem, Mikey," smiled his mother as she gently squeezed him. Michael hugged her back, although he was more than a little embarrassed for his mother to lavish so much affection on him in front of his friend...
"Your story was very sad, Mrs. Raccoon," remarked Chester. "But can we please hurry up? I'm gonna burn!" he groaned. He thought he could already start to feel his snowy-white skin getting overheated, even with his sunscreen.
Melissa chuckled. Everyone had stopped while she'd been telling her story; it was probably a good idea to hurry up and finish planting. "Okay, Chester. Let's finish planting these carrots!"
"Alright!" Michael beamed happily as he took his spade and dug another hole for a seed.
Meanwhile, in the suburbs of a city, far, far away from the Evergreen Forest...
A middle-aged male raccoon sighed as he entered his house, put up his work hat on the rack, and sat down in his favorite old recliner chair. He glanced out the window of his house at the rest of the small cul-de-sac he lived in. It was certainly a very lovely day outside, and normally, he would quite enjoy relaxing in the afternoon summer sun after a long day at his job. But not today. His mind was focused on his own personal dilemma...
"For all my life, I've wondered...who my family really was," he sighed. The raccoon had not had the best of childhoods; he'd grown up without a father. He never saw him, and his mother had gotten re-married when he was about four. Still, she kept a picture of his father, and he remembered how, as a very young kit, he asked her who he was and what happened to him, as he hoped to one day meet him. He also remembered how when he was just a boy, he always had hope his real father would come back someday for him...
But "someday" never came. When he had gotten a little bit older, his mother told him that his father was dead, and had died before he was ever born. She wouldn't tell him until much older that he was a soldier in a war, and how he had been killed in combat. He never found out until he was a teenager that he shared a middle name with his dead dad. But what had bothered him even more was how his mother had revealed to him as a teenager that his father had an older brother, and a daughter a few years older than he was. He wondered where they were and asked her about them. "But she never told me any more than that," he mused to himself. For years, all he knew was that he had an uncle and a big cousin who almost definitely did not know of his very existence. How could that be? Was there some secret she was trying to keep from him?
Back in March, one of the saddest and most depressing moments of his life occurred; his mother had died of pancreatic cancer. He had been at her bedside during her final hours, and he decided to try asking her again about his lost family. "I can't believe...she told me their names," he managed to smile a bit, propping his head up with one paw. He also asked where they were and what happened to them, and she explained that she heard from the real estate agent who sold her and his stepfather their house that they had moved to Canada as a result of the war; apparently the agent was a friend of his uncle's. Now that he had names, he had the opportunity to do some research, and perhaps find out where they lived and what had happened to them.
So in his spare time at work, the raccoon had done some searching on a genealogy website he decided to sign up for shortly after his mother's passing, using the names he was given. He had been disappointed to discover that, according to the records, his uncle had died nearly a decade ago. But his heart had skipped a beat when he discovered that his cousin was still alive!
He had managed to do some more research on her, and found out some more basic info about his lost cousin. He knew her name, her date of birth, and her phone number. It had taken some help from a private investigator to obtain some of that info. "There's a nice chunka change I'm never gonna get back," he sighed. "But at least it was money well spent!" He also knew she was married with a young son nearly the same age as his own child, and that she and her husband were evidently the owners and proprietors of some local community newspaper, which he had been able to find a website for. The website had pictures of the paper's owners and staff, and when he saw her picture on the website, he noticed enough little similarities between their physical appearances that there was no virtually no doubt in his mind. "We definitely share blood..."
Now that he had a bit of an idea who she was...he wanted to get in touch with her. He had her phone number thanks to the private investigator, which made it possible for him to perhaps get in touch with her. He felt he needed to get to know her, as he had missed out on many years of possibly getting to interact with her. Plus, it would perhaps help give him a better picture of who he really was as an individual. If he could get in touch with her, it was maybe, just maybe possible, she could come down to visit him and meet him in person, and perhaps their families could get to know one another...
He took a piece of paper out of his shirt pocket. There was her phone number, alright, written down in case he did want to call her. It would be so easy to do so; the phone was sitting right next to the couch near his recliner. He could just get up and dial her right now. "But would it be such a good idea?"
He remembered how he had discussed this with his beloved wife. "The Mrs. didn't think it was that good a plan," he sighed again, glancing up at the ceiling. He could still remember what she told him when he brought it up with her. "I don't know if that's a bright idea, darling. She could very well think you're some sort of stalker trying to hunt her down and hang up on you..." His wife had quite a point; there was certainly quite a chance she wouldn't even listen to him or would get the wrong impression about him; that he actually meant her harm and hang up on him. "Or she could just figure I'm one of those telemarketers an' ignore me completely...Not likely she gets too many calls from here!" Besides, she lived in another country entirely, so he knew he would probably be facing a long-distance charge on his telephone bill if he called her...
