Twelve Upon a Time…

by Edward Galluzzi

  Jordan went back to work on the collage while Stephanie began wrapping some of their gifts for their mother. Meanwhile, Rockie and Bianca walked staunchly at their posts. All of a sudden, Bianca heard frantic barking which meant one of two things: their young master’s parents were returning home or Rockie spotted his girlfriend Fifi from next door. Bianca then recalled that Fifi was at the vets getting her monthly shampoo and facial. She was a well-bred canine.

  Bianca meowed and ran toward the house. She skittered and scattered as fast as her paws would gather. Bianca ran so fast that she skidded by the door only to skid again as she turned once more. Bianca recovered her stride and ran into the house, meowing, meowing for a bird or a mouse. Squeaky dropped his cheese to see what was the fuss and found Bianca all a gush.

  It was not hard understanding at all what Bianca was meowing with his call. Squeaky ran as quick as a mouse to tell Alfonso who was arriving at the house. Alfonso raised his feathers in flight and flew downstairs to tell his plight. He said in a high-pitched voice of a bird, “They’re hear, they’re hear” and that’s what they heard. Stephanie and Jordan put away what they had and ran for the stairs to greet their mom and dad.

  Jordan closed the basement door as his sister and he found themselves out of breath and standing in the kitchen. They took several deep breaths and calmed themselves as they walked quietly into the living room. Their parents walked up the porch steps and came into the house. Stephanie and Jordan greeted them as they entered almost too angelic as in unison they said, “Hi! Did you have fun?” Even Jordan and Stephanie turned toward each other with that “you’ve got to be kidding” look on their faces. The kids ran outside to help empty the car of grocery sacks and other packages that their parents purchased on their weekly shopping trip.

  Stephanie was last in with a package. She began helping her mother put items away. Jordan and his father were doing their part too. With everything almost in order, their mom spoke aloud, “I guess I’ll go downstairs and get the laundry.” A look of panic showed on the face of Stephanie and Jordan. They look with plea toward their father who spoke up quickly, “You finish up here, honey, I’ll get the laundry.” With mother’s approval of father’s request, the kids expressed a sign of relief and facial tensions progressed to rest. A close call they thought!

  As dad came up with the laundry in tow, he winked at his brood—a sign that he heartily approved. Stephanie and Jordan beamed with delight as they told their father of their plans many weeks ago. He said he would do what he could so that mom was really surprised this year. It was everybody’s job; both humans and pets, to see that mom did not go downstairs until the time was set.

  Jordan and Stephanie thought that all they had to do was keep mom out of the basement for the rest of Saturday. Then, tomorrow they will lead her down to her surprise of the day. Stephanie grew concerned and asked Jordan, “How many close calls do you think we’ll have?” Jordan simply shrugged his shoulders, grew quiet and said nothing. They both worked so hard on their mother’s surprise this year that it had to work. It just had to work!

  Stephanie got an idea and ran over to Rockie and Bianca. She asked her two pretty pets if they would not mind lying in front of the basement door. If nothing else, Stephanie thought, Rockie and Bianca could cause a commotion if somebody tried to go downstairs.

  Jordan and Stephanie went to talk with their father. They told him that they were unable to finish all the decorations in time and asked him if he could get mother out of the house. Their father said that he would take her to the movies tonight for an early mother’s day gift. Jordan and Stephanie smiled and were happy of the idea.

  The afternoon went without much of a flutter. Rockie and Bianca caused a commotion only once as their young master’s dad went downstairs to get some tools. Alfonso sat quietly on his perch with his eyes darting back and forth forever vigilant. Squeaky stayed out of sight in the hole in the wall as lady of the house was quite frightened by the sight of a mouse!

  Dinner went without a hitch. Stephanie and Jordan helped with the dishes. Their mother suddenly exclaimed, “I think I’ll finish the laundry downstairs.” Stephanie quickly said, “Oh, mom. It’s Mother’s Day tomorrow. Let me do it.” Now, Stephanie’s mother thought it was quite strange that she would volunteer to do the laundry, even if it was close to Mother’s Day. However, she decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Jordan winked at his sister and they averted one more crisis.

