1968. LUKE IS 12, DAISY 11, AND BO 10. And by the way I don't own the Dukes of Hazzard.
It was snowing in Hazzard, the kids had just gotten home from the last day of school before Christmas break and they were playing in the snow. Bo and Luke were having a snow ball fight, and Daisy was making snow angels. Just for fun, Luke threw a snow ball at Daisy.
"I said I didn't wanna play snowball fight!" She hollered at him, throwing one back at him.
"Well you are now!" Luke threw another snowball in Daisy's direction, but she dodged it.
"Knock it off!" She yelled.
"Come on, Bo, throw some at her!" Luke handed Bo a snowball and hurled another himself. Bo hit Daisy right in the face with his.
"That tears it!" Daisy ran off to the house. "Aunt Lavinia! The boys won't stop throwing snowballs at me!" She said as she stomped into the kitchen.
"Ok, I'm coming." Lavinia went outside with Daisy.
"Were you two throwing snow balls at her?" Lavinia asked.
"Yes ma'am." They smiled.
"I told you that I didn't want to play that." Daisy snarled at them.
"Is that true, boys?" Lavinia asked.
"Yeah, we're sorry." Luke elbowed Bo.
"Yeah, sorry." Bo repeated.
"Don't do it again." Lavinia headed back to the house.
"You heard her, don't do it again!" Daisy marched off to the house.
"She ain't any fun." Bo kicked the ground.
"Lets get back to what we were doing." Luke picked up a snowball and hurled at Bo.
"No fair! That was point blank!" Bo threw one back.
They played for about an hour.
"I'm getting sick of this game." Bo dropped his last snowball down.
"Me, too." Luke ate his last snow ball.
"Lets go inside." Bo started off to the house.
"Nah, lets go build a snow fort." Luke suggested.
"Okay." Bo went to the barn and got two shovels.
Once they were finished they climbed inside.
"I think we did real good." Bo looked the place over.
"Why're ya breathin' like that?" Luke asked Bo, hearing him breathing hard.
"I'm jus' tired." Bo said.
"We wasn't workin' that hard." Luke looked Bo in the eyes. "You okay?" He asked.
"I don't wanna go inside, don't make me." Bo begged.
"You don't gotta to go inside, jus' take a break for a while." Luke suggested.
"We're sittin' down, I don't know how we could take any more of a break 'an that." Bo laughed.
"Do you got an inhaler?" Luke asked.
"I think so." Bo lied. He had forgotten it when he dumped his school stuff at the house when they had gotten home.
"Where is it?" Luke was smart.
"How did you know I don't got it?" Bo laughed.
"I have my ways." Luke pulled an inhaler from his own pocket. "I always carry one just incase you forget, which you often do." He handed it to Bo.
"Thanks." Bo pocketed it.
"I meant for you to use it right now." Luke said.
"I don't need it just now." Bo complained.
"Yeah ya do, I can tell." Luke replied.
"Fine." Bo took it once and put it back.
"There, now isn't that better?" Luke put his hand on Bo's shoulder.
"Okay, you were right." Bo laughed.
"Lets hang out in here for a while and then go see if we can't get Aunt Lavinia to make us some hot chocolate." Luke grinned.
Meanwhile in the kitchen Lavinia was getting ready to call everyone in for dinner.
"Jesse, Daisy? Dinner!" She called. Jesse and Daisy walked into the kitchen.
"Would you go get Bo an' Luke, Jesse?" Lavinia asked, pointing to their snow fort out the window. Jesse walked out side.
"Boys? Time to come in for dinner!" Jesse hollered.
"Coming!" Luke and Bo ran past Jesse and into the kitchen.
"Sit down, y'all." Lavinia served the plates.
"Sorry 'bout earlier, Daisy." Luke apologized.
"Aw, it's ok, Luke." Daisy smiled. Everyone sat and started eating.
"Where were you boys all day?" Jesse asked.
"Buildin' a snow fort." Bo replied.
"Yeah I saw it, looks nice." Daisy wished that she hadn't stomped off into the house earlier, it would have been fun to built a snow fort with her cousins, even if they were boy-ish, well, boys.
After dinner, Bo and Luke went out to do the last of their chores.
"I forgot to clean Maudine's stall today!" Bo ran to get the pitchfork.
"I'll put away the shovels we had earlier." Luke went out to the fort and collected the shovels.
"Hey, Luke?" Bo called.
"Yeah?" Luke brought the shovels back.
"Can you finish this fer me, please?" Bo asked.
"No way, lazy bones, its your turn to do it!" Luke laughed.
"I need to sit down." Bo stumbled. Luke ran over to Bo, took the pitchfork, and sat Bo down on a hay bale.
"Whats wrong?" Luke asked his cousin.
"My lungs hurt." Bo coughed. Luke pulled one of Bo's inhalers from his own pocket. He never left the house without one.
"Here." Luke handed it to him. He figured it must be pretty bad for Bo to complain about it.
