Another week has gone by, and Lyon has finally accepted his punishment. Knowing he knew shifting the blame to his littlest cousin Muffin was wrong, he figured he faced the consequences. After everything has been settled, he was going to visit his cousins Bluey and Bingo for a playdate. He was in his room packing his belongings in his backpack.
The seven-year-old raced down towards the front door entrance, and saw Radley, who was changing the oil in his vehicle. "Okay, dad. I'm ready to go," said Lyon. "Good. Just give me a few minutes. I'm adding the new oil," he said while adding the new oil within the funnel. Afterwards, he set the old filter aside on the driveway along with the empty oil bottle. He closed the vehicle's hood, and rubbed his hands with the used rag to wipe the oil stains.
"Okay, lets go, mate," he said excitedly. The two were on their way to the Heeler house. Once they arrived, they went to the door to let the Heeler family know they've arrived for a visit. The girls rushed down to open the door. "Hey, Lyon," said both Bluey and Bingo. "Hi, Bluey and Bingo," said Lyon while waving. "Hey, girls," said Uncle Rad. "Hi, Uncle Rad," said the girls. They were always happy to see them come over for a visit. Bandit and Chilli came along to greet their extended family members. "Hey, brother. And hello to you to, Chilli," greeted Rad. Both husband and wife greeted the elder Heeler brother.
The kids raced upstairs to Bluey and Bingo's bedroom to play whereas the adults went inside the kitchen to converse. Radley wanted to talk about Lyon's selfless act on giving his mother's ring as a replacement for Frisky's lost ring. "That was a noble act for Lyon to give the ring. Are you sure he's fine with that? That ring must be a special keepsake," asked Chilli, curious of the wolfdog's decision. "He was sure of it. I can tell he was pretty guilty for losing the ring. I didn't think he seem to mind," said Rad, stroking some of his hair on the side.
"So, have you decided how you'll propose," asked Bandit. "I'm still thinking about how you'll do it," said Bandit, who was leaning against the counter. "I'm still working on it. I've tried to find a perfect place to do dinner, but haven't found the right location. Most of them were booked for private reservations. I wanted it to be just of two of us," said Rad. "I was thinking how you guys did it."
"Well, I proposed to Chilli in Italy, but not sure if you're thinking about taking a trip."
"Nah, I just want it to be simple. I was wanting to take a trip by honeymoon," explained Rad. "Might there be a place she really loves. I could try to make it just the two of us." The three adults pondered as they thought hard on the perfect place for the proposal. "Hmm, I do have this place in mind," said Chilli with an idea.
"Really? What do you have in mind," asked Radley.
"Well, there's this place where she and I used to hang out a lot. Doing….well it's not important," said Chilli. "But it may be possible to get it reserved for one night."
"What's it called? I need to know," insisted Rad.
"It's called Mount Coot. It's one of the highest lookouts in Brisbane. I think it would be a romantic night for the two of you to have a private dinner. I think you should also add a bit more," said Chilli. She explained to her brother in law more in detail on what he should really do to impress Frisky in order to convince her to take his hand by marriage.
Meanwhile, in the girls' bedroom, the kids were drawing pictures lying on their stomachs on the floor. Lyon is drawing a dragon with realistic depictions from one of his books. Bingo is drawing herself riding a motor car with jetpacks. Bluey was drawing her family. "When do you think the wedding will start," asked Bluey.
"Not sure. Dad says he has to 'propose'. He is finding the perfect place to do it," says Lyon.
"What's 'propose'," asked Bingo.
"It's when Uncle Rad asks Frisky to marry him, but in a romantic way," explained Bluey. "It has to be romantic because it's special."
"Oh, wow," said Bingo. "Yeah, I hope it is really special. I want Frisky to be with us. She's like…a second mum to me. It has been a while since I have had a mum in a very long time," said Lyon. Saying it he misses his old mother. Once the children were done drawing, they decided to play a game. "So what should we play," asked Bluey. "We could play floor is lava, or keepy uppy," asked Bingo. "Nah, I've played those many times when visiting you guys. Can we do something different," asked Lyon. The three were at a loss what they want to do. "We could rehearse for the wedding," added Bluey. "No way, after what happened last week, I never want to do that again," pleaded Lyon, recalling his wrongdoing. "At least until we get close to the wedding."
Bingo dug through the chest in their room to find what they could use to play a game. She them uncovered two towel blankets one of them was red with a green trim, and the other one was a lavender towel. There was a pair of purple glasses with no lens. She gasped, and took them out. "Grannies," she exclaimed. "Oh, yeah, let's play Grannies," said Bluey.
But Lyon notices there's only two costumes, and he's a boy so he's curious how he would fit in the game. "Uh, how can I be a granny? I can't exactly just pretend to be a granny without a costume or that I'm not a girl," said Lyon. "Oh, um yeah, that's true," said Bluey. "Oh, I have an idea. You can be a taxi driver, and you're trying to take us to the sausage shop for some sausages," explained Bluey. "Oh, okay," agreed Lyon. They made haste to the playroom where they set up a table and chairs for their pretend taxicab.
