Chapter 33

Wednesday, October 7

My parents bought a trailer! Not just any trailer! A 40 foot, two story trailer with slide outs and a garage! The thing is huge! Not only that, but it's loaded with things for me. Sure there's lots of things for them too but there are a lot of things inside for me. If I hadn't just come back from being inside it, I wouldn't have believed it!

Even more than the trailer, I can't believe they didn't wake me up or stay to say hello. That kind of hurts. I don't mind them letting me sleep in, and I did get to see them later, but I wouldn't have minded them waking me up. I wish I had looked out my window when I heard Clyde pull in last night. I would have gotten to spend more time with them, but I didn't realize it was him. I just thought, 'Oh, new neighbors. I wonder how long they'll be here. I hope they're nice," and went back to sleep. I didn't know it was them until I went to put on my shoes this morning and found their note tucked inside.

It said,

"Good morning, Sleepyhead,

Did you sleep well? We hope so. We're sorry about the note, but you were sleeping so peacefully we didn't want to wake you. We'd hoped to see you yesterday but we got in real late last night. We hope we didn't wake you. We parked our new trailer in the space next to yours where we were last time. We thought it would be nice to have a place to stay when visiting you, so your father, Dan, Stephanie, and I went and ordered it. I know we have the camper, but as nice as it is, it can't hold all of us. We're hoping you won't mind the company. We all just really enjoyed our time there that we plan to spend more time there in the future and, of course, we'd love to spend more time with you.

Stephanie, Sue, and Dan all send their love. They've also sent some things with us for you. We picked up a few things for you as well. They're in the new trailer. Of course, you're welcome to use anything inside you might need. The keys are in your other shoe.

Love,

Charlene (Mom 2) and Dad

To say I was stunned would be an understatement. I had no idea they'd gone and bought a trailer together, and even Sue didn't say anything! I wonder what they threatened her with to keep her quiet. Still, they're coming in to check on me does explain why I woke up cuddling Moose this morning.

I'm glad Charlene signed 'Mom 2' even though it made me think of Mom and made me cry some. I really miss her.

After drying my eyes, I wasn't sure what else to do, so I picked up my other shoe and dumped the keys out into my hand. I flipped through them, seeing they were all marked; doors, cabinet, and ramp.

I was thinking 'Ramp?' as I put on my shoes, pulled on a windbreaker, and went across to look at the trailer.

Like I said earlier, it's huge! I didn't realize how big it was when I went over, and the first surprise was the door on the left side, even with the path. Poor Clyde must have struggled to pull it. After shaking my head some at the sight of it, I put the key in the lock and opened the door. When I went in, I was totally amazed. It's so nice!

To the right (going in on the left side) was a living room area. There's a half wall where I came in with shelves built into it. Against the left wall, in a slide out, is an entertainment center. The new things I knew Dan had bought and the older things were from Dad. I was surprised to see a couple of players that I'd left at home though, like the CD and laser disk players. Framing it were shelves full of videos and music. Most of them look like things that have come out in the past few months.

Opposite the entertainment center was a couch in another slide out. I'm pretty sure it folds out into a bed. Above it is a fold down bunk. Next to the door was a little half wall identical to the one on the other side. They are both full of books. Against the far wall, towards the back of the trailer, are a bunch of drawers and some cabinets with a pocket door against the right side wall.

In the middle of the room was a coffee table that had cabinet doors on one side. On top of it, and in the two mini recliners, were bags with my name on them. Most were winter type clothes, but there were some jeans, skirts, and tops that I could wear anytime. Inside one of the bags was a smaller bag filled with lingerie. I felt my face getting hot with embarrassment. Some of them are kind of racy, and I mean racy!

Okay, I do have some nice lingerie, but nothing like these. I was pretty sure they were actually for Charlene until I held up a sheer bra. Then I knew they were for me. Charlene is a cup size bigger than me and this bra wouldn't even cover my breasts. I couldn't help blushing as I exclaimed "Charlene!" at the sight of them. Still, they are very nice, but when does she expect me to wear a garter belt or a bustier, much less a corset?

As surprising as the lingerie was, the bright pink plastic vibrator made me blush from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. I gasped "Charlene!" again as I felt my face heating. I quickly buried it under the lingerie and then stuffed that bag inside another and put it under a couple skirts. I then looked around just to make sure no one else had seen me with it. I know it's silly, but I was embarrassed.

To take my mind off the vibrator I started looking at the cabinets and drawers against the back wall. A few of the drawers contained extra blankets, and some contained games. One of them was full of sewing needles and lots of string. The one below it was filled with patterns. Below that were vacuum sealed bags of yarn. The cabinet above is filled with bolts of cloth. I found Mom's portably sewing machine in the next cabinet. There was also a hand powered one next to it. I'm not sure how many outfits I could make with all of the material, but I know it's a lot. How many will actually come out right and be wearable is a different question.

As surprising as the sewing things were, that didn't compare to what I found in the cabinet and drawers closest to the door leading to the back of the trailer. I tried to open them, only to find they were locked. I remembered one of the keys said "Cabinet," so I tried it and was shocked to find the cabinet was filled with guns. I quickly shut the door, opened it again, and shut it again, exclaiming "Dad!"

After shaking my head a bit, I opened it again and took a closer look. There were four rifles; two lever actions, two bolt action, a semi-automatic, and three shotguns; a pump action, and two double barreled, one over under and the other side by side. Secured to the door were four revolvers and four pistols. The drawers below it were full of ammo and reloading supplies, and cleaning supplies and books on how to do both.

I shut them all, saying, "Good grief."

