Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

I’m Lieutenant Deviled Yeggs.  I work homicide in the big city of Tracy.  Working for me are my old partners: Detective SFC Jim Wednesday and Detective Sgt. Poached Yeggs, my nephew who is slowly becoming a good detective.

But maybe the best detective is my daughter, Sophia.  But due to her leading an investigation to find Menzie, rescue Menzie, and then protect Menzie MacDougall, we contacted the school and they allowed Emmett, Sophia, and Menzie to pre-register and not show up until the Monday afterwards.  With Samuel Farquharson, they were on their way to the Rowe-Casey Farm.  It was the four of them, Menzie’s two children, Gigi, Jayne and Ozzie (Thou and Maeve’s twins).  Pink Lady allowed them to take the Pink van that can hold 12.

The problem was that we already had the Forlorn Four and their boyfriends down there.

Since some of this happened before they got there, I will write it in third person.

Dakota gathered her eight guests.  “We will have a change in sleeping arrangements.  We have four teenagers coming down today, hopefully before lunch.  They will bring five children with them.  You know all of them:  Sophia Yeggs, Emmett Dalton, Menzie MacDougall, Samuel Farquharson, Menzie’s two children, Thou and Maeve Yeggs’ twins: Jayne and Ozzie, and Sophia’s little sister Gigi.  I understand that you might not know Gigi and the twins as well, but Sophia’s home is busting at the seems, so they are letting us bust at the seems for a few days.  Sophia’s Mom has a new baby, and Maeve is staying with them with her newborn triplets.  The two boys will sleep in the attic with the children.  If two of you girls will double up, then we can have Sophia and Menzie double up in the bedroom that you free up.”

Marika said, “Susana and I have doubled up before.  That’s no problem.”

Patty asked, “Why have the boys and the children in the attic?”

Sierra said, “After the storm chasers were here, we left the mattresses up there, but we added hammocks.  If the children don’t like the hammocks, there are mattresses.  All the children are three-years-old except for Lauren who is four and a half.  All are potty trained.  All are self-sufficient.  This is a few days of peace and quiet for the parents back home in Tracy.  I hope you don’t mind.”

Anna said, “We heard all about what happened to Menzie earlier this summer.  I hope she is recovering.”

Dakota said, “That’s the main reason they are coming.  It will help her to feel safe, being out of the guarded community life of Lily the Pink and then having bodyguards while singing at the Snazzy Taz.  This should not change what you were planning.”

Trey said, “I had heard that the storm chasers took a day trip to Capulin Volcano.  We are doing that tomorrow.  We were just going to take a hike this afternoon.  You don’t need to be our guide.  I know how to deal with a snake.  Leaving them alone and giving them plenty of room are the big things.  Then, we were thinking of the ziplines one more time the next day and maybe inner tubing in the pond after that.  The only thing that we couldn’t do together might be the inner tubing.”

Sierra said, “With the little children, we will have them in canoes if we go out on the lake.  I hear that Gigi is very adventurous, while Jayne and Ozzie have rarely been in the country.  Everything will be new for them.”

And at Sierra saying that, they heard car doors opening and closing.

Within a minute or two, the crew had all ascended the stairs.

Gigi started to introduce everybody, but she did not know all the names.  Sophie finally said, “Put a sock in it, Gigi.  You have already been too big of a problem today.”

Patty laughed, “She just got here, how could she be a problem?”

Emmett snickered, “We almost did not make it here.  Sophie was standing with her hand on the hood and then in cuffs.”

Dakota laughed, “There has to be a story in there somewhere.”

Sophie nodded, “This may take a while to tell.  You might want to sit down.  I was driving.  We left really early to get here around breakfast time.  The drive takes us through a couple of states.  We stopped for some caffeine and to top off with gas.  Emmett handed me the keys for the next leg. No problems while he was driving.  I drove the speed limit, not a mile over.  The children were asleep.  Samuel and Menzie must have been texting each other.  I heard them softly laughing.  Anyway, we crossed over one of the state lines, and a cop turned on his flashers.  I pulled over.  I asked what the problem was.  He asked for my license and the registration.  I had to explain that my aunt was Pink Lady Apple Yeggs.  She was the CEO and she let me borrow this van.  We checked, and we did not need a commercial license for twelve passengers.  And we had folded down the back seats to pack some care packages for Dakota and Sierra.  The patrolman then asked if anyone in the car was over twenty years old.  Samuel had just turned nineteen, and Emmett won’t be nineteen until later this year.  And Menzie had an ID, but she did not have her driver’s license yet.