  Finally, mom and dad left for the movie. This was the moment for which they long awaited. Jordan asked Rockie and Bianca to stand watch once again outside. Stephanie called Alfonso and Squeaky and asked them to assume their positions inside.

  With parents gone and pets in position, Stephanie and Jordan went downstairs to complete what they started. Jordan pasted photos on their mother’s collage while Stephanie finished wrapping their gifts of homage. As she wrapped the last gift, Stephanie helped her brother finish the collage.

  All of a sudden, Bianca heard frantic barking. She meowed and ran toward the house. She skittered and scattered as fast as her paws would gather. Bianca ran so fast that she skidded by the door only to skid again as she turned once more. Bianca recovered her stride and ran into the house, meowing, meowing for a bird or a mouse. Squeaky dropped his cheese to see what was the fuss and found Bianca all a gush.

  It was not hard understanding at all what Bianca was meowing with his call. Squeaky ran as quick as a mouse to tell Alfonso who was arriving at the house. Alfonso raised his feathers in flight and flew downstairs to tell his plight. He said in a high-pitched voice of a bird, “They’re hear, they’re hear” and that’s what they heard. Stephanie and Jordan put the finishing touches on what they had and ran for the stairs to greet their mom and dad.

  Jordan and Stephanie switched on the television and jumped on the couch. They took several deep breaths to catch some air. They greeted their parents as they arrived. Their mother said, “Honestly, are you two still watching TV?” Mother turned off the television as Jordan and Stephanie winked at their dad. “Now, up to bed” their mother said. And with that, Stephanie and Jordan bid a good night relieved that tomorrow was now in sight.

  Stephanie and Jordan slept rather well as they worked so hard yesterday. Keeping a secret is tough Jordan and Stephanie thought as the family of four ate their morning breakfast. Rockie and Bianca were at their usual place, near the table hoping for any table scraps. Alfonso sat on his perch whistling away while Squeaky rested in the hole in the wall waiting for some cheese to come his way.

  Stephanie and Jordan wished their mother, “Happy Mother’s Day!” They each gave her a gift that they had made. Stephanie knitted her mother an afghan and Jordan crafted her a necklace.

  Their mother thanked and kissed them for their thoughtfulness, but what she did not know was all the rest.

  Jordan and Stephanie in their chairs did shift and told their mother they had one more gift. They led her to the basement door with dad, Rockie, Bianca, Alfonso and Squeaky in tow. Down the stairs they bounded with glee and soon their mom saw the sight to see. As they entered the room all decorated in color, their mom cried out with joy at the sight.

  “Happy Mother’s Day” Stephanie and Jordan screamed while everybody else beamed. Their mother then told them “how kind” and they indeed finally did surprise her this time.

  June: Memories in Five Balloons

  John, Carrie, Kelsey and Reni looked forward to Father’s Day even though their father, Ron, died about 4 years ago. Their dad was an Air Force pilot who also was an avid balloonist. Their dad was a skilled aviator and piloting hot air balloons was his passion. Ron loved and cared for his family although he seemed happiest in the air.

  John, Carrie, Kelsey, Reni and their mother, Jan, remembered and honored Ron every Father’s Day by releasing five small hot air balloons. Each balloon is tagged with his wife’s name and the names of his children. Each balloon also carried a message written by each for their father. The person who
found the hot air balloon after its heavenly journey comes to an end.

  Jan and her children each chose their own colors for the hot air balloons. Ron’s two sons, John and Kelsey, were partial to blue. John chose the darker navy blue while Kelsey preferred turquoise blue. Ron’s two daughters liked purple and pink. Carrie favored purple while Reni was partial to pink. Their mother chose bright orange, as her memories of Ron were first in mind as the sun rose and last in mind as it set.