"It ain't that bad yet. I just need to sit down." Bo said.
"Alright you sit down here and I'll finish with Maudine's stall." Luke took the pitchfork and finished cleaning the stall.
"Luke?" Bo coughed.
"Yeah?" Luke yelled back.
"I think I need that inhaler now." Bo rasped.
"I gave it to you!" Luke ran back over to Bo.
"I don't got it." Bo wheezed.
"Where is it?" Luke started frantically searching the barn floor.
"Can't breathe." Bo got off the hay bale and laid on the ground.
"I'm looking for it." Luke reassured his cousin.
Bo curled on his side and Luke rolled back onto his back as he saw his eyes drifting shut.
"Stay awake, Bo. I'm gonna find your inhaler, just hang on!" Luke went back the the Maudine's stall to search. He ran his hands through all of the hay and straw. Luke stopped in his tracks when he heard Bo calling him.
"Luke, it's gettin' worse." Bo wheezed. Luke picked Bo up and ran back to the house.
"Uncle Jesse! Aunt Lavinia!" Luke called out, putting Bo gently on the kitchen floor. Jesse ran into the room.
"What happened?" Jesse knelt next to them on the floor.
"Find an inhaler, quick!" Luke started looking himself.
"Got one!" Jesse sat Bo up and leaned him against his other nephew, who protectively wrapped his arms around Bo's waist.
"Open your mouth, boy." Jesse instructed, and Bo did as he was told. After several minutes, seeing that the inhaler wasn't doing enough, Jesse handed it to Luke and went to the phone to call Doc Appleby.
"You're gonna be okay, Bo." Luke ran his fingers through Bo's hair.
"Damn asthma to hell." Bo rasped weakly.
"I know, I'm sorry, cousin. But ya'd better hush yer dirty lil' mouth 'for uncle Jesse comes back in here." Luke attempted to lighten the mood.
"Doc's on his way." Jesse stated.
"Hope he gets here soon." Luke sighed.
"What's going on in here? I was helping Daisy wash her hair." Lavinia rushed in.
"Bo's having another one." Jesse replied.
"Are you okay, sweetie?" Lavinia stoked Bo's cheek.
"Maybe." Bo wheezed. Daisy came into the kitchen, wrapping her hair in a towel.
"Again?" Daisy said as she knelt down with her family. "I'm getting sick of seeing him like this." She sighed wiping a tear from her eye.
"Me too." Bo managed.
"Don't try to talk, Bo, focus on breathing." Luke instructed. Then they all heard a knock on the door. Jesse went to open the door for doc, who was carrying an oxygen tank and a hypodermic needle.
"Where's Bo?" He asked.
"In here." Jesse led him into the kitchen. Doc set up the oxygen and injected Bo with the needle.
"What did you give him?" Jesse asked.
"Salbutamol." Doc replied, placing the oxygen mask on Bo's face.
"Luke?" Bo coughed.
"I'm still here." Luke took Bo's hand.
"How did it get to this point again?" Doc was displeased that the family wasn't more prepared to give him an inhaler when he needed it.
"We was out in the barn, he was cleaning a stall and then he told me that his lungs hurt so, I gave him an inhaler. I went to finish cleaning the stall and when I come back he was fightin' for air and the inhaler was no where in sight." Luke reported.
"I guess he dropped it." Doc replied.
"Is he gon' be alright?" Lavinia asked.
"Yeah, he's a strong kid." Doc assured.
About 15 minutes later Doc removed the mask and ordered Bo to bed for the night.
Bo and Luke had settled down to sleep, when they heard a knock on their room door.
"Come in, Daisy." Luke knew it was Daisy on account of her sweet, soft knock. Daisy walked in, stepped over the boys' dirty clothes on the floor, and sat down between their beds.
"I just wanted to talk to y'all fer a minute." She said, wiping her eyes.
"What's wrong, Daisy?" Bo asked.
"I'm worried about you, honey." Daisy started to cry softly. Bo an' Luke were boy-ish and annoying sometimes, but Daisy'd just about die if anything happened to them.
"No need to be. I'm okay." Bo sat up to prove it.
Luke disapproved of this. "Lay down, Bo." He ordered.
Bo did as he was told without a word. He was too tired to get in a fight with Luke over something so small.
"What if one day, you're all alone and you have an attack and you... die?" Daisy cried.
"That ain't never gonna happen 'cause Luke never lets me outta his sight." Bo laughed.
"Everything'll be okay, Daisy, you'll see." Luke smiled.
"I hope so." She smiled back. "G'night, boys." Daisy returned to her own room.
"Luke?" Bo started.
"Yeah?"
"What if that did happen one day?"
"Come on, Bo."
"No I mean it. What if I..."
"You ain't gonna. I won't let you."
"Thanks, Luke."
"No problem. Now get some sleep like doc said for you to." Luke turned over and fell asleep himself.
