Boxed Set: Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood: [The 12 book 1st adventure + the series prequel]

by Robert Iannone

  Grammy and Sylvia laughed in agreement but Egg responded, “I can’t believe you said that?”

  The other three looked at her. “Why? You’re not defending boys are you?”

  “Never in a million years. It’s just that I said almost the exact same thing to Sylvia when we were changing into our suits.”

  “You’re right,” answered her friend. “Isn’t that too weird?”

  “Not really, dear. I felt the same way.”

  “But Grammy . . . she used almost my exact words.”

  “Hmmm” replied Mrs. Z, “that is just a little bit freaky. On the other hand, great minds do think alike.”

  Bringing the subject back to the two boys, Sylvia offered, “all of that stuff is true . . . but not for Zack and Zeke.”

  “Why Sylvia, that’s a very nice thing to say. Thank you. I think they’re pretty special. I also think they’re very handsome; but that’s just a mother talking.” She looked at the two girls obviously hoping for their agreement.

  “Ummm . . .,” Egg couldn’t finish. She just blushed.

  But Sylvia was feeling unusually bold and gave the answer Mrs. Z was hoping for, “I think they’re very cute. Especially Zack.”

  Now it was Sylvia’s turned to be stared at by the other three. “Syl . . . they both look exactly alike.”

  “Well . . . umm . . .,” she didn’t know how to finish, and she blushed a slightly deeper shade of red then her friend had.

  “Curiouser and Curiouser.”

  Now it was Grammy’s turn to stare at the hostess. “Well, isn’t that a little strange?”

  “What is?”

  “That’s one of two phrases my granddaughter likes to use.”

  “Oh my gosh,” said a slightly surprised Mrs. Z.

  “And that’s the other one.”

  For some reason that gave all four ladies goose bumps.

  *****

  When it was time to eat, the Zambroski’s placed four big blankets on the ground for their guests. The grown-ups were a little shocked but Mrs. Z. said, “A barbeque is how you cook the food; a picnic is how you eat it. And the best picnics are on the ground. So everyone find a place to park your caboose.”

  And everyone did. The Rosa’s, Angela’s parents, and the Swift’s, Presley’s mom and dad, sat on one blanket along with Mr. and Mrs. Graystone. Egg, Sylvia and Grammy sat on the middle blanket saving a place for Mr. and Mrs. Z. who were serving the food and drinks. The twins and the other two girls were on the last blanket.

  As it turned out, since the blankets were all next to each other, Egg ended up sitting next to Zeke. She wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. In the end, it was neither. Angela and Presley talked to the boys nonstop so even if Egg wanted to talk to Zeke, she couldn’t.

  Mrs. Z placed big plates filled with hot dogs, hamburgers and roasted corn on the cob in the center of each blanket. Then she put out pots of baked beans and big bowls of fruit salad. Mr. Z walked around with a cart full of drinks and gave each person whatever they wanted. Then the Z’s sat down and everyone began fill their plates with mounds and mounds of food. It seems everyone gets a gigantic appetite at picnics.

  After a few minutes everyone had settled back to enjoy the food. The buzz of conversations had died away while they ate only to be replaced by the buzz of annoying flies. But silence to Mrs. Z was not acceptable. “While everyone is gorging themselves on the tasty treats prepared by my incredibly handsome husband . . .,” (all the ladies oohed and ahhed in agreement, while the men and two boys hooted) “. . . let’s play a little game I call Rhyme Time.”

  “Ah, Mom,” moaned Zack.

  “This is so embarrassing,” sighed Zeke.

  “Nonsense. It’s fun.”

  “What is Rhyme Time?” asked Sylvia.

  Zack looked over to her and said, “Don’t ask . . . please.” Then he gave Sylvia a big smile. In return, she stuck her tongue out at him.

  “Thank you for asking, Sylvia. Rhyme Time is where we make up a rhyme about whatever it is we’re doing at that time we play the game. So this one will be about our picnic. You can say a complete line or just part of it. But, it has to rhyme in couplets.”

  “Which means?”

