Mary Ellen compared Jim Bob's garage to the old treehouse – a not so secret escape for her brothers. When they were young and wanted to avoid chores the treehouse was the first place they checked. Then it became a place for any of them to have semi-private conversations, at least until they were too big and started worrying about the thing collapsing.
Once Jim Bob opened up his garage the Walton boys moved their meetings there; a place away from prying eyes and ears to sample the Recipe and laugh and joke together. It did them no harm, so no one begrudged the six (seven if Drew was invited) their man time.
On that Sunday morning before Thanksgiving the family had been informed that they were 'cleaning' the garage that afternoon and all were met with nods and looks that suggested they were not being believed. 'Cleanest garage in the county' Toni claimed once, which she knew was not true; as she had one day attempted to fix her own car while Jim Bob was sick.
The boys would gather together after church and confirm their plan, and after speaking to Reverend Marshall Olivia watched her sons and sons-in-law break away . John Boy and Janet had been cornered by Ike and Corabeth - they had been busy with introductions before church and this seemed to be continuing, everyone wanted to see the prodigal son and his new partner. Jason and Ben stood talking, as they tried to keep control of Tyler and Charlie. Cindy and Toni were also deep in discussion glancing over at John Boy as Ginny played ring a roses with the twins. Mary Ellen and Jonesy were busy getting their trio into their car. Erin and Paul were doing the same, neither looked particularly happy that morning and Olivia had the feel that they weren't speaking to each other from their movements.
"Think Elizabeth's there by now?" Jim Bob asked.
"Probably," Olivia replied. "She said she'd call this evening." Jim Bob nodded.
"Will you keep dinner for me Mama?" Jim Bob said.
"I will. Erin and the children are coming," she said. Each week there was normally a Sunday visit from at least one of the children.
"Do you think she knows?" Cindy asked, looking at Janet.
"That John Boy's planning to disappear for the afternoon? Probably not," Toni replied.
"Will we ask her for lunch?" Cindy said. Toni nodded and the pair walked over to the oldest of the Walton children.
"John Boy." Both girls had yet to see their brother-in-law and took turns hugging him.
"Janet, these are my sisters-in-law Cindy and Toni. They're married to my brothers Ben and Jason," John Boy said, motioning to where his brothers stood. Janet nodded with a smile; there were so many names and faces to learn, it seemed every way they turned there was another Walton.
"We thought John Boy would be going with the boys so thought you might like to have lunch with us," Cindy said.
An hour later the laughs and shouts of five rambunctious Walton boys echoed through Ben and Cindy's house, as they ran and played. Little Ginny had escaped to her bedroom to colour in, as far from her noisy brother and cousins as she could get. How she longed for a sister, or at least more female cousins – Susie, Katie and Amanda weren't enough. They were vastly out numbered.
Sitting in the kitchen, Janet couldn't help but feel a little like an intruder. Cindy and Toni had both been lovely but upon arriving had fell straight into a clearly familiar routine – organising dinner and getting tea to drink. They didn't even need to speak to each other. John had told her that he had come from a large, close family and she was realising how true that was.
"Miss Mamie and Miss Emily are writing their wills again," Toni laughed.
"What's changing this time?" Cindy asked. The old ladies kept changing their minds much to the enjoyment of their friends.
"The recipe again. They've decided to not give it up," Toni said.
"Oh Ben'll be disappointed," Cindy laughed. He had been a name at one point to get it.
"They really don't know it's whiskey?" Janet interjected. The other two shook their heads.
"Haven't a clue. They're just so.." Cindy couldn't even think of a word to describe the Baldwins.
"Senile?" Toni suggested. "Away with the fairies? But very good. They let me stay with them for a few months."
"John speaks highly of them," Janet said.
"They love John Boy," Toni said.
"And Jason," Cindy added. Janet smiled as she took a sip of tea.
"John Boy. Why do you call him John Boy?" She asked.
"To not mix him up with John I suppose," Cindy said.
"And that's how he introduced himself," Toni said, thinking back to when she met him.
"Really?" Janet was surprised, she couldn't imagine John willingly referring to himself as John Boy.
"Yep. So how did the two of you meet?" Toni asked, moving the subject along.
"At a party at a publishing house. He offered to buy me a drink and wouldn't say no till I agreed," Janet said with a smile thinking of the first time she met John. "He doesn't give up easily."
"That's a family thing," Cindy said, sharing a look with Toni.
"They're persistent," Toni added, thinking of their own husbands.
"So, have you talked about getting married?" Cindy asked the question that all of the Waltons had been curious to since John Boy said he was bringing Janet home for Thanksgiving.
Janet opened her mouth to answer when a cry sounded from the next room and two not so innocent faces appeared at the door.
"It was Charlie."
"It was Ty." Both claimed, blaming the cousin. Cindy and Toni looked looked at each other and rolled their eyes before the latter stood to go sort the problem.
While she was gone Janet answered the question – though John had asked many times, including the night they'd met she was still refusing his proposals. John Walton Junior was just too much of a workaholic, she felt that she would always come second to his writing.
As Mary Ellen Jones sat on the sofa, she couldn't help but smile at the clock ticking away on the wall. Katie and Clay were peacefully asleep upstairs, while Jonesy had taken John Curtis to see a movie. For the first time in what felt like forever, she was completely alone, surrounded by blissful silence. She had a textbook to read for her upcoming exam, but she didn't feel like picking it up just yet. After all, there was still plenty of time until she had to stress about it - her next exam wasn't until the week after Christmas. And then just one more in Spring, and she would finally be a fully qualified doctor. It had been a long eight years of hard work and sacrifice, but it was completely worth it for the feeling of knowing she could help people in the most fulfilling way.
Just as Mary Ellen began to relax into the rare moment of solitude, she heard the sound of a car pulling up outside. Curiosity getting the best of her, she stretched up to move the curtain and peered outside. To her surprise, she saw her younger sister Erin climbing out of the car and making her way up the steps to their house. Erin didn't even bother knocking before entering, something that was all too familiar between them.
"Erin?" Mary Ellen called out, standing up from the sofa and moving closer to her sister. "Is everything alright?" Though she knew the answer – her little sister didn't just show up at nine at night for no reason.
Erin simply sat down and stared at her hands, a troubled look on her face.
"I needed to talk," she finally spoke up.
Concerned now, Mary Ellen took a seat next to her sister. "What's going on? Is everything okay?"
"It's Paul," Erin admitted with a heavy sigh. Mary Ellen nodded understandingly - something hadn't seemed right with him lately.
"We've been fighting," Erin continued, tears starting to well up in her eyes.
Mary Ellen couldn't help but feel the need to be honest with her sister. "Erin, you two seem to fight all the time. Marriage is about compromise, remember?"
"I know, I know," Erin replied, wiping away a tear. "But this time it's different. He came home late the other night and told me he was working. But he smelled of perfume...I think he's cheating on me." Her voice cracked as she revealed the truth, the weight of her suspicions finally becoming too much to bear.
Mary Ellen's heart sank for her sister and then raged at the thought of the man who had made her sister so upset. Mary Ellen took a deep breath to calm herself in order to think of the best way to react.
"I think you need to talk to him. Figure out exactly what your problems are. Maybe you're wrong," Mary Ellen said, wrapping her arms around her sister.
"I don't think I am," Erin admitted. Mary Ellen sighed, unsure of how to help her little sister, but for now she just knew that she had to be there for her.