Midnight in Suburbia

NaNoWriMo Day 25: Chapter 25 - Sunday, December 1, 2013

Chapter 25: Saturday, December 1, 2013

Daniella stood at the window watching the snowplow clean the street in front of her childhood home. Memories flood through her mind of Larry and Amity having a snowball fight on the first day of December. After the plow passed the house, she went to the front door, opened it and stepped onto the front porch. As she stood there staring into the snowbank left by the plow she could feel the cold chilling her finger and penetrating to her bones. Inhaling the cold air, she turned around and went back into the house. Even though the central heating unit was not on, the house seemed warmer then the porch outside.

"If you're going outside," said Rodger coming into the foyer from the hall. "I think you better put this on," he handed her the fur coat that she left laying on the bed in her mother's room.

"It's not going to do my hands much good," she laughed.

"But these will," he took a pair of red wool mittens from the pocket.

"Where'd those come from," she tried them on. "I don't remember them being in the pockets yesterday."

"They weren't," he laughed. "I found them in Ethan's old room, but I think they were knitted for an adult not a child."

"These are to gloves Mom knitted for Larry the first Christmas after his diagnosis," she smiled. "Mom wanted to make sure his hands were warm while he went into the hospital in January."

"I don't remember see them when I visited him, Daniella."

"That's because he wore them to the hospital, but sent them back home with Mom," she sighed. "He said if he kept them he might die in the hospital that year and he wanted to have one more snowball fight with Mom on Black Friday."

"I remember that," he grinned. "That was the last snowball fight they had before the operation."

"The operation took care of one problem," she sighed. "But it still didn't prevent him from dying of lung cancer."

"I'm not sure anything could have prevented his death from that," Rodger reached into his shirt pocket and took out a package of cigrirette paper. "He rolled his own for so many years that I'm surprised he didn't go sooner."

"Why do you carry cigerete papers, Uncle Rodger?"

"To remind myself of why I gave up smoking," he wiped a tear from his eye. "Sometimes, even at 89, I get the urge to smoke. Then I take these out of my pocked, open the package, and read the message I've written on the top paper. Then I take the next paper out, write a message on it and throw the the old message in the fireplace or toss it in a trashcan."

"What do you write?"

"'Today I am alive because I no longer smoke!' Then I put the date on it, put the paper back in the package and then put the package back in my pocket."

"Hum," she smiled. "That sounds like a good way to prevent yourself from lighting up."

"Shall we have a snowball fight," said Rodger removing a ski jacket from the coat tree in the foyer. "You wear the mink coat and red mittens, while I wear Ralph's red ski jacket and wool gloves."

"Sounds good to me," Daniella put on the fur coat and then the mittens. Together she and Rodger went out the front door and down the steps into the front yard.

Picking up a hand full of snow, Rodger formed a snowball and threw it at Daniella hitting her right arm. Laughing, she took a mitten full of snow and attempted to form it into sphere, but the mittens seemed to prevent the snow from forming into a ball. So instead of throwing a snowball at Rodger, she threw a hand full of snow at him. About that time Ralph came out of the house wearing his father's brown ski jacket. He stood on the porch for a few minutes watching Rodger and Daniella play in the snow.

Shaking his head, he walked down the steps and went to the garage door. Removing the remote control from the left pocket of the ski jacket, he opened the door and then went into the garage. Five minutes later, he came out of the garage with a snow shovel and begin shoveling the driveway behind the cars. He had just finished shoveling when, Ethan, driving Amity's green Ford pulled into the driveway.

"I see Daniella and Uncle Rodger are going through their second childhood," said Ethan getting out of the car. "How long have they been at it?"

"Over twenty minutes," Ralph laughed. "At least, I think that's how long it took me to shovel the drive." He leaned the shovel against the side of the garage and went to the car. "Can I help you carry anything into the house?"

"Yes," Ethan opened the front door and helped Amity out of the car. Then he removed his keys from his coat pocket and gave them to Ralph. "The trunk is full of groceries and some bottled water. I'll get Mom into the house and come back out."

"OK," said Ralph going to the trunk and opening it. As he began unloading grocery bag, Daniella and Rodger stopped playing and went to help him. Daniella picked up two plastic grocery bags from the trunk and went into the house where she sit them on the dining room table. Then she went into the living room.