  “Every two lines rhyme with each other. So, I’ll begin. Ummm . . . we sat on a blanket . . .”

  “. . . under the Sun.” added Grammy.

  “Very good, Eloise. Who’s next?”

  “All wet and tired . . .,” said Egg.

  “. . . from volleyball fun.” blurted Sylvia with a big smile.

  “Excellent. You two are terrific. How about you guys?” she said looking at Angela and Presley.

  The two girls just shrugged their shoulders and shook their heads.

  “Well, that’s okay. Who’s next?”

  Egg’s mom said, “The Z’s cooked us dogs…”

  And her dad added, “. . . and corn on the cob.”

  “Tons of food for this hungry mob.” added Mr. Swift obviously very proud of himself.

  Not to be outdone, his wife continued with “There were gallons of lemonade and coke.”

  “. . . so on the food we wouldn’t choke,” yelled Zeke and everyone laughed. Secretly, Egg was impressed.

  “And for dessert Mrs. Z did bake . . . ,” Mrs. Rosa said this with a little grin and shrug since there was no dessert on the blankets.

  But Mr. Z came to her rescue with, “. . . her world famous chocolate cake.” This got him a big kiss from his wife.

  “So we drank our drinks . . .,” added Mr. Rosa

  “. . . and the food we did scarf,” chimed Zack.

  Then the twins looked at each other and said in unison, “We got so full me thinks . . . cause us boys did barf.” And with that, everyone burst into gales of laughter and Rhyme Time was mercifully over.

  “That was terrific, Zelda. Your sons have obviously played this before.”

  “Ever since they were six. They say they hate it, but you can tell they love to participate. It keeps them on their toes. And you girls were very good.”

  “Thank you” they both replied.

  “You and your handsome husband are wonderful parents.”

  “Well, thank you Eloise. Our twins are our life. But I don’t need to tell you how precious our children are.”

  “I’ll tell you a little secret,” said Grammy. “As wonderful as our kids are to us, just wait for the incredible joy your grandchildren will bring you.” She was looking directly at Egg when she said this. “My granddaughter . . . and namesake . . . is an inspiration to me. Every morning when I wake up, I thank God that I was given one more chance to see or talk to her again.”

  Egg smiled from ear to ear; then she threw her Grammy a big kiss.

  Before long, everyone had finished eating and they all pitched in to help clear the plates and leftover food. Most of the grown-ups then drifted back to the big oak tree and continued their conversations. The twins and the other two girls went back in the pool, while Grammy, Mrs. Z, Egg and Sylvia went in the house to make coffee and do a little more clean up.

  Then things got weird.

  “Did you know the people that lived here before us?”

  “Oh, of course. Grazy and I were neighbors for more than fifty years. When we were younger, we were best friends . . . inseparable like these two.”

  “I met them just once. Grazy . . . is that her name?” Grammy nodded. “She said that there’s a lake about a mile or two behind the house. She said it was part of the farm until her dad sold the land and the lake to the county to make a park.”

  “Yes, that’s true. That was . . . goodness . . . it must have been thirty years ago. My, oh my, isn’t it amazing how we can misplace that many years?”

  “It does go too fast, doesn’t it? I’d like to hike down to that lake. Is that possible?”

  “Certainly. I’d love to show you.”

  “That would be wonderful. Maybe you ladies would like to join us. I’m sure Zack and Zeke would lo
ve to go too.”

  Sylvia smiled brightly at the idea. If Egg was excited, she didn’t show it.

  “You know, Grazy said something a little . . . umm . . . unusual. She said that the lake is even more beautiful when you fly over it. I wonder what she meant by that?”

  What she meant was that Flying Girl had once taken her for that fly over. Many, many years ago when Grazy and Grammy were still best friends, she had seen Eloise fly over the lake in her Flying Girl suit. Because she had seen it as a reflection in the water, the suit’s magic didn’t make her forget. When she accused her friend of being able to fly, Eloise had to deny it. She had sworn she would never tell anyone. So their friendship had come to a bitter end. It was only a few months ago that they patched things up . . . just before she moved away.