Sophie took in a deep breath, “The patrolman said that in his state, there was a curfew on teenage driving after midnight until the sun came up.  I explained that ignorance of the law was not a fair defense, but could we be let off the hook.  We were just passing through to the next state.  I had only had a caffeinated soft drink.  I was driving the speed limit, and we planned on not getting off the interstate until we got near our destination.  He handed us back our driver’s licenses, and then Gigi woke up.  She saw the policeman and said, ‘I found a dead body.’  I growled at Gigi to be quiet and not say anything.  The policeman had me get out of the car and put my hands on the hood.  He noticed that I knew the right posture, so he knew I had done it before.  Sure, we went through the routine in college this summer.  I took the class early so that I could become a policeman upon graduation next Spring.  He cuffed me, thinking I was an experienced criminal.”

Sophie continued, “I turned around and explained that we had been in Rocky Mountain National Park.  Gigi found a dead body.  It was a body dump, murdered in Denver and the case is probably still open.  He called in what I said, and they confirmed that a park service investigator named Roxy Hoover had said that the keen attention to detail by a young lady from Tracy had led to the identification of the body and that the only connection to the National Park was a body drop.  He asked and I nodded that I was the keen observer and I was shocked that Roxy put that in her report.  He told me to turn around, and he would take off the cuffs, but I smiled and handed them back to him.  I had gotten out of the cuffs while he talked to his captain.  He said that if we make no stops until out of the state, he’d let us go.  Before we left, he wanted to know how each of us were related.  Two betrothed couples were fairly easy.  Gigi being young enough to biologically be my daughter and Mom having a newborn at home was a little strange.  But Menzie being twelve and thirteen when her children were born and then Samuel being the father of the younger one raised red flags, but we explained that.  But then what boggled the patrolman’s mind was that the twins were my aunt and uncle, and their siblings were triplet newborns.  That took some explaining.  But the patrolman insisted on Samuel driving.  Samuel might look old enough to be 21.  So, that is how my big mouth sister got us into trouble.”

Trey asked, “And why are you here?  Couldn’t it wait until next week?”

Emmett said, “I am sorry that some of you have to double up.  Dakota says that the guys have been sleeping on cots here in the living room, and the girls have the bedrooms.  We are going to try the children in the hammocks in the attic and Samuel and I will stay with them.  Our ladies will be doubling up in the room you make available.  We thought we could stay out of your hair, but like Sophie said, she and Gigi found a dead body while on a hike in the National Park.  Two months ago, Menzie was abducted and Sophie orchestrated the rescue.  When this was explained to the counselor at Flintheart, they suggested we get out of town on some R&R and start school next Monday.  All they had this week was orientation and registration.  We preregistered.  Menzie is a junior, but Sophie and I are taking dual enrollment classes that do not start for another week anyway.”

Marika said, “So this is a kind of therapy for you?”  Sophie and Menzie nodded.

And Gigi said, “And Jayne and Ozzie and I were making too much noise.  Mama Maeve can’t get the triplets going to bed together yet.  I think we might visit Aunt Pink when we get back.”

Jayne nodded, “Yeah, we have three sisters: Faith, Hope, and Charity.  They cry a lot.  And Mommy doesn’t have them sick yet.”

Menzie snickered, “Jayne, that is in sync, yet.  I think they have your Mommy sick from the lack of sleep, but Aunt Naomi is breast feeding one of the triplets along with Lydia while Maeve feeds the other two.  They are doing what they can to get them on the same schedule.  That is what they mean by being in sync.  But for now, one wants to stay up, and then another wakes up when that one finally goes to sleep.  Uncle Dev has the best luck getting them all to sleep by taking them for a drive after they have been fed.  They are lucky to have a seven-passenger SUV.”

Sophie explained about Maeve and the triplets staying with them and it being very crowded.  And Easy and Jemima were there with Stormie while their apartment is being renovated.

Sierra asked, “Do you want us to fix you some breakfast?”

Samuel laughed, “No, all the children were awake about an hour ago.  They were hungry, so we got some sausage biscuits.  Sammie loves sausage biscuits.”

Ozzie said, “I do too!”

Samuel nodded, “Okay, the boys like sausage biscuits and the girls prefer pancakes.”

Lauren, Jayne, and Gigi said, “Yeah!”

Dakota laughed, “Okay, we’ll have pancakes in the morning.”

Trey said, “We’re leaving really early.  We will get something on the way.”