"Where's Aunt Emily and Alice," she hugged her mother.

"They stayed at Emily's," Ethan laughed. "They baking Christmas cookies."

"Daniella," said Amity. "Where'd you get that coat?"

"It was on the top shelf of your closet, Mom."

"Oh, so that's where Dolly hid it," Amity grumbled. "I thought she stole it just like she did Grandma Hattie's silver."

"Mom," Daniella said opening the box sitting on the coffee table. "Here is the rest of the antique silver."

"The rest of it?"

"Yes, Mom," said Ethan. "Don't you remember that I took some of it to Aunt Emily's on Thanksgiving." He sighed, "Daniella, Ralph, Uncle Rodger, and George found it hidden in this house."

"George," she frowned. "George who, I don't know any George."

"George Cartwright," Daniella helped Amity off with her coat and guided her to the fireplace. "He been here all night helping us find the silverware."

"Oh," Amity smiled. "The only one of Dolly's brats that has any brains." She glanced quickly around, "Is he still here?"

"Yes," called George from the kitchen. "I'm checking the pantry to see if anything was damaged in the fire."

"Maybe," said Amity pulling away from Daniella. "I'd better go help him."

"There won't be any need for that," said George coming into the living room carrying a package of hot chocolate mix and an open package of marsh mellows. He put the items down by the fireplace and picked up some sharpened limbs. "Aunt Amity," he removed four marsh mellows from the package and put them on the sticks. "Why don't you and I roast some marsh mellows and have some hot chocolate."

"That sounds good," Amity smiled. "I haven't had hot chocolate and roasted marsh mellows in years."

"Good," he handed Amity the sticks and remove a tea pot from the fire. He poured hot water into two cups, then opened two packets of hot coco mix and made hot chocolate. Next he took one of the sticks and together he and Amity roasted marsh mellows. Leaving the room, Daniella and Ethan went into Amity's bedroom and began carrying luggage to the car. while Ralph and Rodger finished bring in the grocery bags.

"That was easy," said Ethan as he and Daniella watched George and Amity roast marsh mellows. "Now all I have to do is get Alice and Emily to distract her while I take the bags into the house.

"That shouldn't be too difficulty," said Daniella going into the living room and picking up the box containing the silver. "Mom," she walked over to the fireplace. "When you're ready to go back to Aunt Emily's I'm sending the rest of the silver with you."

"I'm not going back to Emily's!" Amity got off the love seat and started toward her bedroom, "I've decided I'm going to sleep in my own bed tonight."

"It isn't night yet," said Daniella following her mother down the hall. Amity started to turn left to go into her room and stopped when she saw the ladder leaned against the wall. "What's that thing doing in my room?"

"I had to use it to get your fur coat off the top shelf," Daniella walked past her mother and into the bedroom. Amity frowned and then followed Daniella into the room.

"Where," she said looking into the closet. "Are all my clothes? Dolly didn't steal them while I was gone, did she?"

"No, Mama," Daniella smiled. "I packed your clothes and helped Ethan take them to the car."

"Why?"

"Because after your doctor's appointment on Monday, you and I are going back to Las Vegas."

"I am not going to Las Vegas!" Amity glared at her daughter, "for any reason."

"Not even for my wedding?"

"Your wedding," her brow winkled, "But I thought Ethan and Alice were getting married in... January."

"They are," Daniella sighed. "However, Preston and I are getting married on December 21 and... you need to give me away."

"Oh," Amity smiled. "Well, I guess I am going to Las Vegas after all." She laughed, "I hope it's warmer there then it is here in Oklahoma." She turned to leave, but stopped at the door. "I came into this room to get something, but I can't remember what. Daniella, did I tell you what I came after?"

"No." Daniella's brow wrinkled, "Was it your memory journal?"

"How did you find out about that?"

"You left it on the coffee table," Daniella smiled and hugged her mother.

"Did you read it?"

"I glanced at the title," she hoped her mother did not detect the lie."

"Well, if you didn't read any of the entries, then I there's no harm done. I suppose Ethan and I should be getting back to Emily's." Followed by Daniella, Amity went back to the living room, put on her coat, picked up the memory journal, and the box containing the silver. "Well, Ethan, I guess I'm ready to go."