  Egg had taken the woman for a flight in return for her giving Egg back her lost diary. This time she did forget. The reality of that flight faded . . . but the dream of it stayed.

  “Well,” answered the elder Eloise, “Grazy hasn’t been herself lately. It’s hard to say what she was talking about.”

  “The only reason I mentioned it was that . . . ummm . . . this may sound a little silly, but it reminded me of an old family legend about something similar.”

  Sylvia looked at Egg who looked at her Grammy who looked a little white in the face. “What legend would that be?”

  “This is a little complicated but here it goes. My maiden name is Aubergine. . . which of course is French for eggplant. My family came to this country two generations ago. My grandparents were farmers and the First World War destroyed much of the countryside where they farmed. So they packed their few belongings and headed for the land of promise . . . the United States.

  On the farm they left in France were the broken remains of a once mighty castle. It had been in ruins for more than twelve hundred years. Legend had it that it belonged to Charlemagne . . . one of the great kings of France. He was a truly remarkable fellow but that’s another story. What’s important is that he was supposedly a relative of mine.”

  Now that impressed the other three. This lady was of royal blood . . . much like Dazzle.

  “Am I boring you? Be honest.”

  “Absolutely not. You girls want to hear more?”

  “Please.”

  “Oh my gosh, yes.”

  “You guys are just too sweet. Anyway, the legend says that after his death, the castle was given to one of his sons. The story doesn’t get interesting for another hundred years or so. That’s when the heir to the castle . . . Charlemagne’s great, great, great grandson . . . married a woman who was considered a witch. In those days, there was no greater sin then to be called a witch. But this one was incredibly beautiful and the great grandson fell madly in love with her. Some say it was witchcraft that made it happen. Anyway, because she had married royalty, no one could punish her for being a witch; especially, because no one could really prove it.”

  The girls had no idea where this story was going, but it was so fascinating that they didn’t really care.

  “The royal couple had a daughter not long after. And the townspeople all assumed that her mother’s witchcraft would be passed down to her. So they kept a careful eye on her.

  The girl grew up to be as pretty as her mother with sparkling green eyes and golden red hair . . . like mine. When the girl was about ten, her real name is forgotten, but her nickname was Ebb Louise . . . things turned very bad.”

  “What does her nickname mean?”

  “Well, it’s hard to say exactly. The only thing that makes any sense is that it was short for eblouissement which means dazzle.”

  Grammy dropped the coffee cup she was holding and the hot liquid splashed against the cabinets.

  Sylvia put her hand to her mouth to stifle a scream.

  Egg’s hand wasn’t quick enough so she did scream “ohhhhhhhhh.”

  Mrs. Z was completely startled by their reaction. “What’s wrong?”

  Grammy recovered quickly and said, “I’m so sorry. The cup just slipped out and the girls were reacting to my clumsiness. Egg get a sponge so I can clean this up.”

  “Don’t be silly I’ll do that.”

  “NO. I mean no. We’re just dying to hear the rest of your story. So you just keep talking and I’ll take care of this mess.”

  “Okay, if you’re sure. So anyway, the daughter, I’ll just call her Dazzle, was accused of witchcraft. One of the townspeople, a fisherman, had seen her reflection in the water as she flew over his boat . . . or so he said. He convinced everyone and things got out of hand. They stormed the castle and set fire to it. The legend doesn’t tell us what happened to the little girl. I, for one, think she got away.”

  “And you think you’re related to her?”

  “Oh, I’m almost positive.”

  *****

  When the barbeque was over and all of her guests had left, Mrs. Z asked her sons if they would rather hike to the lake with Angela and Presley or Egg and Sylvia. The boys had spent only a half hour or so with Eloise’s granddaughter and her friend. The rest of the afternoon, they had played with the other two girls.

  She really liked Egg and Sylvia; there was something truly special about both of them. But she wasn’t about to force her preference on her sons. It was their decision.

  The boys thought it over for all of three seconds then gave their answer. She looked from one to the other then said, “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Okay. I’ll call and schedule it for next weekend.” She walked out of their room and lightly shook her head. “Boys,” she thought to herself, “they are so hard to figure out . . . even when they are your sons.”

