a little more with the desk fort
Nov. 14th, 2011 01:29 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
smackenzie"You can come over now," Sean says. "Not today, because we are here, but one Saturday over the summer, maybe your ma will let you visit us. You can meet Mrs Meara and her daughter Mary Margaret, and Mary Margaret's baby Johnny. He is this big." Sean holds out his hands about a foot apart. "Mary Margaret's husband Jamie is a policeman."
"You can meet Albert who lives across the street and has a dog that's also named Johnny. And the grocer - he has cats."
James thinks about this idea. He knows from last year that there is both more and less to do over the summer. School will be out, so he will not have to attend class, and he knows that Mrs Godwin and Julia will play tennis and Aimee and William will learn, and there will be trips to the shore and perhaps they will be invited back to Long Island to visit Mr Godwin's friend with the sheep. They will likely travel up the river to see Nathaniel, and perhaps they will take the train to Chicago to see Gabriel. Gabriel is funny and silly and lighthearted, and unlike Marcus and Con, he does not try to argue with their father. But he is the only Godwin who does not live in New York, and it does not matter whether or not he will try to argue about workers' rights or economic opportunities or politics if he is never around.
James does not know Gabriel well enough to miss him, because they see each other once a year if that, but he has never been to Chicago. It would be an adventure.
He knows one thing about the coming summer – if he is very lucky, his momma will let him go to Luna Park and Steeplechase Park with Liam and Sean, so he can eat red hots and ride all the rides. She might let him visit their neighborhood as well and play in their house as they are allowed to play in his. He wishes his birthday were not so far away, so he could ask for that.
That and a pair of rollerskates, because listening to Alexei talk about his skates at school has made James want a pair of his own.
The rain patters down outside as the boys work snack on their provisions. Sean eats the last roll. James finishes the milk. Liam chews his way through an apple while chattering on about the grocer's cats with his mouth full.
"Chew and swallow first," Sean tells him, swatting him on the back of the head. Liam sticks out his tongue, which is covered with half-chewed apple. "Yuck! This is the last time I let you in my fort."
"It's my fort too!"
"Not with those manners."
"Then I will be an Indian horde and surround you and steal your horses."
"But there is only one of you, and two of us." Sean looks triumphant.
"James' sister will help me."
"Not Aimee," James says.
"The other one. The taller one."
"Julia?" James does not understand why Liam cannot remember his sisters' names. He only has two sisters – it should not be that hard to keep them straight.
"That one. Julia. She will be an Indian horde with me, and then there will be two of us and two of you and we will be evenly matched so there." Now it is his turn to look triumphant.
Sean cocks his fingers like six-shooters and aims them at his brother. "Bang," he says. "Now you have to pretend to die."
"But I'm still in the fort!" Liam protests. "I am on your side!"
"Then stop talking about being an Indian horde and stealing our horses."
Liam is about to protest again when Sean suddenly claps a hand over his mouth. James has started to say something himself when he hears it too – the door to the library creaking open.
"Ghosts," Sean whispers. "Soldiers who were killed by Indian raiders now coming back to get revenge." He keeps his hand over Liam's mouth, although Liam has gone still. James holds his breath. He does not think his house is haunted, especially by the ghosts of soldiers, but one never knows.
"James?" a voice calls. "Are you in here?" James lets his breath out in a rush. Not ghosts. Julia.
Liam pushes Sean's hand off his mouth. "That doesn't sound like a soldier," he says.
Julia lifts up a corner of the sheet. "Did you build yourselves a fort?" she asks. In response, Sean pretends to shoot her with his fingers, and she clutches her heart and falls over onto her side, dropping the sheet and laughing.
"You are late for lunch," she says from the floor. "Luisa sent me to find you."
"We have provisions," Liam tells her.
"We had provisions," James says. All that is left is one apple and a small piece of cheese.
"Do you not still want lunch?" Julia asks. She sits up. "Mrs Malcolm made a chicken pie, and there are pickles and cold potato salad and carrots covered with honey."
Liam crawls out from under the sheet. James and Sean behind him. James grabs the apple and the empty milk bottle, but Julia has to remind him to get the bit of cheese.
William and Aimee have already started eating their lunch by the time the boys and Julia walk into the smaller dining room. Mrs Malcolm looks annoyed but unsurprised when Julia pushes James into the kitchen so he can hand over the milk bottle and the remaining apple. Mrs Malcolm tells him he can just eat the tiny piece of cheese himself, but he likes cheese so this is no hardship.
After lunch, Liam convinces Julia to be part of his Indian horde and they chase Sean and James around the nursery, yelling war cries and pretending to fire dozens of arrows. When this tires them out, James asks Julia if she would them one of the stories in The Arabian Nights. Liam falls asleep during the story of the ebony horse, but James glances sideways at Sean, and Sean is enchanted.
That night James asks his mother if he is allowed to go visit Sean and Liam's house some day during the summer, and she says she will think about it. He tells her that they are his friends, and they will introduce him to their neighbors and the grocer's cat, and they have been to his house so it is only fair that he go to theirs.
"If you are all very good," Mrs Godwin says, "perhaps."
