Legacy of the Dreams

Chapter 102 - What Children Recall

Chanukah followed quickly on the heels of Thanksgiving. With most of their holiday shopping done over Thanksgiving weekend, the two holidays almost seemed to run together. Almost, but not quite. Alan, Cindy and their family did go home in between, but they were back ten days later, and this time planned to stay for more than a week instead of only a few days. Their trip home was in fact so brief, they decided to leave some of their supplies and equipment for the children in the guestroom at the Abernathy house instead of hauling them back and forth through the airport.

"Welcome back," Susan said when she opened the front door mid-afternoon on Wednesday, December 5th.

"Thank you, Susan," Alan said with a grin. "Should I assume we're in our same room?"

"That depends. Do you want to stay in the same room?" Susan asked. "You can if you like, or you could have Elliot and Julie's usual two rooms. We have room for Jake in Zack's room in the house or in the apartment with Matt and Ashley. Neil and Rosemary can have one of the end rooms, and the Zimmermans can have the other."

"If we did that, where would Julie and Elliot stay? In the cottage?" Alan asked.

"I planned to offer it to them," Susan said.

"Reuben isn't coming?" Cindy asked.

"He may come for a night or two, but not for every meal and I don't think he's spending the night," Susan said. "I think Greg said he's visiting his brother again."

"What would you like to do, Cind?" Alan asked his wife.

"Let's stay in the rooms closer to the house. That way the kids can have their own room, and we won't be quite so crowded," Cindy said.

Alan grinned. "Thank you, Susan. Be sure to thank Julie for us too."

"You're welcome and I will," Susan told them. "Are you driving around? The chain is open."

"Thanks, we will," Alan said. "We'll be up in a bit."

c

"Was that Alan and Cindy?" Greg asked when Susan came back into the house alone.

"Yes. They're getting unloaded and settled," Susan said.

"Do you know what time Julie and Elliot will be here?" Greg wondered.

"About five, I suspect. They can't leave until Jake gets out of school. He arranged to do several assignments ahead so he could be out of school a day or two for the holiday, but that means he also got out of school relatively late today," Susan explained.

"They're coming in the midst of rush hour traffic," Greg realized.

"Yes," Susan agreed.

"Then they won't be here for a while," Greg remarked after glancing at the clock. "Did I hear you offer Zack's room to Jake?"

"Yes. He won't be home, and he said it was okay if I did," Susan said.

"That was nice of him," Greg said.

"I thought so," Susan agreed.

"When is Zack coming home, Mama?" Jessie asked. She was doing her homework at the kitchen table while they waited for their company to arrive.

"Not until closer to Christmas," Susan told her. "He'll barely be home in time to see Kelly before she leaves with her family for the holidays."

Jessie wrinkled her nose. "I wish they weren't going."

"Family is important, Jessie," Greg said. "It sounds like Kevin needs the support of his family this year."

"Have you talked to him?" Susan wondered.