As the three were setting up their props, Lyon was already sitining in the driver's seat, handling the steering wheel. He made car noises each time he stops. "Alright, who needs a cab," said the wolf dog.
"Here come the grannies," said both Bluey and Bing, adjusting their voices to nasally old people types. The two slowly arrived on the passenger's seat behind Lyon. "Oh, hello ladies. Where are we off to today," asked Lyon in a deep, cab boy's voice.
"Take us to the sausage shop, lad," said Bingo. "Yes, the sausage shop. Rita and I are wanting to buy some sausages for mahjong night," said Bluey. "Oh, my coins. Let me pay you," said Bingo. She took out her purse, and grab some coins. However, she accidently spilled her coins on top of the driver. "Ah, Rita. Watch it! I'm driving," said Lyon. "Oh, sorry lad. Didn't mean to spill my coins," said Bingo. "That's alright. You can pay me once we arrive to the sausage shop." Lyon proceeded with making vehicle noises as they drove on their way to the sausage shop.
"Oh, Lyon," whispered Bluey. "Let's pretend you got car trouble along the way."
"What? Why," asked Lyon, bewildered by that request. "To make the game more interesting. Grannies love finding a way to make the game exciting."
"Oh, alright. Well, um…" Suddenly, Lyon made a screeching noise. "Oh no, we seem to have a flat tire," he exclaimed. "Hang tight ladies. We need to make a brief pause to fix the taxi's wheels." Lyon got off the taxi to check the trunk if there was a spare. There appears to be a round cushion that is the made believe spare tire. "Okay, I'll uninstall the flat tire, and replace it with this," he stated. He attached the cushion by replacing square cushion with the round cushion and made tool noises, pretending he was using actual tools to replace the tire. Just as he was about to put the flat tire back in the trunk, Bingo was actually chewing the flat tire. "Oh, Rita. That's not food, it's a flat tire," said Lyon. "Pardon? I'm just chewing on this brownie," said the granny Bingo. "No, not brownie," he said while grabbing the pillow back from Bingo. He snatches the pillow away from Bingo somewhat aggressively. Bingo was shook by her cousin's brash attitude.
"Lyon," she questioned somewhat nervously. "What," asked Lyon, unaware of his disposition to his younger cousin. "What's the matter? You seem upset," asked the four year old heeler. "I'm not upset. Why would I be upset," asked Lyon, denying it. "Well, you snatched the pillow away from me like something was bothering you," said Bingo.
"I'm fine, Bingo. Let's just keep playing." The three kept on playing, but both Heeler sisters were concerned for their cousin, who was acting somewhat strangely with their game of grannies. "Alright, ladies. We're almost there to the sausage shop," said Lyon the taxi driver. But just as they arrived, the two grannies thought of another cheeky act to make the game more interesting. Bingo thought she could purposely drop her purse to the ground. "Oops, I've dropped my coins," she said with a half closed smirk. "Oh dear, let me get that for you, Rita," said Lyon. He scooped some of the coins along with the pink purse pouch. But then Janet thought to make things more interesting. "Oh, young man. I seem to have lost my pet snake," said Bluey.
"What? Janet, since when did you brought a pet snake to our trip," asked Lyon. "Well, since I thought he loved sausages, he was more than welcome to come to the sausage shop. Actually, he's right around your neck." Lyon did not noticed the toy snake wrapped around him. He yelped, and tried to get the toy snake that was wrapped around his neck, as he dropped the coins. The two grannies laughed at their taxi driver as he struggled.
As Lyon threw the snake to the ground, he grunted. "Ugh, Janet, next time try to warn me before we depart," he said with a strict tone. Bluey was stunned by Lyon's sharp tone. "What's up? I thought you wanted to play this game," she said, raising her brow. "Well, I liked it more if you grannies didn't have to be so full of yourselves," said Lyon.
The two girls gasped by that remark. "What do you mean by that," questioned Bingo, somewhat hurt by that quote. "I mean why do old folk have to be so darn difficult. It wouldn't be too much to make things less hard on me!" Lyon scowled at both Bluey and Bingo. Bingo looked like she was about to cry, and Bluey consoled her little sister for comfort. The adults seem to have heard the squabble from afar. They were concerned by the shouting of Lyon, and raced to check up on them.
"Whoa, chill the beans," said Bandit. Rad noticed his adoptive son's brash behavior towards the girls. "Lyon, why are you shouting at your cousins," he asked confusedly. "It's nothing. I just don't like this game anymore, that's all," said Lyon. "Lyon said that old people are full of themselves and make things hard on everyone," said Bingo, sniffing. "And now he doesn't want to play grannies anymore," said Bluey. "Lyon, we don't say things like that. It's not nice," said Rad, trying to correct his son's rudeness. Lyon looked away, crossing his arms. "I just can't dad. It's not that simple." He raced away from the playroom to the backyard.
Not again, thought Rad. He looked at his son who was sitting by the poinciana tree's bench. He was sad how he mistreated his cousins, and looked at his brother and sister in law, who was consoling her daughters. "I'm not sure what caused him to be upset," he said cluelessly. "Well, what do you think he may have felt triggered," asked Chilli. Rad thought about how the game might have brought some sort of memory. "I think I have a hunch, but I think I need to have this talk with him alone," said Rad.
