Sit in the Corner

The two girls were skating on the last ice of a warm Winter. They were advised not to go out there. Lenore and Lynette were beautiful 'free-range' seven-year-old twins, which meant they could supervise their existence; making their own decision to ice skate.

They wore designer hats, scarfs, mittens, and were traveling around the pond on very expensive skates.

The girls noticed the same flock of birds at the north end of Lake Olive.

"Let's go after the Geese," Lenore suggested, and they shuffled off.

The Geese and Ganders saw the nasties heading for them, just as they did yesterday. They wouldn't allow the girls to take and-or to smash their eggs today. They were mad and began hissing and spreading their wings chasing them away. The twins turned in unison, traveling toward home.

The Ganders caught up, circling them, pecking blood thru their beige skating-tights, ramming their beaks into the soft ice repeatedly, until they went full circle, causing the girls on the slab of ice, to fall into the water.

They all danced around the hole in their native style, flying up, and floating down, around and around. When the girls didn't resurface, the Ganders marched back to the Geese girls and the egg babies, glad to be rid of the little hellion's.

Mother and father, Langford, ran to their bedroom. "Did my girls have a bad dream?"

"Yes, father Langford, it was about the big bad Geese. They came after us for no reason." Mother Langford sat on the bed, letting them know all was ok, staying until the girls fell back asleep.

Lenore and Lynette Langford sat in the corner thinking about what they were going to do next, not why they were there.

Every morning they got up when they wanted, combed their curly auburn hair in the styles of their choice's, ate yellow cupcakes, and together choose what devious things they would accomplish on this sixth day of June, in the year of 1966.

Mom and Dad never punished the little darlings with anything more than, "Sit in the corner. Think about what you two just did!"

It was a spectacular summer day when Lynette, on the left, and Lenore, on the right, pulled open the floor to ceiling drape rods, allowing the warm sunlight to splash in on them.

Below them, Lake Olive glistened with morning dew, and the island was shrouded in a misty fog. Then as they did every morning, they faced each other holding hands while staring into each other's mysteriously deep blue eyes, their minds rebooting as one devious hard drive.

They stood holding hands, gazing, both wearing pinafore jumpers, each with lots of pink ruffles, but only one great big white daisy near the waist, when Lenore decreed, "let's take the bird on a trip to the island today."

Lynette always agreed with her older sister.

"That sounds great. I'll get father's Bruins pole.

Lenore went to the kitchen. "I'll get bread for the swans!"

In the great room, they slid fathers' hockey stick thru the handle, balancing the elaborate antique brass Victorian cage between them, resting fathers' stick on their shoulders, skipping down to the boat landing. Chantilly, a dazzling blue, red, yellow, and green Macaw Parrot, was swinging to and FRO, chattering loudly against the rough journey, letting them know that she was in the cage.

With the birdcage resting on the dock, the twins stepped into the rowboat, one sitting bow, one sitting stern. They lifted the cage, placing it onto the rowboat treads. Lenore grabbed the oar, Lynette pulled out fathers' hockey stick, both merrily rowing off to the destination Chantilly squawked about, "Olive-Pit Island, Olive-Pit Island. I looveeee' the pet cemetery."