Britney had started dating him six months ago, but the two lovers had taken care to keep their meetings secret. That all changed when Britney made a trip to the clinic and confirmed her worst fears. She was in fact pregnant. She kept that tiny bit of information from the clan members for almost two months. However, her uncontrollable morning sickness was a dead giveaway. Randy was the first to confront her with his suspicions. He tried to be gentle with her, but her sudden tears and refusal to discuss her personal life with him forced Britney’s mother, Bonnie, to confront her and demand answers about her weight loss and emotional outbursts.
Once Britney admitted to her pregnancy, things got a lot better for the clan and for Britney. Bonnie and Rodney took time with Britney to discover her plans for raising the child and her plans for the child’s father. The father of the child growing in Britney’s belly went by the name of Daniel. His twin two-year-old girls went by the names of Connie and Stephany. Britney invited Daniel and the girls to the Mountain House one Saturday to meet the clan and see where she lived. Donald was not too pleased having two more girls in his home, but he understood that his mother was having a baby and Daniel and the girls might be moving into the Mountain House to live with them. He also understood the possibility that he and his mother might move out of the Mountain House and into Daniel’s ranch somewhere outside of the city. He was not at all pleased with that possibility and had noted his displeasure with his mother.
Britney and Daniel began discussing getting married after the meeting at the Mountain House, but Daniel had not officially asked her yet. They discussed with Donald the possibility that they might move to Daniel’s ranch, which was located just south of the city of Hillsburg. Daniel asked Donald not make a judgment about moving away from the Mountain House until he had visited the ranch and taken time to see the entire two hundred acre ranch. Donald agreed to the visit, but made it very clear to his mother that he was not happy about the possibility of moving.
Daniel and the girls picked up Britney and Donald on Saturday morning. They would be spending two days at the ranch. Donald was not excited about the sleep over, but decided to humor everyone and put a smile on his face. The sun was out for a change and the ice had melted off the main highway down to the city. Donald had never traveled south of Hillsburg, but he soon realized that the huge hardwood trees were quite beautiful. In the mountains, there were few stands of old growth hardwood trees. Donald knew of four such stands near the Mountain House, but he had often times heard the men discussing the lack of hardwood that high up in the mountains. Most of the mountain trees were spruce, fir and white pine. As Daniel drove out of the city limits and navigated the narrow winding roads that wound their way down from the mountains, Donald got excited. He began to see patches of green grass on sunny slopes and places where hundreds of cattle and bison pastured behind long wooden fences. Some of the fences ran for miles and all were in good repair.
Lower down the mountains, they began to pass huge ranch houses with tall red barns and farm tractors parked nearby. There was still a lot of snow on the ground and covering the roofs, but someone had plowed the driveways and small roads.
When Daniel made a right hand turn onto a gravel road, he shifted the truck into four-wheel drive and slowly navigated the frozen road into the thick forest. The road, or maybe a driveway, wound for a couple miles towards the base of a mountain. As Daniel rounded a curve to the south, Donald got the first look at the ranch where Daniel and his daughters lived. Pastured on the north side of the huge red barn were hundreds of cattle and some goats. The ranch style home nestled into the hardwood forest to the south of the barn. Daniel explained again that he owned two hundred or so acres of land and that the hunting was excellent. He asked Donald if he had ever been hunting for partridge and Donald explained that he often went with the guys when the weather was good, but his legs were still too short to navigate in the deep snow, even on snowshoes.
When they arrived at the ranch house, Daniel took them on a tour. He showed Daniel a large room that he could turn into his room if he wanted. The room backed up against the huge kitchen and was warm and comfortable. Two large windows faced out into the thick forest and Donald could see two young deer grazing on green grass under the thick hardwood canopy. Donald fell in love with the ranch within minutes. Daniel and his architect had designed everything about the ranch around the outdoors and nature. Donald had seen rifles, shotguns, hunting clothes, snowshoes; deer shoulder mounts on the walls and a walk in fireplace that was open to the kitchen and the living area. A room just off the living room was set up as a library. There were hundreds, maybe thousands of books on the shelves, many about hunting and fishing; others about space and time travel. Donald sat down on an overstuffed chair and just looked around.