His friends and his workmates, however, had felt differently. They thought it was a good idea for him to get in touch with her through the phone. "I remember how they said they thought it wasn't fair how I never got to know her," the raccoon remarked. Well...one of his oldest friends hadn't been so supportive, saying that the government would monitor his phone call and possibly use it against him, and that he should try communicating with her telepathically instead, even going so far as to offer to teach him how to do it as he claimed he knew how to. "But that's just him. He's not so bad when his mind isn't all focused on the government being out to get him..."
The raccoon twiddled his fingers. Was it a good idea to call her...or not? He normally wasn't a very nervous man; his wife had always admired his confidence. But in this scenario...he was not sure what felt like the right thing to do. "Hmm...what to do, what to do, what to do..." he tapped his forehead, trying to think of what was the right thing to do.
Finally, after a few minutes, he made his mind up. The raccoon got up and sat on the couch, picked the phone off the receiver, and prepared to start dialing the written-down phone number. "Well, I guess this is it, ol' boy...Let's see what happens..." He just hoped he wouldn't give her a heart attack or anything...
Back at the Raccoondominium, Melissa, Michael, and Chester had finished tending to the vegetable garden, and now they had gone back inside. Chester fortunately hadn't burned as he worried he would; his sunscreen had protected him. Now the two boys were back upstairs in Michael's room, finishing watching that Thomas tape they had been in the middle of watching when she asked them to help her.
Melissa was sitting on the couch of the Raccoondominum, reading one of her romance novels and having a nice little dill pickle snack. "Ralph's still not home yet," Melissa remarked; it had been well over an hour since he left for his little walk. But then again, she knew he would be back not too long from now. "He'd never miss his supper!" she chuckled. Besides, he said he was perhaps going to visit Bert and Maxie, so it would be understandable if he took a while to come back. In hindsight, Melissa now kind of wished she had decided to go with him and taken the two boys as well. "Too late for that now, though!" she sighed. "Perhaps another day..."
Melissa was feeling in a much better mood now; spending some time with her son and his little friend really brightened up her day. She really liked seeing Michael's enthusiasm for their vegetable garden; she felt confident that one day, when he was a grown man, he would have his own vegetable garden he would tend to well. Plus, she was rather glad that he hadn't been too upset about learning more about his unfortunate family past, as she worried he might be. "He seemed to handle that pretty well," she murmured to herself. "I suppose it isn't such a bad idea to let him know more about my family at a young age...Like Ralph said, at least he has a better idea of who he really is," she managed to smile.
Melissa was flipping through her romance novel when suddenly, the familiar sound of the telephone ringing. "I wonder who that could be?" Rather than waiting to hear the caller ID, she scooted over towards the phone placed on the new coffee table next to the sofa. She glanced over at the number. It was not one she recognized. It looked like it was almost certainly an American number. To add to that, it also said the number was an out of area number.
"CALL FROM OUT OF AREA," the loud and rather obnoxious mechanical voice came from the answering machine. In hindsight, Melissa thought, perhaps it had not been such a good idea to get a phone that actually talked...
"It's probably either a telemarketer or just a wrong number," Melissa quickly thought. "I'll just tell them I'm not interested and hang up." Melissa didn't know why, but today she felt like at least being polite and answering the phone...
So she hit the answer button and placed the phone to her ear. She half-expected to hear the voice of a machine talking to her, but was instead a little surprised to hear an actual person's voice. "Hello there...?" It was the voice of a man, who had a bit of a Southern American twang to his voice. Not too heavy, but noticeable.
Of course, Melissa didn't recognize who this was. It had to be a wrong number. "Hello, I'm sorry, sir," she politely began. "I believe you've dialed the-" But before she could finish her statement, he interrupted her with something that caught her completely off guard.
"I'm lookin' for a Melissa Raccoon." the man explained. Melissa was now confused. So this wasn't a wrong number? This was someone who wanted to speak to her? Who could it be? "Would this be her?"
"...Huh...?" Melissa uttered aloud. She felt more than a little confused. She didn't know this phone number at all, yet this man seemed to know who she was. How could this be? She was hesitant to answer him. "...Yes, this is Melissa Raccoon. But I have no idea who you are. How did you get my number?" she queried the strange man.
"I knew this was the right number," the man breathed a rather relieved-sounding sigh over the other end of the line. "I don't mean to scare you, ma'am...but...I'm glad I finally got in touch with you! I have been waiting many years for this..." he remarked, rather nervously.
Now Melissa was even more perplexed than ever. Perhaps even a little scared. Was this someone who had been secretly stalking her? She worried that in being polite, she may have just subjected herself to some seriously unwanted attention. What had she been thinking? "W-who are you...?" she replied, sounding very shaky. She was quite concerned over what he might say.
What the strange man said next, however, would confuse her even more, and nearly floor her when she realized what he actually said. "Melissa...my name is Stuart," explained the man gently, yet also a bit shaky in tone. "I know you might not believe me when I say this, but I called you because...I...I'm your cousin, Melissa..."
It took a moment for "Stuart's" statement to sink in, but when it did...well, Melissa's jaw nearly hit the floor.
"Wha...w-whaaaaa...?"
END CHAPTER TWO