"Does this have something to do with his grandparents," asked Bandit. "I believe so," said Rad. "Thinking on it, maybe the grannies game triggered him. Which is why he said that remark about old people," said Rad.
"Mum, we didn't mean to upset him," said Bluey. "I know you two didn't. Your cousin is just…trying to manage his feelings," explained Chilli. "Can we go talk to him, and say sorry," asked Bingo. "Let's let your Uncle Rad talk with him first before we do that. I think we need to give them space," said Chilli. The girls looked disappointed. "Don't worry, kids. I'll have a word with him," reassured Rad. He went to the backyard, seeing Lyon throwing some poinciana pods to the ground. "Hey, mate," said Rad gently. Lyon looked at his adoptive father; he was feeling awkward by his behavior, and had no words. "Look, I know how you must feel about the game. I understand. Must have brought that awful memory months ago. When you met her," said Rad. "It did," admitted Lyon.
"I didn't mean to say that. When I think about our game, how the two grannies kept making things hard on me, it reminded me how hard and mean my grandmum was, and my grandad as well, even if I haven't met him. You know how I was told they did not want me," said Lyon.
"Yes, but not all old people are like that. Your nana and grandpa in this family aren't like that, right," asked Rad. "Well, no. They're different," said Lyon.
"So does that mean all old people in this world are mean and hard on others?"
"Well, you do make a point," said Lyon, somewhat laughing by that comment.
"See? It's understandable to feel like bad memories make you feel this way. But you have to be careful with your words around others. Especially your cousins. Do you think you can try your game again?" The wolf dog stared down intently. He then nodded, and went back inside with Rad to the house again. He saw both Bluey and Bingo, who looked worried. "Lyon, we're so sorry about making you play Grannies with us. We didn't' mean to make you remember your grandparents like this," apologized Bluey. "No, Bluey. I'm sorry for snapping at the both of you. It was rude, and my behavior was no excuse to snap like that. Yes, it still makes me upset thinking about them, but I'm okay now."
"If you want, we can play something else," said Bingo. "No, I want to keep playing. Don't stop because of my feelings over them," added Lyon. "But I do have an idea how to make it better." Lyon looked at both his uncle and dad. "Oh no," said both Heeler brothers. Chilli let out a cheeky smirk by those responses.
Later on, Bandit was driving the pretend taxi. As he stopped, he greeted his passanegers "Well hello – oh no," he moaned. "Here come the grannies, and grandaddy," said all three kids. Lyon wears black framed glasses with a folding walker. All three kids mischievously got on the seat. "Take us to the sausage shop, please," said Lyon in a hoarse voice, throwing coins at Bandit. The adult heeler grunted by the coins thrown at him. "Alright, alright, hold your horses," he insisted. The hard trip with the three old people was an interesting ride.
At the sausage shop, Radley was the shop owner. He was stocking his meat products on the shelves. Just now, all three kids waltz their way to the sausage shop. "Afternoon, can I help you," said the red blue heeler. "We want some sausages for mahjong night," said Lyon. "Ah, yes. I'll have that ready," said Rad. But just as he was about to grab it, the sausage string was missing. He noticed Rita chewing on it. "Hey, you're suppose to pay for that first," he shouted.
"Oh, look Janet. Is that the one," said Lyon.
"Why yes, Angus. That must be the best sausages," pointed out Bluey.
"Excuse me, I have a shop to run. Pay first, then eat the products," added Rad, pretending to be stern to his customers.
"Not until I find Janet's pet snake," said Lyon. "What," asked Radley. He spotted the snake lying next to the toy meats. "No! Not my rare meat!" Radley right off the snake by pretending to wrestle it away from the shop's meats. The three kids laughed as they saw the struggling shop owner protect his store's products. Even Bandit can't help but laugh at his elderly brother. Reluctant at first, both brothers gave in to the kid's elder game. Somehow, Lyon seems to have worked out his feelings about Audrey's parents, who resented him since his birth. It was hard to handle this emotions when the girls pretended to be elderly ladies, but with sympathy and conversation, Lyon managed to work things out for his cousins' sakes. Hopefully in time, he will learn how to let go, and accept things as they are between his relationship with Audrey's parents.
I want to apologize again for my absence. Life has been incredibly busy lately, and I've had a lot on my plate. Since starting my new job in August, I've been focused on upskilling and preparing to transition into a new role by early 2025. It's been an emotionally challenging process, and on top of that, I've been dealing with post-graduation depression. It's hard to admit when things aren't okay, but I know it's all part of the journey.
I also realized that somewhere along the way, I forgot how to make writing fun again. I'm trying to take life one step at a time, and that includes rediscovering the joy of writing this story.
I'm really looking forward to heading toward the climax of the story, especially the wedding! I hope to make the next chapter feel extra special before we get into the "Sign" events from Bluey.
Thank you all for your patience and understanding. It means the world to me.