Donald almost jumped out of the chair when Daniel spoke to him from the doorway of the library. He stood up and looked into Daniel’s eyes. Daniel said, “I realize this ranch is not what you were expecting, but I hope I can convince you to move here and enjoy my home. I will do whatever is necessary to make you comfortable here. I love your mother more than you can ever imagine and I would like for you and Britney to move here and live with Connie, Stephany and me.”
Donald looked around and said, “I like this ranch a lot. It is really neat here. Can I read these books if I lived here?” Daniel laughed and said, “I hope you will. I love books and we can buy more when you have read all of these.” Donald looked again at the shelves and said, “I am a fast reader.” Daniel countered by saying, “I have lots of money to buy more.”
When Britney and the girls walked into the library, Britney sat down beside her son and asked, “What do you think? Could you and I be happy living here?”
Donald giggled and said, “If you decide to not get married and stay at the Mountain House, can I still live here with Daniel?” Britney pulled her son into her arms and said, “Yes. I am certain Daniel would allow that, but I hope he asks us both to stay. I think this place is really neat, also.”
Donald could not pass up the opportunity. His girls were standing behind him and he decided to make the best of the situation. He reached into his pocket and then kneeled down in front of Britney. He opened a small box that contained a ring and said, “Britney, I have fallen in love with you and would like us to live together for our remaining days; would you honor me by becoming my wife?” Britney put her fingers over her mouth to contain her emotions and then said, “Yes. I will marry you. I love you more than you can possibly imagine.”
The girls hugged their father while Donald hugged his mother. Then Donald said, “Let’s fix some lunch and then we can check out the barns and the two hunting cabins. I think Donald will take a liking to the hunting cabin at the base of the mountain.”
As Daniel and Britney directed the food preparations, Donald stared out the sliding patio glass door at the raccoons that were digging around the edge of the forest where it met up with the green grass. Daniel whispered to Britney and said, “I may have a permanent house guest even if you do not marry me.” Britney giggled and said, “You and the girls would quickly tire of his antics and his over active enthusiasm for life.” Connie sat down on a bar stool beside her father and said, “Donald can stay if he wants. I think he is quite cute.” Daniel pulled her into his arms and said, “You are too little to have a boyfriend.” Connie giggled as she pulled away from her dad and said, “I am not too little. Donald is just too big.”
As they ate supper around a table carved from four-inch thick slices of a maple tree that someone had polished to a shine, they all seemed to have something important to discuss. The children even took turns talking and Donald even passed the bowl of potatoes to Stephany without one comment about her overly plump face. The girl’s father had obviously fed her well and her face showed the results of her excessive diet. Britney made a mental note to help the girls manage a better diet without embarrassing them over their weight. She knew what it took to fill a young child’s belly and how to do it wi
thout feeding them a bunch of empty calories.
When lunch was over and they had cleaned up the kitchen, they all loaded into the truck for a ride around the two hundred acre farm. They made their first stop at a small pond where two beaver where busy cutting down two trees to improve their home. The pond had partially frozen over, but the beaver did not seem to mind. As the children watched them moving small tree branches around the pond, Donald began making sounds with his mouth that sounded just like the beavers chewing wood. The girls got to laughing and eventually scared the two beavers off.