Dakota nodded, “Thanks for the heads up.  We took this job because it reminds us of our upbringing, just not in the same home.  But the fixing breakfast and the evening meal was not what we were thinking about, but a large family around the kitchen table reminds us of home, growing up too.  It’s just we’re the ones doing the cooking.  And the next time you come down, we’ll have horses.  Michael gave us permission and Mommie Pinkie gave us the money, just more debt Michael has to pay off as this place pays for itself.  And Sierra and I are already working on that.  We are nearing harvest for the catfish in the pond behind the house.  And if the children want to see baby catfish, we have eggs hatching in our little hatchery, and we have fingerlings ready to release to the upper pond in the golf course.  Brenton and Mashie dammed the creek in two places to make water hazards for the golf course.  Otherwise, they left the slope of the land alone, except for tees and greens.  I would like to learn how to play and Brenton has been a good teacher.  He says the course is friendly for most moderate players.  While some courses have no water, the water holes are limited here.”

They heard mowers outside.

Menzie asked, “I heard mowers.  Do you have a mowing service?  I thought that the golf course needed another couple of years to mature.”

Sierra laughed, “Yes, we have some people from a nearby country club earning a few dollars extra.  We have our own equipment in the barn, but we will move that out to set up a paddock for the horses.  The grass needs to be mowed to promote growth.  But the grass length is a little higher than when playing to avoid stressing the grass.  And the mowers are lightweight to not put grooves in the soft ground.  Mashie has given the crew detailed instructions.”

Emmett laughed, “You seem well-trained for someone who doesn’t play.”

Sierra smiled, “Golfers know how to play, but the things that interest Dakota and me are the things that grow.  We learn about a blade of grass much easier than the roll of a ball.”

Gigi asked, “Did you say balls?  Do you have a soccer ball?”

Dakota laughed, “We heard about you and we went to the sports store a town over.  When you want to play, I have a ball for you to kick.”

Gigi did a little dance of excitement.  Sophie supplied the thank you.

The hike that afternoon was interesting.

The girls, formerly known as the forlorn four (now Pam S.), were romantically playful with their male counterparts.  Not that they were being naughty.  They just liked each other.

But Menzie seemed to be anxious.  Sophia scanned the terrain as would a soldier on patrol.  Samuel and Emmett were busy taking turns pushing a cart that started out with snacks and drinks but ended up carrying the five children once they got tired.  Luckily, they were hiking the golf course.  Since none of them played golf, they could not comment on what they saw.

But Sophia talked about becoming a police officer right out of high school, but she wanted the college degree to move into detective ranks quicker.  Samuel wanted pre-law.  He might be a judge like his father, or he might be Menzie’s manager.  The problem was that the abduction had Menzie wondering if she wanted to be a celebrity, maybe not even a celebrity only in Tracy.  Emmett just liked what he was already doing.  He wanted his divinity masters, but if he was only a music minister, that would be fine.  But since Sophia was staying in Tracy, he would also.

The four boyfriends all talked about their engineering company that they wanted to start.  The girls talked about their comic strip that they hoped would become national.  If not, there was the graphic novel direction.  But oddly, none of the members of Pam S. (formerly the forlorn four) were going after a creative writing degree.  Susana wanted to be an artist.  Marika thought about returning to Africa as a missionary, and she thought nursing might be best.  Patty wanted to be a counselor of some kind.  Anna wanted to be a physical therapist.  She saw the need since she has been working out a lot.

We asked them how that would work out with their comic strip.

Patty said, “I think the situations that the Forlorn Four and their friends get into will need those skills.  You know, some of us have not been believers for long, but we keep hearing that it all works out.  We are going to follow our dreams.  If the dream becomes a nightmare, we will adjust based on how God leads us.  At this point, the comic strip is our way to illustrate the pain from bullying and cyber bullying.  It’s a catharsis.  But none of us feel unloved and unwanted now.  Our goal is to shed light on those that have that feeling.  They need to know that God loves them.  And God has a way of working with broken people.  Even if they remain broken, God can use that brokenness to help others.  That is our mission and the newspaper is giving us that platform.  Now to obtain syndication.  But we have to get it in the Tracy paper first.”

Susana moaned, “Yeah, I have to get back and start drawing things.  Do you mind if we write you into future stories?  You know, the female cop, the music director at the church, the jazz singer.  These four invisible friends need visible people to interact with them.”

Sophie said, “Sure, but I don’t know about my bestie.”

Menzie sighed, “I have my BFF by my side, I am okay for now.  I’ll update you when I am in Algebra class and Sophia is in another wing of the building.”

Menzie gave a brave smile, but only time was going to tell.  She was in the middle of a large farm, with friendly neighbors on all sides, but somehow, she was checking over her shoulder.  This was her first time away from Tracy where she did not have her security team around her.  And even with her three closest friends, one to whom she is engaged, she felt exposed.