  Chapter 6 – Dream Weaver

  They said their goodbyes, hugged and kissed, exchanged compliments and made promises to do it again. And in truth, it had been a fun time for everyone. The Zambroski’s were an amazing family. They all had a great sense of humor, lots and lots of energy, obviously very smart and definitely very interesting.

  But Egg was happy to leave. After Mrs. Z told her story, she was dying to talk to Grammy and Sylvia about it but never got the chance. So as they were leaving, she told her mom she was going to walk her grandmother back to her house. Sylvia of course went with them.

  “Grammy . . .,” she started but didn’t finish.

  “Egg, don’t even ask because I have no idea what to say. You best ask Dazzle tonight. And be sure to call me first thing in the morning. I’m as curious as you must be about what this all means. It certainly seems to be an impossible coincidence that these people just happen to move next door.”

  “So you think it’s part of Dazzle’s plan? I told Syl this morning that it was weird that one of the boys had practically the same name as Dazzle’s boyfriend.”

  “She did,” agreed her friend.

  “As my famous granddaughter would say . . . Curiouser and Curiouser. Call me tomorrow. Oh, and are you two sure you want to go on that hike to the lake if Zelda asks?”

  Sylvia answered. “Absolutely . . . what?” The first part of that was for Grammy, the second for her friend who was making a face at her.

  “You don’t have to be so excited.”

  “Well, I am.”

  “Egg . . . what about you?”

  The girl hesitated just to be dramatic. “I guess I should keep you two company . . . so it’s okay with me.”

  “Hah. You like Zeke as much as I like Zack.”

  “Don’t be goofy. I’m just curious about . . . you know . . . all of this stuff.”

  “Including Zeke.” It wasn’t a question.

  “Okay, you two. You can argue about it in the car. Get going . . . my daughter isn’t known for her great patience.”

  *****

  “Dazzle.”

  The swirl of fog formed at the foot of her bed and out stepped the warrior princess. “It is true,” she said answering the unasked question.

  “It is! Mrs. Z’s family had the flying suit?”


  “Yes.”

  “How come you took it away from them?”

  “There were no girl children for more than two generations. Once the chain is broken, the suit is given to another family.”

  “Does that mean I’m related to them? Is Zeke like my cousin or something?”

  The princess smiled. “No. But that which is in you is in him; and his brother and mother.”

  “You mean he can see you? They all could?”

  “Only women can see me.”

  “Why?”

  “When I created my plan, I was very angry at men. Mobius had stolen my planet, my father was unable to stop him and my love was not strong enough to resist his evil. It was a childish thing I did. My father and Z’kkk were helpless to fight the power of the Crystal Egg. My anger at them was . . . unworthy.”

  “Dazzle . . . did you make the Z’s move next door to Grammy? Is this part of your plan?”

  The princess took her time in answering. “My world and my people were in the gravest danger. My plan did not . . . does not . . . end with you.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “I prefer not to reveal any more. I am sorry.”

  “Don’t you trust me?” asked a very hurt Egg.

  “With my life and with the lives of my people.”

  “Then why won’t you tell me?”

  “Your knowledge could change that which would come. That part of the plan must unfold as it will. I am sorry Egg.”

  Egg thought about that for a full minute. “Dazzle . . . if you say so, then I believe you.”

  “Thank you, my sister. You are truly everything I had hoped you would be. Sleep well . . . and dream.”

  *****

  And she did dream.

  She was at the lake with Sylvia and the twins. They were standing on a big rock and the boys were horsing around trying to push each other in the water.

  “Don’t do that,” yelled Egg. “It’s too dangerous.”

  “Zack, stop it,” pleaded Sylvia. “We’re too high up.”

  But boys will always be boys . . . especially if they’re trying to impress girls. So they continued to push each other until Zeke slipped and fell.

  He hit the water on his stomach and caused a gigantic splash . . . actually it was more like a tidal wave. Then he sunk beneath the surface.