By late in the afternoon, Britney asked, “Daniel, are you planning to take us back home to the Mountain House tonight or are we going to stay the night here at the ranch?” The girls ran up to their father and wrapped their arms around his legs. They began to banter him to let Donald and Britney stay the night. Connie said, “We can make popcorn and peel some apples to eat while we watch the transformers movie. Daniel saw the smile appear on Donald’s face and said, “I would like you to spend the night with us if you would like. I think Donald would like the movie, but I heard once that he hates popcorn and apples.” Donald quickly spoke up. He quickly explained that he liked popcorn and apples and would like to stay and watch the movie. Britney giggled and kissed Daniel on the cheek as she said, “Oh darn. I guess we are obligated to eat your popcorn and apples. I guess we cannot get out of it.” Daniel pulled her into his arms and kissed her hard on the lips. All three kids began to turn green and make strange sounds over their parent’s enjoyment of kissing a dirty mouth, as Connie put it.
***
Britney lay on a small metal delivery table with her feet up in stirrups. Her doctor stepped up beside her and said, “Yup, you are definitely having a baby. I can see its head, but nothing more. I will keep you updated as needed.” He laughed over his comments and then returned to his rolling chair between Britney’s legs. Just as she was about to pass out from breathing and pushing so hard, she heard a tiny cry and then a fully developed scream erupted from her newborn baby boy. As the doctor wiped the child clean and laid her on her mother’s stomach so she could see her child’s face. Britney began to cry and marvel over the tiny human who just entered her mother and father’s world. As the nurse removed the blanket covering the child and began wiping her clean, Britney continued to talk to the little girl and then called her by her name, Carlie. The doctor looked up into Britney’s eyes and said, “Your grandmother would be proud to have this beautiful child named after her. You do her proud.”
When the nurse placed Carlie into Daniel’s arms, he cried over the tiny child. After a few minutes, the nurse stepped back into the room and brought Donald, Connie and Stephany to see the new baby. The entire family walked along behind the gurney as the nurses pushed Britney from the delivery room to the room where she and Carlie would spend the next twenty-four hours. Britney really did not want to stay in the hospital overnight, but her doctor insisted. She had delivered her first child at home at the Mountain House. She knew that Daniel would care for her, but having the other clan members around her while she recuperated would have been a comfort.
The following afternoon, Daniel arrived at the hospital to visit with his wife. When he walked into the room, Britney said, “I hope you brought my clothes with you. I am leaving this hospital right now. I am bored to death and in desperate need of company.” Daniel laughed and said, “Actually, I did bring your clothes and the doctor has agreed to release you. I will take you home within the hour, as soon as the paperwork is complete and the doctor has checked you and the baby to insure you are both healthy.” Britney’s eyes got watery over her husband’s words. She grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him down to her. She planted a kiss on his lips and said, “You do love me, don’t you?” Daniel chuckled and said, “I suspect that if the doctor had refused to realize you tonight, you would not be so lovable towards your new husband.” Britney kissed him again and said, “I would have been cross, but I would still love you. I will always love you.”
When Daniel drove around the last turn in the road and Britney could see the ranch up ahead, she realized that the black plow truck sat beside the barn at the end of the driveway. She turned to Daniel and said, “I think we have company.” Daniel chuckled and said, “You don’t think your clan would abandon you when you have provided a tiny newborn child for them to love, do you?” Britney giggled and said, “I think my husband had a lot to do with this reunion and I love you for caring.”
Daniel carried Carlie into the house and placed her into Bonnie’s arms. Then he returned to the truck and helped Britney into the house. He sat her down on the edge of her bed and helped her get into her pajamas. Once she was in bed, everyone took turns talking to her for a few minutes and then let her get some sleep. They would wake her when Carlie got hungry, but otherwise, they would allow her to get a good night’s sleep.
When Daniel woke, the sun was just coming up, but the cabin was still quite dark. He heard the shower running and stepped into the bathroom to check on Britney. She was just fine and had just turned off the water when he entered. She giggled and said, “I was all slept out and could not lie in bed one more minute. I can smell coffee perking and I intend to feed Carlie and then sip a little bit of the sweet caffeinated drink. I have sacrificed my coffee long enough.”
