Chapter 115 – Afternoon Snack
Gran, Abigail and Elizabeth were almost done when Nathan and Lee stuck their heads in the laundry room to let them know that they were back. They had barely turned around.
"Freeze, both of you." Abigail said.
Both turned around and looked between Gran and Abigail.
"Yes, ma'am." Nathan said.
"Clothes for tomorrow." Abigail said. "What are you wearing in the morning and is everything ready?"
"Riding clothes in the morning." Nathan said. "I still need to polish my boots. For the banquet, I will be wearing black jeans with my new shirt and vest. No jacket or tie. I also have dress boots that just need to be wiped down."
"Please grab your stuff from here." Abigail said. "Then make sure that you have socks and undershirts laid out. Also please make sure that your vest and helmet are wiped off and ready."
"I won't need those." Nathan said. "I am not riding tomorrow. Just going to be with the horses and Jack."
"You will take your vest and helmet." Gran said. "Make sure that they are ready and in the truck. Also make sure that you have a smaller cooler with water and Gatorade for you boys if you want. It can get hot on the jumping field."
"Yes, ma'am." Nathan said.
"Lee?" Abigail said.
"Blue jeans and polo shirt in the morning." Lee said. "I have boots that need to get wiped off. For the evening, the same as Nathan. I have short dress boots that are ready."
"You boys have cufflinks?" Abigail asked.
"Yes." Lee said. "Jack made sure we each had a pair to borrow. Molly had sent several pairs just in case."
"Very well." Abigail said.
"Also please make sure that you have your phones and they are charged." Gran said. "Once you have put your clothes away and polished your boots, you are free to hang out."
"Yes, ma'am." Nathan said.
"Yes, Gran." Lee said. "Doug shouldn't be that much longer. I am not sure how long Jack will be."
"Okay." Gran said.
Lee and Nathan came into the laundry room and grabbed several hangers of clothing.
"I did Jack's kilt just in case he wanted to." Abigail said.
"If he needs kilt socks." Gran said. "Please let me know. I know that James has several pairs."
"I will." Lee said. "Not sure if he will wear it. We talked about it before. He wasn't sure because of Elizabeth."
"I don't mind." Elizabeth said. "I just want to make sure he is comfortable."
"I will talk to him." Gran said.
The boys left and took their stuff to their room. After the boys left, Elizabeth turned to Gran.
"What are you going to wear?" Elizabeth asked.
"I have a dress similar to yours." Gran said. "At least in shape. It has a champagne colored skirt and the bodice is white lace applique that goes down to the waist and drops over in a few places. So it doesn't have the detail at the waist like yours. It has cap sleeves at the shoulder and a half jacket to go over it. The jacket is white with a champagne edging to match the skirt of the dress. I also have matching shoes. So it is similar, but different enough that we will be fine. Especially since the colors are so different."
"What jewelry are you going to wear?" Abigail asked.
"Either pearl or diamond earrings." Gran said. "And maybe a matching necklace. I also want to pick out a brooch for the jacket."
"I would love to see those." Elizabeth said.
"Well." Gran said. "As soon as we are done here, let's go upstairs and I will get them. You can help me pick which one you think."
"I would like that." Elizabeth said.
"What are Thomas and Charlotte wearing?" Elizabeth asked.
"Thomas will wear something similar to what the boys have." Gran said. "So black dress pants, a white shirt and probably a jacket. I don't know if he has a vest or not. I don't know about Charlotte. They didn't bring their clothes downstairs to us to get ready."
They finished up in the laundry room and Gran took James' clothes upstairs, leaving Jack's kilt in the laundry room. Just as they were coming upstairs, Doug was coming in the back door with Cody.
"I just need to run upstairs and check something." Abigail said.
"We got Cody." Gran said.
"Thank you." Abigail said, taking the hangers that Gran was holding.
Abigail headed to put James' clothes in his room and then check the guest room upstairs. Gran and Elizabeth headed to the kitchen.
"Did you have fun Cody?" Gran asked.
"Horsies!" Cody said.
"So you got to see the horses." Gran said. "I have cookies, but Doug needs to take you to wash your hands first."
Cody jumped down and started pulling Doug toward the sink. Elizabeth laughed at the sight. Doug scooped Cody up and walked to the bathroom. It wasn't long before they were both back with clean hands. In the meantime, Gran had poured a small glass of milk for Cody and pulled out a couple sugar cookies for the boys. Elizabeth grabbed a glass of water and sat at the counter with Doug and Cody.
"So did you have fun, Cody?" Elizabeth asked.
Cody nodded his head as he took a bite of his cookie.
"We saw some of the horses in the stable." Doug said. "Then I took him over toward the stud farm and we saw several mares and foals. Cody even got to pet one of the foals that came over to see what we were doing."
"What did you think of that?" Elizabeth asked.
Cody gave Elizabeth a big grin.
"We will have to figure something out for Sunday." Doug said. "When I was holding Cody, I realized that he is too big for the buddy saddle that we have used before."
"I guess I didn't think of that." Gran said.
"No problem." Nathan said, coming into the kitchen. "I never used that with my niece, Allie. I always just held her in front of me in the saddle. I can do it with either an English saddle or a western, although western is easier for the child to hold on."
"If you are going to ride Athena," Lee said. "I know for a fact that she has a western split saddle."
"Laura had it custom made." Gran said. "She wanted a proper saddle when she was reining. I know that it is still hanging in the tack room."