  As Father’s Day approached, Jan and her children prepared the hot air balloons for their flight. Each painted their hot air balloon in their favorite color. Each wrote a message to their father on his day and a brief note to the finder of the balloon. The note explained why the balloon was launched and the personal tribute each made to their father and husband.

  As the hot air balloons were painted and messages written, John, Carrie, Kelsey and Reni also crafted small gifts for their father. They wrapped the gifts knowing each person would open them who were fortunate to come across the paths of the balloons at the end of their flight. As was the ritual, the children and their mother provided a phone number to be called. They wanted to know the final resting place of their balloons and to be able to thank the people, who found them, read their personal messages and opened their special gifts.

  John, Carrie, Kelsey and Reni lived in a small rural town in the Midwest. There were bounteous open fields and spacious sky above to release the hot air balloons from their own backyard. John, Kelsey, Reni and Carrie finished their gifts to their father and wrapped them with care, as tomorrow was Father’s Day. The children placed their gifts in their hot air balloons. They went to bed early that evening in anticipation of being awakened at sunrise Sunday morning by their mother.

  As it seemed always the case on the evening before Father’s Day, John and Kelsey lay in their beds talking quietly about what their sisters Carrie and Reni chatted quietly about in their bedroom—their conversations with people in the past whom destiny had linked with journey’s end of their hot air balloons. These pleasant memories helped the children drift off to sleep as such remembrances balanced the sadness and loss felt by them.

  It seemed that no sooner had Carrie, Reni, John and Kelsey put their heads on their pillows, they were awakened gently by their mother. Morning came quick. As each of her children allowed their eyes to adjust to the early morning light, their presence was requested downstairs in the kitchen for breakfast. On this special day, John, Carrie, Kelsey and Reni did not have to be asked a second time as they have many times before. They were filled with anticipation and excitement. Memories of their dad crept into consciousness permeating their beings with both happiness and sadness.

  As the children entered the kitchen, their mother had breakfast waiting on the table. She knew their singular likes and dislikes for food and tried to render them when possible. The family said their morning prayer and then the table-chatter started—customary “noise” to their mother’s ears.

  Of course, the hub of this morning’s chatter was the pending release of their hot air balloons. John, Carrie, Kelsey, Reni and their mother reminisced about conversations with people who came across their special balloons, messages and gifts in past years. They shared thoughts about their father and, as always, asked their mother specifics about their dad which they neither experienced nor remembered. Laughter at these times was always dotted with quiet tears; yet, keeping their memories alive was their way of keeping dad in their presence as if he never left their lives.

  As John, Carrie, Kelsey and Reni finished their morning meal, they in turn requested to excuse themselves to brush their teeth and other morning routines. Each child brought their plates, silverware and glasses to the kitchen sink to their mother’s nodding approval. She had trained them well Jan thought to herself.

  The children readied themselves and then retrieved their hot air balloons from the basement. Their mother completed her morning routine in turn and brought up her bright orange balloon. Carrie and june: memories in five balloons Reni stood on either side of their mother with their purple and pink balloons. John and Kelsey stood across from their mother and sisters with their navy blue and turquoise painted balloons.

  The first duty at hand was for each to check their hot air balloons to ensure that the messages and gifts were attached securely to the baskets of each balloon. Next, each balloon was filled with helium and tied off at the base. Typically, hot air balloons are driven by, well, er, hot air. However, without a pilot, there was no effective manner to dispense hot air effectively. Jan learned years ago that helium-filled balloons worked just as well. Helium also was released slowly over time, which allowed for the balloons to eventually drift back to earth in various parts of the country.

  The children each in turn brought their small hot air balloons to their mother to be filled with helium and bound. John, Carrie, Kelsey and Reni held their balloons in place as their mother filled her balloon and fastened it tightly. Their mother instructed her brood to check one more time (a mother’s prerogative) that the messages and gifts were attached securely to the baskets.

