Just for You

Chapter 10 - What Happened at Two in the Morning

I never realised just how crazy country girls can get when they're high on creaming soda and sour worms.

We ride back down to Violet's house and Violet shows us where to stable the horses and then leads us in. Her mum, who has the body of a model and wears tons of make up but is the kindest, most hospitable woman I have even met, welcome us and helps us set up mattresses and blankets in the den downstairs.

Violet is an only child and her parents are bother amazing in a hippie sort of way so talking to them is far from awkward.

It's dark outside by the time we're all organise and Connie and I join Violet and her parents at the table where they serve us a delicious chinese meal. Violet's Dad is the kind of person who is always making you laugh. He tells us story after story of all sorts of crazy things that he and his three brothers did as kids.

We help stack the dishwasher after dinner and then Violet pulls out a saucepan and a packet of popping corn. “Popcorn time!” she yells.

We laugh and Connie pours the oil into the pan while Violet measure out the corn kernels.

“Have you guys ever made caramel popcorn?” I ask them.

They give me a weird look, “Don't know how.”

I laugh, “What! It's easy! Sugar, butter and honey!”

So I prepare the caramel sauce in a separate pan and pour it over the popcorn, which is ready and waiting in a large bowl. The girl taste test and congratulate me on my success. “Dude! This is good!”

“Now we're all set, except for drinks and lollies!” Connie says and Violet motions to the kitchen, “Help yourself!”

So we do. Connie grab a few cans of soft drink and I find the lolly packets and snatch a couple from the pantry. Then we head downstairs and lay out the movies.

We stare at the movies lined up in front of us. I run my eyes along the rows of selections. So many to choose from. “We've got all night.” Violet reminds us.

“Let's start with...She's the Man!” I suggest.

“Yes! Looooove that movie!” Connie cheers.

But about half way through the movie, Connie socks me with a pillow and that starts a giant pillow fight which cause the parents to inquire as to the screams and shrieks coming from the den. When they see what's happening, they each pick up a pillow and join us, teaming up against us and starting a pillow war.

We finally collapse on the mattresses, panting and laughing and the parents head back up stairs to bed. We lie in a heap, eating popcorn and drinking soft drinks until Connie sits up and stomps toward the door.

“Where are you going?” I ask.

“I am going to raid the pantry, we're running out of goodies.” Connie says in a determined voice. Violet laughs and nods as she stands up too. I look at both of them incredulously. “Seriously! You guys are so loud! You'll get caught!”

“No we won't!”

I decide that I have to go with them and make sure they don't break something so I follow them upstairs to the living room and lead them to the kitchen with my super cat eyes and manoeuvring skills. One of them, I can't see who in the darkness, knocks over a chair and they both start giggling like they're drunk. In a way there are. Great.

We find a few more “goodies” in the pantry but just as we are settling back into the den and putting on another movie, Violet has an idea. An absolutely, positively mad idea.

***

“Why are we doing this again?” I ask as we ride down the street in the middle of the night. “I mean, what is the purpose of this activity?”