"I think I saw it." Nathan said. "As long as you don't mind, I wouldn't mind using it."
"Go ahead." Gran said. "Might as well use it. It should still fit Athena and I know that she got a wider/longer one as that was what the saddle shop recommended for Athena because of her shape."
"Then there should be plenty of room." Nathan said.
Nathan walked over and sat down next to Cody.
"So, Cody." Nathan said. "What do you think about riding with me on Sunday?"
"Ride wif Nayan?" Cody said.
"Yes, on Sunday when you come back." Nathan said.
Cody squirmed in Doug's arms until he let Cody crawl over to Nathan's lap.
"I good." Cody said. "We ride."
"Yes, on Sunday." Nathan said.
Cody grinned up at him while he ate a second cookie. Nathan also had a big smile on his face.
"You don't have to do that." Abigail said, coming into the kitchen area after catching the last exchange.
"It isn't a problem." Nathan said. "I took my niece riding a couple times a month, until recently. We had been doing it since she was about six months old. She will be three in October."
"As long as you are sure." Abigail said. "I know that Cody can be a handful."
"No problem." Nathan said. "He has been good this afternoon."
"He was really good when we went over to see the mares and foals." Doug said. "Besides, if he gets squirmy, we can always switch off who he is with. We got it covered. He is old enough that we can't leave him behind anymore."
"The boys are right." Gran said. "If they say they got it, I will trust them."
"Okay." Abigail said. "I will talk to Bill and will make sure that we bring clothes so the kids have something to change into after Church."
"So you are going to the nine am Mass as well?" Gran asked.
"That is the plan." Abigail said. "I know that we usually do the ten thirty at St Clement's but, Bill thought that we could go with you and then just follow you all back here after Church."
"Whatever works." Gran said. "If for some reason that doesn't end up working, just let me know. I hadn't planned on eating until at least eleven thirty or closer to noon. Kathy is coming over at ten thirty to start prepping the food. We are going to have grilled pork chops and corn on the cob. There will also be fresh fruit and veggies. Maybe a macaroni salad."
"Sounds good, maybe figure out a potato dish." Abigail said. "You could do something like sliced potatoes in butter and garlic. They can be done in a cast iron pan on the grill or even foil packets. Do you want me to make some dessert?"
"If you have time." Gran said. "Otherwise don't worry about it. We have cookies and bars. I also have a couple of apple pies in the freezer that we can pull out. I will let Kathy know and have her decide based on how much time she has. But you are right, we need a potato dish of some sort."
"I will let you know tomorrow night." Abigail said. "I know that you will be at the banquet, but I will just send a message."
"Sounds good." Gran said. "Thank you for coming over and helping."
"No problem." Abigail said. "Glad I could help."
"Cody." Abigail said. "Time to go. Should we go see if Dad is home."
"Daddy!" Cody squealed.
Cody gave Nathan, Doug and Gran big hugs. He also shyly gave Elizabeth a quick hug. He then went with Abigail and they left.
"So why does he call you Bugie if he can say his ds?" Nathan asked.
"Because he thinks it is funny." Lee said. "He did have trouble saying Doug last year and started calling him Bugie, so it stuck."
Doug just shook his head.
"I have been called worse." Doug said. "So I don't mind."
"Don't forget to polish your boots, boys." Gran said. "John should be here in about an hour. Elizabeth and I are going to go look at some jewelry, so behave and if you see Jack, please let him know."
"We will." Nathan said.
… … … …
Gran and Elizabeth headed to her bedroom to look at jewelry. Neither spoke until they got to the bedroom and Gran closed the door.
"What is going on?" Elizabeth asked. "Where is Jack?"
"He was upset at the stable." Gran said. "He asked for some alone time. Nathan gave it to him and told him to pull it together before his grandfather got here."
"I should go talk to him." Elizabeth said.
"No need." Gran said. "He is upstairs. He wants to be alone, we are going to give it to him right now. When John gets here, it will be different. I am sure that he has a jumble of emotions right now. As much as you have been through, Jack has been through as much."
Elizabeth looked at Gran confused.
"How do you know he is upstairs?" Elizabeth asked.
"Two reasons." Gran said. "One, I got an alert on my phone when he opened the outside doors up there. Two, Abigail motioned to me after she had come back downstairs. She heard him in the music room."
"Okay." Elizabeth said. "So why does he want space?"
"Like I said he has been through as much as you, even if he won't admit it." Gran said. "Stepping in to help you has brought up memories of Laura. I know that Jack loves you and you love him. You also need to respect him enough to give him space when he asks for it. Not only am I sure that your situation has brought up memories of Laura, I am also sure that all those old feelings that he didn't ever really deal with have surfaced. Add into that all the emotions that fighting with his parents and agreeing to jump again have stirred up."
"Oh." Elizabeth said.
"Jack will be alright." Gran said. "He doesn't ask for time alone that often, but when he does, please respect it. Jack is the type of person that needs to think things through and come up with a plan of attack before he gets out of his own head. Whether that is dealing with a horse or his parents. Do you see what I am saying?"
"I think so." Elizabeth said. "Jack has been trying to be strong for me and all of his emotions and feelings have gotten to the point that he can't hide them. So he wants some time alone to think."
"Yes." Gran said. "Now here are the five brooches that I was thinking of for us. Tell me which one that you like the most."
… … … …