  With preparations finalized, Jan began the count down: “10 - 9 - 8 -7 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1” and added, “Here’s to dad!” John, Carrie, Kelsey and Reni heard the familiar words and released their balloons. The hot air balloons were set adrift almost simultaneously and lifting gently upward to the sky were bright orange, purple, pink, turquoise and navy blue balloons.

  John, Carrie, Kelsey, Reni and their mother ran after the balloons, which hitched a ride with northeasterly winds. They were excited and cheered until their balloons grew faint in the distance. As they stood to get a final glimpse, they quietly waved goodbye and walked somberly back to their home.

  John, Carrie, Kelsey and Reni went ahead with their family routine. They knew that it would be several days, weeks or months before they heard from the angelic strangers who would find the five tributes to their dad. They hoped that those who found the balloons would have the kindness to call them. Days had passed with no word about the fate of any of the five hot air balloons. Mother cautioned John, Carrie, Kelsey and Reni to be patient. Somehow being excited and patient at the same time was not a good alliance. The children tried to remain busy as 3 weeks had passed without a word.

  Every ring of the phone brought a rush of feet to mom’s location. Excitement quickly built to only be squelched in a moment; but this phone call was different. John, Carrie, Kelsey and Reni looked earnestly at their mother as they heard her say, “Yes, I have a daughter Reni.” This tweaked Reni’s ears, as she was now the center of attention. “You found a pink hot air balloon?”

  Reni drew closer to her mother and was suddenly handed the phone. She heard a voice say, “Hi, my name is Paolo. Your pink hot air balloon landed near my farm in Iowa. I read the wonderful tribute you wrote to your father and opened the gift. I think he would have been very happy to open his gift and find the knitted reindeer that you made for him. I know I would be if you were my daughter.” The others listened as Reni talked for several minutes and then said, “Goodbye.” John, Kelsey, Carrie and her mother gathered around Reni as she recounted her conversation with Paolo. She was so happy she could hardly stand by herself. She was pleased that Paolo liked the gift she prepared for her father.

  Several days passed, but this did not dampen the spirits of Carrie, John and Kelsey. Even Reni continued her excitement even though her balloon had already landed. Each ring of the phone continually brought a rush of feet to mom’s site in the house.

  Two days after Reni’s phone call, a woman introduced herself to Jan as Janell and said that she had found a dark blue balloon in the creek that ran by the side of her house. Actually, the woman noted that her two sons discovered the balloon while they were fishing in the creek.

  Jan did not have to scream out John’s name as all her children were camped around her like campers around a campfire. John’s mother said, “It’s for you, John!” John took the phone from his mother
and said, “Hi, this is John.” He heard a woman say in return, “Hello, John, my name is Janell. We live in Wisconsin. My two sons were fishing in our creek when they came across your blue balloon.” John was so excited he did not know what to say and was only heard breathing. Janell continued, “We enjoyed reading the message to your father. I’m sorry to hear about his loss. My two boys lost their father two years ago and we share some of your feelings.” John was able to mutter a “thank you” before Janell continued, “My sons asked me if they could open your gift and they did. They were surprised to find the model car you put together because they too have a model car collection.”

  John talked for several more minutes and then said, “Goodbye.” Kelsey, Reni Carrie and his mother gathered around John as he shared his conversation with Janell from Wisconsin. He was pleased that Janell’s sons liked the gift he prepared for his father.

  Another week had passed as one phone call after another were routine calls in their home. John, Kelsey, Reni and Carrie listened anxiously with each ring of the phone. Nine days after John’s balloon was found, a caller asked for Kelsey.

  Ironically, Kelsey had answered the phone this time and said, “This is he.” He listened to a man’s voice identify himself as Joe and said he was calling from Michigan. The man continued, “I found a turquoise-like blue hot air balloon in our swimming pool today. I think it belongs to you.” “Yes it does” replied Kelsey. “I read your message to your father and my wife and I opened your gift. We think your dad would be very pleased with the belt that you made for him.” “Thank you, sir” said Kelsey.