Chapter 21

The two young girls went out to the garage to see how their brothers cleaned the fish they had caught. The boys were standing, side-by-side, at a table, filleting their fish. Kim and Sally watched as the boys removed the heads and carefully separated the white meat from the bones.

Sally said, "yuck!" Gazing at the pile of entrails and severed fish heads. "How can you guys touch that stuff?"

Tom smiled at his little sister's discomfort and replied, "Oh, it's not too bad, you just have to get used to it."

He ran the long, thin blade of his knife through a large walleye, right behind its head and sawed it towards the tail. He flipped the slab of meat over and slid the sharp blade carefully between the skin and the firm white meat. Using the tip of the knife, he removed the rib bones and tossed the fillet into a bowl of water.

"You guys did real good today!" Kim said, standing across from her brother. "When are you two going again?"

She picked up a knife and poked at one of the heads in the pile. Reflexes caused the mouth of the fish head to move and she dropped the knife on the table.

"Are they still alive, even after you cut off their heads?"

Jack looked up from the fish he was working on and told her, "No, they are dead. Tom and I may go again tomorrow if the weather is good, the fish are really biting."

He and Tom finished cleaning the last of the fish. Jack took a shovel from the garage, dug a hole under an evergreen, and buried the remains.

Returning to the table he said, "It helps them grow!" Anticipating the next question the curious girls' would ask.

"So how was your tea party?" Tom asked the girls mockingly. "Did you and your friends have a nice time?" He helped Jack remove the things from the table and put them on a workbench in the garage. The boys folded the table and put it away.

"We had a nice day with Megan and Angela," Kim told her cousin, "Megan is very nice and although a bit strange, Angela is alright. The four of us just swam, went into the hot tub, and talked."

The boys were finishing up their clean up when Don and Marc pulled into the drive. They got out of the car and removed their golf clubs from the trunk.

Don asked, "How did you guys do fishing today?"

Jack and Tom told their dads about the fishing trip and the fish they caught. "We would like to go tomorrow," Jack said, "if I can use the suburban again. We have a hot spot and would like to try to catch a few more fish before I have to winterize the boat."

"I don't see why not, I don't have anything planned that would require the truck." Don turned to his daughter and niece and asked, "Did you girls have a good time with your friends?"

Kim and Sally nodded yes and told the men briefly about the afternoon.

Kim asked Jack, "Can Sally and I go fishing with you guys tomorrow? We don't have any plans and it's supposed to be a nice day. I would like to catch another fish, like we did up-north."

Jack thought about his sister's request. He looked at Tom to see what his feelings were. Tom shrugged his shoulders, indicating he didn't care. "I guess so, but we want to leave early, about six."

The group walked through the garage and into the house. Jack took the bowl of fresh fish into the kitchen and put it on the counter. Marge put the bowl into the sink and began running cold water over the fillets, rinsing them thoroughly. She asked her sister-in-law, "Would you folks like to stay for dinner?"

Anne went over to the sink to help and said, "sure." The two women went about preparing the meal and their husbands went out to the backyard and relaxed.

The four teens had settled in the family room and turned on the television. Sally asked her brother, "Did you take any pictures today?"

"Yes, I shot a whole roll. We dropped them off at the one-hour photo shop on our way home. They should be done by now, maybe I will go and pick them up before dinner."

"Great, I would love to see them."

Jack and Tom went out to the kitchen and told their mom's they were going to go pick up the pictures.

Anne said, "You two hurry, it won't be long before dinner."

Kim flipped the channels on the TV, looking for something to watch. She found the weather channel and watched to see what kind of day tomorrow was going to be.

"Look Sally, she said, "it's going to be eighty tomorrow. We should be able to get some sun!"

Sally nodded as she watched the forecast. "Cool in the morning, slight southwesterly breeze, warmer in the afternoon, no rain." She said, repeating the words that scrolled across the screen. "It sounds wonderful!"

Kim's mom yelled for the girls to come and set the table. They went into the kitchen and collected the dishes and other things they would need and took them into the dinning room.

Sally asked, "Do you think I could stay here again tonight? That way I can sleep a little later. Besides, I really liked sleeping with you again, I miss it."

The girls went back to the family room and waited for dinner. Their brothers came in, Tom holding the envelope of pictures.

Kim told Sally, "I don't see why not."

The boys sat on the couch next to the girls, Tom pulled the photos out and handed them to Sally.

"Don't see why not what?" he said.

