Adam Blake - 123. Chapter 123

The next morning, there was a chill in the air. It was a pre-omen of a cold winter. I watched as the boys walked to the warmth of the benches. “Are we going to run this morning?”

“I wasn’t planning on it. Maybe if the day warms up a little.”

Caleb brought a pan of hot biscuits, Gaston brought a pan of scrambled eggs and a plate of cheese. I watched as Caleb pulled open a biscuit, you could see the steam coming off of it., Gaston added some egg and cheese, the sandwich was handed to the boy in line, Marie came out to help, she took over Gaston's job while he went and came out with a pot of hot chocolate. The biscuits, eggs, cheese, and hot chocolate kept coming until the boys had all they could eat.

Clearing the tables, Marie went and got some games she had at her house. She showed them how to play, then left them to it. The younger boys like Monopoly, several played checkers, and chess, the older boys played cards. A few were playing bridge, there were the poker players but they didn’t have money. When it looked like the games were losing interest, Caleb and Gaston brought out cookies and milk.

“How many of you remember the berry patch and apple trees?” It seemed they all did, “Would you also like to go and see what else we can find growing wild?” That ended the games. Hans got the wheelbarrow, placed Anton in it, and pushed him along with the rest of the boys.

We all headed to the north end of the Lake to check on the apple tree. Abe said they were all picked and those that weren’t dropped. The animals finished them off. The berries bushes were empty, the birds finished those off. We saw some nuts on the ground as we walked into the woods, Abe said the squirrels will eat those. The boys found some odd shape stones, they collected them. The older boys decide they wanted to go fishing, so they left. We decided we’d walk to town. When we got there, they headed for the junk store. I knew they had this in mind. They found some long-handled forks, but they were in bad shape. I convinced them the next time I’ll have some new forks. So we went and had an ice cream cone.

Walking back to the cabin, we passed Abe and Jer’s house. There was no sign of their dad, I nodded to Hans, he disappeared and then it was my turn to wheel Anton. A few of the boys offer, so I let them. I knew that everyone would eventually get a ride in the wheelbarrow.

The boys had caught a few fish. Caleb suggested we freeze them since we had brought over enough food for the weekend. Dinner was hot soup, very rich in vegetables and chicken. It was very good, which was followed by a hamburger plate which included a hamburger, baked potato, and steamed cauliflower. The boys could go back for more, but they had to take their plate back to the cabin for a refill. Again there was hot chocolate with a hint of vanilla. The dessert was a berry tart with a scoop of ice cream. The boys liked it but I wondered if they “knew it was sugarless ice cream.

After dinner, the boys drifted. Some stayed at the tables talking or playing games, a few went for a nap and some went to read a book. It was late in the evening when lightning and thunder announced the coming rains. The cooks were prepared. They had cheeseburgers, hot potatoes, and bean salad.

“How are you going to get the food to the kids, they are in their chalets?”

“No problem, Caleb went to the storage room and returned with a large metal pan with a lid that snapped on. As the cheeseburgers were finished they were layered in the pan separate by aluminum foil, potatoes were wrapped in foil, Gaston had inserted a little butter in them before wrapping, and the bean salad was placed in a plastic cup with a lid. They prepared enough so that each boy could have two of everything. Hans, helped them run the food up to the chalets. One of the older boys found an umbrella, I think it was Marie’s.”

They kept this up until the boys said that had enough, pans returned with used aluminum foil. Hans said they were all ok.

I waited, hoping the storm would let up, it didn’t. I put on an old raincoat, took my flashlight, and headed to check on my boys. I approached the first chalet just as lightning lit up the sky followed by the thunder. I knocked on the door, and walked in, “Everything ok here?”

The boys were in bed huddled under their sleeping bags. I went to each chalet and checked on all of the boys, I carried one back with me. He was the youngest and was scared.

I took off my rain gear, the boy was soaking wet. I took a towel, and removed his top, began to dry his hair and upper body. He was still shaking. “Here, take off your wet pants, dry yourself and then wrap the towel around your waist and come out into the living area. I went and got two sleeping bags, which I placed on the sleeping mat, heated some milk, added a little vanilla. When he came out, I picked him up and sat him on my lap. “Here drink this and it will make you feel better.”

He drank it and smiled, “Feel better?”

“Yes, thank you Father”

“I took him to the sleeping bag, told him to climb in, and then give me the towel. I took his wet clothes and the towel, tossed them in the dryer. I went and crawled in my sleeping bag which I had lain next to his. He looked at me, I smiled, reached over and rustled his hair, leaned over, and kissed him on the cheek. “Go to sleep, son, no one can hurt you here.”

“Good night Father” “Good night son”

“I waited until I was sure he was asleep before I closed my eyes.

I was awakened by a beautiful fairy, “So this is where you sleep”

I reached up and pulled her down for a kiss. She nodded to the next sleeping bag, he had one arm out and was touching me with it. “I checked all of the boys, he was crying. I brought him here, dried him off, gave him a cup of warm milk. I never was afraid of the storm but some children associate the storm with something bad or hurtful in their life. Whenever it was a bad storm, Dad would light the fireplace, Mom would make hot chocolate, and we’d snuggle until the storm blew over. That was a happy memory for me.”

“What are you going to do for breakfast? Those tables are all wet.”

“Wasn’t there a diner on the road home and I don’t mean the diner that Ann’s parents own. When we drove to Mom and Dad's, there was a diner about 2 hours south. We could take the boys there and then head back to school”

“You could but I have the clinic.”

“You could follow us and have breakfast with us.”

“No, you go on and I’ll see if I can come over on Thursday. Then we can stay at the school or bring the boys back here.”

“Actually, I wanted to make a trip to Liechtenstein we can do that on Friday morning and return either Sunday night or Monday morning. They need to see their princess.”