I had no idea what he was thinking. I still don't, really — he says skeet shooting and possibly hunting, but I'm not sure - I just hope none of them have to be used.

After making sure the gun cabinet was securely shut, I went to see what was on the other side of the door. I was expecting a bedroom. What I found was a small garage. There is a work table and more cabinets full of wood working supplies, and power tools in front of me along the right side wall. Against the forward wall is a really big tool cabinet full of all kinds of hand tools and even more power tools. Stacked in the corner are all kinds of long handled tools. Along the left wall is a storage cabinet full of all kinds of supplies for gardening, wood working, and car maintenance. There's even a small air compressor!

Hanging from the ceiling are two collapsed 6x10 foot greenhouses. I thought they were tents — I guess they could be used as tents — but Dad and Charlene told me they were greenhouses. There was also another canvas thing but I couldn't figure out what it was. It turns out that's my new garage door.

What stopped me and brought tears to my eyes though, was Charlie, my mom's old scooter. She'd gotten him from her dad. She didn't ride him too much. Mostly just during the summer, and mostly when we were younger. Shelly would sit behind her yelling for her to "Go Faster!" I would be cowering in the sidecar, wanting her to slow down. She didn't go really fast, but it seemed like it to me. When Shelly and I got older, Mom let us take him to school or just out to the mall or to work. Shelly would drive and I still rode in the sidecar. I did drive him sometimes, but Mom or Shelly mostly drove. Sometimes Charlene did too.

I ran my hands over his seat and slowly sank down to my knees, crying. I'm not sure how long I knelt there, with my arms folded on the seat, my head on them, while I cried. When I was all cried out, I got up and sat on Charlie's seat and lovingly ran my fingers over his handlebars.

"How've you been, Charlie?" I asked, and then sighed and said with a sigh, "Yeah, I miss her too."

I continued to stoke his handlebars for a bit before kissing my fingertips and pressing them to them. "We'll go for a ride in a little while." I gave him an affectionate pat as I stood up and headed back out into the living area of the trailer while wiping my eyes. I was going to look for the bathroom to wash my face and I was just passing the doors between the kitchen and the living room when something hit me in the head. I screamed and ducked while batting at it. When nothing attacked me I looked up and I saw it was a cord for a pull down ladder, like the one to go up to our attic. With a sinking feeling, I pulled it down and climbed up.

I found myself in a little hallway on either side of which were bedrooms. Each had a twin sized bunk, with a wardrobe on each side, and a small closet. The closets where what made up the hallway and there was a curtain on each side for privacy.

The entire upper floor was collapsible, even the wardrobe and closets. The upper half slid down over the lower. The rooms weren't very high, about as high as the bedroom in my trailer, but other than that, they looked comfortable. Still, I couldn't help thinking 'Good grief!' again when I saw them.

I climbed back down, still shaking my head, and took a look at the kitchen. It's in an L shape against the left wall. There's counter space on the L part bordering the living room and then a stove and oven, with a microwave above it, followed by the sink, then some more counter space with a pasta maker and a toaster on it. A small dishwasher was under the counter. Above them all are a series of cabinets containing dishes and food. There is also a cookie jar filled with homemade cookies that I just knew Charlene and Stephanie had made.

At the end of the counter is a fridge and then a small chest style freezer, with another cabinet above it, facing a small washer and dryer. I took a look inside and started crying again. The freezer was full of homemade meals. The freezer part of the fridge was also half full of homemade food, along with lots of meat and frozen veggies. The fridge was also filled, mostly with drinks, but also had other long lasting things in it.

Opposite the fridge is another slide out containing the dining area. It looks like if also folds out into a bed. Between the two there's an island that has a folding section that connects to the table to make it bigger. Under the dining benches are additional benches that can be pulled out for additional seating.

Next to the dining area, and opposite the fridge, is a pantry filled with food. A lot of it is canned, but there's also lots of dry goods like flour, sugar, oatmeal, cereal, powdered chocolate, and yeast. Charlene and Stephanie must have worked for a week to make all the meals and do all the canning. I know Dad and Dan bought a lot of it, but still it still took them some effort. It made me cry to see how much they cared. And yes, I know the food is for me. They told me so. Of course, they plan to eat some too, but they did tell me they'd made a lot of it with me in mind.

Above the washer and dryer, and next to them, are more cabinets filled with linens and towels, as well as soap, detergents, and other toiletries. At an angle, between the cabinet and pantry is a door leading to the bathroom. There's a sink against the right side of the trailer, just inside the door. Against the front wall is a toilet and tub/shower.

Overall, it's a really nice trailer. Also really expensive! I've seen collapsible trailers before and trailers with slide outs, but not both. It had to be Dad's idea. It's actually kind of cool, but still ... I feel guilty they did it and glad they did, all at the same time.

I'd just sat down when I heard a knocking at the door. I got up to find it was Mavis and Hank. Hank said, "I'm going to finish hooking up your parents' trailer."

I said, "Okay" and watched as he headed towards the back.

Mavis looked around and said. "When your folks do something, they sure go all out, don't they?"

I sighed and said, "I know".

Mavis patted my arm, "You should cherish them."

I gave her a bittersweet smile. "I do"

She smiled as she patted my arm again, "I know, Sweetheart, I know."

Mavis looked around a little, saying that "the place looks real nice" and a couple minutes later, Hank came by and said, "Tell your parents they're all hooked up."

I nodded and said, "I will, thanks."

He gave me a wave and Mavis patted my arm again and they left.

I took a few moments to look around some more and then started taking things over to my trailer. I still don't know where I'm going to put everything. Mom (Charlene) and Dad did say I could leave some things in their trailer, but at this rate, I think I'm going to need another shed.