Daniel walked out to the kitchen with Britney and found Jenna and Bonnie carrying for Carlie. The child was asleep in a recliner chair with a little blanket over her. Someone had lit the fireplace and there was bacon and eggs sitting on the table. Britney carefully sat down at the table beside Jenna and said, “I thank you gals for caring for Carlie for me. I needed a few hours of good sleep.” Jenna said, “If you want to feed Carlie before you enjoy some of this coffee and bacon, I will gently wake her and bring her to you.” Britney agreed and Jenna picked up the sleeping child and put her over her shoulder. As she walked towards Britney, she said, “I think I should take this child to the bathroom for a few minutes and change her diaper. She is desperately in need of clean pants.”
When Jenna returned with Carlie, she placed the child into Britney’s arms and covered her with a small blanket. As the child suckled, the kitchen suddenly got quite busy. Donald and the girls fended for themselves and assisted their guests in locating what they needed to prepare their own breakfast. When Connie and Stephany sat down beside Britney, they seemed extremely interested in what was going on under the blanket over Britney’s shoulder. Donald finally said, “Sisters, please leave Mother alone until she has finished feeding Carlie, then she will allow you to hold the baby as much as you like.” Britney giggled and said, “Thank you, Son, but the girls are just curious. You have seen infants nurse and helped to change diapers, but the girls have not. I will allow them to watch and answer all of their questions when I feed Carlie again in a few hours.” When Britney looked up into Daniel’s eyes, he mouthed the words, “Thank you for including the girls.”
***
Britney and Daniel had just put the children down for the night. She turned on the radio on the nightstand to a channel that offered nightly readings of little known author’s short stories. Once she properly tuned in the radio station and set the volume level, she undid the rope that secured the waistband of her robe and let the robe fall to the floor. As she slid her naked body under the cool covers beside her husband, she laid her head on his shoulder just as the program began. The reader welcomed his listeners to the nightly program and then announced the authors name and the title of the flash fiction short story.
A Ballgame to Forget
Dennis’s girlfriend Sara received two tickets to a major league baseball game from a local radio station. Sara had entered a contest at the station sponsored by a sporting goods store in a nearby town. The owner of the sporting goods store was offering the tickets to the person who wrote the best sports related short story. Sara wrote her story about a man hit by a foul ball as he sat in the stands near third base. The story went like this:
The sound of the bat striking the baseball drew the attention of the crowd. The man looked up into the bright sky, but could not see the ball. Two men in front of him raised their arms, trying to catch the ball before it struck someone in the crowd. For the spectator named Jim, their actions were too little, too late. The ball struck him squarely on the forehead.
Jim woke up four days later on a gurney in a psychiatric ward. The staff rolled his bed into a room full of electrical equipment. They connected him up to the machines with sticky pads and probes. Then the doctor entered the room and said, “We will only use seventy five percent power levels during this therapy session.” Jim realized then that the doctor intended to use electro convulsive shock therapy to treat the tremors that had begun when the baseball struck him. As Jim tried to tell the doctor that he did not approve of the treatment, he felt the first wave of energy pass through his brain. He could smell his body burning, a metallic taste invaded his mouth and his vision became blurry.
When the treatment finally ended, Jim lay comatose, unable to speak or move his body. After two days in the hospital, the tremors passed and the doctors released him.
As Jim stepped out of the taxi, he took the elevator to the twentieth floor and walked into his New York apartment. As he stood just inside the front door, he felt a sudden urge for fresh air. He took the elevator up to the rooftop garden area and stepped out to the sounds of the city below him and a cool breeze blowing into his face.
As he walked to the edge of the roof and looked over the short parapet wall, he felt the need to join the birds soaring over the city and stepped up onto the wall. When he stood up and looked down upon the busy city below, he knew he could fly. He spread his arms and leaned out. As he felt his body become weightless, he thanked the doctor for the wonderful therapy that had released his bonds and allowed him the freedom of flight. As he rapidly approached the sidewalk below, he smiled and moved his legs below him, knowing full well that he would glide to a stop and land on his feet, to the astonishment of the spectators below.
Universal Mass Page 28