Sophia was required to call Maeve on a zoom call.  This is the first call in dialogue form.

Maeve: Hello?
Ozzie: Mommy’s on the computer.
Maeve: Yes, and I see you too, and Jayne.  And I guess the head in the back in Sophia.
Sophia: Yes, Ma’am.
Jayne: We saw a lot of fishes today.
Maeve: What kind of fish?
Ozzie:  Catfish!
Jayne: And little baby catfish.  They have a cement pond where they are going to grow up.
Ozzie: And then they go to the big ponds.  They call the babies fingerlings.  They look like fingers.
Maeve: That sounds exciting.  Did you see anything else?
Ozzie: We rode in a wagon around the golf course.  Uncle Samuel and Uncle Emmett pulled the wagon.
Jayne: We also saw Dakota and Sierra.  They are nice.  Dakota is fixing pancakes in the morning.
Maeve: That sounds good.  Who are these two ladies?
Sophia: They are the Farm Hands that Aunt Pink has working down here.  We are going ziplining tomorrow.  They have a special harness that Menzie and I can wear.  We can strap a child in with us.  Please, give us your permission.  That gives Menzie and I more chances to ride.
Maeve: I have heard Blaise talk about how many tests they had to pass before they could allow people on the lines.  I am convinced they are safe.  I give you and Menzie permission.
Menzie (off camera): Yay!
Maeve: I hear Charity crying.  She cries softly.  When Hope cries, she wakes up the other three.  I am going to have to go.  I love you.  I miss you.
Jayne: I love you, Mommy.
Ozzie: I love you, too!
Sophia: We’ll call tomorrow.  Goodbye.

Everything was working out okay until Emmett and Samuel tried to get the children to bed.  They loved the idea of the hammocks.  But then Jayne started to softly cry.

Ozzie said, “I think Jayne misses Mommy.”

Emmett said, “We cannot go back to Tracy tonight.  It’s too far away.”

Samuel said, “I’ll go get a substitute Mommy.”  He ran down the stairs and within a minute, Menzie was singing a lullaby.

Then Ozzie said, “Can two of us sleep in the same hammock?”

Samuel said, “If you start fighting or thrashing about, you may get dumped onto the floor.”

Ozzie said, “When she cries, I hug her.  When I cry, she hugs me.”

Samuel picked up Ozzie and put him next the Jayne in her hammock.  Menzie sang one more lullaby, and the twins were sound asleep.

The next day was great.  The group from Pawnee Heights, plus three friends, went to Capulin Volcano in northeast New Mexico.  That left the four newcomers alone to ride both ziplines.

One zipline went near the golf course.  Dakota said that they had a loud horn, different from the severe weather alarm.  There was a golfer alarm that could be switched on.  Each time someone was released on the zipline, the horn on the golf course, along the affected holes, would be sounded three times.  The golfers would be warned to back away from the ball.  And once the zipliner had passed, they could continue.  Even then, it would have to be a very erratic shot.

The other zipline went down the next valley, over farmland, and a few rows of grape vines.

The four adventurous teenagers went on both, but the children just took the farmland zipline.  Sammie and Gigi were the only ones that wanted to do it again.  Sophia and Menzie did not need encouraging in taking the route more often.  And Sierra explained that apart from safety, the biggest issues with a child on a zipline is that the child may not weigh enough to keep the zipline moving.  Some children have gotten stuck, far from the ground, and maybe hung there for thirty minutes, because they did not have enough weight to sustain their speed all the way to the bottom.  An employee needed to ride down and bump them to the finish point.

Another safety concern is that most braking systems rely on a certain weight hanging from the harness.  If the child has enough weight to reach the finish point, but not enough weight to make the braking system effective, it could get messy.

This said, Blaise and Kevin put a more sophisticated braking system in place and they tested not only the maximum load, but the design minimum load during the safety testing.

Two days later, the college crowd left that morning, and the younger crowd with children in tow left after lunch.  As planned, the children took a nap almost all the way home.  In just three days at the farm, they had fed catfish, watched the fingerlings swim around, took a tour through the golf course, went ziplining, and canoeing.  And the little ones all kicked the ball into the soccer net, not just Gigi.

And most importantly, Sophia relaxed from her diligence, and Menzie was no longer checking out the shadows around her.  By the time they were canoeing, they focused on getting the stroke technique down and having fun on the water.

Credits

I suffered from separation anxiety as a child.  I would be fine until bedtime, and then I started crying.  When my uncle took me a couple of hours down the road, with me about ten years old, he explained that there would be no return trip if I got anxious.  And as of that night, I never did.