A Happier Place

Chapter 9: Dos American Amigos

It was Michael's birthday today. He was turning 7 and he was so excited.

So, while Michael and Shroud went outside to play around on the farm with the various farm animals and the occasional villager farmhands that had decided to earn a living by helping Tommy (they had pulled him over in the village one day and offered their services for emeralds and he decided that their help would be much appreciated), Tommy planned out the day for Michael.

He planned to call over Neddy, Freddie, Eryn, Bill, Aimsey, Ebony and Bob, Mrs. Baskett and her family, and Ivory, although Ivory had already planned on being here as she had a lesson for the boys today. With her help, the boys were excelling in their academics.

As he was finishing the birthday cake he had baked, he heard a commotion outside. He looked up from the frosting bag in hand, a confused look on his face.

He looked out the kitchen window, seeing smoke billow up from somewhere on the farm and the kids running towards the house from the direction. With that, Tommy sat the almost empty frosting bag down and hurried through the birthday decorated house and outside.

He met the kids on the porch steps. Shroud was the first up the stairs, the glasses that Tommy had recently bought him about to slip off of his face.

Ivory had noticed that he was having troubles seeing the words he was reading and would usually pull things closer to his face to study them. She explained to Tommy that normally web spiders didn't have the best eyesight.

So, she took the family of three in her car, which none of them had ever been in one before and went to an eyecare clinic that she herself visits every 6 months to a year.

It was a hectic time. The people there treated Michael and Shroud like most people do, but since Ivory was a loyal customer, and they didn't necessarily want to lose her business, they took in Shroud and did the tests and measurements that they needed.

Once they got everything, they sat Ivory and the family of three down at a desk and a somewhat nice lady talked them through a good deal on specialized glasses for Shroud. Tommy tipped them a little on the way out as well for the trouble, which swayed their moods towards Michael and Shroud for the better, and they told the family of three to come back later for the next checkup in 6 months to a year. They also recommended it for Tommy and Michael, although Tommy wasn't sure. He could see just fine, and Michael only had one eye.

Both kids were out of breath as they stood with Tommy's hands on their shoulders. They were trying to talk over each other and trying to get whatever they had to say out. Tommy could hear bits and pieces of what was happening between the two of them as they stumbled through their words.

"Daddy! Daddy! Something landed in one of the wheat fields!"

"It's a spaceship, mommy!"

"There is so much smoke!"

"It shook the ground!"

"I saw someone in the window! They looked weird."

"No, I think there were two of them, but one was different than the other."

"I don't know how many of them there are, daddy, but they crashed into the wheat field."

"I think Jerry got hurt!"

"Oh no! Daddy, Jerry! He was working in the wheat field!".....

Tommy cut them off, ending the ramble so he could survey the situation.

"Ok. Ok. Ok boys. Let's go see what's going on," Tommy said, taking the boys' hands in his and the three made their way in the direction of the smoke and the wheat field.