"I am going to stay here tonight so I will be up in time to go fishing with you guys." She said, looking at each picture and then handing it to Kim. "These are much better than the last batch, you are getting the hang of your new camera."

Tom said, "Thanks, I am doing better with my composition. The books I have been reading have helped."

The girls finished looking at the pictures from the day's trip. Kim handed the stack back to Tom and complimented him on his work. Anne called the kids, telling them dinner was ready. The four teens went into the dining room and took their place at the table.

A large platter of fillets sat in the middle of the table. Coleslaw, French fried potatoes, green beans, and fresh bread surrounded the hot fish on separate plates and bowls. They passed the food among themselves until everyone's plate was full. As the two families ate, the men told their wives about their game of golf, the girls talked to each other about the day and the boys, their mouths full most of the time, talked about where they would fish tomorrow.

Once everyone had their fill of the fish and other things, Marge went into the kitchen and brought out a plate of cookies. Anne served hot coffee to the adults and the kids drank milk.

When the meal was complete and the table cleared, the two families went into the family room. Don pulled a chair over to the door wall and sat facing the rest of the family members.

"I think it is time we had a talk," he said.

The teens stopped their chatter and looked at him. Each kid had any number of things racing through their heads as they waited in anticipation to hear what Don had to say. The two women looked at their children and saw they were uneasy.

"I understand, that you kids have been asking about your grandparents. I want to try to explain what happened and why you have never seen them. First of all, our father died when we were young, I was thirteen, and Anne was eleven. Our mother, your grandmother, never remarried and raised us by herself. She was set in her ways and very strict. The small town we lived in was in the Bible belt and all of the folks went to the same church. Your grandmother and Marc and Marge's parents, your other grandparents, knew each other from church, but weren't really friends."

Don surveyed the room, he could see that the kids were trying to follow him, but because of the relationship of the four adults, it was difficult.

"We were never told about sex. We had to learn from the limited sex education at school and what we heard from the other kids in the neighbor hood. We were pretty na-ve about the whole sex thing. We knew how babies were made, but nothing of the romantic side of sex. When Marge and Anne met, things changed and through experimentation, we found out that sex could be fun."

Don stood up and began to pace. He knew what he wanted to say, but he was having trouble finding the words.

"For the first year or so after the four of us met, we had an on again off again relationship with each other. It wasn't until Marc and I were seventeen and your moms were turning sixteen that we started to date each other as boyfriends and girlfriends."

Anne could tell that her brother was starting to get a little uncomfortable with the explanation. She walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Want me to take over?" He nodded and joined Marge on the couch.

Anne sat in the chair, "Your fathers were the greatest boyfriends a girl could ask for. They always treated us well and never talked to their friends about what we did together. They took Marge and I to the prom and a couple of months later, she and I found out we were pregnant."

"Well," she continued, "when your grandparents found out things got real ugly." Marge and I were allowed to finish that school year, but as soon as school was out for the summer things changed. It seems that my mom and your other grandparents had been talking to each other. Marge and I hadn't begun to show when school ended and no one in town knew we were pregnant."

Anne's eyes were filling with tears. Marge went to her side and put her hand on her shoulder. "Are you ok?" she asked.

Anne shook her head and said, "yes." Marge stayed at her side as she went on.

"The last day of school was a Friday and your fathers' graduation ceremony was held that night. The next day your grandparents, all three of them, sat us all down for a talk. We were told that we were no longer welcome there and would have to leave. They gave us an old car, one thousand dollars and told us to pack our things. They said that if we wanted to act like adults, we could live like adults."

Anne had tears running down her cheeks, as did Marge. They looked at their children and saw the girls were also crying, the boys were fighting it. Don got up and gave the women tissues to dry their eyes.

"That afternoon," Anne said, slightly sobbing. "The four of us packed all of the things we could fit into the car and left. We had no idea where we were going to go or how we were going to live. After driving all night, we ended up in a little truck stop in Kentucky. We were the only people in the restaurant except for a nice waitress and the cook. She came over and talked with us for a long time. When we finally told her what had happened, she told us that you could get married in Kentucky at sixteen without your parent's permission. Your fathers proposed to us in the booth at the truck stop."

The two women had stopped crying and giggled remembering the two boys on their knees next to the booth.

"It was Sunday, and there was nothing we could do about it that day. We found a little motel and checked in to wait for Monday. Because we didn't have very much money, we shared a room. We spent the day walking around the little town and talking. We decided that we would go to Michigan because that is where the auto plants were and the best place to find jobs. That night we went back to the motel and went to bed."