It is not a yes, but James will accept it for now. He will just have to be very good in the meantime, and somehow convince Sean and Liam to behave themselves as well.
words: 1053
total words: 21,269
quickie research: none for this bit
"You can meet Albert who lives across the street and has a dog that's also named Johnny. And the grocer - he has cats."
James thinks about this idea. He knows from last year that there is both more and less to do over the summer. School will be out, so he will not have to attend class, and he knows that Mrs Godwin and Julia will play tennis and Aimee and William will learn, and there will be trips to the shore and perhaps they will be invited back to Long Island to visit Mr Godwin's friend with the sheep. They will likely travel up the river to see Nathaniel, and perhaps they will take the train to Chicago to see Gabriel. Gabriel is funny and silly and lighthearted, and unlike Marcus and Con, he does not try to argue with their father. But he is the only Godwin who does not live in New York, and it does not matter whether or not he will try to argue about workers' rights or economic opportunities or politics if he is never around.
James does not know Gabriel well enough to miss him, because they see each other once a year if that, but he has never been to Chicago. It would be an adventure.
He knows one thing about the coming summer – if he is very lucky, his momma will let him go to Luna Park and Steeplechase Park with Liam and Sean, so he can eat red hots and ride all the rides. She might let him visit their neighborhood as well and play in their house as they are allowed to play in his. He wishes his birthday were not so far away, so he could ask for that.
That and a pair of rollerskates, because listening to Alexei talk about his skates at school has made James want a pair of his own.
The rain patters down outside as the boys work snack on their provisions. Sean eats the last roll. James finishes the milk. Liam chews his way through an apple while chattering on about the grocer's cats with his mouth full.
"Chew and swallow first," Sean tells him, swatting him on the back of the head. Liam sticks out his tongue, which is covered with half-chewed apple. "Yuck! This is the last time I let you in my fort."
"It's my fort too!"
"Not with those manners."
"Then I will be an Indian horde and surround you and steal your horses."
"But there is only one of you, and two of us." Sean looks triumphant.
"James' sister will help me."
"Not Aimee," James says.
"The other one. The taller one."
"Julia?" James does not understand why Liam cannot remember his sisters' names. He only has two sisters – it should not be that hard to keep them straight.
"That one. Julia. She will be an Indian horde with me, and then there will be two of us and two of you and we will be evenly matched so there." Now it is his turn to look triumphant.
Sean cocks his fingers like six-shooters and aims them at his brother. "Bang," he says. "Now you have to pretend to die."
"But I'm still in the fort!" Liam protests. "I am on your side!"
"Then stop talking about being an Indian horde and stealing our horses."
Liam is about to protest again when Sean suddenly claps a hand over his mouth. James has started to say something himself when he hears it too – the door to the library creaking open.
"Ghosts," Sean whispers. "Soldiers who were killed by Indian raiders now coming back to get revenge." He keeps his hand over Liam's mouth, although Liam has gone still. James holds his breath. He does not think his house is haunted, especially by the ghosts of soldiers, but one never knows.
"James?" a voice calls. "Are you in here?" James lets his breath out in a rush. Not ghosts. Julia.
Liam pushes Sean's hand off his mouth. "That doesn't sound like a soldier," he says.
Julia lifts up a corner of the sheet. "Did you build yourselves a fort?" she asks. In response, Sean pretends to shoot her with his fingers, and she clutches her heart and falls over onto her side, dropping the sheet and laughing.
"You are late for lunch," she says from the floor. "Luisa sent me to find you."
"We have provisions," Liam tells her.
"We had provisions," James says. All that is left is one apple and a small piece of cheese.
"Do you not still want lunch?" Julia asks. She sits up. "Mrs Malcolm made a chicken pie, and there are pickles and cold potato salad and carrots covered with honey."
Liam crawls out from under the sheet. James and Sean behind him. James grabs the apple and the empty milk bottle, but Julia has to remind him to get the bit of cheese.
William and Aimee have already started eating their lunch by the time the boys and Julia walk into the smaller dining room. Mrs Malcolm looks annoyed but unsurprised when Julia pushes James into the kitchen so he can hand over the milk bottle and the remaining apple. Mrs Malcolm tells him he can just eat the tiny piece of cheese himself, but he likes cheese so this is no hardship.
After lunch, Liam convinces Julia to be part of his Indian horde and they chase Sean and James around the nursery, yelling war cries and pretending to fire dozens of arrows. When this tires them out, James asks Julia if she would them one of the stories in The Arabian Nights. Liam falls asleep during the story of the ebony horse, but James glances sideways at Sean, and Sean is enchanted.
That night James asks his mother if he is allowed to go visit Sean and Liam's house some day during the summer, and she says she will think about it. He tells her that they are his friends, and they will introduce him to their neighbors and the grocer's cat, and they have been to his house so it is only fair that he go to theirs.
"If you are all very good," Mrs Godwin says, "perhaps."
It is not a yes, but James will accept it for now. He will just have to be very good in the meantime, and somehow convince Sean and Liam to behave themselves as well.
words: 1053
total words: 21,269
quickie research: none for this bit
