Chapter 95: Story Time Again

I think every bit of pasta and tomato sauce I had in the larder, was used up that night, in one go. I sure as hell hoped one of these ladies knew how to make pasta by hand, because I sucked at it. But it did my heart good to see all of those kids with smiling, sauce-covered faces. Bellies were full and everyone would sleep well tonight. Of particular note were the meatballs. They were made of venison and. since we lacked a grinder, that meat had been super-fine chopped by hand. They were amazing.

Once the women had all the children clean, it was time for the first “wow” factor. Mothers and children were placed around the screen and I explained to them, “Picture magic,” and then played ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.’ It was a technology non-specific tale and wouldn’t cause more questions in and of itself. Within minutes, they were all absorbed deeply into the music, art, and story.

With that handled, I took all of my women into the camper. it was time for Mary’s treatment. It was also time to see their new dresses.

There was the expected confusion over the interior of the camper itself, but we got them busy immediately, to minimize the issue. Mouse was the first that Michelle took into the bathroom, in order to meet the toilet, sink, and, thank the heavens, the shower. She got her first hot shower ever.

While Mouse was busy, I had the girls introduced around to the rest of the camper. The refrigerator was exclaimed over mightily, but more surprising was their reaction to the micro-wood stove. They thought that was the coolest wood stove ever, so small, and yet, so useful.

Banshee was next into the shower and we repeated the tour with Mouse. It was fun every time. Finally, Mary got the bathroom treatment and I had a chance to tell Matilda, Michelle, and Sonya what was about to happen. Mary was going to tell her story and get her treatment. The darkened look on Mouse’s face gave them a clue of what was to come.

After Mary came out, clean and refreshed, I left to check on the movie watchers. Many of the smallest had already succumbed to sleep, but the older kids and mothers were wrapped up in the magic of Disney. It was fun to see, and a bit cheering, after everything else I’d been through, of late. I smoked a cigarette and watched a bit of the silly children’s story play out on screen.

Sadly, I still had work to do, so I returned inside to find Mouse, Mary, and Banshee all dressed up in their new dresses and looking absolutely stunning. They were all blushing, silly, and happy. It was sort of sad to put a damper on that party now, but it had to be done. I kissed each of them and expressed to them how beautiful, lovely, or divine, they each looked, and then took control of the situation.

I grabbed the single chair and sat down almost in the middle of the room. The girls all found a spot around the table except for Mary.

“Mary, did you bring your switch?” I asked in a very clear voice.

“Yes,” she said, and then grabbed it from the pile of her dirty clothes.