Winchester Legacy{Vacation Interlude}

When I woke up Alice was holding this teddy bear that she got from this toy chest. She looked kinda scared.

“Hey Alice! What’s wrong?” I asked as I stretched and got off the hammock. Carefully. Because I know how easy it is to make a fool of yourself on a hammock.

“It’s dark!” she said in a whisper.

“Course it is. It’s night time.”

She shuffled her feet. “I got lost in the woods one time. Back when I was with a foster family. They locked me out of the house when they went into town, ’cause they thought I was a thief, and I was wandering around and got lost. They had to call the cops then they blamed me and sent me back to the foster home.”

“Hey, hey! No one is going o send you back anywhere! Look, there’s mom. She just built a fire. See? She’s waving you over!”

I watched as her face brightened as she raced over to where mom was sitting in front of the fire. Sure, I didn’t want kids but if I did have a kid I would’t treat them like Alice had been treated. That’s just wrong on so many different levels you know?

I noticed that her fear seemed to ease when she was around any one of us. Before I knew it her laugh could be heard around the camp as she and mom roasted marshmallows. I found myself smiling just because she was laughing. Jesus, what kind of crap was that? I thought as I straightened and headed to the bathroom. I banged on the girl’s  bathroom door.

“Get out from in front of the mirror Val before you crack it!” I heard her let out a growl and I quickly scurried into the men’s bathroom and locked the stall behind me. I knew Val had no qualms about coming into the men’s room. As if on cue my door began to rattle.

“Neil! Get your little scawy but out of there and face me like a man!”

“Not on your life Godzilla!”

“Neil!”

“Get out of here Val so I can take a leak!”

“Watch your back Neil! You know….people come up missing in the woods all the time.”

She slammed the bathroom door behind her. Just to make sure I peeked under the stall before I came out and didn’t see her boots.

I had to laugh when I came out and saw Alice waving her arm around with her eyes squeezed shut. She kept hollering that the marshmallow was going to fly off and hit her in the face but…she still kept waving the thing around.

“Alice! Alice, calm down!” Mom said as she got up from the fire.

Naturally Alice started running around in circles. I had to hold onto my stomach as I doubled over in laughter as mom stared chasing her around in circles. Hilarious! Finally mom got Alice calmed down enough to where she could grab the stick from her and toss it into the fire.

“My marshmallow!”

I watched as her lower lip started to tremble. Mom was saying something about roasting marshmallows over the stove instead of a campfire if it made her feel better and Alice dug her toe into the dirt.

“Alright,” she said in disappointment.

Sighing, I walked down the stairs and grabbing my own stick, shoved a marshmallow on the end, stuck it in the fire for a moment, let it get nice and golden and then passed it to Alice. Her little face lit up. She grinned at me around a mouthful of sticky, oozy marshmallow and mom came up and gave me a hug. I rolled my eyes.

Chicks.

“You know what he’s doing in there don’t you Gai?”

“No…what?”

I could hear Val whispering outside the bathroom door then I heard Gai gasp. “No he isn’t!”

“Yes, he is! Why do you think he takes so much time in there? Please he always takes the underwear ads with him!”

I could feel my face getting red once I realized what Val was talking about. “Shut your face Val!” I shouted as I combing my hair. “I’m not doing that! You’re such a pervert!”

“I’m not the one in the bathroom all the time.”

“Are you really getting your ro-”

“GAI! Don’t listen to Val!”

Yanking open the bathroom door I was just in time to see Val race around the corner. Gai peered curiously at me. She opened her mouth but I held up a hand. “Don’t. Don’t even ask. I never, ever want to discuss that with you.”

Shrugging she went into the room to get dressed.

“Are you almost ready Dane?”

He shot a grin at me and then nodded his head to wear Alice was laughing her head off as he pushed her on the swing.

“Higher dad! Higher!!!!”

I had to grin. Have you ever noticed that when little kids are happy that parents are happy? And if the parental units are happy us bigger kids can pretty much get whatever we want? No? Well, you should pay attention sometime. It’s sort of annoying but it’s really not because how do you think I got my cell? Gai had just learned to take a crap in the potty, I walked in and asked if I could have my own cell and mom and Dane were so busy staring and clapping at the poop in the toilet I got what I wanted.

Maybe I should have asked if we could get rid of Val.