Anne stopped talking, turned to Marge, and whispered, "Remember that night?" Marge nodded her head, smiled and then began to chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Marc asked.

"Just memories," Marge said to her brother.

Anne went on, "Monday we spent the day taking care of the legal matters, and we were married by a justice of the peace. We went back to the truck stop for dinner and thanked the waitress, and left for Michigan. Once we got here, we found a motel that rented rooms by the week and moved in. Your fathers went out the next day and looked for work. Things were pretty good at that time and they found jobs at the same shop. Within three weeks we were able to rent a small house and move in. We bought a couple of mattresses at a second hand shop and for the first month that is all the furniture we had. Your fathers were able to work a lot of over time and soon we were picking up a few things for the house. Marge and I found jobs at a restaurant as waitresses, and worked there for sixteen years."

Anne asked Marge to finish the story.

"That fall you boys were born and we called your grandparents to tell them. We were told to never call again. So, that's why you kids have never met your grandparents and why we don't talk to them."

The four teens sat silently for a few minutes after Marge stopped talking.

Jack said, "Do you know where they are now?"

Don said, "No, we have never heard from them in a very long time. We sent Christmas cards and pictures for a few years. When the girls were two, the cards were returned by the Post Office as undeliverable, so we stopped sending them."

Don gestured to Marc and the men joined their wives. Standing side by side, their arms around each other, Don said, "We don't ever want anything like that to happen to you kids. We love you and want you to be able to talk to us and tell us anything. We also want you to know, that no matter what, we will never treat you kids like our parents treated us. We want you guys to be a part of our lives forever. We want to enjoy our grandchildren and help you anyway we can. The four of us grew up in fear and we don't want that to happen to you. So please, always feel that you can come to us with anything."

The four kids went to their parents and hugged them. The girls began to cry.

"Thank you for telling us," Kim said, "I will always love you and never feel afraid to talk to you."

The other three teens all told their parents' thanks and that they loved them. The two families hugged and comforted each other for a while then returned to their seats.

Sally asked her brother, "Can you please run me home so I can get some things for tomorrow? I will need something warm to wear on the boat in the morning when we go fishing."

Tom nodded and asked his dad for the keys to the car.

Jack said, "Tom, why don't you get your things and stay here too. That way we can get an early start."

"Ok," Tom said, "let's go Sally. I want to get back and get to bed. Five o'clock is going to come early."

Sally jumped up and went over to Kim. The two girls discussed their wardrobe for the day on the boat.

Sally said, "I'm ready Tom, let's go."

The brother and sister left, Kim and Jack went upstairs. Kim went to her room and selected the clothes she would wear tomorrow. She picked out a pair of sweatpants and sweatshirt for the morning, shorts, and a tee shirt for the afternoon and her white bikini swimsuit. She packed everything except the sweats in a small duffel bag and set it near the door. She went into the hall and through her brother's open door.

Jack was sitting on his bed reading the latest copy of a fishing magazine when his sister sat beside him.

"Jack, I want us to promise to always love each other, no matter what. I don't ever want us to grow apart. I know that we will fight, I guess all brothers and sisters do, but I don't ever want us to hate one another."

Jack laid his magazine on the bed and turned to his little sister. He looked into her sparkling blue eyes, smiled, and put his arm around her shoulder.

"I could never hate you. You piss me off sometimes, but I get over it. The eight of us are the only family we have and you are my only sister. I love you Kim and will always protect you."

Kim threw her arms around his neck and held him close. Her eyes filled with tears as she rested her head on his shoulder. She released his neck and said, "thanks." She stood up and started to leave the room.

Jack said, "Hey!"

Kim turned and looked at him.

"Besides, you have a great ass."

She went back to the side of his bed and smacked him on the arm. Then she put her arms around his neck again and said, "So do you." She kissed his forehead and left the room.

In the family room the four adults sat and talked about the events of their teenage years and how they would never cause their children the same pain.

Don asked, "Anyone for the hot tub?"

Everyone agreed that that sounded like a good idea and went out to the pool area. Marge closed the drapes, blocking the view of the pool and hot tub from the family room. The kids knew that when the drapes were closed, it meant do not disturb. Don went into the pool house, started the hot tub, and returned to the rest of the group. Quietly, the four undressed and climbed into the hot water. Don and Marge sat across from their brother and sister. The four relaxed in the tub, no one was speaking.